I really like your sand sculpture group friends

He had just started speaking, before he could finish, when Su Mengyao suddenly burst out laughing, looked up at him, and nodded slightly.

"Ok, I know."

Su Mengyao smiled and gently poked his waist with her finger: "However, how can you say that you're not a smart person?"

For some reason, she seems to have become somewhat addicted to this action lately.

She poked him once, and when she saw that Mo Xiangwen didn't react, she started poking him again and again.

“Normally, you wouldn’t reply like that,” Mo Xiangwen said.

Mo Xiangwen originally intended to let her have her way since she was in a bad mood, but he didn't expect her to poke him several times without stopping. So he had no choice but to pat her hand helplessly.

Su Mengyao then withdrew her hand with a look of regret.

"Yeah, so I'm not exactly a smart person either," Su Mengyao replied softly.

She paused slightly, then said, "At least not like smart girls like my sister or Noah."

I don't understand, what's the point of this?

"So I don't really know how to communicate with girls." Mo Xiangwen tried to steer the conversation back on track, saying with a hint of helplessness, "I also don't know what you're thinking."

He paused, as if making up his mind, and slowly said, "If possible, I think... perhaps I could just ask directly...?"

Before he could finish speaking, a crisp "smack" rang out as Su Mengyao lightly patted his back.

Mo Xiangwen staggered forward a little while after being slapped by her. After regaining his balance, he turned around to look at her helplessly.

Under the dim streetlights, Su Mengyao wore a beautiful smile, but the smile seemed veiled in shadow, conveying a sense of loneliness that was difficult to discern.

"Of course not," Su Mengyao replied with a light laugh. "I'm a girl, after all..."

"Hmm." She paused slightly, her voice suddenly becoming much softer: "And she's a girl as cute as my sister."

However, she still subconsciously turned her face slightly to avoid Mo Xiangwen's direct gaze, and unconsciously rubbed her toes on the ground.

If you're shy, then don't praise yourself for being cute... But, does this way of speaking have anything to do with Meng Li? Mo Xiangwen wondered with some doubt.

This slight shyness and awkwardness lasted only a moment. She quickly took a deep breath, turned back, and put on that fake smile again.

Su Mengyao looked at him and said in a tone that was half reproachful and half joking, "So, how could you directly ask a cute girl about her worries?"

Mo Xiangwen didn't speak, but just silently looked back at her.

Time passed second by second, and the two of them just stared at each other for what seemed like two or three minutes, or maybe longer.

In the deserted streets, Su Mengyao felt her heartbeat amplified in the silence, and her ears inexplicably began to burn.

If she harbored resentment towards someone, she would be frantic with worry.

Hey, say something! What's wrong with this guy? Just standing there watching?

Finally, Su Mengyao couldn't hold back any longer.

Like a cat whose tail has been stepped on, she pounced forward in a fit of exasperation, reaching out to tickle his waist: "Are you deliberately keeping silent at a time like this! Are you just trying to make a fool of me?"

She glared at him angrily, a faint blush rising on her pretty face.

“No,” Mo Xiangwen symbolically twisted his waist to avoid her tickling, his voice tinged with amusement as he looked at her teasingly and said, “I was just thinking… well, Miss Su Mengyao is indeed very cute.”

She lowered her head abruptly, not daring to meet his gaze, feeling both ashamed and angry.

"It's too late to say nice things now!"

Su Mengyao grew angrier the more she thought about it, so she simply nudged him with her little head again.

The two continued walking and joking until they reached a street corner. Suddenly, Mo Xiangwen stopped and raised his hand to make a pause gesture: "Stop, stop, stop. Ceasefire, ceasefire for a while."

Su Mengyao found it a little strange, but she still obediently stopped what she was doing.

"We're here." Mo Xiangwen glanced at the sign with the exact same name as on his phone's map, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Look, this is it."

Su Mengyao followed his gaze and looked at him in confusion.

Bright lights, rising steam, and the aroma of barbecue wafted over instantly.

