"Mr. Cen, we've finally met..."
Zhang Xiu extended his hand with a bright smile, aiming to shake hands with the young man, but he soon noticed something else.
"Cen Dongsheng? 'Dongsheng'? Could it be..."
He reined in his expression, his attitude cautious and somewhat hesitant as he asked:
"Young brother, is your ID on the forum by any chance..."
"'Dongsheng.' Does it ring a bell?"
"…"
For a moment, Zhang Xiu and Liu Xiaochuan both had peculiar expressions on their faces.
Cen Dongsheng remembered clearly, "Soft fire slow cooking," "Mr. Yang Liu"—they were users who appeared in that discussion thread he had replied to. The latter had even gotten into a conflict with other users for speaking ill of him.
He nodded slightly to the two of them, preparing to turn away.
"Wait!" The other party called out to him again, "...Mr. Cen, would it be alright if we traveled together? It's always good to have company."
*
More than ten minutes later, they arrived at New Middle School.