Confessing love
"Girl, what are you thinking about?"
Seeing that she seemed lost in thought, Zhao Tingfeng asked her a question.
"Oh, it's nothing." Ye Wanqing continued eating the candied hawthorn. "I don't mind the kiss just now."
"That's really straightforward. Does that mean I can act like a hooligan anytime?" Zhao Tingfeng said with a wicked smile.
"Stop fooling around."
The two chatted and laughed all the way.
Zhao Tingfeng continued cycling and stopped when he passed a state-run restaurant.
"Come on, I'll treat you to dinner."
The state-run restaurant was filled with the aroma of food and the cacophony of voices.
They found a relatively quiet spot by the window.
The wooden tables and chairs were somewhat worn, but clean, and a menu with the words "Serve the People" printed in red was pressed under the glass.
"Please sit down."
He pulled out a chair for her and sat down opposite her.
The waiter came over with a small notebook and asked in a flat tone, "What would you two like to eat?"
"One braised pork, one stir-fried bok choy, and two bowls of rice."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Ye Wanqing and asked, "Do you think this is okay?"
"That's fine, that's all."
While waiting for the food, he asked.
"Have you dated anyone all these years?" he asked tentatively.
"We talked about it! It wasn't excessive," Ye Wanqing said casually.
"How many have you talked to?" Zhao Tingfeng suddenly became a little nervous.
"One, please."
"Oh." Zhao Tingfeng breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, there was only one; there weren't many.
Ye Wanqing lowered her eyes and hummed in agreement.
The dish arrived, the braised pork glistening with oil and steaming hot.
Zhao Tingfeng immediately put the thinnest pieces into her bowl: "Eat more."
After saying that, he barely touched his chopsticks, just staring at her.
Ye Wanqing felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, and said softly, "You should eat too."
"Okay." He then picked up the bowl, shoveled a big mouthful of rice into his mouth, and chewed it very carefully.
I ate for a while.
Zhao Tingfeng suddenly put down his chopsticks, clenched his hands into fists on his knees, and then slowly relaxed them.
He looked at her calmly and finally spoke: "Ye Wanqing."
"Hmm?" She looked up, wondering why he hadn't called for the maid.
“I’m a soldier, I don’t beat around the bush. Today… I want to formally submit my application to you.”
"Apply?" Ye Wanqing looked up at him, somewhat puzzled.
"Could we... have meals together more often like this in the future?" He stared intently into her eyes and added, "Not just meals. I mean... let's date."
Ye Wanqing didn't answer immediately, but lowered her head and gently stirred the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks.
"You invited me to dinner just to say this?"
"Yes. Actually, I've never forgotten you in the past four years. Now that you've come to Gan City, it's like God has given me another chance. I don't want to lose you again."
Zhao Tingfeng spoke very seriously.
Ye Wanqing did not answer and fell silent instantly.
Zhao Tingfeng immediately became extremely nervous.
Ye Wanqing suddenly raised her head, turned directly to the waiter who had just walked by, and said clearly, "Comrade, check please."
Zhao Tingfeng was taken aback, and quickly reached into his pocket: "I'll do it..."
"This meal is on me."
Ye Wanqing deftly took out the money notes from her cloth wallet and handed them over.
He watched her calm profile as she paid, his heart pounding. She actually offered to pay; didn't that mean she had no feelings for him?
"Hello ma'am, that'll be five yuan in total."
[Ding! Detected that you spent 5 yuan on a man with an attractiveness rating of 9 or higher. You will receive a 500 yuan cashback.]
Ye Wanqing was quite surprised to hear the system notification. After all, it had been a very long time since she had spent money on a man.
After all, she wasn't short of money; the clothing factory alone provided her with fifty to sixty thousand yuan in pure dividends every year. She had almost forgotten about the tenfold return.
As they left the restaurant, Zhao Tingfeng remained anxious. "Girl, what do you think of what I just said?"
"What did you just say? I forgot."
Ye Wanqing pretended not to remember.
"...I told you I like you and want to date you."
"oh."
"You should at least give us a statement," Zhao Tingfeng said anxiously.
Ye Wanqing deliberately didn't answer, which made Zhao Tingfeng's heart itch.
As Zhao Tingfeng passed by the window of a state-owned department store, he stopped in his tracks.
"Shall we go in and take a look?"
He suggested that his gaze sweep over the dazzling array of small commodities in the shop window, eventually settling on one particular item.
Inside the counter, several pairs of earrings were displayed on a red velvet cloth. They were made of alloy, a popular material at the time, and were exquisitely crafted.
"Comrade, let me see these blue ones," Zhao Tingfeng said to the sales clerk. He took the earrings, turned around, and handed them to Ye Wanqing: "These...do you like them?"
Ye Wanqing stretched out her finger and gently touched the small blue dot on the earring.
"I don't have pierced ears."
She looked up at him, her voice very soft.
The light in Zhao Tingfeng's eyes dimmed for a moment.
But then, Ye Wanqing gently pinched her earlobe with her fingers: "However... I can tie one up."
Hearing this, Zhao Tingfeng's eyes lit up. "Waiter, I'll buy it."
The waiter wrapped it up for him, and he gave it to Ye Wanqing.
"Girl, this is for you."
Ye Wanqing didn't stand on ceremony and accepted it directly, "Okay. Thank you."
These earrings are quite pretty. They would also look nice hanging on a keychain if not on your ears.
"Let's go check out the bookstore up ahead."
Soon, he drove her to the bookstore.
In the bookstore.
Sunlight streamed in obliquely through the tall skylight, casting countless dust particles within its beams. The air was thick with the smells of old paper, ink, and paste.
The liveliest spot was the comic book counter against the wall, where children crowded together, chattering and reading.
Ye Wanqing bent slightly, her fingertips carefully tracing the rows of colorful comic books under the glass counter.
She couldn't help but think of the apocalypse.
In this post-apocalyptic world, technology is advanced, and almost everyone owns a smartphone. People are accustomed to reading in short bursts on their phones.
Physical books are extremely rare now. Apart from school textbooks, there are virtually no physical books for sale. In the post-apocalyptic world, due to energy shortages and the need to protect forests, almost everything is e-books, and physical books like these have practically disappeared.
This was the first time Ye Wanqing had ever seen such a comic book, and she was amazed by it.
Moreover, it was a comic book from the 1980s, which she considered an antique.
"Comrade, could you please show me this set of 'Sun Wukong Thrice Beats the White Bone Demon'?" she said to the sales clerk.
Soon, the salesperson took it out and handed it to her.
"Thank you." She took the small, palm-sized comic book and began to flip through it.
Zhao Tingfeng: "You like watching this too?"
"Yes, I like it very much."
Ye Wanqing raised her eyes, her gaze shimmering with tears. She lightly traced the painting with her fingertips. "It's very interesting."
Zhao Tingfeng nodded, finding her quite childlike. After all, people his age usually only read foreign classics. Comic books were for children.
To be honest, Ye Wanqing isn't very old. It's normal for her to like reading comic books.
"If you like it, then buy it! Salesperson, wrap up all of this Journey to the West comic book series." Zhao Tingfeng rushed to pay.
"You don't need to buy so many."
"Go back and read it slowly. After all, there are very few forms of entertainment these days. Reading is one of the few forms of leisure."
"Oh well."
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