Part 1The Fall of the Fried Noodle King

The 500-person "Fried Noodle Fan Club" group chat for the food stall outside our university campus finally hit max capacity. Then, the owner kicked me—his most loyal customer—out of the group.

"The group is full, and I don't feel like making a new one, so I'm cleaning up the member list," he announced.

I laughed so hard I cried. I stared at the "You have been removed from the group" notification and fell into deep thought.

Back in the day, I personally dragged hundreds of classmates into this group chat. I posted three separate rave reviews on the campus forum recommending his fried noodles. I spent at least $1,200 at his stall over the years. And I was the first one he kicked?

I didn't go argue with him. Instead, I screenshotted the notification and forwarded it to every major campus group chat I was in.

Hundreds of students saw it. They instantly rallied, leaving the group en masse and boycotting his stall.

Watching his group chat numbers plummet, "Brother Lee" finally panicked and begged me to come back.

* * *

It was late at night, and I couldn't sleep. A notification popped up from the "Brother Lee's Fried Noodles" group chat.

[The group has reached the 500-member limit. Since many seniors are graduating and leaving, and new freshmen need to join, I won't be making a second group chat. I'll be cleaning up the member list tonight.]

My roommate, Sarah, who I had dragged into the group, saw it too. She slapped my bed curtain.

"Chen, don't worry. There's no way he's kicking you. When you first took me there, I thought you were a paid shill for his stall. You brought him so much business over the years."

I yawned, ready to go back to sleep.

Suddenly, a message popped up on my screen:

"You have been removed from the group 'Brother Lee's Fried Noodles'."

My drowsiness vanished instantly.

I almost fell out of my bunk bed.

Seeing my reaction, Sarah realized something was wrong. "Holy crap, did he actually kick you? That makes zero sense!"

I was stunned. I rubbed my eyes and looked again.

Confirmed. I was out. I couldn't sleep now.

Three years. Rain or shine. I was his most loyal customer.

And I was the first one kicked when the group got full?