Zhang Jiusi from the School of Aeronautics had ordered a model airplane shaved ice from the Eighth Cafeteria. It cost a lot of money, but it was well worth it. When his friends from the same major saw the shaved ice, they were instantly amazed and exclaimed how awesome it was.

When the big, crispy chicken leg rice meal was launched today, Zhang Jiusi was in class. Because he trusted the Eighth Cafeteria so much, he placed an order immediately without thinking after seeing the link.

His other roommates, who didn’t manage to get an order, all sighed deeply and could only look on with envy and jealousy at Zhang Jiusi.

After the bell rang, the students in his class all rushed out of the building to find food at the snack street outside. Zhang Jiusi, however, stood in front of the teaching building, waiting for the deliveryman. His order showed that the deliveryman was only twenty meters away.

As his classmates passed by, they couldn’t help but greet him with smiles, “Hey, Zhang, what are you doing here? Let’s go eat together.”

“I’m not going to eat with you guys, I’ve already ordered takeout,” Zhang Jiusi said smugly. “I’m going to try the new food from the Eighth Cafeteria today.”

The students were quite confused. The Eighth Cafeteria was the most remote one, and they had never gone there before. However, recently they had been hearing all sorts of rumors about the Eighth Cafeteria, either from classmates recommending it or because it was trending on social media. The Eighth Cafeteria was really getting a lot of attention.

And now, the Eighth Cafeteria has began offering food delivery service!

The students exclaimed, “Has the Eighth Cafeteria gone mad? The cafeterias at Jiangcheng University next door has such delicious food, but they don’t offer delivery. How can they even sell their food?”

“If I were to order food delivery, I would definitely order things that are not usually convenient or available, such as milk tea and barbecue. I don’t understand why the cafeteria is offering delivery.”

Zhang Jiusi was too lazy to explain, but when he thought about the taste of the food in the Eighth Cafeteria, he couldn’t help but retort, “Of course it can sell out. If I hadn’t been quick, I wouldn’t have been able to get any orders at all.”

The students were speechless, only thinking that he was bragging, and some passersby were also puzzled.

Just as they were chatting, a sudden exclamation came from afar.

“Holy crap, is he really riding a bicycle, or some kind of ‘fire wheel’?”

“Whose bicycle can travel at the speed of a car?”

Zhang Jiusi and his classmates looked up and saw a blue light rushing towards them, which startled them so much that they took several steps back.

It wasn’t until the mountain bike stopped that they realized it was a bicycle. A young man, about their age, got off. He was handsome, with striking blue-green hair that shone brightly in the sunlight.

Zhang Jiusi was dumbfounded. He couldn’t even remember what Qing Niao asked him. He just blankly accepted the takeout.

It was only after Qing Niao got back on his bicycle and the blue light disappeared like lightning, that he and his classmates came to their senses in a daze.

“Holy crap, what kind of speed is that?!”

“Is this the speed a human can achieve on a bicycle?”

“Why would a man like that even deliver food? Don’t let this interfere with his participation in the Olympics!”

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

During lunchtime, Chancellor Wen was handling official business in his office.

After reviewing all the documents, he let out a long sigh and looked at the empty office. His office was antique in style, with some calligraphy and paintings from his collection hanging on the walls. There were things hanging on three of the walls, but the area directly in front of him was empty.

Chancellor Wen always felt embarrassed and regretful whenever he gazed in that direction. He used to like the wenyao and regarded it as a lucky charm, so he hung a painting of the wenyao on the wall across his desk.

However, after those wenyao miraculously transformed into a human, he hastily removed the painting and calligraphy.

Chancellor Wen stood up, no longer wanting to look at the blank wall in front of him and instead gazed at the calligraphy and paintings on the wall to his left, feeling more satisfied.

The calligraphy scroll on the left wall was a poem by Li Shangyin, written by a modern master in a graceful style. 

‘Hard to meet, hard to part; the east wind is feeble, all flowers wither… The journey to Penglai Mountain is not far but no roads lead there; let the blue bird be diligent, go and see for me.’

Chancellor Wen recalled the translation and said to himself, “… I heard you were in Penglai Mountain, but I couldn’t find the way to see you. I can only ask the Queen Mother of the West’s Qingniao to deliver a message for me and go see.”

