Chapter 126 Milk Tea Shop

It was a sensitive topic, not easy to elaborate on, so Jiang Nian could only hum in affirmation.

“Oh right, where’s that restaurant?”

He deliberately changed the subject; if he didn’t, he’d burst out laughing. Such matters were all about unspoken understanding, and once the mood was set, it should be maintained.

Saying it out loud would ruin the fun.

Should he ask, “Do you have any other older female cousins?”

Since they were already here, they might as well enjoy the meal.

Upon entering, thankfully, this restaurant didn’t have any strange entrance slogans. Things like, “Customer, you can’t!” or “Customer, XXX!” Hearing those would make him want to kick the boss.

After they were seated,

Zhang Ningzhi first asked Jiang Nian if he had any dietary restrictions or allergies. After receiving a negative answer, she skillfully started ordering, clearly not her first time here.

“You should love what I ordered.”

She didn’t show the menu to Jiang Nian, afraid he would see the prices. The standard of this meal clearly exceeded what a high school student or even an office worker would spend.

Before coming, she had actually hesitated for a long time, afraid of making Jiang Nian uncomfortable. After all, it felt a bit like showing off, but she genuinely just thought there wasn’t much good food in Zhennan.

She often came to the city center; Zhennan wasn’t far from it, just over twenty minutes by car. There weren’t many good restaurants, almost countable on one hand.

Jiang Nian looked around, already very hungry, but still asked a question.

“This place is expensive, isn’t it?”

“Not expensive, because it’s the lunch special price,” Zhang Ningzhi explained, with a hint of trying to cover something up. “And I have a membership card, so it’s practically free.”

Holy cow, she could actually say something so outrageous?

A little expensive means free, right?

Women are truly…

In the city center, anything involving seafood was never cheap.

However, Jiang Nian didn’t really care. The money in his card… compared to Zhang Ningzhi, it was hardly worth mentioning. But how could he let her know he could afford it?

His current outfit wasn’t flashy; even his shoes cost over a hundred.

When the large prawns arrived, he could casually say, “This taste… I’ve had it in my dreams?” That sounded too poor. He had never been rich, so he couldn’t say such things at all.

Forget it, just eat, eat, eat.

He would control himself later, just don’t jump on the table to eat.

It was just a meal, and how much Zhang Ningzhi spent was her freedom. He would accompany her for a walk afterward to digest, then head back to Zhennan.

“Alright, then thank you,” Jiang Nian smiled. “I’m benefiting from your generosity.”

Zhang Ningzhi blushed, “Mm.”

She didn’t know what to say again. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone this time. Jiang Nian breathed a sigh of relief and also took out his phone.

If it were a date, Jiang Nian naturally wouldn’t let the conversation die. But it was just a meal between classmates; being too enthusiastic wasn’t good. They sat next to each other every day, so even face-to-face, playing on their phones while waiting for food wouldn’t feel awkward.

“Your phone is an iPhone?” he asked.

“Mm, good for taking pictures.” Zhang Ningzhi clutched her phone, wanting to say, “Let’s take a picture later,” but the words got stuck in her throat. “I want to take one later…”

“Okay, you take pictures first, then eat.” Jiang Nian chimed in, snapping his fingers. “I get it, you girls like that sense of ritual before eating.”

Zhang Ningzhi’s nails dug into her flesh. Forget it, it would sound strange anyway.

Soon, the dishes arrived.

“Hmm?” Jiang Nian swallowed, looked up, “Aren’t you taking pictures?”

Zhang Ningzhi was speechless. Who wanted to take pictures of food? Was he a pig?!

“No pictures, you eat.”

“Then I’m really going to eat? Like, stand up and devour it?” Jiang Nian probed again, “You really aren’t taking pictures? Then I’m going to start eating. You’ll regret it later.”

As he spoke, several other dishes were brought out.

The amount for two people, a high school boy and a high school girl, wasn’t hard to finish.

Zhang Ningzhi trusted Jiang Nian’s appetite; his eyes clearly showed he was hungry.

“Alright, one picture.”

As soon as she picked up her phone, Jiang Nian made a V-sign. She couldn’t help but purse her lips and smile, then turned and caught a passing female waitress.

“Hello, could you help us take a picture?”

“Sure.” The waitress wiped her hands on her apron and took the phone.

Zhang Ningzhi had already naturally moved to Jiang Nian’s side. They sat stiffly with some distance between them, the surrounding light provided solely by small pendant lamps hanging from the ceiling.

The combination of a high school boy and girl, their faces full of youthful innocence. The moment they made V-signs, their faint smiles were frozen in time.

“Done.”

“Thank you.” Zhang Ningzhi took her phone back, stood up, and returned to her seat opposite him.

Jiang Nian was truly hungry; he rolled up his sleeves.

“Let’s eat, let’s eat!”

