Chapter 26 Although they had to part ways today, He Zhao wasn't very sad or lost...
Although they had to part ways today, He Zhao wasn't too sad or lost, because they had made plans to have dinner together that evening. Even if it was something spicy like wontons in red oil, which He Zhao couldn't handle, she was still happy as long as she was with Qiao Yanyu.
She waved to He Zhao, got on her electric tricycle, and turned to leave.
He Zhao returned to her rented room and quickly washed up. After waking up, she brushed her teeth, washed her face, went downstairs to eat something, and picked up her packages. She had bought a lot of things, making it a bit inconvenient to carry them all. He Zhao had never experienced the inconvenience of carrying packages herself before.
It might sound a bit dramatic, but it's the truth. She hired a housekeeper, and she wouldn't go pick up the packages left at the courier point herself. For important items, she'd just have them delivered to her door; there's no need for her to run errands herself.
He Zhao had a lot of things, some of them heavy, and she carried the delivery boxes herself, finally making it home. She opened the boxes and took out quite a few things. There was a four-piece bedding set she had bought just two days ago, the little sun figurine she had mentioned to Qiao Yanyu, and several of her clothes.
He Zhao had far too few clothes; what she bought at the mall last time wasn't nearly enough. But mall clothes were expensive, so she had to buy online. He Zhao wasn't the type to compromise on her own comfort; even if online prices were lower, she would still buy relatively expensive items, especially underwear—she couldn't accept poor quality.
So her little money was unknowingly spent in these places, and even if she could earn a thousand yuan a day, it was completely useless.
While He Zhao was unpacking the package, he was still complaining about how little he earned. The system listened silently, thinking that its host was already earning quite a lot, and that he had nothing to do all day except wash rice and cook. Where else could you find such a good deal?
It just kept muttering to itself without saying it aloud. After assembling the small heater, He Zhao used it briefly in her room before carrying it downstairs. She didn't plan to use it in her room; it was quite small, and it would get warm after a while. Besides, she mostly stayed in bed when she was in her rented apartment, so a hot water bottle was enough.
It's better to use the heater together at night when I'm with Qiao Yanyu.
She happily carried the little sun heater to her food cart, only to find that it was too big to fit inside. She would have to disassemble it and reassemble it every time she set up her stall.
How could He Zhao accept such a troublesome task? She pleaded with the system for a long time before it finally agreed: "[However, you'll have to bring the little heater down at night. Modifying it during the day will attract attention due to the large number of people, so the modification can be completed quickly at night.]"
"All right."
He Zhao agreed and went upstairs again. She stayed in her room, played on her phone for a while, and then started complaining about the poor signal in her rented apartment. Even the Wi-Fi she paid for kept lagging. The lag affected her gameplay, and a thrilling team fight that she was about to win was wiped out by the opposing team.
He Zhao got angry, stopped playing games, and started watching variety shows. Although she didn't recognize any of the celebrities in this world, every variety show had a drama element. He Zhao loved watching these kinds of shows; she not only watched them, but also dragged the system to watch them together, and even complained to the system.
The system initially didn't want to watch it, feeling it would pollute its eyes, but under the host's "repeated requests," it had no choice.
After watching two or three episodes, it was almost time. He Zhao jumped out of bed, opened the old wardrobe in her rented room, and began carefully selecting clothes to wear when going out. In the past, she would have been overwhelmed by the choices, but now there weren't many outfits in the wardrobe, so she quickly made her selection.
The clothes in her closet aren't very nice.
Mainly because she doesn't go out much on weekdays, and mostly operates at night, plus the weather is so cold now, so keeping warm is her main concern. Pretty clothes are expensive, so in the end, He Zhao wore a dark, puffy down jacket that she bought at a high price.
He Zhao lingered in front of the mirror embedded in the wardrobe, admiring himself for a moment, and finally sighed: "Damn it, I don't have money to buy cosmetics and skincare products. I've been staying up late every day, and my face is getting sallow."
The system remained silent, knowing that if it spoke up at this moment, it would definitely be scolded by He Zhao.
He Zhao changed her clothes, her face sour, and went out. She had originally planned to get downstairs before Qiao Yanyu, but as soon as she came down, she saw Qiao Yanyu. Qiao Yanyu seemed to have just arrived as well. She was taking off her helmet, and her short, wispy hair was freed from the helmet, fluttering in the air in a small arc. This dashing appearance really stirred a ripple in He Zhao's heart.
He Zhao hurried over: "Sister Qiao, you're here so early!"
Qiao Yanyu was taken aback, seemingly not expecting He Zhao to come down so early as well. She knew He Zhao's personality; he would stay in bed as long as he could and wasn't a diligent or hardworking person. The first time they made an appointment to go to the bureau, Qiao Yanyu went straight upstairs to He Zhao's rented apartment when it was time.
He Zhao had just finished packing up at that time, so... it was really unexpected for Qiao Yanyu that He Zhao would come down so early this time.
"You're up early today too."
"hey-hey."
