That evening, Qiao Ling specially made time, to attend university classmates’ gathering.
Although her personality was relatively introverted, there were still quite a few local classmates with good relations, after graduation also did not cut off contact.
After graduating, everyone suddenly all became busy with their own adult matters, Qiao Ling also had not seen them for a long time.
According to the agreed time, she arrived at the reserved restaurant, and joined up with them.
Among the people coming to eat, there was one with the best relationship with her, during university period basically stuck together like conjoined people.
Qiao Ling at one glance saw her, smiling and waving at her: “Xiaole!”
Qian Xiaole grinning big teeth patted the empty seat beside herself: “Hurry come! Just waiting for you!”
Qiao Ling greeted the four or five classmates sitting there, then sat down, accepted the fruit juice poured by Xiaole and took a sip, “Sorry ah, traffic on the road was a bit jammed, and the bus also drove slowly.”
“Then let’s eat.” Another friend urged everyone to start using chopsticks.
Qiao Ling turned head to ask Xiaole, “What were you all just talking about, seems very excited.”
Xiaole told her: “Our student union’s publicity department’s senior from that year, called Liu Feng, is going to get married, holding the banquet at the restaurant nearby.”
“Just now, was sending everyone electronic invitations.”
She asked: “Look at your phone, did you receive it.”
“Mm?” Qiao Ling had been busy rushing on the road and had not looked at her phone all along, opened WeChat, two incoming messages popped out, one from Chen Kuang, one just from senior Liu Feng.
She was afraid Xiaole beside would see something and gossip about herself again, so she first swiped away Chen Kuang’s message, opened Liu Feng’s message, “Really is a wedding invitation ah…”
“You two going or not?” Another female classmate inquired, sighing and complaining: “Don’t you feel these people as soon as they graduate just start piling up getting married and having children? Obviously we are only twenty-three or twenty-four ah.”
“Feels like not the same world people anymore.”
As soon as she said it, several girls at the table all nodded in agreement.
“Feels like I’m still parents’ child, same-age people already started becoming parents.”
“Time really passes fast.”
“Ai, even just work things are already busy to the point can’t manage, where is there time to meet men.”
Xiaole thought for a moment, “I might go, if it’s classmates not familiar sending invitation then just send blessings and that’s it, but senior Liu Feng was very good to us back then.”
“When in the club he often treated meals, during the time of doing graduation thesis, he even specially took time to guide us.”
“If can go then go, also haven’t seen him for a long time.”
Qiao Ling nodded to show agreement, slightly expecting: “This is still my first time attending same-age people’s wedding.”
“Last time attending wedding was middle school.”
With Xiaole saying this, everyone also felt embarrassed not to go, together arranged a time to go buy clothes planning to dress up a bit.
Speaking of dressing up, one female classmate nicknamed Zhao Zhao suddenly got struck by gossip heart, facing Qiao Ling slyly laughed: “Ling Ling, you most ought to properly dress yourself up.”
“Why?” She did not understand.
Zhao Zhao said: “You don’t know? That someone has the best relationship with senior Liu Feng, even if not groomsman he will definitely attend.”
“At that time…”
“That someone?” Xiaole froze for a moment, instantly decoded, looked at Qiao Ling with a somewhat awkward expression, “You all are talking about Gao Ziyao ah…”
Hearing this name, Qiao Ling’s expression changed slightly, but not wanting everyone to notice, she smiled: “Him ah.”
Bringing up gossip topic, the girls all got excited, pulling at Qiao Ling to dig information.
“No, back then when you two were together, everyone thought quite matching, after all Gao Ziyao was one of the best-looking in student union, how come suddenly just broke up? Never heard you say you two were getting along badly.”
“Yes ah, completely like a cliff-drop style breakup, everyone didn’t know the situation, also didn’t dare to ask you randomly, afraid you’d feel upset.”
“Who suggested the breakup? Why ah.”
