After the breakup, I was taken in by a group of trendy young women.

"What's wrong? Old Deng already apologized, why do you look so unhappy?"

Lin Ye looked down at Shen Qing in his arms.

She was still sitting on his lap, curled up in a ball, her head hanging down, her long black hair sliding down from both sides, like a curtain covering half of her face.

The neckline of the oversized white T-shirt had slipped down a bit because of his sitting posture, exposing the area of ​​fair, glowing skin below his collarbone without any reservation.

His gaze inadvertently swept downwards.

From this angle, you can see the curves of her body, which are wrapped in a white T-shirt and rise and fall slightly with her breathing.

The fabric at the neckline hung loosely, revealing the edge of the light-colored underwear through the gaps.

That small patch of snow-white skin shimmered like porcelain under the scorching midday sun, so delicate that not a single pore could be seen.

Lin Ye felt his throat tighten.

Shen Qing was completely unaware of his gaze, and lowered her head even further, her chin almost touching her collarbone.

Her fingers gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force, creating fine wrinkles in that small piece of fabric.

There was a moment of quiet under the old locust tree.

The scarred man and his four shirtless brothers had already slunk back to the dominoes table, leaving the tiles scattered all over the ground untouched.

The old man selling watermelons at the supermarket entrance moved his watermelon stall back half a meter, and the lady at the fruit shop next door also pulled back her outstretched neck.

The crowd dispersed slowly like the receding tide, leaving only a few plastic stools lying crookedly on the ground under the tree.

After a long while, Shen Qing seemed to squeeze out a sound from her throat.

The voice was as soft as a mosquito's wings, slightly hoarse, and carrying something that had been suppressed for a long time finally breaking free: "Brother, you've been so good to me... I don't know how to repay you!"

Before Lin Ye could speak, a crisp voice interrupted from the side.

"Then repay me with your body!"

Bai Xiaojing had somehow managed to get next to the stool.

She squatted on the ground, resting her chin on her hands, looking up at Shen Qing with a mischievous glint in her deep brown eyes.

The hem of Lolita's dress was piled on the ground, covered with a few fragments of sycamore leaves, but she didn't care.

"I'd definitely like a body like yours!"

She said this with a confident tone, as if stating an irrefutable fact.

Then she turned her head and winked at the tattooed arm behind her.

The tattooed man understood immediately, and walked over with the unlit cigarette dangling from his lips, his arms crossed over his chest, the koi carp on his tattoo shimmering with a bluish-black light in the sunlight.

She looked down at Shen Qing, who was nestled in Lin Ye's arms, and slowly curved her lips into a malicious smile, her tongue flashing between her lips.

"That's right, Shen Qing, don't be ungrateful."

Zhang Jingjing's voice drifted over.

She sat cross-legged on the empty plastic stool next to her, picking up the conversation as wisps of hair fluttered across her forehead, revealing her thin face with a mischievous grin: "If I were you, I'd already be thinking about how to take advantage of you."

Green Hair and Pink Hair huddled under one umbrella, their sun-protective clothing billowing in the wind, and they both let out a low but not completely suppressed laugh.

Green Hair nudged Pink Hair with his elbow, and Pink Hair nudged him back. The two colorful heads huddled together, whispering to each other, and occasionally glancing at Lin Ye.

Shen Qing's face turned as red as if it were burning.

She lifted her face from Lin Ye's shoulder, then quickly lowered it again, her forehead resting on his collarbone, her long black hair completely obscuring her face.

Only her ears, visible through her hair, betrayed her; they were so red they looked like they could bleed.

Lin Ye felt that Shen Qing in his arms was very hot.

It wasn't the kind of heat that comes from being exposed to the summer sun; it was a heat that emanated from within, carrying the warmth of a young girl's body and mixed with the scent of cheap shampoo.

She sat sideways on his lap, the curves of her body pressed against him through two thin layers of fabric. Every time she shifted slightly in embarrassment, the soft, warm touch was transmitted through the fabric, so clear that he couldn't ignore it.

Even more important is your waist.

On both sides of the spine, near the kidneys, there is an indescribable sense of power surging within.

It wasn't the kind of heart-pounding stimulation you get from taking stimulants; it was something deeper and more solid, like someone stuffing two pieces of freshly quenched alloy into his lower back.

The alloy was now slightly warm, pulsating with the rhythm of a heartbeat, as if it were ready to be used at some high intensity at any moment.

Lin Ye cursed inwardly, took a deep breath, tilted his neck back, and tried his best to look away from the horizon.

