"Mengmeng!"
After taking the subway to Intime, Jiang Qiuyi found her best friend in the plaza by the entrance and immediately pounced on her affectionately. "Mua!"
"Eww~" The tall Lin Meng wiped Jiang Qiuyi's saliva off her face in disgust, then patted the head of the seven- or eight-year-old girl beside her. "Come on, call her Auntie Jiang."
The chubby little girl nodded obediently. "Hello, Auntie Jiang."
"Who are you calling Auntie?" Jiang Qiuyi wrinkled her delicate nose and shot Lin Meng a fierce glare. Then she crouched down halfway and greeted the girl with a smile. "Hello! Just call me Sister Jiang~"
"What are you talking about?" Lin Meng, who was five foot seven but had a round baby face, said unhappily. "She calls me Auntie. Don't teach her nonsense."
Jiang Qiuyi grinned and refused to yield. "We can each do our own thing. I'm only twenty-one~"
Taking Lin Meng's niece by the hand, Jiang Qiuyi and Lin Meng entered Intime City and began shopping.
They accompanied the little girl in the arcade for an hour or two. Once she was tired out, they rested for a while at a cold drinks shop before preparing to look around the shopping area.
"Have you decided what gift to buy?" Lin Meng set her bear-shaped drink on the table, let out a long breath, and asked.
"I don't know..." Jiang Qiuyi spread her hands helplessly. "I can't think of anything suitable."
"Uh... how about face wash or something?" suggested the twenty-six-year-old single woman, who had zero dating experience since birth.
"...Stop giving orders, you useless strategist. No normal guy would like that, right?" Jiang Qiuyi covered her face.
Lin Meng put on a stern expression and snorted. "Then what did you give him before? Use that as a reference."
"It's because he never had much of a reaction to the gifts I gave him before that I struggle every time I buy one!" Jiang Qiuyi complained.
"When we were in middle school, I bought him toys like Gundam models. Lots of boys were jealous, but he didn't like them much. He said he might as well make one himself out of wood."
"Later, I gave him games on Steam. He only tried them a few times, then never touched them again."
"After that, I even bought him an expensive set of woodworking tools. But after looking at them, he said I'd been scammed... Those tools were only good for display and would wear down quickly in actual use."
"Anyway, aside from woodworking, he has no other hobbies at all. Otherwise, why would it have taken me until now to win him over?"
Lin Meng bit and played with her thin straw as she listened. When Jiang Qiuyi finished, she wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Hearing you say that makes me want to date even less..."
Jiang Qiuyi rolled her eyes, then finally sighed. "I might as well just buy him some new clothes."
After chatting for a while longer, the two brought the little girl into the shopping area.
Lin Meng bought her niece a pretty little dress. Halfway through, her cousin came over and took the girl home.
After that, Jiang Qiuyi and Lin Meng continued shopping and bought quite a few new clothes.
"Will he like the clothes you bought?" Lin Meng asked doubtfully.
"You don't understand." Jiang Qiuyi complained, "He normally doesn't even buy clothes for himself."
"All the clothes he wears are bought by his mom and sister."
"The clothes his sister buys are fine, but the ones his mom buys are way too old-fashioned..."
"Anyway, no matter what clothes you buy him, he'll wear them. He's not picky at all."
At four-thirty in the afternoon, the two women sat down in a café with armfuls of shopping bags.
Lin Meng took a camera out of her bag and spoke while filming. "Hi, everyone~ I've finished shopping now. Tonight, I'm going to Garden Restaurant for dinner, so stay tuned~"
"What are you filming?" Jiang Qiuyi asked curiously.
"A vlog." Lin Meng put away the camera. "Want to come to Garden Restaurant for dinner?"
"Of course. I said I'd treat you." Jiang Qiuyi said, "I also want to invite Chen Wen."
"No need to treat me." Lin Meng chuckled. "I got a sponsorship from Garden Restaurant. Dinner's free tonight, and this vlog is specifically for the ad."
"Free? It doesn't matter how many people there are?"
"Yep. Aren't you inviting your boyfriend? Free food is free food, so just call him over."
"Then I won't hold back!" Jiang Qiuyi took out her phone and opened WeChat.
My Darling Little Girlfriend: Ding ding ding! Did you miss me?
In the workshop of Huajing Garden, Unit 901, Chen Wen had just finished making the gift when he took out his phone and saw Jiang Qiuyi's message.
Chen Wen: What is it?
My Darling Little Girlfriend: First tell me if you missed me.
Chen Wen: I guess I did.
My Darling Little Girlfriend: You guess?!
Chen Wen: I missed you.
My Darling Little Girlfriend: Mm-hmm. (Nods in satisfaction.JPG)
My Darling Little Girlfriend: Mengmeng and I are planning to eat at Garden Restaurant. Come with us.
Chen Wen: Okay. Time and address?
My Darling Little Girlfriend: It's right next to Intime. Just come over a little after five and find us at the café.
Chen Wen: Okay.
Chen Wen put down his phone and looked at the ivory-colored dagger he had just finished on the workbench, a satisfied expression appearing on his face.
He dug out an empty box that had once held who knew what, placed the dagger inside, and sealed it with clear tape. That took care of it.
Just then, the phone in his pocket vibrated. When he took it out and looked, another new WeChat message had arrived.
Si Jiao Ji: I watched your new video. Did you finish your Interpreter?
Chen Wen: Yeah.
Si Jiao Ji: Didn't you say before that I could borrow it for a couple of days? Can I do that today?
Chen Wen: Sure.
Si Jiao Ji: How about I come get it tonight?
Chen Wen: No need. I'm heading out anyway. Send me an address, and I can drop it off on the way.
Si Jiao Ji: No problem. Then I'll trouble you with it.
Chen Wen put down his phone, feeling that something was strange.
Why did it feel like Si Jiao Ji was in such a hurry to get the Interpreter?
She had even planned to make a special trip over tonight.
Shaking his head and thinking no more about it, Chen Wen tidied up the workshop, put on the sword strap, slung the Interpreter over his back, picked up the gift box, and prepared to leave immediately.
It was four-thirty now. He would make a trip to Si Jiao Ji's place, then head to Intime to have dinner with Jiang Qiuyi. Getting there a little after five should be just right.
Thus, Chen Wen left the residential complex with a sword on his back and set off on his journey.
Only to be stopped by subway security.
"Hey, kid, take out that sword on your back and let me have a look."
Chen Wen froze for a moment, then obediently handed over the Interpreter.
The security guard drew the longsword. Under the reflected light, the Interpreter's surface was smooth and bright, making his eyes light up.
"This is a wooden sword, not a metal weapon..." Chen Wen explained.
After weighing it in his hand, the guard nodded and returned the Interpreter to Chen Wen. "Sorry. You can bring this sword in, but please register your name and ID number."
"...Okay."
Chen Wen slung the Interpreter onto his back again and followed a staff member to register his personal information nearby, under the astonished stares of the surrounding uncles and aunties.
Only then did he successfully board the subway.
[Pu Jie Ri Ji]: I'm going back to school the day after tomorrow. Today, I need to help my mom wash all sorts of things, and I also have to slowly sort out what I need to bring... There probably won't be many updates over the next two days... Anyway, one chapter is guaranteed, and whether there'll be a second depends on luck... Things should get back to normal once school starts... Emmm, I originally thought I could stockpile chapters at home, but I was thinking too much... Mom drags me around to do hard labor every day... Grandma's place is being demolished, and there's too much to deal with... It'll probably be better once I'm back at school...
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