What If We Never Meet

Su Yang grinned and said, "Heh, you're too kind, too kind."

"Is it really that amazing?" Liu Bo sounded skeptical as he picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of the beef.

Suddenly!

He pushed his chair back, rushed over to Su Yang, grabbed his shoulders, and shouted, "Yang!! You're a culinary—"

Before Liu Bo could finish, Su Yang immediately covered his mouth. "Alright, alright, cut it out. At least change up your compliments a little."

"A god!! Your cooking skills have improved way too fast!" Meng Wenzhou chimed in excitedly.

Su Yang dragged Liu Bo, who was still trying to speak, back to his seat.

Then, he turned to the others with a smile. "Alright, alright, everyone sit down and eat. The food’s gonna get cold."

The rest exchanged doubtful glances before reluctantly sitting around the table.

Once everyone was seated, Su Yang got up again and fetched two large bottles of freshly squeezed juice from the fridge, placing them in front of Tang Ziyun, Su Qingci, and the other girls.

He then grabbed a bottle of Moutai and poured drinks for everyone. "Come on, dig in! Why’re you all staring at me?"

Meng Wenzhou held his chopsticks and looked at Su Yang. "You’re the host—we can’t start without you."

"Why so formal? Let’s toast first—wishing us a smooth and fun road trip!" Su Yang raised his glass first.

The others followed suit, clinking their glasses and downing their drinks.

After the toast, Liu Bo stared eagerly at the dishes. "I’m not holding back anymore!"

"Eat!"

As soon as Su Yang said it, Liu Bo and Meng Wenzhou started grabbing food like there was no tomorrow. The others chuckled and joined in.

Aside from Pan Ning and Meng Qianyu, everyone else wore expressions of disbelief between bites.

Soon, the conversation died down as they focused on eating, their chopsticks moving swiftly as they devoured the meal.

Anyone watching would’ve thought they hadn’t eaten in days.

......

Over an hour later, everyone was full and satisfied.

Tang Ziyun and Su Qingci volunteered to wash the dishes, while the rest settled on the living room sofa to chat.

Meng Qianyu and Pan Ning started singing, while the guys continued discussing the details of their road trip—routes and whether they should stop in certain cities along the way.

"I think we should stick to the main route we talked about yesterday," Meng Wenzhou suggested.

"But if we suddenly feel like stopping somewhere, we can. Worst case, we stay overnight and leave the next day. We’re not in a rush—keeping it flexible is better."

Su Yang nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that works. No need to over-plan the small stuff. As long as the main route stays the same, we can adjust the side trips. Makes the journey more fun."

Liu Bo’s eyes darted around as he asked, "So, like, if we originally planned to reach Lincheng tomorrow, but someone wants to stop somewhere along the way, we just go for it and leave whenever we’re done, right?"

Su Yang snapped his fingers. "Exactly! Main route stays, side trips are flexible."

"Got it. Sounds good—more surprises this way."

"Right. Road trips are about exploring. There’s so much of the country we haven’t seen. If it’s on the way and someone’s interested, we’ll check it out."

"Sweet."

As the guys talked, Tang Ziyun and Su Qingci returned from the kitchen.

The conversation paused as everyone joined in for karaoke.

With the trip starting the next day, the mood was high.

They had already finished four bottles of Moutai during dinner, and now they cracked open the last two. Seeing the supply running low, Su Yang brought out a few bottles of red wine to keep the party going.

[Ding. Detecting host’s joyful mood and enjoyment of the moment. Reward: 2 million.]

They drank and sang well past midnight, finally heading to bed at 1:30 a.m.

......

The next morning at eight, everyone was up, showered, and gathered in the living room for a quick breakfast.

After double-checking their luggage, the group of ten headed to the villa’s courtyard.

The four girls, unsurprisingly, chose to ride with Su Yang.

Zhang Ziming and Chu Qiunan went with Meng Wenzhou, while Ji Bo stuck with Liu Bo.

In Su Yang’s car, Pan Ning took the passenger seat, while Meng Qianyu, Su Qingci, and Tang Ziyun squeezed into the spacious back.

Glancing at his car’s lineup, Su Yang thought, Damn, just realized I’ve got four 90+ beauties in here. Only missing Xiao Lu and Xiao Yu to complete the set.

But even if they were here, there’d be no space. Guess I’ll need to buy an MPV soon. Yeah, that’s the move.

[Ding. Side quest activated.]

—Huh? Side quest?

While buckling his seatbelt, Su Yang silently queried in his mind.

—What side quest?

[Detected two out of four bound targets in host’s vehicle have reached 100 affinity.]

[Side Quest 1: Raise Su Qingci and Meng Qianyu’s affinity to 100 within three days. Reward: New skill—Master Vehicle Mechanic, two upgrade cards, and 50 million in cash.]

Su Yang’s eyelid twitched involuntarily.

—Three days?!

—Dude, that’s way too tight!

Before he could protest, the system issued the second quest.

[Side Quest 2]

[Detected host is about to embark on a road trip. Bind with a new target with 90+ beauty within three days to receive a Richard Mille Polo RM53-01 watch. Current market value: 17,500,000.]

Su Yang: "......"

—Seriously? Girls like that don’t just pop up. What if I don’t find one?

[No penalty for failing this side quest.]

Hearing that, Su Yang’s tense expression relaxed.

—Phew, should’ve said that earlier. Thought there’d be consequences. No penalty? Easy then.

"What’re you spacing out for?" Pan Ning asked, eyeing his frozen posture.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Let’s go!" Su Yang snapped back to reality, started the car, and rolled down the window.

"Everyone, move out!" he called to the other two cars before hitting the gas and leading the way out of the villa.

Watching the Rolls-Royce Cullinan drive off, the guys in the other cars couldn’t help but envy him.

Their cars were girl-free, while Su Yang had four stunning beauties packed into his.

But there was nothing they could do. With resigned smiles, they followed behind.

And so, the three cars drove out one after another, officially kicking off their road trip.

......