Then he turned back, his tone deliberately relaxed, even with a hint of teasing at the end: "Alright, I'm in a good mood today, what do you want to eat?"

Shen Qing was taken aback.

She lifted her head from Lin Ye's shoulder, her long black hair sliding down her cheeks to reveal her entire face.

Her eyes were still a little red, and the tip of her nose was also a little red, but what was written in her eyes now was not the shock and grievance from before, but a kind of bewildered confusion.

"……what?"

"What do you mean, 'huh'? I'm asking you, what do you want to eat? Barbecue? Hot pot? Or that mala tang place from last time?"

Bai Xiaojing had already stood up; her legs were numb from squatting for too long. As she swung her legs, she took out her phone from her pocket. The screen was cracked on the left, but she didn't care at all, her thumb swiping rapidly across the broken screen.

"Here you go! It's all-you-can-eat! Seafood, hot pot, and barbecue!"

She held her phone up to Lin Ye's face, the screen almost touching his nose.

Lin Ye tilted his head and saw the contents clearly. It was a group-buying page for a seafood hot pot and barbecue buffet restaurant, with the words "Exclusive for Newcomers" written in big red letters, followed by an unbelievable number.

"Nine yuan and ninety cents? Seafood hot pot and barbecue all-you-can-eat?"

Lin Ye frowned.

Nine yuan and ninety cents—that number is an insult to him right now.

For a purchase of 9.9 yuan per person, how much rebate can the system give back?

Even if you multiply the base amount by ten, it's only ninety-nine yuan; even if you multiply it by fifty, it's still less than five hundred yuan.

He had 170,000 yuan in his pocket, and these girls were still helping him save money, even choosing the cheapest group-buying deals for buffets.

The tattooed man leaned closer to peek at Bai Xiaojing's phone screen, his eyebrows raised high: "Holy crap, nine yuan and ninety cents? Is this store about to go out of business?"

"Who cares if it goes bankrupt or not, nine dollars and ninety-nine dollars is nine dollars and ninety-nine dollars!"

The green-haired and pink-haired people spoke in unison.

Zhang Jingjing had already stood up from the small stool, stuffing the dead mini fan into her bag: "Let's go, let's go! Seafood hot pot! It's been so long since we've had it! We sisters will eat until we're stuffed!"

Qi Liuhai stood up, holding Wangcai, a hint of worry in his eyes, and whispered, "Nine yuan and ninety cents... won't the seafood be fresh?"

"At this price, what more could you ask for! As long as we're full, that's fine!"

The tattooed man took the cigarette out of his mouth and tapped the navigation route on his phone screen with the finger that had been holding the cigarette. "It's not far, just turn the corner on that street ahead."

"Go! Go! Go!"

The cacophony of voices mingled together, like a pot of freshly boiled hot pot broth, creating an incredibly lively atmosphere.

The tense atmosphere that had just been created by the scarred man vanished completely.

These energetic young women are the kind of creatures that can explode into a fireball when trouble comes, but once the trouble is over, they scatter like a flock of sparrows, chirping and fluttering towards the next place with food and fun.

Lin Ye watched them jump for joy with excitement, but his brows remained furrowed.

The seafood buffet costs 9.9 yuan per person, so for seven people it would only cost less than 70 yuan.

The system's rebate is at most a few hundred yuan, which is not even a fraction of the rent he pays for them.

When will these young women change their spending habits?

It's one thing to be poor before, but now that he's around, can't he make some progress?

Can we choose something more affordable?

But after thinking about it, he swallowed the words that were about to come out.

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

He said.

Bai Xiaojing cheered, stuffed her phone into her pocket, and bent down to grab Lin Ye's arm.

The tattooed man had already put his sunglasses back on. Zhang Jingjing was looking for a trash can while carrying an empty lemonade cup. Green Hair and Pink Hair walked hand in hand in front, while Qi Liuhai carried Wangcai at the back.

Shen Qing finally stood up from Lin Ye's lap. Her movements were a little clumsy, and she swayed as she stood up. She instinctively grabbed Lin Ye's shoulder for support.

Her fingers rested on his shoulder, the temperature of her fingertips slightly cool through the fabric of his T-shirt.

After regaining her footing, she quickly withdrew her hand, lowered her head, and followed Bai Xiaojing.

Lin Ye stood up from the plastic stool, patted off non-existent dust from his athletic shorts, and followed the group of colorful girls toward the 9.9 RMB seafood hot pot and barbecue buffet at the end of the commercial street.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the sycamore leaves, dappling their colorful hair.