Zhang Ningzhi also picked up her chopsticks, her phone on the table, the camera screen displaying the photo they had just taken. As she lowered her head to eat a shrimp, the joy in her eyes quietly receded.

There really weren’t many people during the lunch hour; only a few tables were occupied. Besides the lights in the aisle, only the space around the occupied tables had light sources, the surroundings like dark reefs.

The overhead speakers played “Love Song”: 【An entire Universe for a single red bean.】

【Memories like trapped beasts, gently softened by loneliness… You wrote for me, my very first song. You and I, fingers intertwined, composing the prelude.】

【But what happened after that?】

Jiang Nian was completely dominated by hunger, swallowing in large mouthfuls. Zhang Ningzhi ate in small bites, a faint smile in her eyes, her heart gradually filling.

One was dizzy with hunger, the other was bubbling with happiness.

The joys and sorrows of people were always disparate.

After the meal, they walked around the mall. The reason they didn’t go outside was, first, there wasn’t much fun to do out there, and second, the holiday was only a short six hours.

Even if there were activities in the city center, would they be open in the afternoon?

I’m a student, can I not…

Student? Not even born yet, go back to your evening self-study!

Just thinking about it felt malicious.

The school did it on purpose; there were too many couples at Zhennan Middle School. If the school dared to give students a free evening, they would be welcoming the birth of many more young couples.

And mornings were suitable for classes, evenings for solving problems.

After weighing the options, they simply gave the afternoon off.

Zhang Ningzhi used the excuse of going to the restroom to sneakily run to the front desk and pay the bill. She came back and waited a while, then left directly with Jiang Nian after he finished eating.

“The supermarket is downstairs, right? Want to browse?”

“Okay!” She nodded.

Her plan only extended to eating in the city center; what to do afterward was a blank. Hearing Jiang Nian’s suggestion, she immediately became excited.

The supermarket was on the basement level. They looked for the elevator for a while and slowly descended.

Jiang Nian, sharp-eyed, spotted a scratch-off lottery stand, with a crowd of people gathered around it.

“Over there, want to play?”

Zhang Ningzhi paused, “I’ve never played before.”

“It’s okay, it’s very simple. I’ll treat you,” Jiang Nian explained. “The rules are written on it, just scratch it. Usually, you neither lose nor win.”

She glanced at the price, “Just buy one.”

“Alright, one each.”

Jiang Nian looked around; the loose tickets were already sold out. Several people were waiting for new ones. The staff took out a freshly opened stack, and a crowd immediately swarmed forward.

He also scanned the code and bought two twenty-yuan tickets. He scratched one and won a guaranteed minimum, neither losing nor winning.

Zhang Ningzhi scratched carefully, not knowing why she was so nervous. He asked her if she understood the rules. She shook her head and said she hadn’t read them, which made Jiang Nian break out in a sweat.

Why be nervous if she hadn’t read them?

Attacking the Void Realm, right?

After Zhang Ningzhi finished scratching, Jiang Nian leaned in to check with her.

“You won!”

“Ah? I won? How much?” Zhang Ningzhi was confused. The small print was dense, making one dizzy, especially with him beside her.

“Holy cow, two hundred!”

“Really?” Zhang Ningzhi was impressed and visibly happy. “Then, then, will it be troublesome to claim the prize?”

“No, give me your phone.” Jiang Nian wanted to make a joke about a loan.

Unfortunately, Zhang Ningzhi was too honest and unlocked it, handing it to him.

Although Jiang Nian wanted to see what Zhang Ningzhi had saved him as in her contacts, he resisted, as it was someone else’s privacy.

“Uh, could you open your QR code for receiving payment (payment QR code)?”

“Okay.” Zhang Ningzhi fumbled with her phone and opened the payment QR code.

Jiang Nian: “.”

With a ding, two hundred yuan was deposited.

“Here.” Jiang Nian returned the phone to Zhang Ningzhi, smiling, “You have really good luck today.”

Zhang Ningzhi smiled brightly, “I think so too.”

They went into the supermarket and walked around, classic window shopping. After all, buying snacks at the supermarket wasn’t cost-effective, so they only bought some fruit and yogurt.

At the checkout, Jiang Nian casually paid the bill.

“Huh?”

“You treated me to dinner, I’ll pay for the rest. It’s perfectly reasonable.”

“But you paid for the taxi, and the scratch-off lottery just now…” Zhang Ningzhi suddenly wasn’t so naive, counting on her fingers, “And the yogurt.”

“Stop, it’s not much money.”

“But I invited you to dinner, and dragged you to the city center.” Zhang Ningzhi felt a little guilty.

Jiang Nian: “.”

Sometimes he didn’t want to show off, he genuinely wanted to show his bank balance.

No more pretending, he was laying it all out.

The problem was, he wasn’t pretending; his usual spending was normal.

However, Jiang Nian had many tricks, and soon Zhang Ningzhi accepted his reasoning. Wouldn’t listen? Then don’t cry when I change seats next week, I’m leaving.

