Chapter 147 Japanese
Several girls saw that the clumsy Chinese-speaking waiter couldn't understand them, so one of them took out a translation app on her phone, but after the translation, the waiter was even more confused.
Stupid machine translations can't accurately convey meaning in every situation.
But Chen Yuan understood what they were saying.
These were a group of international students from the island nation, all freshmen. They had only been in China for two and a half months. They had some Chinese proficiency, but they weren't very comfortable with spoken communication, just like students who are good at taking exams but can't open their mouths to speak.
"If we order in Japanese, who would understand..." Zhou Fu was at a loss.
"It's okay, *wa no nihongo hontō jōzu*." (My Japanese is really good.)
At this time, Chen Yuan gave an OK gesture, indicating that he could handle it.
"...Can you really handle it?" Zhou Fu thought Chen Yuan was speaking market Japanese, but she was too embarrassed to call him out directly, since he was offering to help.
"It's okay, I'll do it."
Then, Chen Yuan walked to the table of female international students.
The moment they saw Chen Yuan, the flower girls who had been chatting and laughing suddenly became *Yamato Nadeshiko* (idealized Japanese woman), dignified and reserved. One of the girls, through her lip movements, seemed to be saying in Japanese-accented English, "We want to order some Japanese desserts that aren't on the menu, like..."
"*Nihon go, daijōbu desu*." (Japanese, it's okay.)
Chen Yuan used the vocabulary he had accumulated from the Japanese dubs of certain Japanese action films, yes, *that*, and anime, and tried his best to say this sentence—Japanese, it's okay.
He didn't know if they understood him.
"That's great." The girl immediately smiled when she heard this, and then naturally said, "I've been here before, and they used to have some *maruko* (dumplings) that were really delicious. But they're not on the menu now, so we wanted to ask if we could order them."
"*Dōzo*." (Please.)
Since it could be directly converted into Chinese, there was no problem. According to his experience, this ability seemed to be able to convert into the most accurate Mandarin that he could understand.
Otherwise, ants wouldn't have such a logical language system.
In other words, this was an alternative form of 'inner voice'.
After all, Chen Yuan could hear a child's babbling and then understand what they specifically wanted to say.
This was Super Bro in the first week, so strong that he was almost a supermodel.
"Okay." Then, the girl started ordering, "Sakura mochi, flower petal mochi, glutinous rice dumplings, and..."
The girl said a lot, and Chen Yuan wrote it all down in the order book.
"*Chotto matte*." (Just a moment.)
Chen Yuan raised his hand, making a 'wait a moment' gesture, and the girl smiled and nodded.
However, she was a little strange. She could understand him even when she spoke such complicated Japanese, so why was he so concise when he spoke, giving the feeling of 'every word is precious'?
Was this a melancholic high school boy?
But this boy was really tall. If he was from the island nation, this height would be like a basketball player...
"Boss." Chen Yuan walked up to Zhou Fu with the notebook.
"Why are you calling me boss... that's so weird." Zhou Fu complained slightly, then took the notebook.
At this time, Chen Yuan explained, "This is a group of flower girls who miss the taste of home. One of them saw the store selling *maruko* when she came here before. So, why aren't they on the menu now?"
"We used to launch a special dessert every day to survey customer tastes, but because the response was average, we didn't add it to the menu," Zhou Fu replied.
"But this group of people can represent a large group of international students from the island nation. If we keep them, they might become long-term customers," Chen Yuan suggested.
"You're right..."
Zhou Fu also felt that now was the time to promote the cafe's reputation. They were earning money from college students, and these international students were generally well-off. If all the students from the foreign language department came, that would be a considerable group of returning customers.
This deal had to be closed.
So, she said seriously, "We have *mochi*, but the *maruko* have to be made fresh. We'll be launching *imakawa-yaki* (Japanese custard pancake) later. First, bring them their coffee, and then wait a moment. Okay, go tell them."
Hey, you?
Chen Yuan, who was naturally regarded as a translator, felt a little subtle. She thought too highly of him.
"By the way, how did you understand Japanese? Have you studied it before?" Zhou Fu asked curiously.
"I learned it from watching videos."
"Eww—"
"Eww your head, anime!"
"I, I know, what, what did you think I was 'eww-ing' about?"
"So stubborn, *pāfū-chan* (cream puff)."
Chen Yuan waved his hand and left directly.
"No, who's called *pāfū-chan*..." Zhou Fu protested, her face flushed.
After all, in her understanding, *pāfū* (cream puff) represented plumpness.
Chen Yuan ignored her and translated what Zhou Fu said using an electronic dictionary, roughly memorizing the pronunciation.
It had to be said that his memory had improved a lot. He had memorized the pronunciation of such a long passage after only two repetitions.
It seemed that the Super Seed from before strengthened his physique and also enhanced his memorization ability in an imperceptible way.
In this way, Chen Yuan relayed this to those people.
"Your Japanese is so good." One of the young ladies smiled and clapped her hands, then said casually, "Since you don't have it, what do you recommend? Just bring it to us."
"If we order, can you get a commission?" One of the long-haired girls asked jokingly.