"...A barbecue restaurant?" she asked, somewhat surprised and hesitant.

Chapter 157 You'll Get Fat.

"Hmm, add four skewers of chicken feet, one garlic-roasted eggplant, and four skewers of grilled beef..." Su Mengyao held the menu in her hands, seemingly hesitant: "Is this enough?"

"It's alright, don't worry." Mo Xiangwen chuckled. "I can finish all of this myself. I'll let you know when I've had enough."

Upon hearing his words, Su Mengyao smiled brightly, nodded vigorously, and ordered a dozen more skewers of barbecue.

Finally, he didn't forget to remind the waiter, "Oh, and another bottle of iced Coke, please."

The waiter was slightly taken aback, then said with a forced smile, "I'm sorry, miss, we're out of cola, only drinks are left. But we have a promotion, buy more and get more free."

Upon hearing what the waiter said, Mo Xiangwen glanced at the other tables.

Although not many people are eating barbecue anymore, the trash on and under the tables hasn't been cleaned up yet.

Of course, this includes bottles as well.

Upon closer inspection, they were all bottles from various brands of Dukang (a famous Chinese liquor brand).

That's true, beverages don't make as much money as alcohol.

Especially since there aren't many convenience stores nearby, you have to walk several hundred meters to buy a drink.

It might be better during the day, as there are some private convenience stores nearby.

But at this time, only chain convenience stores are still open.

"It's alright, let's start with the skewers," Mo Xiangwen said. "There's always tea, bring us a pot."

The waiter nodded and turned to leave.

After the waiter left, Mo Xiangwen looked at Su Mengyao and chuckled, "Shall we take another walk? They'll be grilling skewers for a while anyway, enough time for us to go buy some drinks."

Su Mengyao, who was feeling a little regretful, blinked and then smiled.

"Ah."

The situation was slightly better than he had expected; there was a 24-hour convenience store less than 300 meters away.

Mo Xiangwen took a 2-liter bottle of Coke from the freezer and placed it at the cashier. When he looked back, Su Mengyao was still squatting in front of the freezer, hesitating.

As Mo Xiangwen approached, he saw a row of canned beer in front of Su Mengyao.

“You like to drink it? Then just take it.” Mo Xiangwen asked, “But you could have bought it over there earlier, it wouldn’t have cost more than a few dollars.”

Upon hearing this, Su Mengyao turned around, looked up at him, and then gently shook her head: "I don't like to drink it."

"Really? I don't like it either." Mo Xiangwen replied casually, "Then why have you been watching it?"

"Because... I just felt a little urge to drink." Su Mengyao seemed embarrassed by her thoughts and stammered, "Look, I'm an adult now. Drinking a little... to escape for a bit, isn't that a bad thing?"

"Okay, no problem." Mo Xiangwen nodded. "I'll do whatever you say tonight."

"...What kind of nonsense is this, 'Everyone listens to me'?" Su Mengyao muttered under her breath, then fell silent again, seemingly deep in thought.

Mo Xiangwen didn't disturb her, but stood quietly beside her.

After a long while, Su Mengyao slowly stood up, shook her head, and said to him hesitantly, "Let's forget about it."

"Then... how about we compromise?"

As Mo Xiangwen spoke, he took two cans of drinks from the freezer next to him and handed one of them to her.

"If you take one bottle and I take one, we'll still be accomplices."

“…Fruit beer?” Su Mengyao’s eyes widened slightly as she looked at him with some surprise.

“Fruit beer is beer, and beer is beer. If you round it up, fruit beer can also be beer.” Mo Xiangwen straightened up and said nonsense with great seriousness: “Don’t worry about the recipe. Just tell me if I’m right or wrong.”

Su Mengyao chuckled and nodded slightly.

When they got back to the barbecue restaurant, their skewers weren't even ready yet. The two chatted for a while before the waiter brought the skewers on a plate.

"Hello, here's your barbecue." The waiter glanced at their drinks on the table, but didn't say much. Instead, he smiled and said, "Some of it is still being grilled. We'll bring it up to you later."

