Chapter 19 Part 2

He Yuxuan, feeling the outing was worth commemorating, also edited a post for his Moments and casually sent it out.

The caption read: “First time at an amusement park in my life. Thanks to sponsor Old Zhang.”

Not being a celebrity anymore, he didn’t need to find the perfect angle or add filters and retouching. He Yuxuan didn’t know how to do that anyway. He really enjoyed this current feeling.

“Hehehe, appearing in the handsome guy’s Moments, I’m deeply honored.” Zhang Xiangdong leaned over to peek at the post and chuckled happily.

He also left a comment below: “Let’s go, treating the handsome guy to BBQ now.”

They pocketed their phones and set off in earnest.

“I gotta say, the BBQ here really doesn’t compare to my hometown’s. Small portions and expensive. Not even enough to fill the gaps between your teeth!” Zhang Xiangdong grumbled on the bus.

The reason they chose the bus over the subway was mainly because the bus was only one yuan for the entire trip—cheaper.

Away from the amusement park, He Yuxuan was temporarily back to looking like a picture of serene, beautiful youthfulness. He mused thoughtfully, “I’ll have to go to your hometown to try it sometime.”

He was originally a Southerner, and after entering the entertainment industry, he’d just stayed in Jinghai City the whole time.

As for adjectives like ‘small and expensive,’ He Yuxuan used to never consider them as negative traits. After all, plenty of the things around him were expensive and small. But now, he felt they weren’t worth it!

“This BBQ joint I found is passable. Decent portions, flavor’s alright, and their lamb skewers are damn delicious!” Zhang Xiangdong was practically salivating just talking about it.

“Bro, how’s your alcohol tolerance? Think around five bottles of beer each should be about right?”

He Yuxuan didn’t know. In his past life, he’d blown up the moment he debuted. No one at the dinner table tried to force drinks on him, and he didn’t like spicy or harsh things anyway, so he rarely drank. This was also an unknown factor.

“Sure. We’ll try it out.” He Yuxuan didn’t resist. This was something you only learned by trying.

Though, come to think of it, no wonder Zhang Xiangdong seemed to have gotten fatter since their last meeting. With meals like this one after another, how could he not gain weight?

He himself could do it once or twice. Still, appearance management was He Yuxuan’s bottom line.

The two finally arrived at the BBQ restaurant.

The shop wasn’t big. The environment was just average. But there were a lot of customers, and they even had to queue for a bit.

That aroma was truly enticing!

And after ordering, the food came out fast. He Yuxuan started eating slowly, bite by bite, but Zhang Xiangdong cut him off.

“Bro, you can’t eat it like that. You gotta eat big mouthfuls of meat and drink big gulps of beer! That’s where the satisfaction is!” So he taught He Yuxuan how to shovel the food into his mouth properly.

He Yuxuan clumsily imitated him for a while and finally got the hang of it.

The ice-cold beer washed down his stomach. That feeling was truly comfortable! The nausea was gone too.

Though after roughly one bottle, he started feeling a bit buzzed. His head began to swim, but he wasn’t anywhere near unconscious yet.

“I guess I can’t manage five bottles. Three is about my limit,” He Yuxuan said preemptively.

Firstly, this stuff was bloating. He Yuxuan didn’t have a big appetite. Secondly, he was genuinely afraid that if he drank more, he wouldn’t be able to work later.

“No worries. Drink plenty of water, take a few pisses, and the dizziness goes away. But if you really can’t, three bottles it is. I’ll drink the rest for you.”

He was a little buzzed; his language was getting cruder.

“Alright! A toast to you!” He Yuxuan also drank with a newfound boldness. The two buddies chatted away, one bite at a time, until the entire table of BBQ was cleared.

Of course, Zhang Xiangdong ate the bulk of it. He was fast in both action and speech. Anyone eating with him probably came out on the losing end.

He Yuxuan was also insanely full.

“That’s it for today. Thanks for the treat, bro. I still have my part-time job. Next time’s on me.” He Yuxuan wiped his mouth, his face incredibly red.

He tended to flush when drinking, but following Zhang Xiangdong’s advice, he’d also drunk a lot of water. He was really just a bit dizzy, not impaired to the point of affecting much.

“Alright. Next time, the three of us – you, me, and my girlfriend – should have a meal together. You’re practically our matchmaker.”

“No problem.”

The two parted ways outside the BBQ restaurant. Zhang Xiangdong also smoked, though not often.

After drinking, he tried to offer He Yuxuan a cigarette. He Yuxuan didn’t try that one – bad for his voice and unhealthy for the body.

“You should smoke less too. It’s not good making your girlfriend inhale secondhand smoke,” He Yuxuan advised.

“I know. Usually never smoke around her.”

He Yuxuan nodded, pulling up his GPS to find a bus stop to the milk tea shop.

He usually didn’t post on Moments. His only two posts were about his two friends, and the photos were very hastily taken. But a handsome guy’s Moments always attracted a lot of engagement.

In the short time he hadn’t looked at his phone, there were already dozens of likes and comments, many from people he barely knew, added through this or that activity.

His head was still a bit dizzy, so He Yuxuan didn’t meticulously go through the comments. Thus, he didn’t realize that his other friend had not only liked the post but also commented.

“Who is he?”

He Yuxuan leaned against the bus stop sign, resting his eyes. He was such a clean freak he usually never leaned against random things. Now, his mind couldn’t be bothered with so many rules; he just knew this felt comfortable.

Until his phone rang.

