I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 830 "Unexpected, isn't it? Surprising, isn't it?"

"Did you really go to the trouble of picking me up in person?" Fang Qingye greeted her with a smile. "Aren't you at work today?"

"Sure, but I asked for leave before you came," Huang Tao said.

"Are you busy with work?"

"It's not too busy, much easier than when I was doing my PhD. The only problem is that I can't stay up late at night, because my mom doesn't agree," the girl said with a smile.

Huang Tao now works at the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People's Bank of China and goes home to sleep at night.

"It's good not to stay up late, as staying up late for a long time is bad for your skin," Fang Qingye said casually.

"Really? Do you think my skin looks good now?" Huang Tao tilted her head slightly to look at Fang Qingye.

The girl was wearing light makeup.

In the afternoon light, she only applied a thin layer of foundation, her skin tone was even and clear, with almost no powdery residue, and her cheeks had a natural, healthy blush, delicate and firm, without a single blemish.

Fang Qingye glanced at it, then her gaze unconsciously drifted elsewhere.

"Very good, very beautiful."

Huang Tao smiled.

Yue Kai followed far behind.

However, the two did not continue the topic. Huang Tao said, "I have already booked the hotel for you. Let's have dinner together tonight, visit Professor Yang tomorrow morning, and then go to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology the day after tomorrow."

"Okay, it's up to you."

The three arrived at the parking lot and got into a Danxia red Aston Martin DB11. Looking at the fiery red color, Fang Qingye suddenly thought of the enthusiastic and quirky image of the beautiful girl she had chatted with on QQ.

"Peach, do you drive this car to work?" Fang Qingye asked with a smile.

"Of course not." Huang Tao put on sunglasses and skillfully started the car: "I came to pick you up. I drive an Audi A5 to work."

Huang Tao booked the St. Regis Hotel for Fang Qingye. It's located on Jianguomenwai Street, very close to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, making it convenient for business.

After arriving at the hotel and registering in the lobby, Huang Tao said, "I won't go up. You guys can come down after you've washed up. We'll have dinner on the third floor of the hotel later."

"Miss Huang, I won't go. You and the boss go eat," Yue Kai quickly said.

I have that much sense.

"Alright then," Huang Tao agreed.

Fang Qingye and Yue Kai went upstairs and returned to their respective rooms. After a quick wash, Fang Qingye changed her clothes, replacing her original suit and tie with a denim jacket, casual pants, and sneakers.

When he took the elevator back to the lobby, Huang Tao, who was waiting, looked at his outfit and nodded: "Hmm, much better looking than before. Don't let your daily interactions with Ma Yun and Ma Huateng make your clothing choices resemble those of middle-aged and elderly people."

I'm #￥%……

Fang Qingye was speechless.

However, I do dress much more conservatively now.

Is it because I'm getting old?

"Let's go up to the third floor. This hotel's braised shark fin soup is quite good," Huang Tao said.

"Shall we eat out? Let's not go for a fancy meal, some snacks will do," Fang Qingye suggested. "Like the last time I came to Yanjing, you treated me to noodles with soybean paste in a back alley."

"Okay. Let me think if there are any good noodle shops around." Huang Tao immediately agreed: "Hmm, there's a long-established noodle shop on Wanshou Road called Haiwanju, their noodles are pretty good!"

“Okay, let’s go,” Fang Qingye said.

The two of them left the hotel and, too lazy to go to the underground parking lot to get their car, simply hailed a taxi—it wasn't far anyway.

It only took ten minutes to reach the destination.

Pushing aside the heavy cotton curtains of Haiwanju, the bustling sounds of people and the aroma of soy sauce wafted towards you.

"Gentlemen, please come in—" Before the waiter's call had even finished, Huang Tao was already smiling and pointing to the window seat: "That's a good spot, you can see the street view." Sitting at the table, surrounded by old men chatting and families with children, the sounds of clinking porcelain bowls and slurping noodles rose and fell, creating a vibrant symphony of everyday life.

