The Perfume River ran through Xiangcheng City. Citizens were used to walking by the riverside in summer. There were restaurants on both sides, where people could sit down and have some food.
A red Volkswagen Beetle pulled over near the Perfume River; a handsome young man and a sexy, mature woman got off the car. They were Song Yan and Su Mei'er.
They proceeded to a restaurant, and a waiter hastened with quicksilver steps towards them and greeted warmly, "Miss Su, here you are. Welcome to our restaurant."
"Dayong, you look more handsome. Do you have a girlfriend? If you don't have one, I may introduce you a pretty girl. There are several beautiful young girls in my café. Are you interested?" she asked with a teasing smile.
"Miss Su, please stop making fun of me. I'm just a country bumpkin. Girls in the city will by no means give me a thought." Wang Dayong's face reddened all over at her words.
"Come on! Don't say that! We are all the same no matter we are from cities or countryside. If you have a crush on a girl, you should not be afraid of going for her. Dayong, you have my back!" She patted his shoulder to encourage him.
"Thank you, Miss Su." The look of gratitude hung on his face.
"Dayong, don't just stand there! Take Miss Su and her friend to their seats!" A middle-aged man with an apron came towards them as he shouted at Wang Dayong and then spoke to her with a flattering smile, "Miss Su, what do you want to eat? The same as usual?"
"Yeah! The same as usual, but in double portion," she answered with a smile.
Wang Dayong led Song Yan and Su Mei'er to a table standing by the river, where they were able to hear the sound of running water.
"Sister Su, are you a frequent visitor here?" Song Yan asked.
"Uh-huh! I used to drink beer and have snacks when I was in a bad mood." She sighed, feeling sad and dejected.
Wang Dayong came up to them with a barrel of draught beer. "Miss Su, here is your beer."
She poured a mug of beer for Song Yan and said, "I used to come here alone, so I didn't dare to drink as much as I wanted. Since you are with me today, I'll drink as much as I can."
He was a little surprised at her words for he didn't expect her to trust him like this.
She realized what he was thinking about and said with a cunning smile, "You are not able to do anything to me. You are just a boy!"
He didn't know how to respond but gave her an embarrassed smile.
A dish of green soybeans and a dish of peanuts were soon served.
"Song Yan, a toast to our friendship!" She raised her mug.
"Sure!"
After they clinked glasses, she drunk up her beer and stared at him.
He was not resigned to playing second fiddle, so he raised his glass and drank it all.
Before long, they had drunk up the barrel of beer. She called over Wang Dayong and ordered another two barrels. He soon served two barrels of beer, a dish of crayfish and a dish of oysters.
"The crayfish and oysters here are amazing. Just give it a try!" She could hardly wait to reach out her chopsticks.
His eyes lit up when he had a taste of the crayfish. "Soooo delicious!" he cried.
They buried themselves in the dishes and barely had time to talk to each other. Within an hour, they finished all the dishes and beer.