Caller ID: Young Master Chu

He Yuxuan perked up, wondering why Chu Ci was calling him now, if it was something urgent.

“Hello?” He answered the call.

“You went to an amusement park today?”

“Yeah. You saw my Moments post.” He Yuxuan closed his eyes, a tipsy, content smile still on his lips.

“Who did you go with?”

He Yuxuan didn’t really pick up on the cold hardness and displeasure in the other’s tone.

“A friend. You don’t know him. His name’s Zhang Xiangdong.” He Yuxuan said it as a matter of course.

Of course the Young Master wouldn’t know him. There were probably few people in this school who dared say they knew Chu Ci.

“Friend?”

“Mm-hmm. What’s up?” He Yuxuan didn’t understand his line of questioning.

“Are you still working overtime now? Is work tiring?” He asked with concern.

“No overtime. Come find me in half an hour. I’ll send you my location.”

Then Chu Ci hung up.

He Yuxuan was dazed for a moment. It felt like something was off, but Chu Ci had always been this terse in his style. Wasn’t that normal?

Without asking further what Chu Ci wanted from him, whatever it was, there must be a reason, and He Yuxuan’s first instinct was certainly to go.

The bus arrived. He didn’t get on. Instead, he called Brother Li to ask for leave.

“Brother Li, something urgent suddenly came up tonight. I probably can’t make it. Can you cover my shift?”

“Something urgent came up? No problem. Just work a few extra hours next week.”

“Okay, thank you, Brother Li.”

Li Xu was quite good to He Yuxuan, not making it difficult at all to approve the leave. A good-looking guy who worked hard and didn’t slack off—what boss wouldn’t like him?

He Yuxuan had mostly sobered up. He crossed out his evening schedule, then headed to the location Chu Ci had sent him.

He was truly bad with directions, but he also felt this place seemed familiar, like he’d just passed by it.

“I’m almost there,” he messaged Chu Ci to check in.

The further he doubled back, the more familiar it became. It wasn’t until he got out of the car that He Yuxuan realized: wasn’t this right near Fantawild?!

What was going on? What was Chu Ci doing here today too?

He called Chu Ci.

“I’m here. Where are you?”

“You walk forward.” Not another word, and Chu Ci hung up.

He Yuxuan could only keep walking forward while scanning his surroundings. He slowly made his way to the main gate of Fantawild. There was a fireworks show here in the evening, and the night scenery was quite beautiful.

He looked around but didn’t see him. He was about to call again when he suddenly noticed a black figure on the steps, crouching. There was a sense of lonely desolation about him.

Maybe it was just an illusion.

Though the sky was dark, He Yuxuan still recognized Chu Ci.

After all, not everyone liked wearing all black every single day.

He strode in that direction. Wow, the guy was even wearing a suit. Had he just come from work without changing?

It was oddly mismatched with the atmosphere here. He Yuxuan found it pretty amusing.

“Off work? What’s the matter, calling me all the way out here?” He Yuxuan crouched down beside him, tilting his head to ask.

Could it be the Young Master was depressed from work? So he picked a happier place? Whatever the weird reason, He Yuxuan could understand. The other party was his friend, after all.

“Your first time at an amusement park, and you went with someone else.” Chu Ci finally looked up, his dark eyes simmering with some kind of emotion.

If every time before had been his own groundless jealousy, today, the fact was laid before him: He Yuxuan had other close friends. He wasn’t the only one.

“He bought the tickets half-price. Such a great deal.” He Yuxuan didn’t know why he heard an accusatory tone in that voice. He inexplicably felt a little guilty.

“Am I too poor to afford tickets?” Chu Ci pressed aggressively.

He Yuxuan thought to himself: That’s not the same thing. Taking advantage of a bargain is taking advantage of a bargain.

“I thought I was your best friend.” Chu Ci dropped his gaze, his voice low.

He Yuxuan felt like he might have truly messed up somewhere. He panicked slightly.

“You are. You’re my best friend.” Although the Young Master’s personality was a bit odd, he was genuinely the person who’d treated him best since he transmigrated into this book.

“Then why didn’t you think of me first? First-time things like this—can just anyone do them with you?”

He Yuxuan was somewhat speechless. It was just going to an amusement park… mainly, Zhang Xiangdong was the one who invited him…

But putting himself in Chu Ci’s shoes, maybe he could understand?

Since they were the best of friends, there naturally had to be something special differentiating it from other friendships. Otherwise, how could you tell the difference?

“I’ll… I’ll pay more attention next time?”

“Come on. I’ll take you to ride them all again.” Chu Ci stood up, half-appeased by He Yuxuan’s attitude.

He Yuxuan thought to himself: That is truly unnecessary… He didn’t want to try a second time. Besides, Chu Ci in a suit wasn’t suited for any of this.

But the Young Master was a stubborn donkey… These were thoughts He Yuxuan only dared to keep in his head.

Buying tickets at night—what a waste of money. Ah well, the Young Master was rich and didn’t care.

“I just remembered. We’ve never ridden the Ferris wheel together. How about you accompany me on the Ferris wheel?” He Yuxuan said sincerely.

If he wanted it to be special, then let it be special.

“Alright.” Only then did Chu Ci reluctantly curl his lips into a smile.

“There are some things only best friends can do.” After buying the tickets, Chu Ci said to He Yuxuan.

“Okay.”

Although the scope of ‘some things’ might be rather broad… But fine, let him have his way.

He Yuxuan had always been quite indulgent with the people close to him. And right now, Chu Ci was number one.