Huang Tao quickly rinsed two sets of bowls and chopsticks with hot water and then skillfully arranged the eight-treasure grid toppings brought by the waiter.

"I heard that their small bowl of dry-fried meat is a specialty. The diced meat in the sauce is made with three layers of pork belly and is fried over a low flame."

As she spoke, she pushed the glossy, dark brown fried sauce in front of Fang Qingye, saying, "The noodles need to be mixed quickly; they'll be chewy while they're hot."

Besides the noodles, there was a dish of glossy, dark brown fried sauce and an eight-compartment wooden box, inside which were neatly arranged shredded cucumber, shredded red radish, bean sprouts, green peas, chopped celery, and shredded cabbage, a colorful and very pleasing sight.

“Try the authentic flavors of Beijing,” she winked, “it’s a completely different kind of world compared to the cuisine of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.”

Fang Qingye picked up a mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. The noodles were chewy and the sauce was rich and flavorful. "It really is a place of martial arts," he said, savoring the taste. "The balance between sweet and salty is just right."

She was slowly eating the yellow peaches as well.

“When I was studying at Renmin University, I often liked to eat at these time-honored restaurants, and sometimes I would ride my bicycle around the city’s alleys.”

The girl looked up at the street outside and said softly, "Sometimes I feel very grounded. Compared to all the mathematical models, variable analysis, and dazzling transaction figures, this is real life."

"You're still very young, aren't you? How come you seem to have seen through the ways of the world?" Fang Qingye joked.

Huang Tao glanced at him and said, "You're only three years older than me, right? You like to stay in the Four Seasons Nursery, drinking tea, fishing, and living a hermit's life?"

"It's impossible to hide it now; the nursery is much busier than before," Fang Qingye said with a hint of regret.

Indeed, people frequently approach him in Nanxin, including leaders at various levels, business owners, and even those who come specifically to claim to be his fans.

If it's hard to find him elsewhere, going to the nursery is the simplest and most direct way.

Huang Tao smiled knowingly.

After finishing their bowl of noodles, the two left. Huang Tao suggested taking a walk, and Fang Qingye agreed. They walked together towards the hotel.

It was already dark, and the streetlights were just coming on.

Streetlights and shop signs lit up one by one, bathing the street in a warm yellow hue. Pedestrians, wrapped in coats, hurried home after work; buses, their carriages filled with lights, slowly pulled into the station and then drove away.

The two walked side by side on the sidewalk.

“Ye Zi, I really didn’t expect you to be involved in Starlink in China,” Huang Tao suddenly said. “I thought you would continue in finance or the internet.”

"Haha, unexpected, isn't it? Surprised, aren't you?" Fang Qingye joked.

"Yeah, that's true. Men, you can't just look at the little patch of land under their feet." As she said this, Huang Tao suddenly looked up at the night sky, where there were blurry stars.

He clenched his fist and softly uttered a phrase in Japanese: "I'll cut the Milky Way with a single stroke!"

Fang Qingye was stunned.

"What do you mean?"

"With a single stroke of my sword, I can even cleave the Milky Way!" Huang Tao explained, "That's a line from the anime/manga series 'Fate'."

Such cringeworthy lines!
But thinking back to when I used to chat with Huang Tao—or rather, Dongguan girl—on QQ with those cringeworthy lines, this one is nothing.

But that was a long time ago.

"Ye Zi, isn't this a bit too much of a chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)?" the girl asked.

"No, it's pretty exciting," Fang Qingye quickly denied.

“I feel the same way, but these things are becoming increasingly difficult to say now, because people will laugh at me. So I’m telling you.”

"Um"

"So don't overthink it. Once you've decided, just do it. I'll do my best to help you! In this life, you should live for what you love at least once, right?"
In the darkness of the night, the girl's eyes sparkled.

(End of this chapter)