Chance Encounter

I was busy until 6 p. m.

Tang Song stood up, stretched, and said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work, Accountant Gao. How about I treat you to a big meal?"

Gao Mengting winked at him and said, "Sorry, I have plans today. I'll make a note of this meal and you can treat me another day."

"Oh? Male or female?"

Gao Mengting paused, then awkwardly looked away. "It's my junior from school. She put a lot of effort into it, producing six versions in three days. This 1500 yuan design fee is a huge bargain for me, so I was thinking of treating her to a meal to make up for it."

With her design skills, she would be earning at least 5,000 RMB per month at a design company.

Furthermore, they will be responsible for the subsequent modification and maintenance of various sizes and formats. 1500 yuan is definitely a super friendly price.

"OK." Tang Song gave her a cool smile. "Don't forget to get an invoice. These kinds of company-related expenses are all reimbursable."

"Mr. Tang is so generous!" Gao Mengting covered her mouth and chuckled.

Just then, Gao Mengting's Mobile Phone rang.

Tang Song glanced at it; the caller ID was saved as "Qiu Qiu".

"Hey, Qiu Qiu, I'm about to get off work. You can leave now."

"Okay, bye-bye~"

The sun gradually sank in the west.

A black BMW 330 drove along the orange-yellow street, heading out of the South Second Ring Road along the main road.

After turning a few corners, lush locust trees appeared on both sides of the road.

A familiar feeling welled up in my heart.

A dazzling array of shops, colorful signs, various snack stalls, roadside stalls, bookstores, jewelry stores...

The crowds coming and going on the roadside were mostly young men and women, exuding youthful energy.

They walked in groups of three or five on the street, chatting and laughing or playing around, full of youthful energy.

This is the commercial street outside Yan City University of Science and Technology, where he lived for four years.

After graduation, I was busy traveling around and never came back.

On my way home from get off work today, I suddenly had a whim to come here and try some familiar food.

After parking the car, Tang Song stood by the roadside and looked around for a while before walking forward.

Fried chicken, Grilled Cold Noodles, stinky tofu, candied hawthorn...

Before he knew it, Tang Song was carrying several bags.

Finally, he went into an authentic beef Banmian shop.

I used to eat here often when I was in college, and three years have passed, but it's still the same.

He didn't care whether he could finish it or not, and directly ordered a large bowl of wide noodles with bean curd Bazhi Meat, meatballs, and an egg.

I found a spot by the window, enjoying the delicious food while observing the college students coming and going.

As darkness fell outside the shop, the streetlights suddenly came on, bathing the world in a warm yellow glow.

Tang Song paused in his eating, and for some reason, he felt as if it were yesterday.

I vaguely recall a similar scene, but it was several years ago.

On a bustling street.

Li Shumin pouted and said, "I still want to eat River Snail Rice Noodles, what should I do?"

Zhang Jiahong said irritably, "You've been eating this for two days straight, and now even your farts smell awful!"

"You... you're talking nonsense! It's like your farts don't stink!"

The two argued for a few minutes.

Li Shumin shook Yao Lingling's arm. "Ling Ling, why don't you decide what to eat tonight? I'm starving."

Yao Lingling glanced at the row of shops along the roadside, pointed to one of them and said, "Let's have some Banmian are huge and you can add extra toppings."

"Alright, let's get started."

"I want to add eggs and meatballs."

"Look at you, so pathetic! I need some Bazhi Meat!"

The three of them walked into the store chatting and laughing.

We chatted warmly with the owner at the counter for a bit and ordered our meals.

Since it was a holiday evening, there were no empty tables available, so I had to share a table with other people.

Li Shumin glanced around, pointed to a table in the corner, and whispered, "There's a handsome guy over there, all alone. Hehe, the three of us can make a table!"

From their position, they could only see him from the side and behind, but from his figure, clothing, and silhouette, they could still tell that he was definitely a handsome young man.

It's better to have a handsome guy to admire you while you're eating.

The three girls exchanged a smile and walked straight in that direction.

In these small shops, everyone sits together, so there's no question of whether or not you're disturbing anyone.

Li Shumin and Zhang Jiahong sat down directly opposite each other, secretly observing the boy's face.

Yao Lingling patted the boy's shoulder generously and said with a smile, "Handsome, excuse me, I'll sit inside you."

Hearing the familiar voice, Tang Song, who was slurping noodles, looked up in surprise.

Then, all four of them were stunned.

After a moment of silence, Yao Lingling exclaimed, her eyes wide, "April! Wow, what a coincidence!?"

Li Shumin and Zhang Jiahong stared at each other blankly for a moment.

The amateur blogger I'd been cultivating online suddenly appeared right in front of me.

It feels like we're meeting in person.

And they just had a video call yesterday, what a coincidence!

"It's quite a coincidence, isn't it a kind of fate? Yancheng so big, and we actually bumped into each other in such a small shop." Tang Song remarked, then moved to a seat inside and said to Ling Ling, "Sit down and let's talk."

Yao Lingling quickly took her seat.

Tang Song greeted them with a smile, "Ling Ling, Minmin, and Little Red Riding Hood, good evening."

As he smiled, the three girls were startled and looked him up and down, their eyes filled with surprise and amazement.

Tang Song felt extremely uncomfortable under the gazes of the three women. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Yao Lingling resisted the urge to pinch his cheek and clicked her tongue, saying, "April, you're even more handsome than you look online."

"Yeah yeah."

"That's right, that's right, your renovation is definitely the most successful case I've ever seen."

Li Shumin and Zhang Jiahong nodded vigorously in agreement.

I thought this guy was quite handsome when I saw him in the video, but he was even more handsome in person than I expected.

Especially his mouth, with its red lips and white teeth, and his smile is so gentle, so handsome!

Tang Song blushed slightly and said with a smile, "Stop calling me by my online name, just call me by my real name, which is my WeChat nickname, Tang Song."

"Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Yao Lingling."

"I am Li Shumin."

The four of them chatted briefly and got to know each other anew.

Tang Song placed the pile of snacks he had bought in the middle of the table and said with a smile, "Perfect, I bought too much and couldn't finish it all, now I don't have to worry about it."

Looking at the dazzling array of snacks, the three girls swallowed hard.

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"It's okay, we're friends, and I really can't finish it all."

"Tang Song, you should know I'm a huge fan of yours, so I won't stand on ceremony." Li Shumin licked her lips, grabbed a Pistol Chicken Leg, took a big bite, and said with satisfaction, "Is this the Crispy Fried Chicken from that place at the street corner? It's so delicious!"

"Stinky tofu is also delicious."

The Banmian were quickly filled.

The four chatted and ate their meal.

The three girls were all quite lively, and they chatted about him and the food, Tang Song somewhat unable to get a word in edgewise.

We chatted for a while.

Yao Lingling explained, "The three of us are all students from Yan City University of Science and Technology. We just graduated last year. Since we are familiar with the area around the school, we rented a house together in the Star Garden Residential Area next door. We often eat here because it's cheap and the portions are generous."

Tang Song was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Oh, you're a junior! I graduated in 2020. When you entered university, I was probably just a junior. We might have even met before."