"No," Chen Yuan shook his head, revealing a faint smile, looking especially gentle and casual.
"Then, please order for us and recommend some delicious food."
"*Mochiron*." (Of course.)
"By the way, can I ask your name?"
"Chen Yuan."
"Yuan-kun, thank you."
To this, Chen Yuan just nodded with a smile, no longer speaking his broken Japanese.
This feeling of muddling through without any real ability, and even being mistaken for a Japanese expert, was really a kind of thrilling pleasure, like—when you lie on your resume but get the job.
But the island nation girls were really proactive; their eyes were practically drawing silk.
"It's okay, it's just work, he can tell the difference."
Seeing Xia Xinyu pouting and staring over there all the time, looking particularly jealous, Zhou Fu quickly patted her back, trying to appease her.
"I, I'm not jealous," Xia Xinyu said.
She was definitely jealous... If they weren't in the store, would she be stomping her feet already?
She was the one who pushed her boyfriend out to sell his looks, but when she saw him chatting and laughing with others, she still felt uncomfortable.
Although Zhou Fu could understand Xia Xinyu's feelings, she still felt like laughing a little...
This was reaping what you sow.
"Done." After finishing the order, Chen Yuan walked up to the two of them, handing the order to Zhou Fu in a very dashing manner, and said triumphantly, "Six people spending over four hundred, how's that?"
"Amazing, amazing." Zhou Fu gave a thumbs up, then prepared to go to the back. Before leaving, she winked at Chen Yuan.
Meaning: Don't forget to take care of the one at home.
"How do you know Japanese?" Xia Xinyu said curiously.
"Well..." Chen Yuan thought for a moment and said, "I've always watched anime with Japanese dubs. One day, I watched a *nama niku* (raw meat), which is an episode without subtitles, and found that I could understand it. So, I wanted to try it out, and they also said some simple words, and that's how I completed the communication."
"I see."
Xia Xinyu nodded, then looked at Chen Yuan, bit her lip lightly, and said, "How about we pay the bill?"
"Sure, but why do you suddenly want to do that?" Chen Yuan asked curiously.
Xia Xinyu didn't want to say it, because it would make her seem too pretentious and petty.
But, she really minded it.
So, she clapped her hands and opened her mouth with a gentle smile, "Little brother is so great, can I ask your name?"
"..."
Chen Yuan was stunned and didn't react at first. After Xia Xinyu's mouth drooped, revealing a resentful look of being wronged, he realized that she was imitating the *sakura* (cherry blossom) girl from just now.
Then, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Is it funny?" Xia Xinyu felt like she was being ridiculed and couldn't laugh at all.
"Okay, we won't do it, we'll pay with money," Chen Yuan listened to Xia Xinyu very much. If his precious babe was uncomfortable, he just wouldn't do it.
But Chen Yuan was so frank that Xia Xinyu felt like she was going too far.
So, she held Chen Yuan's hand, "Since we already agreed, let's just finish it."
"You're not jealous anymore?"
"I'm not jealous anymore... Of course, the bottom line is not to tell them your name." Xia Xinyu looked at Chen Yuan, and said quite seriously, "The way she said your name just now was too cutesy."
Xinyu was actually saying someone else was cutesy?
Weren't you the one who was always cuter than anyone else?
However, Yu Zi was only cutesy to him.
"Understood."
"Have a few sips of coffee first." Xia Xinyu handed the coffee to Chen Yuan, and said, "After you're done, I'll eat the dessert with you."
"It's okay, you eat first, just leave a little for me."
"No." Xia Xinyu shook her head and insisted, "Let's eat together."
"Okay." Chen Yuan took a few sips of coffee, then put it down and smiled at Xia Xinyu, giving an OK gesture, "Then I'll go to work."
"Yeah, good luck with your work."
Because she was waiting to eat with Chen Yuan, Xia Xinyu took advantage of the free time to open her bag and take out some tutoring materials to study.
It was also at this time that two girls from First High School entered the cafe. Zhou Fu, in order to make Xinyu feel better, took the initiative to greet them.
And Chen Yuan entered a short break.
Looking at the two girls from First High School, Chen Yuan suddenly remembered that their school was nearby when he went to First High School for the exam.
Thinking of this, he took out his phone and sent a message to Liu Chengxi.
Chen Yuan: I'm near your school
Soon, the other party replied.
Liu Chengxi: What, you want to hang out?
Chen Yuan: I have two coupons for a cafe near your school. Aren't you renting a place near the school to live there?
Liu Chengxi: Okay, then send me the location
So, Chen Yuan sent him the location.
"Boss, I got you a customer. Can you give him a discount later? Of course, don't discount it too much, we still need to make money," Chen Yuan said to Zhou Fu.
"What boss... don't call me that."
"Then Little Boss?"
"Sounds even more awkward, like seaweed!"
Zhou Fu was always a little embarrassed when she was teased about being a rich girl, so she was a little wary of such class-conscious titles. But obviously, Chen Yuan was the kind of person who really liked playing the 'Master...' trope, so she could only accept it and say, "Of course, there's a discount. Come here, and if you mention your name, you'll get a discount."