Passing by the trash can on the front right, Jiang Yuan turned sideways and saw Chi Xu throw the garbage bag into it. Then, without looking back, he walked towards the rental house.
A sudden sense of loss welled up in her heart.
It seemed as if she had been expecting something.
Jiang Yuan shook off these strange emotions.
On the other side, Lu Zhen was about to reach the Northeast restaurant. Since Peking University was not far from Beijing Normal University, Jiang Yuan found a shared bike and rode there.
She arrived at the Northeast restaurant in less than ten minutes.
It was evening, and it was also the time when school was over on Friday. The Northeast restaurant was bustling with noise, and all kinds of raucous sounds were intertwined.
Lu Zhen had come early and occupied a square table in advance.
When he saw Jiang Yuan coming, he immediately smiled at her, waved her over, and casually handed the menu to her.
"Before you came, I ordered sweet and sour pork slices, eggplant stuffed with minced meat, and cold three - delicacies. Let me tell you, ordinary people don't know about the eggplant stuffed with minced meat. It's not on the menu."
Lu Zhen said excitedly, "Take a look and see what else you want to order."
Jiang Yuan flipped through the menu casually and then closed it. "That's enough. Three dishes are more than enough for the two of us."
After telling the waiter what they had ordered, Jiang Yuan asked curiously, "How do you know about this hidden dish on the menu?"
"My friend is from Northeast China. He told me about it."
So that was it.
Jiang Yuan nodded and looked around. The large restaurant was already full, and it seemed that people were starting to queue up outside.
"After we finish eating, tell me how much it is. I'll transfer the money to you."
"No need. I'm treating you." Meeting Jiang Yuan's surprised gaze, Lu Zhen smiled, showing his white teeth. "After all, you helped me a lot in high school. Without you, there wouldn't be Lu Zhen from Beijing Normal University today."
"Just consider this as my way of thanking you. It's the first meal I'm treating you to since we entered university." Afraid that Jiang Yuan still wouldn't agree, Lu Zhen lowered his voice, drooped his eyes with an innocent and aggrieved look, and continued.
"After all, I used to treat you to dinner every night. One more meal doesn't matter. I'd even feel uncomfortable if I don't treat you."
Jiang Yuan was amused. "Okay, just this one time. From now on, we'll go Dutch. I can't help you much now, so you don't need to treat me anymore."
Lu Zhen looked at the girl with clear eyes in front of him and sighed silently in his heart. On the surface, he pretended to be calm and nonchalant. "Sure."
While waiting for the food, a queue had already formed outside.
The Northeast restaurant served food very quickly. The cold three - delicacies was served first.
A round plate was piled high with the three - delicacies, almost as tall as a mobile phone.
Just as Jiang Yuan was about to pick up her chopsticks to take a bite, the familiar clear scent of cedar wafted into her nose.
Jiang Yuan frowned slightly. Before she had time to think carefully, a deep voice sounded in her ear.
"Yuanyuan, can we share your table?"
She suddenly looked up, and Chi Xu's face unexpectedly came into view.
Jiang Yuan was stunned. She opened her mouth slightly and it took her a while to find her voice. "Why are you here?"
Didn't he go back after throwing out the garbage?
"It's me. I dragged Brother Chi here for dinner. You don't know how hard it is to make an appointment with Brother Chi. It's been almost half a month since he had dinner with me. I finally got the chance tonight."
Jia Fang jumped out from behind Chi Xu and explained the reason with a grin.
He hadn't had dinner with him for almost half a month?
Jiang Yuan remembered that in the past half a month, Chi Xu had been cooking all kinds of dishes in the kitchen by himself, and most of them had ended up in her stomach.
Her cheeks flushed slightly. Jiang Yuan averted her gaze awkwardly and coughed lightly. "What a coincidence. There are many restaurants around the school. How come we meet here?"
Jia Fang stroked his chin and nodded. "This is what they call 'fate brings people together from afar'. Look, you and Brother Chi are so fated that you can meet while having dinner."
Actually, it wasn't like that. The smile on Jia Fang's lips was almost frozen.
He had just soaked a bowl of instant noodles in the dormitory and was about to start eating when Chi Xu called him.
He was asked to go out for dinner with him.
He refused. He didn't want to waste the bowl of instant noodles.
But Chi Xu said he would treat him to a big meal, so he followed along happily.
As soon as he entered the restaurant, he saw Jiang Yuan sitting opposite a strange boy.
Jia Fang suddenly understood and started to make up all kinds of reasons to make Jiang Yuan believe.
"Hey, Jiang Yuan, look, there are still seats on both sides of you and your friend. Can Brother Chi and I squeeze in?" Jia Fang continued.
This... Jiang Yuan turned her gaze to Lu Zhen.
Lu Zhen smiled slightly and said, "Sure."
Jia Fang was not polite. He plopped down on the seat next to Lu Zhen, and Chi Xu naturally sat next to Jiang Yuan.
Chi Xu gave Jia Fang an approving look.
Jia Fang proudly lifted his chin as if to say, "It still depends on me."
"What did you order?" Chi Xu turned his head and asked.
"Jiang Yuan, why don't you introduce your friend first? It's the first time we've met."
Lu Zhen placed his elbows on the table, tugged at the corner of his mouth, and interrupted Chi Xu's words.
His browbones were prominent, and his eyebrows were thick, casting a faint shadow under the indoor light.
His gaze was calm but also carried a hint of scrutiny, and it landed directly on the person sitting next to Jiang Yuan.
He should have known who he was.
Based on a boy's sixth sense.
Jiang Yuan was stunned for a moment. Then she came to her senses, slapped her own head, and said with a smile, "I even forgot about this. The one sitting next to you is Jia Fang. Not the 'client' Jia, but the Jia from Jia Baoyu."
"And the one sitting next to me is Chi Xu. Xu as in 'reminisce'. They're roommates and they're my..." Jiang Yuan thought for a while and chose her words carefully. "They're my seniors from the sophomore year."
Aren't they the childhood sweetheart she's been longing for?
Lu Zhen raised his eyebrows and looked at Chi Xu.
On the other side, hearing Jiang Yuan's introduction, Chi Xu frowned slightly, glanced at her, and then continued her words, "Yes, Yuanyuan and I have known each other since childhood. We were in the same school in primary and junior high school, and our families lived opposite each other. We were neighbors."
It was as if he was telling the other person that his relationship with Jiang Yuan was far deeper than that of an outsider.
He didn't mention the three - year period of disconnection in the middle.
Sure enough, at the first call of "Yuanyuan", Lu Zhen keenly sensed something was wrong.
Chi Xu should be the person Jiang Yuan had buried in her heart, the one she had always wanted to mention but was afraid to.
He was also the person she wanted to take revenge on severely after entering university.
He let out a soft laugh and introduced himself. "My name is Lu Zhen. I'm Jiang Yuan's high - school classmate."
He seemed to be sighing. "If it weren't for Jiang Yuan, there wouldn't be the current me."
What did this mean? Chi Xu looked at Lu Zhen with a heavy gaze.
Was he trying to say that his relationship with Jiang Yuan was also not simple?
"However, I've known Jiang Yuan for more than three years, but I've never heard her mention you." Lu Zhen raised the corner of his mouth and stared directly at Chi Xu. His words were both innocent and cruel.
It was simply heart - piercing.
"You just said that you've known Jiang Yuan since childhood, that you're neighbors, and that you went to the same primary and junior high schools. Why not high school?"