Advanced Bistro (Part 3)
After sending the message, Jiang Yichun leaned back on the sofa with a sigh of relief and met the gaze of the guy in front of him: "So, you feel that you don't have anything in common with her, so you want to break up with her?"
Ham Bro's eyes were glazed over as he shook his head: "No, I just wanted to ask you for some advice."
"You're a girl, so you're naturally more sensitive, right? You must be able to figure out what the other girl is thinking."
Jiang Yichun stabbed the sausage in the bowl with a fork, causing juices to splatter.
I was asking for advice on applying for graduate school, but somehow I ended up becoming his relationship counselor.
She has no obligation to share.
"How would I know? Not all girls are emotionally sensitive."
"Besides, this is between the two of you. If she's completely devoted to you, but you still feel she's not good enough..."
Jiang Yichun met his dazed gaze and pulled down the corners of his mouth: "Isn't it clear enough whose problem it is?"
"I don't know what advice I can give you, but at least I don't think it's that girl's fault."
"Ah, so that's what Jiang Xuemei thinks." Ham Bro took another swig of his drink. "To tell you the truth, my girlfriend sometimes overthinks things."
"I was so busy with my graduate school application to A University that I didn't have time to maintain a relationship with her, so she assumed I was seeing someone else."
"That's why she came to my city to be with me, but she's just too sensitive and clings to me every day."
Jiang Yichun immediately seized on the loophole in his words: "She's sensitive? She's your girlfriend, and instead of giving her a sense of security, you're blaming her..."
Before Jiang Yichun could finish his questioning, Ham Bro opened his eyes, which were bloodshot: "Actually, my family is not happy."
“My father raised me alone. My mother is a gold digger who abandoned me and ran away.”
"So, despite my seemingly carefree and easygoing exterior, my heart is actually riddled with holes."
Gold digger and gold-digging...
"Your mother is not a good woman."
"What kind of good woman is a woman who spends all her time in bars?"
"Shouldn't women stay at home doing laundry and cooking? Going out to sing karaoke? Haha."
"My dear, I am not a good mother."
The woman's smell of smoke and alcohol, mixed with perfume, once again assaulted Jiang Yichun's nostrils.
Jiang Yichun still couldn't see the woman's face clearly.
She was ashamed to find herself feeling a slight emotional connection with the ham guy in front of her.
"What's wrong, Jiang? You seem to be quite moved by what I just said?" Liu Jianyang raised an eyebrow, as if he had caught the tenderness in her eyes.
Jiang Yichun's face remained expressionless: "I don't feel anything, I'm just wondering why you suddenly started sharing your family with me. This is related to..."
“That shows I trust you. Jiang, the moment I saw you, I knew we were kindred spirits.” He leaned forward, his hand gradually moving towards her. “Both of us come from small towns, both of us are outstanding…”
"They all yearn to be loved."
Have you ever been in a relationship?
Jiang Yichun frowned and took a few steps back: "Senior, you're drunk. Please calm down."
"Haha. Jiang, don't get too excited. You look like you've never been in a relationship."
"I... I just wanted to introduce you to someone."
"I'm definitely still with my girlfriend."
"I just want to be your friend."
Ham Bro's face was flushed, just like the barely touched ham on the table.
Jiang Yichun's face fell: "I have no obligation to be your friend."
"Senior, you have a boyfriend, and you've been dating for so long. Please be mindful of your boundaries."
"Pfft. Jiang, you're really good at joking." Ham Bro's language system completely malfunctioned. "Well, how about this, by the way, do you think it's my girlfriend's problem or mine?"
"Jiang, I feel so lonely. It seems like no one in this world can understand me."
"So you think I'll understand you? There's a limit to how much you can flirt, you know?"
Jiang Yichun could no longer care about the romantic atmosphere in the tavern; she slammed her hand on the table.
The stubborn mule within him burst forth from his heart, and Jiang Yichun's voice was exceptionally loud, echoing throughout the entire restaurant: "Fine, you want me to make a statement, huh? I'll say it."
"She loves you, she did nothing wrong."
"You're the one who's wrong; you betrayed her!"
"He appears affectionate on the surface but is actually frantically looking for someone else, using the excuse that his feelings have faded!"
Jiang Yichun stood up and gripped his phone.
"I just remembered I have a deadline, I need to go back to studying."
"Hey, wait a minute." Ham Bro called out to her again, "Junior Jiang, you haven't paid yet."
"Didn't I ask you for tutoring to help me with my graduate school application? Didn't you say you'd treat me to dinner? Why are you suddenly asking me to split the bill?"
"You said you'd share your experience of getting into graduate school, but all I heard today was your love and hate stories; I didn't get a single piece of useful information."
"If all else fails, you could connect with a relationship blogger; that way you can support his work."
"Shouldn't you be the one paying for my relationship counseling?"
Jiang Yichun vented all the dissatisfaction he had been suppressing, but still kept his voice down, offering him the last step.
Her mouth was dry, so she picked up a wine glass and gulped down a mouthful of wine.
The alcohol content wasn't low, but her throat felt even more burning.
Ham Bro chuckled: "Junior Jiang, to be honest, I thought you were adorable the moment I saw you. I don't talk about relationships with other people, it's just that I saw you."
“I’m attracted to you, so I’ve let down my guard and want you to know me better.”
"Perhaps this is what love at first sight is."
Jiang Yichun was so angry he laughed: "Senior Liu, you certainly have your own way of getting into A University academically, but..."
