After the two had thoroughly explored the ancient town, they found a teahouse by the lake and sat down to relax.
The tender buds sprouting from the ancient trees outside the teahouse have turned green, and the leaves have unfurled considerably. When the wind blows and they sway, it is a relaxing sight for the eyes.
Looking at the beautiful scenery outside the window, Cheng Qicai felt that her mind and body had been purified.
She looked away, picked up the teacup on the table, blew away the jasmine tea petals, and took a small sip. The fragrance of jasmine and the slightly astringent taste of tea instantly filled her mouth.
Once the astringent taste on her tongue turned sweet, she looked at Ren Baiping across from her and asked in a relaxed tone, "So when do I go abroad after successfully applying for the joint training program?"
"It's still early. I haven't even talked to Professor Yun about this yet! After discussing it with Professor Yun, he nodded, and I'll start preparing slowly from now on. But it's still early; the application deadline is next May."
Cheng Qicai nodded, "That's good. I was thinking that I finally met some like-minded friends, but I'm going abroad soon. Then I'll be a lazy bum at home again."
"Haha, that's why I didn't say it so soon. I was thinking of seeing if we had a chance, but I didn't expect you to reject me so quickly after hearing it," Ren Baiping said with a smile.
"No, if you only tell me when you've really developed feelings for me, I might get really angry."
"That's why I said we were almost meant to be. Who knew you hated long-distance relationships so much!" Ren Baiping exclaimed. "Besides, you have plenty of friends, so one more won't make a difference."
Cheng Qicai pouted, "No way, I don't have any friends in City A, I'm so bored every day."
"That's because you didn't make an appointment. If you had, you would have come out, wouldn't you?"
"Who would I invite..." Cheng Qicai subconsciously retorted before realizing who Ren Baiping was talking about. "Even if I did invite them out, I wouldn't be able to hang out with them. Our spending levels are completely different."
Ren Baiping smiled but didn't say anything.
After resting for a while at the teahouse, the two took a car back.
They found a restaurant near the subway station, had dinner, and then took the subway home.
While Cheng Qicai was transferring to the subway, Ren Baiping messaged her, saying that she had forgotten to take her little ceramic item.
But since she was already on the subway, she was too lazy to go back and get it, so she told him to keep it for now and give it to her when they met next time.
After playing on her phone for a while after getting home, she felt a bit hungry again. After happily cooking herself a bowl of instant noodles, she saw a message from Gu Liji.
The gist of it is that he invited her to his house tomorrow for a barbecue party.
Cheng Qicai had just gone out to play today, and tomorrow she just wanted to stay home quietly and didn't want to go, so she made up an excuse to refuse.
She had only sent the message for two minutes when Gu Liji called.
"Cheng Qicai, how come you don't respect me after I've only been on vacation for a few days?" Gu Liji said on the other end of the phone, putting on the airs of a boss.
Cheng Qicai slurped up a mouthful of instant noodles and said, "Brother Gu, if you're inviting me out as the boss, I have the right to refuse meaningless overtime."
"Alright, just kidding. Come over tomorrow. I'm organizing a barbecue party. It'll be more fun with lots of people. We'll have some big lobsters flown in tomorrow. I won't charge you anything, and I'll even reimburse your round-trip airfare. Isn't that generous enough?"
Cheng Qicai thought about it. He had invited her so sincerely, it wouldn't be right for her to refuse, since she was still working under him!
It's definitely not because I wanted to eat lobster or anything like that.
“Okay,” Cheng Qicai readily agreed.
Upon hearing Cheng Qicai's agreement, Gu Liji hung up the phone and immediately dialed another number.
...
The next day, Cheng Qicai got ready, went out, and took a taxi directly to Gu Liji's villa.
When Cheng Qicai got out of the taxi, she saw the car that Gu Liji had arranged to pick her up.
It must be said that Gu Liji is quite conscientious in this respect; every time she comes, she arranges for someone to pick her up so that she doesn't have to walk there on her own.
Following the butler to the back of Gu Liji's villa, the air was filled with the smoky smell of grease dripping from charcoal. Among the various men and women, Cheng Qicai still saw many familiar faces.
Some of them she had seen when she played pool.
Watching them chase and play around, creating a chaotic scene, Cheng Qicai frowned deeply.
She thought it was really just like they were grilling themselves, with some grilling, some helping, and some chatting.
If she had known it would be like this, she wouldn't have come.
Unfortunately, there's no going back. Gu Liji saw her and waved to her from his wheelchair.
She steeled herself and walked towards him, calling out, "Brother Gu!"
"You go first..."
Gu Liji was interrupted by Zhou Bi, who had walked over. Zhou Bi looked Cheng Qicai up and down and teased, "Hey, Young Master Gu, isn't Yun Su Ni getting married? You're still keeping this little beauty?"
Upon hearing Zhou Bi's words, Cheng Qicai frowned even more deeply.
"Go away~" Gu Li glanced at Cheng Qicai's expression and waved him away with disdain.
If his brother comes later and hears this, they're in for a world of hurt.
"Seven Colors, don't listen to Zhou Bi's sharp tongue. Go sit over there and let the chef grill whatever you want," Gu Liji said, pointing to the outermost seat.
That spot was empty; he had prepared it specifically for Cheng Qicai.
"No way, why make her sit on the sidelines? Let her come and have a few drinks with us." Zhou Bi, unaware of Gu Liji's thoughts, continued to say things that seemed utterly reckless.
Before Zhou Bi could finish speaking, he received a fierce glare from Gu Liji: "Aren't so many women enough for you to drink with? Why don't you drink yourself to death?"
If he wants to die, he shouldn't drag himself out like this, okay?
Gu Liji ignored him, personally led Cheng Qicai to order what she wanted to eat, and then led her to a seat.
Cheng Qicai took a lamb skewer from the plate and took a bite from the top without any expression.
She could hear others laughing and talking about her, "No, Young Master Gu, why are you being so nice to her? Is it because you've given up on your older sister and now you've taken a fancy to your younger sister?"
"Shut your mouth, you dog mouth." Gu Liji picked up a bunch of lettuce and stuffed it into the man's mouth, then turned to look in Cheng Qicai's direction.
Seeing that she had no expression, he breathed a sigh of relief, but his gaze swept over the people around him with a warning look.
Someone noticed that Gu Liji was angry and went over to say a few words to ease the tension, which restored order to the atmosphere.
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