"Okay, thanks for your hard work," Mo Xiangwen said casually.

The waiter nodded slightly, then turned and left.

Mo Xiangwen glanced at Su Mengyao, who was already looking impatient, and said with a soft laugh, "Come on, let's start eating the barbecue."

Su Mengyao nodded vigorously, picked up a skewer of fatty beef and brought it to her mouth, her mouth slightly open... but then she stopped.

"What's wrong?" Mo Xiangwen saw her suddenly stop and thought it was because she ordered mild spicy food. He asked in confusion, "Is it because you can't eat spicy food today? Do you want to order some more?"

"Hmm..." Su Mengyao said hesitantly, "No, that's not it."

Mo Xiangwen was even more confused: "What's wrong? Don't you really like barbecue?"

"I do like you..." Su Mengyao's eyes flickered as she stammered, "but... there's a problem."

"Hmm, what's the problem?"

You're not allowed to laugh when I tell you this.

"Of course, you have to believe me. I've received professional training and I don't usually laugh," Mo Xiangwen said seriously.

"So what if you're laughing!" Su Mengyao glared at him, but still whispered, "Eating barbecue so late, won't you get fat?"

“No,” Mo Xiangwen replied confidently. “What’s so funny about that?”

Why was he so sure? Because he used to often go out for late-night snacks with relatives and friends. He didn't care if others got fat, but he certainly didn't.

Besides, now that we're here, it's not like we'll get fat.

Su Mengyao seemed interested, but then whispered, "But my sister said it would make me fat, so we've never had time to go out for barbecue."

Mo Xiangwen was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's okay, if we're going to get fat, we'll get fat together."

“You’re a boy.” Su Mengyao looked at him with dissatisfaction: “Besides, it would be normal for you to gain another ten pounds.”

Mo Xiangwen sighed and said helplessly, "Miss Su Mengyao is very beautiful and has a very well-proportioned figure. Gaining ten pounds would be no problem for her."

"I don't want to gain ten pounds!" Su Mengyao pouted.

Mo Xiangwen winked at her: "It's okay, we'll gain weight together and lose weight together."

"Really?" For some reason, Su Mengyao felt something was off, and looked at him hesitantly: "Did we agree?"

"Hey, are you going to eat or not? If not, I'll eat it all for you."

Mo Xiangwen made a move to stand up and take all the plates of grilled skewers from in front of her.

Su Mengyao quickly slapped away his mischievous hand and said angrily:

"eat!"

P.S.: Ah, although this part of the story isn't finished yet, it feels like it's almost done, so I'll go lie down for now.

Chapter 158 Changing Oneself

"Come on, cheers!"

"cheers!"

The glasses clinked gently, making a crisp sound.

"Ha—" Su Mengyao tilted her head back and gulped down a large mouthful of fruit beer. The icy liquid slid down her throat, making her let out a rare, hearty sound.

The moment the words left her mouth, she seemed to realize that it was a bit inappropriate, and subconsciously covered her mouth slightly with her free hand, while glancing quickly at Mo Xiangwen out of the corner of her eye.

Seeing that he remained calm and seemed completely unaware of his slight lapse in composure, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Su Mengyao thought for a moment, since it was just her and Xiang Wen here, it wouldn't be a problem to let loose a little, right?

She had barely put down her cup when her eyes were immediately drawn to the skewers of grilled meat on the table, not letting her mouth rest.

She picked up a skewer of grilled chicken wings that looked and smelled delicious, hesitated for a moment, but the temptation of the skewers ultimately overcame her little bit of pride.

She took a small bite and chewed slowly, her cheeks slightly bulging with food, and her eyes narrowed slightly with satisfaction.

Mo Xiangwen rarely saw her so relaxed, even a little greedy, and found it quite amusing. He subconsciously stopped eating his skewers and glanced at her a few more times.

Su Mengyao quickly noticed his gaze, and her chewing speed slowed down involuntarily, her cheeks becoming slightly hot.