Though Fanshi Ancient Town was heavily commercialized, at least its cultural and historical sights were the real thing, not modern constructions put up to fool tourists.
At the City God Temple on the west side of the ancient town, the moment Tang Lei stepped inside and was covered by the dense shade of the trees, he felt a chill. When he saw the statues enshrined in the temple, the hair on his back stood on end even more.
Especially the statue of the City God in the main hall. The passage of time had left the gold paint on its body mottled and peeling, but instead of making it look shabby, it gave the statue a sense of transcendence, as if it had weathered the mortal world and been tempered by wind and frost.
With its eyes wide in fury, it looked down upon the world. No matter what demons or ghosts there were, it seemed that as long as its gaze fell upon them, they would have nowhere to hide and would turn to dust.
Click! Click!
Tang Lei took two photos of the City God statue.
“This statue is so dignified. Feels like it could ward off evil!”
After taking the photos, Tang Lei bowed to the City God again, muttering, “May the deity bless me and let me get into a university in Jinghai!”
Tang Lei’s demands were not high. As long as he could go to Jinghai and leave the Rust Belt, he did not care even if he ended up in the major he disliked the most.
“Haha, if you want to pray to pass the imperial exams, you should go to the Confucian Temple!”
Lu Jiuling laughed.
“No harm in worshiping a few more gods!”
Tang Lei bowed three times with great sincerity and even made a vow that if he got into a university in Jinghai, he would come back to fulfill it.
Fanshi Ancient Town had originally flourished because of the imperial examinations. It might lack anything else, but it would never lack a Confucian Temple.
If it had been a few days ago, Lu Jiuling definitely would have gone to the Confucian Temple to offer a stick of incense as well. But now that he had entered the Council of Gods, he could become a transcendent as long as he completed the advancement ritual. He no longer needed to throw himself into the gaokao race, so his desire to offer incense had faded.
Even so, Lu Jiuling still accompanied Tang Lei there. By the time they finished touring the Confucian Temple and came out, it was almost noon.
“What are we eating for lunch?”
Tang Lei scrolled through his phone, looking up guides.
Zhuangyuan Saozi Noodles, Master’s Crab Roe Buns, Chunshui Oil Cakes...
Fanshi Ancient Town had quite a few local snacks.
Lu Jiuling took a look. The closest and most popular place near the Confucian Temple was a noodle shop.
“How about Zhuangyuan Saozi Noodles?”
Tang Lei was the kind of person who could eat instant noodles for a whole week without getting sick of them, so he did not really care what they ate. Choosing this place was simply for the auspicious name.
It took the two of them seven minutes to reach the noodle shop, and they happened to grab the last table.
“What luck!”
Tang Lei was very happy. He picked up the menu and glanced through it, then could not help clicking his tongue. “So expensive!”
“Getting ripped off when eating in a tourist area is normal, isn’t it? At least this place isn’t giving you a two-faced menu!”
Lu Jiuling’s gaze swept over the dishes.
A waitress in her thirties had already walked over. “What would you two like?”
“One bowl of the signature Zhuangyuan Noodles, one vegetarian platter, one cold beef salad, and two cans of Coke.”
When it came to food, Lu Jiuling also kept everything simple and was not particular. “Order whatever you want. This meal’s on me!”
“The beef is so expensive. Don’t order it!”
Tang Lei knew Lu Jiuling’s family situation was about the same as his own—not well-off.
Both of them had tested into No. 2 High School from rural areas. Aside from living expenses, compared to their classmates who lived in the city, they had an extra monthly rent expense.
“We’re out having fun. Let’s eat a little better!”
Lu Jiuling brushed him off. In truth, the fundamental reason was that he would be entering the Divine Game next month. If he died, no amount of money left behind would be of any use.
He might as well use it to improve his meals.
Seeing that Tang Lei still wanted to persuade him, Lu Jiuling cut him off directly. “Enough. Stop nagging!”
The tables and long benches were all wooden, and outside the entrance hung a banner with the character “noodles” written on it, fluttering in the wind. The place mainly pushed an antique charm, making people feel as if they were eating in an ancient teahouse or tavern.
The vegetarian platter and cold beef salad came very quickly.
“Let’s eat!”
Lu Jiuling had just picked up a peanut when Tang Lei lightly kicked him under the table.
“Look, it’s Jiang Shan and Xu Shaowei!”