Qiao Ling got bombarded by friends’ questions, all of a sudden her brain couldn’t turn over, “Uh…”
“Actually there wasn’t really any complicated situation, just…”
Aiya, so troublesome ah.
At this moment Zhao Zhao took out her own phone to show everyone: “Eh, latest message, senior Liu Feng said Gao Ziyao will come!”
“Oh my! Qiao Ling, this time really is ex-meeting! Eh, Gao Ziyao won’t already have new girlfriend right?”
“When Gao Ziyao was in university, every year girlfriend was not the same, flirtatious to the extreme, couldn’t bear loneliness, I bet ten yuan he definitely dated again.” Female classmate firmly guaranteed.
Xiaole looked at Qiao Ling, could tell best friend didn’t really want to talk about ex, smiled to smooth things over: “Aiya, whether or not at that time just…”
But at this time Zhao Zhao excitedly asked Qiao Ling: “Ling ah, do you have situation or not? You two also broke up for half a year already right, you also quickly date one.”
“Don’t waste your cute cute face ah!”
“Not possible, Ling Ling is too introverted, unless the other party pesters endlessly chasing, otherwise it’s very hard for her to have situation.” Another person interrupted Zhao Zhao, again resentfully said: “I find after leaving campus, men willing to take initiative are like extinct.”
Qiao Ling recalled in her mind these less than two months’ time all kinds of scenes of herself messing around pestering Chen Kuang.
“…”
Feels like you all still don’t know me well enough.
The female classmates one echoing another, as if if she didn’t find a man to hold the scene at the wedding, it would be like she lost to Gao Ziyao.
This kind of thing, what is there to compare?
But…
Seeing them so certain she couldn’t date on her own, Qiao Ling suddenly felt a little like proving herself.
She held chopsticks poking the Cantonese-style siu mai in the bowl, “Mm… it’s not completely no situation.”
Her voice not big not small, at first everyone thought they misheard, all fell into a few seconds of silence, then Xiaole was first to widen eyes in astonishment: “What?? You are dating?!”
Zhao Zhao and the group were even more shocked: “Qiao Ling even didn’t tell you!??”
“What kind of situation hiding so deep!”
In an instant, absolute center of the dining table became Qiao Ling.
“Who is it? Someone we know?” Zhao Zhao asked.
Facing everyone’s burning gossip, Qiao Ling felt both guilty and vain surge up together.
Although Chen Kuang was not yet her boyfriend, bragging a bit wasn’t scary, he himself wouldn’t know anyway, “You all don’t know him, he’s my neighbor downstairs from the shop.”
“Got a photo?” Xiaole was very curious.
Of course Qiao Ling didn’t have one, but she opened Epic Bar’s certain Douyin promotional account, clicked on the pinned video with over 500,000 likes, “It’s this one in the video.”
Chen Kuang was wearing the bar staff’s T-shirt, inside the bartending counter skillfully and powerfully shaking the shaker, his indifferent brows and eyes and the flower arm tattoo on his arm muscles formed the most tension-filled visual picture.
Matched with an intense BGM, his figure seemed to become a vortex madly capturing hearts.
Although the filming angle only captured his side profile, in the comment section, a crowd of female netizens sending steaming emoticons and flirty memes was already enough to prove his male charm.
The female classmates crowded together and watched that short video five times, then all in unison raised their heads, said to her: “Qiao Ling, hidden expert ah!”
“Too impressive!!”
Zhao Zhao blushing exclaimed: “You actually got a bartender boyfriend, this is even more awesome than back then with Gao Ziyao, didn’t expect you’re actually quite rebellious.”
“Turns out you like this type.”
Qiao Ling gloomily thought, her actual ideal type was a not-talkative science and engineering man.
…Looking at it like this, actually Chen Kuang also counted as fitting.
“When did you two meet?” Xiaole asked.
Qiao Ling truthfully told her: “Isn’t he living downstairs from me, then happened to also be my cousin’s bar’s bartender, back and forth and so on.”
