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Chapter 116 Face-to-Face Meeting
After chatting with Ye Qing for so long, the chicken wings in the kitchen had long been marinated.

Turn on the gas stove, and once the pot is hot, add a little cold oil and then add the marinated chicken wings.

The aroma of chicken wings began to fill the air. Instead of using a range hood, Ai Liang used her telekinesis to gather the fumes and throw them out the window, which was much more effective than a range hood.

Since no one was watching him cook, Ai Liang was too lazy to even use chopsticks and simply used telekinesis to flip the chicken wings over.

Once the chicken wings are cooked through, remove them from the pan. Turn the heat to high, add ginger slices and prepared honey water to the pan to dissolve the caramelized layer at the bottom. When the sauce has reduced by half, add the chicken wings back in and simmer for about 40 seconds.

Stir-fry the chicken wings briefly to coat them thoroughly with the honey sauce, and a plate of glistening, flavorful, and aromatic honey-glazed chicken wings is ready.

From marinating to serving, the whole process takes less than half an hour, it's very simple.

Ai Liang kept a small bowl of chicken wings for dinner, and packed the rest into a lunchbox.

dong dong dong.

Ai Liang knocked on Ye Qing's door.

"I'm coming!"

The sound of slippers slapping against each other could be heard from inside the house.

Click! Ye Qing opened the security door and exclaimed in surprise when she saw the lunchbox in Ai Liang's hand: "Wow, you didn't give me all the chicken wings, did you?"

"I still have some left for myself." Ai Liang handed the lunchbox to Ye Qing and then turned to leave.

However, as soon as he got home, he received a message on his phone.

Are you there? — Summer Solstice

This netizen named Xia Zhi is the one who has been chatting with Ai Liang all these years.

Although I feel I didn't add the wrong person, I still have to ask, are you Ai Liang?

【Um. 】

Come to the balcony!

Ai Liang picked up her bowl, took a pair of chopsticks, and headed to the balcony.

Ai Liang glanced at the message but didn't reply. Instead, she opened the sliding door to the balcony and looked to the left. Ye Qing was holding a lunchbox and staring intently in her direction.

"Your online name is 'Slightly Cool'?"

"Well, it's me."

Ai Liang put down a small bowl on the table on the balcony and slowly started gnawing on a chicken wing.

"What a coincidence!"

Ye Qing couldn't help but complain, "You didn't find out I was in Qianhua City, so you came here, did you?"

Do you think I'm that kind of person?

Ai Liang quietly ate his chicken wing. As usual, Ye Qing did most of the talking, and he would occasionally reply.

Looking at Ai Liang's calm demeanor, Ye Qing sighed, "That makes sense."

Now that Ai Liang has personally admitted that she is 'Wei Liang', she no longer feels the nervous excitement she had when she was looking at the information.

Ye Qing had actually noticed something when she was looking at the information at noon. The reason was simple: Ai Liang and her online friend 'Wei Liang' had the same background and identity.

Their life experiences are not so much alike, but rather exactly the same.

Another reason is that people who have known each other online for five years end up meeting in person without either of them knowing.

It feels like you've been calling a virtual streamer your wife for five whole years, only to find out that the virtual streamer is actually your best friend. This kind of complex feeling is hard to describe in words.

Even Ye Qing, who is enthusiastic, outgoing, and has excellent social skills, didn't know what to say for a moment.

Take a simple example.

The current atmosphere is like a person with social anxiety walking to school, seeing their teacher or classmates ahead, slowing down tenfold, but still bumping into them at the bus stop.

But Ye Qing is Ye Qing after all. She quickly composed herself and posed a soul-searching question to Ai Liang.

"So, you came to Chika to escape your parents?"

Ye Qing's first question was unabashedly about Ai Liang's parents.

Four years ago, Ye Qing, who had always poured out her grievances, complained, and told Ai Liang about her daily life, suddenly became curious one day and asked about Ai Liang's life.

At that time, Ai Liang had just ended his reclusive life not long ago. He hadn't talked to a normal person for five years, so he took the opportunity to talk about his family situation.

Anyway, no one knows your true face through the internet cable.

Over the past five years, the two have discussed Ai Liang's parents quite a bit. A long time ago, Ye Qing even jokingly suggested that he come out and hang out with her.

Of course, this was just a joke; three years ago, she herself was still living in an orphanage.

"This time I've completely broken ties with them, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will never have any contact with them again."

Ai Liang calmly munched on his chicken wing. He figured he would leave those two sooner or later anyway, so it would be strange if he had dragged it out until now.

If Ai Liang hadn't met Yue Qihua and others at school, she would have left Nevada two years ago.

"So what are you planning to do about living expenses? How about you come work part-time at our supermarket? I can talk to Lan... the supermarket owner."

Ye Qing didn't say any comforting platitudes; she knew very well that Ai Liang neither wanted to nor needed to hear them.

The issues she cares about all point directly to fundamental problems in life.

While offering her suggestions, Ye Qing picked up half a chicken wing and put it in her mouth.

With a flick of her tongue and a suck from her cherry-like lips, all the tender meat on the chicken wing was scraped off, leaving only a chicken bone which she casually tossed into the trash can.

Although they ate quickly, it wasn't uncouth; their movements were swift and elegant, and the chicken wings in their lunchboxes disappeared at a visible rate.

"I've already taken care of my living expenses. I made a lot of money trading stocks during the first month of summer vacation, which is enough to live on."

Ye Qing didn't say much, after all, with Ai Liang's genius, it was impossible for him to starve to death.

She looked at the empty lunchbox, then licked her lips with her tongue as if savoring the memory: "You always say your cooking is so-so, but this is anything but so-so! It's definitely better than the honey-glazed chicken wings in restaurants!"

"As long as it suits your taste, that's fine. But didn't you say you'd already had dinner?"

Ai Liang put down the small bowl in her hand, the containers holding chicken wings on both sides forming a stark contrast.

Ye Qing put down her chopsticks and said, "Eating doesn't mean you're full. The pot is only so big, and a pot of fried rice is only about 70% filling."

"But that's not the point. Why aren't you surprised at all that I'm 'Summer Solstice'?"

Ye Qing pouted in dissatisfaction: "We've known each other for five years, and you act like you don't care at all."

Is this surprising?

Ai Liang picked up half a chicken wing and put it in her mouth, saying as she ate, "I recognized it this morning."

"Huh?" Ye Qing's chopsticks fell onto the table. "What did you say?"

“I said, I recognized you as Xia Zhi this morning.”

Ai Liang repeated what she had said.

"I don't think I told you which supermarket I work at, and besides, I haven't even told you my age. How did you recognize me?"

Ye Qing's pretty face was full of question marks: "Generally speaking, supermarkets wouldn't accept minors for part-time jobs, right?"

Ye Qing's doubts were different from before; this time it wasn't out of caution.

She was simply curious how Ai Liang could tell that she was Xia Zhi.

In real life, Ye Qing is very careful about her words and actions, and she would never reveal personal information to strangers, let alone in the online world through a mobile phone.

(End of this chapter)