17
That day, a second customer besides Li Xiaoming finally appeared in the small restaurant.
It was a non-mainstream young man who was dressed somewhat strangely like the little boss.
18
Finally there are other guests!
Li Xiaoming thought happily while eating the smoked salmon and foie gras rice bowl on his plate.
As a result, the moment he thought this, the guest took a bite of the food served by the unconventional boy, and then quickly overturned the table.
"It tastes so damn bad!"
The guest roared.
19
The young boss began to apologize, and then after the customer left angrily, he hugged his knees and squatted on the ground, with tears streaming down his face.
20
"I think... I'm probably not suitable to be a chef."
"The food I cook is so delicious."
"Thank you for your comfort, but I know that my food is really unpalatable."
"I think I should give up."
"I'm closing the store."
twenty one
Boom—
A huge thunder sounded in Li Xiaoming's soul.
He felt shocked, desperate, frightened and angry, and the line called reason in his brain was directly broken.
He rolled up his sleeves, grabbed the non-mainstream little boss, grabbed the other person's collar and roared with astonishing momentum.
"Why on earth are you so harsh on yourself! You don't even know what truly tastes bad!"
Li Xiaoming decided to use his actions to tell the little boss what "unpalatable" really looks like in this world.
twenty two
For more than 20 years, Li Xiaoming has been a standard foodie.
To put it simply, he has never eaten the food he cooked.
It’s not that he hasn’t tried to cook for himself. Due to the cost of living, he tried to cook for himself in college.
His first attempt resulted in the death of all his roommates - they went straight to the hospital due to acute food poisoning.
His second attempt was to get rid of all the rats and cockroaches in the entire apartment building. Until two years after he moved out, the nearby rats could not help but tremble whenever they came near the building.
His third attempt landed him in the hospital.
It’s not that the food itself has any disease or bacteria, it’s just unpalatable.
Simply unpalatable.
An epic disaster.
Now, Li Xiaoming decided to let the innocent boy face the real dark cuisine in the world.
He borrowed the kitchen and used all his skills to make a plate of unknown food that exuded a strange black aura just by looking at it.
twenty three
"boom-"
He threw the plate of unknown food in front of the little boss and said coldly: "Eat and see! After eating, you can tell me what is unpalatable."
Although he seemed a bit domineering on the surface, secretly Li Xiaoming couldn't help but touch his wallet.
He was ready to send the little boss to the hospital.
twenty four
Li Xiaoming saw with his own eyes that the little boss stared at the things on the plate and swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and then saw him put the food into his mouth. Then, he saw with his own eyes that he rolled up all the food on the plate in a windy and whirlwind manner. null.
"Woooooooo..."
While eating, the boy started sobbing.
"Okay... okay... eat... burp..."
Because his cheeks were filled with food, the non-mainstream little boss was a little vague when he exclaimed.
Li Xiaoming couldn't believe his ears.
"What did you say?"
"It's delicious...the food you cook...has the taste of my hometown..."
The boy swallowed the last bite of food in his mouth, but he still seemed to be unsatisfied.
He hugged the plate with both hands and stuck out his tongue to carefully lick up the dark blue remaining juice at the bottom of the plate.
25
Li Xiaoming's face turned a little pale.
He involuntarily took a step back, because he clearly saw that the boy's tongue was almost thirty centimeters long, bright red in color, and the tip of the tongue was bifurcated.
The opponent's hands holding the plate began to deform at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The fingers that were previously thought to be just painted with black nail polish became more and more slender, and the sharp nails were curved like sickles, and the rugged finger bones became increasingly pale against the background.
A pair of spiral-shaped sharp horns protruded from the boy's white combed head, which harmonized with the pair of blood-red pupils on his face that had no whites at all.
The shadows on the wall seemed to have a life of their own, twisting like worms in the gradually rising bloody atmosphere.
26
A moment later, Li Xiaoming huddled in the corner, staring at the creature in front of him, remembering the unconventional boy with piercing eyes like never before.
After all, no matter what, Li Xiaoming would rather deal with members of the Burial Love family than face an obvious abyss demon.
27
"Boss? Are you...are you... some kind of advanced cosplay?"
Even when death was imminent, Li Xiaoming still did not give up the last glimmer of hope in his heart. He weakly asked the other party.
A black shadow suddenly flashed before his eyes, and Li Xiaoming watched helplessly as the black whip-like tail sticking out from behind the little boss stood stiffly in the air like an iron rod.
