Chapter 576: The Trap of Friendship

In the dimly lit hallway, Jiang Qin was silent for a long time.

He felt his friendship with Feng Nanshu came with a vibrant energy, buoyantly arising and startling the ‘little rich girl’s’ face in his embrace.

Should friendship be like this?

Jiang Qin felt a bit lost and uncertain, yet, with the moonlight from outside, looking at Feng Nanshu’s pristine little face, her moist eyes and lightly blushed cheeks, he couldn’t blame her.

People, at least, have the freedom to dress.

Besides, Jiang Qin felt she surely didn’t do it on purpose.

After all, he didn’t notify her about kissing today nor about greeting the others.

No one decides to wear or not based on whether it’s convenient for a good friend, right?

But then again, the two kissing had become quite natural, their coordination even surpassing that of many couples.

Feng Nanshu was surely aware of his habitual actions, she was too unguarded…

At this moment, Jiang Qin still hadn’t decided to back off.

A gentleman should, in theory, back off knowing their defenses are down.

But deciding to back off a bit later doesn’t mean he isn’t a gentleman, or that he harbors unkind intentions.

Jiang Qin’s mood was fluctuating and restless, and his right hand couldn’t stay still, making him unable to decide.

It was New Year’s Eve, a snowy night; they had been outside for a while, and his body was already cold, especially his palms, which felt the coldest.

But Jiang Qin felt his hands warming up inside Feng Nanshu’s down jacket, the pricey sweater forming a perfect curve fitting his palm.

He had taken her shopping for this sweater, paying for it because it was made of gentle, non-irritating material.

Indeed, good deeds do get rewarded.

Jiang Qin looked up at Feng Nanshu.

The ‘little rich girl’ felt somewhat shy, pretending to be aloof, glancing around until she noticed Jiang Qin’s gaze stayed on her, then she reached out and ruffled his hair.

“Jiang Qin, call me sister.”

“???”

“Your soft spot… no, your responsive spot, not that either… damn, what was it I wanted to say?”

“Oh right, I remember now, it’s your weak spot! I’ve grasped all your weaknesses, how can you still be so arrogant?”

Disbelieving, Jiang Qin, with his arm around her waist, playfully smacked her buttocks twice, giving the suddenly arrogant ‘little rich girl’ a friendly suppression before kissing her again.

The ‘little rich girl’ obediently closed her eyes, not hearing Jiang Qin call her ‘sister’, and couldn’t help starting to call him ‘brother’ amidst mewls.

“Are you cold?”

“Not cold, want to hug a bit longer.”

Jiang Qin opened his eyes to look at her, thinking it odd she wasn’t cold; they bought this thin sweater together after all. He impulsively pulled at the ‘little rich girl’s’ sweater to check its thickness, then his hand stayed inside.

Little Zuo must be feverish; it’s so hot.

Not clothing it; how could it not catch a cold and get a fever!

At this moment, Feng Nanshu completely lost her arrogance, acting dazed then pitifully pursing her lips and finally resting on Jiang Qin’s shoulder, her eyelashes fluttering uncontrollably.

After a long while, they both became much quieter.

Feng Nanshu was sitting sideways in Jiang Qin’s arms, curled up like a kitten against his chest watching the dancing snowflakes outside, her feet kicking back and forth.

She became even clingier to Jiang Qin, not wanting to get up at all.

The ‘little rich girl’ had a glamorous figure and an air of elegance, but was like a clingy wild kitten.

Holding her, Jiang Qin thought if their friendship continued this free, they would soon get to know Jiang Ainan.

“Listen, the lights-out bell is ringing.”

“It hasn’t.”

“Don’t play dumb…”

Jiang Qin withdrew his hand and looked at Feng Nanshu, instantly becoming the dignified gentleman.

Then Feng Nanshu got up from his lap, hands spread demurely.

Then the gentlemanly ‘friendship bro’ started tidying up her sweater and zipped up her down jacket, taking her hand and walking towards the School of Finance’s girls’ dormitory.

Gao Wenhui and Wang Haini were still building a snowman below, and seeing Jiang Qin and Feng Nanshu approach through the snow, they scoffed.

They had just left the Xitian break area altogether; walking along, they looked back and realized these two had disappeared.

Without a second thought, they knew these good friends must have slipped away to some corner to kiss.

Haha, good friends kissing every day, such preposterous good friends are rarely seen.

At that moment, Feng Nanshu walked toward Gao Wenhui and others. As she neared, she turned and waved to Jiang Qin.

President Jiang, slightly reluctant, opened his arms, then saw Feng Nanshu running towards him, huffing as she threw herself into his embrace.

“These two, ever since they were caught kissing, have become ever more unbridled…”

“Great, I’ll be an auntie at graduation!”

Gao Wenhui quickly took out her phone, swiftly opening the camera and pressing the shutter: “Time to preserve photos and videos for their good friends’ initiation ceremony.”

