CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: BROTHERHOOD

Things unfolded just as Uncle Liu had said.

The uncles and aunties doing morning exercises were somewhat interested in the steamed buns Uncle Liu shared in the group.

And those who were initially not interested gained interest after seeing their old pals eating the buns.

"Old Wang, you’re just eating a bun, can’t you eat it less disgustingly? Your expression is too fake."

"Aunt Wang, is this bun really that tasty? You’re not a shill, are you?"

"Who’s the little brat calling a shill? Try it before you speak."

"Oh my gosh, this bun is so delicious, I’ve never had such tasty soup dumplings."

Word spread quickly, and soon a crowd gathered around Wang Fan’s stall.

Chen Xuanxuan and Zhang Yue gasped when they saw the situation.

"Holy moly, why are there so many people?"

"Will there be any left by the time it’s our turn?"

The two hurried to the end of the line, with Chen Xuanxuan complaining, "See, see? I told you to get up, now look, by the time it’s our turn, who knows if there’ll be any left."

Zhang Yue, a bit embarrassed, consoled, "Don’t worry, don’t worry, don’t you usually start work at 8? Yesterday, you bought them at 8, and now it’s only 6, I’m sure there’ll be some left when it’s our turn."

...

...

Imperial Capital Sanxian Bridge, De Yun Theater.

The massive auditorium was packed with an audience.

Two chubby figures stood in the center of the stage, performing.

The stage had only a long table and two microphones, very simple.

These two were the recently famous newcomers in comedy, Sun Yunpeng and Yue Yue.

Sun Yunpeng wore a silly and cheeky grin: "Everyone knows I’ve made a little money recently, so I decided to splurge at a restaurant. I looked at the menu and called the waiter over, saying, hey, why are all the dishes here only three or four digits? These are too cheap."

"The waiter said, sir, please turn the page, there are pricier dishes in the back, very expensive ones."

"I was thrilled and said, let me see."

With that, Sun Yunpeng mimed flipping through a menu, then exclaimed in mock surprise while pointing at a dish: "I like this dish, it’s eight digits."

Yue Yue, looking shocked, held up eight fingers: "Eight digits? What kind of dish is that expensive? It’s too expensive."

Sun Yunpeng continued: "The waiter told me, sir, this dish is not for sale."

Sun Yunpeng, eyes wide, said angrily: "Not for sale? Why not? Why?"

He then paused, looking indignant.

After collecting himself, he mimicked the waiter saying, "Sir, that’s our reservation phone number."

"Pfft..."

"Hahaha..."

"Oh, what a twist, that punchline is so good, much more interesting than others."

The audience couldn’t help but laugh at Sun Yunpeng and Yue Yue’s lively performance.

After they bowed in thanks on stage, they didn’t leave.

Sun Yunpeng cleared his throat and said: "Thank you all for your love and support, we were supposed to leave the stage now, but I have something to ask of you today."

Yue Yue looked at his partner curiously. This wasn’t part of the plan, and he didn’t know what Sun Yunpeng was about to say.

The audience was confused, De Yun Theater has a tradition of encores, so they didn’t know if this was real or part of the encore performance.

Sun Yunpeng continued: "I just want your help finding someone. After yesterday’s performance, while driving on the Fifth Ring, I suddenly had a glucose crash, not sure if any of you know how that feels."

"When it hit, I felt dizzy, thanks to the traffic jam I didn’t speed up, or I might have had an accident."

Sun Yunpeng said, looking still shaken: "Usually eating something solves it, but I had nothing edible in the car, I felt it was my second closest brush with death."

Yue Yue, his professional instincts kicking in, immediately asked: "When was the first closest brush with death?"

Sun Yunpeng reminisced: "Almost got caught by the tadpole behind me..."

After saying that, he playfully spat and mimed pushing Yue Yue away: "I’m talking serious stuff, go away."

After pushing Yue Yue away, he turned seriously to the audience: "In the left lane, there was a very handsome guy, he heard my plea and without saying a word, threw me a bag of steamed buns, when I recovered, the traffic had cleared and he disappeared. I want to thank him but had no way. So I hope you can help me find this kind-hearted person, firstly to thank him face-to-face for saving my life, secondly..."

A bit embarrassed, Sun Yunpeng scratched his head shyly: "The buns were so delicious, I want to buy more for my master and brothers to try, and have another bite myself..."

"Hahaha... this foodie..."

"I strongly suspect the second reason is the main one."

"I’m really curious how delicious those buns must be for him to be so fixated."

However, some audience members caught the key issue.

"There’s no distinguishing feature, how can we help you find him?"

Sun Yunpeng quickly explained: "The main feature was that the guy was very handsome, fair-skinned, at least 1.8 meters tall, looked quite young, around 20 years old, and the buns were very white, small, bite-sized with sauced meat and pickled cabbage pork fillings. If you encounter him, please remember to contact me, thank you all..."

Just as Sun Yunpeng and Yue Yue got off-stage, they ran into Sun Yunpeng’s master, also the owner of De Yun Theater, Old Guo.

Sun Yunpeng quickly called out: "Master."

Yue Yue also greeted him: "Senior Brother."

Old Guo patted Yue Yue’s shoulder with a smile: "Your stage performance is getting steadier, good thing you didn’t continue feeding the elephant."

Yue Yue laughed and exchanged pleasantries with Old Yu: "You guys chat, I’m heading to the dressing room first."

He knew Old Guo was definitely there to talk to Sun Yunpeng.

Once Yue Yue left, Old Guo’s face immediately dropped.

"You blockhead, why are you dieting? You’re even dieting into hypoglycemia, if something really happened to you, how could I explain it to your mom?"

Feeling his master’s anger, Sun Yunpeng immediately turned contrite and apologized: "I’m sorry, Master, I won’t do it again."

Old Guo wasn’t satisfied: "Good thing you met such a kind soul, once you’re off work, go straight to the hospital for a checkup. Postpone any performances, focus on getting healthy first!"

Sun Yunpeng became anxious: "Master, I can’t do that, we’re just gaining momentum now, how can I just drop everything?"

Old Guo spat: "What? The De Yun Theater can’t function without you? Your uncle and I aren’t dead yet! Get healthy before you say anything else! And if we find that person who saved your life, let me know, we’ll personally thank him together."