Tang Lei jerked his chin toward the entrance.
Lu Jiuling turned his head.
At the restaurant entrance, people were already lining up for tables. Jiang Shan, the baby-faced Li Jiayao, as well as Xu Shaowei and her best friend Feng Xiu, were standing there talking to the waitress.
When Jiang Shan learned that they would have to wait seven tables, she planned to leave, but Xu Shaowei called her back.
“I saw 690 and Tang Lei. We can share a table with them!”
Xu Shaowei had an outgoing personality and was never coy.
Jiang Shan shook her head. Beside her, Li Jiayao’s eyes lit up, looking a little eager to try.
“It’s mealtime right now. Any restaurant with decent business is going to have a wait. Come on!”
Xu Shaowei pulled Jiang Shan into the noodle shop.
“They’re coming over!”
Tang Lei immediately straightened his back, sat properly, and grew nervous.
“690, can we share your table?”
Xu Shaowei’s fair chin was slightly raised, and the unique pride of a city girl swept toward them.
“Sit wherever you want!”
Tang Lei and Lu Jiuling had originally each occupied one long bench. Seeing this, he hurriedly got up to make room and sat together with Lu Jiuling.
This was eating together with Jiang Shan and Xu Shaowei.
Awesome!
Unfortunately, Tang Lei was too timid. He stole one glance at Jiang Shan, then quickly lowered his head.
His mind was spinning, trying to figure out what he could say to liven up the atmosphere.
Quite a few diners looked over.
Xu Shaowei had huge breasts; that kind of scale was not something one usually saw. Jiang Shan, meanwhile, was beautiful and serene. Sitting there, she was like a lily, easily making people think of the pure white moonlight from their student days.
The waitress came over to take their order.
All four girls ordered the signature Zhuangyuan Noodles.
“Make mine extra spicy!”
Seeing that Jiang Shan was still looking at the menu, seemingly about to order hot dishes, Xu Shaowei directly snatched the menu from her hand. “Noodles are enough!”
Xu Shaowei and Jiang Shan were not best friends, but girls gossiped a lot in daily life, so Xu Shaowei knew Jiang Shan’s personality.
Jiang Shan must have felt embarrassed about sharing a table and planned to treat everyone to the meal. But the problem was, with Lu Jiuling being a boy, how could he let a girl pay?
In the end, Lu Jiuling would have to foot the bill.
His family was not wealthy!
Xu Shaowei did not want to see Lu Jiuling eat instant noodles for the next month because of this meal.
Jiang Shan glanced at Xu Shaowei and noticed this female classmate’s subtle glance toward Lu Jiuling. Being refined and perceptive, she understood.
“Mm!”
Jiang Shan responded, then took out her phone to read the copy of Song Ci poetry she had downloaded.
The baby-faced girl was shy. It had not been easy for her to sit together with Lu Jiuling; she wanted to talk, but did not know how to start. Feng Xiu had no feelings toward Lu Jiuling and began scrolling through her phone while waiting for the noodles.
“You four have been walking around all morning. You must be hungry, right? Eat some cold dishes first to fill your stomachs!”
Lu Jiuling invited them.
It was not because he was being a simp, but a matter of courtesy.
“Right, right, eat together!”
Tang Lei took disposable chopsticks from the chopstick holder and handed them out to Xu Shaowei and the others.
The four girls said thank you, but none of them moved.
“We’re all classmates. Do you have to be so polite?”
Lu Jiuling thought of his own middle school days. He had also been so awkward and too embarrassed to talk to female classmates. By the time he graduated from university, apart from two close friends, he had already lost contact with everyone else.
“Yeah, don’t be so polite!”
Tang Lei scratched his head and ears, trying to heat up the atmosphere, then sensed Lu Jiuling bump him with his knee.
“What is it?”
Tang Lei looked at his friend.
Lu Jiuling glanced at the refrigerator.
Tang Lei blinked and followed Lu Jiuling’s gaze...
What did he mean?
Tang Lei looked utterly confused.
Xu Shaowei and Jiang Shan noticed this little detail and instantly understood.
Lu Jiuling was telling Tang Lei to go get drinks.
Unexpectedly,
Lu Jiuling was actually quite a warm guy. But why didn’t you go?
Are we not worthy?
“...”
Lu Jiuling was speechless. Don’t you like Jiang Shan?
