Delicious Braised Goods

"Uh." The manager's expression did not change. "I miscalculated. How about this? I'll quote you 230,000. That price is definitely the lowest in the computer city."

Tian Nina turned back to look at Lin Qiye, waiting for him to decide.

Lin Qiye cut the price again. "220,000. You'll definitely still make a profit. If you don't agree, I'll go to Universal Computer City downtown. It might be even cheaper there."

The manager's face shifted through every shade of expression, putting on quite the display, before he gritted his teeth and agreed. "Then 220,000 it is, but you have to pay a 4,000-yuan deposit. Also, when do you want delivery?"

Those configurations were relatively high-end. Aside from Lin Qiye, probably no one else would want that many, so paying part of the deposit in advance was normal enough.

Lin Qiye swiped his card to pay the deposit, took the receipt, and agreed to have the goods delivered after National Day.

With that done, today's plans were basically finished. The two of them left the computer city and returned to Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens Internet Cafe.

The internet cafe was as lively as ever today.

Those students who had topped up their accounts had no intention of leaving the internet fees on their cards until New Year.

Tian Nina looked at the smoky, chaotic internet cafe but did not say anything. She still followed him inside.

Lin Qiye first walked to the Bar Counter and asked in a low voice, "How's it been today?"

The staff member, Xiao Zhang, looked miserable. "Busy as hell. I've called for drink restocks three times already. The supplier said they'll increase the supply from now on, and asked if we can give them a small storeroom to keep stock."

"Isn't there a storage room? It's empty anyway. Have them stack the goods inside."

After the brief exchange, he brought Tian Nina to the office.

The moment the door opened, Tian Nina immediately grew a little uneasy.

"We're still at the stage of getting to know each other. What are you trying to do?"

Lin Qiye helplessly pointed at the computer desk. "Nothing. The air outside isn't good. I just wanted to say you can rest here for a bit, and you can go online too. In a while, after Jiang Dabao and Li Nanguang arrive, we'll go out and have fun."

"What about you?" Tian Nina's voice was very soft, and her two hands twisted together.

"I'll go out and play some games. That way, the two of us won't feel awkward either."

After Lin Qiye finished speaking, he just left, leaving Tian Nina standing at the office door in a daze.

Lin Qiye returned outside alone and casually found a computer to turn on.

He was still somewhat unaccustomed to such a proactive girl.

The more she was like this, the more he cherished it. This was completely different from those relationships after entering society.

The purity Tian Nina showed, and her unaffected longing for romance, without any material things mixed in, made Lin Qiye begin to seriously consider what the Intelligent AI had said.

He could not help pressing his Bluetooth earpiece.

"From your perspective, what is love?"

[Sorry. I have not yet hatched, and I do not possess real emotions, so I cannot understand it from my perspective.]

"Then analyze love in your way."

[Loving someone is your own business, and has nothing to do with anyone else.]

[Unless the person you love also loves you.]

[This kind of two-way connection is what is called love.]

[From a physiological perspective, this is the result of humans with mutually attractive pheromone signals repeatedly selecting one another.]

[To describe it with an ancient poem: "I searched for him thousands of times in the crowd, only to find him where the lantern light was fading."]

Just as Lin Qiye was listening intently, someone patted his shoulder.

It was Jiang Dabao and Li Nanguang, along with their girlfriends, Jiang Wanxin and Wang Meijia.

"You're all here. Come on, let's go eat." Lin Qiye prepared to get up.

Jiang Dabao raised the big bag in his hand. "I'm not shameless enough to let you treat us every day. I brought food. Lin Family's Braised Duck, Braised Pig Trotters, Spicy Duck Necks, and a whole bunch of other stuff."

"Fine, then let's eat in my office. Tian Nina is still waiting there."

The five of them immediately walked into the office. Tian Nina, who had been watching a movie at the desk, happily stood up. "It smells so good. It must be Lin Family Braised Goods."

