"Hey, hey, snap out of it..."
Wang Lijia waved her hand in front of Xu Wenqian several times before she finally came back to her senses. Wang Lijia suspiciously said, "This time it can’t be another message from Duoduo... Xu Wenqian, you have a secret!"
"Stop talking nonsense, what secrets could I possibly have?"
Xu Wenqian, feeling inexplicably guilty, quickly diverted the topic as she glanced around, "There’s some candied hawthorn over there, want to eat?"
"Yes!"
As expected, Wang Lijia immediately forgot about continuing her interrogation, drawn in by the colorful candied hawthorn on the street.
With the development of the times, nowadays candied hawthorn is no longer as simplistic as it was in past years. Various fruits are stuffed with all sorts of fillings—fresh fruits, sour plums, purple sweet potatoes, glutinous rice, yogurt, red bean paste...
If you can think it, they can put it inside.
Of course, prices have also changed significantly from those days.
A skewer of candy made up of three little fruits costs 12 yuan if bought individually, and girls often opt for a more "economical" combo of 5 skewers for 40 yuan...
Turning into the bustling and crowded Nanjing East Road pedestrian street in Magic City, Wang Lijia and Xu Wenqian strolled leisurely, sometimes stopping at the Peace Hotel to take a photo, sometimes diving into Fan Sheng Western Cake House to buy a bag of butterfly pastries.
After a day of walking and stopping, until they received a phone call urging them from their classmates, Wang Lijia, whose hands were laden with bags, stuck out her tongue, "Oops, I almost forgot we have a gathering!"
Xu Wenqian found it amusing, but couldn’t hide her happiness as she pinched Wang Lijia’s arm, "Lijia, thank you..."
"Thank me for what? You’re being inexplicable, let’s go!"
Wang Lijia gave Xu Wenqian an eye-roll but pulled her along at a brisk pace.
Though Wang Lijia didn’t admit it, Xu Wenqian knew she had picked up on her earlier melancholy and intentionally used this method to lighten her mood. Xu Wenqian smiled with closed lips, choosing not to say more, just keeping up with Wang Lijia’s steps.
...
Seven or eight minutes later, the two girls arrived at their destination, slightly out of breath, at the New World Mall on Nanjing East Road.
Upon reaching the fourth floor, they were greeted by a restaurant filled with a sense of technology and futurism. The overall structure was adorned with a silver-white mirror finish, with a touch of cyberpunk vibe; this was the newly popular Warehouse No. 3 restaurant in Magic City this year.
Since it was a gathering of young people, no one wanted to create a business atmosphere, making this hotspot modern restaurant located in the city’s core a perfect choice.
Recently, this restaurant has been the hottest topic, and Xu Wenqian and Wang Lijia immediately noticed the long queue at the entrance. No sooner had the two appeared than two eager scalpers approached, asking if they needed a table, even quarreling over customers, almost getting into a fight, scaring the two into the restaurant quickly.
"Lijia, over here!"
A young man who had been eagerly waiting on the steps at the entrance saw them arrive, his eyes lit up, and waved to them.
As the two girls made their way upstairs, the young man discreetly glanced at Xu Wenqian and then cleared his throat, extending his hand to her, "Xu Wenqian, I’m Zhao Bin, do you remember me?"
"I remember, the class sports representative, right? Long time no see, hello."
Xu Wenqian nodded and smiled without any intention of shaking hands.
Seeing the young man’s awkwardness, Wang Lijia quickly laughed to defuse the situation, pushing his hand away, "Ew, you’re all sweaty; who wants to shake hands with you? Don’t you know our Qianqian is a clean freak?"
Zhao Bin finally relaxed, scratching his head with a laugh, "Let’s go, I’ll take you up, everyone else is here."
The three made their way to the restaurant’s third floor, navigating through a suspended walkway to enter the glass room with the best view in the entire restaurant.
"Lijia, why are you and Wenqian so late? I remember your family’s company is nearby?"
"Yeah, we’ve been waiting for you for over half an hour, you owe us a toast later..."
"Wenqian is still so pretty, no, I should say even more elegant!"
Seeing them arrive, the young men and women in the room smiled and greeted them.
Among the five or six people, only one girl was someone Xu Wenqian had met at a previous small gathering and considered fairly close; the others were meeting her for the first time since she had moved to Magic City.
No matter the past relationships, Xu Wenqian had graduated for more than three years, and many people and things had blurred, so these classmates only looked familiar and friendly, with a few whose names she couldn’t quickly recall.
Luckily, she had already used this excuse to avoid Wang Lijia coming over, so now Wang Lijia greeted everyone by name while laughing, allowing Xu Wenqian to match faces to names as she greeted them.
After the greetings, Wang Lijia then glanced around in surprise, "Hasn’t Young Master Jian arrived yet? He made the reservation for today, right?"
"Only Young Master Jian could manage to book a table; when we called, it was fully booked. Young Master Jian said he knew someone, which is how we got this private room with the best view."
Zhao Bin chuckled, "As for being late... isn’t that already Young Master Jian’s norm?"
Everyone shared a knowing smile at Zhao Bin’s last remark, including Xu Wenqian.
Young Master Jian’s full name was Jian Sihan, a local of Magic City, like Wang Lijia, a wealthy second-generation, but even more prosperous.