I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

“I can ride a bicycle.” Anya thought for a moment and said somewhat uncertainly, “If you can ride a bicycle, you should be able to ride an electric bike, right? The principle is the same.”

"Probably..."

Bai Xiaoqi wasn't sure either; she couldn't even ride a bicycle. But seeing Anya's lack of confidence, she still thought it would be better to take a car.

Carrying a fishing rod and a small bucket, she even lent Anya her sun hat, and then they went out together.

They took the bus again, about ten stops apart. After more than thirty minutes, the two girls got off and walked a while before reaching the river.

It was around six o'clock in the afternoon, the sky was bright, and the wind was blowing across the river, creating ripples.

There was a crowd gathered around the riverbank, with several police officers standing among them. Clearly, they had arrived at the wrong time; fishing was out of the question—how could they fish with so many people around?

But it's human nature to join in the fun, so Bai Xiaoqi and Anya didn't squeeze into the crowd. They stood outside and listened for a while, and they already understood most of it.

In the middle of the crowd was a young man, soaking wet, sobbing and complaining that he had asked his manager for half a day off today, bought a bouquet of flowers on the way, and planned to surprise his girlfriend, but when he entered the house, she gave him a hat first.

The young man, in a moment of despair, jumped into the river to commit suicide. A group of people tried to dissuade him, but to no avail. After jumping in, he choked on some water and swam back up on his own.

That's roughly the gist of the matter.

"Today is Qixi Festival, and I gave her a surprise. She gave me a hat. Tell me, is this something a human being would do?"

A crowd of people echoed this sentiment, and even the police nodded in agreement, saying it was quite excessive.

Hearing this, Anya couldn't help but turn her head and say, "It's Qixi Festival today, and you still come out fishing with me?!"

"what?"

"What do you mean 'oh'? Go home and celebrate the holiday with your boyfriend."

Chapter 190 He also has a boyfriend

The sun is setting in the west.

At 7 p.m., under the orange-red sunset, Bai Xiaoqi returned home carrying her things. Logically speaking, Chen Shuo should not have returned by this time, but she was not sure today, so she did not call to ask.

When the door opened, Chen Shuo was sitting on the sofa. Their eyes met, and Chen Shuo's gaze shifted downwards, noticing what she was carrying. "Went fishing?"

"Ah."

Bai Xiaoqi felt a little guilty at this moment, so she put all the things she was carrying on the balcony and came out to ask, "When did you get back?"

"Around five o'clock."

"Oh..."

Bai Xiaoqi said "Oh", and then said, "Today is Qixi Festival, which is Valentine's Day. I didn't remember at first, but Ya Ya told me, so I came back to celebrate with you."

"So you're explaining this to me?"

"Yes, you came home so early today to celebrate the holiday with me, didn't you?"

“Me too.” Chen Shuo stood up and said, “Let’s go out for a big meal and then celebrate the holiday. It’s going to be very lively outside tonight.”

I only stayed at home for a short while. When I came out again, the last rays of the setting sun had already quietly disappeared, but night had not yet completely fallen, and the sky was only a little dark.

Bai Xiaoqi, arm in arm with him, started chattering away as soon as they left the house, telling Chen Shuo about her experiences by the river.

He added at the end, "If I were that man, I would kill you and that woman first, and then jump into the river."

"?"

Chen Shuo turned and stared at her for a while, then frowned and said, "Can you please stop taking this role? It makes me feel like you don't trust me at all."

"I was just saying, I know you definitely won't do it."

"As long as you know."

The two of them walked out of the residential area while talking, without any destination in mind, and strolled along the road.

What would you like to eat tonight?

"Let's eat grilled fish."

"Because you didn't catch any fish?"

Chen Shuo naturally formed a permutation equation in his mind: Going out fishing - not catching anything - feeling dissatisfied - so eating fish to vent.

That makes perfect sense.

"No, on my way back I saw a grilled fish restaurant having a promotion, couples get a 30% discount."

"Where is that grilled fish restaurant?" Chen Shuo looked around, not remembering any grilled fish restaurants nearby.

"Take the bus from the riverbank, it's just a little past the third stop, it's easy to find."

Is it easy to find?

Chen Shuo was a little suspicious, but after thinking about it, he didn't object and took her on the bus to the river.

After getting off the bus, it was actually quite easy to find. After walking only a hundred meters or so, I saw the brightly lit signboard of the grilled fish restaurant.

There's a big sign at the store entrance that says, "Celebrate Qixi Festival together, couples get a 30% discount on all purchases."

A young woman was standing next to the sign, holding a stack of cards. There were also a dozen or so couples queuing up to receive cards, but they weren't all men and women.

There was also a loudspeaker playing a loop, inviting couples who come into the store to line up here to get a card, and show the card at checkout to enjoy a 30% discount.

The shop's method for identifying couples is simple and straightforward: just a kiss on the lips.

It was the turn of a young couple. The two grown men kissed each other on the lips without any hesitation, then took the card and went inside without blushing or skipping a beat.

Upon seeing this, Bai Xiaoqi's eyes widened in shock as she turned to Chen Shuo, "You have a boyfriend?!"

Chen Shuo inexplicably understood her thought process and was not as shocked as she was. He was even quite calm. "Yes, of course you are. You also have a girlfriend. But she's not a girlfriend. There's a professional term for this kind of situation: homosexuality. It specifically refers to couples of the same sex."

