Chapter 23 He Zhao had to admit that the system was truly a masterstroke of psychological manipulation. ...

He Zhao had to admit that the system was truly a masterstroke of psychological manipulation.

She whimpered for a moment while hugging the blanket before slowly saying, "Then I still want Sister Qiao."

She thought for a while, then hugged the blanket and punched it a few times: "But Sister Qiao isn't mine either. If she were mine, I wouldn't scold you. The problem is, you don't assign wives to your family either."

[...I am a legitimate late-night street vending system.]

The subtext is: This isn't some kind of couples matching system at all.

He Zhao cursed it as "useless," but then noticed the milk tea he had just placed on the table and started grinning foolishly again. The milk tea bottle clearly read "1/2 cup," indicating that there was a second cup of milk tea in this order.

Where is that milk tea? Needless to say, it's with Qiao Yanyu. Most importantly, they both ordered the exact same milk tea. He Zhao used to think that the idea of ​​Lei Zi being happy because she secretly wore or used the same things as someone she liked was just an online joke.

When it came to her, she felt a little happy simply because she drank the same milk tea as Qiao Yanyu.

Thinking of those jokes, she started to feel anxious again. She wondered if Qiao Yanyu would think she was a copycat.

She lay in bed for a while, her mind initially quite active, having spent the previous evenings setting up her stall. However, after a while, He Zhao became drowsy and soon fell asleep. She even had a dream, and when she woke up, she was awake too.

The world in the dream was bizarre and fantastical, and he couldn't remember it clearly after waking up. But He Zhao always felt that he saw Ge Sinian in the dream. Ge Sinian was carrying a large plate of osmanthus rice cakes and walked towards him, muttering, "Eat, eat up, my mom made them, they're especially delicious!"

He Zhao didn't know if it was because Ge Sinian had given her a dream, or because the incident yesterday where Ge Sinian insisted on making her osmanthus rice cakes was a bit scary, so she remembered it vividly. However, there was one small detail in the dream that He Zhao remembered and was particularly happy about.

In his dream, Gossian knew that he and Qiao Yanyu were a couple, and even when he gave gifts, he said they were for him and his lover.

Ah, my love, what a beautiful word.

Unfortunately, He Zhao wouldn't be able to see Qiao Yanyu tonight or tomorrow. He Zhao yawned, and after washing up, he washed, patted, and hung out the blankets and sheets to dry. He casually ordered a new four-piece bedding set online. While browsing online stores, he couldn't help but order some small things to make his life more comfortable.

For example, mite removers and small tabletop water boilers—though they were useless, expensive, and took up space—He Zhao couldn't resist ordering them. There was no way around it; He Zhao had really no concept of money before.

Once you get the money, you'll eventually have to spend it.

She has been trying her best to cut back on spending, but given He Zhao's current situation, it will probably be a long time before she can move out of here.

In fact, He Zhao wasn't very demanding about his living conditions, and during this time he had become familiar with the small vendors around his rented apartment. He had become like family to the small supermarket downstairs and the snack shops on the next street.

She's lazy to go out, but that doesn't mean she's bad at socializing; she just only wants to socialize with people she likes.

At her usual noodle shop, she'd greet He Zhao a few times when she saw her. Maybe in a while, they'd even add an extra fried egg for her. Life was getting more and more promising, and He Zhao also felt that this rented apartment wasn't so bad.

He Zhao thought that today and tomorrow would pass smoothly and quickly, but when evening came and he lay on the quilt that had been aired all day, after playing games for a while, He Zhao began to wonder: What is Qiao Yanyu doing now? Is she getting enough rest? Is she running around outside because of work?

After playing a couple of games and exchanging a few verbal sparring exchanges, He Zhao started to get bored. In her original world, she didn't have many close friends; here, she had none at all, only Qiao Yanyu. So, once things quieted down, He Zhao's world became exceptionally quiet.

For a long time, He Zhao's world seemed to consist only of games, and this became even more pronounced after her parents died and she lost contact with her relatives. She stayed at home, never went anywhere, and disliked socializing. In fact, she interacted with the outside world even less than she does now.

At least now, she'll go out into the streets to find cheap food and say a few nice words to the vendors. But in her original world, she only needed to wait for the aunt to come and cook for her. Sometimes, her schedule didn't even match the aunt's, and she wouldn't see either of them all day.

He Zhao sometimes knows that she has too little connection with the world, but she has gotten used to it and feels that it is unnecessary.

She never imagined that one day she would start to miss someone so much just because she hadn't seen them for a day or two. She missed Qiao Yanyu, even if the other person was just lying next to her, sleeping quietly, she missed her terribly.

She also missed talking to Qiao Yanyu. Because of Qiao Yanyu's honest nature, she knew she didn't need to guess whether Qiao Yanyu had other intentions behind his words, or whether he was just being hypocritical and only after her money.

