The Invisible Guest (fiction)

It was almost nine o'clock in the evening, and the old noodle restaurant on the corner was still open, and there were still three or two customers inside.

"Boss, come and cut the noodles with two bowls of knives."

The man looked to be about thirty years old, and his body was clean and refreshing, and he exuded a sense of competence. The man looked around the shop, sat down, drew two pieces of paper from the paper box on the table, wiped the table on his side and the table on the other side, and then kneaded the paper into a ball and gently threw it into the trash can under the table.

"Well, you put the bag inside." As he spoke, the man put his bag on the seat inside, "The first time we ate together was in this shop. After saying that, the man raised his head and looked back and forth in the store.

After a while.

"Knife cut noodles, knife cut noodles—" The lady boss came over with a large bowl and shouted as she walked.

"This side, this side." The man hurriedly greeted.

The hostess put the noodle bowl in front of the man. The man gently pushed the bowl to the opposite side. "You eat first." Then the man turned to the lady boss, "And a bowl." ”

"Ah, come now, come right now." The hostess responded, turning around and walking back to the back hall with a surprised face.

The second bowl was also brought out. The hostess put the noodle bowl in front of the man. The man said thank you, looked down and took a sip of soup first, raised his head to the opposite side and said, "Well, it's still the same taste as before." It tastes good, right? ”

The lady boss looked at the man, then at him, and with a frightened look on her face turned and walked back to the back hall. She hurried into the back hall and grabbed her husband, who was working.

"What's going on?"

"You go and see the man, who asked for two bowls of knives to cut the noodles."

"What's up?"

"He asked for two bowls, but he was alone."

"A person? What's that? People haven't come yet. ”

"No, he's been laughing with the other side, but there's no one across from him."

"Huh?"

The boss followed his wife with a puzzled face, and the two men secretly looked at the man behind the curtain.

There was no one on the opposite side of the man, and the bowl of noodles on the opposite side did not move. He ate the noodles alone, smiling slightly at the opposite side from time to time, or saying a word or two softly to the other side.

The more the lady boss looked at her, the more hairy she became, and she pulled her husband's clothes tighter.

After a short while, the boss let out a sigh of relief and reached out and shook his wife's hand: "Oh, I know, it's all right." ”

"You know what?"

"I guess it's like it's on TV. This man must have missed his girlfriend, so he came to our shop. Our shop is probably a place where they used to have some special significance. Today's young people, what a pretense, sensationalism, true feelings, we can't understand. Hey, it's all right. ”

"Then you don't need to talk to the other side, it's also too crazy, right?"

"Ah, everybody is different." It's okay. ”

"Boss, my Yangzhou fried rice, okay?" The shouts of the guests made the two of them fight a stir. "All right, all right. Come right away. A short time later, the hostess came out with a plate of fried rice to give to the guest. Then she leaned against the back door, glancing at the man from time to time with a puzzled face.

Almost halfway through the meal, the man picked up his bag and stood up, bent down to the other side and said, "By the way, I'm going to buy two of those cakes, you eat them slowly, and I'll be right back." The man nodded slightly at the lady boss as he turned.

The lady boss was a little stunned, and turned back to think about what to say to the man, who had already walked out of the store and was gone.

After a while, after a while, and after a long time, the customers in the shop were gone, and the man had not returned. The lady boss suddenly woke up, "Ah-ah", ran into the back hall, dragged her husband out, and pointed to the place where the man was sitting: "You see, he said to go out to buy some vegetable cakes, this has not come back yet." ”

"How long has it been?"

"I'm afraid it's twenty minutes."

The boss was stunned and suddenly scolded. The hostess asked him, "What's wrong?" ”

"Now eat white food, are you so highly intelligent?"

"What? I didn't get it. ”

"Hey, we've been fooled! People act! Eat white food! Now run! ”

"Huh? No way? Isn't a bowl of noodles a dozen dollars, as for? ”

"Why don't you stop him?"

"I was stunned. Who would have thought? ”

At this time, the man returned, carrying a bag containing two pieces of bread.

"I'm sorry to make you wait so long. I changed places selling cakes, and I went to the food street in the back, and I also asked several people to look for a long time. Fortunately, his house is still open, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to buy it. With that, the man sat down again, took a sip of soup, and took out the bread, one for himself and one on the opposite side.

"Little brother, I don't know if I should ask, what are you doing?" The boss pointed to the opposite side of the man and asked.

The man looked at the boss and the lady, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and a tear slid down his cheek: "My girlfriend, she, is gone- tomorrow, I will leave here-"

"Oh, got it. Don't say it, don't say it. Not sad, not sad. Your noodles are a little cold, let me add some hot soup to you. ”

"No thanks. I'm eating well. The man pulled out his phone, "How much?" ”

"Two bowls—" The lady boss was about to speak when the boss interrupted her with a wave of his hand: "Little brother, no money, no money." The hostess looked at her husband doubtfully. The man asked, "Why?" This is not good, boss, should give money. ”

"No money, no money." As he spoke, the boss reached out and covered the sign of the collection code.

The man was stunned for a moment and slowly put away the mobile phone: "Well, thank you." In this way, I will help you promote your store in the circle of friends. ”

"Oh, this can be, this is worth a lot, haha—" All three laughed.