"Ah, crap..."
Li Xiaoming heard the young boss mutter in pain. The latter slowly turned his head like a rusty robot and showed an expression that looked like a smile to Li Xiaoming. His sharp fangs flashed under the dim lights of the restaurant. With a dense white light.
28
"I'm sorry, it's been too long since I've had anything delicious, and I accidentally lost control of my prototype."
The little boss explained to Li Xiaoming sadly, and a small flame with a sulfur smell came out of his nostrils.
29
The non-mainstream mini-boss of the Buried Love Family has a name that cannot be said in human language, so let’s call it the mini-boss.
According to its own telling, it is a true demon of the abyss.
Well... a demon who dreams of becoming the best chef in the Abyss.
In a sense, Li Xiaoming's initial guess about it was not completely wrong. As an abyss demon, its struggle history is indeed very similar to the plot of a gourmet comic. After all, this demon gave up a lot of things and walked alone and stubbornly on the road of exploring cooking skills.
"I used to hold the position of Lord of the South and Captain of the Hell Knights in the Abyss," the little boss and the Abyss Demon touched his horns sadly, and said in a low voice, "But now I am just an ordinary demon. Please. Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. After all, no matter how powerful a demon is, once it is exiled to the human world, it will lose all its titles and mana and become an ordinary outsider."
30
The friendship accumulated over one hundred and thirty-seven delicious dinners still had some unreality outside of the situation. A few hours later, Li Xiaoming, who had fainted three times and then regained consciousness, sat in the corner, barely believing the guarantee of the devil in front of him - as A male individual who has not exercised for many years and has a serious lack of muscle mass is really not an alternative ingredient in the little boss's diet.
After that, Li Xiaoming finally relaxed a little.
"Wait, are you exiled because you want to be a chef in the abyss?"
When he heard the young boss describe his tragic past of being excluded and discriminated against for pursuing cooking skills, he couldn't help but ask.
The little boss's tail twitched imperceptibly.
"No," it replied dryly, "it's because the food I cooked caused massive food poisoning in the Abyss."
I don't know why, but after hearing this answer, Li Xiaoming suddenly wasn't so afraid of the little boss, and he even had a faint sympathy for him in his heart.
31
"But the food you cook is obviously delicious..."
"Maybe it's because of the planes." The demon looked very depressed, "Food that is unpalatable to demons is quite delicious to humans... The criteria for judging food by creatures in the two planes are just right. on the contrary."
The little boss tried to open a restaurant for the devils of the abyss in the human world to raise travel expenses back to the abyss, but...
"The only long-term customer I attracted in the end is you. No matter how hard I try to hone my cooking skills, to the devil, the food I cook is just unpalatable... wuwuwu... even I can't eat it. Eat... I have been hungry for a long time, so after eating the food you cooked, I couldn't control myself for a while... "
The former southern lord, former leader of the Hell Knights, and the abyss demon who was exiled to the human world talked about his sadness, and tears gradually filled his cheeks.
But for Li Xiaoming, something else is more serious than the fact that the dishes he cooks can even make demons reveal their true colors.
32
"Wait a minute, since you are an abyss demon, could the food I ate before really be..."
Li Xiaoming's voice began to tremble.
The young man wiped away his tears and showed a clear smile to Li Xiaoming.
"Of course they are all authentic local ingredients from the Abyss! Although my shop has very few customers, I will not cheat on the ingredients..."
33
Li Xiaoming experienced his fourth syncope.
34
After he woke up, what he saw was the demon boss's shining eyes.
"I want to hire you to be the head chef of the restaurant."
The little boss nervously raised his index fingers to each other and said to Li Xiaoming anxiously and expectantly.
Li Xiaoming stayed for a moment and pointed at the tip of his nose: "Me? Chef?"
"Yes, if you are a chef, you will have many customers."
Li Xiaoming: "But why should I work as a chef in a restaurant owned by a devil?"
Little boss: "Because you are very talented!"
The devil said categorically, as if two clusters of flames were lit in his bright red pupils.
"You are the closest human being to the God of Cooking I have ever seen! You are the man who can open up the world of devilish food!"
"But..." Li Xiaoming paused and then spoke with an extremely embarrassed expression, "The devil's delicacies have nothing to do with me, right?"
He tried to express his rejection as tactfully as possible.
