You're All Single, What Are You Afraid Of

The group wandered through the city, chatting as they walked. Before they knew it, the time was already 6:10 in the evening.

Soon, they arrived at a bustling street. Looking ahead, they saw a large shop called Xiangxiang Barbecue about a few dozen meters away, with a crowd of people gathered in front.

Zhang Ziming pointed at the barbecue place ahead and said, "How about we eat there? I can't walk anymore."

After the girls sized up the restaurant, they nodded in agreement.

Meng Qianyu said with a smile, "Then it's settled. My treat tonight~"

As she spoke, she grabbed Tang Ziyun and Su Qingci, and the three of them quickly headed toward the shop entrance.

"Hi, how many in your party?" a staff member asked.

"Eleven."

"Alright, you'll need to take a number and queue up~"

"About how long is the wait?"

"Probably around half an hour," a server at the entrance replied with a smile.

Meng Qianyu nodded. "Okay then, give us a number."

"Sure thing. Please have a seat here and rest. We'll call your number when it's ready."

"Okay."

Just then, Su Yang and the others caught up.

After sitting and waiting at the entrance for over thirty minutes, they followed a server inside.

Since they hadn't made a reservation, they had to sit on the very crowded first floor.

The dining area on the first floor of this restaurant was huge, and the ambiance was excellent, particularly suitable for family gatherings or small get-togethers with friends.

At the far end of the hall, there was a red song and dance stage.

On the wall behind the stage was a large screen playing some traditional song and dance performances of the Yi ethnic group.

Su Yang looked toward the stage and asked, "Do you have performances here?"

"Yes, sir. You've come at just the right time. We have ethnic song and dance performances every night at seven."

"Oh? That's nice."

"You can take a look at what you'd like to order. Just scan the QR code on the table," the server said, pointing at the printed code.

"Okay, we'll have a look first."

Meng Qianyu agreed and took out her phone to scan the code.

"By the way, what are your restaurant's specialties?" she asked.

"Yes, we have a signature dish: special ecological suckling pig. Freshly slaughtered daily, guaranteed to be fresh."

"The meat is tender, fatty but not greasy. You could order one to try."

Looking at the picture of the suckling pig on her phone that the server mentioned, Meng Qianyu had thought it was a whole piglet. It turned out to be just various cuts of pork, like pork belly, pork ribs, etc.

Still, the picture did look quite good.

She smiled and nodded. "Alright, let's start with three orders of pork belly."

"Great. You can just select and add the quantity on your phone, miss."

"Okay."

Next, Meng Qianyu ordered a whole bunch more items: grilled beef skewers, grilled small intestines, grilled pork ribs, and so on.

After ordering, the group sat and chatted.

Chu Qiunan looked at the girls and asked, "Ladies, where do you want to go after we finish eating?"

"Not sure. We don't really know what fun places are around here," Su Qingci said.

Meng Qianyu thought for a moment. "I'd like to find a quiet place for drinks."

Tang Ziyun raised her hand in agreement. "Me too. I don't want to drink alcohol anymore~"

Zhong Qing said with a laugh, "Well then, how about we go get bubble tea later?"

"Sounds good~ We can sit for a bit and then head back to the hotel to sleep. My legs are still a bit sore."

"What about you guys? Where do you want to go?" Meng Qianyu asked, looking at Chu Qiunan and the other boys.

Chu Qiunan thought it over. "We were thinking of going for some drinks~"

"Again?"

"We could drink here too, you know. It's not like we drove anyway," Su Qingci said.

"Drinking here feels different from drinking at a bar."

"Then how about you go for drinks, and we'll go for bubble tea?" Tang Ziyun suggested.

Chu Qiunan glanced at the other guys. That was exactly the sentence he was hoping for.

He pretended to be regretful. "We're splitting up?"

"Mainly because we don't want to drink alcohol. Bars are too noisy."

At this point, Meng Wenzhou chimed in. "Then let's each do our own thing. You go for bubble tea, we'll go for drinks."

"Sounds good~"

"Pan Pan, are you coming with us?" Meng Wenzhou asked, looking at Pan Ning.

Pan Ning nodded. "Sure."

"Huh? You... you're not going with your sisters?"

"Compared to bubble tea, I prefer alcohol."

Hearing this, the boys secretly shot Meng Wenzhou a look.

Seeing that Pan Ning wasn't going for bubble tea, the girls hesitated again.

Meng Qianyu thought about it and said, "If my sister doesn't go, there'll be too few of us. Forget it, we'll go with you guys~"

Tang Ziyun pursed her lips. "Fine then. But let's pick a quiet pub. They have other beverages there too."

"This..."

Seeing the situation unfold, the boys exchanged glances.

Pan Ning said calmly, "What? Don't want us to come along?"

"Not at all. We'd love for you to come~" Zhang Ziming could only bite the bullet and say this now.

Su Yang then said with a smile, "Then let's all go together. We'll find a quiet bar to sit at, and we won't stay out too late."

"Okay."

At that moment, a message was secretly posted in the boys' group chat.

Meng Wenzhou took out his phone to look.

Chu Qiunan: @Meng Wenzhou, my good brother, why did you have to add that extra comment?

Ji Bo: Yeah, now look. The girls are all coming. How are we supposed to seek out lovely encounters now?

Meng Wenzhou: How was I supposed to know Pan Pan would come?

Su Yang: It's fine. The girls being there doesn't stop you from luring... no, picking up, wait that's not right either... should be called striking up a conversation. Anyway, you're all single, what's there to be afraid of? There's nothing wrong with normally looking for a connection.

Chu Qiunan: That seems true. Alright then, let's go with that.

Ji Bo: Ok.

Zhang Ziming: What about me?

Su Yang: You? You'll just have to honestly be my wingman, what else did you want to do?

Zhang Ziming: [Smile]

Soon, the server brought all their ordered dishes to the table one by one.

A charcoal grill was placed in the center of the table. The server stood by, placing the meats on the grill to cook.

Before long, the pork belly, small intestines, pork ribs, and other foods on the grill began to sizzle and glisten with oil.

The distinctive aroma of barbecue wafted into their noses.

Tang Ziyun, unable to wait any longer, said, "That smells amazing. Is it ready to eat?"

The server flipped the pork and checked, smiling. "The pork belly is ready~"

"Great! Let's dig in, I'm not holding back."

Tang Ziyun had been hungry for a while. She picked up a piece of golden-brown grilled pork belly, dipped it in the special sauce on her plate, and then popped the whole thing into her mouth.

Everyone turned to look at her.

She ate, nodding uncontrollably. "Mmm!! Delicious. Hurry up and eat, why are you all looking at me?"

"Okay, let's eat."

They ate and chatted. Right at seven o'clock, a male host in a suit walked onto the song and dance stage.

He first warmed up the atmosphere, then invited a local Yi ethnic song and dance troupe to begin performing traditional ethnic songs and dances for the guests.

The diners applauded, enjoying the delicious barbecue while watching the performance. For a while, the entire dining area was buzzing with excitement.

Accompanied by the singing, about an hour and a half later, Su Yang and the others were full and satisfied.

After Meng Qianyu settled the bill, everyone got up and left the barbecue restaurant.