Chapter 25 - She's not a vain woman

The stretch from the Bund to Renmin Road is the heart of Shanghai's never-sleeping city, where many shops stay open till dawn.Lu Liang wandered around with Li Manli and actually found a Japanese restaurant that operated until midnight."Is it good?" Lu Liang ordered a bowl of ramen, watching as Li Manli's table was filled with all kinds of sushi.Li Manli took a bite of the tuna sushi, her face twisting into a grimace. "Why isn't it as good as I imagined?""Haven't you had it before?" Lu Liang asked."No, I just kept hearing people rave about how amazing it was, so I've been dying to try it."Li Manli took another bite of grilled eel and whispered hesitantly, "Is it just me? It tastes kind of bad."The teriyaki sauce was cloyingly sweet, and the rice balls were cold—cold rice balls were the main reason she could never get used to this stuff."It's not you. People who aren't used to it will definitely find it unpleasant."Lu Liang slurped a mouthful of ramen, only to be hit with a strong whiff of pork gaminess. He seriously doubted the pig had been castrated.He pulled Li Manli to her feet. "Let's stop eating this. C'mon, I'll take you to something really tasty."Li Manli looked stunned. "We're just gonna leave all this food?"She hadn't ordered that much, but she'd glanced at the menu earlier—this meal alone cost over 800 yuan."It tastes terrible. Why bother finishing it?"After settling the bill, Lu Liang smiled and asked, "Or do you want to pack it up for a midnight snack?"Li Manli shook her head so hard she looked like a rattle-drum. "No way."It was nearly midnight when the two arrived at Riverside Restaurant.Lu Liang had ordered takeout from here a few times—their casserole porridge was absolutely divine, made with fresh and abundant ingredients.They ordered a double serving of blood eel casserole porridge, a steamed red sea bream, and a plate of stir-fried pea shoots with preserved eggs.Blood eel cost over 400 yuan a jin, making the per capita cost about the same as the Japanese restaurant—but the taste was leagues better.No matter how well you preserved frozen seafood, it could never compare to freshly killed and prepared ingredients."Delicious, right?"Lu Liang loved the stir-fried pea shoots with preserved eggs here—the preserved eggs tasted like they'd been fried in palm oil, giving them a unique smoky aroma."So good! This and this are both amazing!" Li Manli slurped down the porridge greedily, her stomach bulging out slightly.Suddenly realizing how unladylike she looked, she quickly sucked in her stomach and sat up straight, saying primly, "I'm full."Lu Liang chuckled. Just then, his phone rang—it was Meng Changkun, inviting him to play tennis tomorrow morning.Lu Liang happened to have something he wanted to ask Meng Changkun's advice on, so he agreed, and they set a time and place."Tomorrow's the weekend—do you still have to work?" Li Manli asked softly, her mood dipping a little."It's not work, just a bit of exercise and fun. Do you want to come play tennis with us tomorrow?"Li Manli's face lit up at the invitation, but then she hesitated. "But I don't know how to play.""Neither do I. We're just gonna mess around for fun." Lu Liang had already figured out Li Manli's personality.Her thoughts were easy to read—whenever she said "but," it meant she actually wanted to go, she just needed a little push."What time?" Li Manli asked."Half past nine.""Then I need to go home early to sleep, or I'll never get up tomorrow morning.""Stay at my place tonight. I've got a few spare rooms—you can pick whichever one you like."Lu Liang said it casually, as if he was just letting Li Manli crash for the night with no ulterior motives.Li Manli hung her head, her voice coming out in a tiny, mosquito-like mumble: "Okay."After finishing their late-night snack, Lu Liang took Li Manli to a 24-hour mall to walk around.He bought her several sets of clothes to change into, plus all the daily toiletries she'd need.The total cost came to over 30,000 yuan.By the time they got back to his place, it was past one in the morning.Li Manli hugged her armful of shopping bags and scurried into the guest room at the far end of the hallway.Even though she'd only been here once before, she'd found herself thinking about that visit often.Because Tomson Riviera was the most upscale and luxurious residential complex she'd ever set foot in in her life.She remembered the layout of the rooms clearly—she knew which was the master bedroom, which were the secondary bedrooms, and which were the guest rooms."Get some rest early, so we can get up bright and early tomorrow."Lu Liang knocked gently on her door, not playing any childish games like hovering outside without going in.The