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◎Friends◎

After Mu Heqing and Ouyang Zhu reached a preliminary agreement, she shook off Sifei's hand.

Sifei immediately grabbed her hand and wouldn't let go.

“Heqing, you’re not going to Qingcheng until the day after tomorrow, so I’ll stay here too.” Sifei definitely wanted to be with Mu Heqing.

Mu Heqing certainly didn't want this either; she was causing a lot of trouble here. Today she could put her paintings in a beauty salon, tomorrow she could put her paintings in the middle of the road.

"I'm going the day after tomorrow. Aren't you going to show me your current work?" Mu Heqing replied like a heartless woman.

Sifei cheered up again and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I want to show you the paintings I've made over the years. I've painted so many of you. I need to go and tidy them up."

"By the way, have you seen any rainbows lately?" Mu Heqing asked.

"No, what's wrong? Have you seen her recently?"

Mu Heqing nodded: "I've seen Li Shi recently. Have you seen him recently?"

She always had the feeling that these guys had planned this all along; how come they hadn't shown up for seven years, but when they did, they all showed up at once?

“Li, Shi,” Sifei said, enunciating each word clearly. “He saw you before me, didn’t he? You met him first?”

Strictly speaking, it should be considered that Cai met first.

"Does he still look like that guy with such poor taste? Always fantasizing that you'll hold his hand and take him home? You didn't take him home, did you? Has he not gone to be reincarnated recently?" Sifei's words were more and more venomous. She hated Li Shi very much, and of course, she didn't like the other guys either.

As an artist, Sifei calls herself that she has her own unique aesthetic, such as her paintings, the makeup on Ouyang Zhu's face, and Li Shi's face, which she feels is so perfect that it is disgusting.

Therefore, she disliked Li Shi and could not accept that Li Shi met Mu and Qing before her.

Ouyang Zhu listened silently from the side, then lowered his head and whispered to Mu Heqing, "I'm suddenly curious about your high school life."

Mu and Qing gave a fake smile.

Don't be curious, it's terrifying, a living hell.

After seeing off Consort Si and Ouyang Zhu, Mu and Qing reunited with their aunt. She remembered nothing, still wearing that same smiling face.

Mu Heqing felt a little relieved. The fact that her aunt didn't remember anything meant that her confusion about the painting wasn't too severe. After Li Heyue rested tonight, she would fully recover tomorrow.

Li Heyue cupped her own soft, tender face in the mirror and asked, "Qingqing, what do you think of this place? I think it's better than the old one. How about we come here from now on?"

Why do we have to come here again?

Mu and Qing shook their heads repeatedly: "I still think the one you always go to is the best. Besides, didn't you still have some unused credit card from last time? Wouldn't it be a waste if you didn't go?"

Li Heyue ultimately accepted Mu Heqing's suggestion and decided to use up the money in her prepaid card first.

Of course, Mu and Qing did get to eat boiled fish today, although it was another day where they couldn't taste anything.

…………

Mu and Qing were snuggled in bed when their phones started buzzing with activity from the pinned "AAA Ancheng Barbecue Enthusiasts Group".

[Sweet talk: Our Mu and Qing have been very busy lately, so busy they haven't even had time to check their phones.]

[BBQ Deng Zilong: @QingqingQAQ, what have you been up to lately? It's been almost half a month since I last saw you. Come over to my place for BBQ tonight, I'll grill it for you. Come early, or I won't have time.]

[Sugar-coated firecracker: This busy person probably doesn't even have time to look at their phone anymore, let's have some tonight.]

[Qingqing QAQ: My darlings, I'm here, I'm here! I'm free, definitely free tonight!]

[Qingqing QAQ: Begging for mercy.jpg]

Mu Heqing was truly at a loss for words. From the moment she received the invitation, her life had been thrown into chaos. Besides Cai, Li Shi, and Si Fei, several other people from completely different worlds had also entered her life, especially Ouyang Zhu, who was a truly terrifying woman.

After shopping with her aunt yesterday, she received a message from her boss that evening, which basically meant that she was being sent to Qingcheng to coordinate a light bulb business with the Guihui Group.

