The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 213 - 206: The Changes of Gao Qing and Wu Zhengran

Chapter 213: Chapter 206: The Changes of Gao Qing and Wu Zhengran

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, while couples were going out together, even Wu Zhengran had run into Gao Qing at the door.

Lu Jingqiu was peacefully painting in her study at home.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, traditionally spent visiting her maternal family, Lu Jingqiu still stayed in the study, playing with Hua Hua, and then painting.

This time, Jingqiu was working on an illustrated book called "The Coat That Wasn’t Afraid of Cold."

It told the story of an old Red Army soldier and a young Red Army soldier helping each other, braving difficulties, and persevering to victory. It was not a long story-just twelve pages. Lu Jingqiu had only made the drafts and these days, inspired, she was expressing everything she wanted to express.

For fear of forgetting in a few days, she stayed on this task until the sixth day when Gao Qing said a new movie had come out and asked her to go watch it.

Lu Jingqiu thought that after staying home for so many days, it was time to go out and have fun.

The two of them chose the afternoon showing, only to find out that Wu Zhengran was also there.

Just as she was wondering about it, Wu Zhengran greeted them with a smile and handed over two bags of sunflower seeds, "Jingqiu, long time no see. I was hoping to meet you before the New Year, but it seems like you disappeared; I didn’t even catch a glimpse of you."

Lu Jingqiu quickly responded, "I’ve been at home, not going out much."

Having said that, she glanced at Gao Qing, who said awkwardly, "Wu Zhengran told me his friend had a lot of movie tickets that didn’t sell out, so he asked his friends to help out a bit, just as long as he doesn’t lose his shirt. I thought the tickets were cheap, so I came." After speaking, she whispered in Lu Jingqiu’s ear, "After all, Wu Zhengran helped me, and now he asked for my assistance, how could I refuse to help?"

Lu Jingqiu nodded vigorously, agreeing.

She didn’t know whether Gao Qing truly was unaware of such tactics or just pretended to be.

In any case, with this unspoken understanding, Wu Zhengran was enjoying himself, and Gao Qing didn’t seem to mind.

Lu Jingqiu felt that Wu Zhengran had found a path very well suited to him on the road to pursuing a wife.

At that time, the movie theater was packed in every showing with young workers off for the holiday, educated youths returning from the countryside to visit relatives, and students on break.

The movie tickets were not failing to sell at all but impossible to snatch up.

After the movie, Wu Zhengran said his brother had just opened a new restaurant and wanted to boost his friend’s business: "I’ll treat today. Don’t be polite, think of it as a classmate reunion. I’ll also show you the place, and later, I might ask you to take care of my brother’s business."

Gao Qing said, "Sure, but I’m not often in West City, so it’ll be my Jingqiu who’ll have to take care of his business in the future."

Wu Zhengran quickly added, "Jingqiu, you’ll have to help introduce it to others."

Lu Jingqiu readily said, "Classmate Wu, as long as your friend’s culinary skills are good, I guarantee to spread the word whenever I meet someone."

Wu Zhengran laughed, "Let’s go, let’s go, I’ll take you there. It’s right next to the steel factory."

Wu Zhengran rode a bike ahead, and she followed together with Gao Qing on another bike.

At a spot right next to the steel factory gate, a door had been opened directly through the wall of the factory, leading into a newly built brick and tile house.

The restaurant wasn’t large, with six or seven tables set up, and there were already three tables of people eating.

Upon entering, Wu Zhengran went straight to the counter and called out, "Old Yang, I’m here!"

The young man called Old Yang, wearing an apron, hurried out from the kitchen, "Brother Wu, you’ve arrived. What would you like to eat today?"

"Prepare a few of your special dishes. I’ve brought my classmates over, so make it tasty. Both of my classmates are from West City. If they like the taste, they’ll surely come back often."

Old Yang, upon hearing this, laughed and said, "Don’t worry, Brother Wu, if you’re doing publicity for me, I definitely won’t let you lose face."

"Qingqing, Jingqiu, this is my buddy, Yang Min, Old Yang, and these are our classmates, Gao Qing and Lu Jingqiu. From now on, anyone who comes here is one of us."

"Comrade Gao, Comrade Lu, next time you come, just give me a shout, and as we’re all friends here, I’ll throw in an extra dish or a few more buns, and we won’t even charge for it."

Lu Jingqiu smiled and said, "Comrade Yang, don’t be so formal with us. We’ll definitely be regulars in the future. We’re all in business, so don’t feel obligated to treat us, just charge what’s due as long as the food is good."

"Definitely, Brother Wu, Comrade Gao, Comrade Lu, please take a seat, your dishes will be ready in no time."

Wu Zhengran led the two of them to a window seat and handed them each a bottle of old-fashioned yogurt to tide them over.

Gao Qing looked at the yogurt and said, "Your friend has yogurt here too."

Wu Zhengran replied, "Someone in his family works at a dairy station, so they drop some off here when making deliveries. This yogurt also attracts quite a few customers."

Lu Jingqiu asked, "How long has your friend been open here?"

"He opened just before the New Year, and business was especially good when he first started. Every day, he’d sell out of ingredients by noon. If it weren’t for the difficulty in getting rice and meat, he’d be selling even more."

Wu Zhengran gestured a number, which left Gao Qing stunned. Once she realized what he meant, she whispered, "Ten?"

Wu Zhengran burst into laughter, quickly leaned forward, and whispered, "One hundred."

Gao Qing was clearly shocked, disbelief written all over her face, "From items that cost just a few dimes or nickels, you mean to tell me he can make a hundred in a day? Don’t kid me."

"I’m telling the truth," he said.

As Lu Jingqiu watched the two of them whispering together, she suddenly realized that maybe, due to Xue Jianian’s early arrival, Gao Qing and Wu Zhengran had already changed some things.

In Gao Qing’s encounters with Wei Jincheng, her kind warnings had kept her from falling in too deep, and Xue Jianian’s appearance had opened Gao Qing’s eyes to Wei Jincheng’s true face.

So now, Gao Qing’s heart wasn’t preoccupied with anyone, and if the two of them ended up together like in their previous life, perhaps things would be different this time.

"Qiuqiu, Qiuqiu, what are you thinking about? I’ve been calling you for a while now."

"Ah, nothing, I was just thinking that these days, it seems like any business can make good money."

Wu Zhengran said with a smile, "Right, you think so too, Jingqiu? Look at us in West City, opening a restaurant gets so many customers. If it were in Capital City, opening a restaurant, wouldn’t it be even crazier? Over there in Capital City, there are already several restaurants with long queues every day."

Gao Qing asked, "What, you’re jealous?"

Wu Zhengran replied, "Yeah, I’ve been thinking of starting one, but unfortunately, I can’t cook, and finding a shop location is tough."

Lu Jingqiu knew Wu Zhengran came from a well-off family and wasn’t one to settle for the status quo. In his previous life, he had worked at a printing factory for two years after graduation before starting a business with educational materials. She smiled and said, "It’s not just restaurants that make money nowadays, comic books are pretty popular too."

Wu Zhengran commented, "Comic books, huh? Guys in our dorm like those too."

Gao Qing added, "We girls like them as well, but it’s too expensive to buy new issues every day."

Lu Jingqiu suggested, "You can’t buy every single book, but you can rent them, right?"

Wu Zhengran asked, "Rent? What do you mean?"