You Better Tone It Down

Su Yang went out to the yard and dialed Pan Ning's number.

The phone rang a few times before connecting.

"Hey, Pan, what are you up to?"

"Taking Qianyu swimming. Are you back?" Pan Ning's voice came through the phone.

Su Yang smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm back. Just got home."

"Did those two beauties you pulled into the group chat yesterday come back with you?"

"Yeah, they're coming with us to the island nation, so they tagged along this time. I'm planning to introduce one of them to Old Meng."

"The friend of that girl who asked you to go to the Magic City?"

"That's right."

"What was her name again?" Pan Ning asked.

"Zhuang Mengli, and the other is Jiang Xiaotang."

"Oh, okay. Bring them out later so we can all meet. I'm done swimming, so I'll go change my clothes first."

"Alright, see you later."

Hanging up, Su Yang slipped his phone into his pants pocket and spoke up. "You two, stop hiding."

Hearing this, the two people hiding behind the car stood up and smiled awkwardly.

Su Yang turned and walked toward the front door. "Don't just stand there, come inside."

"Oh, right." The two agreed and followed Su Yang into the villa.

Once inside, the first thing Su Yang did was turn on the coffee machine. Then, he went to the fridge, grabbed three bottles of water, and returned to the living room.

"Have a seat, you two."

"The decor in this house isn't bad," Zhuang Mengli said, walking around with her hands behind her back and taking in the surroundings.

"It's acceptable. Here, have some water," Su Yang said as he handed the bottles to them.

"It really is nice. When we get back to the Magic City, I'm going to move out and live on my own too," Jiang Xiaotang said, taking the water.

"You'd have trouble just feeding yourself if you lived alone. Don't end up starving to death," Zhuang Mengli remarked casually.

"I can always order takeout."

"You can't order takeout every single day. Look at me, even though I order it, I still cook for myself from time to time. It might not be delicious, but at least it's edible. You don't even know how to cook rice, and you want to live alone?"

"Tch, I can learn, can't I?" Jiang Xiaotang retorted.

"Fine, whatever you say."

Su Yang took a couple of sips of water and said, "You guys sit here for a bit, I'm going upstairs to grab my passport."

"Go ahead, don't worry about us."

"Okay."

Su Yang quickly went upstairs to his bedroom, dug out the passport he had applied for earlier, and then stepped into the bathroom for a quick shower. He changed into a fresh set of clothes and strapped on his Richard Mille watch.

"Mhm, I feel completely refreshed after a shower. Not bad, looking handsome." He stood in front of the full-length mirror, styled his hair a bit, and gave a faint smile.

After finishing up, he grabbed his things and went downstairs.

By now, Zhuang Mengli and Jiang Xiaotang were lying on opposite ends of the sofa, playing on their phones.

Seeing Su Yang come down, Zhuang Mengli tilted her head and asked, "What took you so long?"

"I took a shower and changed my clothes. Do you guys want some coffee?" Su Yang asked as he walked behind the bar counter.

"Yes, please. I'll have an iced latte," Zhuang Mengli said, sitting up.

Jiang Xiaotang chimed in, "Could Handsome Su please make me a coconut milk latte? I want it iced too. Can you make that?"

Su Yang smiled and nodded. "I can. Whatever the coffee shops outside can make, I can make here."

"Doesn't that make this place a professional cafe?"

"You could say that."

"That's so cool. You can just make whatever you want to drink."

Su Yang joked, "The coffee for you two beauties comes to a total of sixty bucks. Cash or WeChat?"

"You're actually charging us?" Jiang Xiaotang asked, sitting up and taking him seriously.

Beside her, Zhuang Mengli rolled her eyes. "Can't you tell he's joking? Are you naive or just plain stupid?"

"You're the stupid one... He's the one who said sixty."

"He was obviously kidding! Can't you even distinguish that tone of voice?"

Jiang Xiaotang didn't know how to reply. Instead of arguing, she got up and walked over to Su Yang.

Seeing her approach, Su Yang laughed. "Are you really going to pay me?"

"I'm not paying. I just came over to see how you make it."

"Alright."

A few minutes later, three cups of coffee were ready.