Qiao Yanyu handed He Zhao a motorcycle helmet, which He Zhao took and put on her head. Unlike Qiao Yanyu, He Zhao had long hair, which she hadn't tied up today but left loose. The helmet tucked her hair in a little around her neck, making her hairstyle look a bit like a small jellyfish.
They're actually quite cute.
Seeing that Qiao Yanyu wasn't moving and was just staring at him, He Zhao thought there was something on her face, so he tilted his head and asked, "Sister Qiao, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing, let's go."
Qiao Yanyu got on the motorcycle, and He Zhao helped her with her waist before she got on the bike.
Sitting on the back of Qiao Yanyu's motorcycle, He Zhao still felt a little uncomfortable, unlike last time. The last time she rode on Qiao Yanyu's motorcycle was just a few days ago, but at that time they were on official business, so He Zhao didn't have any other thoughts.
But today, they did nothing but go out for a meal together. This gave He Zhao the feeling that... the two of them were going on a date.
Such a private matter, coupled with the fact that she was riding on Qiao Yanyu's motorcycle, meant that the two would inevitably come into contact, causing He Zhao's face to flush involuntarily. Besides, she harbored ulterior motives towards Qiao Yanyu; it wasn't just a pure friendship.
Girls do tend to become close easily; it's normal for them to walk hand-in-hand or arm-in-arm, and Qiao Yanyu didn't find anything wrong with her arm around her waist. But for He Zhao, it was a bit too much.
So He Zhao, somewhat embarrassed and coy, leaned back a little, not daring to get too close to Qiao Yanyu. But just like the first time, Qiao Yanyu didn't let He Zhao maintain this dangerous posture, and even turned her head directly to pull He Zhao's hand over.
"Hold on tight, be careful not to drop him."
"You drive steadily, you won't fall..."
Qiao Yanyu ignored her and simply clasped her hands around her waist. Once the red light was over, Qiao Yanyu turned the accelerator and drove off, leaving He Zhao clinging to Qiao Yanyu's back, her arms around her waist. Today's feeling was completely different from the previous two times.
The first two times, she was busy with important matters, leaving He Zhao no time to think too much. But today was different. The moment the word "date" came out, He Zhao's heart started pounding. She leaned against Qiao Yanyu's back, feeling her warmth.
He Zhao rarely gets this close to people, rarely experiences someone's body temperature so directly, let alone puts his arm around someone's waist.
Qiao Yanyu's waist wasn't thin; it had muscular lines, and He Zhao could measure it even through her thick clothes. The power and heat of the body lurking beneath her clothes warmed He Zhao's palms.
She regretted it a little, regretted that she had worn gloves, otherwise—she could have reached into Qiao Yanyu's pocket and gotten even closer to Qiao Yanyu, just like last time.
That's wonderful, that's wonderful.
He Zhao even wished that this road would never end, and that he could keep driving like this forever. But unfortunately, this road eventually came to an end. When Qiao Yanyu stopped the motorcycle, He Zhao knew that she had to get off.
He Zhao was somewhat reluctant to leave, but he still decisively got out of the car: sticking to Qiao Yanyu like that would make him look like a pervert.
After getting out of the car, He Zhao began to look around at the place in front of him. It was an old, dilapidated neighborhood, and it didn't look far from the dangerous buildings. Qiao Yanyu took out the keys and came to He Zhao's side, explaining, "I heard that this area is going to be demolished, and there are no plans to renovate the old residential areas, so it looks a bit run-down."
He Zhao nodded. This situation is quite common in urban villages. In these old, dilapidated neighborhoods, the residents are either elderly people or migrant workers; young people rarely live there.
However, in such old neighborhoods, shops that have been operating for seven or eight years, or even more than ten years, are all reputable and high-quality businesses.
Qiao Yanyu had clearly done her homework beforehand; she didn't even need to take out her phone before leading He Zhao inside. Seeing this, He Zhao felt a little happy: happy that Qiao Yanyu was willing to do her homework and put in the effort for him.
Because the neighborhood was old, Qiao Yanyu didn't drive her motorcycle in. She found a relatively spacious spot outside to park it and walked in with He Zhao. It was noisy inside, with many people and narrow paths. Some elderly people rode bicycles by, and Qiao Yanyu and He Zhao had to hug the wall to avoid them.
After walking into the residential area and going through several twists and turns through a small alley, I finally found the Sichuan snack shop that the mud-loving guy had been longing for.
The snack shop didn't even have a sign or a name; it relied entirely on word of mouth among the residents. Qiao Yanyu and He Zhao had left early, and it wasn't even lunchtime yet, but there were already several people sitting inside. He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu exchanged a glance, He Zhao's expression clearly saying: "Good, we didn't go to the wrong place."
Only in these old shops can you find the most authentic food!
He Zhao is indeed a rich girl, but she's eaten at these kinds of shady little shops before. After all, in the romance novels set in their area, the young master is the kind of guy who can take the heroine deep into the mountains to find free-range chickens and eat authentic free-range chicken soup.
He Zhao was no exception.
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