CHAPTER 425: CHAPTER 425: CHRISTMAS "SURPRISE" (PART 5)

With the weather cold, the four girls discussed for a while and decided to have hotpot.

As the sky dimmed, the hotpot restaurant bustled with activity, the steaming red oil and mushroom base of the split pot creating a lively scene, with the four seated at a small table.

Bai Xue looked at the ingredients on the shelf beside her, silently turning her gaze to someone putting fatty beef rolls into the pot.

"Chengzi, are you really in need of meat lately? It’s all meat dishes, aren’t you afraid of gaining weight?"

"When it comes to hotpot, you have to eat meat; vegetarian is so boring. Come on, I’m treating today, you guys eat without restraint. Don’t worry about getting fat, we can lose weight when spring comes, right?"

Tang Yanqi lifted her gaze to glance at her, smiling, "Chengzi, you’re the only one here who needs to lose weight, right?"

"..."

"Tangtang, we haven’t seen each other for days, what happens if you don’t roast me?"

"I’m not roasting; I’m just stating the facts. What? Facts aren’t allowed to be said?"

Bai Bing: "Pfft..."

Bai Xue: "..."

Qi furiously fished out a piece of boiled meat and put it in her mouth, glaring at Tang Yanqi, as if she wasn’t eating beef rolls but the person beside her.

The four were used to bantering with each other; no one really took it to heart. This was their shared time together.

Halfway through the meal, Tang Yanqi got up to go to the restroom. When she came out, she received a call from an agent, saying that someone was interested in her apartment but needed a loan, with all the funds potentially taking about one to one and a half months to finalize. They asked if she could accept this.

Tang Yanqi refused without a second thought, and returned to the table, where the hotpot fire had been turned off, and all the dishes were finished.

"Tangtang, why did you take so long? Here, this is what we’ve saved for you, including your favorite tripe."

Seeing her bowl piled high with food, Tang Yanqi smiled and sat down, not in a rush to eat, but took out her phone to snap a photo, posting it to her moments with the caption: [Friendship forever]

Dealing with bothersome things inevitably affects your mood, but returning to find your friends have saved your favorite food for you in your absence may be a small gesture yet it warms this winter.

Leaving the hotpot restaurant, the sky was dim but it was still early. The four strolled along the street, realizing that though you don’t notice while eating hotpot, afterward you feel like a balloon.

Qi Cheng rubbed her belly, "Oh no, oh no, this is definitely a rhythm of gaining weight."

"I told you to order so much."

"Ah, it was for happiness. By the way, Tangtang, do you want to come back to school with us today? Your bed in the dormitory has been empty for so long, it’s almost growing mushrooms."

Tang Yanqi shook her head, "I..."

Before finishing her sentence, Tang Yanqi’s gaze suddenly froze across the street, her face changing instantly.

Across the street, a tall figure stood out among the crowd. He was someone Tang Yanqi was familiar with to her core, but in his arms, he held someone.

The princess-carry position obscured the face; all she could see were high-heeled boots on the person’s feet—it was a woman.

"Tang..."

Noticing Tang Yanqi’s odd reaction, the three also looked in the direction she was staring at, but the person had gotten into a car and disappeared among the crowd.

"Tangtang, what are you looking at?"

"Hm?... It’s nothing."

Tang Yanqi said, but her gaze couldn’t help glancing that way again, the familiar figure already gone.

She could confirm it was Sheng Jianan, but who was the person in his arms?

Shen Yao?