Talk About It Tomorrow Evening

The night breeze was cool, and the streetlights stretched the shadows of two figures long, though one seemed slumped while the other stood with a straight back.

Along the way, Fang Jun was as silent as a gourd, kicking at stones by the roadside now and then.

Lin Mo, meanwhile, was still thinking about the noodle shop owner and her lack of boundaries.

“Old Mo, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Fang Jun blurted out suddenly.

“Did what on purpose?” Lin Mo turned his head, confused by the random comment.

“You deliberately took me to that wonton place so I’d run into her.” Fang Jun looked Lin Mo straight in the eye, his tone mixing three parts suspicion with seven parts frustration.

Lin Mo got so mad he laughed, then gave Fang Jun a pat on the shoulder.

“I’m a damn academic genius, not some fortuneteller. How was I supposed to know she’d get dragged there by that receptionist girl? Come on, you’re ridiculous.”

“Oh. Right.”

They kept walking. Out of the corner of his eye, Lin Mo noticed Fang Jun still looked dejected, and suddenly an idea struck him.

“Let me ask you something.”

Lin Mo had his hands in his pockets and spoke casually. “If I were a god and could make Cai Junhuang fall hopelessly, madly in love with you—to the point where she couldn’t live without you—would you let me do it?”

Fang Jun froze in place, his eyes widening.

After a couple of seconds, he cracked a grin and laughed without a care. “What’s there to ask? Hell yeah, go for it! And not just her—why not go all out and make the whole world obsessed with me? I’d be the new super idol!”

A silly tune rang out in Lin Mo’s head automatically.

Even a super idol's smile isn't as sweet as yours...

They were joking, but Lin Mo knew his friend too well.

Fang Jun talked big, always shouting the loudest, but put that kind of shortcut to manipulate people’s hearts right in front of him? Knowing how much he prized his pride and integrity, he’d hop on a train and flee before you could finish the sentence.

In fact, Lin Mo really had considered letting Fang Jun experience what he’d just suggested.

The power he held in his hands—just a tiny bit leaked out—could change an ordinary person’s life forever.

But human hearts couldn’t withstand testing, and power often invited corruption.

Pushing things too fast, forcing growth out of its natural pace—if Fang Jun couldn’t handle the backlash, their friendship would be done for.

Human nature was already fragile. Why set traps to test it?

So Lin Mo let the thought go.

No relationship should ever be tested. The moment you test it, you’ve already doomed it to break.

The two of them walked along the roadside, stopping and starting, until the familiar archway of their village-in-the-city came into view.

“I’m off! See ya!”

With a wave, Fang Jun headed toward his home.

Along the way, neighbors were busy packing up their stalls for the night. Seeing Fang Jun pass by, they greeted him one after another.

“Xiao Jun, done with evening classes?” asked Aunt Wang, who sold flowers, wiping her hands.

“Yeah, Aunt Wang. You closing up too?”

Fang Jun answered the familiar greetings he’d heard since childhood the way he always did.

They were just meaningless small talk, but that’s what greetings were, weren’t they?

When he got home, Fang Jun stretched long and hard, his joints cracking a couple of times.

Mother Fang came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of cut-up apples. Her voice was full of concern. “You’re this late again, out grabbing late-night snacks? That stuff’s never as clean as what we make at home.”

Before Fang Jun could reach for an apple, the door to the master bedroom opened.

Fang Mingcong walked out with a stern face, his brow furrowed deeply.

“Why can’t you just come straight home after class? Always hanging around outside eating junk! Is there no food or meat at home? Are we starving you or what?”

Fang Jun wasn’t intimidated. He put down his bag and calmly defended himself.

“Dad, do you have to start yelling the second I walk through the door? Lin Mo’s back today—we haven’t seen each other in ages. We just had some wontons. Is that really worth all this?”

Hearing Lin Mo’s name, Fang Mingcong’s face softened. After all, Fang Jun had mentioned that Lin Mo had gone to the capital for a national competition.

“Lin Mo’s got good grades and knows how to act responsibly. You should learn from him about the important stuff instead of fooling around and goofing off all day. Now go wash your hands, eat these apples, and head to bed early.”

He was more than happy for his son to keep company with a top student like Lin Mo.

Fang Jun nodded and smiled, then gave his mother a careful side-eye.

He had to say, his mom’s cooking was either a hit or a complete disaster.

The only person who loved everything she made was his dad. If he ever invited Lin Mo over, a full meal of her “dark cuisine” would be an embarrassment.

So Fang Jun nodded quickly. “My bad. I’ll definitely invite him over next time.”

Fang Mingcong was a businessman and could read his son’s face like a book.

“Never mind. It’s better to take him out to a restaurant—something formal, to show respect.”

Around here in eastern Guangdong, people usually liked to invite close friends over for home-cooked meals.

But that only worked if the cook had real skill.

Otherwise, you settled for hot pot.

Fang Jun just nodded again, tucked all his feelings away, and went to his room.

He hadn’t showered yet, so he could only sit at his desk. He pulled out his phone, stared at the chat window that hadn’t lit up in ages, and finally typed out a message.

“Tomorrow night, after your class lets out. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

The reply came shockingly fast.

“Sure.”

Fang Jun looked up and whispered to himself, “Were you actually waiting for me to message?”

—System: Between lovers, speaking from the heart is simpler than reasoning—

Late at night.

At the Nightscape Bar.

“Jumpy, wobbly, walking in a daze, so many joys blurry here, really, you don’t need to chase anymore, just keep dancing...”

Cheesy DJ love songs polluted the air.

But the bar crowd was buzzing. People clinked glasses, rolled dice, and played all kinds of drinking games.

Lin Zhiming sat at the bar, nursing an unremarkable drink.

The bartender polished a glass, eyeing Lin Zhiming with interest.

“Brother Lin, who’s the lucky one tonight?”

Lin Zhiming rubbed the ring on his middle finger and said with a smile, “Haven’t seen anyone worth taking home. Maybe tonight I’ll pass.”

He chuckled, but his eyes kept scanning the crowd.

A moment later, a woman walked in through the door. She wasn’t dressed too revealingly, but there was something unique about her.

She wasn’t short or tall, but she had curves in all the right places.

The moment she appeared, several people moved toward her.

But she looked aloof and made a straight line for the bar.

“A Margarita, please.”

The bartender said nothing, just nodded and started mixing.

He glanced at Lin Zhiming and raised an eyebrow.

Lin Zhiming just smiled faintly.

Soon enough, the Margarita was ready.

The woman stuck out her tongue, licked the salt off the rim, then raised the glass and downed it in one go.

Finally, she picked up the slice of lemon and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly.

The three flavors gradually balanced in her mouth.

It was the roughest way to drink.

Plenty of people kept staring at her.

But the woman set the glass down.

“Another. A Daiquiri.”