He didn't even consider that the building wasn't even built yet, so what kind of light bulb could he possibly connect to?

But when you think of Ouyang Zhu’s magic under Si Fei’s blessing, don’t these people all obey her?

Mu Heqing glanced at the messages in the group chat and, naturally, couldn't resist giving her a friendly dose of mockery.

The person nicknamed "Sugar-Coated Firecracker" in the group is her junior high school classmate, named Tang Ruxing. She works as a lowly employee, is sweet-looking, and has a very harsh way of cursing, although her behavior is still within the realm of humanity.

"Barbecue Deng Zilong" is another friend of hers. Her surname is Deng and her given name is Qian. She works as a barbecue chef, enjoys fitness and boxing, and dreams of owning her own barbecue restaurant.

Mu Heqing and Tang Ruxing were classmates. Mu Heqing wasn't in the same high school as her, but they did get into the same university, albeit in different majors. After graduation, they both worked in Ancheng and had a very good relationship.

Deng Qian was a skewer chef at a barbecue restaurant they frequented. She started learning the craft at a young age, and the group got along well and gradually became friends.

Mu and Qing had promised their friends they would go out, so they naturally left early that evening. Deng Qian's barbecue restaurant was doing good business, and if they went too late, she wouldn't be able to grill for them individually.

When she arrived at the barbecue restaurant, it was still slightly light. She opened the glass sliding door and went inside.

The restaurant wasn't big, with seven or eight tables inside, but the main dining area was outdoors. She arrived early, and there was only one other customer in the restaurant.

Moreover, she knew this customer.

"Xingxing, you arrived earlier than me." Mu Heqing sat down opposite Tang Ruxing.

Tang Ruxing has a sweet face, but her eyes are fierce, looking at Mu Heqing as if he were a heartless person who has been away from home for many years. "You still know to come over, you still remember that we're here. I'm asking you, what have you been busy with lately?"

"Nothing much. My aunt came back yesterday, and I went out with her." Mu Heqing got up and took three bottles of Coke from the freezer.

Tang Ruxing was quite familiar with Mu Heqing and knew that Mu had an aunt in Ancheng. "Your aunt? She's been away on a business trip for quite a while now. Wasn't she supposed to be in Qingcheng?"

At that moment, another girl walked into the shop. She was quite tall, with firm muscles showing through her black short-sleeved shirt. Her hair was wrapped in a blue headscarf, and she was carrying a stainless steel plate with a lot of freshly grilled skewers on it.

The girl said, "You didn't just ignore my messages yesterday; lately you seem really busy."

“Qian, you’re right, listen to her rambling on here.” Tang Ruxing agreed.

The girl who came in again was another friend of Mu and Qing—Deng Qian. She had been grilling skewers for them outside, so Mu and Qing didn't see her when they came in.

Deng Qian sat down as well. The three of them hadn't seen each other for almost half a month. Deng Qian was busy grilling skewers, Tang Ruxing was busy with work, and Mu and Qing were overwhelmed by their high school classmates. Their schedules had never been able to match up.

The three of them picked up their Cokes and clinked them together.

"What's troubling you lately? Look at you, sighing all the time." Deng Qian picked up a skewer of chicken wings and said while taking a bite.

Mu Heqing touched his face and asked, "Really? I don't feel like I've changed."

"Give me a break." Tang Ruxing rolled her eyes. "You wear your heart on your sleeve."

Mu and Qing genuinely didn't think they had any strange expressions, but everyone noticed it when they saw them, including their aunt yesterday.

"Did your boss yell at you? Did your colleagues mess with you? Did someone scam you out of money? Or perhaps, did someone betray your feelings?" Tang Ruxing's guesses were getting more and more outrageous, and her voice gradually grew louder.

What is all this about? She could never figure it out even if she tried her whole life.

Mu Heqing sighed and said, "Just eat yours. I'm going to Qingcheng on a business trip tomorrow."

"Your company has finally managed to sell light bulbs in Qingcheng. That's quite an achievement," Deng Qian remarked.

