Chapter 103 — Fried Mushrooms and Drainage Oil

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Watching Wei Zhao step out of the fitting room, Gu Mengyao felt her eyes light up…

Though her impression of Wei Zhao had long since begun to change — in his school uniform he was far more handsome than in his former migrant-worker getup — now, dressed head to toe in casual clothes, he looked even more dashing.

Hmph, who'd have thought this thing would actually turn out decent-looking, no wonder he's got such a way with women, even Qiu Lingshan keeps sidling up to him — honestly, he really knows how to stir up attention. I should have known better than to tell him to buy any.

Gu Mengyao thought, somewhat conflicted.

"Wow, Sister Yaoyao, look, Shield Bro is so handsome! This time he'll totally be enough to be your Shield Bro — I guarantee it, he'd slay them all!" Shen Yushu was likewise astonished at Wei Zhao's transformation.

It seemed the saying really was true: clothes make the man, and bark makes the tree.

"How's this?" Wei Zhao had casually picked out two casual outfits. As for suits — forget it. Wei Zhao felt that following behind two young ladies in a suit looked somewhat out of place, as though he were a hired thug.

"Truly hideous," Gu Mengyao said, yawning and glancing over blearily.

"Heh heh…" Wei Zhao chuckled and looked at Shen Yushu. "What do you think?"

"Me…?" Shen Yushu glanced at Gu Mengyao rather awkwardly, then suddenly felt a touch of guilt. "It'll do, I guess."

"Then that's settled." Wei Zhao took out the card Uncle Qing had given him, ready to swipe it.

"Let me," Gu Mengyao said, but she had already risen from her chair before him and headed for the counter to settle the bill.

Wei Zhao shrugged. Since Gu Mengyao insisted, there was no need to fight her for it — this wasn't the moment to show off any gentlemanly gallantry. The money on his own card had come from Gu Pengzhan, and the money on Gu Mengyao's card had likewise come from Gu Pengzhan.

In essence, the two were the same; whose card got swiped made no difference.

"We're done here — is there anything else you want to buy?" Gu Mengyao asked Wei Zhao after swiping her card.

"I'd also like to buy a laptop," Wei Zhao said after a moment's thought.

"Oh, a computer. Xiaoshu, isn't the computer at your place unused now? Why don't you have Wei Zhao carry it over and use it?" Gu Mengyao was a little tired. There were no computer shops in this mall; buying a computer meant going to the tech tower nearby, and that was a long walk.

"Sure." Shen Yushu didn't mind at all. Computers were the sort of thing that got replaced quickly anyway; for now she was staying at Gu Mengyao's home, and there was a computer in her bedroom to use. By the time she went back to live at her own house, it would be time to get a new one anyway, so she might as well put the old thing to good use and let Wei Zhao have it.

Since both Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu had said as much, Wei Zhao naturally had no objection. The three of them left the mall together. Wei Zhao glanced at the long queue at the entrance to the underground parking garage and actually found himself thinking Gu Mengyao was rather decent after all. True, she hadn't been afraid of getting a parking ticket earlier, but given her status, a single phone call to Uncle Qing in advance would have been enough — no matter how tight the mall's parking was, even if the mall's general manager had to give up his own space, a spot would have been handed over to Gu Mengyao.

Arriving at the public parking lot where they had parked earlier, Gu Mengyao took one look and handed the car keys back to Wei Zhao. "You're in charge of getting the car out."

Wei Zhao took the keys with a wry smile. The two cars in front and behind hadn't budged an inch. In a tight little spot like this, there was naturally no way Gu Mengyao could maneuver the car out.

But for Wei Zhao it was no problem at all. Keys in hand, he got in, shifted back and forth a few times, and the car slipped nimbly out. Wei Zhao got out and then voluntarily settled himself in the back seat.

Gu Mengyao was rather exasperated. "You still expect me to be your chauffeur?"

"But… I really don't have a driver's license…" Wei Zhao looked equally helpless. "What if I get detained for fifteen days?"

"..." Gu Mengyao was speechless. She thought to herself, you and Qiu Lingshan are already in that kind of relationship, so who would dare detain you? But she said nothing, and sulkily got into the driver's seat and started the car.

"Sister Yao, are we still going to eat fried mushrooms today?" Not far from the commercial street was a snack-food lane. Every evening, all sorts of food stalls would set up there. On their last outing, the two of them had gone to eat there once, and Shen Yushu had been utterly captivated by a fried-mushroom stall; just thinking about it now still made her mouth water.

Gu Mengyao was about to say "Sure!", but then she thought of Wei Zhao in the back seat, so she turned her head. "Hey, are you coming? If not, I'll leave you at home."

"Of course I'm coming. It's just eating, isn't it? That's something I'm good at." Wei Zhao nodded with great solemnity.

"..." Gu Mengyao was rather at a loss for words. There were people in this world who were good at all sorts of things, but she had never seen anyone shamelessly declare that they were good at eating the way Wei Zhao just had... She wanted to say, besides being good at eating, are you also good at shitting? But the word was rather inelegant, and remembering that she was a girl, Gu Mengyao kept it to herself.

"Ha, Arrow-brand Bro, we really are kindred spirits. I'm good at it too!" Shen Yushu, however, looked thrilled, as if to say "what fate!"

Gu Mengyao truly didn't know what to say... How embarrassing, so utterly embarrassing.

"I love fried mushrooms. What about you?" Shen Yushu, not noticing Gu Mengyao's expression, chattered excitedly with Wei Zhao.

"I like fried chicken strips," Wei Zhao said.

"Ahem..." Gu Mengyao really could bear it no longer. "Haven't you two ever heard of gutter oil?"

"Of course I've heard of it, Sister Yao. But what does gutter oil have to do with fried mushrooms?" Shen Yushu asked foolishly.

"Uh..." Gu Mengyao stomped on the accelerator, and the S5 shot forward. That was the only outlet she had left; she had been utterly defeated.

Wei Zhao was somewhat puzzled. Shen Yushu didn't seem like such a foolish girl. How could she not understand the connection between gutter oil and fried mushrooms? But when he caught the faint, barely perceptible smile at the corner of her mouth, Wei Zhao understood: the girl was doing it on purpose.

At the snack-food lane, there was still nowhere to park. Parking wasn't prohibited here, and cars were scattered about in a haphazard mess. Gu Mengyao frowned. Every time she went out, the thing she dreaded most was hunting for a parking spot.

In the past two years, the number of private cars in Songshan City had grown at an astonishing rate. What especially depressed Gu Mengyao was that ever since she got her driver's license, the number of private cars had suddenly begun to increase...

"You park it." Gu Mengyao got out of the car and said to Wei Zhao, "Xiaoshu and I are going to eat. Buy whatever you want for yourself. Don't worry about us."

"Oh." Wei Zhao got out of the car without a care, took the driver's seat Gu Mengyao had just vacated, and casually found a gap to park the car in, without blocking the way. As for Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu wanting to go off on their own, Wei Zhao was hardly surprised. After all, when it came to street snacks like these, they wouldn't be able to relax with him trailing behind them. Shen Yushu might already be immune to him, but Gu Mengyao was very reserved, and Wei Zhao had no intention of ruining her appetite.