Chapter 20: A Picnic in the Countryside!

  Today is Sunday, after these days of busy and being tormented by Wang Xue, Zhang Ziheng finally has the chance to have a good rest and sleep in. Unfortunately, his wish was disrupted by a ringtone from his phone, which woke him up from his beautiful dream.

  He turned over and didn't want to answer it, but the person on the phone seemed very persistent, ringing non-stop. Helpless, Zhang Ziheng reluctantly picked up the phone and put it to his ear.

  "Haha, I knew you'd be sleeping in." Li Wencheng's laughter came from the other end of the phone.

  Zhang Ziheng furrowed his brow and said: "What's up again? If there's nothing going on, I'm hanging up."

  "Aww, don't hang up. The weather is nice today, let's go out and have some fun. I've invited a few friends to drive to the suburbs for an outing, you come too."

  "Don't count me in, I'm extremely sleepy now and just want to sleep. Have fun, that's it." Zhang Ziheng then hung up the phone, turned it off, and continued sleeping.

  Just as he was about to fall asleep again, the knocking sound came once more. Zhang Ziheng angrily threw off his quilt and said with a pained expression: "What's going on? Why is it so hard to get some sleep?" He then got out of bed to open the door.

  As soon as the door opened, Li Wencheng smiled and said to him: "I knew you would definitely choose to sleep and not go with me. Hurry up and get dressed, the car is waiting downstairs."

  Zhang Ziheng looked depressed, with a wronged expression, and crawled back onto the bed. "Big brother, spare me, okay? I've waited for a whole week, just waiting for today. Why do you guys have to bring me along when you go out to have fun?"

  "I just don't get it, you're so young and yet you stay home sleeping all day instead of going out to have fun. I'm telling you, today Deng Xin brought her two sisters over and neither of them has a boyfriend. I'm only trying to help because I think you're too lonely, so I want to find someone for you." Li Wen Cheng said as he threw his clothes onto the bed and pulled him up.

  "What's it to you if I don't have a boyfriend? Who says I must find one? I'm fine on my own, going to work and coming back home every day. On weekends, I sleep in, do whatever I want. You say I finally escaped my mom's grasp, now you want to find a woman to control me, what are you trying to do?" Zhang Ziheng said with annoyance.

  "It's better to have someone manage you than no one at all. Look at you now, so sloppy. Hurry up and get dressed, several people are waiting for you downstairs, can't you bear it?"

  It seems like today is unavoidable, Zhang Ziheng sighed helplessly, put on his clothes, washed up simply and followed Li Wencheng downstairs.

  Looking at the van parked at the entrance of the residential area, Zhang Ziheng chuckled and said, "You didn't take out the company's car again, did you?"

  "It doesn't matter anyway, today is a holiday and the car would be idle if I didn't use it. Besides, even if I don't use it, someone else will." Li Wencheng said as he got into the driver's seat.

  Zhang Ziheng shook his head and got on the car. As soon as he got on, he found that there were already several people inside. Deng Xin was sitting in the co-pilot seat, and behind him were a boy and three girls.

  "Come on, let me introduce you. This is my buddy, Zhang Ziheng, a good guy. His name is Liang Hao, also from our company, and we work in the same department."

  "Hey, just call me Xiao Tian," said Liang Hao, shaking hands with Zhang Ziheng.

  "The one next to him is his girlfriend, Cheng Qian, a flat model. The one leaning against the window is Zhou Ling, and the one next to her is Xiao Nan. They are all from my company, in the same department as Xin Xin." Li Wen Cheng continued.

  Zhang Ziheng smiled and nodded, greeting one by one, then sat down together with Xiao Nan in the back.

  Actually, everyone was very clear about the purpose of this outing, so when Li Wencheng drove, no one went to disturb Zhang Ziheng and others in the back. However, Zhang Ziheng disappointed Li Wencheng's kindness, he fell asleep as soon as he got on the car, making the two girls quite embarrassed.

  After an hour's drive, several people arrived in the suburbs. Li Wencheng and Deng Xin were responsible for setting up the barbecue rack, while Xiaotian and his girlfriend went to collect firewood. Zhang Ziheng and two other girls were arranged to take fishing rods to fish by the nearby river.

  Three people sat by the river, fishing and chatting from time to time. Xiao Nan was a more outgoing girl, very talkative, basically she was the one speaking most of the time, while Zhang Ziheng and Zhou Ling would occasionally say a sentence or two. Compared to Xiao Nan, Zhou Ling seemed quieter, possibly because it was their first meeting, so she rarely spoke.

