Chapter 67: Couple

Li Yan woke up exceptionally early today; as soon as the alarm rang, he rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash up.

After washing up, he pulled open the wardrobe and picked out a casual Chanel outfit.

A simple white shirt with black casual trousers on the lower body.

He casually tidied his hair in the mirror; today was the last day of the piano task, and he had to master the introductory version of "Little Star Variations" before noon, otherwise his three days of hard work would be in vain.

Putting on his backpack and taking the sheet music, Li Yan went out.

After leaving the residential complex and walking for about five minutes, there were many restaurants, so breakfast was not in short supply.

It was just that this area belonged to a high-end community, so the kind of hole-in-the-wall eateries Li Yan wanted to eat at were fewer.

There was no morning run today; Li Yan planned to finish today's task first.

It was past seven in the morning, the weather wasn't too hot yet, and it was a bit overcast today. Li Yan reached out to hail a taxi, planning to go eat breakfast first.

The breakfast shop was a relatively popular local Shudu breakfast he had seen while scrolling through TikTok last night; Li Yan planned to go try it.

It wasn't far; the car drove for about ten minutes and reached the destination.

The storefront wasn't big and looked like it had been there for some years, but there were quite a lot of people.

The shop was already full, and most people chose to sit on stools by the roadside to eat, or squat by the roadside to eat.

Li Yan waited for a while and ordered a bowl of Dandan noodles; looking at the full red oil and small green onions garnished on top, it looked quite appetizing.

For a northerner's breakfast, or rather Li Yan's previous breakfasts, most were things like soy milk, fried dough sticks, and baked wheaten cakes.

Eating something relatively oily early in the morning like in Shudu was Li Yan's first attempt.

Li Yan held the bowl of Dandan noodles he had half-eaten, standing by the roadside looking at an old plane tree across the street.

Under the shade of the tree, a few elderly people sat in twos and threes, waving palm-leaf fans in their hands, chatting unhurriedly about this and that.

Occasionally someone would get up to walk around, carrying just-bought vegetables or a worn-out small bamboo basket, looking unhurried and leisurely.

In a blink of an eye, he remembered the jokes about this city on the internet; perhaps this scene was a vivid reflection of that.

Looking closely at the roadside stalls, the vendor selling fried noodles was laughing and chatting with people at the neighboring table, while the thick steam rolling out from the hot pot shop kept bringing out the rich spicy scent of Sichuan, making people who woke up early feel a bit greedy.

Li Yan lifted his spoon to take a bite of noodles; the numbing and spicy taste rushed up, and the chewy Dandan noodles made his tongue feel hot.

Someone behind him shouted, "Zuo zao zi ai?" (What are you doing?), which made him pause, only then remembering this was the local dialect, meaning something like "What are you doing?".

No matter how heavy the dialect is in this city, one can always hear some genuine feelings.

Thinking again of those small taverns at night, and the soft or rugged singing tunes in his ears, he could feel the inclusiveness and warmth here even more.

Regardless of how many jokes there were on the internet—topics like "punching" or jokes like "gay city"—what he encountered in reality were leisurely elderly people, middle-aged uncles taking walks, and cheerful, enthusiastic young people; the customs and people were not pretentious at all.

Li Yan watched the street market with people coming and going, and after a mouthful of noodles, he broke into a thin layer of sweat, but it inexplicably made him enjoy a sense of relaxation.

Perhaps the rhythm of this city itself was half a beat slower: there was no need to rush for anything, panic was rare, and there was always a sense of peace and composure when encountering things.

In northern cities, fast rhythm and rushing had become the norm;

while in Shudu, it seemed that from any angle, there was more inclusiveness and relaxation.

Perhaps this was the essence that "the young should not enter Shudu, the old should not leave Sichuan" wanted to convey.

He finished the remaining noodles in the bowl in a few bites, put down the bowl, and checked his watch again; breakfast was over, but his mind felt as if it had been smoothed over by this city.

Thinking again that he had to rush to the piano room to continue the three-day intensive practice task, he couldn't help but feel a bit dazed: no wonder many people said that one could smooth out impatience here.

Li Yan thought to himself, after the task was finished, perhaps he should go with friends to try the authentic Sichuan spicy hot pot, then find a small tavern to have a drink, and see if the Shudu at night had a more cozy posture.

When he arrived at the tutoring class, it was already around eight-thirty.

The tutoring class also looked like it had just opened; the girl at the front desk was wiping the table, and when Li Yan entered the door, he also saw the beautiful scenery of Liu Yifei.

Liu Yifei seemed a bit different today compared to yesterday, with a bit more softness in her attire.

A light blue shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbows, revealing her slender, fair forearms;

on the lower body was a pair of black denim shorts, making her already slender legs look even straighter and more symmetrical.

The most eye-catching thing was the white sneakers on her feet, paired with a pair of white mid-calf socks, the cuffs of which tightened slightly at the calves, making that section of skin look even whiter and smoother, as if glowing faintly.

The whole person looked quite tall, and the advantage of her slender legs was revealed just right.

When she walked through the corridor of the piano practice room, her steps were light and carried a gentle aura; the color contrast between the light blue shirt and black shorts made her look not too flashy, yet naturally refreshing and clean.

Xi Qingyan turned his head to see the combination of white sneakers and white mid-calf socks, and couldn't help but look twice; the shirt fabric swayed slightly with her steps, also making her radiate a gentle yet youthful aura.

The outfit might not be called stunning, but that kind of soft temperament radiated from the inside out.

When Liu Yifei walked through the corridor with her head slightly lowered, the blue of the cuffs and the white of the sneakers were like color blocks setting off the coolness of summer, and the simple color scheme seemed exactly like the color of summer.

Seeing Li Yan enter, the girl at the front desk waved and greeted him happily.

"Morning!"

Since yesterday's events, the girl at the front desk clearly favored Li Yan even more.

It wasn't that she had any ideas, but rather she instinctively looked up to such a boy.

In this society, not everyone can help when they see injustice.

And the look in Liu Yifei's eyes when she saw Li Yan enter the door brightened for a moment.

Since she went home yesterday and told her best friend Liang Meng about this, her best friend Liang Meng's reaction was even bigger than her own.

"If you meet someone like this, shouldn't you marry him early?!"

At this moment, seeing Li Yan enter the door and looking at the white shirt and black casual trousers he was wearing, Liu Yifei didn't know why, but suddenly felt that the two were wearing something like a couple's outfit?

"Hey? You two's outfits today match so well~"

The girl at the front desk looked at Li Yan who had just entered, then looked at Liu Yifei beside her, and a look of a knowing smile suddenly appeared in her eyes.

Li Yan didn't think much of it, and Liu Yifei also looked like she didn't think much of it, but those crystal-clear earlobes, blocked from view by the hair by her ears, were slightly blushing at this moment. ===== CHAPTER 68 =====