Chapter 109: Putting on a Brave Front

“Pei Xin, I’ve got it memorized,” Jiang Zheng said.

This time, he truly remembered. He was afraid that if they met again and he forgot, he wouldn’t know what to say.

“Senior, let’s add each other on WeChat,” Pei Xin said, pulling out her phone and waving it.

“Sure,” Jiang Zheng nodded in agreement.

After adding each other as friends, Pei Xin asked, “Senior, are you going to eat?”

“Yeah. Have you eaten? Want to eat together?” Jiang Zheng asked politely.

“Sure! I haven’t eaten yet,” Pei Xin replied happily.

Jiang Zheng was momentarily taken aback. He had only been polite, but now that the words were out, he couldn’t backtrack.

So, he had no choice but to take Pei Xin to eat.

“What do you want to eat?” Jiang Zheng asked on the way.

“I don’t know what’s good near the school. Whatever you want to eat, I’ll eat,” Pei Xin said.

“There are quite a few tasty places near the school, but it depends on personal taste. Do you prefer strong or mild flavors?” Jiang Zheng inquired.

“Either is fine. Since you’re choosing, I’ll eat whatever,” Pei Xin replied.

“Then let’s have fish. I know a place nearby that’s really good at fish dishes, but they’re spicy. If you can’t handle the spice, we can switch,” Jiang Zheng said.

“Let’s just have fish,” Pei Xin agreed.

Jiang Zheng didn’t say more and led Pei Xin to the restaurant.

Originally, he had planned to just eat a bowl of noodles by himself, which was easy to manage. But now, with Pei Xin tagging along, he had no choice but to order differently.

He ordered a three-jin (about 1.5 kg) fish, with free vegetarian dishes and some free fruits.

However, the fruits weren’t very fresh and the variety was limited. The only fruit that caught Jiang Zheng’s interest was watermelon, but it was so popular that the tray emptied within two minutes of being cut.

The kitchen was slow to replenish the watermelon, so after finishing, they had to wait a long time.

The fish wasn’t particularly expensive, and with the broth included, it was affordable for most students.

Restaurants near schools primarily target students, so prices aren’t high. If they were too expensive, most students couldn’t afford them, making survival difficult.

There are many students, and their collective spending power is considerable. Although each purchase isn’t large, the frequency is high.

As a result, there are many restaurants around the school.

With many restaurants comes fierce competition.

To survive this intense competition, they must perfect their flavors.

That’s why restaurants near schools usually offer tasty food at low prices. Some people even drive specifically to eat near these schools.

The fish restaurant Jiang Zheng and Pei Xin came to was like this—many customers weren’t students but came especially for the fish.

Before long, the fish arrived.

Jiang Zheng began eating, finding the flavor just right. He could handle spicy food well.

But Pei Xin, sitting opposite him, took one bite and her face flushed bright red from the spice. She immediately gulped down water.

Seeing this, Jiang Zheng asked, “You can’t handle spicy food?”

“No... it’s... okay... I can... eat,” Pei Xin stammered, struggling to speak clearly.

Jiang Zheng was a bit helpless; she clearly couldn’t handle the spice but was trying to tough it out.

“Waiter!” Jiang Zheng called.

“Bring a portion of crispy pork, no chili, and a serving of fried rice cakes.”

“Coming right up.”

Pei Xin looked at Jiang Zheng with eyes shining.

Then Jiang Zheng poured her a glass of plain water and said, “Dip the fish in the water before eating. It won’t be as spicy.”

“Okay,” Pei Xin nodded vigorously.

She dipped the fish in water, but it was still very spicy for her. Sweat broke out as she struggled to eat, relying on drinks to manage.

When the crispy pork and rice cakes came, Pei Xin seemed to find salvation, especially the rice cakes. Crispy on the outside, soft and fragrant inside, they relieved much of the spice.

Jiang Zheng ate steadily. In the past, he might not have finished three jin of fish, but now he could easily finish it alone.

As his physical condition improved, so did his appetite.

After eating, Pei Xin’s lips were bright red, as if she had applied the most vivid lipstick.

“Next time, I’ll take you to something milder,” Jiang Zheng said.

“Senior, next time I’ll treat you,” Pei Xin smiled.

“We’ll see,” Jiang Zheng replied.

They walked back together, chatting a lot—mostly Pei Xin talking while Jiang Zheng listened.

She complained about the hardships of military training and shared funny mishaps from others during training.

Like a chirping little bird.

Back at the school, Jiang Zheng said goodbye to Pei Xin and returned to the dormitory.

When he arrived, Yu Qingkui was already there; only Yang Po hadn’t returned yet.

Zhou Quanyi was watching a livestream, occasionally laughing.

Jiang Zheng chatted briefly with others, then came up behind Zhou Quanyi and said, “Boss, watching livestreams again?”

“Yeah, I find them pretty interesting,” Zhou Quanyi said.

He had watched a few livestreams before but found them dull and a waste of his gaming time.

But after watching one yesterday, he realized livestreams could be quite entertaining. With no games available now, he started watching more.

“Being a streamer makes money easily. I’m even thinking about becoming one.”

At that moment, Wang Bing suddenly spoke.

“Streaming can make good money, but not everyone can do it. You need an interesting style and viewers to earn. Many streamers only get the minimum wage,” Zhou Quanyi said.

“That’s still good. If you get lucky and go viral, you’re set for life,” Wang Bing said.

Zhou Quanyi shook his head. “It’s not as rosy as you think. You see the successful ones, but countless streamers struggle to make ends meet.”

Pausing, he continued, “If you want to make money, I think selling products live is quite profitable.”

“The livestream selling scene is chaotic now. Even big influencers often have quality issues with their products, not to mention smaller streamers,” Jiang Zheng said.

“Yes, it’s messy mainly because of uneven quality among streamers and lax product selection standards,” Zhou Quanyi nodded.

“To me, it’s mostly because some people lose their conscience. They call viewers ‘family’ and constantly talk about perks, but when you buy, it’s a pile of junk that’s even more expensive than on shopping sites,” Wang Bing said.

“That’s true, but that’s how they make money,” Zhou Quanyi shrugged.

“Enough about that. Fifth Brother, you play guitar so well; you could try livestreaming yourself playing and singing,” Jiang Zheng said.

Wang Bing shook his head. “I don’t have that talent.”

“How do you know if you don’t try?” Jiang Zheng smiled.

Wang Bing looked thoughtful at Jiang Zheng’s words.