After hearing this, Wang Haini glanced at her: “The bonus Feng Nanshu gives you really pays off.”

While they spoke, Feng Nanshu hustled back, squatting in front of their nearly completed snowman, her eyes shining.

The ‘little rich girl’s’ skin was so fair, showing a blush different from usual, more beautiful and charming, but her gaze had grown sillier.

Gao Wenhui sensed something was off, thinking aside from kissing, what other means had Jiang Qin used to inject her with ‘friendship’? Why had she turned so silly?

At ten thirty, Jiang Qin returned to Room 302 from the School of Finance’s girls’ dormitory, humming a tune as he entered.

Cao Guangyu had already started playing video games, the sound blaring, gunshots non-stop.

Ren Ziqiang and Zhou Chao were guarding a table eating late-night snacks. Seeing Jiang Qin, they immediately looked up: “Bro Jiang, why are you so cheerful today?”

“Am I cheerful?”

“Your smile is tougher to suppress than Brother Cao’s AK.”

“It’s just the New Year, I’m simply happy.”

“…”

Jiang Qin raised his right hand, undressed with his left, then climbed into bed, suddenly noticing his phone vibrating non-stop.

Opening it, he found Feng Nanshu frantically calling him ‘brother’ in the chat, her messages filling the screen.

This girl, why is she so hyped today…

The next morning, a thick layer of snow had accumulated at Linchuan University, making it extremely inconvenient to go out. The number of orders for group-buy delivery services spiked, especially around noon, the volume astonishingly high.

Although it was point-to-point delivery, such massive order numbers indeed added significant pressure on the school’s little yellow caps.

Orders included items like duvets, cotton clothes, and even slippers and socks.

Such orders couldn’t be delivered with meal orders, so they had to be handled separately, leading to a manpower shortage.

The Zhihu forum temporarily posted ads for part-time delivery jobs, which somewhat alleviated the pressure.

In fact, on New Year’s Day, snowfall was substantial nationwide, even more so in Kyoto and Linchuan, not to mention in the northeast.

Fast Meal shone amid inconvenient traffic and holiday conditions that kept people from going to work, its delivery service usage hitting a peak.

Burger King, due to its early collaboration with Fast Meal, also reaped benefits, its orders stacking up crazily all day.

The North China Area Manager of Burger King, Guan Deshan, had shown his face at the Public Review signing ceremony when he first took office.

At the time, he was newly appointed and a step behind in updates, innocently attending the Public Review ceremony and even getting chummy with the public, saying they were like family.

If not for his secretary’s timely call, his career might have ended then.

Now, he received a task from the headquarters to contact Fast Meal today to ensure a uniform appearance and to take photos of Fast Meal couriers lining up at the store entrances.

“Secretary Wang, what does the headquarters need these photos for?”

“I’m not sure, but the boss personally instructed this, apparently it was the boss’s boss’s idea, and he emphasized that it must be done well.”

“Okay, I understand, I’ll go meet with Fast Meal’s boss now. Wait for my news.”

Guan Deshan grabbed his coat and left the office, heading directly to Fast Meal’s startup office.

Thus, on New Year’s Day morning, every Burger King store front was paired with a photographer wielding either a Canon or Nikon, continuously taking photos.

Soon, the photos were compiled, transmitted over the internet to group-buy, and forwarded to Tonight’s Headlines.

Tonight’s Headlines quickly created over twenty news articles, packaged them, and sent them to Jiang Qin.

At this time, Jiang Qin had just finished takeout in the dormitory, browsed through them, selected eight, approved them, and sent them back.

These eight news articles, along with photos of Fast Meal waiting for meals, landed on Kyoto’s local news feeds.

【Takeout platform orders skyrocket, daily turnover exceeds one million, a new trend in the catering industry begins to emerge!】

【Just a click away to hot delicious food, the takeout website’s daily registration breaks twenty thousand!】

【The integration of the food ordering industry with the internet, this online ordering platform made a fortune!】

Tonight’s Headlines algorithm includes a feature specifically for locals.

Basically, it uses the IP to gather information or manually selects the city to match news with high local relevance for pushes.

Thus, during the New Year’s heavy snow period, Fast Meal’s reputation heated up, its user base steadily grew, and it attracted considerable external attention, including from some investment agencies.

Platforms like Fast Meal, which gradually showed advantages in the heavy snow, were not the only ones; Hungry But Also was among them.

Without the promotion cooperation with Tonight’s Headlines, it somewhat failed to make an impact, but some who excelled at discovering entrepreneurial projects gradually focused their attention.

In this world, there are always venture capital firms looking to ride the tide.

These firms are characterized by small scales and not so large capital flows.

If they want to make money, the most crucial thing is to act fast, seize the initiative, and make a quick profit before big capital enters, so they are very professional in gauging market trends.

“Old Wei, check this out, this takeout delivery seems interesting? The growth is truly explosive.”

“I’ve already seen it, Mr. Han, this news has been popping up since this morning, seems like a new trend is coming.”