fact that Li Manli had agreed to come out for a late-night snack and stay over at his place was practically the same as her stripping down for him.But she'd just turned eighteen and was still quite shy, not as forward as Zhang Qian. Lu Liang was willing to take his time and play along with her little charade."Okay~"Li Manli stood quietly behind the door, her voice trembling slightly. She hadn't locked the door—she was already mentally prepared.After a long while, she heard no more movement outside. Cautiously, she opened the door and tiptoed over to Lu Liang's master bedroom.Through the door, she heard the soft sound of his snoring. A twinge of disappointment tugged at her heart. "Dummy... I even came home with you."But the disappointment quickly turned to excitement. She tiptoed into the spacious living room and started dancing, then walked out onto the balcony to enjoy the night view.She pulled out the iPhone 6 Lu Liang had given her and snapped photo after photo of the Bund across the river.Li Manli carefully framed her shots. She wanted to take a picture that wouldn't explicitly say she was staying at Tomson Riviera, but would make people guess.After a lot of effort, she finally found the perfect angle at the end of the balcony.In the distance to the left was the Bund; to the right stood the Oriental Pearl Tower. She gazed dreamily into the distance, captioning the photo: "The moon is beautiful tonight."Li Manli hit send—but deliberately blocked Lu Liang from seeing it. She didn't want him to think she was a vain girl.Within minutes, her Moments feed was blowing up with messages. Soon enough, people were guessing that she was staying at Tomson Riviera in Shanghai.With the Bund in the distance, the Oriental Pearl Tower nearby, and the fact that she was in a high-rise apartment—they might as well have spelled out the answer for everyone.Back in her room, Li Manli lay on the soft bed, scrolling through her friends' envious comments and rolling around in excitement.She even video-called a few of her best girlfriends, showing off the gorgeous, spacious room...The next morning, around eight o'clock, Lu Liang knocked on her door. Li Manli emerged with faint dark circles under her eyes.He'd cooked breakfast himself—two plates of buttered toast. "What kept you up so late last night?""Nothing much... I just couldn't sleep in a new bed." Li Manli avoided his gaze, feeling guilty. She'd stayed up chatting with her girlfriends until almost dawn."Why don't you go back to sleep? I can go alone and pick you up in the afternoon." Lu Liang said, concerned."I pull all-nighters all the time, I'm used to it. Look—my dark circles are already gone."Li Manli quickly brushed her bangs aside. The faint dark circles she'd had when she first woke up were now almost invisible."Being young is great, isn't it?" Lu Liang sighed, remembering how he used to survive on just a few hours of sleep a night back in the day.But as he'd gotten older, even though he could still pull all-nighters, his body would feel terrible the next day."Don't say that—you're not that old." Li Manli took his hand, suddenly becoming very bold.Her "girlfriend advisory squad" had given her a lot of tips last night. Most of them were useless, but one piece of advice had stuck with her:A girl's prime was short. If she got a chance, she had to grab it tightly—it might just change her life."You've got such a sweet tongue—did you brush your teeth with honey this morning?"Lu Liang was surprised by her sudden boldness. He tilted her chin up and kissed her lips. "Tastes like milk.""I want one too." Li Manli retaliated, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him hard.Her technique was clumsy—her tongue darted around like a stirring stick, and their teeth clashed repeatedly."Relax." Lu Liang played the role of teacher, guiding her through the motions, showing her what a real kiss felt like.Their tongues tangled together like two little snakes, melding and clinging to each other...After a few minutes, they pulled apart, breathless.Li Manli's eyes were glazed over, and her cheeks were flushed with a natural pink blush.Lu Liang licked his lips. He was dying to take things further, but they were already running out of time. "Go get changed—we need to leave."Li Manli nodded and scurried back to her room like a little rabbit."Being young is really something else." Lu Liang sighed again.The first time he'd sighed it, he'd been envious of young people's energy. This time, he was savoring the soft, delicate beauty of a young girl.When you kissed someone, you couldn't just kiss—you had to give your hands something to do, too.Unlike Zhang Qian, Li Manli's skin was silky smooth, her body soft yet firm with youthful elasticity.