In the covered commercial street, the mingled aromas of various snacks were incredibly tempting to An Jing, who hadn’t eaten breakfast, so much so that his stomach let out a “rumble.”
“Eh? I think I heard a strange sound just now?”
Zhu Ying, half a head shorter than An Jing, walked beside him, tilting her head and blinking her bright, clear, almond-shaped eyes.
“Ah… that’s A-Qiang. This kid’s stomach is protesting because he’s hungry.”
“Damn it, if you’re hungry, just say so.”
Fang Qiang rolled his eyes.
“So, what do you want to eat?”
“There’s too much, I can’t choose.”
“Then I’ll go first. I’m getting qiangao.”
“Seriously, qiangao again? Don’t you get tired of it?”
“How could anyone get tired of qiangao?”
Qiangao is a specialty snack of this small city; it’s almost impossible to find outside of it.
Its outer layer is made of niangao (rice cake), and it’s filled with your choice of ingredients, wrapped into a large dumpling shape.
For people with small appetites, one is enough to fill them up. In the mornings, you often see students eating it on their way to school.
However, having eaten this stuff since childhood, An Jing now dreaded it—it was filling, but it made his stomach bloat.
Because of irregular eating habits when he was young, his stomach had always been sensitive, and eating such indigestible food would give him a stomachache.
Fang Qiang casually left An Jing and Zhu Ying, striding purposefully to the qiangao shop on the left: “Boss, one qiangao, two yuan worth of niangao, add pork belly and dried tofu, extra shredded potatoes, no fried noodles!”
“Coming right up!”
“What’s this guy trying to act cool for…”
An Jing pouted.
He always felt his best friend was deliberately pretending to be uninterested in the school beauty.
Did he think that would make people look at him more?
Even if he was playing hard to get, that’s not how you do it.
So tall, yet so childish…
“An Jing, what do you want to eat?”
Zhu Ying picked up her flip phone, covered in sparkling stickers and hanging with a string of charms, and suddenly aimed it at An Jing.
“Uh… if it’s snacks, then maybe some fried skewers or something.”
An Jing glanced curiously at Zhu Ying, who seemed to be secretly smiling as she put her phone away.
“What are you eating?”
“Me? I’ll have the same as you, and then just a cup of milk tea.”
“Okay, what do you want?”
“Hmm… you choose first?”
An Jing scratched his head and walked to the fried skewer shop on the right, stumped by the wide variety of skewers.
The busy owner, amidst making sales, didn’t ignore “her” new customer.
She found a moment to call out, “Little girl, there are plastic plates over there. Pick what you want, then give them to me all together!”
“…Little girl?”
“Pfft… She called you a little girl!”
For some reason, an excited smile appeared on the school beauty’s face; who knew what was going through her mind at that moment.
“Boss, I’m a boy.”
The boss, who had only quickly glanced at An Jing earlier, immediately turned around and looked at him directly for a few seconds: “Oh, oh, I’m sorry, young man, I didn’t see clearly just now!”
“Phew…”
An Jing sighed in relief.
While looking more delicate and handsome was great, he certainly didn’t want to be mistaken for a girl.
After a slight hesitation, he picked up a plastic plate and put on a skewer of pork chop, a skewer of tofu, two skewers of pork tenderloin, and a skewer of chives—because he heard chives could strengthen yang energy, so eating some might restore some masculinity…
Although he wouldn’t admit it aloud, he was quite worried inside.
After all, last night was indeed a bit wild, and maybe that really was the reason.
“Then I want… niangao, and then, gluten and ham sausage.”
“Is that enough?”
“Save some room in your stomach, in case you want to eat something else?”
“Good point…”
An Jing handed the plate to the boss, then asked in what he believed to be a very magnetic male voice: “Boss, how much is it in total?”
“Should we pay separately?”
Zhu Ying looked at An Jing.
“No, no, you only got a little bit, we can pay together.”
“Two yuan, fifty cents, two yuan, two yuan…”
The boss quickly calculated the price.
“That’s six yuan fifty in total.”
An Jing fumbled in his pocket for a worn ten-yuan bill and handed it to the boss.
He only brought one ten-yuan bill with him today.
Don’t underestimate this ten yuan; it was his weekly allowance.
His parents didn’t give him allowance; this money actually came from his two cousins.
As for who gave it, it varied; sometimes it was his eldest cousin Yu Huihui, and sometimes his second cousin Yu Mingfei.
The chosen skewers were tossed into the bubbling oil, and immediately, a sizzling sound accompanied by a rich oily aroma filled the air, making An Jing’s stomach protest again.
Fortunately, Zhu Ying didn’t hear it this time.
***
The most expensive milk tea shop in this covered commercial street was a chain called “Mixue Bingcheng.”
Compared to other small, independent shops where milk tea cost one yuan or even fifty cents, it sold for over two yuan.
But the advantage was that it tasted good and offered many additions.
Although more expensive, it was the most popular milk tea shop, with long queues always forming on weekend days.
Fang Qiang scoffed at this.
He took a big bite of qiangao and mumbled indistinctly, “What’s so good about milk tea? Tofu pudding is much better. If you want something sweet, you can have sweet tofu pudding!”
