Chapter 577 : The Best Thing in the World
"By the way, where's your sister? I don't seem to see her~" Ling Ning asked curiously.
"You mean Li Meng? I think she left early for something~" Li Qian said nonchalantly. Her sister had left right after class, but it was good that she herself hadn't been in such a hurry. There were indeed benefits to being slow, as she had run into Ling Ning.
Ling Ning nodded lightly, indicating she understood.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Li Qian asked, "Ling Ning, are you going to Bai Yiyue's concert this weekend? I heard the tickets are really hard to get~"
"Does Xiao Qian Qian want to go?"
"Of course I want to go! It's Bai Yiyue's concert, and it's in our school's gymnasium. It's like a dream come true!" Li Qian's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"I see. Actually, I happen to have a few extra tickets. I'm just not sure what to do with them~" Ling Ning said with a pleased expression.
Having known Ling Ning for a long time, Li Qian understood the implication in her words. She sighed softly and said, "Alright, what do you want?"
"How cruel. Am I really such a profit-driven person in Xiao Qian Qian's eyes? I'm truly hurt~"
Though Ling Ning said this, her expression remained as cheerful as ever, without even a hint of hurt feelings.
"Hehe......"
Li Qian felt she had long since seen through this little brat who had mooched free lunches off her for half a year.
"But since Xiao Qian Qian said so, I should show some goodwill. I heard there's a new barbecue restaurant that opened at the shopping plaza. They say it's quite good~"
"Let's go."
Li Qian didn't ask about the cost. It couldn't possibly be higher than concert tickets, and although Ling Ning liked to mooch meals, she never took her to shabby places. Besides, it had been a long time since she had eaten with Ling Ning, so this was perfect.
Ling Ning looked at Li Qian with surprise, not expecting her to be so decisive. She had thought Li Qian would surely complain about something first.
Just as the two were about to leave the school gates, a familiar figure appeared in Ling Ning's view. That figure, that face always wearing a mask-like beauty – it could only be Zhao Rui.
As Ling Ning spotted Zhao Rui, Zhao Rui also saw Ling Ning. Or rather, she had been waiting for Ling Ning here.
"Good afternoon, Junior Ling Ning."
"Hello, Senior~"
Ling Ning blinked, not knowing why Zhao Rui was looking for her, but she was already on guard in her heart. She always felt that when Zhao Rui approached her, something unpleasant was bound to happen.
Li Qian, standing nearby, curiously looked at Zhao Rui. Hearing Ling Ning's greeting, she also softly called out "Senior," while starting to carefully observe Zhao Rui, wondering if she might be a new romantic rival... Wait, why would she be a rival!?
Thinking of this, Li Qian felt uncomfortable. She only saw Ling Ning as... as just a friend, nothing more... probably.
"Where are Junior Ling Ning and her friend heading?~" Zhao Rui asked with a smile.
"I was planning to go for a walk with my friend. Would Senior like to join us?"
"Sure~"
"Eh!?"
Ling Ning looked at Zhao Rui in bewilderment. Her "Would Senior like to join us?" was just a polite phrase. She couldn't believe Zhao Rui wouldn't understand such basic courtesy.
Not only Ling Ning, but even Li Qian felt confused. Why had it turned out like this? It was supposed to be dinner for just her and Ling Ning. Why had another person suddenly joined, and this person seemed to have less than benign intentions?
"You must be either Junior Li Qian or Li Meng. You two sisters look so alike, I really can't tell you apart~"
"Hello, Senior. I'm Li Qian."
"Oh, I hope I'm not intruding by joining you?"
"Not at all. We were just about to try the new barbecue restaurant. Since Senior is here, you're welcome to join us," Ling Ning said with a slight smile.
She had no choice now. She couldn't just send Zhao Rui away. After all, they were from the same club, and Zhao Rui had treated her to a big meal before. Ling Ning just couldn't bring herself to be that heartless.
And so, the original party of two expanded to three.
As they walked, Zhao Rui seemed to think of something and said with a somewhat wistful expression, "Junior Ling Ning, I've noticed all your friends are great beauties. Is this what they call 'birds of a feather flock together'?"
"Oh, that... I'm not too sure about that~"
Hearing Zhao Rui's words, Ling Ning thought about it briefly and realized it did seem to be as she said. Most of her friends were indeed beauties. Even Little Brother Chu Feng could be considered a beautiful girl with great DIO.
"Is that so?" Zhao Rui smiled mysteriously without saying more.
Just then, Zhao Rui's phone suddenly rang. Ling Ning didn't know who was calling, but the moment Zhao Rui saw the caller ID, her smile instantly vanished. It was the first time Ling Ning had seen such an expression on Zhao Rui's face.
Li Qian took this opportunity to move closer to Ling Ning and asked in a low voice, "Ling Ning, who is this senior?"
"Just a senior from my club. You don't need to worry about her."
"Is that so?"
"Mm, she's actually quite famous. You can search her name on the school forum. You'll understand then."
Li Qian nodded thoughtfully. If they weren't on the street right now, she probably would have taken out her phone to search immediately.
Soon, Zhao Rui finished her call, and the faint smile quickly reappeared on her face. However, to Ling Ning, it seemed somewhat forced.
"What's wrong, Senior?"
"I'm really sorry, Junior Ling Ning. Something urgent has come up, and I need to leave. When I have time later, I'll treat you both to a meal~" After saying this, Zhao Rui immediately hailed a taxi and left.
It indeed seemed like she had some urgent matter to attend to.
Seeing what had just happened, Li Qian felt delighted. She hadn't expected that she would still get to have dinner alone with Ling Ning. Could this be considered lucky?