Chapter 41

While eating the egg fried rice, Zhang Qiu got the contact information of the two girls. He also transferred three months' rent, 1,500 yuan, to Ye Zhuyun via Alipay, without paying a deposit. It was only then that Ye Zhuyun remembered to hand over a set of keys to Zhang Qiu, giving him the keys she had prepared long ago. The completion of this ritual meant that Zhang Qiu officially became a tenant of the house.

While eating the egg fried rice, Zhang Qiu took out the Charm Peach Treasure again and observed the red aura above the heads of the two girls. To his surprise, after eating the egg fried rice, Ye Zhuyun had a strand of red aura, as thick as a red thread, that automatically entangled with his own red aura.

This was a spontaneous entanglement, not a forced one by the Charm Peach Treasure. The entangled red aura gradually increased over time, though the increase was minimal, it was indeed increasing. If the red aura was forcibly entangled by the Charm Peach Treasure, it would decrease over time and would never increase.

Indeed, the saying "if you capture a girl's stomach, you capture her heart" is very true. Because of a bowl of egg fried rice, Ye Zhuyun, a beauty at the provincial level, actually developed spontaneous affection for him, a man with only county-level charm.

This was a small step, but also the beginning of a new era. Zhang Qiu, with his enhanced personal charm through skill reinforcement, began to truly take effect.

"I cooked for you, so I shouldn't have to wash the bowl, right? This great and glorious task should be left to you." After the three of them finished all the egg fried rice, Zhang Qiu said with a smile.

However, the expected struggle did not appear in the two girls. They accepted this fact, making Zhang Qiu inwardly sigh at their diligence.

Since he was already allowed to move in, Zhang Qiu decided not to leave. He had to stay and sleep here for the night. If he didn't sleep tonight, he wouldn't have another chance until next week, as he had to return to school for classes on Sunday night, and as a boarding student, he had no reason to stay out overnight.

However, in the room assigned to Zhang Qiu, there was only a single bed without any bedding.

He originally planned to buy some on the spot, but Zhang Qiu suddenly had an idea and decided to take advantage of Ye Zhuyun.

This foodie girl had already been won over by his cooking and developed spontaneous affection for him. Affection doesn't last forever, so he had to take advantage of it while she still had feelings for him.

It might not sound good to say "take advantage," but that's the gist of it, and everyone understands.

So, when Yu Fei went to take a shower, Zhang Qiu said to Ye Zhuyun, "Xiao Zhu, my bed doesn't have any bedding, so I was thinking about tonight..."

"Ah! No way!" Before he could finish, Ye Zhuyun crossed her arms and screamed, sternly rejecting Zhang Qiu, "I'm not that kind of person! You can't stay in my room."

Uh... What's going on? Girl, your imagination is too wild!

"Uh, it's not what you think. I just wanted to ask if you have any extra bedding. If you do, can you lend me a set?" Zhang Qiu was a bit embarrassed. As a man, he could be so pure, even outshining girls.

"Oh! I see! Sure, I do have extra bedding. I used to cover myself with two blankets, but with the recent warmer weather, I only need one. I can lend you the top one!" Ye Zhuyun didn't show any signs of embarrassment or blushing for saying something wrong.

This made Zhang Qiu unsure if the girl was too pure or too calm. Hey, foodie, do you know what you just said? Do you know what it means for two people to share a room? How can you be so calm!

The girl immediately went into her room and quickly packed a blanket, handing it to Zhang Qiu.

Zhang Qiu took the blanket and immediately felt the strong scent of the girl, which was very comfortable.

"This is a blanket the girl has used!" Zhang Qiu couldn't help but shiver, trying to act calm as he carried the blanket into the room.

That night, Zhang Qiu tossed and turned, his blood boiling, unable to sleep soundly. He just wanted to keep touching the blanket filled with a special scent.

After exhausting his energy, he finally fell asleep, dreaming of sleeping on a beautiful girl's bed.

The next day, Zhang Qiu woke up very late. When he got up, he found that the two girls had already left. Zhang Qiu went downstairs to buy a set of toiletries, washed up, and then went out. It was already close to eleven. Just as he was about to go for lunch, he suddenly received a text message from Ning Lan.

"Brother Qiu, are you free now?"

Zhang Qiu immediately replied, "I'm free. Do you have something to do?"

"If you're free, come to No. 168 Pedestrian Street right away and treat me to a big meal. I'll introduce a beautiful girl to you!"

"Wow... How many of you?"

"We are three, shopping. Me and Chen Lan, and another beautiful girl, the one in my phone, you should remember her, right?"

Zhang Qiu's face darkened, and he immediately replied, "I haven't seen your phone album, I don't know."

