Wang Qiran had never had such a deep realization before. Working in Modu, he couldn't really tell who was short on cash. He knew he was genuinely poor, but the people around him, drinking coffee whenever they were thirsty, ordering twenty cups of milk tea for fun, and going dancing every night after work, made it seem like only he and a few colleagues stayed home to play games.
Playing games was one thing, and he played them with a vow to never spend a dime. But his colleagues who played games would casually spend 328 yuan for a top-up, or 648 yuan if they felt unhappy. Whatever they played, their first consideration was whether spending money would make them stronger.
Only he truly experienced the game's story or engaged in fierce competition.
Even when playing the same games, everyone lived differently. He only knew that everyone seemed quite well-off. Even though their salaries were paid out at roughly the same time, with a bit of luck it was a five-figure sum, otherwise it was four figures. The reason for describing salaries in digits was because only by saying it that way could ten thousand sound as significant as ninety thousand.
But now, looking at Dongfang Jingjing and Zhuge Lan sitting there, he could feel that his seemingly affluent colleagues, when compared to these two people opposite him, wouldn't even be worthy of carrying their shoes.
This immense sense of disparity made him wonder if these two individuals, if they were to truly experience the common streets and alleys, would have the courage to step into them.
"Really?"
Dongfang Jingjing was even more curious. She thought about it carefully; she had researched information online before, but it seemed she had never looked into how the common streets and alleys of other cities were. Could they really be worse than the outskirts of Modu?
"Really."
As they spoke, three bowls of crab roe noodles were brought over.
Upon seeing the crab roe noodles, Dongfang Jingjing clearly frowned. She took just one glance and felt not the slightest bit of good will towards this bowl of noodles.
Zhuge Lan felt nothing, while Wang Qiran had already started eating.
Such expensive noodles, no matter what, he would eat first.
However, as soon as he took a bite, Dongfang Jingjing frowned and couldn't help but say, "Is this crab roe noodles?"
"Yes, what's wrong?"
The server came over, took a look, and confirmed no mistake had been made. She looked at Dongfang Jingjing curiously, as if she was implying there was something wrong with this bowl of crab roe noodles.
"I've never seen noodles like this before," Dongfang Jingjing said. "The noodles are overcooked, and the crab roe isn't good either..."
As she spoke, she leaned in and smelled them. "The crab roe isn't fresh."
"Don't talk nonsense."
The server's expression immediately changed, and she lowered her voice.
Dongfang Jingjing's voice had been quite loud, instantly drawing the attention of everyone around.
The crab roe wasn't fresh?
Wang Qiran blinked. How come he couldn't taste it?
The noodles seemed alright too, right? Although not as good as ramen, they weren't exactly overcooked.
However, Wang Qiran quickly put down his chopsticks. This was a big boss who had given him a hundred thousand yuan!
Even if there were no problems with the noodles, he would still agree that there were problems.
Zhuge Lan also took a taste and shook his head slightly with disappointment, saying, "These noodles are only moderately satisfactory. Perhaps I'm just not used to them; they are indeed not chewy enough."