Chapter 46: Good Friends Reunite

  The next day, the Chen family was ready to go. The four of them and Li Meng flew together to Yanjing. Whether it was intentional or coincidental, Li Meng and Chen Zixuan sat alone together, but neither of them spoke until the plane was about to land.

  "Can we still be in touch later?" Chen Zixuan asked, plucking up the courage with a red face. Heroes love beauties, and beauties also like heroes. Li Meng saved her, saved the entire Chen family, his heroic posture made it difficult for her to forget, so she secretly had feelings for him.

  Li Meng withdrew his gaze from the window, and with a serious expression, he replied: "From now on, I will be the direct person in charge of the Chen family. If there are any problems that the Chen family cannot solve within a hundred years, you can report to me. However, remember that you must act within the bounds of secular law; otherwise, we will not lend a hand. This is the bottom line."

  "Oh!" Chen Zixuan felt a little disappointed, but deep down she was secretly delighted. They could still be in touch later, and at least their fate hadn't come to an end yet, had it?

  Li Meng naturally did not know Chen Zixuan's thoughts, and after sending the Chen family safely to their new home, he left alone. For Yanjing, which had been lived in for four or five years, Li Meng was not unfamiliar, especially in the University Town area, where he was familiar with every brick on the ground.

  This time off, Li Mang didn't have any major goals, he simply wanted to relax a bit. Being cooped up in the Huang Yang Institute for too long would drive someone crazy, and his predecessor was the best example of that. Although Li Mang wasn't at that point, he still felt suppressed in his heart, so it was necessary to come out and release some pressure.

  Looking at this familiar ancient city, Li Mang's heart was relieved of all its burdens. He then picked up his phone and dialed a number he hadn't contacted in a long time.

  "Hello, I'm Ge Xuelin. May I ask who's speaking?" came a serious and polite inquiry from the receiver.

  "Hey, you're kidding!" Li Meng couldn't help but laugh. This Ge Xue Lin was his dorm mate at Yanda University, who appeared serious on the surface but was actually extremely lewd in private. Now hearing his serious voice again and recalling the scenes in the dormitory, Li Meng was really amused.

  "......python?" The person opposite was clearly shocked, and then completely abandoned the seriousness of just now, leaned over and said: "Everyone thought you were dead, the phone couldn't get through, QQ didn't show up, no news for more than half a year!"

  Since entering Yan Huang, Li Mang can contact the outside world, but he is under surveillance and has to use Yan Huang's phone. In order not to bring trouble to them, Li Mang did not contact anyone except his family members, which also made friends like Ge Xuelin worry for a long time.

  Although the phone was full of complaints, you could hear the other person's tension and excitement, which warmed Li Mang's heart, but he didn't make small talk and asked directly: "Do you have time? Let's get together."

  "Now?" Ge Xuelin seemed to be in a difficult situation, but he didn't wait for Li Meng to speak and asked: "Where? I'll go there right away."

  "...... Same old place, or you can come back after work!" Li Meng knew in his heart that Ge Xue Lin was just working for a private company. Although he had more freedom than him, wasn't the company also a big family like the Imperial Palace? Those who came out to make a living, what kind of freedom could they possibly have?

  "It's okay, I'll be right there." However, Ge Xuelin hung up the phone without saying a word. It was already approaching closing time and he didn't have much work on hand, so taking leave from his superior should be approved, but he wasn't very confident, hence the hesitation.

  Li Meng couldn't help but smile, and then continued to call the other two people in the dormitory, Xiao Yangzhou and Yu Gaoyang. It had been more than a year since they last saw each other, and it was great to think about these old classmates being able to come out and gather together, chat and gossip, and relax their mood.

  Li Meng's old haunt was actually a small restaurant near Yan University, the four of them were not from wealthy families and couldn't afford to go to high-end places to eat and drink. A small restaurant in a nearby alley became the gathering place for the four brothers, called Fu Lu Ren Jia.

  This is a small but nicely decorated restaurant, with the elegance of old Beijing complementing it perfectly. The not-so-large dining hall appears grand and clean, making one feel comfortable at first glance.

  But it's probably not yet time for dinner, at this moment the entire Fu Lu restaurant is empty, with only a young girl sitting bored on a chair, an old man wearing a Changshan suit silently sitting inside the bar, his face as calm as an ancient well... All of this is so familiar to Li Meng, but after being away for a year, he feels like he's returned to a memory from another time and space.