It had to be said, this move was quite effective.

Estimating that they had mostly digested, they ducked into a bubble tea shop. They got two fruit teas to go, and then, with nothing else planned, prepared to take a taxi back to Zhennan.

After all, it wasn’t a real date.

The destination was the entrance of Nanjiangwan Community; Zhang Ningzhi needed to go home to rest. Sleep, wash her hair, or something similar; girls cared more about these things.

After getting out of the car, Zhang Ningzhi, carrying her bag, waved at him.

“Bye-bye, see you at evening self-study.”

Jiang Nian also waved, “Bye-bye.”

As he was about to turn and leave, he subconsciously looked up at the tall buildings of Nanjiangwan. There was no emotion, no inferiority, no feeling at all.

Zhennan was still too small.

Buzz, buzz, his phone rang.

Jiang Nian thought it was a message from Zhang Ningzhi, but when he took it out, it was Xu Qianqian.

“I’ll treat you to bubble tea.”

“You’re that kind?” Jiang Nian broke a sweat, thought for a moment, and typed, “Which bubble tea shop are you at?”

“Wow, you guessed it?” Xu Qianqian was typing, and sent a cute emoji, “At Seven Cats, bring some food over.”

Jiang Nian: “(Gives you a punch)”

Seven Cats Bubble Tea Shop.

Xu Qianqian put down her phone. The table was covered with test papers and study materials. Even though she knew she wouldn’t finish them, she brought them along, mainly to create an atmosphere.

“I’m calling a kind soul to pay.”

“Who?” Song Xiyun looked up from her test paper.

“Who else but that scoundrel surnamed Jiang!” Xu Qianqian huffed, accusingly, “He has money, but he’s already freeloaded three late-night snacks from me!”

“Oh, him. Is he coming over later?” Song Xiyun deeply empathized.

“Mm, and he’ll bring food.” Xu Qianqian narrowed her eyes, leaning back, “Later, the three of us can play cards, it’ll be a good way to relax.”

“Okay.” Song Xiyun nodded, then squeezed her legs together, whispering, “Qianqian, I need to use the restroom, but why is there always someone in the second-floor restroom?”

Hearing this, Xu Qianqian hesitated for a moment.

There were some things she truly didn’t want to understand, but she couldn’t help it with a scoundrel by her side. She knew all about the things that happened in bubble tea shops, but how could she say it?

After thinking, she lowered her head and typed on her phone for help.

Soon, Jiang Nian replied.

【Shout twice in the restroom, say the restroom door is broken, and ask the boss to come look. Say it and leave, you can go in after a minute, but I suggest waiting a few more minutes, because…】

Seeing that the other person was still typing, Xu Qianqian sent a “stop” emoji.

“That’s enough, no need to say more.”

She stood up, looked at Song Xiyun, who was already leaning forward, and snapped her fingers.

“Watch me.”

With that, Xu Qianqian turned and walked to the restroom at the second-floor corner, loudly recited Jiang Nian’s instructions. Then she tiptoed back to their table.

Sure enough, in less than a minute, a high school-aged couple walked out from the corner one after another, casually returning to their seats.

Xu Qianqian silently gagged, a look of disdain on her face. Then she turned and poked Song Xiyun’s arm.

“You can go now, but I suggest you hold it for a few minutes.”

“Huh?” Song Xiyun bit her lower lip, her face a little pale, “Why?”

Xu Qianqian was ultimately thin-skinned, “Someone just finished.”

Hearing this, Song Xiyun, though struggling, waited for three minutes. The bubble tea shop’s exhaust fan was always on, so by the time she went in, there was hardly any smell left.

Not long after, Jiang Nian arrived with a bag of braised food. He was also carrying the fruit tea he and Zhang Ningzhi had ordered in the city center, half-drunk.

He ordered the cheapest lemon tea for himself at the front desk on the first floor, then ordered some snacks and paid for Xu Qianqian’s table.

“Alright, here’s your receipt, please keep it safe,” the staff member said politely.

“Mm, do you have playing cards?” he asked.

“Yes, we do.” The staff member pulled open a drawer, picked out a newer deck, and handed it to him.

“Thanks.” Jiang Nian took it and went upstairs.

He wandered around the second floor, seeing two young couples. He didn’t know which pair of wild ducks had just occupied the restroom, but they all looked quite pale.

Overall, the environment here was quite serene. The high sofa backs, and the winding passages and partitions, provided excellent privacy.

Aside from being a bit far, there were almost no drawbacks, no wonder wild ducks came here for trysts.

The bubble tea shop’s speakers played Jay Chou’s “Half-Island Iron Box.” As the lyrics sang, 【Next to the candy is me】, he found the two girls.

He stood by the table, shaking a bag of braised food.

“Qianzi, Yunzi, open the door, Daddy.”

“Get lost!”