Lu Haoran lowered his head without speaking, but it seemed like he really didn't dare to ask her out.

Waiting any longer and Xiaoyanzi would log off, so Su Zelin had to step in himself.

He opened Tang Yan's QQ chat window.

Born Handsome: "Xiaoyanzi, it's so hot today, come and treat your bro to milk tea [licking lips]"

Lu Haoran was utterly stunned.

You can be this direct?

No need for preludes, just straight to the point.

He couldn't help but ask, "Zelin, shouldn't we say hi to her first? And we're the ones going to treat her to milk tea, why are we asking her to treat us instead?"

"What do you know?"

Su Zelin snorted, "Haoran, let me tell you, the more you're chatting with friends, the less you need meaningless chit-chat!"

"Things like 'hi' and 'are you there?' only create distance!"

"As for why she should treat us, that's called taking the initiative. By suddenly throwing out a line like this, Xiaoyanzi will definitely not be happy, then when we reverse and offer to treat her instead, she'll naturally be delighted and won't be able to refuse!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the purple short-haired avatar moved.

Xiaoyanzi: "Why should I treat you to milk tea just because it's hot [staring eyes]"

Lu Haoran was completely convinced.

Just now he chatted with Xiaoyanzi, and she hadn't replied in ages.

Turns out it really is about technique, he just didn't have the right approach!

With Zelin, everything was under control.

Born Handsome: "Just because we're friends. Is it that hard to treat a friend to milk tea? Do you not consider me a friend? Could it be our three-year friendship is worth less than a small cup of milk tea?"

Three questions to the soul, Su Zelin was righteously justified.

Walk a woman's path, leaving women with no path to walk.

Xiaoyanzi: "Pfft, don't make it sound like I'm a miser. Didn't I treat you to soda for a whole week?"

Born Handsome: "That was because you lost a bet, it doesn't count!"

Xiaoyanzi: "In any case, I already treated then, if you want milk tea now, you have to treat, plus you're a guy [knocking on head]"

Born Handsome: "What's wrong with being a guy, are guys born to lose out? Rage is real cold! Don't you always talk about gender equality; how come it's not equal now?"

Tang Yan has a slight tendency to advocate, but fortunately, her skills aren't deep.

And it doesn't work on Su Zelin, the rascal knows too well how to counter it.

Xiaoyanzi: "I don't care, this time it's your turn to treat!"

No matter how sharp Tang Yan's tongue was, in front of Su Zelin's three-inch unwavering tongue, she had to admit defeat, couldn't out-argue and simply went for the tantrum.

"In any case," "I don't care," "anyway" are all essential phrases for unreasonable tantrums, Xiaoyanzi thoroughly understood the essence.

Unfortunately, she had no idea she fell for the rascal's trick, being led by the nose.

Born Handsome: "You women are just like saying one thing but meaning another, next time don't talk to me about any nonsense gender equality, or I'll be mad! Sigh, in the end, it's I who bore it all alone, let me begrudgingly treat you this time, since I'm free today, wait a bit, opportunity doesn't last!"

Xiaoyanzi: "Yay, you should treat [peace sign]"

Born Handsome: "It's me and Haoran, you can bring a companion, but let's be clear, only girls [cheeky grin]"

Xiaoyanzi: "As if I'd bring guys to mooch your milk tea, wait a sec, I'll borrow the admin's phone to ask if Shiqing is free!"

Born Handsome: "Hurry up, bro's time is precious!"

Xiaoyanzi: "Alright, got it, Mr. Su, so busy all day!"

A short while later.

Xiaoyanzi: "Shiqing's at home, she said she's free!"

Born Handsome: "Okay, it's settled then, I'm logging off, see you at Ice Beauty!"

Ending the chat with Xiaoyanzi, Su Zelin exhaled a smoke ring, hiding his achievements and fame.

"Haoran, did you learn from this?"

"Learned!"