  After all, it was arranged by a good friend, so Zhang Ziheng couldn't bear to not give face. During this time, he also carefully observed the two girls and, to be honest, although they hadn't communicated much, he still had a pretty good impression of Zhou Ling. Zhou Ling was the type of girl who was tall and slender, and if she wore high heels, she would almost be taller than Zhang Ziheng. Her long hair was the type that Zhang Ziheng liked, especially when she smiled, there were two small dimples on her face.

  It's true that birds of a feather flock together. Two people who don't talk much seem to have a good impression of each other, which can be seen from the way Zhou Ling looks at Zhang Ziheng. Xiao Nan is still talking non-stop, looking like she's very interested in Zhang Ziheng, asking this and that. And Zhang Ziheng is also very cooperative, answering whatever questions are asked, revealing his whole family situation in just a few sentences, making Zhou Ling cover her mouth and giggle secretly.

  "Dear, look at them chatting like they're getting along pretty well. I wonder who will succeed?" Li Wen Cheng asked while setting up the barbecue rack not far away.

  Deng Xin raised his head and took a glance, smiling: "How would I know? It depends on who has chemistry with whom. But looking at Zi Heng's wooden expression, maybe there's no chance."

  "Hey, you can't say that. Ziheng may be a bit dull, but I guarantee his character is top-notch, far better than mine. I saw him chatting with Xiaonan and they seemed to hit it off, there might be something between them." Li Wencheng said with a smile.

  "You're wrong." At this time, Xiaotian and two others walked over with two bundles of firewood, "Having a topic doesn't necessarily mean it will work out. I'm telling you, if a man and a woman get along too well, they'll have no way to be together."

  "What's going on? I don't get it," Li Wencheng asked.

  Xiao Tian put down the firewood and took out a cigarette to hand to Li Wen Cheng. The two of them lit up and started smoking. "Between lovers, even if they don't say a word, they won't feel awkward. Their eyes have already locked in attraction, and their hearts have made up their minds long ago. But if two people get along too well, they can only be friends. You know, if friends have nothing to talk about, that's truly a tragedy."

  Li Wencheng looked at him with a puzzled expression and said, "What kind of theory is this? It sounds reasonable, but somehow it doesn't feel right. If what you say is true, then couples would never be able to have a conversation."

  "I didn't mean that, what I'm saying is that people who truly like each other know what to say and when to speak. Look at them now, although Xiaonan gets along best with Ziheng, haven't you noticed? Zhou Ling's eyes have been fixed on Ziheng the whole time, not leaving his side for a moment. Why is that?"

  "Why?"

  "Because Zhou Ling has a crush on Heng, you know. Haven't you seen how people fall in love in movies and TV dramas? First, they have to click, then their eyes meet and sparks fly, that's what they call chemistry. Once they both feel it, they get excited and happy, then they slowly get closer until they're together." Little Tian said like a love expert, leaving Li Wen Cheng dazed and confused, almost believing what he was saying.

  "However, if Zhou Ling really had feelings for Ziheng, then why didn't she take the initiative to talk to him? She's not usually like that."

  Deng Xin chuckled and said, "That's just how Zhou Ling is. She doesn't talk much to people she's just met because they're not familiar with each other yet. Once they get to know each other better, they'll naturally have more to say."

  "You've only been discussing Xiao Nan and Zhou Ling, how could you not think of Zi Heng? Look at him, does he look like someone who's here to talk about romance? He can't really think we're letting him go fishing, right?" said Cheng Qian.

  When she said that, Li Wen suddenly reacted and nodded: "You're right, I forgot to tell you guys. Ziheng is a good kid, but sometimes he's too serious. And he's always been passive, if you let him take the initiative to pursue girls, it's harder than killing him."

  "Alas, we finally came up with a plan this time, but who knew it would end in vain. If I had known Zi Heng was so stupid, I wouldn't have called them out." Deng Xin sighed and shook her head.

  "Come on, you can't say that. If Zi Heng doesn't take the initiative, then let them two take the initiative and it's done. I understand Zi Heng, he has a relatively weak immune system in this regard, as long as one of them takes the initiative, this matter will definitely be successful." Li Wen Cheng chuckled to himself.

  Deng Xīnbái gave him a glance and said: "What are you thinking? If girls take the initiative, what's left for men to do?"

  "That's right." Cheng Qian nodded in agreement.

  "I don't like hearing this, what's wrong with men? Who says men must always take the initiative? What about that woman who also took the initiative to pursue her husband?" Li Wen Cheng said discontentedly.

  "Who is it? You said who and who, who is that who? Speak up!" asked Deng Xin.

  "Hmph, I won't tell you, let these women guess for themselves."

  Xiao Tian pulled him aside and whispered: "Hey, who is that someone you were talking about?"

  "Who is that? How do I know? If I knew which girl would make the first move, I'd be the first to surrender." said Li Wencheng.

  "Huh? So you were just talking nonsense, huh?" Xiao Tian said, giving him a white eye.