The Late-Night Food Stall Assault (1)

The night in Hongyun County Town held a hint of ease amid the clamor.

After Lin Yuan finished eating at the buffet, he did not go straight home. Instead, he wandered around the city at random.

Hongyun City had changed quickly over the past few years. The old houses on both sides of the river had basically all been demolished and replaced with wetland parks.

The city's business districts had shifted from the old commercial street into a layout of two new ones and one old one.

Two new commercial complexes had been added, but the old commercial street was still bustling.

Countless little pushcarts had already staked out spots along the streets and alleys, kindling one cluster after another of everyday warmth and smoke.

He remembered that back when he was in high school at City No. 2 Middle School, after class every day, he would buy one or two fried skewers with some classmates to satisfy a craving.

As Lin Yuan strolled, he thought back to stories from the past.

Back then, he had not thought those days were anything special, but looking back now, he still missed them a little.

They studied hard every day, and after school they could invite a few friends to play around as wildly as they liked. Aside from the little schemes over schoolwork, things between classmates had been especially simple.

As he walked, Lin Yuan found himself near Qicai Bridge.

This was one of the earliest wetland parks they had built along the river around here. The river lay to the right, while a small commercial street sat to the left.

Because there were many milk tea shops, along with late-night snack places and dessert shops, the area was full of young people once night fell.

Walking along this park, one could see aunties and older women taking strolls, as well as some elderly street singers.

Of course, there were also energetic youths dancing hip-hop.

Just as he was walking along at a leisurely pace, he suddenly heard someone behind him seemingly call his name.

"Lin Yuan?"

Lin Yuan stopped and turned to look. It was two girls walking arm in arm.

The moment he saw them, Lin Yuan recognized them at once. They were both his high school classmates.

The one on the left, with a high ponytail, poised manner, and fair skin, was called Han Shuyu. She had sat in front of him in eleventh grade, and he had played quite a few mischievous tricks on her.

He remembered one time when he had caught a mole cricket on the sports field. In their local dialect, it was called an earth dog. During recess, he had failed to hold back and put it into her hair.

In the end, he had made her cry on the spot, and because of that, the homeroom teacher had given him a fierce scolding.

The one on the right, with big wavy curls and delicate makeup, was called Xiao Li. In high school, she had been a girl who quite liked dressing up. Her grades had not been very good, but later she studied painting and eventually got into a good school too.

The two of them had been best friends in high school, basically sticking together on the way to and from school.

Han never left Xiao, and Xiao never left Han. At the time, the class had joked that wherever Han Shuyu was, Xiao Li was sure to be within a hundred meters.

Of course, they were not lesbians. In high school, Xiao Li had even had a young, innocent romance with a guy from the class next door.

"Lin Yuan, so it really is you. I was worried I'd recognized the wrong person just now," Xiao Li said first.

"Lili, you didn't believe me. I told you it was Lin Yuan," Han Shuyu said with a smile as she sized Lin Yuan up.

"Long time no see, you two."

"It's been over three years, right? After the last class reunion, we never saw you again. Last time when I had dinner with Li Feng, Zhongjie, and the others, we even talked about you," Xiao Li said.

"I've been running around trying to make a living. Can't help it. I'm born to toil."

"Speaking of which, why do I feel like you've changed quite a lot?" Han Shuyu said.

"Yet you still recognized me from so far away."

"A woman's intuition."

"That's because you were always bullying my Shuyu back then. You made my Shuyu react on instinct the moment she saw you," Xiao Li joked.

"What do you mean I bullied your Shuyu? Back then, she bullied me plenty too. If she wasn't pouring water into my books, she was pinching me hard with the Nine Yin White Bone Claw."

Han Shuyu's face immediately reddened, and she said, "Wasn't it because you started it first?"

"You dare say you never provoked me first? I remember one time you drew a huge pig head on my Chinese homework."

"Wasn't that because earlier, on my math test paper, you secretly changed several multiple-choice questions where I'd picked D into B?"

"If I remember right, those two things were over a month apart, weren't they?" Lin Yuan showed a surprised expression. "I was still wondering at the time how I'd offended you again. I never thought you were actually that good at holding grudges. You could remember it for a whole month."