Lin Family Braised Goods was the most famous small shop on Fallen Street. It was different from other shops too: it opened at nine in the morning and closed at five-thirty in the afternoon.

Despite its nine-to-five hours, business was especially good. By the afternoon, it had basically sold almost everything.

The five of them sat around the glass coffee table and began dinner.

The most popular item was none other than the Spicy Pig Trotters. They were soft, sticky, delicious, and went especially well with rice.

Next was the Braised Duck, rich with sauce fragrance, its sweet and spicy flavor soaked into the meat.

There was also that big pile of braised vegetarian dishes, which were the girls' favorites.

Braised Wood Ear Mushrooms, Braised Lotus Root Slices, Braised Edamame, Braised Tofu Skin...

This kind of spicy, appetite-whetting food was soon more than half gone. Even someone with an appetite as big as Lin Qiye's was full.

"What now?" Lin Qiye asked, leaning against the sofa.

Jiang Dabao wiped his hands clean, and an idea immediately came to him. "Do you even need to ask? Let's go play League. We can form a team perfectly."

This was a good idea, and even Lin Qiye got interested. Since returning to this era, he still hadn't really had a proper gaming session.

They were young, weren't they? How could they spend the most precious years of their lives on something as boring as making money?

All three boys agreed. Jiang Wanxin raised both hands to join in, while Wang Meijia shook her head.

Tian Nina, however, was very enthusiastic. "I'm Silver Rank. I'll carry you guys up the ladder."

"Tch." Jiang Dabao looked smug. "I'm Gold."

Jiang Wanxin raised her hand. "I'm Gold too. Baby boosted me."

Li Nanguang radiated the aura of a master. "I'm Challenger Rank."

Lin Qiye said, "I don't remember."

Fine. No need to say anything else. First, they went to turn on the computers.

The five of them sat side by side, discussing and choosing their champions.

Lin Qiye picked Sejuani. She could soak damage and provide strong protection for the team. After all, he hadn't played games in years, so using a simpler tank champion would better prevent things from going off the rails.

Li Nanguang picked Zed. This champion could move quickly and knock back enemies, creating opportunities for his team.

Tian Nina picked Quinn, who could attack from range and had strong mobility and survivability.

Jiang Dabao picked Annie, who could provide large amounts of magic damage, as well as crowd control and support for the team.

Jiang Wanxin chose Darius, who could deal massive damage while also having enough durability and control.

In theory, this lineup was very reasonable.

The match began.

Lin Qiye controlled Sejuani and went to the bottom lane, working with Tian Nina's Quinn to farm and scale.

Jiang Dabao's Annie went mid.

Li Nanguang's Zed went into the jungle.

Jiang Wanxin's Darius went top lane alone.

The first five minutes went pretty well. With Sejuani's ability to tank and control, Lin Qiye kept harassing them, and with Zed's help, Quinn even secured first blood.

The enemy Vayne and Alistar had no choice but to farm under their tower.

Meanwhile in mid lane, Jiang Dabao's Annie was ridiculously cocky, showing off in every possible way. He baited his opponent into diving the tower, only for Li Nanguang's Zed to pincer them from both sides and leave them dead with regret.

But top lane was under heavy pressure.

Jiang Wanxin's Darius clearly had both tankiness and damage, yet she was narrowly outplayed and killed twice by the enemy Fiora.

So angry that she slammed the table and cursed, "Are you guys just going to watch me die? Jungler, hurry up and help!"

Li Nanguang explained helplessly, "Big sis, I'm jungling in bottom side. You sent the signal, but I can't fly over there."

Jiang Dabao hurried to comfort his girlfriend. "Baby, don't be mad. Watch me come over and avenge you."

Jiang Dabao controlled Annie and moved over through the river. He had thought they could pull off a beautiful combo.

But unexpectedly, Fiora fought while retreating and ran into the brush.

When Darius and Annie came over, two burly men charged out of the brush.