Brother Bai

Tang Yiyi carefully put away the prescription and followed behind Xu Bin as they left Prosperity Hall, heading toward the car parked beneath the magnolia tree.

“Xiao Bin.” A man’s voice called from behind.

They both turned around. Tang Yiyi saw that the door to Qin’s Noodle House was wide open. The tall man from that morning was carrying a folding wooden table out of the shop. He set the table down by the sidewalk and walked toward them. Tang Yiyi quietly shifted half a step behind Xu Bin. She had spied on him this morning—surely he wasn’t coming to settle the score?

“Brother Bai.” Xu Bin stepped forward to greet him.

“Heading out?” The man’s voice was low and casual, yet every word was distinct.

“Yes, I’m taking my junior sister out for a meal.” Xu Bin gestured beside him, only to realize Tang Yiyi was already hiding behind him. He stepped aside and pulled her to his side. “Tang Yiyi, my father’s new apprentice. She graduated from the Provincial University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.”

The man looked at her expressionlessly, then after a second, a faint smile tugged at his lips. He nodded. “Hello.”

“This is Brother Bai, the owner of Qin’s Noodle House,” Xu Bin introduced.

“Hello, Brother Bai.” Tang Yiyi flashed her brightest smile and greeted him politely. From Xu Bin’s words and manner, she could tell he respected this Brother Bai a great deal, so it was best to be extra courteous.

“That medicine I asked you about last time, any luck?” Qin Baike asked Xu Bin.

“Still out of stock. I’ve looked in several places, but no luck,” Xu Bin replied.

Tang Yiyi quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Looking past the man, she saw two more young people coming out of the noodle shop—a boy and a girl, setting tables along the street. The boy was about her age, of average height, with a face full of adolescent pimples. The girl was on the plumper side, with dark skin, but she carried a folding table with ease. Though she looked young, she fixed her gaze on Tang Yiyi, grinning widely, curiosity shining in her eyes.

Xu Bin and Brother Bai chatted only briefly. Without further goodbyes, Xu Bin took Tang Yiyi and led her straight to the car.

As Tang Yiyi got in, she picked up a few magnolia petals from the ground and held them in her hand. The car was instantly filled with their fragrance.

“Do you really like these flowers that much?” Xu Bin asked as he started the car.

“Yes, the scent is so comforting,” Tang Yiyi replied, cupping the petals to her nose and mouth.

“They’re a bit overpowering, though.”

“No way! They’re just perfect!” Tang Yiyi retorted, inhaling the scent with obvious delight.

“I’ll sneak a few blossoms for your room tonight. How about that?” Xu Bin understood these little girlish preferences.

Tang Yiyi glanced at her own slightly round figure and shook her head. “Those trees are so high. You think you can climb up? I don’t believe it.”

“I can’t, but Brother Bai can!” Xu Bin said proudly, with no hint of shame.

“What’s Brother Bai’s full name?” Tang Yiyi’s curiosity about the man was genuine.

“Qin Baike.”

“He really owns a noodle shop?”

“Why wouldn’t he? Who would pretend to be a noodle shop owner?”

“I mean, he just doesn’t look the part.”

“What should a noodle shop owner look like?”

“Oily, I guess? Well, not exactly… It’s just his demeanor—it doesn’t fit a restaurant owner,” Tang Yiyi tried to explain as accurately as she could.

“He has the bearing of a soldier, right?” Xu Bin caught her meaning immediately.

“Yes, exactly—like someone in the military or something physically demanding,” Tang Yiyi nodded.

“Before running the noodle shop, he was a firefighter for seven years.”

“A firefighter?” Tang Yiyi nodded. “That explains it.”

“You’re interested in him too?” Xu Bin glanced at her with a smile.

“What do you mean, ‘too’?”

“His noodle shop only opens at night, from seven in the evening till three in the morning. The best thing on the menu is pork trotter noodles, though the plain noodles are also amazing. He thought a late-night shop would mostly attract night-shift workers, but it turns out lots of girls come just for dinner, essentially to see him. You have no idea—his fans range from eighteen to fifty-eight.”

“That’s a bit much, isn’t it?” Tang Yiyi was genuinely surprised.

“No exaggeration—my aunt is one of them. She says Baike is our magnolia lane’s Daniel Wu.”

“Wow! Daniel Wu! No wonder my aunt wanted me to go to Qin’s for a midnight snack last night.”

“See? I’m not exaggerating.”

“With so many admirers, doesn’t his wife get jealous?”

“Why would she? He doesn’t even have a wife.”

“He must be at least thirty, right?”

“Yeah, he’s thirty.”

“He keeps in such good shape—why run a noodle shop? He should open a gym.”

“Haha—if he did, the place would be packed with women. He’d probably just shut the doors and run, trust me.”

“I believe it. Is that why he runs a late-night noodle shop?”

“No, the shop is a family business. He’s the third generation.”

“Third generation? This really is a remarkable alley.”

“What’s so remarkable?”

“Not only is the traditional medicine clinic handed down, so is the noodle shop!”

“Now that you mention it, it is pretty special. There’s also a barbershop—two sisters took over from their father. That’s second generation. Does that count?”

“It counts,” Tang Yiyi said, touching her hair and thinking she should get it done sometime. “Has Qin’s Noodle House always been open late?”

“No, that’s just Brother Bai’s preference. He says he’s a night owl.”

“Haha, if I were as handsome as him, I’d want to be a night owl too.”

“See? Every girl finds him interesting,” Xu Bin said with a smile, shaking his head.