“knock, knock, knock”

“rustle”

“yawn” 

“Xinyue, it’s morning.”

Wan Xinyue sleepily said, “5 more minutes.”

Sun Ning sighed, “Don’t you remember about the important guest coming today with us to the restaurant?”

Xinyue’s eyes widened and began to quickly clean herself up and change out of her pajamas. 

“click”

The door was opened to reveal Xinyue wearing her university uniform. Sun Ning stood outside Xinyue’s room along with Gao Long and Gao Wu. 

Xinyue cheerily said, “Let’s go.”

The group went out of the building and grouped up with Du Hong and his other disciples.

Du Hong smiled and greeted them, “Did Little Xinyue wake up late?”

Gao Wu, Gao Long, and Sun Ning nodded. Wan Xinyue’s face reddened slightly and she started fidgeting. 

Du Hong motioned for everyone to start walking. The group walked out of the campus and traveled towards the private maglev train station. Du Hong sat on a bench and gestured for them to sit down. Everyone else sat down and the group began waiting.

Xinyue leaned towards Sun Ning’s ear and whispered, “Who are we waiting for?”

Sun Ning whispered back, “All I know is that we’re waiting for one of Master Du’s best friends.”

Soon, a maglev train stopped at the station. It was painted white and had the Elysium University logo on each side of every car. The car doors opened and an old man in a business suit stepped out along with a young man wearing a similar business suit. 

Peng Hua’s and Peng Huang’s faces lit up as they saw the old man walk towards them. The old man opened his arms and said, “Come give grandpa Peng a hug.”

The two grandchildren rushed into Old Peng’s arms and received a hug. Gao Wu, Gao Long, Sun Ning, and Wan Xinyue were in disbelief. They saw the two university students act like children and all thought, ‘What the actual fuck?’

Meanwhile, Liao Xue and Liao Xuang face palmed. After the family reunion was over, everyone boarded the train and headed towards the Abyss Bar & Restaurant.

“So this is the Abyss Restaurant.”

Old Peng stared at the outside of the restaurant.

Shi Feng stepped forwards and held the door open for everyone else to enter. Everyone thanked him except for Peng Hua and Peng Huang which made Du Hong frown.

Abyss 1 greeted them, “Welcome to the Abyss Bar & Restaurant. Let me show you to your table.

The 11 people were led to a large table and began sitting down. Old Peng sat down next to Peng Hua and Peng Huang. He started a conversation with his grandchildren with a smile on his face as he heard their university experiences. Sometimes, he turned and glared at Du Hong when his grandchildren talked about their bad experiences. Du Hong saw Old Peng glaring at him and sighed. ‘That old man better not try to spoil my disciples.’

Old Peng stopped the conversation with his grandchildren once he saw a masked waiter walk towards him with a pitcher of ice water and a tower of glass cups. 

Abyss 2 spoke, “Dear guests, would you like some ice water?”

Everyone nodded so Abyss 2 began filling the cups with ice water and distributed them. Old Peng and Shi Feng took a sip of their water. Their eyes widened in surprise and continued to take more sips until Du Hong opened the menu. 

[Menu]

 

Breakfast/Brunch Specific

• Brown Butter Yeasted Waffles: (50 Credits Per Waffle) *(Toppings are 10 Credits)
  • Toppings: Whipped cream cheese, assorted fruit whipped cream, syrup, chocolate spread

 

Savory

• Seafood Noodle Soup: (100 Credits)

 

• Spicy Beef Curry: (200 Credits)

 

Sweet

• Chocolate Strawberry Crepe Cake: (85 Credits Per Slice) *(Only 16 slices are served a day)

 

Vegetables

• Spicy fermented vegetables: (30 Credits)

 

Alcohol 

• Sorghum alcohol: (250 Credits Per Cup)

---------------------------------------------------------

Everyone noticed the new beverage on the menu. Wan Xinyue looked excited since she could finally try some alcohol. The group ordered multiple servings of each dish and also a cup of sorghum alcohol for each customer. 

Around 10 minutes later, Abyss 2 came out of the kitchen rolling a 3-shelf service cart that contained the large amount of food that had been ordered. The top shelf had 11 tiny glass cups and a black bottle with the restaurant logo on it. 

After Abyss 2 gave everyone their food, he started pouring a clear liquid that was light brown into each of the tiny glass cups. After he filled them to the brim and distributed the cups, Abyss 2 gave some advice, “Dear guests, this alcohol is particularly strong so please enjoy it with your food.”

He left the table after telling the diners the best way to enjoy their sorghum alcohol. Old Peng and Shi Feng were amazed by the fragrant aroma of the food. They tried their bowls of seafood noodle soup first. After Shi Feng took his first bite of the noodles, he began to quickly devour the noodle soup.

Meanwhile Old Peng slowly savored the dish and thought, ‘Despite the dish’s slightly plain appearance, it has a very rich flavor of seafood and it’s really savory. The noodles are delightfully bouncy and have absorbed some of the seafood stock.’

The two people saw others adding fermented cabbage to their food and did the same. 

“crunch”

“mmm!”

Their eyes widened as they tried their first bite of the reddish-colored vegetables with their food. They quickly discovered how the spicy, tangy flavor of the fermented cabbage complemented their rich and savory dishes. 

After finishing their bowls of seafood noodle soup, they picked up their spoons and tried their spicy beef curry. Old Peng touched a chunk of the slow-cooked chuck roast covered in a brownish-red curry with his spoon. The tender chunk of beef barely put up any resistance from the pressure and began to fall apart. It fell apart to reveal red strands of meat with juices clinging onto them. He scooped up the piece of beef along with some rice and curry with his spoon. 

As he began to eat the spoonful of food, Old Peng could feel how the beef easily broke apart within his mouth releasing the juices within. The juices combined with the spicy curry that contained various spices created a complex flavor. After Old Peng savored the first bite, he began taking bigger spoonfuls of curry and added fermented cabbage.. 

‘The tender potatoes and beef paired with the chewy and firm rice covered in a flavorful curry create a very enjoyable dish. The spicy and crunchy fermented cabbage elevates the dish by adding a tangy flavor that cuts down on the richness of the curry.’

Suddenly, everyone realised that they had forgotten about their alcohol and took small sips. As they drank the sorghum alcohol, everyone’s eyes widened and they rushed to take a bite of their food. 

Just like Abyss 2 had said, the liquor was too strong to drink on its own, but pairing it with food decreased its alcoholic strength. Now that the liquor wasn’t as strong, the group began to enjoy the flavor of the drink with their food. It added a complex earthy, nutty, and sweet alcoholic flavor to their food. They took small sips of the liquor as they finished eating their food.

“clink” 

Old Peng placed his spoon down into his empty bowl and made a sigh of satisfaction. Everyone sitting at the table looked very comfortable and happy. 

Within the kitchen, Fu Chen made a small smile.