She apologized in a small voice: “Sorry ah, I didn’t have time to tell you yet, and also…”
Of course Xiaole was a bit unhappy, as best friend she should have been the first to know, but didn’t really blame her either, “Alright, you tell me in detail in private later.”
Qiao Ling nodded like pecking rice, like a small dog that did something wrong and felt a bit scared, slanting eyes looking at people.
………
A meal of chatting to the heart’s content finished, the girls discussed splitting up into twos and threes to take taxis back.
Qiao Ling and Xiaole followed behind, only then remembered to check Chen Kuang’s WeChat.
[Gum: Rouyin said today upstairs was quiet early on, you didn’t open the shop?]
Below that was a message sent three minutes ago.
[Gum: I’m outside, want to eat dinner together?]
Qiao Ling recalled in the morning when she went to the apartment to get the toolbox and broke into that of his… her ears and cheeks instantly heated up.
At that time she probably didn’t show any signs right, he shouldn’t suspect.
For a while, shyness and expectation collided.
Making Qiao Ling both want to see him, and couldn’t help being afraid that as soon as she saw his face, she wouldn’t be able to help imagining him in the morning at home that… scene.
In the end she still replied to him, told him her location, said she had already eaten with classmates.
As a result, after the message was sent, the other party basically replied almost instantly.
[Gum: Wanxiang City on Binchuang Street? I happen to be nearby, the car’s fixed, I just came out from the mountain bike club.]
[Gum: Meet with me.]
Qiao Ling thought: Right, that expensive mountain bike of his had been sent for repairs for almost a month already, finally got it fixed.
She agreed, arranged a landmark location to meet with him, then quickly took the chance to separate from her classmates, not giving them the opportunity to continue gossiping.
In the end, everyone’s route leaving was basically the same, she completely didn’t shake them off, and forgot to tell Chen Kuang to wait farther away.
So as soon as she walked out of the mall, Qiao Ling ran toward Chen Kuang, who was leaning by the roadside, her face red, and everyone excitedly followed her pace from a distance to get a glimpse of the real person.
Although it was far away, just this one look was even more handsome than in the video, tall and thin, shoulders so wide, legs so long…
That nose bridge so high, those lips so moist.
Handsome to the point of being absolutely devastating.
Qiao Ling ran up to him panting, a little anxious: “Let’s go! Hurry.”
Chen Kuang looked toward the route she ran from, noticed there were several women always looking this way, “Those few are your friends?”
“Ai you.” Qiao Ling was afraid they would run up and strike up conversation with Chen Kuang, then the thing about her bragging that he was her boyfriend would get exposed, stood on tiptoe blocking his line of sight, “Don’t look, don’t look, weren’t you hungry! I’ll accompany you to eat something.”
He glanced at her suspiciously, as if wanting to examine something abnormal from her flustered expression.
But Chen Kuang didn’t ask further, pushed the bike up, patted the bike seat, teased: “Get on, I’ll push you along.”
Qiao Ling was so embarrassed even her under-eye creases turned a little red, shook her head hard, “No, no need.”
“…The bike seat’s too high, I can’t get up.”
Chen Kuang’s Adam’s apple rolled with a laugh, pushing the bike as he sized her up, estimating: “Are you even one meter fifty?”
“Don’t look down on people.” Qiao Ling raised her head to look at him, seriously correcting: “I am definitely one meter fifty-seven point five.”
He suddenly lifted his right hand, placed it on top of her head, seemed to compare with his own body’s position.
“Mm, really is close to one meter sixty.”
Caught off guard, getting head-patted, Qiao Ling was ashamed and angry, used both hands to push his arm, “I’m just small but powerful, really don’t get what’s the point of growing that tall.”
But for men, being tall, rich, and handsome, “tall” coming first still had its reasoning, for girls it didn’t matter.
“Still, it’s better to grow a bit taller.”