You and Me Together

Half an hour later, everyone gathered at the entrance of the farmers' market, having finished their grocery shopping.

By now, everyone's electric scooter handlebars and footboards were laden with several bags of various ingredients.

Seeing this, Su Yang asked, "Everyone's done shopping, right?"

"Mmhmm, all done. I can't wait to get back and eat the meal you're going to cook!" Liu Bo laughed heartily.

"Eating is fine, but a few of you will have to help me with the prep work later."

"No problem! I volunteer!" Ji Bo raised his hand with a grin.

Tang Ziyun chimed in, "I can help too~"

"Alright, we'll talk about it when we get back. Does anyone want to go anywhere else?"

"Nope, nope. Right now, I just want to go back, eat, and rest."

"Okay, then let's head straight back to the homestay~"

......

More than two hours later, after riding non-stop, they finally returned to the courtyard of the rental shop they had used during the day.

After returning the scooters, the group, carrying a heap of groceries, walked towards the homestay.

As soon as they entered the villa, Meng Qianyu, Su Qingci, Chu Qiunan, Ji Bo, and Zhang Ziming, all looking utterly exhausted, made a beeline for the sofa, each finding a comfortable spot to sprawl out.

The others, after putting the groceries in the kitchen, walked into the living room and looked at the five on the sofa.

Meng Wenzhou said, "Are you guys really that tired?"

"Ugh, so tired, Brother Meng. I think I rode enough electric scooters for a lifetime today. I won't be riding one again for the next six months," Ji Bo said, shaking his head as he leaned back on the sofa.

Looking at their state, Meng Wenzhou shook his head helplessly.

"Honestly, I don't know what you'll do when we get to Tibet. Forget the uninhabited areas, even ordinary places there are at high altitude. With your fitness levels, who knows if you'll get altitude sickness."

"It's fine, Brother Meng. I've been to high-altitude places before, don't worry~" Zhang Ziming sat up and smiled. "You're talking about us? Last time we went camping, you wouldn't even go into the mountains. You might be the first one to get altitude sickness."

"That was by choice. My fitness is much better than yours."

Just then, Su Yang walked over, having opened a bottle of water and taken a few sips. He called out, "I need a few helpers for cooking. How about you five on the sofa?"

Hearing this, Meng Qianyu sprang to her feet in a flash.

"Look how proactive Qianyu is."

"N-no... that's not it, Brother Su Yang..." Meng Qianyu hurriedly tried to explain.

Meng Wenzhou smiled, walked over, and pulled her towards the kitchen.

"Qianyu is getting more and more sensible. That's good."

"Brother... I, I, I..."

"I know you want to help your Brother Su Yang with the prep. Go on."

Su Yang secretly smiled, then turned to look at the four still lying on the sofa. "Up! It's almost dark. Come on, hurry up and help."

"Ugh, Yang Yang, let Old Fatty help you. I need to rest a bit more~"

"No way. If you want dinner, get moving now." Su Yang said, turning and heading towards the kitchen.

Tang Ziyun, seeing this, very proactively followed him in.

Although Su Qingci was also somewhat tired, she quickly got up and ran into the kitchen.

The remaining three looked at each other helplessly.

Ji Bo had volunteered earlier, so he had no choice but to get up. Zhang Ziming and Chu Qiunan dawdled for another two minutes before finally getting up and heading to the kitchen.

The villa's kitchen was very spacious, featuring both Chinese and Western-style open kitchens, capable of accommodating many people.

Once everyone was inside, Su Yang assigned tasks.

He had put the rice on to cook the moment they returned.

Now, they just needed to clean and chop the various ingredients before he could start stir-frying.

Although they complained about being tired, they were quite diligent once they got to work.

Soon, they finished the tasks Su Yang had assigned.

"Alright, you can go out now. I'll handle the rest."

"Great!" The three guys and Meng Qianyu happily exclaimed, quickly scurrying out of the kitchen.

Only Su Qingci and Tang Ziyun remained.

Seeing them, Su Yang asked, "You two go rest for a while too. There's nothing else needing help with."

"I'm not tired. I want to see how you make such delicious dishes~" Tang Ziyun gave a sweet smile.

