Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

Ten minutes later.

Xie Lingmo parked her Panamera in a private parking lot.

Li Jiaxin and Zhang Qian pressed their heads together against the back window, peering out.

"Wow!" Li Jiaxin pointed ahead, her eyes wide open.

"Zhang Qian, look! There's a palace here!"

Zhang Qian looked in the direction she was pointing, her mouth slightly open.

A long row of white marble railings meanders out, and the main gate is a three-story building with a double-eaved hip roof.

The glazed tiles reflected the sunlight, the vermilion-lacquered pillars supported the brackets, and copper bells hung from the eaves.

"Yes." Zhang Qian looked away, her tone surprised.

"Although I grew up in Ping County, I often come to Yunshi to play, but I have never seen this before."

Xie Lingmo got out of the car, closed the door, and moved slowly to the passenger side.

Bai Li, who had just gotten out of the passenger seat, was bending over and rubbing his foot, which had been stepped on by Xie Lingmo, muttering to himself:

"That brat..."

Seeing Bai Li's expression of wanting to say something but not daring to, Xie Lingmo couldn't help but laugh: "You didn't cry, did you?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Li's anger surged.

They stepped on someone's foot and then came here to make sarcastic remarks.

He straightened up and took two steps to Xie Lingmo.

"Hey hey hey!" Xie Lingmo shrank back, her back pressed against the window of the Panamera, with nowhere left to retreat.

Bai Li didn't give her a chance to speak, and raised his right hand.

"Snapped!"

It has a very fleshy texture and excellent elasticity.

"From now on," Bai Li withdrew her hand, her tone carrying a warning, "you're not allowed to attack your good friends like that again!"

Bai Li originally just wanted to touch Xie Lingmo's butt and teach her a lesson.

But to everyone's surprise, Xie Lingmo suddenly froze.

Immediately afterwards, her fair cheeks flushed red, and her breathing became rapid.

From childhood to adulthood, even Xie Tianyun never laid a finger on her.

This was the first time she had ever been hit, and in such a shameful place...

Strangely, the pain mixed with shame and a tingling sensation stirred something unusual within her.

She looked at Bai Li, her eyes welling up with tears, her cherry lips pressed tightly together:

"That......"

Xie Lingmo breathed heavily, making soft, tickling sounds like a cat scratching in her throat.

"What if I attack my best friend in the future..."

"Can I still get hit...?"

"what?"

A big question mark appeared on Bai Li's forehead.

He looked the pink-haired girl in front of him up and down, her cheeks flushed red, and then lowered his head in deep thought.

Could this girl have awakened some strange attribute?

The back seat of the car.

Li Jiaxin leaned halfway out and rolled her eyes:

"Alright, brother," Li Jiaxin said sourly, "Stop flirting here."

She opened her palm towards Bai Li:

"Give me and Zhang Qian the car keys. Let's sit in the car for a while before going in."

Zhang Qian sighed and spoke with a hint of resentment:

"My brother is going on a date with another woman. We'll wait outside before going in. We can't even sit at the same table."

"We're so useless, we're practically incompetent wives."

After venting her frustration, Zhang Qian leaned out of the car window and looked around:

"Oh, right."

"We've seen the palace, but where's the hotel?"

Xie Lingmo was still immersed in the strange tingling sensation she had just experienced, her mind still hazy.

Upon hearing Zhang Qian's question, she subconsciously turned her head and pointed to the row of buildings in front of her.

"Oh." Xie Lingmo's voice was still weak and limp. "The palace you were talking about earlier is the hotel."

grunt.

Li Jiaxin and Zhang Qian swallowed hard.

The two spirited young women simultaneously opened their mouths wide and looked at the palace before them.

Sure enough, upon closer inspection, the signboard read "Yunshi Restaurant" in large characters.

"This..." Li Jiaxin's lips trembled as she pointed at the signboard, "This is a restaurant?!"

Zhang Qian shrank back and whispered, "I feel like people like us who are dirt poor would disturb the people inside while they're eating."

Xie Lingmo almost laughed, but she held it back.

She explained earnestly, "It's okay, I've already made arrangements, you two won't need to pay to go in."

Upon arriving here, the two finally understood why this restaurant dared to use the name of a city.

This is not a restaurant; it is a symbol of power and wealth in the city.

Bai Li handed the key to Li Jiaxin, then looked at Zhang Qian and said, "Thank you for your hard work. I'll reward you when we get back."