The smile that squeezed out of the little boss's face collapsed instantly like a sand sculpture washed away by the tide, and was replaced by despair that was about to burst into tears.
"It has something to do with me! I really don't want to stay in this hellish place for another three hundred years without even enough money to pay for my return trip! I want to go home! I want to eat! I don't want to be a chef anymore! I I want to continue to be my demon lord and knight commander, oh oh oh oh..."
The little boss, whose dream was shattered, sobbed painfully. As he cried, the whip-like black tail behind the little boss transformed into a fist-sized snake head with three eyes.
The poisonous snake opened its mouth and made a faint sound at Li Xiaoming.
Li Xiaoming doubted that if he continued to say "no", the ferocious snake head would bite directly into his artery.
35
"Yeah, that's okay, after all, I've eaten so much of your food."
After a moment, Li Xiaoming stiffly said to the devil.
The snake head on the devil's tail closed its mouth with satisfaction. The dark tail wrapped meekly around the little boss's ankle and he yawned slightly.
36
A few months later, due to exile, business trip or assignment to the human world, the circle of friends of the abyss demons started talking about the most famous small restaurant in the magic network.
It is said that it is the only restaurant in the world where you can taste the taste of hometown. Not only that, the food provided by that restaurant is even more delicious than the most famous old restaurant in the abyss.
All of a sudden, the restaurant, which was originally empty, was filled with customers and overcrowded.
If you are a member of the Abyss Demons and happen to pass by the human world, you only need to push open the mottled and shabby glass sliding door, and you can see the one in this hotel that is almost on the verge of being awarded the title of "Legendary" A huge abyss demon with shiny black horns.
In just a short period of time, under the feeding of his employees, the devil's little boss's mental outlook and body shape have undergone significant changes. Just looking at his glorious appearance, it's hard to imagine that he could be an exiled abyss demon.
As for the return trip expenses that had troubled him for three hundred years, he had easily saved up a few days ago.
After learning the news, the protagonist Li Xiaoming, who was inexplicably forced by the devil to quit his job as a human and become a chef, felt relieved inexplicably even though he still has no sense of reality.
If he has saved up for his return trip, he will probably be liberated soon.
Li Xiaoming thought.
37
But life taught Li Xiaoming a profound lesson with its cruel reality.
The demon boss didn't seem to have any intention of returning to the abyss.
According to the little boss himself, although the human world is a terrifying and barbaric place for many big demons, he now has his dream business here, with grateful customers and a steady stream of gold coins. There are also mobile games.
"And..."
The demon, who was holding his chin on his wrist and hanging cross-legged in the air, suddenly stopped talking in a subtle manner.
Li Xiaoming's cheek twitched slightly: "And?"
He accidentally met the devil's gaze, and for some reason, the latter's gaze made cold sweat break out on his back.
"And you're here."
The devil quickly turned his head away and spoke softly, as if he was speaking lightly.
If he hadn't seen the tail behind the devil swinging like a propeller, Li Xiaoming might have believed that the other party was really just talking casually.
A deathly silence suddenly fell between Li Xiaoming and his boss, and the situation was very awkward for a time.
Probably because he realized something was wrong, the devil quickly added: "The food you cooked is delicious. If I go back to the abyss, I will never be able to eat such delicious food again."
"Thank you. I appreciate the compliment."
Li Xiaoming said with complicated emotions.
He accidentally caught a glimpse of the unnoticeable pink color oozing from the curved horns on the devil's head, and an ominous premonition flashed a warning light in his heart.
38
One day not long after, Li Xiaoming saw an "Application Form for the Demon of the Abyss to Permanently Move to the Human Realm" on the table.
His ominous premonition came true.
39
It didn't take long for the young restaurant owner to find that his only employee was a little depressed and haggard, as if he had something to hide.
Even the dishes prepared by the other party burst out with a higher level of peak deliciousness in a short period of time (of course, only for the devil, you must know that during this period of time, even birds did not dare to eat from this restaurant) flying over).
"Is there really nothing wrong with you?"
The little boss asked with concern more than once. Of course, he didn't get a real answer from Li Xiaoming.
40
As a demon, the little boss experienced confusion and anxiety for the first time in his life.
He doesn't understand why his only employee is unwilling to spend the rest of his life with him and create the future of Devil's Food.
A few days later, he heard the phone call Li Xiaoming secretly made in the corner.
