Treating Them to Dinner

Sun Xiaoya volunteered to treat them to a meal, and chose Louzhonglou Restaurant as the venue.

It was a famous restaurant nearby, with an elegant atmosphere, delicious food, and reasonable prices. It was one of Qingshui City's best-known restaurants.

In a private room on the second floor, Sun Xiaoya, Lin Xiuwen, and Zhang Shuai sat together. A server brought them a pot of chrysanthemum tea, then handed over the menu. Sun Xiaoya passed it straight to Zhang Shuai.

"Handsome, I'm treating today. Order whatever you like."

Zhang Shuai replied politely, "I'm not picky. Anything is fine. You can order."

Sun Xiaoya said, "You should order. You don't have to be polite with me. I can afford to treat you to a meal."

Seeing that Sun Xiaoya insisted he order, Zhang Shuai stopped refusing. He picked three dishes from the menu. When Sun Xiaoya saw that they were all relatively cheap, she took the menu and ordered three of Louzhonglou Restaurant's signature dishes.

Then she asked Zhang Shuai what he wanted to drink. He said he'd have some beer, so Sun Xiaoya ordered a case of Wusu Beer.

It would be a while before the food arrived, so the three of them started chatting.

"Handsome, we've been at the driving school for ages, and I never got around to asking what you do for work."

Zhang Shuai answered honestly, "I'm an electrician."

"Does being an electrician pay well?"

"Not really. Even if you do well, you might make around ten thousand a month. I only make five or six thousand. I don't have a degree, so I can't compare with university students like you."

Sun Xiaoya said, "It's not easy for university students to find jobs these days, either. Even if you do find one, you only make a few thousand a month after graduating."

Zhang Shuai asked casually, "What are you two studying?"

"I'm in the Chinese department, and Xiuwen's in computer science."

Zhang Shuai's interest was piqued. He turned toward Lin Xiuwen, who had been sitting silently on his right, and asked, "You study computer science?"

Lin Xiuwen nodded. "That's right."

"How good are you with computers?"

The question came out of nowhere. Lin Xiuwen hesitated, unsure how to answer, but Sun Xiaoya spoke up for her. "Lin Xiuwen isn't just our campus belle; she's also top of our class. Last year, she represented Hanjiang University in the National College Computer Competition and won first prize. What do you think?"

Zhang Shuai was delighted. He remembered the USB drive worth tens of millions. It had been encrypted, and he hadn't been able to open it, so he'd locked it in a drawer. Since Lin Xiuwen studied computer science, maybe he could ask her for help.

"Lin Xiuwen, can I ask you something? Could you crack an encrypted USB drive and open it?"

Lin Xiuwen replied slowly, "It's hard to say. Some highly encrypted USB drives might have a self-destruct program, so I might not be able to open them. But if it's only got ordinary encryption, I'm confident I can."

Zhang Shuai was pleased. "I've got an encrypted USB drive. Can you help me open it?"

Lin Xiuwen nodded. "Sure. I'll take a look when I have time."

"Xiuwen, you're Ah Xiu in the driving practice group, right? I'll add you on WeChat. Accept my request."

Lin Xiuwen glanced furtively at Sun Xiaoya and saw that her expression had soured. She quickly said, "Handsome, if you need my help, you can ask Xiaoya to bring me the USB drive. There's no need to add me on WeChat, is there?"

Zhang Shuai said, "You should add me. This USB drive is really important to me, and I need to be there when you unlock it. Its contents shouldn't get out."

"Don't worry. I'll just help you unlock it. I won't look at what's inside."

Zhang Shuai said, "Lin Xiuwen, this USB drive is extremely important to me. It's not that I don't trust you; the contents really can't be shared. That's why I have to be there when you unlock it."

Lin Xiuwen definitely wasn't going to add Zhang Shuai on WeChat. Her best friend was interested in him, and she couldn't let her friend get the wrong idea. Even if she helped Zhang Shuai, Sun Xiaoya had to be there too. She needed to make it clear to Sun Xiaoya that she had no intention of stealing her man.

"How about this? After we finish the Class Two test tomorrow, bring the USB drive and come to my place with Sun Xiaoya. I'll unlock it for you. It'll only take a few minutes, and you can watch me the whole time. Is that all right?"

Before long, the dishes started arriving.

To be fair, the food at this restaurant was delicious. But Zhang Shuai had no appetite for it. No matter how much he ate, it would all go to waste.

So Zhang Shuai barely ate. But he was worried the two women might drink too much, so he drank as much as he could and ate very little.

It might have been beer, but Wusu was known as "Murderous Big Wusu." Neither woman had drunk much growing up, and after one bottle each, their cheeks were flushed and they were already a little tipsy.

The alcohol gave Sun Xiaoya courage. She started saying things she wouldn't normally dare to say.

"Handsome, do you have a girlfriend?"

"No. I'm just a poor guy. What woman would want me?"

"How could you not? You're so handsome. I'm sure girls like you."

"You're the only person who's ever said I was handsome. Nobody else has."

"What do you think of me?"

"You're great. You're pretty, and you have a nice figure."

Sun Xiaoya looked at Zhang Shuai with her cheeks flushed. Taking courage from the alcohol, she said, "Handsome, why don't I be your girlfriend? I'm very gentle. How about we give dating a try?"

Zhang Shuai froze, unsure how to respond. It was the first time in his life a girl had told him she liked him and even asked to be his girlfriend. He should have been delighted, but for some reason, he didn't feel excited at all. Instead, he felt a little panicked.

At that moment, Zhang Shuai suddenly turned to look at Lin Xiuwen. She noticed his gaze and said crossly, "Why are you looking at me? Sun Xiaoya's such a great girl. If you don't want to say yes, why are you hesitating?"

Zhang Shuai said, "I think Sun Xiaoya's had too much to drink and is talking nonsense!"

Sun Xiaoya protested, "I haven't had too much to drink. We've spent all these days together at the driving school. You must know whether I like you or not. If you don't like me, just say so. Don't make up an excuse to reject me."

Zhang Shuai was troubled. His gaze drifted to Lin Xiuwen again, as if he had made up his mind.

"Xiaoya, you're a student at a 985 university, and I'm just an electrician from the countryside. Besides, we don't really know each other..."

Sun Xiaoya angrily cut him off. "That's enough. Don't say anything more. I understand. At least leave me some dignity..."

Zhang Shuai felt awkward. He suddenly remembered how he'd felt the year he confessed to Ye Manqiu and she rejected him.

The rest of the meal passed in an awkward atmosphere.

Sun Xiaoya drank one glass after another. Even beer could get you drunk if you drank enough.

Seeing that Sun Xiaoya had had too much, Zhang Shuai quietly went to the counter to pay the bill. Sun Xiaoya was quite drunk, so Lin Xiuwen took her home.