Zhang Xiaokai gripped the chopstick and took out the red bean glutinous rice from the bamboo tube. The red bean glutinous rice was crystal clear, and just looking at it made you imagine how soft and sticky it must be—a killer for those who loved soft and sticky desserts.

As Zhu Ling watched the red bean and glutinous rice swaying in the air, her throat bobbed involuntarily. She said, “Xiao Kai, give me some to eat. Mom has been filming all day and is really hungry.”

In the past, the dutiful Zhang Xiaokai would have handed it over immediately. But at this moment, he suddenly remembered that Tongtong’s deskmate had bitten off half of the bamboo rice in one go, and he couldn’t help but feel extremely frightened.

Could Mom’s bite be a gaping, bloody maw as well?

Zhang Xiaokai, still shaken, handed over the red bean and glutinous rice. “Mom, eat less, don’t eat too much. If you want more, we can do a group purchase next time.”

Zhu Ling looked longingly at the bamboo rice and nodded, “I’ll just eat a little.”

Zhu Ling took the red bean and glutinous rice, took a delicate bite, and the sweet and soft glutinous rice melted in her mouth, bringing endless aromas of rice and bamboo.

Plain glutinous rice has only a sticky texture, which could be a bit monotonous. The addition of red beans solved this problem perfectly.

The chewy red beans and soft, sticky glutinous rice complemented each other perfectly, creating an unparalleled high-end taste.

Zhu Ling had only intended to eat a little, but it was only then that she realized the boundless nature of human desires. Faced with such delicious red bean glutinous rice, Zhu Ling couldn’t help but take another bite, biting from top to bottom until she had more than half of the red bean glutinous rice in her mouth, before stopping because her mouth had limited capacity.

Zhang Xiaokai looked at the last piece of red bean glutinous rice in Zhu Ling’s hand, which was just the tip of its end: “…”

Mom said she’d just eat a tiny bit, but it was clearly a huge amount!

Zhu Ling realized she had hurt her son and said awkwardly, “It’s the sticky rice that started it.”

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

Director Li was the head of the Publicity Department of Jiangcheng University of Aeronautics, specializing in publicity work, including shooting promotional videos and organizing events.

After the ‘Mount Everest Shaved Ice’ trended on social media, many people tagged the school’s official Weibo account, wanting to know where the Mount Everest shaved ice could be purchased.

Director Li’s subordinates contacted students and then posted the news on the school’s official WeChat account that the Mount Everest shaved ice was produced in the Eighth Cafeteria of Aero U.

Since that incident, the staff in the publicity department have been very curious about the Eighth Cafeteria and had made plans to go there together to eat the shaved ice that had been trending online. However, when they tried to invite Director Li, he declined, so they had to go without him.

After enjoying the mini version of the Mount Everest shaved ice, the subordinates would often chat about the Eighth Cafeteria in the office.

“I couldn’t afford the large ones, so I bought a small one, and it was absolutely delicious.”

“The shaved ice that was trending was chocolate milk shaved ice. The chocolate was rich and the milk flavor was pure. You could tell it was made with good ingredients just by tasting it, and the shaved ice was as soft as a marshmallow. Although it was a bit pricey, it was definitely worth it.”

“Haha, I never thought I’d be able to eat such delicious food in the university cafeteria in my lifetime.”

While Director Li’s subordinates were discussing the Eighth Cafeteria, Director Li remained silent, as if he was a wooden figure.

Because he was one of the school leaders who had faced the wenyao alongside Chancellor Wen.

He heard that Chancellor Wen dared to get takeout from the Eighth Cafeteria, and that Vice Chancellor Ling ate there every day. Although he admired them, he dared not go near the Eighth Cafeteria at all.

Hearing his subordinates constantly praising the food at the Eighth Cafeteria, Director Li felt a slight sense of superiority. 

He thought to himself, ‘You laugh at me for not getting good food, but I want to laugh at you for not knowing how terrible the Eighth Cafeteria is. No matter how delicious the food made by those supernatural beasts is, I won’t eat it!’

Director Li snapped out of his thoughts and began to handle official business.

September was the start of the school year, and it was also the busiest time for their publicity department, with a large number of promotional videos to shoot.

A subordinate walked over and said, “Director, the promotional videos for each college have been arranged, but there’s still one promotional video task that hasn’t been completed. What do you think would be a good project to film?”

Director Li was a perfectionist and particularly wanted to make a good promotional video, so after thinking for a long time, he said, “What other themes haven’t we filmed yet?”

The subordinate shook his head. “We’ve filmed in every part of the school and tried all sorts of subjects. It seems like there’s nothing left to film.”

At this moment, another subordinate suddenly said, “We haven’t filmed the cafeteria at Aero U before, so why don’t we film the Eighth Cafeteria?”

The subordinates were speechless, but after thinking about it for a while, they found it to be very reasonable.

“Other universities that are just as famous as our university have promotional videos of their cafeterias on their official websites, but our school doesn’t. Is that reasonable? No, it’s not.”

“If it were the old cafeteria, filming it would be like a public execution, but the Eighth Cafeteria can completely save face for us. I vote for the Eighth Cafeteria.”

Director Li: “…”

Director Li was afraid of the Eighth Cafeteria and didn’t want to film a promotional video for it at all. However, his subordinate’s words made such a good point that he didn’t know how to refute them. 

He could only awkwardly stop the discussion, “There are clearly many subjects that can be filmed. There is no need to film the Cafeteria.”

The more Director Li thought about it, the clearer his mind became. He even felt that he was a Director who understood human nature.

He confidently said, “How about this, I’ve decided. Let’s make a promotional video to welcome the new students and include the school heartthrob and school beauty that were selected from this year’s forum. The students will definitely be very satisfied!”

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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