My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 361: Meeting Yang Maixiang

Zhang Lei knocked on Liu Hongchang's door, and to everyone's surprise, it was Liu Hongchang's mother, Wang Cuilan, who opened it.

Wang Cuilan looked at the two people at the door and asked, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Zhang Lei quickly explained, "Hello, Auntie, my name is Zhang Lei. I'm here to see Liu Hongchang. We've worked together before."

Wang Cuilan glanced subconsciously at Zhang Lei and Yang Maixiang; she was more familiar with Yang Maixiang. She called out inside, "Hong Chang, Hong Chang, someone's looking for you."

Liu Hongchang ran out and saw Yang Maixiang and Zhang Lei. He was a little surprised and asked, "You guys..."

Yang Maixiang quickly explained, "Hongchang, I ran into him at your doorstep. He said he was also looking for you."

Zhang Lei quickly nodded: "Yes, Master Liu, I just happened to be passing by today. I asked for your address before, so I came to pay you a visit."

Seeing the two bottles of wine in Zhang Lei's hand, Liu Hongchang subconsciously assumed that Zhang Lei had come to ask him for help, and quickly said, "Come in, please come in."

Soon the group entered the living room. Zhang Lei, noticing the awkward Yang Maixiang standing to the side, deliberately started a conversation: "Master Liu, is this Yang Maixiang your wife?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Maixiang stared wide-eyed at Zhang Lei in disbelief, thinking to herself, "How can this person be so blunt?"

Liu Hongchang quickly explained, "No, Maixiang and I are friends."

Upon hearing that it was a friend, Zhang Lei's expression remained unchanged, but Yang Maixiang's expectant eyes showed a hint of disappointment. Liu's mother, Wang Cuilan, looked at her son, then at Yang Maixiang beside her, clearly puzzled, but said nothing, as there were guests in the house.

Zhang Lei feigned embarrassment: "Oh, is that so? It seems I misunderstood. But in my opinion, Master Liu and Comrade Yang Maixiang are a perfect match, a match made in heaven."

Hearing Zhang Lei's teasing, Liu Hongchang said awkwardly, "Zhang Lei, don't talk nonsense. Yang Maixiang is still here."

Zhang Lei looked at Yang Maixiang: "Yang Maixiang, do you think what I just said is right?"

Yang Maixiang lowered her head and remained silent, as if she had tacitly agreed.

Looking at her son, who was such a blockhead, Liu's mother was a little anxious: "Hongchang, look at you, you don't even know how to pour tea for the guests."

Upon hearing his mother's words, Liu Hongchang quickly got up to pour tea. Yang Maixiang, looking at Liu Hongchang pouring tea for her, blushed deeply and thanked him repeatedly. Liu Hongchang, looking at Yang Maixiang beside him, also felt a little nervous.

At this moment, Liu Hongchang looked at Zhang Lei and asked, "Zhang Lei, is there something you need from me?"

Zhang Lei shook his head: "No, I just happened to come here today. I was thinking that since you, Chef Liu, are such a good cook, maybe I could get a meal together."

Liu Hongchang said generously, "Oh, I thought it was something serious. It's just dinner. Come whenever you want to eat. It's just some home-style dishes. As long as you don't mind, it's fine."

Zhang Lei smiled and said, "No, definitely not. I've been craving your cooking ever since I ate it before. And I didn't expect you to live so close to me, looks like I'll be in for a treat from now on."

Hearing Zhang Lei's words, Liu Hongchang asked with some surprise, "You live not far away?"

Zhang Lei nodded and quickly gave his home address. Liu Hongchang was also quite surprised.

Seeing Zhang Lei keep calling him Master Liu, Liu Hongchang quickly said, "Zhang Lei, stop calling me Master Liu. Since we're all friends, just call me by my name, Hongchang. Or you can just call me Fatty Liu like everyone else."

Hearing Liu Hongchang's words, Zhang Lei laughed heartily: "Hongchang, it seems that you, Liu the Fatty Intestine, are so famous that you must have a special skill in cooking fatty intestines."

Liu Hongchang looked at Zhang Lei and said with a smile, "That's just what other people say. If you want to eat it, I'll find some pork intestines and cook them for you another day, so you can try them."

Zhang Lei smiled and said, "That's great."

At this moment, Zhang Lei looked at Yang Maixiang, who was standing silently to the side, and thought to himself, "This girl's personality shouldn't be like this." He glanced at Liu's mother, Wang Cuilan, and immediately understood. Yang Maixiang was worried about leaving a bad impression on Liu's mother, so she didn't show her carefree personality.

Zhang Lei pretended to be busy: "Oh, it's not a good day. I have to go home. I have a lot of things to do there. I'll definitely try your cooking another day."

Seeing that Zhang Lei was about to leave, Liu Hongchang quickly got up to try to persuade him to stay.

Zhang Lei looked at Liu Hongchang: "Hongchang, don't try to keep me here. Yang Maixiang is still waiting for you. You should treat her well. A young lady has come to your house, and you don't even bother to have a proper chat with her. Besides, you mustn't miss out on such a wonderful girl."

Hearing Zhang Lei's words, Liu Hongchang didn't know whether to respond or not. Zhang Lei smiled, waved to Liu Hongchang, and left Liu Hongchang's house.

Liu's mother, who was standing nearby, also saw through Zhang Lei's intentions and stopped Liu Hongchang, saying, "Hongchang, you and Maixiang, you two have a good chat here. I'm going out to buy some groceries. Oh, and make sure the girl stays here for dinner."

Without giving Liu Hongchang a chance to speak, he left.

After leaving Liu Hongchang's house, Zhang Lei thought to himself that his help should make Liu Hongchang take the initiative, since he had already made his point pretty clear.

Meanwhile, Yang Maixiang, who was at the Liu family's house, saw that no one else was home and instantly became very outgoing: "Liu Hongchang, what are you doing? Come sit down and talk to me."

Looking at Yang Maixiang, who had regained her carefree personality, Liu Hongchang said with a smile, "Maixiang, I didn't expect you to come today."

Yang Maixiang said, somewhat speechless, "What's wrong? Can't I even come to your house to visit?"

Liu Hongchang quickly explained, "No, I'm very happy that you came to see me."

Hearing Liu Hongchang's joy, Yang Maixiang immediately said smugly, "That's a nice thing to hear."

Liu Hongchang looked at Yang Maixiang and said, "Maixiang, did you also want to see me?"

Yang Maixiang said somewhat speechlessly, "Can't I come to see you if there's nothing wrong? I'm off today, and I was thinking of asking if you wanted to go to the movies with me."

"Watch a movie?" Liu Hongchang thought for a moment and said, "Let's forget it. My mom should be back from grocery shopping soon. Let's talk about it after we eat."

Hearing Liu Hongchang say that, Yang Maixiang said, "You really think your mother went out to buy groceries?"

Liu Hongchang said, "Isn't that right? That's what my mother said before she went out."

Yang Maixiang said, "You're such a blockhead. Auntie just wanted us to talk alone."

Liu Hongchang looked at Yang Maixiang and said, "Then let's go, okay, let's go see a movie."

Yang Maixiang was overjoyed to see Liu Hongchang willing to go to the movies with her.