Su Qingci also nodded. "I'd like to see how you do it too, Brother Su Yang."

"Alright then. Watch and learn~"

Next, Su Yang heated the wok, added oil, and began stir-frying.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

Soon, the sounds of ingredients hitting the hot wok filled the kitchen.

By 8:30 PM, twelve different dishes were all ready.

Tang Ziyun and Su Qingci helped carry the dishes to the dining table and called out to the others on the sofa.

"Dinner's ready!"

"Great!! Coming."

"Oh man, I'm starving."

"If I can eat Brother Yang's cooking, I could even stand being hungry for another day!!"

Liu Bo said with a beaming smile as he ran into the kitchen to help bring out dishes.

Soon, the table was filled with eleven dishes and one soup.

On the way back, Zhang Ziming and Liu Bo had bought three cases of beer from a roadside convenience store and put them in the fridge to chill beforehand.

Now, the two took all the beer out, opened a case, and placed ten bottles on the table.

After everyone else sat down, Su Yang picked up an opened bottle of beer and said with a smile, "Come on, everyone, let's have a toast."

"Cheers, cheers."

After taking a sip, everyone began eating heartily, soon greasing their lips with oil.

.......

A little over an hour later.

"Whoa!! So satisfied!! Eating Brother Yang's cooking is truly one of life's greatest pleasures." Liu Bo put down his bowl and chopsticks, leaning back in his chair with a look of pure enjoyment.

"Absolutely, I second that!"

"This is the most satisfying meal I've had since we started this trip two days ago!"

Su Yang looked at the two flatterers, Liu Bo and Ji Bo, and smiled. "In that case, you two are responsible for clearing all these bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen."

"Huh?"

"What, not willing?"

"Willing, willing, absolutely willing."

As they spoke, the two immediately got up and started clearing the table.

The others went to sit on the sofas in the living room and on the balcony to digest their food.

A few of the guys went out to the balcony. Meng Wenzhou took out cigarettes and passed them around.

Zhang Ziming then asked, "What are we doing later?"

"Sleeping. Weren't you exhausted? What else did you want to do? It's almost ten o'clock."

"Hehe, I'm fully recharged after that meal!"

"Let's call it a day. We've been out all day. Resting a bit, taking a nice shower, and getting a good night's sleep is the most important thing now," Meng Wenzhou said, exhaling a puff of smoke.

"Alright then. I was thinking we could keep the party going in the living room later~"

"Let's sleep early tonight, recharge our batteries. We can party in Lijiang tomorrow~"

"Deal."

A few minutes later, Liu Bo and Ji Bo, having cleared the dishes into the kitchen, quickly joined the others on the balcony.

"Anyone got a little happiness to share? Pass me one~"

Zhang Ziming picked up the half-empty pack of cigarettes from the table and handed it to Liu Bo and Ji Bo.

Meanwhile, in the living room, the four girls were lounging on the sofa chatting.

Everyone was visibly somewhat tired.

At 10:40 PM, Tang Ziyun yawned and looked at the others still chatting. "I can't do this anymore. You guys chat, I'm going to bed~"

"So early~"

"Mmm~ I'm so sleepy~"

"Then you go ahead~"

"Okay, you all should rest early too."

"Mmhmm."

With that, Tang Ziyun was the first to head upstairs to the second floor.

After chatting for another twenty minutes, the others also returned to their rooms to shower and rest.

Today was the earliest everyone had gone back to their rooms.

Su Yang, however, wasn't tired at all. His current physical fitness was far beyond that of an ordinary person. Even if he went back to his room now, he wouldn't sleep until at least one or two in the morning.

After taking a shower, he lay in bed scrolling through his phone.

While scrolling, a new message notification popped up at the top of his screen.

Su Yang thought it might be Pan Ning, but upon closer look, it was actually from Su Qingci.

He tapped into the WeChat chat interface with Su Qingci.

"Su Yang, are you asleep yet?"

"Not yet, what's up, Xiao Su?"

"Great! I left a bag in your car and forgot to bring it in. Are you free to help me get it now?"

"A bag? Sure. What floor is your room on? I'll bring it to you."

"No need, I can go with you to get it~"

"That works too. Wait for me in the living room then."

"Okay, I'm already on the first floor~"

......