Driving toward the inner ring of Yanjing, in the distance you could already see winding, quaint old alleyways with a sense of history.
Oh, that old Beijing flavor.
"Pull over by the roadside. It's hard to drive inside."
Su Muzhi didn't know when she'd woken up. She looked at the scenery outside the window and said with a smile.
It really had been a long ti since she'd been here.
"Alright."
Jiang Linyuan found a spot to park the car. He wondered to himself whether visiting the Departnt Head empty-handed would get him labeled as so tacky outsider by her family elders.
Well, if they said it, so be it. If anyone dared, he'd just have Xiao Su chop them up!
The two of them got out of the car.
"Hehe, just call her to co out and get us. The countryside really is the countryside..."
Su Muzhi looked at the various-sized courtyards around her, having sowhat lost track of the route.
Ever since she'd fallen out with Shen Wanyu, she'd hardly ever been to her house.
"Xiao Su, keep your voice down. Don't get us surrounded."
Jiang Linyuan reminded her. Already, so elderly n and won at the nearby courtyard gates were looking at the two of them with curiosity.
"Hehe, what are you afraid of? Just make the call first."
Su Muzhi didn't care at all. She found a stall selling fernted mung bean juice and sat down, ordering a bowl.
She made the call. Shen Wanyu's voice ca through:
"Why are you calling?"
"Departnt Head! I've co to see you. I just don't know exactly where your place is?"
"And Su Muzhi? Isn't she right there with you? Did you sneak out alone?"
Shen Wanyu asked.
"Sneak out"?! Like I'm sneaking around to have an affair with you, Departnt Head!
"Hehe, him and I are on North Chizi Street."
Su Muzhi leaned in and shouted.
Shen Wanyu ignored her. That might as well have been useless information. She asked Jiang Linyuan:
"Is there any landmark building near you?"
"Oh, let see. There's a utility pole here with a small ad for 'Hefty Reward for Bearing a Son.' Damn! They have such low standards..."
"You..."
Shen Wanyu was speechless. Two people: one speaking way too broadly, the other way too specifically. Was there not a single normal person around?
"Also, him and Xiao Su are sitting by a stall selling fernted mung bean juice. There's a big locust tree nearby..."
"Don't say any more. Just send your location."
Shen Wanyu cut him off directly. Sotis, she was truly grateful for the advancent of technology.
After sending the location, Jiang Linyuan and Su Muzhi sat at the roadside stall.
"Hehe, I ordered this bowl of fernted mung bean juice for you. Want a taste?"
Su Muzhi's brows lifted slightly as she pointed at the bowl on the table. Beside it were a plate of crispy fried rings and a small dish of pickled vegetables.
"Xiao Su, you're not having any?"
Jiang Linyuan asked.
"Nope. That's all for you. Oh, and when you drink fernted mung bean juice, you have to drink it slowly, savor it. It tastes best when it's cold. Wait a while before drinking."
Su Muzhi squinted, grinning.
The stall owner overheard this and couldn't stop smiling.
This stuff—sour and stinky—and she was telling him to let it go cold and drink it slowly.
Oh, this girl, what a character!
Jiang Linyuan didn't buy Xiao Su's act for a second. He picked up the steaming bowl of fernted mung bean juice and took a gulp.
It tasted like a dirty dishrag!
"Xiao Su, this is really good. You should try so too."
He forced himself not to cough, kept a smile on his face, picked up the bowl, scooped up a spoonful, and brought it to Xiao Su's lips, his voice soft and considerate:
"Your body isn't well, and it's so cold out. Have a little to warm yourself up."
"No need. I can see you really like it. If it's sothing you like, I can bear a little discomfort for it, that's fine."
"No, no, no. Good things should be shared..."
The two of them went back and forth, caring for each other. A young couple passing by—tourists from out of town—watched with envy.
"Let's order a bowl of that too. You feed ," the girl said.
"Sure, one for you, one for ." The guy nodded, a big smile on his face.
The owner was delighted. He loved watching outsiders drink fernted mung bean juice.
That way, he could also sell them a bottle of water to rinse their mouths for an extra five bucks!
In the end, neither of them took another sip.
After a while, Shen Wanyu arrived.