Lu Haoran gave a thumbs up.

Originally, asking a girl out, especially an angry one, is quite a passive situation, but his good buddy managed to take the initiative.

Xiaoyanzi had no idea she was set up, and was even happily thinking she got the better end.

That's some high-level technique, a few stories high!

Maybe I should try this next time?

Uh, better not, after all, I'm not Zelin.

…

Ice Beauty, an old ice drink shop in Jianglan City.

"Remember, Haoran, later don't mention that matter, and don't show any regret, just drink and chat as usual, as if nothing happened, at most be a little attentive, help get the milk tea, make it a fun time for everyone, and the unpleasantness will naturally fade away!"

Su Zelin instructed patiently, in case Lu Haoran messed things up.

"Then when it's almost time to leave, I'll trick you into picking up the tab..."

He said up to this point, and Lu Haoran got puzzled.

"Uh, Zelin, why would you trick me, I was planning to pay anyway!"

"Haoran, you're so naive, I'm pretending to trick you, it was originally my treat, but it turns into you paying, Xiaoyanzi definitely won't sit well with that and will speak up for you, but if you insist on paying, it shifts the conflict, and your righteous image will be established."

Su Zelin explained patiently.

The honest man suddenly understood: "So that's how it is, but if you do that, you'll be the bad guy, won't Xiaoyanzi get mad at you?"

"It's fine, I'm a bad guy to begin with, it doesn't matter, moreover, how few times have I made Xiaoyanzi mad? And in the end, aren't we still good friends?"

Su Zelin laughed.

Lu Haoran thought to himself, that's true, Su Zelin often annoys Xiaoyanzi, but it blows over quickly.

"Anyway, Zelin, you're really taking one for the team."

"Oh, why talk about this, women are like clothes, brothers are like arms and legs, who allows someone like me, Su, to value friends over romance, honor above all!"

His words made Little Cute feel very touched.

Zelin might be a bit wild, but when it comes to friends, he truly leaves nothing to be desired.

"Here they come, Haoran, remember to act accordingly!"

Sure enough, Qin Shiqing and Tang Yan walked into the ice drink shop, chatting and laughing.

Xiaoyanzi was waiting for her sister, which caused some delay.

"Shiqing, Xiaoyanzi, you're here!"

Lu Haoran quickly took the initiative to greet them.

The smile on Xiaoyanzi's face instantly cooled, and she turned her head away without answering.

Qin Shiqing keenly sensed her mood change and couldn't help but find it strange.

Did Lu Haoran annoy Xiaoyanzi?

His temper is so good, it shouldn't be!

It's more like something Su Zelin would do, but since Xiaoyanzi agreed to come out for milk tea, and it was Zelin who invited her, it means there's no problem between them.

After thinking for a moment, she understood the reason.

If there are no surprises, it should be because of the childhood friend's briefing to Lu Haoran.

Qin Shiqing didn't find anything strange about it. Ever since she helped Granny Su with a major cleanup, clearing out Su Zelin's place, and found a few colorful VCDs under his bed, her tolerance for such things has been quite high.

So Qin Shiqing just smiled and said, "Sorry, did we keep you waiting?"

"It's okay, we..."

"We only waited for less than twenty minutes."

Su Zelin interrupted Lu Haoran, quickly speaking up.

Uh, didn't we just arrive?

The honest guy was confused again.

His buddy claimed that Xiaoyanzi would certainly wait for Qin Shiqing, and wouldn't arrive so quickly. He lingered online for another ten minutes after multiple prompts before logging off and entering the cold drink shop. He hadn't even warmed his seat yet, so by calculation, it was definitely less than five minutes.

"You guys are something, you said you would log off immediately and come over. Offering a friend a cup of milk tea and you had to put on airs, right!"

Su Zelin slapped the table.

Still adhering to that tactic of turning the tables.

As long as the girls feel guilty, they naturally wouldn't get angry.

As for waiting three minutes.

