Fang Yize’s nose was truly quite sharp. When the perfume had first been purchased, Jiang Xule couldn’t even tell what the scent was without reading the description—likely because she had never smelled freshly brewed tea in her life.
Fang Yize seemed immune to awkwardness, chatting with Jiang Xule intermittently. The latter, however, only responded with cold nods or shakes of her head, remaining silent throughout.
Finally, as the work drew to a close and there was nothing left for Fang Yize to do, she leaned against a circular stone pillar with her arms crossed. Her eyes curved into crescents, her amber pupils shimmering subtly under the cool white lights.
Despite the crowd of people surrounding them, her gaze was fixed solely on that one person.
Jiang Xule doesn’t seem to like talking much, but she’s interesting.
Not liking to talk… is probably an act, Fang Yize thought to herself.
“Ms. Fang, work is over. Aren’t you leaving yet?” Zhang Ning had come down from the office. The low ponytail she had tied back for work was now undone, her long curly hair draped over her shoulders, giving off the vibe of a youthful college student.
In fact, she had only recently graduated herself.
Fang Yize smiled at her and replied, “Someone needs to keep an eye on things, right? I’ll head out once they’ve finished up.”
“Alright then, I’m off. See you!”
“Okay, get home safe.”
It wasn’t until the sky grew dark and the students walking on the playground became sparse that Jiang Xule finally finished her shift.
Wages were settled on the spot. A long line had formed, and the foreman carefully verified each person’s identity before handing over the cash.
Jiang Xule received a hundred yuan. This was arguably the easiest money she had ever earned, and the time had passed quickly.
Perhaps it was because a certain “kitten” had been “meowing” beside her the whole time, distracting her.
She folded the red banknote twice and stuffed it into her jeans pocket. Looking up, she saw Fang Yize walking toward her.
“You’re off work.”
“Is something the matter?”
Fang Yize hadn’t actually planned anything, but since Jiang Xule asked, an idea for something they could do together suddenly popped into her head.
“Want to grab some dinner?” Afraid she might refuse, Fang Yize added, “Consider it compensation.”
Jiang Xule’s eyes lit up as she caught the keyword. “If we’re talking about compensation, I’m afraid one meal won’t be enough.”
“Not enough? Then how many meals would it take? If you want to be my dining partner for life, I’m okay with that too!”
Fang Yize’s amber eyes sparkled as she stared at Jiang Xule, her lips curling into a beautiful arc like a Ragdoll cat.
Who wouldn’t be dazed by such a healing smile?
Jiang Xule lowered her gaze and stared at that smiling face for a moment before unhurriedly looking away. “If you insist on treating, there’s not much I can do about it.”
She was more than happy to have someone treat her to a meal. It meant saving money on food, bringing her one step closer to buying a house. If someone wanted to cover her three meals a day for the rest of her life, she would naturally be very willing.
“So, what do you want to eat?”
There were quite a few things Jiang Xule wanted to eat, but being asked so suddenly, she couldn’t think of anything specific.
Her daily meals were usually quite repetitive; she rarely changed her diet and never ate snacks. This was how she managed to save so much money every month.
“Whatever.”
“Whatever” again. Fortunately, Fang Yize was an expert at handling “whatever.”
After getting into the car, Fang Yize slowly drove out of the campus. After yesterday’s torrential rain, the air in Yuegang City today was exceptionally fresh. The evening breeze was cool, lacking its usual sweltering heat.
Fang Yize didn’t turn on the air conditioning; instead, she opened the windows. She had always felt that a natural breeze was much more comfortable than technology.
Jiang Xule sat in the passenger seat, busy replying to messages on her phone. The rapid-fire clicking of the input method suggested she was a very fast typer.
She’s probably messaging Yang Huan, or maybe her family, Fang Yize thought. She was curious about the conversation because Jiang Xule had a smile on her face—a smile she hadn’t shown to Fang Yize even once so far.
She withdrew her gaze from the rearview mirror. The car drove deeper and deeper until it turned onto a small road without streetlights. They had to cross a tiny arched bridge and make several turns before finally reaching their destination.
During the drive, Jiang Xule’s heart was in her throat.
Since this was a route she had never traveled before, she began to suspect that Fang Yize was planning to kidnap and sell her—that her warm and enthusiastic behavior, even the “confession,” was just a ploy to gain her trust.
She began to think that Fang Yize’s family might be a human trafficking ring, which would explain why they were so wealthy.
As her thoughts grew more and more outrageous, she felt that if Fang Yize didn’t stop the car soon, she might just jump out the window.
“We’re here!” Fang Yize announced excitedly.
Jiang Xule’s heart finally relaxed when she saw a sign that read “Two Ladies’ Fried Chicken.”
As for why Fang Yize would drive so far to such a remote place for a first meal… it was, of course, because she wanted to spend more time with Jiang Xule! Opportunities like this were rare.