"Reading and character are never related."
"Ha, don't try to blackmail me with your character or loyalty." Ham waved his hand, his tone sticky.
"Would you eat the same thing over and over again until you get tired of it? Probably not. So I wouldn't love the same person over and over again either."
"We've been together for so many years, it's normal to get tired of her, right?" He looked up and smiled at her.
"Infidelity is the essence of love."
These words pierced Jiang Yichun's old wounds like a thorn. Alcohol mixed with anger flooded through her reason, and the stubborn mule within her galloped out.
She opened her recording and turned up the volume so that everyone in the restaurant could hear it.
Feeling the intense gazes, Jiang Yichun grabbed his backpack from the chair and gave Ham Bro a cold look one last time.
Ham Guy's flushed face, slightly intoxicated by alcohol, turned deathly pale in an instant.
"Junior Jiang, I... I won't ask you for the money anymore, but could you please not take it..."
I want it!
Jiang Yichun ignored him and turned to leave.
As soon as she pushed open the tavern door, she turned and walked out onto the pedestrian street.
"Infidelity is the essence of love."
This sentence kept playing in her mind.
What followed was the pushing and shoving and fighting between the parents, and the "divorce certificate" that was pulled out of the mother's drawer.
Since the ending is always broken, it's better not to have started at all.
Since love will ultimately end in infidelity, why do people still love so passionately?
All she wanted to do was run, run far away, escape those strange looks, and run away from any possibility of love.
Jiang Yichun, panting, finally stopped in front of a milk tea shop and looked up at the sign.
It was the shop where I bought milk tea when I first met He Yinxin.
Gardenia milk green tea and peach oolong tea.
Buffalo milk.
Jiang Yichun stood blankly at the shop entrance, rubbing the hem of his clothes.
She took out her phone, and Xi Xi only replied with one message.
Guan Shuoxi: [Sorry, Xiaochun, I'm not in Huaxing City right now. My internship has asked me to do fieldwork. Let's reschedule for another time.]
Jiang Yichun pursed her lips, tears welling up in her eyes without her noticing.
"Koharu?"
Familiar sounds and familiar smells slowly spread and enveloped all her senses.
Jiang Yichun felt a jolt of electricity run through his body and stood frozen in place.
Are you... alright?
It was just a short sentence, but it felt like she was being hugged tightly.
Jiang Yichun lowered his head, letting the two tears that were swirling in his eyes fall to the ground.
These past few days I've been deliberately distancing myself from him, even though I'm the one who...
I clearly wanted to get closer to him and talk to him more.
Fear was still pulling her back, playing a tug-of-war with her.
Perhaps it was the alcohol that helped her succeed in this tug-of-war competition.
She no longer cared about fear; she walked straight up to him and pressed her head against his chest.
She could clearly feel the person in front of her freeze in place.
"I'm not good!"
"Old He, I..."
I really miss you.
She wouldn't say that half-sentence aloud, but simply pressed herself against his chest.
She could hear his heartbeat.
Thump, thump, thump thump...
His hands hesitated to cross behind her back.
The two snuggled together until He Yinxin spoke up: "Xiaochun, would you like some milk tea?"
"I'm rushing to finish my thesis, and since milk tea contains a lot of caffeine, I'm going to drink some to stay alert."
"Because you said this milk tea is delicious, I... I took your suggestion and came to try it."
"I didn't eat enough for dinner, I'm so hungry." Jiang Yichun didn't answer his invitation; she inexplicably wanted to be willful for once.
"I can't sleep well after drinking milk tea, and I'll still be hungry."
"Then let's eat pig's trotters. How about it? I... I'll go with you." He Yinxin stammered, "It's... it's the pig's trotters at the school gate."
"When you complimented my hands before, you casually mentioned that you liked to eat pig's trotters."
Jiang Yichun's mind went blank, with only the steaming, fragrant bowl of pig's trotters remaining in his thoughts.
She wiped away the tears that had slipped from the corners of her eyes and softly murmured "Mmm".
He Yinxin's voice was still trembling: "So, so, Xiaochun, could you please not lean on me anymore? There are so many people watching, it's a bit..."
"My adrenaline is a little high, or to put it simply, I'm a little embarrassed."
"Human machine. Even at a time like this, you're still speaking so seriously."
Jiang Yichun immediately pulled his head back and rubbed the corner of his eye.
Under the influence of alcohol, she became bolder in her speech.
He Yinxin didn't say anything, but simply took out a tissue from her pocket and placed it in her palm.
"Is there anything else Xiaochun wants to say to the human-machine interface?"
"Yeah, Lao He, don't you know that ham guy who got into A University for graduate school?"
"Ham Bro? The one surnamed Liu?"
"Yes! Do you know his girlfriend?"
"Uh, I don't actually know him, but I know him in name only."
"Human machine! Speak like a human!" Jiang Yichun angrily punched his shoulder.
He Yinxin smiled and sighed, "I have her contact information. Although I'm not familiar with her."
Jiang Yichun took out his phone and sent him the recording: "Old He, help me send it to his girlfriend, so she knows... what kind of scum that guy is!"
As the alcohol took effect, Jiang Yichun's steps became unsteady, and he was about to fall to the ground.
Her language also gradually became bolder.
"I...I'm going to yell at him! That scumbag! That bastard! That heartbreaker who deceives women's feelings!"
He Yinxin had no choice but to reach out and support her, coaxing her as she said, "Okay, okay, you go ahead and talk, the human-machine interface will always be here listening."
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