Three minutes is indeed less than twenty minutes!

No problem with that!

"I'm really sorry, Xiaoyanzi was waiting for me, that's why we're late!"

Qin Shiqing took the blame.

"Su Zelin, Shiqing came out from her home, she can't fly. You guys are men, what's wrong with waiting a bit longer? So stingy!"

While explaining, the stern face of Xiaoyanzi visibly softened a bit.

Su Zelin didn't say a word.

I've played the bad cop long enough, now it's time for the good cop to take the stage.

"Zelin, it wasn't intentional. There was a reason for it, and besides, Xiaoyanzi has a point. We're men, what's the harm in waiting a bit longer?"

Lu Haoran mediated.

"Alright, alright, since Haoran said so, I'll forgive you!"

Su Zelin generously waved his hand.

With this comparison, Xiaoyanzi suddenly found Lu Haoran much more agreeable.

"See what you guys want to drink, ladies first."

Lu Haoran carefully followed the instructions of Su Zelin, the sly strategist, handing the drink menu to the two girls.

"Milk tea, vanilla!"

"I want chocolate flavor!"

Qin Shiqing and Tang Yan quickly made their decisions.

So Xiaoyanzi likes chocolate milk tea.

Lu Haoran secretly noted it down.

Should I get the same as her?

No, doing so would seem too indecisive.

After some thought, Lu Haoran ordered a red bean drink, while Su Zelin chose Yuenyeung, adding a certain amount of coffee to the milk tea—a practice from Hong Kong Island, but rarely ordered by students.

Su Zelin's tastes aren't fixed. For instance, when drinking milk tea, he would try all the varieties he hadn't tasted before, and getting something different each time reflects his penchant for novelty in everyday life.

"Xiaoyanzi, speaking of which, we haven't seen each other for a few days. What have you been up to during the summer vacation?"

Su Zelin proactively changed the topic.

"What could I be doing? Mostly staying at home all day, occasionally going out shopping with Shiqing. Our activities aren't as rich as yours and Lu Haoran's!"

Although the two sang good cop/bad cop to ease the atmosphere, Xiaoyanzi still seemed a bit resentful, hinting at something else.

Qin Shiqing secretly laughed to herself. Actually, the real culprit here is Zelin, but Xiaoyanzi apparently couldn't do much about him, so she could only vent her anger on Lu Haoran.

If it had been Lu Haoran, he wouldn't have been able to handle it.

But Su Zelin wasn't an honest person; he pretended not to understand and even countered: "How could it be so boring? I see you online every day, often not responding to greetings. Probably busy flirting with handsome guys online!"

"You're the one who's flirting, Su Zelin. I'm not like you, adding all sorts of random friends! And how could I not respond to you, do I type as fast as you, you old online roamer?"

Xiaoyanzi huffed and puffed.

Actually, Su Zelin was psychologically hinting to her.

In the future, when Lu Haoran sends her messages, she wouldn't ignore them out of anger; otherwise, she'd be slandered by the jerk as "busy online flirting with handsome guys."

"Nonsense, I don't have random friends. I'm just talking about life and ideals with people online!"

Su Zelin said with a straight face.

"Heh!"

Xiaoyanzi sneered, thinking to herself, "As if I'd believe you!"

This guy is already flirty enough usually; with QQ, this lethal tool, he'd be even more at ease, unrestrained.

Lu Haoran wiped his brow too; if he hadn't personally seen Su Zelin flirting simultaneously with multiple female online friends, casually avoiding calling them "little cutie," "little sweetie," or "little darling," he would have believed him.

This little gag made Xiaoyanzi forget about accusing the two of them going to an internet cafe to watch educational films, averting a crisis invisibly.

Lu Haoran admired him so much he could bow down to him.

Zelin really is a master at defusing tension. Luckily, he brought him along; if he had arranged to meet Xiaoyanzi alone, even if she agreed, it would probably end badly.

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