“Isn’t it normal for girls to like milk tea?”
An Jing glanced at him.
“Sigh, women just love to…”
“…Cough, cough, cough!”
An Jing covered Fang Qiang’s voice with a louder cough, to prevent him from saying anything that would upset Zhu Ying.
“So you’re not drinking it, right?”
“I’m not drinking it!”
“An Jing, what milk tea do you want?”
Zhu Ying, who was already in line, turned back and asked.
“Just the simplest one.”
“Okay!”
Zhu Ying nodded briskly and told the staff, “Can I get two milk teas, one original pearl milk tea, and one strawberry-flavored pudding and pearl mix, both medium cups.”
“Alright, that’s eight yuan in total.”
“So expensive,” An Jing couldn’t help but click his tongue.
“It’s a chain store, of course it’s expensive,” Fang Qiang continued to scoff.
An Jing now somewhat didn’t want to talk to him.
He was trying his best to set the two up, but this guy kept undermining him…
The key was, all his supposed indifference was just an act.
Didn’t he keep staring at Zhu Ying when he wasn’t talking?
And when she noticed, this guy would just look away.
The two cups of milk tea were quickly prepared.
Zhu Ying emerged from the crowd with a delicate bag, and with a smile, pulled out a cup: “Here, An Jing, this is yours.”
“Oh… thanks. How much do I owe you…?”
“No need! You treated me just now.”
“Uh… okay. Oh, it’s hot?”
“Mhm, it is. Did you want iced?”
“I still prefer iced milk tea, especially since it’s quite hot today, but it’s fine…”
An Jing cleared his throat twice.
“Shall we see if there’s anything else we want to eat? A-Qiang, are you full?”
“Do you think one qiangao could fill me up?”
Fang Qiang said with a triumphant look, as if it were some great feat.
Zhu Ying took a small sip of her milk tea, blinking her eyes as she looked at the two of them: “I’m a bit tired from walking. Can we rest for a bit?”
“No problem.”
“No way, already tired?”
“You bastard…”
An Jing threw an arm around Fang Qiang’s shoulder.
“I’m tired, I need to rest!”
“Damn, you really are lacking in yang energy, kid.”
“Less talk, more sitting!”
***
At the entrance of the covered commercial street, there were also a few benches for people to rest, and the surrounding flowerbeds and lawns were beautifully trimmed.
Compared to the crowded interior, it was much more spacious outside.
An Jing plopped down, letting out a long sigh.
He really did feel a bit tired.
Zhu Ying seemed to be replying to messages on her phone, a slight smile occasionally appearing on her face, and now and then she’d take a sip of milk tea.
An Jing strongly suspected she wouldn’t finish it before it got cold.
“Phew, I’m pretty much full now.”
Zhu Ying swayed the milk tea cup that she’d barely touched.
“Are you two still going to play games?”
“Not yet…”
“Yeah!”
Before An Jing could finish, Fang Qiang cut him off.
“We also want to check out the anime store later!”
“Then I won’t hold you up. We just had lunch together as a convenience anyway,” Zhu Ying said softly, touching her lower abdomen.
“Ugh… I really can’t drink any more.”
“You’re just going to throw it away if you can’t drink it? That’s too wasteful,” Fang Qiang added.
“But it’d be really uncomfortable to force it down, wouldn’t it?”
“It’s too wasteful.”
An Jing seized the opportunity and quickly said, “Zhu Ying, if you can’t drink it, why not give it to A-Qiang! He’s not full anyway!”
“Damn it, the straw is all covered in saliva, and you want me to drink it?”
Fang Qiang said with a look of disgust, as if he couldn’t see Zhu Ying’s beauty.
To be honest, his disgusted expression was a bit overly exaggerated.
Zhu Ying pouted, looking at An Jing as if in a huff: “Then An Jing, do you want to drink it? After all, there’s still so much left…”
“Huh? Me drink it?”
“You drink it, you little punk,” Fang Qiang hooked his arm around An Jing’s shoulder.
“Just now you wanted me to drink it. You should enjoy this ‘good deed’ yourself!”
“If you’re really disgusted, you can just lift the lid and drink it directly. I definitely didn’t spit in it!”
“Uh… no need, you only took a few sips, how much saliva could there be?”
An Jing’s head heated up, and he took the milk tea from Zhu Ying’s hand.
Under Fang Qiang’s feigned disgust (but secretly envious) gaze, he put the straw to his lips and took a big gulp.
“Pudding and pearls mixed? Strawberry-flavored milk tea is quite good…”
“Right? You guys can try it next time too! Well then, I’ll continue shopping. Bye-bye?”
Zhu Ying stood up from the chair, lightly smoothed her skirt, raised the hand clutching her phone, and gave it a gentle shake—the charms on it jingled along.
“Bye!”
Fang Qiang waved cheerfully.
“Uh… see you tomorrow…”
An Jing licked his lips.
It seemed the glittering saliva of the beautiful girl, still lingering on the straw, truly held a hint of sweetness…
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Fang Qiang, my boy, why are you sabotaging yourself 🥲
Dude has no game at all. Like what is bro doing ðŸ˜