He paused, then added, "But those two men might not necessarily be a couple."

Bai Xiaoqi was even more shocked now, "Why would someone who isn't a couple kiss?"

"It's for the discount, a 30% discount can save a lot of money." Chen Shuo felt that this girl was making a fuss over nothing.

If there's no benefit to it, I feel disgusted even seeing two men holding hands.

But if something like this happens, kissing doesn't seem so unacceptable.

The fact that Guodai only lends money to women and not to men actually reveals a lot.

If there were no gender discrimination and the law were open to men as well, and one party threatened to post nude photos of the victim online if the victim didn't pay back the money, the men on this side would directly reply, "Post it quickly, please add the words 'majestic and powerful' next to my nude photos when you post them."

After replying, he might recommend this opportunity to his friends, and then everyone could happily use it together.

A few minutes later, the couples in front of them had already entered the store with their cards, and then it was their turn. At this moment, Bai Xiaoqi inexplicably hesitated. Kissing in front of so many people made her feel very embarrassed no matter how she thought about it.

Chen Shuo was shameless; he had the nerve to lean over and give her a quick kiss on the lips, then calmly took the card and pulled her into the store.

The warm lighting and elegant decor create a tranquil atmosphere.

Chen Shuo pulled Bai Xiaoqi inside until they stopped and sat down at a window. He pointed out the window and said, "Let's sit here and enjoy the night view while we eat."

"Ah."

Bai Xiaoqi's face was still a little flushed, as if she hadn't recovered yet.

Bathed in the warm lighting of the store, her already rosy cheeks appeared even more delicate and radiant, making Chen Shuo's heart race slightly, and he wanted to kiss her again.

He pursed his lips, scanned the QR code on the table with his phone, and the menu page appeared. Chen Shuo swiped a few times with his hand, "How about we eat river catfish? This kind of fish has few bones and tastes very good."

Bai Xiaoqi leaned closer to look, and after seeing the picture of Jiang Tuan on the phone, she couldn't help but say, "Isn't this a catfish? Auntie posted that kind of news in the group before, saying that catfish are very dirty, they eat everything, and they are garbage fish."

"Don't keep looking at the news my mom posts in the group chat. Besides, a catfish is a catfish, and a catfish is a catfish. They are not the same kind of fish at all; they just look similar."

Catfish are dirty, but river catfish are not dirty at all. In fact, river catfish were a tribute to the imperial court in ancient times. Do you think the emperor would eat such garbage fish?

"..."

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiaoqi looked around and, seeing that no restaurant staff were coming this way, she straightened up and leaned closer, whispering a reminder: "What if they try to pass off catfish as river catfish?"

"Alright, then let's skip the catfish and have black carp instead. Black carp has fewer bones, and we'll make it slightly spicy, how about that?"

"Ah."

After selecting the dishes on your phone, click "Confirm".

"Is it ready already?"

"Yeah, isn't that convenient?" Chen Shuo put his phone back in his pocket. "The grilled fish we ordered will be served in a little while."

Bai Xiaoqi sat back down in her chair and looked around the store. "This store allows you to order food using your phone. Is this a new feature?"

"It's not a recent invention; it's been around for several years, but restaurants haven't used it much."

As the two were talking, a shop assistant walked over, looked at the table number on the table, and then at the two of them. "Which of you will be picking out the fish?"

"You still have to pick out the fish?" Chen Shuo was taken aback. If you still have to pick out the fish on the spot, then all that time we spent choosing here was for nothing.

Okay, go ahead and choose. At least I can feel a little more at ease.

Chapter 191 Qixi Festival

The fish she picked weighed 3.2 jin (approximately 1.6 kg) and was a catfish. Bai Xiaoqi said that this kind of fish was pinkish-white and looked very clean.

There were still a little over two pounds left when it was served. With some side dishes, we had a satisfying meal. The bill came to just over two hundred yuan after a 30% discount, which was a great deal.

The Qixi Festival dinner was just a perfunctory affair. Actually, it wasn't a perfunctory affair. If we had gone to eat steak, Japanese food, or French foie gras, it might have seemed like a grand ceremony, but it was actually pointless. Not only would we not be used to the food, but we also wouldn't have been full.

We decided to have grilled fish instead. Both of us enjoyed it very much, and because we got a 30% discount, we felt like we got a great deal.

As dusk settled, two people emerged from the shop into the night, the moon hanging in the sky, a cool autumn breeze blowing gently.

As Bai Xiaoqi left, she kept saying how delicious the river catfish was and that she must come back again next time. After a while, she felt a little disappointed. It was a pity that you couldn't catch wild river catfish like this and had to buy them to eat.

"Alright, stop nagging. Have you eaten yet?" As he spoke, Chen Shuo casually touched her round little belly.

I'm full.

"That's good. Come on, let's go take a stroll along the shopping street ahead."

Walk a few hundred meters forward and turn a corner to reach the commercial street, where the shops along the street are brightly lit, and various banners and colorful lights highlight the festive atmosphere.

Bai Xiaoqi, arm in arm with Chen Shuo, scanned the shops one by one. When they passed a stall where people were guessing lantern riddles, her gaze lingered for a moment before moving away again. It looked too difficult; it wasn't something she could do.

Want to solve a riddle?