Chapter 104 — Meeting Tang Zhi Again

"How long has it been since I last enjoyed such a comfortable life?" Wei Zhao sighed at his present ease. In the past, it had been nothing but work, work, work... Even when he passed through a bustling snack street like this, it was mainly to fill his belly. When had he ever had the leisure to stand around admiring the scenery?

"Hah..." The air here was mixed with the greasy smoke of countless food stalls and the motley smells of rotting vegetable leaves. It was nothing like the fresh air of the mountains. And yet, this earthy, street-level atmosphere filled Wei Zhao with a strange longing.

Someday, perhaps, he too could stroll the streets and nibble on snacks just like these ordinary folk. How pleasant life would be then.

Wei Zhao stretched lazily and opened his eyes...

"Uh..." Wei Zhao froze. Directly ahead of him, coming straight toward him, were a mother and daughter... pushing a three-wheeled cart loaded with a barbecue grill, tables, chairs, and stools...

If it wasn't Tang Zhi and her mother, then who?

Tang Zhi had clearly spotted Wei Zhao too, but a flicker of disdain crossed her eyes. She turned her head away and refused to look at him. Tang Zhi's mother, however, had not noticed Wei Zhao and kept talking to her daughter about something.

Only then did Wei Zhao realize that his posture was rather suggestive. He was leaning slantwise against the Audi S5, directly facing the direction Tang Zhi was coming from—a luxurious sports car, an elegant yet languid and weary pose. He really did look a bit like one of those rich young masters putting on airs in front of a poor girl...

But Wei Zhao was innocent! He truly had no intention of showing off or putting on airs in front of Tang Zhi. He had merely been by the car, sighing over life—and by sheer coincidence, Tang Zhi had caught him at it...

Wei Zhao rubbed his chin awkwardly and hurriedly stepped away from the car. By then, Tang Zhi and her mother had already pushed the barbecue cart over. Wei Zhao figured that since he had seen them, he ought at least to say hello.

"Hello, Auntie." Wei Zhao scratched his scalp and greeted Tang's mother a little sheepishly. She was an elder, after all. If he hadn't seen her, fine, but now that he had, he could hardly just turn and walk away.

"Huh? You are...?" Tang's mother stared at Wei Zhao, taken aback. Today he was wearing a set of casual clothes he had just bought and standing beside a sports car. For a moment, she didn't recognize him.

"It's me, Wei Zhao. I ate at your barbecue stall yesterday with a classmate..." Wei Zhao explained.

"Oh... it's you. I remember now." Tang's mother looked at Wei Zhao in some surprise. Yesterday she had learned that he was quite formidable at school, one of the four great troublemakers of the campus, feared even by Zou Ruoming. But seeing him today, she realized his family background must be far from ordinary. She had no idea how much the car cost, but it certainly didn't look cheap. And in his casual clothes today, Wei Zhao cut a far more handsome figure than he had in yesterday's school uniform, which put Tang's mother rather well disposed toward him. "Yun'er, you've run into your classmate—why don't you greet him?"

"Hmph." Tang Zhi felt a little wronged at her mother's scolding. She raised her head and looked at Wei Zhao, thinking, How can this guy be so thick-skinned? Who knew where he had found out that she and her mother set up their stall on the snack street on weekends, and he had come early to wait for her here. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh... I came to get something to eat..." Wei Zhao looked at Tang Zhi, who was glaring at him, and smiled bitterly.

"Yun'er, is that any way to talk to your classmate?" Tang's mother was quite displeased with her daughter's attitude. Yesterday the young man had not only helped Tang Zhi out of a tight spot but also recovered her losses. And in the future, when they set up their stall near the school, it seemed the students would no longer dare to bully them. Tang's mother was still very grateful to Wei Zhao, but seeing that her daughter seemed to be at odds with him, she grew annoyed. "He's here, so naturally he's here to eat. What else would he be doing?"

Tang Zhi, scolded by her mother, felt rather aggrieved. She shot Wei Zhao a venomous glare, turned stubbornly away, and ignored him.

"This child... Mr. Lin, please don't take offense..." Tang's mother explained to Wei Zhao apologetically. Now that Wei Zhao's status had changed, so had the way she addressed him.

"It's quite all right, Auntie. Just call me Wei Zhao..." Wei Zhao broke out in a sweat. He hadn't expected Tang Zhi to be such a spunky girl. He hoped she would hold on to that spirit. For a girl from a family like hers to preserve that little bit of self-respect and pride was truly no easy thing—and it made Wei Zhao feel a touch more favorably toward Tang Zhi.

Tang's mother was clearly somewhat helpless about her daughter. After exchanging a few words with Wei Zhao, she and Tang Zhi pushed the cart on into the snack street.

Wei Zhao shook his head and followed at a distance, though not too close, lest Tang Zhi accuse him of tailing her...

Along the way, Wei Zhao casually bought two skewers of fried chicken fillet from a street stall and stuffed them into his mouth. This kind of snack, sold only on authentic streets, was something he rarely got to taste. As for fried chicken fillet—he had forgotten how many years it had been since his last bite.

From afar, he watched Tang Zhi and her mother set up their stall and light the fire. Wei Zhao didn't quite feel right about going over. Tang's mother's barbecue skills were good, but he didn't fancy being glared at by Tang Zhi with those furious eyes.

While they weren't paying attention, Wei Zhao quickly walked past. At the far end of the snack street, he spotted Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu. The two of them were sitting at a stall selling Shaanxi cold noodles, sharing a single bowl between them. The contents of the bowl were bright red—clearly a generous amount of chili had been added.

Gu Mengyao took a couple of bites, then stuck out her tongue and fanned it with her hand, looking like she had been scorched by the spice. Shen Yushu, meanwhile, was eating and drinking her beverage in alternation.

Seeing that nothing was wrong with them, Wei Zhao felt relieved, and kept his distance so that they would not see him and feel awkward about eating. Since everyone nearby was a stranger to them, they were able to let themselves go.

The way they ate was far more savage than it ever was at home.

"Boss, a bowl of wonton noodles." Wei Zhao sat down inside a nearby stall called Zhang's Wonton Noodles and called out to the boss.

"Coming right up, young man!" Seeing that a customer had arrived, the boss answered with a smile at once and went to cook Wei Zhao's wontons.

As for the various snacks, Wei Zhao felt none of them were as filling as wonton noodles, so after sampling a few random items, he decided he might as well have a bowl of wonton noodles after all.

As he ate his wonton noodles, Wei Zhao kept Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu in the corner of his eye. He saw the two of them arrive at a stall selling fried mushrooms; Shen Yushu seemed to want some, while Gu Mengyao did not, and after a few words of squabbling, Gu Mengyao had no choice but to sit down and keep Shen Yushu company.

Heh, so it seemed these two girls often had their disagreements too. Wei Zhao paid, stood up, and strolled on casually along the snack street.