Lu Chao shook his head, "It's not like you can't see gold on the street, but you see it much less often than I do now. I told you the rose-flavored one I bought last time was delicious, but you wouldn't even try a bite."
"Chao, do you think you still have any integrity?" Gu Li said matter-of-factly. "I told you before that the oranges I had were very sweet, but you didn't even want to try one."
Lu Chao said, "You ate one piece and haven't touched it since. You're obviously trying to trick me. Do you think I'd fall for it?"
Gu Li: "That just means we know each other very well, so don't make a fuss."
Xu Lang said, "No, then why didn't you try the popping candy I bought last time? Do you think I can't trust you, Brother Li?" He immediately put on a sad expression and looked at Gu Li.
Without pausing, Gu Li said, "Sweetie, your brother Li just doesn't like popping candy."
Xie Tao quietly added, "He just suddenly developed a liking for cherry blossom flavored potato chips, please be understanding."
The others nodded, "We accept this consolation."
Lu Chao looked at Jiang Xu and said, "New friend, I'm leaving his picky problems to you to fix."
Jiang Xu nodded, looking like he was shouldering a heavy responsibility. "Don't worry, I will definitely live up to your expectations."
Ji Hai said, "You two are acting like you're making some kind of major deal. Why don't we step aside for a bit?"
Gu Li put the potato chips back on the coffee table. "No need, they've already completed the transaction, and it's an invalid transaction."
Lu Chao stretched and said, "Shouldn't we get started?"
Xu Lang: "Indeed, it's getting late."
Xie Tao nodded. "The difficulty has increased."
Ji Hai laughed and took a sip of mineral water. "You guys are speaking in code like underground party members now."
Jiang Xu thought for a moment and then asked, "Are the underground party members researching what to eat for dinner?"
“Smart,” Gu Li affirmed, then turned to the others and asked, “What are your thoughts?”
The group finally settled on two options: barbecue and Thai food.
Lu Chao rubbed his hands together. "Alright, now for the exciting voting part. Who wants to go first?"
Gu Li patted Lü Chao on the shoulder, "Look how eager you are to try. We won't compete with you for first place. Come on."
Xu Lang continued, "What's your choice, Brother Chao?"
Lu Chao interlaced his fingers, crossed one leg over the other, rested his hands on his knees, and sat up straight. “My choice is,” he paused, “Thai food.”
Ji Hai laughed, "How elegant, it's a pity no one else is watching."
Gu Li said with a smile, "It's not a pity. After all," he smiled, "elegance never goes out of style, never goes out of style."
Lu Chao said, "You laughed about what happened at dinner last time, and you're going to laugh about it again this time, huh? You little rascal." After he finished speaking, he reached out to tickle Gu Li's waist.
Gu Li dodged backward, bumping into Jiang Xu behind her. Her back pressed against his chest, and the pounding of his heart reminded Gu Li of the time they shared an umbrella in the rain. "I'm not laughing anymore, I really am not laughing anymore," he said, stepping back a little. "I really have to say you're elegant."
Seeing that his expression had become more serious, Lu Chao asked, "Really?"
Gu Li nodded, then looked at Ji Hai's side, "Come on, let's continue choosing, who wants to be the second one?"
Xie Tao spoke up, "I'll stand at the barbecue stand."
Jiang Xu looked at Gu Li's red back of her head and remembered the raindrops dripping from the umbrella, the raindrops that had wet a strand of Gu Li's red hair.
After a round of selections, only Jiang Xu remained, and the current situation is as follows.
Thai ingredients: Lü Chao and Xu Lang.
Barbecue: Xie Tao, Gu Li, and Ji Hai.
Gu Li thought for a moment and said, "How about letting our new friends experience what it was like for us in the past?" He continued, "And also give Lü Chao and Xu Lang a chance."
Xu Lang: "What should we do? We are indeed at a disadvantage."
Xie Tao: "I think Jiang Xu wants to choose our side."
Xu Lang shook his head and said earnestly, "Tao, you're definitely mistaken. How can someone so young have such poor judgment? He clearly wants to choose our side."
Lü Chao: "You two's pattern of automatically blocking out friendship whenever you're not on one side is always quite entertaining to watch."
Xu Lang: "Isn't that amazing? If the money's right, we could even put on a show."
Gu Li spoke up, "I abstain from voting. How about Jiang Xu decides with one vote?"
Lu Chao nodded, "I think it's a good idea. Let's let our new friends experience our old model once."
Xu Lang accepted it well, "Then the next step is the part I'm best at: campaigning for votes."
Lü Chao: "You forgot to mention it, it's the part we're best at: campaigning for votes."
Xu Lang: "Yes, Gongjin, I understand."
Lü Chao tilted his head, "When did this form of address come about?"
“It was just decided today,” Jiang Xu answered Lü Chao’s question. “How should I choose? It’s so frustrating.” He sighed.
Lü Chao and Xu Lang are really good at talking, the kind of people who can speak eloquently. When they are apart, they can keep bickering, but when they are on the same side, they can agree and respond to each other for a common goal.
Jiang Xu never imagined that there could be so many different interpretations of Thai food; he had certainly learned something new.
After the two finished speaking, Xie Tao calmly said, "I don't think we have anything to say."
Xu Lang looked relaxed. "You've already admitted defeat? You won so easily, Asako."
Lu Chao also raised his chin, "Indeed, indeed, it's not difficult at all."
Ji Hai, “…”
Xie Tao's voice was calm and steady. "I'll just say one thing," he suddenly looked confident. "Gu Li chose our side."
Xu Lang and Lü Chao exchanged a glance, Xu Lang's tone less excited, "It seems to be a loophole in the rules."
Lü Chao: "Yeah, the referee was probably bribed long ago."
"Don't say that, you two. It's really a good point that I chose to buy you both water." Jiang Xu's face was full of affirmation for the two of them.
Lü Chao said, "It would be more useful if you just said you chose the two of us."
Xu Lang nodded, "Yes."
Jiang Xu gave the two of them an encouraging smile. "What you two said is really tempting," he even gave them a thumbs up. "But I choose barbecue."
Gu Li thought for a moment and then said, "Do you really want to eat barbecue? Choose whatever you like."
Jiang Xu: "I really want to choose."
Gu Li, "The emotional appeal didn't work?"
“I have gotten up,” Jiang Xu nodded apologetically to Lü Chao and Xu Lang, “so this meal is on me.”
Lü Chao: "In that case, I accept."
Xu Lang said, “It’s not that we can’t compromise,” and then looked at Xie Tao after speaking to Jiang Xu, “Don’t play the emotional card next time. This is a yellow card for you. Next time, it’ll be a red card, Tao.”
Xie Tao nodded, "No need, I'll win next time based on my own ability."
Lu Chao picked up the conversation, "Based on our strength, Xu Lang and I are absolutely not going to lose by a hair's breadth."
Ji Hai turned back and gave Lü Chao a look, "Are you sure you two can be in the same group next time?"
Gu Li cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. He raised his wrist and looked at it, "It's almost six o'clock, we should go."
Xu Lang said to Xie Tao expressionlessly, "Here I am, here I am, a late but welcome show-off."
Xie Tao nodded. "He did indeed take it."
Ji Hai vaguely understood the gist of it. He looked at Gu Li's wrist and realized what was going on. "Gu Li, this watch is quite nice. Did you just buy it?"
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