CHAPTER 195: CHAPTER 195 QIANGZI?

Xia Liang went up, threw an arm around Shi Qiang’s shoulder, and spoke menacingly, "What did you call me?"

Shi Qiang flinched.

"Haha! Uh, Brother Xia! It’s gotta be Brother Xia!"

"That’s more like it!" Xia Liang patted Shi Qiang on the shoulder. "So you finally decided to see me, huh? How’s it going? Enjoying Jingdu? Find a new girlfriend?"

At the mention of the word "girlfriend," Shi Qiang’s expression flickered unnaturally, but he quickly covered it with a smile. He smugly ran a hand through his hair.

"Isn’t it obvious? Believe it or not, the number of girls chasing me these last two years is enough to make up a mahjong table. Let me tell you..."

As Xia Liang watched Shi Qiang brag, his eyes conveyed a single thought. Let the show begin.

Eventually, Shi Qiang ran out of steam and couldn’t keep up the act. He waved his hand dismissively. "Enough about me. What about you? It’s been two years since graduation. Have you found a girlfriend?"

"Me?" Speaking of himself, Xia Liang said calmly, "I have several. Which one are you asking about?"

"Uh..." Shi Qiang’s lips twitched. He figured Xia Liang was just joking like he had been. "The prettiest one?"

"The prettiest one?" Xia Liang stroked his chin, thinking for a long moment. "But they’re all very pretty."

"Oh, come on!" Hearing this, Shi Qiang instinctively figured Xia Liang was just bragging. He quickly waved his hand. "Alright, alright, stop bragging. Let’s find a place and have a couple of drinks."

Seeing Shi Qiang’s obvious disbelief, Xia Liang felt a bit helpless. It seemed nobody believed the truth these days. Shaking his head, he gave in.

"Fine, let’s find a spot where we can sit down and have a proper chat."

It was still early in the morning, so the barbecue joints, KTVs, and bars were all closed. There was nowhere to go for a drink. The two were getting hungry, so they simply found a nearby noodle shop and sat down.

Looking at his old friend whom he hadn’t seen in so long, Xia Liang couldn’t help but tease him.

"Didn’t you leave because you were heartbroken? They say when you taste the bitterness of love, you lose your appetite and waste away. So how come you’ve actually put on weight?"

Hearing this, Shi Qiang looked slightly embarrassed and mumbled, "I did lose weight that first month, a good ten pounds. But after a while, I channeled my grief into my appetite, and well... heh heh..." He trailed off, looking sheepish.

Xia Liang chuckled. "Alright, then. Now that you’re back, does this mean you’ve moved on?"

"Of course!" Shi Qiang declared with a deadly serious expression, stopping just short of thumping his chest to guarantee he would never fall for that woman again.

But watching this display, Xia Liang knew. His best friend hadn’t forgotten at all.

It was hardly surprising, though. It was his first love, after all. After twenty-two years of being single, that girl had burst into Shi Qiang’s world. And just when she was the only one in his eyes, she dumped him and seamlessly moved on to the next guy.

When Shi Qiang had confronted her, she had just said with utter disdain, "I was just playing around. Did you actually take it seriously?"

For a moment, Xia Liang didn’t know what to say. The air grew heavy with a silent anger. After a long pause, Xia Liang finally spoke.

"Are you going back to Jingdu?"

"No," Shi Qiang said, forcing a casual smile. "I’ve made up my mind. Now that I’m back, my mom wants me to go on blind dates. If I meet someone I click with, I’ll get married. You have to come to my wedding feast, okay?"

Seeing Shi Qiang trying to find joy in his misery, Xia Liang shook his head and said quietly, "But I thought you hated blind dates as much as I do?"

"I..." Shi Qiang opened his mouth to say something, but not a single word would come out.

Xia Liang knew that Shi Qiang hadn’t forgotten that girl. But he wanted to. The fastest way to get over one relationship is to start another. Yet, Shi Qiang couldn’t bring himself to start again. He was planning to use this blind date as an excuse to rush into marriage, thinking that would force him to forget her.

Xia Liang could read Shi Qiang’s thoughts as if they were an open book. He patted Shi Qiang’s shoulder, a strange look suddenly appearing in his eyes.

"Since you can’t forget her, why not win her back?"

Shi Qiang was completely bewildered by Xia Liang’s statement. "Win her back? For what? Even if she doesn’t have a boyfriend now, she wouldn’t give me the time of day."

Hah! What a giveaway. That one sentence exposed everything.

Xia Liang, however, was unfazed. "That’s because you’re not outstanding enough."

"Not outstanding enough?" Shi Qiang had no idea what Xia Liang was trying to say.

Ignoring his friend’s confusion, Xia Liang stared straight at him. "That’s right! It’s just because you’re not outstanding enough right now! If you were driving a sports car and living in a mansion, don’t you think she’d come crawling back to you, even if you ignored her?"

"No... impossible! Xiang Qiao isn’t that kind of person." Obviously, Shi Qiang couldn’t accept this. After all, first love is always beautiful. No matter how she treated you, she must have had her reasons. Even if she said those hurtful things, there must have been a reason!

Seeing him like this, Xia Liang’s expression turned playful. "Qiangzi, let’s stop kidding ourselves. We’re adults here, so I’ll just be blunt."

His face suddenly became serious.

"Become a scumbag."

Seeing Xia Liang’s solemn expression, Shi Qiang had expected some profound wisdom. Instead, he got, "Become a scumbag."

What in the world was that logic? The corner of Shi Qiang’s mouth twitched.

"Are you joking with me?"

"No." Xia Liang shook his head earnestly.

Now Shi Qiang really felt that something was wrong. "Brother Xia! Look at all this fat on me! My looks, my financial situation... what do I have to be a scumbag with?"

"You’ll have all of it. I’ll help you," Xia Liang replied nonchalantly.

At this point, Shi Qiang was still convinced Xia Liang was joking. "How are you going to help me?" He took out some chopsticks and handed a pair to Xia Liang. "Come on, eat your noodles. They’ll get soggy and won’t taste good."

Ignoring the heat, Shi Qiang started slurping down his noodles. Noticing Xia Liang wasn’t eating, he looked up, puzzled. "Eat up. They won’t taste good if you wait. We can talk after we finish."

"Fine." Seeing that he wasn’t taking the bait, Xia Liang shrugged and started eating too.

After finishing breakfast, the two left the noodle shop. Xia Liang tossed his napkin into a trash can.

"Do you know where she works now?"

"Huh?" Hearing Xia Liang bring up the topic again, Shi Qiang’s face darkened. "Xia Liang, are you serious about this?!"

"Of course I am." Xia Liang patted Shi Qiang’s shoulder. "If I don’t help you get over this now, you’ll be stuck in this rut for the rest of your life."