Why did the system take my request to take photos with a cosplayer seriously?

She watched the boys in front of her making a ruckus, occasionally stealing glances at them.

Xie Baoyang – loudest voice, most outspoken, but gets angry after being rebuked by Li Meng, like a child who hasn't grown up.

Li Meng—he looks calm and collected, but he's also a chatterbox, always finding a way to hit Xie Baoyang's sore spots.

Zhou Zhou – He doesn’t talk much, but every time he opens his mouth, he leaves the two of them speechless.

The group walked in a row, jostling each other, none of them giving way.

As Baima looked at the photos, she suddenly thought of her former "friends" and felt that there was always a layer of distance between them.

Unlike these boys in front of me, their arguing is so real and their antics so natural.

The barbecue restaurant isn't far; it's just a few minutes' walk away.

The shop is small, with a few plastic tables and chairs placed at the entrance, and smoke billowing from the charcoal stove.

Xie Baoyang found a seat familiar to him and started ordering.

"Brother Lu! Forty skewers of lamb, forty skewers of beef, ten skewers of chicken wings, twenty skewers of pork belly, two plates of chives, a serving of braised shrimp, a dozen beers, and a bottle of soy milk!"

Li Meng added from the side, "And roasted eggplant, with minced garlic."

Zhou Zhou added, "Two servings of toasted bread slices, please."

Xie Baoyang turned to Ding Heng and asked, "Old Ding, is there anything else you need?"

Ding Heng looked at Bai Ma: "What would you like to eat?"

Baima was staring at the pictures of grilled skewers on the menu, swallowing hard. Hearing this, she looked up and whispered, "Anything is fine, I want to eat them all..."

"Let's leave it like this for now, we can add more if it's not enough."

Xie Baoyang handed the menu to the owner, then turned back and his gaze fell on Baima.

He probably wanted to act like a warm adult, but after a long pause, he could only manage to stammer out, "Um... Baima, right? How old are you?"

Baima obediently replied, "Seventeen."

"Oh... Seventeen...that's good..."

Xie Baoyang stopped talking as soon as he finished speaking, completely unsure how to continue the conversation.

Li Meng chuckled to himself, while Zhou Zhou looked down at his phone, his shoulders twitching.

Bai Ma blinked and steered the conversation towards a topic familiar to boys: "Brother Baoyang, what games do you play?"

"Ah I?"

Xie Baoyang was stunned for a moment, then quickly replied, "LOL, WOW, CS... I play them all!"

"What rank?"

"LOL Diamond, Tier Platinum..."

Xie Baoyang finished speaking a little embarrassedly: "I played so-so..."

Baima nodded: "That's pretty impressive."

Xie Baoyang's face immediately lit up with a smile, and he started talking non-stop: "Not bad, not bad, it's mainly thanks to your brother's guidance. You don't know, Lao Ding is incredibly good at games, last time we..."

He began to recount his and Ding Heng's glorious achievements in a long and enthusiastic manner, becoming more and more animated as he spoke, completely forgetting his earlier stutter.

Li Meng and Zhou Zhou would occasionally chime in, keeping the atmosphere lively and engaging.

While listening, Baima sipped her soy milk, not at all shy.

The skewers were served quickly, steaming hot, and the aroma filled the air.

Baima stared wide-eyed at the plates of bright red, glistening meat skewers.

But she didn't touch her chopsticks; she just looked at Ding Heng.

Ding Heng secretly added some ingredients to her soy milk, then picked up a skewer of mutton and handed it to her: "Eat up."

Baima took the skewer and gently took a bite.

The next second, her eyes narrowed, her little mouth bulged, and she mumbled indistinctly, "Mmm... delicious..."

Xie Baoyang stared, dumbfounded, wondering to himself, "Where did Ding Heng find such a cute 'little sister'? What about his summer girlfriend? Did they break up?"

After confirming that Baima was alright, Ding Heng picked up a skewer of beef and slowly chewed it.

The group ate and chatted, their conversation ranging from games to university, and then to winter break.