The car was parked beside the shop. There was no parking lot, only the long narrow road. To the left was the fried chicken shop; to the right was a man-made pond surrounded by tall grass, which was teeming with mosquitoes.
Jiang Xule followed Fang Yize into the shop. It was a log cabin decorated in a warm style, filled with the aroma of fried chicken—quite different from KFC or McDonald’s.
The reason it was called “Two Ladies’ Fried Chicken” was that it was run by twin sisters of Chinese-Korean descent. Their fried chicken skills were superb, perfectly blending Chinese and Korean styles.
The two sat across from each other and ordered a table full of drumsticks: garlic flavor, seaweed pork floss, spicy, cheese powder… basically, one of everything.
Beyond the chicken, their beef burgers were also tender and juicy with chewy buns; one bite was enough to make you never want a burger from any other brand again.
Even though the shop was in such a remote location, it was so popular that reservations were usually required. As the saying goes, “Good wine needs no bush.” The world is full of “gourmet connoisseurs” like Fang Yize who would travel great distances for a single bite of delicious food.
Jiang Xule thoroughly enjoyed herself. She felt that the cheese-powdered drumsticks had already replaced griddle-cooked large intestines with noodles as the number one dish in her heart.
“This place is so deep in the woods, how did you find it?” Jiang Xule asked while munching on a drumstick.
Before speaking, Fang Yize gave a slightly awkward, silly laugh. “Actually, right after I graduated from college, I went to the countryside to teach for two months. On the way back, I got lost. I wandered around following the GPS for ages before I stumbled upon this place.”
“I happened to be hungry then, so I came in. Otherwise, I would have missed it.”
She then added, “I usually come here alone. You’re the first friend I’ve brought here. I’m glad you didn’t find it too far.”
This sentence rendered Jiang Xule silent. Although she had relaxed around Fang Yize after learning that Fang hadn’t actually insulted her back in tenth grade, it didn’t mean that one meal made them friends.
“You could have come with Sun Lin.”
Hearing this, Fang Yize gave a shy laugh. “Are you jealous?”
“Sun Lin is your best friend. Isn’t it normal for you to come with her? Why would I be jealous? I don’t even like you, so why would I be jealous?” Jiang Xule’s face flushed with irritation. She took another bite of her drumstick, getting angrier the more she thought about it. “Ridiculous.”
Seeing Jiang Xule’s exasperation, Fang Yize found her quite “gap-moe” and adorable.
She propped her chin on her hands and looked at her with an adoring gaze. “I was just joking. Why are you so worked up? Did I expose you?”
I can’t let this person talk anymore… Jiang Xule’s brain couldn’t keep up with her limbs. By the time she realized what she was doing, she had already picked up a drumstick and stuffed it into Fang Yize’s mouth to shut her up.
Fang Yize bit into the drumstick that Jiang Xule had personally fed her, looking surprised. Her large eyes stared at Jiang Xule in shock, and she was dazed for a good while.
Sitting across from each other, both were stunned by Jiang Xule’s action. The shop was noisy, but it couldn’t drown out the thumping of their hearts.
After recovering, Fang Yize slowly took the drumstick out of her mouth. “I’m a bit full.”
“Then… shall we go?” Jiang Xule’s words sounded like a question, but she was already standing up.
Fang Yize immediately waved over one of the twin sisters to pack up the remaining drumsticks.
After getting back in the car, they drove along the dark road for a long time before finally seeing the scattered high-rises and the lights of the city.
The sound of the wind and tires on gravel was finally replaced by the chaotic noise of people, allowing the tension in the car to ease.
Jiang Xule scanned the interior of Fang Yize’s car, confirming once again that Fang Yize was not a smoker—at least, there was no ashtray.
She took out a refillable lighter and toyed with it, making occasional metallic clicking sounds.
Fang Yize glanced over and noticed that the lighter was an old model. Her older sister had used one when she was in high school. It wasn’t cheap, but it wasn’t expensive either—an affordable but high-aesthetic lighter.
The downside was that it wasn’t windproof; you had to shield it with your hand even in a slight breeze.
“What kind of cigarettes do you usually smoke?” Fang Yize asked.
Jiang Xule turned to look at her, studied her for a few seconds, then stuffed the lighter back into her pocket. “Nothing. Why ask?”
“I see you all smoking, and I want to try it too.”
“Try my ass.”
Fang Yize immediately pursed her lips and fell silent.
Jiang Xule realized she had been a bit crude, so her tone softened as she added, “You’re a teacher. If the students smell smoke on you and start copying you, you won’t even be able to teach. You’ll just be sitting outside the bathroom every day catching students who smoke.”
“Besides, with your privileged background, you probably don’t have much stress. Smoking is bad for you. You’re not allowed to smoke.”