Li Jiaxin's eyes lit up: "What's the reward?"

Bai Li looked down at her feet.

"It depends on my recovery."

Zhang Qian immediately replied, "Then I'll give my brother a foot massage tonight."

Li Jiaxin rolled her eyes: "Is that a foot bath? You're trying to soak your brother's... in your..."

Zhang Qian said matter-of-factly, "What do you know? This is called a service mentality."

Xie Lingmo stood to the side, her ears turning red again as she listened.

She feels that she hasn't even entered the realm of "young, edgy" girls yet.

At most, I just dyed my hair pink.

These people's conversations are full of unexpected twists and turns.

Bai Li clapped his hands.

"Alright, stop joking around."

He turned and walked up the steps: "Lingmo, let's go inside."

Xie Lingmo followed with small steps.

The two entered the lobby.

Golden chandeliers hung from the three-story atrium, making the floor so bright that people could see their reflections. Landscape screens and jade ornaments were placed around the room.

The waiter saw Xie Lingmo and quickly came to greet her.

"Miss Xie, you've arrived."

Xie Lingmo nodded, her movements much more dignified than when she was in the parking lot.

"Jade Pavilion".

The waiter bowed and led the way: "This way, please."

Bai Li followed beside him and asked in a low voice, "Do you often come to places like this?"

Xie Lingmo shook her head.

"I don't come here often."

"They said it's very private here."

Bai Li glanced at her: "When you rich kids say it's private, it usually means the prices are so high that ordinary people can't get in."

Xie Lingmo wanted to refute, but after thinking for a long time, she couldn't find a point to refute.

She managed to blurt out, "My dad pays, and even if he's rich, it's not as effective as you treating Uncle Zhao like a little brother!"

Bai Li laughed: "Even if it's effective, isn't it already yours now?"

Xie Lingmo was amused by him, and her previously tense shoulders relaxed a little.

As she walked, her white-stockinged calves swayed beneath her black windbreaker, and her pink hair swept across her neck, making her incredibly energetic.

Bai Li saw this and a sentence popped into her mind.

Sweet girls might not just be about hair powder...

The waiter led the two through the corridor.

The walls are covered with photos of celebrities, and the further you go in, the quieter it becomes.

Xie Lingmo slowed her pace.

"Bai Li".

"Um?"

"When we go in, you don't need to say too much."

She whispered a word of advice: "If they ask you anything, just give them a casual answer."

Bai Li turned her head: "Didn't you ask me to be your boyfriend?"

Xie Lingmo's face flushed again.

"It's fake, it's fake."

"Even fakes have to be professional," Bai Li said. "Aren't you rich people the most particular about rituals?"

Xie Lingmo looked up at him: "So how are you going to be dedicated to your job?"

Bai Li reached out his hand.

Xie Lingmo stared at his hand for two seconds, her ears turning bright red.

Although they've held hands more than once... it's always been as friends; this is the first time they've been a couple...

Even though they were just pretending to be a couple, Xie Lingmo, with her guilty conscience, couldn't help but overthink things.

She asked hesitantly, "Do we have to hold hands too?"

"Otherwise what?" Bai Li said matter-of-factly, "You expect me to carry you inside?"

Xie Lingmo placed her hand on it.

Her palms were soft, but the temperature was cool.

After Bai Li grasped it, he could clearly feel her fingers tremble slightly.

Xie Lingmo lowered her head, took two steps, and then secretly glanced at the two clasped hands.

It's so nice to hold a good friend's hand...

The effect became even more pronounced when Bai Li's bewildering aura drew closer.

She tried to remind herself that this was acting.

But with my hand being held, the carpet beneath my feet soft, and the corridor lights warm, my heart was pounding.

Even though my best friend is a slut who's been with countless women... I would have been so happy if the hand I held that night had been my best friend's hand...

The waiter stopped in front of us.

"Miss Xie, we've arrived at Yu Man Lou."

The door was ajar, and people were already talking inside.

A male voice drifted out from under the door, sounding utterly distraught.

"Tao Hua, playing the heroes in this King of Glory game is too complicated."

"Is there anyone who doesn't require skillful maneuvering?"

The private room was silent for half a second.

Another male voice replied lazily.

"The only wheelchair hero I can think of who doesn't require skillful maneuvering is Stephen Hawking."