Chapter 20 A Bite-Based Date~
Sang Li nestled on the sofa, scrolling through her phone, occasionally swinging her legs.
Lu Jin, holding a freshly poured cup of coffee, asked, "What are your plans for this weekend?"
Sang Li didn't look up, drawing on her tablet: "No particular plans, just hanging around. I still have a few orders from last month that I haven't finished. Although the clients haven't been urging me, I should still finish them as soon as possible. I don't have enough money, especially since I've returned to the real world from the shelter. There are so many things I want to buy."
"You don't have enough money?" Lu Jin asked. "Fourteen thousand before tax, ten thousand after tax."
Sang Li muttered, "Who would complain about having too much money? Besides, the people who commission me are much cuter than you. They'll praise my drawings. Actually, I've loved drawing since I was little, but my parents are always busy arguing, so no one ever praises me."
Lu Jin turned his head and glanced at her: "Why don't you study art in college?"
“I have to earn money to eat, and I don’t have any. How can I study art? My grades were just average. I didn’t want to study humanities or sciences, so I ended up studying business, but I still couldn’t find a job. But I’ve been painting on and off for years. When I was in college, people started commissioning me. Although they weren’t big projects, they could always afford the price. Later, more and more people commissioned me. That’s how I make a living in this shelter. I’m so glad you didn’t skimp on my hard-earned money.”
Sang Li, with a chocolate bar in her mouth, boasted, "I have a fan who loves me very, very much. There's one, I don't know her name, but she asks me for articles and scenery every month. She said she wanted to change her phone wallpaper... Oh, right, we haven't been in touch for about a week. Maybe I'm busy, or maybe she is, I don't know... I've decided to send her a few when I have time."
Lu Jin looked at her quietly, seemingly without any emotional fluctuation: "Then I should be considered your good friend."
"Of course, that's great! She knows so many of my secrets!"
From pretty dresses and socks to menstrual anxiety, she knows everything I share with my best friend.
"Stop drawing, draw again when you're at work," Lu Jin said.
Sang Li's eyes widened: "Can I openly slack off at work?"
Lu Jinfan: "Otherwise, would you write a report?"
Sang Li giggled: "No way!"
"Then take a look at this." Lu Jin sat down next to her and handed her his phone, which showed recommendations for weekend activities.
Recommendations for camping, vacations, movies, performances, museum exhibitions, and restaurants for romantic dates.
Sang Li slid her finger down and suddenly stopped: "Art exhibition, isn't this the one that was exhibited in Beijing last year? It was incredibly popular back then, and I could only see pictures online, but the more I looked, the more disappointed I became."
After all, she was locked up and couldn't see!
"You want to go?"
“Hmm.” Sang Li nodded, then added, “But it seems like tickets for this exhibition are quite hard to book; they’re probably sold out already.”
"Let's go."
Sang Li froze, staring at him with wide eyes: "Now?"
"I have a ticket."
Sang Li blinked, momentarily stunned: "This...this exhibition is really hard to get tickets for! How did you..."
She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence, looked up at him, and asked with a hint of suspicion in her voice, "How did you know I wanted to go?"
Were you spying on me?
Do you have a crush on me?
"You think this ticket was specially for you?" Lu Jin teased.
"Huh?" Sang Li frowned. No, that's not it. She was still self-aware.
Lu Jin: "My friend is the organizer."
Sang Li was a little embarrassed, her face flushed: "I knew it, I thought you had a crush on me."
Lu Jin almost choked, turning his head to avoid Sang Li's gaze: "Get dressed, I'll drive."
"Okay!"
The drive was smooth.
The exhibition is located in the arts district.
It wasn't a famous painter known both domestically and internationally, but rather a solo exhibition by a very niche illustrator. Although niche, the artist was still a popular figure within the art world, and the organizers favored creating scarcity, making tickets extremely difficult to obtain.
The art park's exhibition hall is small; it was converted from a former factory.
A large poster fell from the exterior wall of the exhibition hall, its vibrant colors intertwining in every direction. The figures in the painting were vivid, and the colors were bright, reflecting a style that Sang Li particularly liked.
The theme of this painting exhibition is "Peach Blossom Lovers".
