The Stars In Your Eyes

It's 6.45 pm when Jian Kang Lu arrived at Huxiang. The restaurant is small, with the trace of time staining the walls outside. The inside is still as clean as ever, though a little bit old. With a square black wood table and few calligraphy paintings on the wall. There's a stove in the middle of each table and already quite crowded inside the restaurant.

This Huxiang is really popular among university students, especially at the beginning until 3rd week each month. The price is still friendly for students, but not many of them still can afford to eat leisurely at the end of the month. The taste is one of the best around the other restaurant. But the price really doesn't lie.

The hotpot restaurant he brought his kitten last week cost 5-10 times more than this restaurant. Because that hotpot restaurant is the classy one with a private room, highest quality ingredients, and best grade of wagyu beef.

But still, coming back to Huxiang, made him feel nostalgic about his youth. When everything is hard back then seems so simple now. He realised how much he changed in the last 18 years. He wished he could come back when everything is so simple, and lead a simple happy life.

He looked at the counter and found that the man behind the cashier already turns into a grandpa. His white hair looks a bit thin, and his face already has wrinkles around. But his eyes still look sharp as ever, and his hand works fast separating each order and bill.

He walks towards the counter and greets him.

"Hello Uncle Zhang. Do you still remember me?"

The old man raised his face and looked at him, and his eyes showed him a disbelief expression. He looks like trying to make sure he guessed right.

"Kang Lu?? Is it really you? How many years already since the last time you came here? 6 or 7 years?"

Jian Kang Lu smiled and leaned to the counter.

"Uncle Zhang's memory is still the best. I think it's 6,5 years. I should conduct some research about the ingredients of this restaurant. Which one makes your brain retain their memory fresh even after this many years."

"You little brat! Why have you never visited me again after this long time? Did you get bored eating at my place now when you finally became such a famous doctor?"

"Uncle, don't tease me. I'm not famous. You're the one that's famous. Almost all T university alumni and students know you. How are you? And where's auntie? I missed her too."

"Don't try to seduce my wife again. I've been working hard to win her heart back since you left. She already plans to leave me immediately if you want to take her away. Luckily today she's not in town. She visit our grandson in H city until Mid Autumn festival finished."

"Ah, too bad. And here I am ready to kidnap our Goddess to my humble cave."

Uncle Zhang pounced on Jian Kang Lu's shoulder. "Don't you start to repeat those dark times again. Why do you look like you never aged after these years? I'm the one who needs your youth elixir. Look at my white hair and wrinkles now."

"Uncle! Since when did you start to learn those sweet talks? If I don't know you, I'll believe those sweet words for real."

"I learn from you, stinky brat! I had to learn or my wife will keep pestering me. You came here to eat? Are you waiting for Luo Yan and Zhuo Ying?"

"Yes uncle, of course i came here to eat. Since my first plan to kidnap our Goddess failed. But today i'm not here with Luo Yan and Zhuo Ying. I'm waiting for my friend. Is my usual table empty? No reservation? If it's empty, i would like to sit there."

Uncle Zhang checked his reservation list and told him that the table is empty. If there's any reservation, he will make the other customer sit everywhere else. Jian Kang Lu just laughs because he knows uncle Zhang will never do that. He always serves his customers well and fair.

Both of them walked towards the table, and when Jian Kang Lu looked at the entrance, he saw his kitten walk inside the restaurant. Today he's wearing a maroon sweater with beige letters in front. His maroon sweater makes his face complexion look whiter and smooth, feels like someone can pinch water from his cheeks.

He waved his hand and called his kitten to come over.

Bai Yutang's head turned around to his direction when he heard Jian Kang Lu's voice. Then he starts to walk to him. Uncle Zhang was surprised to see the person that came still looks so young. He looks like a university student.

"Do you know him?" Jian Kang Lu asked Uncle Zhang.

"Hmm, I know that he must be studying here in T university. But i don't know him. Who is he? Your younger cousin? I remember your brother already graduated and not this young."

Jian Kang Lu raised his hand towards the incoming kitten. He soon arrived in front of them.

"Let me introduce you. Uncle, this is my friend, Bai Yutang. He's a third year architecture student here. And this is Uncle Zhang, the owner of Huxiang. Please take care of him, uncle. Give him a discount if he came here again in the future. He told me that Huxiang is his favourite hotpot restaurant."

Uncle Zhang still wonders why his favourite customer has a friend that is so young. It seems they're not having family relation, because Jian Kang Lu definitely will introduce him as one if he was his distant family.

"I'll remember that. Bai Yutang, right? Give me a call for reservation if you want to come here in the future. I'll definitely take care of you since Kang Lu said my restaurant is your favourite. But don't ever try to follow his steps of kidnapping my wife or I'll black list you as my customer."

Jian Kang Lu held uncle Zhang both hands, and said with a higher tone.

"Uncle! Please leave me some dignity in front of this young generation. Don't disclose all my dark past to him! I'll make sure not to try kidnapping our Goddess again in the future!"

Uncle Zhang snorted and said "Hmph! How many times you deceive me? This is my chance to pay you back for all my suffering back then! Just wait and see!"

"Okay okay, I surrender. Now could this kind and compassionate uncle give us the menu? I haven't been here for a long time, who knows if you have a new menu I haven't tried yet."

Uncle Zhang snorted again and patted his shoulder, then left and told the waiter to bring them the menu. Jian Kang Lu asks his kitten what he wants to order. Since this is his treat, Jian Kang Lu doesn't want to order anything that may burden him.

His kitten looked at him and asked him for his preferences for a while, then both of them settled with the menu. Jian Kang Lu didn't have additional orders. Even if tonight he only can eat that weird taste meat bun back then from the university cafeteria, he thinks he will still be satisfied and feel full if he can spend time eating together with his kitten.

His kitten still looks at him with a weird expression.

"Do you have a question for me?" Jian Kang Lu asked him with a gentle tone.

"Mmm.. I bet you were really popular back then. The restaurant owner still can recognise you after all this time. I came here several times, but just come to eat and never converse with that grandpa. I don't even know that he is the owner."

Jian Kang Lu smiles and explains to him slowly.

"It's not that i'm popular. But we are medical students. One day, his wife looked so pale and kept holding her left stomach. Back then we're still in our 2nd year. We are still learning the basics, not yet the diseases nor the treatment. But we knew something wrong with her. He also worried about her but his wife refused to go to hospital since she already visited the doctor 2 days ago. We knew if the symptoms didn't alleviate after 2 days, it must be something worse than regular stomach ache. So we talk to her and volunteer to send her to the hospital just to make sure everything is okay. Turns out she's having acute appendicitis. She's having the surgery on the next day. After that uncle Zhang and his wife always give us discount every time we came here to eat."

Bai Yutang looks at him, and (maybe) Jian Kang Lu can feel some hint of admiration from his expression. Jian Kang Lu could hear his kitten's soft voice when he said "It's really cool to become a doctor."

Jian Kang Lu heard that line already like a million times. He gently smiled and said "It's not that cool. In so many circumstances, we also could not do anything. Every profession is cool in their own way. Maybe I know better about the human body than you, but that's because I learned about it. I don't know anything about architecture. And i think it's great how human imagination can build a beautiful yet functional building, and shield us inside from the dreadful outside. I know great buildings not only give safety in the physical matter, but also can heal the human soul. And that's also very cool."

Bai Yutang's lips curved slightly, revealing his smile to him. And Jian Kang Lu's worlds stop spinning in that moment. That smile is the prettiest thing he has seen, for it extends to Bai Yutang's eyes and deep into his soul. 

The gentle, the purity, the innocence so vibrant and free.