Chancellor Wen’s eyes held a hint of nostalgia. In the 1970s, he and his wife were sent to the countryside one after another and could only communicate occasionally. This poem was their love poem.

Chancellor Wen looked at the calligraphy and painting repeatedly, feeling extremely pleased.

He no longer collected paintings of supernatural beasts from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, such as the wenyao, but he still found the calligraphy scrolls of these great poets most worthy of appreciation.

Chancellor Wen’s heart skipped a beat at this thought. He had hung a painting, which led to the appearance of the wenyao on campus. He hadn’t hung up a painting of blue birds, but the poem did mention them. Could blue birds also appear in the world, just like the wenyao did on campus?

After some thought, Chancellor Wen smiled and shook his head, realizing he was overthinking things. It was normal for a low-level supernatural beast like the wenyao to appear; the appearance of a high-level mythical beast like Qingniao would surely cause chaos.

He couldn’t possibly be so unlucky as to have another supernatural beast appear on campus just because he hung something on his wall.

He glanced at his watch and realized it was almost lunchtime, so he prepared to go to the Eighth Cafeteria for lunch. Suddenly, a pop-up window appeared on his phone; it turned out to be a purchase link sent by the Eighth Cafeteria to the online community.

Chancellor Wen’s eyes lit up. He repeatedly felt that his decision to keep that person was the right one. Xiao Luo’s cooking skills were excellent, and she could also help him fight supernatural beasts. She was simply wonderful.

Chancellor Wen often practiced Tai Chi, and with his quick eyes and hands, he managed to snag a big, crispy chicken leg rice meal.

He was waiting in his office when his phone rang. Friday afternoon was a day off, and his wife was planning to bring their grandson to meet him before going to the doctor.

Chancellor Wen thought of his grandson who had childhood anorexia, and felt a surge of sadness and helplessness. He immediately agreed.

Just then, there was a knock on the Chancellor’s office door, and he heard a male voice. “Your food delivery is here.”

“Okay, come in.”

Chancellor Wen put down his pen, casually looked up at Qing Niao in front of him, and paused for a moment.

This young man was quite good-looking, and he exuded a certain charm.

Qing Niao’s blue-green hair was considered unconventional by many, but Chancellor Wen was a very tolerant person.

He felt that Qing Niao’s blue-green hair suited his temperament perfectly. When Chancellor Wen imagined Qing Niao’s hair as black, he lost some of that captivating, spirited quality.

Chancellor Wen took the lunch box from Qing Niao and said with a smile, “Thank you, young man.”

Chancellor Wen put his things down and casually asked, “Are you a new employee at the Eighth Cafeteria?”

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: The poem ‘Untitled’ is a love poem by the Tang dynasty (618-907) poet Li Shangyin, also referenced as ‘Hard to Meet, Hard to Part‘.

The first part of the poem is a deep sigh born from intense longing, first stating the rarity of meetings and the greater difficulty of partings, then using the feeble east wind and withering flowers to evoke an atmosphere of sorrow and melancholy. The final couplet says that the distance is not vast, yet meeting is difficult and communication is hard, expressing a hope that someone might deliver a message and convey their regards.

Being sent to the countryside in the 1970s refers to the 10-year period when the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) swept China. Intellectuals (which would include Chancellor Wen) were declared anathema to the new status quo. They were sent to labor in the countryside, endured extremely harsh conditions, and many died before the new reforms took place in late 1970s and universities re-opened in 1977.     

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Chapter 26.1 — Your Lunch Box Is Delicious!
Chapter 26.2 — Your Lunch Box Is Delicious!
Chapter 27.1 — Rich Lady, I’m Hungry
Chapter 27.2 — Rich Lady, I’m Hungry
Chapter 27.3 — Rich Lady, I’m Hungry
Chapter 28.1 — Shaved Ice School Beauty
Chapter 28.2 — Shaved Ice School Beauty
Chapter 29.1 — Phoenix is Really Weak
Chapter 29.2 — Phoenix is Really Weak
Chapter 30.1 — Phoenix-Roasted Chicken Leg
Chapter 30.2 — Phoenix-Roasted Chicken Leg
Chapter 31.1 — Bamboo Rice
Chapter 31.2 — Bamboo Rice
Chapter 32.1 — Phoenix-Cooked Bamboo Rice
Chapter 32.2 — Phoenix-Cooked Bamboo Rice