Su Yang placed the coffees on a wooden tray, carried them over, and set them down on the coffee table by the sofa. "We'll head out after resting for a bit."

"Where are we going?" Zhuang Mengli asked, picking up her coffee and taking a sip.

But the moment she swallowed, her eyes widened in shock as she stared at the cup. Looking completely incredulous, she took another sip.

"Holy crap? How is it this good?"

"Is it really that good? Let me try." Jiang Xiaotang also picked up her coffee and took a sip.

After drinking it, she was stunned. "Damn, this is amazing!! I've never had coffee this good in my life!!"

"Right? I've never had anything this good either. Su Yang, how did you make this? It's even better than what they sell at professional coffee shops."

Su Yang smiled. "I just threw it together. I learned how to do it before, and the beans I bought are probably better than the ones outside. Better ingredients naturally make a better-tasting drink."

"Yeah, that must be it. The coffee beans and milk you bought are definitely better than what the cafes use."

"Oh, right, what was I saying just now?" Zhuang Mengli looked up, trying to remember.

"You asked where we were going."

"Right. So, where are we heading later?"

"I don't know yet. I'm waiting for my friend to let me know."

"Is everyone from the group chat coming out?"

"They should be," Su Yang nodded.

"Oh man, why am I suddenly feeling a little nervous?" Zhuang Mengli said, sitting cross-legged on the sofa.

Jiang Xiaotang replied nonchalantly, "What's there to be nervous about? We're all young people. Getting to know each other and making some friends is a good thing."

"By the way, isn't Su Yang going to introduce you to a handsome guy? You aren't nervous?" Zhuang Mengli looked at Jiang Xiaotang and asked with a smile.

"Oh, right! I completely forgot about that!" Jiang Xiaotang scratched her head and laughed foolishly.

Sitting to the side, Su Yang took a sip of his coffee and said, "There's no need to be nervous. We're just grabbing lunch together later. We'll get acquainted while we eat, and then we'll go sort out our visas. If things go quickly, we can probably depart the day after tomorrow."

"Sounds good. So, where are we staying tonight?" Jiang Xiaotang looked at Zhuang Mengli and asked.

Zhuang Mengli lifted her chin and said, "We'll just stay here with him. Such a huge villa, and you think there's no place for the two of us to sleep?"

"Uh... You might not mind, but it might be a bit inconvenient for me." Jiang Xiaotang suddenly recalled hearing Su Yang's voice on the phone that morning, and her mind was instantly flooded with a bunch of unbroadcastable images.

"What's inconvenient about it? This is a villa, sister. Don't you live in one every day? You should know that the soundproofing..." When she said the word "soundproofing," Zhuang Mengli suddenly felt that something was a bit off.

She scratched her forehead and said, "Ugh, anyway, you know what I mean. We'll stay at Su Yang's place tonight. We're guests from afar, can't we stay for a couple of nights? When Su Yang was in the Magic City these past two days, didn't I also let him stay at my... uh... place for free...?"

Zhuang Mengli spoke without thinking, blurting it all out in one breath, essentially telling on herself. Although she realized her slip-up by the time she reached the last few words, it was already too late.

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaotang put on an expression that said I knew it, before covering her mouth and giggling. Aha, you admitted it yourself! You two have been sleeping together these past two days!

Seeing the conversation getting more and more out of hand, Su Yang interrupted them. I say, you two need to stop right there. Let's drop this topic. If you want to stay at my place, you can stay. If you do not want to, I will book a hotel for you.

No need, I am staying right here! Xiaotang, if you do not want to stay, just let Su Yang book a hotel for you, Zhuang Mengli said nonchalantly as she leaned back against the sofa.

Put me down as a maybe for now. I will decide later.

Decide what? Zhuang Mengli rolled her eyes playfully and laughed. Oh, oh, I get it. You want to see if that handsome guy Su Yang is introducing to you is your type, right? If he is, then you will...

Oh my god, Mengmeng! Your mind is getting dirtier and dirtier! Tone it down a bit!

Hehe, we are all adults here, what is the big deal?

Sitting off to the side, Su Yang could not even get a word in edgewise. He took out a cigarette, got up, and walked out to the balcony.

Just as he lit it, his phone rang.

......