Chapter 90: Next Time for Sure

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Next Time for Sure

Granny Wang’s expression turned unnatural. Forcing a smile, she asked, "You seem quite impatient, handsome. It looks like you really like her. What’s your name?"

The young guy took the microphone and answered loudly, "My last name is Chen!" He was very energetic.

Chen Jingle felt even more numb. "Damn it, I’ll give you fifty cents to say your last name is Liang!" he thought.

Beside him, Liang City was smiling so hard his mouth was almost crooked, even snorting with laughter as he poked Chen Jingle’s arm.

Chen Jingle was speechless and rolled his eyes hard.

"Introduce yourself," Granny Wang said.

"Nineteen years old, 175 centimeters tall, 52 kilograms. I don’t have a job right now, but I live and eat at home, so I won’t starve to death. How about it? Do I meet the beauty’s requirements?"

Granny Wang was dumbfounded. With those conditions, wasn’t coming up here for a blind date just pure sabotage?

Though, his height and the fact that he wouldn’t starve did technically fit the criteria. The problem was that she had asked for more than just those two things!

Granny Wang hurriedly said, "Nineteen is still too young. There’s no rush. Why don’t you let the other gentlemen have a chance first?"

"Marrying a woman three years older is like striking gold. I don’t mind," the blond guy retorted, unconvinced.

Ew—he was the one who didn’t mind? Just look at her! Since he came up on stage, had the girl even bothered to glance at him?

The blond guy was eventually shooed off the stage. However, he didn’t look disappointed in the slightest; instead, he wore a smug expression. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought he had won the girl’s heart.

Chen Jingle tugged at Liang City’s clothes, ready to slip away. He was afraid that if he kept watching, he would curl up and die of secondhand embarrassment. If this cringe-inducing scene was scripted, then the person who wrote it had to be a mad genius!

The two of them walked to the end of Nanyan Street. Chen Jingle glanced at an alley diagonally across from them. "That’s the Cultural Palace over there, right?"

"Yeah. You’ve never been?" Liang City asked, following his gaze.

Chen Jingle shook his head. "No..."

His home was in the west of the city, while this was the east. The entrance to the Cultural Palace was deep inside the alley, requiring another turn to get in. He had only heard about it back when he was in school. The Cultural Palace that textbook characters could reach in a five-minute walk had taken him thirty years, and he still hadn’t arrived. He didn’t know what to say.

"Do you want to go in and take a look?" Liang City asked. "Actually, I’ve never been inside either."

Chen Jingle thought about it and nodded. So, the two of them strolled inside.

There really wasn’t much to see. The interior looked like a small park with some basic exercise equipment and an open-air platform. The adjacent building might have hosted tutoring centers or hobby classes in the past, but its doors were shut tight at the moment. That was it.

Chen Jingle was deeply disappointed. "So the Cultural Palace isn’t anything special after all."

"I heard they’re planning to tear it down and rebuild it," Liang City said, finishing the last sip of his lemon tea and tossing the cup into a nearby trash can.

"Rebuild?" Chen Jingle looked around. "Still as a Cultural Palace?"

"Yeah! I saw the design blueprints online. They look pretty luxurious."

Luxurious? Chen Jingle blinked. The full name of the Cultural Palace was the Workers’ Cultural Palace. If it had a luxurious style, would workers even be allowed inside once it was finished? They had better not turn it into some pretentious, overpriced tourist trap in Jiangbei just to disgust people.

"Let’s go. Nothing more to see here."

It had taken him thirty years to finally reach the Cultural Palace, but in the end, he still didn’t walk into the building.

By the time he returned home, it was 9:42 PM.

After taking a quick shower, blow-drying his hair, and lying in bed, it was just about time to sleep. He spent the last two minutes checking his phone for any missed important messages.

Going out for a walk tonight was a decent experience. But if he had to name any special surprises, there were none.

"I’ll just treat it as a way to clear my mind," he thought.

Liang City was right about one thing—he really should go out for a walk occasionally. His range of activity was far too narrow. However, the moment he thought about wandering around aimlessly by himself like a fool, he felt it was entirely meaningless and dismissed the idea.