You’re not seizing this chance to show some attentiveness?
As for himself?
Sorry, Xu Shaowei and Jiang Shan were not his type.
For no reason, Lu Jiuling thought of the girl he had seen in the hall of the Council of Gods. Her face had looked pitiful, like an abandoned stray cat, yet hidden in her eyes was a coldness called stubbornness.
Jiang Shan was pretty, but compared to that girl, she was directly a notch below.
Xu Shaowei went over to the refrigerator and brought back six bottles of drinks. Even though Lu Jiuling and Tang Lei already had Coke, Xu Shaowei still gave them each a bottle of herbal tea.
“Are... are you all planning to apply to universities in Jinghai or Shangjing?”
Tang Lei finally found a topic.
Although his chances were slim, what if he performed beyond expectations and could attend the same university as Jiang Shan?
“I’ll go wherever my score is enough for. As long as I can leave Anzhou, that’s fine!”
Xu Shaowei wanted to go to a big city.
A city like Anzhou, located in the Rust Belt, had long since lost its future. Its economy would keep declining.
“Me too!”
After Feng Xiu said that, the baby-faced girl also nodded.
Everyone was like this. They worked desperately at their studies in order to escape their current living environment. They did not want to rot in a place like this for the rest of their lives.
“What about you, Student Jiang?”
Tang Lei looked eagerly at Jiang Shan.
“Shangjing!”
Jiang Shan did not hide it.
“Oh!”
Tang Lei felt a little disappointed, because he wanted more to go to Jinghai.
“690, why did you have to offend Zhang Shuai for no reason?”
The moment Xu Shaowei thought of the conflict that morning, she felt speechless. “There are only three months until graduation. Couldn’t you just endure it?”
Xu Shuo was a petty man, but he had no ability. Even if he was unhappy with Lu Jiuling, he could not do anything too nasty. Zhang Shuai, however, was different. He was the school tyrant!
If he wanted to mess with Lu Jiuling’s state of mind—say, on the morning of the gaokao, he found someone to beat him up—690 would be doomed to suffer that loss.
Retaliate?
Don’t dream. Not unless you also had a district-chief father.
“Exactly. So what if Zhang Shuai mocked you a few times? It doesn’t hurt. Why did you have to talk back?”
Feng Xiu felt Lu Jiuling had been irrational.
But boys were all like that. In front of pretty girls, they all wanted to puff themselves up and pretend to be big shots.
Lu Jiuling really wanted to say...
I’m a transcendent. Avoid his edge?
But he felt that line was too cringey, so he smiled.
“Thanks for your concern. Have some meat!”
Lu Jiuling used the serving chopsticks to put a piece of beef into Xu Shaowei’s bowl, then gave the baby-faced girl another piece.
He could tell that if he did not make a move, the girls would not pick up any food.
“Thank you!”
The baby-faced girl hurriedly thanked him, very nervous.
With a social expert like Xu Shaowei around, the table would never fall silent. She had thought that Lu Jiuling liked Jiang Shan, and that was why he had rejected her confession. But looking at it now, Lu Jiuling was equally uninterested in Jiang Shan, which made her feel much more comfortable.
Wait,
If 690 doesn’t even fancy a girl like me or Jiang Shan, is his taste too high? Or does he like boys?
Lu Jiuling and Tang Lei’s noodles were served first. The two of them hurriedly finished eating and left early, settling the bill on the way out.
“690 is pretty considerate!”
Xu Shaowei saw Lu Jiuling going to pay the bill. “He might have been afraid we’d feel uncomfortable, so he left first!”
“He didn’t eat the beef either!”
The baby-faced girl had noticed. Lu Jiuling had only eaten some of the cold vegetables and had not touched the beef at all. Clearly, he had left it for the four girls.
“Jiang Shan, you have to help 690!”
Xu Shaowei stared at Jiang Shan. “Only you can make Zhang Shuai leave him alone!”
“You’re underestimating Student Lu!”
Jiang Shan ate her noodles unhurriedly.
When everyone had mentioned Zhang Shuai just now, Lu Jiuling’s expression had been calm, without the slightest emotional fluctuation. That meant he did not put that school tyrant in his eyes at all.
But Zhang Shuai was a notorious villain known to everyone, so where did Lu Jiuling’s confidence come from?
She was a little curious!