41
"I don't know how to tell him... He is a demon after all..."
The devil hid in the dark shadow and looked at Li Xiaoming.
When the other party mentioned the word devil, he looked like he was about to cry.
42
Yes, abyss demons and the like are not popular in this world.
The little boss bit the tip of his tail and thought in hindsight.
43
Li Xiaoming discovered that his boss was missing... No, it should be said that he ran away from home.
Seeing the letter left by his boss, Li Xiaoming's forehead began to hurt.
44
On the first day the devil ran away from home, Li Xiaoming ordered a takeaway for himself.
The next day, Li Xiaoming ordered another takeaway for himself.
On the third day, Li Xiaoming started eating instant noodles.
The fourth day was instant hot pot.
The fifth day is quick snail noodles.
Day six is frozen hand pancakes.
On the seventh day, Li Xiaoming came back with some fish. He went into the kitchen, turned on the oven, and cooked a dish.
In the sky above the small restaurant, a bird flew through the clouds. Suddenly it felt dizzy and couldn't control its wings.
Around the small restaurant, cockroaches, centipedes and other small insects crawled out from the gaps in the garbage accumulated in the old alleys. They swung their little legs desperately and began to escape.
"Bang bang..."
"boom… "
There was a slight tapping sound outside the glass door of the restaurant.
It was obviously still dusk, but the light became extremely dim.
Something wants to come in.
“It smells so good…”
"Very delicious… "
“Looks delicious…”
…
The whispers of demons rose and fell in the shadows.
If it weren't for the ban that the little boss left outside the restaurant before leaving, they might have eaten the walls of the restaurant by now.
For devils, this is a delicacy that cannot be tempted—a delicacy that can be described as "dangerous" as if it contains profound magic.
45
Li Xiaoming wore a gas mask and sat quietly in the restaurant.
"What is this... it looks... delicious..."
A familiar voice sounded from the shadows.
Li Xiaoming raised his head and saw the devilish little boss who kept sucking saliva.
46
"The name of this dish is 'Looking up at the stars.'"
Li Xiaoming said sadly.
47
After the devil happily finished the dish Li Xiaoming specially prepared for him, Li Xiaoming clapped his hands and said to it: "I think I need to talk to you."
The demon's bat wings, which were spread out by the delicious food, froze in mid-air, and his brain, which was almost malfunctioning after being washed away by the extreme delicious food, finally slowly started to function.
The disgusting words he heard before flashed like neon lights in the devil's mind.
"Did you hear that?" Li Xiaoming said.
"I didn't hear it!"
The devil answered decisively.
The world is quiet.
48
"At this point, I may not be able to hide it from you anymore."
Li Xiaoming stared into the eyes of the devil boss.
The demon's ears and tail drooped. It didn't want to hear its only employee tell it frankly that he didn't like demons.
49
In fact, it quite likes humans.
real.
Especially this human being named Li Xiaoming.
50
"Actually... I'm not a human being."
A white light flashed in front of the demon's eyes.
"My name is not Li Xiaoming either."
A soft white halo like morning mist filled the small space, causing the demon a burning pain.
"I am a low-level employee of Branch No. 134 of Heaven on Earth."
The snow-white feathers fell down one after another, and the demon couldn't help but take a few steps back. Then it started to cover its nose and sneeze crazily.
It forgot to tell its staff that it was severely allergic to dust and down.
51
The angel whose pseudonym is Li Xiaoming has been hesitant to tell the other person his true identity. After all, if the two want to live in the world permanently, they need to be honest with each other no matter what.
However, being an angel or something like that is not a flattering status for an abyss demon.
52
The devil looked at Li Xiaoming stupidly, and after a long time, it spoke blankly.
"I thought you just disliked me for being a demon."
53
"Actually... I don't dislike it very much."
Li Xiaoming said softly.
His face was a little red.
54
At the end of every story, there is a closing sentence.
"They lived happily ever after."
The story of the angel with the pseudonym Li Xiaoming and the devil of the abyss who dreams of becoming a chef is certainly no exception.
55
They lived happily ever after and opened a small restaurant whose customers were mainly demons.
the end
postscript-
"Wait a minute, I don't understand... aren't you an angel? The dishes you make should be 'delicious' in line with human definitions, right?"
"Oh, um..." Li Xiaoming touched the back of his head and looked at his boss with a wry smile, "I forgot to tell you that I am actually a British angel."