Chapter 97
"I'm sorry, but no."
Hearing this, Gao Quan's face flushed slightly. It wasn't just embarrassment; the night market was crowded, especially in the summer, and being watched by so many people made him feel exposed. He fumbled in his pocket, forcing a smile that looked worse than crying.
"J-just wait a moment."
He pulled out his phone and called Ye Liangchen. The call didn’t get disconnected, but no one picked up.
He tried several times, but it was the same each time.
With no other options, Gao Quan had to call other classmates.
Half of the summer had already passed, and he had spent all his pocket money, not to mention his friends who often hung out with him at the internet café.
Under the scrutinizing gaze of the waitress, Gao Quan called Wang Rui.
"Rui Jie, you have to help me this time..." He explained the situation and promised repeatedly that he would pay her back tomorrow, finally settling the bill.
Feeling utterly ashamed, he fled the place as if escaping a fire.
In his heart, he had already cursed Ye Liangchen a thousand times.
...
The next morning, Li Qingxue's phone rang.
She glanced at the screen, puzzled. Knowing that Long Aotian wouldn’t be at the riverside until the afternoon, she decided to stay in.
"Rui Rui, why are you calling so early?"
"Yesterday, Gao Quan almost got left at the barbecue place to wash dishes, blah blah blah..."
"Can you believe there are people like that? Inviting someone to eat barbecue and then running off halfway? Gao Quan, that fool, just got stuck there like a piece of meat."
After hearing Wang Rui's words, Li Qingxue couldn't help but smirk. She had thought of Ye Liangchen as a jerk, but she never expected him to be this much of a jerk. Gao Quan had been friends with him since they were kids.
But in the next moment, she felt a sense of relief. She had known him for nine years, and he had even tried to persuade her to give up on the college entrance exam.
In comparison, his treatment of Gao Quan could only be described as trivial.
"Alright, Qingxue, I'm telling you this so you can see Ye Liangchen in a new light. I need to go find Gao Quan and get my money back."
"Okay, I got it." After ending the call, Li Qingxue sighed helplessly.
In truth, Ye Liangchen had been quite nice in the past. She couldn't understand what had happened to cause such a drastic change in him.
At least she had no ties to him anymore.
She took a deep breath, ready to embrace a new day.
Dressing in the clothes she had prepared the night before, she pulled back the curtains to look outside.
Watching the sun gradually rise, Li Qingxue inhaled deeply and decided not to go out. Instead, she would enjoy the air conditioning, watch some TV, and head out in the afternoon.
With that thought, she glanced at the handmade cookies on her bedside table and smiled sweetly.
Her father worked at a company, and her mother managed her own shop.
Now, the house was empty except for Li Qingxue.
She hummed a little tune, opened the fridge, checked the fruits inside, and happily hopped onto the sofa to watch TV.
After a while, she picked up her phone to check messages, glancing at the handmade cookies again.
She didn’t even realize that the smile on her face hadn’t faded.
Perhaps it was because these cookies represented her own effort, making her eager to share them and gain the recognition she desired.
Time passed slowly.
Li Qingxue turned off the TV.
She got up, opened the fridge, took out the fruits, and happily headed to the kitchen to start cutting them. She was going to make a fruit platter.
With the fruit platter, snacks, handmade cookies, and drinks crammed into a small basket, Li Qingxue decided to ride her little bicycle over.
The items were too heavy to carry.
Under the sun, the girl rode her bike, her face lit up with a beautiful smile that was hard to look away from.
She stopped her bike and spotted a familiar figure in the distance.
After parking her bike, she picked up her things and jogged over. "Long Aotian!"
"Are you not hot?" Long Aotian asked, glancing at Li Qingxue's jeans.
Li Qingxue's legs were slightly rounded, and the jeans hugged her curves perfectly, accentuating the shape between her thighs and her beautiful backside.
"I'm not hot; these jeans are quite breathable," she replied, pulling out items from her basket.
Arranging the snacks between herself and Long Aotian felt surprisingly enjoyable.
"Here, this is for you, the cookies you wanted."
"Yeah, and this is for you too. You always forget things." Long Aotian returned a hair tie to Li Qingxue.
Taking the hair tie, she stole glances at Long Aotian. "You can try the cookies and see if they taste good today."
Long Aotian opened the lid and took a bite of a cookie.
The cookie wasn’t overly sweet; it was crispy and fragrant, getting better with each chew. It was indeed quite tasty.
"Hey, this cookie is pretty unique."
Hearing this, Li Qingxue bit her lip, forcing herself to stay calm while trying to suppress the smile that threatened to break free.
"This one looks like a pig, right?"
The smile on her face froze, and Li Qingxue replied with a teasing tone, "But I think it looks more like a little rabbit."
Upon hearing this, and seeing Li Qingxue's playful expression, Long Aotian seemed to realize something. "You know, it really does look like one."
He took a bite, and for a moment, the air fell silent.
Li Qingxue watched him expectantly, eager to hear his thoughts.
Long Aotian bit down harder, then chuckled, "Such a cute rabbit, it would be a shame to eat it."
Saying this, he pulled the rabbit cookie out of his mouth.
Li Qingxue, hearing this, didn’t think much of it; she felt a bit shy.
Taking advantage of Li Qingxue's distraction, Long Aotian glanced at the cookie in his hand and then smashed it against a nearby small stone.
The stone cracked, but the cookie remained intact: "What the heck!"
Taking a deep breath, he calmly placed it in his pocket.
What a strange thing to have mixed in with a perfectly good jar of cookies.
At this point, Long Aotian lost his appetite. He thought, if he wasn’t careful, he might chip a tooth.
After finishing the remaining fruits and drinks, Long Aotian lay back on the grass, content. "Alright, we’re even now."
"Yeah." Li Qingxue rested her chin on her hand. Although she had eaten less, seeing Long Aotian enjoy his food made her mood lift.
Just then, familiar voices drifted over from not far away.
Li Qingxue looked up.
She saw two figures, one thin and one plump, talking on the road above.
"Quan, do you still not believe me? I just got drunk yesterday and forgot. Do you think your Chen Ge is that kind of person?"
Ye Liangchen looked at Gao Quan seriously. "You know I'm not like that."
Gao Quan's face showed bitterness. "Chen Ge, I know you’re not like that, but can we just consider yesterday as us splitting the bill? You give me half, and I still have to pay others back."
"That’s too formal, Quan. You know your Chen Ge wouldn’t let you pay when I invite you out to eat."
Hearing this, Gao Quan nodded repeatedly. "Then Chen Ge..."
"Let’s not bring this up again. I’ll give you the money, don’t worry. Chen Ge said he would take you flying this time, and he will."
"But Chen Ge..."
"Enough with the 'buts.' Do you still not trust Chen Ge?"
"It’s just a hundred bucks. We need to think bigger, you know?"
"I can say this directly: today’s hundred bucks, I’ll repay you a thousand times in the future. That’s the confidence I have."
Although Ye Liangchen said this, he was already filled with resentment inside.
If it weren’t for that scoundrel Long Aotian costing him three hundred bucks, would he be losing face in front of Gao Quan right now?
And Gao Quan, too, after not answering his call yesterday, it was already a hint that he was broke. Today, he still had the nerve to come and ask him for money. Seriously, sigh...
"How shameless and disgusting!" Li Qingxue couldn’t help but mutter under her breath as she watched the scene unfold.
This was too brazen. He spoke so grandly, yet Gao Quan was genuinely in debt to someone for over a hundred bucks!
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