Is Haicheng This Small

The three of them chatted for a while. A few customers arrived outside the shop, so Li Muhan went to make coffee.

Su Yang and Ren Lingxi continued chatting. Over ten minutes later, the door of the coffee shop was pushed open, and a girl with long hair carrying a white linen bag walked in.

Because their seats were facing the entrance at an angle, just like when Su Yang came in earlier, the girl immediately spotted Su Yang sitting next to Ren Lingxi at first glance.

Of course, Su Yang saw her too.

The moment their eyes met, both were surprised for a second.

Before either could speak, Ren Lingxi called out from the side, "Zilin! Over here."

Hearing the shout, Su Yang slowly turned his head to look at Ren Lingxi. "The friend you mentioned is her?"

"Yeah, what's wrong? Wait, that expression on your face... don't tell me you know her too?"

Su Yang pursed his lips into a smile, thinking to himself, 'More than just knowing her... we even have some history.'

"Uh... yeah, we know each other."

"What?" Ren Lingxi was completely dumbfounded. Just how many girls did Su Yang know?

No, to be more precise, how many beautiful girls did he know?

At this moment, Xu Zilin walked in from the doorway, looking a bit dazed, then smiled at Su Yang. "Su Yang, we meet again!"

"Wow, what a coincidence."

"Come and sit. You can take my seat, and I'll sit opposite." Su Yang said as he got up and moved to the sofa across from them.

Xu Zilin took off her bag and sat down next to Ren Lingxi.

Then Ren Lingxi asked, "Zilin, how do you know Brother Su Yang?"

"He and I are old friends. We've had drinks together quite a few times."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Is Haicheng really this small? To think you guys actually know each other."

While the two were talking, Su Yang kept observing Xu Zilin. Ever since that incident last time, he couldn't shake the feeling that she had changed somehow.

But looking at her now, she didn't seem to have changed at all. She was still her usual self—carefree, silly, and sweet.

"Su Yang, how did you and Lingxi meet?"

"We met in Licheng."

"The time you told me you were going on a road trip?"

"Right, that time."

"I think so. Lingxi also went traveling around that time. Hey? Lingxi, why didn't you tell me you went to Licheng? I had no idea!"

Ren Lingxi giggled foolishly. "I just forgot~"

"You rascal."

Su Yang looked at the two of them, picked up his coffee, and took a sip. "And how did you two meet?"

"Us?" Xu Zilin smiled. "We were classmates in elementary, middle, and high school. The only thing we didn't do together was college."

"Damn, then you two are childhood friends!"

"Yeah, we've been playing together since we were just a few years old."

"Not bad, not bad. Good sisters. To still be happily hanging out together after all these years, I really envy this kind of friendship."

"You bet~" Xu Zilin smiled proudly.

At this time, the somewhat cute waitress in the shop hurried over with a menu to take Xu Zilin's order.

She looked at Su Yang, nodded slightly shyly, and smiled, "Hello, President Su."

"Hey, Xiao Xie, what did I tell you guys? No need for 'President' this or that, just call me Brother Yang."

"Hehe, okay, Brother Yang."

Hearing their conversation, Xu Zilin frowned. "You know the waitress too?"

Su Yang smiled helplessly. "I'm the boss of this coffee shop. What do you think?"

Of course, he hadn't known them for long either. The last time he brought Li Muhan here, Jiang Mengyun had pulled the two waitresses over and spent ages introducing everyone.

"You're the boss of this shop?" Xu Zilin looked even more shocked now than when she first saw Su Yang sitting with Ren Lingxi.

"What's wrong? Why are you so surprised?"

"Oh, nothing. Does that mean I can get free coffee from now on?"

Su Yang rolled his eyes. "After all that, you're just after a free cup of coffee?"

"Of course. A penny saved is a penny earned, right Lingxi?"

"Right, right." Ren Lingxi nodded from the side.

"Hey beautiful, I'll have an oat milk latte," Xu Zilin said to Xiao Xie.

"Okay, please wait a moment."

Xiao Xie took the order and turned to leave.

"Su Yang, seriously, can we drink for free when we come here in the future?" Xu Zilin asked with a grin.

Su Yang thought for a moment and said, "The thing is, I don't have the final say alone in this shop. There's another beautiful boss, and she's the core owner. If this shop were solely mine, you could drink however much you wanted."

"Oh, I get what you mean. I know the person you're talking about. There was a time when I came here to drink coffee often, so we know each other."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, but we're just acquaintances, not that close."

