Chapter 129 - 129 128 Extinguish Fire

Chapter 129: Chapter 128: Extinguish Fire Chapter 129: Chapter 128: Extinguish Fire Joyful City. After shopping for clothing, shoes, and bags, the trio headed down to the first-floor beauty area. Based on their skin conditions, Zhao Yaqian recommended a set of skincare products. As quitting time passed, more and more people filled the mall. Watching the excited Zhao Yaqian, Li Yuanyuan couldn’t help but remind her, “That should be enough, right? If you keep buying, I’m afraid you’ll have to eat dirt this month.” “Yeah, I’ve bought everything I wanted. Now I have new clothes to wear,” Zhao Yaqian said as she held up her shopping bags and carefully examined them, her face glowing with the joy of a bountiful haul. Apart from dresses, she also bought a shawl, T-shirts, shorts, and a pair of flat sandals, all on special promotion. The total expenditure was 1780 yuan. Li Yuanyuan checked the time and said, “It’s already eight o’clock. Let’s discuss where to eat.” They had drunk milk tea earlier, and snacked while shopping, so they had been fine until now. “How about fried chicken and beer?” suggested Zhao Yaqian. “The Korean fried chicken place you took me to before was really good.” Li Yuanyuan quickly agreed, “That sounds great; I haven’t had it in a while!” Jiang Zimu checked her phone and said, “Let’s wait a few more minutes. Zhang Wensheng heard we were hanging out today and wants to join the fun; he should be arriving soon.” At the mention of the name Zhang Wensheng, Zhao Yaqian paused briefly then nodded, “Okay.” She and Zhang Wensheng had a good relationship, having known each other since high school, and she had even borrowed money from him. Coming together for a meal wasn’t unusual. The only issue was, now that she had a partner, she ought to maintain a distance to avoid any misunderstanding. “Ring, ring—” The phone rang. Jiang Zimu quickly pulled out her phone and answered. “Hello, where are you now?” “Alright, alright, we’ll wait for you at the roadside by the north gate.” After hanging up, Jiang Zimu smiled at the others, “Zhang Wensheng is just two intersections away, let’s head over.” Li Yuanyuan wrapped her arm around Zhao Yaqian’s, “Alrighty, gogogo, time for fried chicken.” They walked against the crowd out of the mall, greeted by the warm evening breeze. Night had fallen, stars filled the sky, lights just beginning to illuminate, and the entire plaza shimmered under the colorful lights. The place was bustling with people. Among them, many couples snuggled, hugged, and even kissed. Being there made Zhao Yaqian think of Tang Song. She longed to date and kiss him in such a romantic setting. Thinking it over, she took out her phone, took a selfie with the plaza as a background, and shared it with Tang Song. The message read, “Brother Song, are you still working late? It’s so lively here, when can we come and stroll around together?” They reached the roadside, waiting for Zhang Wensheng. “Ding dong—” Zhao Yaqian’s phone vibrated. [Tang Song: “Qianqian, you look beautiful, I’m swamped with work tonight, are you at Joyful City?”] Zhao Yaqian quickly replied, “Yes, I bought some new clothes, I’ll wear them for you to see. We’ve just finished shopping and are about to go eat fried chicken.” [Tang Song: “Which restaurant? If I finish work early, I’ll come find you.”] Zhao Yaqian’s smile broadened instantly, and she sent the location information. ... “Why is this traffic light taking so long?” Zhang Wensheng looked at the crowded traffic ahead, growing impatient. He was just a turn away from Joyful City, yet stuck here in a jam. Next to him, Du Guangyin shared a photo to the roommates’ group, saying, “Almost there, hehe, will take photos for you later.” The WeChat group erupted. They had long heard Zhang Wensheng boast about how beautiful and well-shaped his high school junior was, yet he never let them see her photos, keeping her under wraps. Zhang Wensheng scoffed, not feeling like dealing with these old lechers. Looking at the dazzling Joyful City not far off, he gripped the steering wheel tightly, pondering how to exit the car in the coolest manner. In his daydreams, traffic continued to crawl. Turning the corner, he was nearly at his destination. Zhang Wensheng quickly sat up straight, grabbed at his hair, and scanned the roadside intently. Driving a bit further, he noticed a tall, beautiful figure gradually coming into view. Zhang Wensheng pursed his lips, a thrill of excitement spreading across his face. “Where’s your goddess?” Du Guangyin raised his phone towards the window. Zhang Wensheng didn’t respond but honked the horn instead. “Beep beep—” The crisp sound of the horn rang out. He neatly parked his beloved Mitsubishi at the roadside, displaying the car’s best angle. Inside the car, Du Guangyin observed the three girls along the curb; he recognized Jiang Zimu, but the other two were strangers. Soon his gaze locked onto the tallest girl. Dressed in a floral dress, her black hair slightly lifted by the evening breeze, her bare, long legs straight and lush – she looked sexy and striking. Unable to help himself, Du Guangyin gulped and quickly pressed the shutter button. This figure and face were even better than the internet-famous models he had seen online. And this was with his own eyes, no beauty filters! He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Damn! No wonder you kept her so secretive! She’s too beautiful!” Zhang Wensheng grinned proudly, did not turn off the engine but simply put it in neutral and pulled the handbrake, took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and stepped out. His face broke into a big smile as he waved and said, “Yaqian, good