Back when he was in school, he could always hang out with Liang City and the rest of the guys whenever they came back for the holidays. But now, everyone had either started a family or was working hard out of town, all of them battling it out with life. Even having a late-night snack with Liang City tonight was only possible because Liang City happened to have free time.

It seemed he had become the most carefree one among them.

Chen Jingle rested his head on his hands and stared at the ceiling, not knowing what to say for a moment. Wallowing in self-pity was out of the question—it was just depressing. But he couldn’t think of any better words to encourage a more positive and uplifting attitude toward life.

"System, play some songs with positive energy tonight. My magnetic field is a bit weak right now."

[Understood. Detecting fluctuations in the emotional state of Little Friend Chen Jingle. Matching suitable lullabies.]

A few seconds later, a soothing background melody began to play, followed by the System’s gentle voice.

[The night at the naval port is quiet and still.]

[The ocean waves gently rock the warships.]

[The young sailors rest their heads upon the swells.]

[Revealing sweet smiles in their dreams.]

So it was "Night at the Naval Port."

This song was indeed a good choice. There was nothing more positive than this kind of music, and its gentle tune was perfect for lulling him to sleep. Chen Jingle shifted into a more comfortable sleeping position and closed his eyes.

He slept soundly until broad daylight.

Having a System was great. Chen Jingle felt like he fell into a deep sleep every night without even dreaming. It was incredibly comfortable.

After returning from his morning jog and eating breakfast, he started by cleaning up the house. Just as he finished, Chen Qiyun came over.

Chen Jingle was surprised. "Aren’t you going to class today?"

Chen Qiyun frowned. "What class? Today is Saturday!"

"Is today Saturday?" Chen Jingle was a bit dazed. Uh, alright. A shut-in really didn’t have any concept of time. Most of the time, he only looked at the clock, never the date.

Chen Qiyun shot him a look of disgust and contempt. People with zero sense of time were seriously so lame.

Saturday... Chen Jingle rubbed his chin, frowning in thought. This was a problem. He had originally planned to bring the calligraphy and painting to Li Beixing after she finished her classes. Now that she wasn’t working on Saturday, what was he supposed to do?

"I’ll ask her first and see what she says," he thought.

So, he took out his phone and texted: "Teacher Li, do you have time this morning? How should I hand the calligraphy and painting over to you?"

Li Beixing, who had just woken up at that moment, rubbed her eyes. Her mind was still a bit foggy, and it took her a while to figure out how to reply. First of all, he definitely couldn’t deliver it to her home. The problem was that she wasn’t at school right now, either.

After mulling it over, she sent Chen Jingle the location of a nearby milk tea shop. "Is this place okay?" she texted.

Chen Jingle checked the map. It was over in North City, but it wasn’t too far from his house. His electric scooter could get there in ten minutes. He replied, "No problem. What time?"

Li Beixing checked the current time and estimated how long it would take her to get up, wash, eat breakfast, put on makeup, and head out. She replied, "Is 9:30 okay?" It would be too sunny closer to noon, and the climate here in Jiangbei was very unfriendly to a girl’s skin.

Chen Jingle replied with an "OK" sticker.

Li Beixing stared at the sticker, lost in thought. "How does a guy have so many cute stickers?" she wondered.

Since Chen Jingle had to go deliver the artwork soon, he had to temporarily adjust today’s study schedule. He would do half an hour of theoretical knowledge first, followed by practical lessons when he got back. Any missing class time would be made up in the afternoon or evening. At the same time, he told Chen Qiyun to finish her homework exercises first, and he would explain them to her when he returned. This way, there wouldn’t be any issues.

After studying until 9:20 AM, Chen Jingle packed his things and prepared to head out.

"Where are you going?" Chen Qiyun asked curiously.

"Delivering something. I’ll be back soon," Chen Jingle said vaguely. He couldn’t let Little Douding know that he was going to meet Li Beixing, or else there was no telling what kind of nonsense she would start cooking up in her head.

However, when he arrived at the designated location, Chen Jingle was surprised to find that Li Beixing was already there. He quickly parked his electric scooter and walked over.

