He’s not only liked by others, but he also likes himself.
Hayden Crawford lifted his foot and followed along.
Serena Sterling heard the boys whistling, but when she listened again, the sound was gone, so she didn’t pay it any mind.
She walked for a while and soon got hungry. This place was a street full of food stalls, and from afar, she could smell the aroma, especially the scent of shrimp coming from roadside stands.
She used to come here with Leah Thorne and loved eating the shrimp from that stand.
Serena wanted to eat, but since she couldn’t see, peeling the shrimp would be inconvenient, so she decided not to eat it.
She walked into a noodle shop and sweetly called out, "Owner, I’ll have a bowl of egg fried noodles."
The owner of this noodle shop was very young, having started his business after graduating from college. He was instantly lit up by the sight of Serena, such a beautiful girl. Beauty is always a pleasure to behold.
"Sure, have a seat and wait a moment." The owner replied.
Serena sat down to wait.
Hayden Crawford also sat down at a table in front. At this moment, his secretary Ivan Yarrow ran over, handing him a packaged serving of shrimp and quietly asked, "President, should I peel the shrimp?"
"No need." Hayden put on gloves himself and focused on peeling the shrimp.
Serena felt as if the smell of shrimp was getting closer to her, almost like it was right beside her. Was she imagining it?
Soon, the owner brought over a bowl of egg fried noodles. Hayden looked up, quickly furrowing his brows, and stopped the owner, "Do your egg fried noodles come with a free pork chop now?"
Ivan looked up and indeed saw a pork chop on the egg fried noodles in the owner’s hand.
The owner blushed; he had just glanced at Serena a couple of times, and since she seemed unable to see, he added a pork chop as a gift.
The owner wanted to speak, but Hayden took his chopsticks and swiftly removed the pork chop, "She doesn’t like pork chop; she likes shrimp."
With that, Hayden placed all the peeled shrimp meat onto the fried noodles.
Ivan... Well, the president’s jealous look was rather charming.
The owner was stunned; he didn’t know who Hayden Crawford was, but he noticed Hayden had followed Serena in, keeping a distance that was neither too far nor too close.
This was a street full of food stalls, definitely not a high-class restaurant. The man was dressed in bespoke attire that exuded luxury in its subtlety. Even those who didn’t understand fashion could see his dignified aura; he seemed out of place, and his long legs wrapped in tailored trousers couldn’t fit under the table and had to stretch out.
The owner stood still; Hayden raised his handsome eyes to glance at him, "Why are you still standing there? Go ahead and serve it, and speak nicely."
The owner’s hand trembled; he felt like a runner for the mythical domineering CEO.
"Hello, your egg fried noodles are here." The owner swiftly delivered the noodles to Serena’s table.
Serena thanked him and then picked up the chopsticks to take a bite, only to unexpectedly eat a piece of shrimp meat.
The tight, springy shrimp with a hint of spiciness exploded on her taste buds, bringing back a familiar, cherished flavor. Serena had smelled this alluring scent earlier and was craving it, never expecting to actually taste it now.
Delicate, clear eyebrows spread into an expression of surprise and joy as Serena looked toward the owner, "Owner, didn’t I order egg fried noodles? How come there’s shrimp, and it’s already peeled?"
She and Leah Thorne used to eat shrimp here. Although peeling it oneself made it taste better, after two pieces they always felt tired, back then pledging to find boyfriends who would peel shrimp for them.
The owner awkwardly laughed, "Today... today our shop is holding a promotion. Ordering fried noodles comes with free shrimp."
Her luck sure was incredible today!
Serena happily dug in.
Ivan watched the girl eat with delight; indeed, how could it not be delicious? A super luxurious shrimp noodle dish, with so much shrimp meat on top you couldn’t find the noodles.
When the owner walked into the kitchen, he looked curiously at Hayden, probably unable to fathom the legendary domineering CEO actually peeling shrimp by himself.
Yes, Ivan, who had followed Hayden for so many years, had never seen his boss peel shrimp before.
Hayden looked at Serena eating noodles, his deep eyes filled with a layer of affection and softness. Then his phone in his pocket rang with a call.
Hayden took out his phone and saw the caller displayed as Jude Crawford.
A call from Jude Crawford!
Ivan’s heart skipped a beat; he certainly knew Jude Crawford was the father of his boss, but their relationship had become so distant and cool that even the contact name was displayed simply as his name.
Hayden had been in Bayside for seven years, and this was Jude’s first call from Aethelgard.
Hayden’s handsome face showed no ripple of emotion; he reached out and directly hung up the call. This update is available on novel⟡fire.net
Ivan... Well, perhaps only their boss would dare hang up on Jude Crawford.
Ivan really wanted to say, "President, answering won’t stop you from being the gentleman protector. Maybe your dad’s calling you back home to inherit the family business!"
Hayden went out for a moment, and when he returned, he had an extra cup of milk tea in his hand.
Serena was paying. She had prepared cash when she came out, and as the owner gave change, Hayden walked over and placed the milk tea on the counter.
The owner swiftly pushed the milk tea towards Serena, "Today we’re also holding a promotion; spend over 20 yuan and get a free cup of milk tea."
The owner found he could lie without stuttering; indeed, working with a domineering CEO made him sharper.
Serena felt her luck was so good today she could go buy a lottery ticket. She thanked the owner, then grabbed the milk tea, pierced it with a straw, and took a sip.
Ivan had already guessed Serena’s thought; he imagined her luck would surely win the grand prize.
He glanced at the cup of milk tea, a taro bubble milk tea—currently popular online. The president was really getting better at this.
Serena found the milk tea delicious; she recognized the taste of taro bubble milk tea, which probably cost more than thirty yuan.
The shrimp-covered noodles were just 21 yuan, yet they came with a cup of over thirty yuan bubble milk tea—how could the owner not lose money?
Serena headed out, and Hayden continued to follow her. At this moment, a car horn beeped in her ears.
Hayden looked up to see a luxury extended business sedan parked on the roadside. The entire car gleamed coldly and luxuriously, like a king descending upon Bayside. The front license plate showed it was from Aethelgard, a plate that could swagger through the entire City of Aethelgard.