She was holding her phone, comparing the location, then spotted the two of them at the stall, playfully pushing a bowl toward each other like a scene out of "Big Lang, drink your dicine!" She walked over.
Jiang Linyuan saw her too. With a grin, he called out to the owner:
"One more bowl, please!"
Hehe, Departnt Head, you get a taste too!
Su Muzhi noticed where his gaze was fixed and turned her head. She saw Shen Wanyu.
"Hehe, took you long enough. So rude."
Shen Wanyu didn't bother acknowledging her. She glanced at the extra bowl of fernted mung bean juice on the table.
"I've already eaten. I'm not hungry."
"Think of it as dessert," Jiang Linyuan said.
Shen Wanyu bent down, picked up the bowl from the table, and chugged it all down in one go, expressionless.
"Finished. You ca here, it wasn't just to treat to fernted mung bean juice, was it?"
Jiang Linyuan was stunned. Were the Departnt Head's taste buds really okay?
"Hehe, who said he was treating you? Pay for your own."
Su Muzhi shot Shen Wanyu a glance and said with a smile.
Shen Wanyu turned to her:
"Him ordering it—what's that got to do with you?"
Su Muzhi also stood up. It really wasn't comfortable being looked down on while sitting.
"I don't want him spending on you. It's that simple."
Shen Wanyu was stunned for a mont. Then she looked at Jiang Linyuan.
"Are the two of you together?"
"We're good friends," Jiang Linyuan said.
Su Muzhi let out a cold laugh. What good friend sleeps in the sa bed?
Shen Wanyu said:
"Then you pay for that bowl of mine, and I'll pay for yours."
"On what grounds?"
Su Muzhi smiled again.
"You buy for yourself. He has to buy for him."
Shen Wanyu frowned, ignored her, walked straight over to the owner, and paid for both bowls.
Then she returned to the table and looked at Jiang Linyuan.
"Let's go. Didn't you say you wanted to keep company?"
"When did he say that? I didn't hear him say that."
Su Muzhi asked with a smile. She pointed at Jiang Linyuan first, then looked at Shen Wanyu.
"Right now, he's accompanying on an outing. Seeing you is just a side trip."
Shen Wanyu said calmly:
"Twisting the facts."
"We're all out having fun. Who's keeping who company? We're all good friends."
Jiang Linyuan bit into a crispy fried ring and cut in.
Both won turned to look at him at the sa ti.
"Good friends?"
Su Muzhi let out another cold laugh.
"Ah..."
Shen Wanyu sighed, looking sowhat disappointed.
She glanced at Jiang Linyuan, then turned and walked off.
"There are a lot of tourists here for the New Year. It's easy to get separated. You two keep close."
Su Muzhi took Jiang Linyuan's hand and instructed:
"You keep close. I'll just follow you."
Jiang Linyuan thought, then did I need to keep close to the Departnt Head too?
The three of them walked together. Shen Wanyu led the way at the front. Jiang Linyuan followed behind her, while Su Muzhi held his hand.
With the New Year crowds coming and going, the streets were indeed packed.
Jiang Linyuan looked at the Departnt Head's hand swinging in front of him. It seed to shimr, as if glowing.
I'm a little kid who gets lost easily. I need to hold an adult's hand.
My left hand is already being held by Xiao Su. So my right hand can go to the Departnt Head!
Thinking this, he reached out and placed his hand on top of Shen Wanyu's.
Shen Wanyu whipped her head around. Her calm, steady eyes t Jiang Linyuan's.
"What are you doing?"
She lowered her gaze to where his hand was holding hers.
"Afraid, uh... afraid of getting lost," Jiang Linyuan said.
His left hand hurt a little. Su Muzhi's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled at him.
I'm still right here, you know.
"Let go," Shen Wanyu said flatly.
"What if I get lost?"
"Let go."
"Departnt Head, I really will get lost."
Shen Wanyu looked at his left hand, still holding Su Muzhi's.
"Then let go of that one."
"Can't I just not let go?"
"Let go."
Jiang Linyuan withdrew his hand. The Departnt Head was still the Departnt Head.
The old warhorse still has a thousand-mile ambition!
Slow and steady wins the race.
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