"Sorry I’m late."

"Oh boy," he thought. "If this were a blind date, I would probably be declared out on the spot."

He wasn’t actually late, though. It was still two minutes before 9:30.

Li Beixing smiled. "You’re not. I just sat down myself. What would you like to drink, Mr. Chen?"

"Let me see." Chen Jingle glanced at the menu board above. "A medium peach oolong tea with light ice, please. Thank you."

He reached for his phone to scan the QR code and pay, but Li Beixing spoke up, "I’ll put it on my tab." Meeting Chen Jingle’s questioning gaze, she smiled and said, "I have a membership at this shop."

While Chen Jingle was still stunned, the staff member had already successfully printed the receipt. It made him feel a bit embarrassed. "Well, thank you, Teacher Li."

"You’re being too polite. It’s just a cup of milk tea. Just call me Beixing."

"Uh, alright. Then you should just call me by my name, too. ’Mr. Chen’ is too formal."

Chen Jingle sat down, leaning forward slightly.

Li Beixing immediately smiled, her eyes crinkling. "Okay!" Her eyes looked very pretty when she smiled, shaping into little crescents.

Chen Jingle silently looked away.

The milk tea shop’s decor resembled a boutique guesthouse. It was a roadside tile-roofed house with a courtyard, and its spacious storefront accommodated many tables and chairs. It seemed to be a local milk tea chain brand, but Chen Jingle wasn’t sure. The seat Li Beixing had chosen was facing away from the sun, which was quite nice.

"Oh right, here is the artwork!"

Chen Jingle quickly brought out the packaged calligraphy and painting he was carrying. Even though they were worth thirty thousand yuan, they had been casually stuffed into a bag.

"Your efficiency is truly beyond words!"

Li Beixing was highly impressed. She took them, opened the package to take a look, and gasped in awe once again. The physical pieces were much more breathtaking than the photos. She could already imagine how pleasantly surprised Uncle Liu would be.

Chen Jingle accepted the milk tea handed to him by the staff, thanked them, and quietly watched Li Beixing admire his calligraphy and painting.

How should he put it? It was rather embarrassing. Even though it was his own work, being praised so profusely to his face felt a little too deliberate. He wasn’t very used to it.

After confirming there were no issues, Li Beixing immediately transferred the money to Chen Jingle. With thirty thousand yuan credited to his account, Chen Jingle felt a pleasant tingle wash over him.

In a word: satisfying!

Afterward, the two engaged in a brief discussion and exchange about calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting. It mainly consisted of Li Beixing asking for advice and Chen Jingle answering.

They chatted like this for about ten minutes. Li Beixing checked the time and gathered her courage to ask, "Do you want to grab lunch together?"

"Uh, sorry, I’m afraid I can’t today." Chen Jingle gave an awkward smile. "Chen Qiyun is waiting for me at home to tutor her with her homework, and I have to prepare lunch for her too. Let’s do it next time."

Initially a bit disappointed, Li Beixing suddenly became curious. "Are you the one tutoring her with her after-school homework now?"

"Yeah. Like you mentioned last time, you hoped her grades would improve as soon as possible."

Li Beixing realized, "Speaking of which, Chen Qiyun has indeed been performing well lately. She’s answered correctly several times during class questions. It seems the tutoring is having an obvious effect."

"It’s only obvious because her foundation was so poor to begin with."

"And you’re preparing her meals because...?" Li Beixing asked in confusion.

Chen Jingle smiled sheepishly. "She likes the food I cook, so I just conveniently make an extra portion for her."

"Is that so?"

Li Beixing had a little trouble comprehending this. Recalling the food photos Chen Qiyun had sent her before, full of endless bragging, she wondered if Chen Jingle’s cooking really had that much magic. She had no choice but to say regretfully, "Then let’s do it next time."

"Alright, definitely next time!"

Chen Jingle smiled faintly, said his goodbyes, and slipped away.

Li Beixing watched him rev his electric scooter and disappear from sight in moments, unable to hold back a sigh. It looked like she had failed again!