Chapter 8
The barbecue restaurant is kept just the right level of busyness during lunch time on weekdays.
There is enough space of one table between two tables of diners, so it won’t be too noisy nor too quiet.
This is a newly opened branch of a well-known barbecue restaurant, located in a large shopping mall. Everything is new, even the wooden table has not yet been marinated by the barbecue fumes. A light pink flower is blooming in a small white bottle. As soon as we sit down, the waiter brings us fruit and lemonade.
Zhang Jusong folded the parasol little by little and placed it beside him.
"I haven't eaten barbecue for a long time, thanks to you."
"Of course, if it didn't look good, I wouldn't have asked you to come along."
Xia Zhiheng had just returned from the front desk after checking his coupons. As he answered, he raised his glass and took a big sip of iced lemonade.
Perhaps because he drank it too quickly, a drop of lemonade dripped along the boy's clear jawline, rolled over his protruding Adam's apple, and fell into the collar of his shirt.
Zhang Jusong then realized that he was wearing a white shirt today. How could someone wear a white shirt to eat barbecue?
The lemon water seeped into the fabric, making it slightly transparent.
For some reason, he felt flustered for a moment. Zhang Jusong immediately looked away and forced himself to look at the flowers on the table.
The flowers are pretty.
"It should be the rose. Sister likes roses?" Xia Zhiheng's voice sounded.
Zhang Jusong still stared at the petals without looking up:
"It's okay, I still like it."
"Yeah, I like them all... This answer is a bit perfunctory."
Xia Zhiheng held his chin up and looked at her with a smile: "I have nothing to do anyway, do you want to guess what flower I like best?"
"Is it a rose?"
"no."
"Then... orchids?"
"no."
I guessed several flower names in a row, but none of them were correct.
Xia Zhiheng said with a smile: "Clang, it's a sunflower. Very unique, isn't it?"
"Hey, is it a sunflower?" Zhang Jusong also laughed, "How strange, when you mentioned sunflower, my first reaction was - this is a delicious flower."
“The fried sunflower seeds are the best!”
After a brief chat, the waiter brought the food.
The meal for two was quite filling, so Rose had to be asked to move to a corner to make room. Even so, the table was filled with plates of all sizes, not only marinated raw meat waiting to be grilled, but also a platter with skewers of grilled food.
"Sister, their roasted butter tastes really good, you should try it."
Xia Zhiheng handed over a grilled butter skewer.
A thin, pointed bamboo stick is strung with five or six small pieces of butter, roasted until golden and slightly charred.
Zhang Jusong took a bite and found it had a very special taste with a light milky aroma. It was especially delicious.
“This is really delicious.”
"Of course, just follow me and eat, you can't go wrong!"
Xia Zhiheng really wasn't bragging. He knew exactly how long to roast each piece of meat for the best flavor and what sauce to pair it with!
This is really surprising.
"Wow, you're actually an expert when it comes to eating." Zhang Jusong sighed slightly.
Xia Zhiheng was beaming with joy: "Of course. When I go to City A in the future, if I find a good restaurant, I'll eat with you, okay?"
"OK."
Zhang Jusong was enjoying his meal and agreed casually.
After a meal of barbecue, my stomach was full.
Looking at the scorching sun outside, Zhang Jusong planned to go shopping in the mall to help digest his food.
After hearing her plan, Xia Zhiheng immediately responded, "Then let's go for a walk together? I originally wanted to buy a camera, I wonder if there are any discounts now."
"When we first came here, I thought we saw a Canon store, so let's go in that direction."
There were almost no customers in front of the camera counter. As soon as Zhang Jusong and Xia Zhiheng arrived, they were warmly received by the staff, who introduced various models, parameters and prices.
"This 5D is the best-selling one right now. It's full-frame and is great for taking portraits."
Xia Zhiheng took the SLR, adjusted the parameters, and aimed it at Zhang Jusong.
"Sister, can I take a picture to see how it works?"
Almost like a conditioned reflex, Zhang Jusong turned his head away, leaving only his back facing the camera: "Well... I don't really like taking pictures, why don't you try taking other pictures to see if they work better."