"Oh, don't be shy! Forget it, I don't care if you've seen it or not. Are you coming? This is a great opportunity, don't waste it. We are still shopping on Pedestrian Street. If you get there, you can choose a seat first. Don't let the beautiful girl wait for you, or you'll miss your chance."

"Okay, I'll come over." Zhang Qiu thought, what's going on? Why does it feel like I'm being set up for a blind date?

He took a taxi and arrived at the entrance of Pedestrian Street in about ten minutes. He looked at the door numbers on both sides of the street and roughly figured out where No. 168 Pedestrian Street was.

When he arrived, he found it was a self-service barbecue restaurant.

As soon as he entered, someone asked how many people were with him. Zhang Qiu said four, and asked for a private room. The waiter said there were no private rooms, so Zhang Qiu followed the waiter and chose a seat by the window.

This barbecue restaurant operated on a self-service model, charging per person, 168 yuan each, with free selection of all items except seafood. Tea, drinks, and seafood were charged separately.

Zhang Qiu paid for four people and then called Ning Lan, "Lan Lan, I'm here and have reserved a seat. Where are you now?"

"We are already at the entrance. Which table are you at?"

"Table 27, by the window. Ask the waiter, and they'll show you!"

"Okay, I'll hang up now!"

A minute later, Zhang Qiu saw Ning Lan and immediately waved, "Lan Lan, over here."

Behind Ning Lan were two girls about her age. One was Ning Lan, and the other was taller and more fashionably dressed, looking familiar to Zhang Qiu, but her face was initially blocked by Ning Lan.

When her face was fully revealed to Zhang Qiu, he was suddenly stunned, "It's you?"

The girl was also surprised, "It's actually you, Zhang Qiu!"

This girl was none other than Zhang Qiu's new landlord, the cute girl Ye Zhuyun. Today, she was dressed fashionably, showing off her youthful beauty. Although her cuteness had decreased, her beauty had increased, making her the most eye-catching of the three girls.

Any of the three girls would attract attention in a crowd, and now with three of them gathered and having a date with a man, they attracted even more attention.

Envious, jealous, and even hateful gazes were directed at Zhang Qiu.

However, Zhang Qiu was not concerned with these gazes at the moment. He was still in shock that the girl was Ye Zhuyun.

"Do you two know each other?" Ning Lan was also surprised. She and Chen Lan had planned to introduce Ye Zhuyun to Zhang Qiu, but she didn't expect them to already know each other. When did this happen? How did she not know?

Suddenly, she felt as if something had hit her heart, making her feel that Brother Qiu was suddenly far away from her.

"We just met yesterday. I was looking for a place to store things and found Xiao Zhu's place, so I rented it," Zhang Qiu said.

"Then you two are living together?" Ning Lan asked in surprise.

"Come, come, come, let's sit down first." Zhang Qiu, sensing many hostile gazes, quickly changed the subject.

Ning Lan originally planned to sit with Chen Lan to give Ye Zhuyun and Zhang Qiu a chance to sit together, but after learning they already knew each other, she subconsciously sat next to Zhang Qiu.

After sitting down, Zhang Qiu said, "Ning Lan, you said Xiao Zhu is the girl in your phone album. I don't see the resemblance!"

"You said you haven't seen the album, right?" Ning Lan pouted.

Zhang Qiu laughed, "I just took a quick look to see who I would be meeting."

"Hehe, you mean that photo! I still remember it. The hairstyle is different, so it feels different. Plus, the phone's pixel quality is low, and the screen is small. I don't even recognize myself much!" Ye Zhuyun, understanding what they were talking about, also joined in with a smile.

So that's it! Zhang Qiu suddenly understood. In the photo, Ye Zhuyun didn't have a fringe, but now she had a straight fringe, which made her look different. As the saying goes, a fringe can change one's appearance.

Many girls look very beautiful or very cute with a fringe, but without it, they can look quite different.

So there's a saying in the world: only a true beauty can pull off a ponytail.

Zhang Qiu took out his phone, opened the photo, and compared it again. This time, he could clearly see the similarity in her features.

After looking, Zhang Qiu couldn't help but smile, "Xiao Zhu is indeed a true beauty! She looks so beautiful even without a fringe!"

Ye Zhuyun smiled but didn't respond. Chen Lan also smiled, but Ning Lan's expression seemed off.

Zhang Qiu felt the atmosphere was a bit strange and quickly changed the subject, "I don't know what you like to eat, so I haven't ordered any seafood yet. I've only paid for the seats. Now, everyone can go pick what they want. If you want to drink something, you can ask the waiter to take your order."

Before the three girls could respond, a provocative voice came from nearby, "So you're a poor guy! If you can't afford seafood, just say so! How dare you monopolize such beautiful girls! Girls, why don't you leave that poor guy and come with me? You can eat as much seafood as you want and drink as much red wine as you like! Isn't that better than following that poor guy to eat grilled vegetables?"