  "Welcome... Li Meng?" The service girl's usual greeting suddenly turned into an exclamation, her face lit up with joy, revealing two small tiger teeth.

  The old man with a flower in his hair inside the counter also looked up at Li Meng and saw that the calm face had an extra smile, and he stood up to greet him: "It's you, kid, long time no see!"

  "Xiao Ling, Gu Ye, long time no see." Seeing these familiar faces, Li Meng was also very happy and they exchanged some pleasantries.

  Gu Ye is the boss of Fu Lu's home, a very gentle and kind old man. No matter what time it is, he always has a warm and sunny smile on his face, making people who come to eat feel at home. There are many similar restaurants near Yan Da, but Li Mang and others only chose this place mainly because of Gu Ye's enthusiasm and hospitality.

  "You've come at the right time, two days later you won't be able to eat the old man's cooking!" Gu Ye smiled and chatted with Li Mang.

  "Oh? Why?" Li Mang looked at the other person in surprise, these years Fu Lu's family business has been doing well, and they have made a lot of money, it's impossible for them to go bankrupt.

  "A nearby restaurant used dead pork, several students got food poisoning, the school and authorities are going to rectify the restaurants around the school, I'm also affected by this and was forced to close down." Gu Ye shook his head, although he felt reluctant, the smile on his face remained sunny.

  "...all the small restaurants nearby are closed?" Li Mang frowned, he could understand that the restaurant where the incident happened was sealed off, and all of them were being rectified, but to say that they were all shut down, this was a bit too much.

  The old man shook his head and explained the reason: "The hygiene of these small restaurants is indeed worrying, and many rectifications have been in vain. This has led to the school's intention to crack down on them. Moreover, some regular hotels secretly fanned the flames, and this time they were widely publicized, with public opinion pouring in like a landslide, and it had to be closed!"

  "It turned out to be like this." Li Mang suddenly realized, and after a long silence, he asked: "Gu Ye, do you want to continue running the restaurant? I believe that the hygiene of your restaurant is absolutely qualified."

  "This..." Old Guo hesitated, unsure of what Li Meng meant. He was reluctant to give up, but to Li Meng's surprise, he ultimately shook his head and said, "Forget it, some restaurants nearby really need to be cracked down on, we can't set a bad precedent."

  It's clear that Gu Ye is extremely reluctant to see the Fu Lu family being shut down, but considering the bigger picture, he shook his head and didn't continue with this topic.

  Li Meng's heart was filled with admiration, for Gu Ye's temperament was something that ordinary people couldn't match. He shook his head and smiled but didn't say anything else. Besides, he had already seen a young man in a suit getting out of a taxi outside, and both their gazes were focused on the outside.

  This square-faced young man was Ge Xuelin, a guy who looked serious on the outside but was actually lewd inside. He didn't rush in when he saw Li Mang, instead standing at the door and chatting with Xiaoling.

  "Little Ling, it's only been a few months since we last met, and you're getting prettier and prettier!" Ge Xuelin said with a smiling face.

  The little girl, despite showing her two tiger teeth, still gave him a white eye and asked: "Have you said this to many girls before?"

  "Heaven and earth, I've only said this to you, Xiaoling. " Ge Xuelin pounded his chest and loudly proclaimed his innocence, but had a guilty look on his face, making everyone burst out laughing.

  "You little scoundrel, you're really thick-skinned!" Old Guo couldn't help but rebuke him loudly.

  "Haha, Old Master Gu is getting more energetic with age!" Ge Xuelin burst out laughing and quickly shifted his gaze to Li Mang, changing the subject: "What were you guys talking about?"

  No hugs, no handshakes, and no excessive small talk. The scene of meeting up with brothers from the movie is completely different. It's not that they don't have good feelings for each other, but rather they're too good, just like every year. Besides, as Ge Xue Lin said, what's there to hug about between two big men?

  Li Meng told him about Gu Ye's situation, and Ge Xuelin was also shocked and couldn't react for a long time. It was indeed the Fu Lu people who gave them four too many memories, and now suddenly hearing that they want to close the door, it's hard not to have any regrets.

  "When the sky wants to rain, a wife wants to elope, no one can stop it... never mind that... Brother Ge, where's the beer?" Ge Xuelin said with a big grin, but his words made people laugh and cry at the same time.