When Han Shuyu heard him say that about her, her face instantly puffed up in anger. "So what if I hold grudges? I do hold grudges!"

After she said that, she habitually lifted her hand, wanting to twist Lin Yuan's arm.

But as if she thought of something, she did not reach over after all, and slowly lowered it again.

Xiao Li, standing beside them, smiled helplessly and said, "You two really are exactly the same as before."

"Let's not just stand here like idiots. Zhang Zhongjie just messaged me, saying we should go for a late-night snack. Lin Yuan, come with us. It's a perfect chance to meet some old classmates."

Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment, but still nodded.

The three of them walked to the roadside, then continued forward for a while until they arrived in front of a red MYD Han new-energy sedan.

Xiao Li took out the car key and tossed it to Lin Yuan, saying in a tone that brooked no argument, "You drive."

"You're pretty good at ordering people around, aren't you?"

"What else? Don't tell me you expect two delicate beauties to drive for you?"

After Xiao Li finished speaking, she pulled Han Shuyu toward the back seat.

Before long, the three of them arrived at their destination, a late-night food stall called "Old Xu's Barbecue."

The place was pretty big—open-air, with individual stalls sectioned off by tents.

Lin Yuan had just parked at the entrance when he heard someone at a stall over there shouting, "Over here, over here!"

The three of them got out of the car and walked side by side toward the late-night food stall.

"Who's that guy?" a girl asked, sounding a little gossipy.

"He looks kind of familiar, but I just can't place him."

"He couldn't be Han Shuyu's boyfriend, could he?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Where would Han Shuyu get a boyfriend? She hasn't dated anyone since graduating high school. Last time, her boss's son wanted to pursue her and sent her flowers, but she threw them straight into the trash right in front of him."

"Exactly, exactly. Even if she had a boyfriend, it'd have to be our Zhongjie."

"Don't make jokes like that."

"Huh, it seems like Lin Yuan."

"Now that you mention it, it really is."

While they were chattering away, Lin Yuan, Han Shuyu, and Xiao Li had already reached them.

"Look who's here today?" Xiao Li said to everyone with a smile.

Lin Yuan glanced over the people at the table. Five men and two women.

There was one girl he didn't know. Of the other five, four had been his high school classmates, and one had been from the class next door.

"Everyone, long time no see," Lin Yuan said first in greeting.

"Lin Yuan, it really is you." Li Feng, who was closest to him, stood up and patted Lin Yuan on the shoulder.

Zhang Zhongjie, who sat farther inside, looked Lin Yuan up and down, then said in an even tone, "I have to say, you've changed quite a bit. I almost didn't recognize you."

"We were just talking about you last time. Didn't expect to see you today," Xu Zhifang joked.

"Zhifang, who is he?" Lin Qianqian asked quietly by Xu Zhifang's ear.

"A high school classmate of mine. He's the one I told you about before, the face of our class. Well? Pretty good-looking, right?"

"Don't just stand there. Hurry and sit, hurry and sit. The dishes are pretty much all here too. Uh... ma'am, could you bring over another chair?"

After Zhang Zhongjie's gaze lingered on Lin Yuan for a moment, he looked toward Han Shuyu.

There happened to be an empty seat beside him, so he said to Han Shuyu, "Shuyu, you can sit here."

Xiao Li, who was even closer to him, immediately said, "Hey, Zhang Zhongjie, is my Shuyu closer to you, or am I closer to you? You only have eyes for my Shuyu, huh?"

Zhang Zhongjie laughed awkwardly, but there seemed to be a bit of smugness in his smile too. He thought Xiao Li was getting jealous.

Everyone at the table began to tease them as well.

"Lili, that's not what I meant. You sit, you sit, all right?"

"Hmph, I'm not sitting there. Who cares?" After saying that, she immediately pulled Han Shuyu toward the opposite side. "Come on, let's sit over there."

Just like that, the four girls at the table all ended up sitting together.

With one seat left, Lin Yuan plopped himself down beside Zhang Zhongjie.