The shops along the street have already changed their decorations to match the exhibition theme, and everything exudes the bright spring atmosphere.
Before even entering the exhibition hall, Sang Li saw the ice cream shop with the longest queue.
She loves ice cream, especially unconventional flavors such as almond tofu, passion fruit yogurt mango, and macaron rum.
I'm willing to try any flavor I've never tasted before.
We're so tired of the vanilla and chocolate ice cream from the management office!
The shop window was filled with creamy peach blossom ice cream and mango peach blossom ice cream.
She glanced at Lu Jin secretly, and seeing that he didn't react, she casually leaned towards the shop window.
I really want to eat it...
But isn't that too expensive?
A small cup costs 78 yuan, isn't that blatant robbery?
What kind of ice cream can be so expensive?
Moreover, she wanted to try both flavors, which would add up to 156, almost equivalent to her daily wage.
Even if she could afford it, she really couldn't eat two of them, and it would be a waste not to eat them.
Sure enough, poor people have a lot of problems.
Lu Jin looked down and saw Sang Li struggling with her decision. He said, "If you want to eat, then eat. I'll go queue up. I can eat too."
After he finished speaking, he walked directly towards the counter.
Sang Li was stunned for a moment, watching his back.
Does he want some too?
Sang Li followed.
Lu Jin stood at the back of the line, his posture upright and his presence immediately striking.
He wasn't actually interested, but Sang Li's eager expression just now was written all over her face. Her attempt to cover it up was only fooling herself.
I know she doesn't have a big appetite, but she always wants to eat a lot and doesn't like to waste food. When she was at the management bureau, she would always buy small portions of snacks to avoid not being able to finish them.
Why not just buy two? Maybe you'll get a pleasant surprise.
As long as she's happy.
When it was their turn, Sang Li quickly went over.
Lu Jin asked, "You want these two?"
The waiter enthusiastically introduced, "Peach blossom ice cream and peach blossom mango ice cream are the store's signature dishes, but you can also try the others."
Sang Li nodded silently, but then shook her head: "Is it okay? I don't feel well..."
"Um?"
"I can't finish it."
Sang Li smiled sheepishly.
Lu Jin didn't see it as a problem: "If you can't finish it, I'll eat it."
Sang Li looked at him, and her expression immediately lightened: "Then let's have a peach blossom ice cream and a peach blossom mango."
Lu Jin said to the waiter, "That's it, two glasses."
Sang Li watched as the waiter prepared to collect payment and touched her phone.
"I'll do it." Lu Jin pressed her hand back down.
Are you suggesting I let her spend money?
Stingy and miserly.
The ice cream smelled delicious. Lu Jin looked at the ice cream in his hand, and his brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
He really didn't want to eat, but when he saw Sang Li smiling with her eyes crinkling, he felt that this "reluctance" was nothing to worry about.
"So sweet." Sang Li scooped up a spoonful and put it in her mouth, squinting her eyes.
Absolutely fantastic!
Lu Jin stared at her satisfied expression, raised an eyebrow, and replied in a low voice, "Hmm, not bad."
Sang Li looked at him with bright eyes: "Thank you for treating me to dinner."
“Shouldn’t I be your guardian?” Lu Jin retorted.
Sang Li said while eating, "I feel it's not good. I want to be self-reliant."
Lu Jin: "Being self-reliant does not mean refusing other people's kindness and care."
Sang Li glanced at Lu Jin, then looked down at the orange and pink peach-mango flavored liquid in his transparent acrylic cup: "Can I have a bite?"
"eat."
Sang Li carefully scooped out a piece with a spoon, and it melted in her mouth.
The sweet aroma of mango and the fresh scent of peach blossoms linger on the lips and teeth, like being kissed by a peach blossom.
tasty.
Damn, it tastes so much better than just peach flavor!
Lu Jin smiled and asked, "Want to change?"
Sang Li chuckled: "No..."
You have to accept the consequences of your bet; you can't have your cake and eat it too.
That's not the morality of a foodie!
Lu Jin did not insist any further.
Is it tasty?
He took a bite.
It's nice and sweet.
But there is no mulberry sweetness.
She's like a little cake that smells like cream; biting into her would definitely taste much better than ice cream.
A note from the author:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
