Brother Zhang is in a Good Mood Today (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

In the evening, at a barbecue restaurant in Nanxiang Impression City.

Bei Wei kept her head down, her fingers tapping rapidly as she busied herself ordering on her phone.

Zhang Yang was also looking at the menu. Opening the self-service cart, he saw Bei Wei frantically adding items—grilled diaphragm, beef ribs...

"Brother Zhang, I've ordered these. Do you think... this is okay?" After a long while, Bei Wei finally stopped.

"That's plenty, more than enough. If I can't finish it, you'll have to polish it off," Zhang Yang joked. He could eat it, but he found that overindulging often made him feel greasy.

"Ah?" Bei Wei was so startled she quickly put her phone down.

Zhang Yang studied Bei Wei's fair, sweet face at close range, thinking that even if she gained weight, she wouldn't look ugly. That was the definition of having been chubby, but never having been ugly.

Zhang Yang's gaze was too direct, and Bei Wei couldn't help but feel shy, lowering her head to stir the dipping sauce in her plate.

Before long, plates of grilled meat were brought to the table.

It had felt like a lot while ordering, but now the table was completely covered.

Bei Wei took the initiative to stand up, grilling and cutting the meat, then busily placing the perfectly cooked pieces onto Zhang Yang's plate.

"Brother Zhang, I haven't had a chance to ask, but that lady from the other day was quite nice. Why did things fizzle out?"

"I felt our values didn't align. We weren't on the same frequency," Zhang Yang said casually, enjoying Bei Wei's special treatment.

"Then what kind of values would be considered a match?" Bei Wei paused to ask.

Zhang Yang ate a piece of meat, letting the savory flavor spread through his mouth. "Let's put it this way: for instance, lately I've been craving barbecue. Even without me telling you, you happened to choose a barbecue place. Or take this meat—I like it grilled to be tender and fragrant. Look, the way you grill it suits my taste perfectly."

As he joked, he watched Bei Wei's cheeks flush a deep red under the rising heat of the charcoal fire.

"Brother Zhang, you really know how to tease me," she said with a hint of feigned annoyance.

Zhang Yang smiled and stopped teasing her. "Don't wear yourself out. We aren't in a rush, let me handle it."

After convincing Bei Wei to sit down, the two of them ate and grilled at a leisurely pace, chatting about everything under the sun.

Bei Wei's living situation was quite affordable; according to her, she had stumbled upon a real bargain.

"My roommate is a wealthy, beautiful girl currently in grad school. She felt living alone was boring and wanted a roommate, and I just happened to get lucky," Bei Wei said, gently blowing on a piece of grilled meat.

"If I actually had to split the rent, I'd probably have to pour my entire salary into it."

"She sounds like a good person," Zhang Yang laughed.

"She is very kind, quite loyal, and takes good care of me," Bei Wei thought for a moment before adding, "though she can be a bit blunt. People who don't know her well might find it hard to get used to."

Zhang Yang nodded as he listened. Seeing how animated Bei Wei was, he helped her grill a few pieces of meat and placed them on her plate.

Bei Wei didn't notice, but her cheeks kept moving as she was unknowingly fed quite a bit.

"Mm... Brother Zhang, why do I feel like I've eaten so much?"

"It's not much, just keep eating," Zhang Yang urged her on.

The meal lasted over an hour as they chatted. As they neared the end, Bei Wei hurriedly took her phone out of her bag to pay the bill first.

"Want to walk around a bit after eating?" Zhang Yang still remembered his task; he planned to buy a pair of shoes to add some height.

"Sure, it's still early anyway." Bei Wei picked up her bag and agreed with a smile.

Inside Impression City, the two strolled along. Passing by a milk tea shop, Zhang Yang felt that after the greasy barbecue, they could use some fruit tea to cleanse their palates.

"I'll get it, I'll get it." Bei Wei blocked Zhang Yang with one hand while digging for her phone in her bag with the other.

Her hand slipped, and the phone flew out in an arc, crashing onto the corner of a step. A crack spread across the screen; it didn't look like it had a screen protector on it at all.

Bei Wei quickly picked it up, looking pained for a moment, before acting as if nothing had happened and paying for the drinks.

"Brother Zhang, it's ordered," she said with a smile.

"No screen protector?" Zhang Yang asked.

"I had one, but it broke a few days ago so I peeled it off. Looks like I shouldn't have chanced it." Bei Wei held the phone up to the light; the cracks had spread across most of the screen from the corner.

Zhang Yang took note of it but said nothing.

"Right, you wait here for the tea, I'm going to the restroom."

Bei Wei nodded gently and stood quietly in the shop waiting.

After Zhang Yang left, he didn't head to the restroom but instead made a beeline for a nearby electronics store.

The store wasn't crowded. As soon as Zhang Yang entered, a clerk approached him.

"I want an iPhone 14 Pro Max, top spec, 1TB, white." Zhang Yang remembered that Bei Wei's iPhone 13 was white.

A short while later, he paid over ten thousand yuan and left with the goods.

The whole process took less than ten minutes.

From a distance, he saw Bei Wei sitting in the shop, holding the fruit tea and looking around as if searching for him.

"Here, this is for you." Zhang Yang walked up, standing beside Bei Wei as her black hair cascaded over her shoulders, and handed her the shopping bag. "It's white. I also got you an original case and a screen protector. Remember to put it on as soon as you get home."

Bei Wei looked up, stunned, unable to react for a moment.

"Take it, don't say you don't want it." Zhang Yang cut off whatever she was about to say, took his own milk tea, and shoved the shopping bag into Bei Wei's hands.

Bei Wei held the shopping bag, and upon seeing the brand-new, unopened iPhone 14 Pro Max inside, she immediately stood up and trotted to catch up with Zhang Yang.

"Brother Zhang, you really shouldn't... Let me transfer the money to you. I'll send a portion now, and next month..."

"Don't. I'm in a good mood today, and mentioning money makes me unhappy." Zhang Yang sipped his milk tea, looking back at Bei Wei with a faint, enigmatic smile.

The girl was blushing from her ears down to her neck, looking completely at a loss for what to do.

"But I..." Bei Wei wanted to say something more.

"No more 'buts.' How about you accompany me to buy some things?" Zhang Yang interrupted with a smile.

"Okay." Bei Wei replied in a very soft voice, sticking close to Zhang Yang's side. "What are you planning to buy, Brother Zhang?"

"A pair of elevator shoes. I want to experience what it's like to be 1.8 meters tall," Zhang Yang said bluntly.

Beside him, Bei Wei giggled, her eyes fixed on Zhang Yang. "Brother Zhang, if you hadn't said anything, I would have always thought you were 1.8 meters tall."

"Don't even mention it." Zhang Yang shook his head with a sigh.

"Then... let me pick a pair out for you. No, wait, you have to give me one yuan, otherwise, gifting shoes is considered bad luck," Bei Wei said earnestly.

"I suppose that's fine, though I thought that superstition only applied to couples," Zhang Yang muttered to himself.

Bei Wei gave a soft huff, clasped her hands behind her back, and trotted away.

Inside a shoe store, Bei Wei picked out a pair of dad shoes for Zhang Yang.

According to her, dad shoes provided a significant height boost, and with Zhang Yang's current height, he would easily look like a tall man once he put them on.

What she didn't know was that if Zhang Yang completed his mission, his actual height would reach 1.8 meters, and when paired with these shoes, the effect would be far more exaggerated than she could ever imagine.