Xie Baoyang started complaining: "You guys don't know, the food in our school cafeteria is absolutely awful! It's even worse than our high school cafeteria! And I just can't get used to the local food..."

Li Meng chimed in, "Come on, at least your school is in the city, while our school is in the suburbs. Going out here is like going from the countryside to the city."

Zhou Zhou spoke quietly: "My military academy is under closed management, who can I complain to?"

Xie Baoyang gloated: "It's alright, it's an honor to be a soldier. Don't forget your brothers when you become a leader!"

Zhou Zhou rolled her eyes at him: "Chief? I'd better graduate first..."

Baima listened while eating skewers, occasionally bursting into laughter.

After finishing the meal, it was almost midnight. Baima got up to pay the bill, but Ding Heng stopped her, and in the end, everyone split the bill as usual.

The group said goodbye at the store entrance.

Xie Baoyang waved to Ding Heng: "Old Ding, let's make another appointment in a couple of days!"

"Row."

"Take your sister with you!"

Baima, standing beside Ding Heng, swallowed hard upon hearing this.

Does that mean there's another meal?

The fortune teller my mom consulted was right after all! This Changsha is great! I can eat and drink whatever I want without getting a stomachache!

Li Meng chimed in from the side, "Come on, with your meager abilities, would you dare say a word with that girl's sister around?"

"roll!"

The group walked away laughing and joking, their figures gradually disappearing into the night.

A cool night breeze was blowing.

Ding Heng said, "Let's go."

Baima snapped out of her daze and obediently followed him toward the car.

Get in the car and fasten your seatbelt.

The car started and slowly drove away.

Pema leaned back in her chair, gazing at the streetlights rushing past the window, and remained silent for a long time.

"Brother."

She suddenly spoke.

"Ok?"

Do you...have many friends?

"It's alright, I only keep in touch with a few people regularly."

"..."

Baima didn't speak, her fingers gently fiddling with the seatbelt.

After a while, she asked in a low voice, "How do you know them?"

"Xie Baoyang has known me since elementary school, and Li Meng and Zhou Zhou were high school classmates."

"Oh……"

Baima lowered her head, her voice muffled: "It seems like you two have a pretty good relationship."

Ding Heng didn't reply, but just continued driving.

The car turned a corner and drove onto the elevated road.

The city lights flowed across the car windows, displaying a kaleidoscope of colors.

Baima stared at the points of light, recalling the scene at the barbecue restaurant just now.

Xie Baoyang was drunk and started bragging, while Li Meng stood by and sneered at him, and Zhou Zhou lowered her head and chuckled to herself.

Several people were arguing and bickering, none of them willing to give in, but that feeling...

Pema asked again, "Brother, how do you make friends?"

Ding Heng countered, "Bai Ma, did you see how much that barbecue cost?"

"Over four hundred?"

Is it expensive?

"well enough……"

For Baima, four hundred yuan wasn't even enough for her to pay for two hours of companionship.

Do you know why I didn't let you pay the bill, but instead we split it equally?

"do not know……"

Baima shook her head.

Ding Heng calmly explained, "Because we are all students now, under the identity of students, our attributes are the same, there is no difference. If you take the initiative to pay the bill once or twice, it's fine, but once it happens a lot, our identity attributes will naturally start to differ..."

You're a wealthy student, and they're ordinary students. Driven by self-interest and human nature, they'll naturally start building a circle around you. Isn't that how you acquire your so-called friends?

Bai Ma pursed her lips; her silence signified confirmation.

Ding Heng continued, "Of course, that's not wrong, but the problem is that once the circle is established, you must demonstrate enough personal charisma or leadership skills to consolidate it."

If you keep giving money away, over time, your so-called friends will see you as a sucker and use your friendship to blackmail you!

Suddenly, Baima recalled her experiences of transferring schools and making friends each time.

At each school she went to, she would try to make friends by being outgoing.

At first, everyone was attracted to her, but over time, she found herself needing to spend more and more money to maintain her so-called circle, while those so-called friends became increasingly disrespectful to her, even mocking her behind her back...