Baiheng was confused, but after leading Zero to a seat, she suddenly realized.
It must be because the other thought she and Jingliu were very close, always together every day, so upon seeing her, he asked about Jingliu.
While handing over the menu, the fox replied, "She didn't come."
Zero let out a breath of relief. He had thought he was late.
That afternoon, he had been busy coordinating with the library staff, even worked overtime for a rare few hours.
"No rush then. We'll wait until she arrives. Here, just happened to buy four drinks."
Zero pulled four cups out of the paper bag and handed one to Baiheng.
On his way out of the Divination Commission, he had been drawn to this newly opened milk tea shop.
The BBQ shop's drinks were always the same old thing, so he figured he might as well buy a few cups ahead of time.
The new shop only had three products, Staying-up-late Ginseng Tea, Slimming Water, and, the favorite of overworked people everywhere, Hair-growing Floating Milk.
The clerk swore that the drinks were made with real, effective ingredients, and that buying three cups came with a free ginseng tea.
With the clerk's enthusiastic recommendation, he bought three cups of the best-looking Floating Black Goat Milk. He gave Jing Yuan's share to Baiheng instead.
A fox, after all, would surely care about hair maintenance.
As for Jing Yuan, he wouldn't mind.
Baiheng openly thanked him. Her ears twitched as she heard someone approaching, and she turned her head.
Her eyes met that person's, and the fox widened her eyes in shock.
It was Jingliu.
The two fell into silence instantly.
Alone, stepping into the BBQ shop, Jingliu suddenly didn't know how to explain herself to Baiheng.
Baiheng looked at Jingliu, then at Zero, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
How to put it? The two friends she always worried about, the ones who weren't good at socializing…
Baiheng had fretted over their lack of social life, only to suddenly discover that they had started interacting on their own, yet she had known nothing about it. It felt like she was just the outsider fox.
The fox hesitated for a moment, then quickly began to feel happy for her friends.
Looked like Zero and Jingliu actually got along well.
Feeling pleased, Baiheng smiled brightly and urged Jingliu to sit down.
Under the fox's gaze, the Swordmaster's posture was a bit stiff as she walked over and sat opposite Zero.
Zero ticked off the dishes he wanted, then raised his head only to see Jingliu alone. He pushed the menu and milk tea toward her, puzzled, "Where's Jing Yuan?"
"General Tengxiao had business with him. Let's start eating first."
Jingliu quickly decided on her order.
Baiheng took the menu to the kitchen. As she walked, she thought, since the General called Jing Yuan, then she probably didn't need to call him on jade anymore, right?
She pulled out her jade messenger, only to see new messages from Jing Yuan.
[Jing Yuan: (ᗒᗩᗕ)
[Jing Yuan: location shared, Luofu General's Mansion]
Baiheng understood, Jing Yuan had been dragged off by the General for overtime, and it wouldn't be over anytime soon.
Suddenly, two hands grabbed her shoulders. Baiheng's tail fur puffed up in shock.
"What are you doing?"
She turned her head. It was the friend who ran the BBQ shop.
The friend looked excited, cheeks flushed, and asked, "That table just now, are they not a couple?"
At this, Baiheng couldn't help laughing and shaking her head, "…Not a couple. Why, you like that man?"
Baiheng instantly saw through her friend's thoughts and warned, "Let me remind you, he's only twenty."
Though Zero's face really was striking, her friend's age was far too different from his.
"Twenty? Old enough to marry!"
The friend perked up immediately, but under the fox's glare, wilted again, "Sigh, forget it. Let me just follow you to take one last look."
Together, they loaded the dishes onto a cart. The friend rushed ahead, energetically bringing the plates straight to Zero's table.
Zero instinctively thanked him, reaching out to take the plates, but the man didn't let go.
Hesitant, Zero looked up, only to meet a pair of fiery eyes.
He quickly looked away, face unchanged, and continued to take the plates.
After the dishes were delivered, Baiheng was dragged off at a run by her friend.
Her friend shook her shoulders hard, saying loudly, "Baiheng, ask for me, will you? I can wait for him! What's a hundred and eighty years, tops!"
Baiheng bristled, "…Do you believe I won't call the Cloud Knights to arrest you?!"
Unable to resist her friend's pleading, she reluctantly made another trip over.
Zero, holding tongs in one hand and scissors in the other, stared fixedly at the grilling meat. When he heard footsteps, he looked up to see Baiheng and invited, "Not many people now. Want to eat some?"
When the meat was ready, Zero moved quickly, cutting it into pieces with the scissors. He first placed some on Jingliu's plate, then onto an empty plate beside him, and pushed it toward Baiheng.
"Mm…" Baiheng hesitated, then sat down next to Jingliu. After wrestling with herself for a while, she finally spoke, "Zero, do you have any plans to date?"
Jingliu set down her chopsticks and slowly turned her head to look at Baiheng.
The fox's ears twitched. Immersed in her own thoughts, she failed to notice the true emotions hidden beneath her friend's cold expression.
They were both her friends, this was hard…
Better to ask Zero's thoughts first, then decide…
Zero swallowed his meat and said casually, "You're asking for your friend, aren't you."
Jingliu, being that very same friend of Baiheng's, stiffly turned her head to look at Zero.
Baiheng was shocked, "Huh? How did you know?"
Zero picked up a lettuce leaf, "Her eyes. Hard not to notice. Do you need me to do anything? But exchanging contact info isn't happening."
Baiheng's probing had been instantly seen through. She tried to struggle a bit, speaking up for her friend, "Uh, rejected already? Don't report this to the Cloud Knights, okay? Even if my friend is a little older, and from a different generation, but…"
To Jingliu, even the grilled meat had lost its flavor. She silently set down her chopsticks.
Zero corrected Baiheng, "It's not an age or generation issue. I just don't feel like meeting new people right now."
After all, in his past life, he had lived who knows how many years, how could he care about future age differences?
He still hadn't figured out what exactly had happened in his past life. Where would he find the heart to start a relationship?
If he really had enemies left over, wouldn't dating just drag someone else down?
Jingliu picked her chopsticks back up and asked, "Would you accept someone younger than you?"
Just hearing those words made Zero feel guilty.
Even though in this life he wasn't that old, he still couldn't get past this hurdle in his heart. He always felt like the Cloud Knights would lock him up…
He immediately shook his head and kept eating.
Baiheng still tried to salvage it, "Then at least get to know each other?"
Zero sighed.
"I'll think about it."
They were all Baiheng's friends, and the fox was stuck in the middle, feeling torn. But this kind of thing… really fell into his blind spot.
How to refuse gracefully?
After thinking a bit, he suggested, "Two methods. Pick whichever you like."
Baiheng looked puzzled, "What methods?"
"The kind that saves you from feeling awkward. Just to be clear, I won't be giving her my contact info."
Baiheng thought Zero had been deciding whether or not to meet the girl, but it turned out he had been thinking about her instead.
Her feelings grew complicated. She pretended to listen carefully.
"The first method, you tell her I already have a girlfriend. If I gave out my contact info, she'd get angry."
Jingliu's voice came out stiff and cold, "Since when did you have a girlfriend?"
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