"A bar..." Fang Yuan pondered for a moment.
She couldn't remember how many years it had been since she had last visited such a place.
Seeing that Fang Yuan didn't refuse, Jiang Cheng asked casually, "Do you want to go?"
She did want to go.
At her age, Zhou Ying had already grown up and was no longer by her side.
Moreover, after everything she had been through, she didn't have a single best friend she could go shopping with or share things with.
There were many places she wanted to go, but she could only keep those desires buried in her heart; most of the time, she felt a sense of loneliness.
Even though she knew it was a bit inappropriate to go with Jiang Cheng, she couldn't help but ask, "Can I go?"
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng joked, "What if I say you can't?"
Teased by him, Fang Yuan's fingertips instinctively tightened around the soda can. The cold metal pressed against her palm, but it couldn't suppress the heat spreading from her ears to her cheeks.
She looked up and glared at Jiang Cheng, her eyes filled with a hint of reproach and the embarrassment of having her thoughts seen through.
Yet, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly, looking just like a young girl being teased.
"You..." Fang Yuan's voice was as light as a feather, her tone carrying a soft tremble. "If we're not going, then we're not going."
As soon as the words left her mouth, even she was stunned.
How many years had it been?
It felt like she had never spoken to anyone in such a coquettish way before.
When she was with Zhou Ying's father, they had treated each other with the polite respect of guests.
This somewhat charming and naive tone felt foreign even to her own ears.
Jiang Cheng watched her, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.
He suddenly remembered when he was with Zhou Ying.
When she was teased by him, she would also glare at him with that same mix of anger and bashfulness.
The way her eyes curved was practically carved from the same mold.
Holy crap!
They really are mother and daughter!
In a daze, Jiang Cheng spoke up, "I'm just teasing you. If you want to go, then let's go. I'll take you."
Seeing the two of them flirting, Shen An tactfully cleared his throat.
"Then it's a deal, Brother Cheng. I'll go grab a spot first tonight, and you guys can come straight over! I've reserved a booth, definitely the one with the best view."
After saying that, he turned to Fang Yuan and said, "Sister-in-law, I'll be going now. I won't disturb you two any longer."
Seeing Fang Yuan flush red at the title, Jiang Cheng told Shen An to get lost, but internally, he gave him a silent thumbs-up.
Just as Shen An slung the packed Luzhu over his arm and was about to take a step,
A shout suddenly came from the entrance of the alleyway: "Hey! Whose cars are those parked outside? The traffic police are here to issue tickets!"
Shen An's face stiffened, and he cursed, "Holy shit."
His previous cool demeanor vanished instantly. He rushed out clutching his takeout box, shouting, "My car is parked there too! How can there be traffic police in this crappy alley?"
Jiang Cheng and Fang Yuan looked over.
They saw two traffic police officers checking vehicle information with their ticket books.
Shen An rushed over in a few steps, grabbed an officer's arm, and said urgently,
"Officer, don't ticket it! This is my car. I just stopped for a bite to eat, I'm leaving right now!"
The officer turned around, and upon seeing who it was, his expression immediately softened.
His tone also became much more polite: "Oh, it's Young Master Shen."
"Xiao Lin, don't ticket it, don't ticket it, I'm leaving right away..."
Seeing the crowd on the roadside, the two officers awkwardly explained to Shen An, "Young Master Shen, it's not that I'm being cold-hearted, but long-term parking isn't allowed in this alley. All the other cars nearby have been ticketed. If I don't ticket yours, it wouldn't look right to others."
Shen An stiffened his neck and retorted, "It's only been a few minutes!"
The officer smiled helplessly. "Next time. Next time when no one's around, I'll pretend I didn't see anything. No points will be deducted this time, just a two-hundred-yuan fine as a formality."
Both of them knew what kind of person Shen An was.
A well-known local street-wandering Second-generation rich.
Although he had a bit of a big mouth, he wasn't a bad person.
Sometimes when he ate at the roadside and encountered someone in need, he would give them a few hundred yuan.
In the heat of summer, when he saw traffic police on duty, he would often buy them water to drink.
So, two hundred yuan was really nothing to him, and naturally, there was no intention of making things difficult for them.
He just had a big mouth.
"Money isn't the issue, but as soon as I see a ticket, I feel uncomfortable all over. I have OCD," Shen An said, waving his hand nonchalantly.
After saying that, his gaze swept over the surrounding ticketed cars.
He suddenly spotted a black sedan parked not far away and pointed at it in confusion. "Hey? Why wasn't that car ticketed? All of our cars were, why is that one an exception?"
The officer looked in the direction he pointed and said vaguely, "I don't know who that car belongs to, but I didn't dare to ticket it casually."
"Why can't it be ticketed? It looks like a supercar. I want to see whose car it is."
Shen An got serious and approached with a puzzled look.
After taking just two steps and seeing the license plate and car model clearly, his footsteps came to a sudden halt. He raised his hand and slapped himself, cursing, "Fuck."
Wasn't this Jiang Cheng's dark nights sound?
He had only seen a bit of the side earlier and hadn't recognized it.
Both traffic officers couldn't help but laugh after seeing Shen An's reaction.
The two of them proactively approached. "Young Master Shen, do you know the owner of this car?"
"Hey, the two of us were just wondering what the owner looks like. We can't access the information."
He turned back sheepishly and waved his hands at them. "It's nothing, it's nothing. Just pretend I didn't say anything. I'll pay the fine! Don't ask any more questions~"
Without waiting for the officers' reaction, he turned and ran back to the small eatery, rushing to Jiang Cheng's table.
With a look of frustration, he said, "Brother Cheng! I was blind just now. With so many cars, I actually didn't recognize yours. I was even arguing with the traffic police just now. How embarrassing!"
Seeing this, Jiang Cheng patted him on the shoulder. "My mom told me from a young age that I shouldn't make friends with shady people. So, I've always made friends with very silly ones."
Regarding Jiang Cheng's identity, Shen An could only say that he dreamed of having a connection with him.
So when Jiang Cheng mentioned his mother, Shen An listened very intently.
But he really hadn't expected Jiang Cheng to end up saying that.
"Man, Brother Cheng, you... give me some face in front of my Sister-in-law..."
Fang Yuan was amused by Jiang Cheng's words and Shen An's reaction, covering her mouth as she chuckled.
But laughter aside, Shen An's attitude and the details of the parking ticket still left Fang Yuan secretly astonished.
What kind of background did Jiang Cheng have to be such an exception?
After Shen An left, she couldn't help but speak up. "So many cars were ticketed, but yours wasn't? Looking at Shen An's behavior, his family's connections aren't weak either, yet he was still ticketed."
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng spread his hands. "My car has always been the most law-abiding. Why would it be ticketed?"