"If you want free coffee, you can go to..." Su Yang stopped halfway. He had been about to say she could go to his place for coffee, but saying that to Xu Zilin felt a bit too ambiguous.

Xu Zilin naturally understood what Su Yang meant, and just smiled slightly.

However, Ren Lingxi, who was completely oblivious, glanced at them and asked, "Go where? Tell us, Brother Su Yang, I want to go too."

Before Su Yang could answer, Xu Zilin spoke up first, "His house."

"Brother Su Yang's house?"

"Yeah, he has a professional coffee area at his place. It's no different from the coffee shops outside. If you want a drink, you can go to his house."

"So that's how it is. Zilin, have you been to Brother Su Yang's house?" Ren Lingxi asked, blinking and smiling.

Xu Zilin trembled slightly and smiled. "I have. I've been to both of his homes in Haicheng."

"Great, Brother Su Yang, remember to invite me next time!"

Su Yang smiled. "Sure, no problem."

The few of them sat and chatted for a while. By 5:30 PM, Jiang Mengyun still hadn't returned.

Su Yang sent a message to ask, and she wouldn't be back for a while. He had planned to invite her to dinner with them, but since she couldn't make it back, it would have to wait until next time.

Seeing that it was about time, the three grabbed their bags and stood up.

From behind the counter, Li Muhan saw the three getting ready to leave. She waved, called out, and hurried over to say goodbye.

"Brother Su Yang, are you leaving?"

"Yeah, we're heading out to eat. Do you want to come with us?"

"I'll pass. Sister Mengyun hasn't come back yet."

"What are you worried about? I'm the boss too. Just close the shop for now, and we can open it again after we eat."

"There's still Xiao Xie here. Let's forget it, we can eat together next time."

"Alright then, you guys should probably order something to eat soon too. We're off, see you later."

"Okay, bye Brother Su Yang, bye Lingxi. Um... I don't know how to address this beautiful lady." Li Muhan looked at the newly arrived Xu Zilin and smiled awkwardly.

Xu Zilin stepped forward and said, "Hey beautiful, I'm also Su Yang's friend. My name is Xu Zilin, what's yours?"

"My name is Li Muhan, you can just call me Muhan."

"Okay, Muhan, we'll chat more next time I come. I'm leaving for now."

"Okay, take care."

After saying goodbye to Li Muhan, the three walked out of the coffee shop one after another.

Once outside, Xu Zilin looked at Su Yang and asked, "Did you drive here?"

"I drove, what about you?"

"I didn't drive."

"Then ride with me. Wait, what are we eating?"

"Oh right, speaking of food, I can finally treat you to a meal while sober this time, hehe."

"Yeah, I had forgotten all about that until you mentioned it."

"What do you feel like eating?" Xu Zilin asked with a smile.

"I'm good with whatever, you can just decide."

"We were planning on getting hotpot earlier, are you up for that?"

"Sure, I'm not picky."

"Hotpot it is, then."

The three of them walked out of the alley where the coffee shop was located and onto the main road. Su Yang had parked his car in the same rotary parking structure as last time.

He led the two girls into the parking lot. Looking at the striking yellow Lamborghini Urus parked among the rows of cars, Xu Zilin frowned slightly. "Is this your car? How come I haven't seen it before?"

"Oh, it's a friend's car. I'm just taking it out for a spin."

"Alright then. It is a really cool car, though," Xu Zilin said, habitually reaching for her phone to snap a photo.

Su Yang gently pulled her arm and said, "We're off the clock right now, so no more taking pictures of cars. Let's hurry up and go eat, I'm starving."

"Fine. I've taken plenty of photos of this model over at MixC anyway, so I'll pass. Come on, Lingxi, let's sit in the back."

"Okay!" The two girls smiled as they pulled open the doors and got in.

Su Yang quickly slid into the driver's seat as Xu Zilin sent him the location of the hotpot restaurant.

He started the engine, set up the navigation, and smoothly drove out of the parking lot.

While on the road, Su Yang asked, "Do you guys have any plans after dinner?"

"Nope. Why, are you craving a drink again?" Xu Zilin teased.

"I'm down for whatever, it just depends on whether you guys want to."

Ren Lingxi nodded and said, "I'm in! We never got to properly drink together back in Licheng. Besides, we don't have work tomorrow, so we can drink as much as we want tonight!"

Xu Zilin thought about it for a second and said, "I'm good with that too. I'm a freelancer anyway, so my days are usually pretty open."

"Then let's find a quiet little pub to hang out at after we eat."

"Deal. But this time, I swear I am not getting drunk!!" Xu Zilin vowed confidently.

......