There's no need to worry about accidentally saying something offensive when you're with Qiao Yanyu. Qiao Yanyu is a very straightforward person; she'll let things go without saying anything and won't feel offended. In fact, if she were offended, given her personality, she would definitely say it directly and express that she "doesn't like it."

It's perfectly normal for someone so simple and pure to be liked.

It's problematic if you don't like being around people like that.

He Zhao went from someone who never wanted to set up a stall to someone who was counting down the days until she could set up her stall again and until she could see Qiao Yanyu again. She felt like she was growing mushrooms and getting rusty on her head at home.

Although He Zhao's reasons for wanting to set up a stall were not pure, and it was for others, the system felt somewhat gratified: at least He Zhao was willing to set up a stall.

Time flew by, and even though He Zhao felt it was going too slowly, it was already the next evening in a flash. He Zhao instantly felt like he had been fully revitalized, jumped out of bed, changed his clothes, and quickly went out, pedaling his electric tricycle off.

Arriving at the familiar park entrance and under the familiar second street lamp, before even getting close, He Zhao could already see Qiao Yanyu leaning against her motorcycle under the next street lamp, looking at her phone and waiting for her.

Qiao Yanyu's move was so cool. Her motorcycle was a heavy-duty motorcycle, and with her kickstand on the ground, the whole vehicle was very stable. Qiao Yanyu was half-sitting on the seat, half-leaning back, with her long legs supporting her weight, a move that made her legs look even longer, stronger, and more powerful.

Qiao Yanyu was still wearing black leather gloves, her fingers tapping on the screen as she watched intently.

It's only because technology has advanced now that finger sleeves have an anti-slip layer for pressing phone screens; otherwise, her action would seem somewhat pretentious.

Qiao Yanyu also heard the sound of He Zhao's electric tricycle. She put down her phone and looked at He Zhao. Her bright, dark eyes shone even brighter the moment they met He Zhao's gaze. She abandoned her own motorcycle and walked over to He Zhao's side.

As He Zhao began preparing to set up his stall, he said to Qiao Yanyu, "Sister Qiao, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. It's so cold outside, it's okay if you come a little later."

The weather was indeed cold. As the year drew to a close, the temperature dropped day by day. He Zhao's breath formed a layer of white mist that drifted in the air and disappeared in an instant. Qiao Yanyu helped He Zhao push the food cart onto the sidewalk and replied, "Anyway, I have nothing to do at home, so I might as well come over earlier and see you sooner."

Her words sounded like sweet nothings, making He Zhao blush.

He Zhao didn't ask Qiao Yanyu for help anymore. She simply set up her stall herself, took out two plastic stools, placed them behind the food cart, and invited Qiao Yanyu to sit down with her. After the two sat down, He Zhao began her leg-shaking routine. It was really cold that day, especially late at night when the temperature was even lower. The place He Zhao lived in before she transmigrated had never been this cold, so she couldn't get used to it and could only rely on shivering to warm up.

Seeing her like this, Qiao Yanyu could only say, "He Zhao, you need to take care to keep warm. It's very cold today, and you've been staying up all night to set up your stall. It would be terrible to catch a cold."

"I bought a small sun lamp online, and the delivery should arrive in a couple of days."

Qiao Yanyu smiled and said, "Then you'll have to change the stool to something else. This plastic stool will definitely soften when it's heated."

"Haha, what if you're not careful and fall on your butt?"

The two chatted for a bit, and then guests arrived. He Zhao was a little surprised; they usually didn't come until after midnight, only Gossian would come so early. But Gossian had already been reincarnated, so why would there be guests at this hour?

When the guests arrived and saw the pile of muddy cricket pupae, He Zhao realized that they were regular customers.

The mud ghost struggled to climb onto the stool, then said to He Zhao, "A bowl of rice."

He Zhao got food for the ghost and watched it start eating diligently. He couldn't help but ask, "Why are you here so early today?"

He Zhao didn't know why, but she could see a hint of sorrow in the mud ghost's face, which was so indistinguishable: "I came here the other day, but you weren't here. I haven't eaten rice in a long time, and I'm hungry."

He Zhao slapped his forehead, then remembered: "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you in advance. I was off work for the past two days and was at home. I usually work seven days and then rest for two days. Remember that, don't make a wasted trip next time."

The Mud Demon looked even more mournful, but it was still eating rice. The rice was so fragrant that the Mud Demon didn't even have time to pay attention to He Zhao.

Seeing its reaction, Qiao Yanyu asked, "A customer previously had osmanthus rice cake with rice; what did it taste like to you?"

Without even thinking, the mud ghost answered directly, "It's red oil wontons, how could it be osmanthus rice cake?" This sentence was more fluent than the others.

"This tastes exactly like the red oil wontons sold downstairs from my house. I've never had red oil wontons that taste better than theirs." Once the topic was started, it couldn't be stopped, and the speaker became more and more fluent.