"I've never been to Qingcheng before. What do you want? I'll bring it back for you," Mu Heqing said. Since Ouyang Zhu had already dragged her to Qingcheng, she might as well go and bring back some things for her friends.

"I don't need it, you just enjoy your business trip." Deng Qian shook her head; she didn't need anything.

Tang Ruxing asked a question: "What specialties does Qingcheng have? Is there anything that Ancheng doesn't have?"

Qingcheng can be said to be one of the most prosperous and high-end cities in the country, but if you really want to know what special products Ancheng doesn't have, Mu and Qing couldn't think of any.

"Isn't money Qingcheng's specialty?" Deng Qian laughed. "That's what they say online: Qingcheng has nothing but money."

Tang Ruxing laughed; "That's perfect, Qing. Just bring back one million for each of us from Qingcheng. Don't bring too much, but of course, I can accept more."

"You really dare to think that way." Mu Heqing was amused by Tang Ruxing.

The three of them laughed and joked for a while. Being with friends after so long made Mu and Qing feel much more relaxed.

Time passed quickly, and the shop became more crowded. Deng Qian stood up; she was going back to grilling skewers. She picked up the untouched skewers from the plate, intending to reheat them for them.

Mu Heqing unscrewed the cap of the cola, took a sip, and as she put the cola down, her fingers suddenly trembled uncontrollably.

This feeling... no, how could it be?

Mu and Qing suddenly turned around and looked outside the door, but there was nothing outside the glass door.

illusion?

Mu Heqing said to Tang Ruxing, "I'm going to the restroom, I'll be right back."

Tang Ruxing waved for her to hurry up.

Mu and Qing walked out of the shop, took a few steps south, and entered a small alley next to the barbecue restaurant.

Deng Qian was grilling skewers in front of the charcoal fire. She thought Mu Heqing had come to pick up the skewers and was about to hand her the plate when she saw her turn into the alley.

While Deng Qian was wondering what was going on, the shop owner called out from inside the shop, "Little Deng, add ten pork skewers to table number three!"

She could only take out pork skewers from the cupboard and place them on the charcoal grill.

After she finished baking and was delivering the food to the customers in the shop, she casually asked Tang Ruxing, "Where did Qing go?"

"Going to the restroom," Tang Ruxing replied.

“But I saw her go into the alley next to the shop, and the toilet isn’t there.”

Deng Qian and Tang Ruxing exchanged a glance.

If Mu and Qing really went to the restroom, she wouldn't have passed by Deng Qian.

Not long after, Mu Heqing returned, still wearing that gentle smile. But Tang Ruxing clearly sensed a change in her expression; even though she tried her best to maintain it, Tang Ruxing noticed it immediately.

Just as Tang Ruxing had said before, Mu Heqing couldn't hide her expression. She could fool strangers, but in front of people she knew well, she would be seen through at a glance.

After graduating from junior high school, Tang Ruxing never saw Mu Heqing again until the summer after the college entrance examination. When the admission notices came out, Mu Heqing's mother and Tang Ruxing's mother talked and learned that they had been admitted to the same university.

Throughout her three years of high school, Tang Ruxing had no news of Mu and Qing.

That summer, they met again after three years. Whether it was because of the immense pressure of studying during her three years of high school or some other reason, she almost didn't recognize Mu and Qing when she saw them again.

At that time, Mu and Qing were smiling, but their eyes were full of mania, unease, and even a bit of madness.

What exactly happened?

Surely he's not gone crazy from studying.

After Mu Heqing's mother met with Tang Ruxing, she secretly spoke to her privately. In Tang Ruxing's memory, Mu's mother was a very strong woman. But at that time, she was wiping away tears, begging Tang Ruxing to continue being friends with Mu Heqing.

Tang Ruxing did not refuse; she had always been Mu Heqing's friend. Over seven years—four years of university and three years of working in Ancheng—Mu Heqing gradually returned to the person she remembered.

But now, her expression just now was exactly like that.

Manic, restless, insane.