"Are there still little girls who don't like taking pictures?" the staff member said with some surprise.
Xia Zhiheng glanced at the staff member.
The staff member responded and put on a smile: "Our SLR can also take beautiful photos of scenery. Do you want to try it?"
Xia Zhiheng hesitated for a second and said to Zhang Jusong, "Sister, can you take a picture of me?"
"ah?"
This was somewhat unexpected. However, he had just rejected her once, and looking into Xia Zhiheng's eyes, Zhang Jusong couldn't say no this time.
She took the camera reluctantly: "I'm not very good at taking pictures."
"It's okay." Xia Zhiheng adjusted his hair. "You can take any picture you want. Just press the shutter button."
The SLR camera felt quite heavy in his hand. Zhang Jusong carefully picked up the camera and tried to capture Xia Zhiheng's figure with the lens.
The small world within the viewfinder column is different from what the eyes see.
The young man had a smile on his face and a determined look in his eyes.
It’s really photogenic, this thought flashed through Zhang Jusong’s mind, and he pressed the shutter button.
"It's not a good shot, just... take a look at it."
Although he said this, Zhang Jusong was thinking in his heart that if this boy really dared to despise him, there would definitely not be a next time.
Xia Zhiheng took the SLR, looked at it for a moment, raised his head and said, "You are so modest, sister, you took such a beautiful picture of me!"
The staff also praised: "The effect of this shot is very good, it can be used as a promotional photo for a youth campus movie!"
Feeling a little happy and a little embarrassed, Zhang Jusong whispered, "No way."
"Yes, there is." Xia Zhiheng said with a smile.
Zhang Jusong lifted the hair beside her ear and said, "Yeah, you take a look first, I'm going to the bathroom."
There were not many customers shopping in the mall at this time, and there was a rare absence of people lining up in the ladies' restroom. The large sink designed specifically for ladies who needed to touch up their makeup was empty.
After washing his hands, Zhang Jusong looked at himself in the mirror quietly.
Compared to when she was a child, her eye shape had not changed much, still thin willow-shaped eyes, but the little sparkle in her eyes was gone.
Maybe she didn't have them at all, because when she made a cameo appearance in that movie, she wore colored contact lenses at the director's request, which gave her the radiant look that many people can't forget.
Zhang Jusong curled the corners of his mouth, and the person in the mirror also curled the corners of his mouth.
It looks very quiet.
She stared at it for a while, tore off two pieces of paper to wipe the remaining water droplets on her hands, and left as if nothing had happened.
She walked very quietly, her little white shoes making almost no sound on the shiny floor.
A pair of high heels stepped on the floor, "click", "click", passed by Zhang Jusong, and suddenly stopped.
"Is it... Orange Song?"
Zhang Jusong stopped and the person who called her was a middle-aged woman with big wavy hair.
The person who could call out her name but couldn't confirm it at first glance must be an acquaintance who she didn't know very well. Zhang Jusong couldn't remember who this person was, but he still smiled and greeted her according to social etiquette: "Yes, it's me. Are you..."
"Don't you remember me? I'm your Aunt Dai. I used to play cards with your mother."
It seems like there is such a person, but I can't remember where.
Zhang Jusong smiled awkwardly and said hello.
Aunt Dai looked like a very outgoing type. Her eyes fell on Zhang Jusong and she looked him over: "Oh, in the blink of an eye, you've grown so big."
Zhang Jusong's smile was a little stiff. Well, she was a little worried and heard that classic words again.
What you fear will come true. The next second, Aunt Dai shouted, "I remember when you were a child, you were really pretty and cute. When you walked into the room, our friends who were playing cards all scrambled to hug you..."
Zhang Jusong just smiled and didn't say anything.
A voice came from behind, interrupting Aunt Dai's recollection of the past.
"She's pretty and cute now, isn't she?"
Looking back, Xia Zhiheng was standing behind him, not far away. The sunlight shone through the glass ceiling above the mall and fell all over him.
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