evening. It’s been months since I saw you; you’ve become even more beautiful and mature.” “Good evening, Zhang Wensheng.” Zhao Yaqian smiled and greeted him before turning to look at the car parked in front of them, exclaiming in surprise, “Did you come by car? Is this your car?” Zhang Wensheng leaned against the hood, smiling, “Yes, just bought it a few days ago. Thought it would be perfect to take you three beauties for a spin and grab some dinner, saving us the hassle of calling a cab.” Zhao Yaqian immediately gave a thumbs up, sincerely saying, “That’s awesome! The car looks really cool, is it modified?” “Yes, it’s a Mitsubishi EVO kit, very suitable for young people to play with.” Zhang Wensheng looked at the girl he had liked for a long time, feeling somewhat sentimental and excited. Having a car in college, even if it was a second-hand one, was already considered very showy. It caused his dorm mates to drool with envy, all calling him an appreciative of herself, asking to borrow the car. But the cost wasn’t small either—future insurance, repairs, maintenance, and fuel would be the major expenses. For him, the pressure was quite significant, and he was too embarrassed to ask his family for money, so he had to take on more part-time jobs. But it was all worth it. Having a car meant he could also ask Zhao Yaqian out for road trips and visit her occasionally. Li Yuanyuan said irritably, “Hey hey hey, there are two other girls here, aren’t you going to say hello?” “Yuanyuan, Mu, good evening.” Zhang Wensheng smiled awkwardly and gestured towards the passenger seat. When Du Guangyin emerged, Zhang Wensheng introduced him, “This is my roommate Du Guangyin, he hadn’t eaten either, so he just tagged along.” Du Guangyin nodded shyly, “Good evening.” “Hello.” “Hello.” After exchanging greetings, Zhang Wensheng patted the car beneath him and said with a smile, “Get in, three beauties. Wherever you want to eat, just send me the location.” “Alright, let’s experience your new car.” “Let’s go to that Korean fried chicken place, it’s not far from our school.” Zhao Yaqian and the others opened the rear doors and sat inside directly. The car wasn’t very spacious. Li Yuanyuan and Jiang Zimu, both under 170 cm in height, felt it was okay. However, the taller and leggy Zhao Yaqian found it a bit cramped and had to angle her legs together tilted. Curiously observing the interior, It was evident that it was an older car, the interior was very retro. “Bang!” The car door was closed forcefully. “Off we go.” Thinking of the goddess’s gaze behind him, Zhang Wensheng couldn’t help wanting to show off. He leaned back, gripped the steering wheel with his left hand, and released the handbrake with his right. With a smirk, he pressed the clutch and engaged first gear. As he coordinated the clutch and gas, the vehicle emitted a deep growling sound. “Tsk—” A discordant note sounded, and the car stalled. “(⊙o⊙)...” Zhang Wensheng scratched his head awkwardly and explained, “New car, still in the break-in period, it does this occasionally.” Jiang Zimu chuckled lightly, “Manual transmission cars are indeed a bit tricky, no worries.” Li Yuanyuan and Zhao Yaqian also consoled him with a few words. Zhang Wensheng quickly refocused, didn’t dare to show off any further, reignited the engine, and cautiously released the clutch while gently pressing on the accelerator. The dim halogen headlights lit the road ahead. ... Songmei Clothing. Tang Song stretched lazily, standing up from his executive chair. Today, besides meetings and participating in photo sessions, he had mainly focused on the secondary development of the OA system. Since they were using ready-made code, a few simple adjustments made it functional. He had just deployed it to his own server using dockerfile, and it worked without issues. Beyond that, he had also quickly completed and launched the update for the new UI of the Glimmer Coffee mini-program. Picking up a water glass, he stood by the floor-to-ceiling window. The city lights intertwined with the distant starlight, and the headlights on the road formed a bright trail. “Thump thump thump—” Knocking sounds came from the door. “Come in,” said Tang Song, turning around. Gao Mengting pushed the door open and walked in, smiling, “All the preparations are done, just had a trial broadcast, both equipment and procedures are operational.” “Thanks for the hard work,” Tang Song opened his arms with a smile, “How about a hug?” “No way!” Gao Mengting rolled her eyes attractively, “Work is over, bye-bye.” “See you tomorrow, bye-bye~” Watching his partner leave, Tang Song picked up his mobile, opening Zhao Yaqian’s chat box. He had been quite busy lately, not managing to visit her. Looking at the photos, the beautician friend’s gorgeous face and sexy figure appeared. A smile of appreciation appeared on Tang Song’s face. The beautician friend had a tough job and had just transitioned into a permanent role; he must go visit her. And today, she just happened to be wearing a skirt that allowed him to touch her wine glass shaped legs directly without reaching in! He packed up his things, picked up the car keys, and exited the CEO’s office. The office area was nearly empty, only He Liting and scene manager Zhao Zhiming were still checking the content and interactions for tomorrow’s live broadcast. Tang Song walked over and offered a few words of encouragement, exited through the main door, and took the elevator directly to B1. “Ready to depart, please proceed to the underground parking exit.” With the navigation’s prompt, the Mercedes-Benz S450L slowly drove out of the garage, blending into the crowded traffic and becoming part of Yan City’s dazzling night scene.