Xiao He immediately clutched his chest: "That's truly a cruel heart."
Zhai Zhipeng sighed helplessly: "You're the one who's going to be the death of me."
The two bantered back and forth for a while before He Junhao and Dai Bo finally approached.
"Dai Bo, what are your plans next?" Zhai Zhipeng casually asked Dai Bo.
Dai Bo spread his hands: "Well, congratulations to me - I've made it ashore! I'll be continuing as a student."
"Holy crap, you never mentioned this before!" He Junhao grabbed Dai Bo and shook him wildly, "When did this happen?!"
Xiao He wasn't surprised: "He's been preparing for graduate school entrance exams all along. You, who only think about eating all day, simply never noticed, okay?"
He Junhao: "..."
"Haha, Old Xiao still cares about me the most!" Dai Bo laughed heartily, "Shall we go find a place to eat while we chat?"
"Sure! I happen to know there's an old-style hotpot place around here!"
Following He Junhao's enthusiastic recommendation, they headed to the nearby commercial street planning to eat at that traditional hotpot restaurant.
It was Friday, and at this hour many people had already gotten off work. The streets were crowded everywhere, and as their group walked along the commercial street, they inexplicably felt that crushing sensation of being packed in a crowd.
Because there were so many people, Xiao He kept his face mask on the entire time to prevent being recognized by passing fans or pedestrians.
After all, his current popularity had reached new heights thanks to the "help" from that "good samaritan" Su Shengxi, and Xiao He really didn't want to become a spectacle in this place.
However, as they walked along, Xiao He wasn't the one who got recognized - instead, it was He Junhao who was constantly recording his vlog with a camera that got spotted by passersby.
"Ah, it's Handsome He!"
The fan who recognized him was thrilled and quickly came up to ask for a photo together.
Xiao He's group waited nearby.
After one group left, another person recognized He Junhao and casually asked: "Handsome He, where's your Big Handsome?"
"Big Handsome" referred to Xiao He, but this was a nickname He Junhao's fans had given Xiao He before he entered the entertainment industry.
Back when Xiao He was a complete civilian, he had appeared in He Junhao's videos a few times. Fans were astonished by his stunning looks and thus crowned him "Big Handsome," meaning he was several levels more handsome than Handsome He. Of course, this was all just teasing among longtime fans, and only He Junhao's veteran followers would understand this inside joke. Nowadays, those asking about Xiao He in He Junhao's videos mostly use "Mu Ze" or directly call him "Brother Xiao."
He Junhao looked surprised: "Oh? A longtime fan? Old Xiao isn't here, come on, let's take a photo together—"
While covering for his friend, He Junhao glanced toward Xiao He's direction.
But Xiao He's group had already very cleverly made their escape.
Don't blame them for not being straightforward - mainly because there were really too many people here. If he got exposed, they probably wouldn't be able to eat dinner tonight.
So dear longtime fan, don't blame him! Brother Xiao really isn't here right now!
Xiao He's group of three entered the shopping mall ahead of time.
As a mall located near both the campus district and economic zone, it was naturally quite luxurious, encompassing diverse industries including shopping, dining, and entertainment. The overall commercial atmosphere was very vibrant. When passing by the luxury brand counters on the first floor, Xiao He could faintly catch the crisp, elegant scent of high-end perfumes in the air.
However, they didn't linger and took the escalators all the way to the hotpot restaurant entrance.
Coincidentally, the always-bustling restaurant happened to have one empty table left in the corner.
Of course, forget about private rooms - there was definitely no chance of getting one.
Zhai Zhipeng scanned the surrounding people and asked Xiao He, "We can only sit in this corner. You won't get recognized here, right?"
Xiao He adjusted his mask, not entirely sure: "Probably?"
There were so many people eating here, surely they wouldn't be looking around... right?
Yet Xiao He was being too naive. The moment he took off his mask, he heard a soft exclamation from nearby: "Hey! It's Xiao He!"
"Oh my god, he actually eats here too!"
Xiao He: ...
Wait, doesn't everyone online say life doesn't have that many spectators?
What kind of eyes do you people have? He's sitting in the corner!
And what's with that comment? It makes it sound like he doesn't eat!
"Um, Xiao He, can I take a photo with you? I really love your portrayal of Mu Ze!"
Once one girl took the initiative, other girls gradually came over requesting photos and autographs, and even several guys joined in.
Zhai Zhipeng and the others could only give Xiao He looks that said "we'd help if we could."
Xiao He didn't feel right refusing, so he simply told Zhai Zhipeng and the others to wait while he took his fans to a slightly more open space that wasn't too conspicuous. He patiently gave autographs and took photos with each fan one by one.
Fortunately, the hotpot restaurant was usually quite busy, so they typically only seated people when tables were available. The number of people in the entire restaurant remained at a stable level, preventing the situation from escalating with more and more people gathering. The fans didn't cause any chaos or other negative impacts, and even the restaurant's landlady came over upon hearing the news to get a photo and autograph from Xiao He.
At the same time, Xiao He received enthusiastic complimentary meals from the landlady.
It took about ten minutes or so before Xiao He fulfilled all his fans' requests.
"Alright, alright, now it's my private time. I hope everyone can cooperate, okay? Thank you, thank you."
Perhaps because Xiao He usually gave fans the impression of being quite aloof and serious, combined with his current somewhat intimidating demeanor, when Xiao He made this request, the fans didn't persist further. They all obediently said goodbye to Xiao He and gradually returned to their seats.
As for the few particularly thick-skinned individuals who wanted to get extra autographs from Xiao He to resell later, Xiao He slowly cooled his expression and stared at them with calm eyes.
"Uh— goodbye, Brother Xiao."
The guy being stared at felt a chill run up his spine to his brain, directly giving him a start. He didn't dare continue pursuing Xiao He for autographs, silently put down his phone, and left.
After handling all the fans, Xiao He finally breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to return to his table—
But Xiao He had only taken a few steps when he suddenly saw a seven or eight-year-old boy holding a glittery hair clip in the aisle ahead, bullying a three-year-old girl wearing a princess dress who was adorably dressed.
The little girl pleaded with tearful voice for him to return her hair clip, but the next moment, the little boy pushed her harshly with a nasty attitude: "Nyah nyah, what I grab is mine! I'm not giving it back to you!"
The seven or eight-year-old boy was already about 1.4 meters tall, making pushing a little toddler utterly effortless. The little girl staggered backward and fell, just bumping into a server carrying hot pot soup base who was turning around from another table.
Since the table height was significantly taller than the little girl and people were sitting crowded together in this area, the server hadn't seen the little girl at all initially. By the time he noticed her, he instinctively tried to avoid her, but it was already too late. The hotpot broth in his hands still splashed over the pot's edge due to momentum, pouring toward the little girl's body.