144: Seamless second base

Li Qinghe had the waiter serve Le Xuan Mai a coconut mango mousse cake and a cup of egg coffee, then he went to another coffee shop 20 meters away.

He had planned everything meticulously when he left: first, he would meet someone at this shop; if it didn't feel right, he would treat them to a coffee, then excuse himself with a prior engagement and leave directly.

If it felt good, he would order some food to keep them occupied, then go to the shop next door to meet the other person.

At least for now, Le Xuan Mai seemed good: healthy, attractive, and Da Nang University is also one of Vietnam's top 15 universities.

Its status is equivalent to a 985 or 211 university in China.

So Li Qinghe ordered her dessert, asking her to wait there for a moment while he went to meet a friend at the shop next door.

This clear act of having multiple appointments simultaneously surprisingly didn't bother Le Xuan Mai.

She smiled and agreed, happily digging into her cake.

Li Qinghe quickly arrived at the other coffee shop, scanning the surroundings, and found a Miss in a dark floral print mini-skirt sitting at the agreed-upon spot.

She had a beautiful bun, and a pair of black-rimmed glasses adorned her delicate small face, half-sealing her pretty features. Goodness, she was a glasses-wearing girl!

Chen Yuyingqiong

This Miss had a bright white bar above her head and two long, fair legs. When she saw Li Qinghe's tall figure appear before her, she stood up happily.

"Hello, is this Mr. Li? How are you?"

The Miss greeted him in English. She had clearly stated on Zalo that she was looking for a foreigner to practice her English speaking skills.

Li Qinghe hadn't specified whether he was Vietnamese or a foreigner, he just showed off his fluent English, and this Miss agreed to meet, with only one request: to speak English with her often.

Li Qinghe hadn't believed it initially, but after seeing this white bar, he believed it; this was a girl with pure intentions.

This girl was Chen Yuyingqiong, a sophomore at Duy Tan University in Da Nang.

Li Qinghe felt that university students were relatively cleaner, and when going out, he didn't want 'mushroom cauliflower' to be the main course.

So he arranged to meet this girl, who, unexpectedly, had a white bar.

As for speaking English, Li Qinghe felt that his current English was even more standard than that of native English speakers.

Among Asian countries, the accents of Korea, Japan, and India are the heaviest. In fact, China's accent isn't light either, but it's much better compared to those three countries.

As their conversation deepened, Li Qinghe learned from Chen Yuyingqiong that Duy Tan University in Da Nang was actually Vietnam's best private university.

In the QS World University Rankings, it ranked significantly higher than both Hanoi National University and Saigon National University.

From this perspective, Chen Yuyingqiong was undoubtedly an academic powerhouse, and those glasses weren't worn in vain.

Moreover, families who can afford private universities are usually not doing badly.

After chatting for a while, Li Qinghe noticed that Chen Yuyingqiong's vocabulary was becoming limited, so he directly switched to fluent Vietnamese to communicate with her.

"A Quynh, learning English is a long-term, continuous process; it's impossible to become an English expert overnight. How about you come out with me and my friend tonight? I can speak English with you anytime while we're out."

"Don't worry, my friend is also a girl, studying at Da Nang University."

Li Qinghe cleverly used Le Xuan Mai's identity to alleviate Chen Yuyingqiong's concerns.

So, encouraged by Li Qinghe, Chen Yuyingqiong got up and followed him to the other coffee shop 20 meters away.

"A Mei, let me introduce you. This is my friend A Quynh, she studies at Duy Tan University."

"A Quynh, this is my friend A Mei, she studies at Da Nang University."

As soon as the two girls heard each other's universities, they quickly dropped their guard. Both were high-achieving students from good universities in Vietnam, naturally belonging to the same social class.

And Li Qinghe, who was hanging out with them, naturally became a part of this class as well.

Li Qinghe, who had already gained some insights into the art of charming girls, saw the two of them quickly getting along harmoniously.

So he went to find a beach bar with music, and, with an arm around Le Xuan Mai's shoulder, in a tone as if it were his own idea, asked Le Xuan Mai to recommend a bar with many Westerners.

This slightly preferential treatment pleased Le Xuan Mai greatly, and she thoughtfully considered which bar would be best.

Meanwhile, Li Qinghe told Chen Yuyingqiong in English that finding a bar with many Westerners would help her practice her spoken English.

Thus, both of them happily agreed to Li Qinghe's suggestion.

Seeing that Le Xuan Mai couldn't immediately think of a good bar, Li Qinghe confirmed something else: Le Xuan Mai was not a regular at bars. What she knew was probably what friends or classmates had told her.

So Li Qinghe suggested again that the three of them walk along the beach, and stop at whichever bar they found comfortable.

This method of choosing a bar was well-received by both girls.

They led the way forward.

Among the two, Chen Yuyingqiong was taller, probably around 1.65 meters.

Le Xuan Mai was likely around 1.60 meters. This height was quite suitable for Li Qinghe; he could pick her up and 'kick'.

From behind, both girls had good body proportions. Although not very tall, they both had the genes for long legs.

Despite Le Xuan Mai being a bit shorter, her leg length was almost the same as Chen Yuyingqiong's, which was quite striking.

The two girls walked and chatted ahead, while Li Qinghe conveniently bought many fried skewers and grilled snacks to share with them.

The three of them walked and ate, enjoying the sea breeze, feeling quite content.

Human relationships have always been brought closer through eating and drinking. Our Chinese ancestors had already shown us this fact.

If one meal isn't enough to build the relationship, then do it again, once or twice.

"He who eats your food is beholden to you." If they keep eating your food, they can't very well speak ill of you to your face; if they do, it would only be behind your back.

Therefore, the atmosphere among the three was extremely harmonious.

Especially with Li Qinghe, an attractive East Asian man with a good height and long legs, both Le Xuan Mai and Chen Yuyingqiong felt very proud.

Li Qinghe would crack harmless jokes with them, which would lead them to playfully slap his arm and exclaim, "You're so mean!"

My Khe Beach was bustling with people at night. Fearing they might get separated, Le Xuan Mai and Chen Yuyingqiong instinctively went from holding onto Li Qinghe's sleeve to being gently embraced around the waist by him.

This made both of them feel a sense of protected security.

As they walked, they finally spotted an unusually lively bar. They had moved the DJ booth directly onto the beach, and in front of the DJ booth was a small stage for live band performances.

Below the stage, besides a section of sand left open as a dance floor, the bar had placed many beanbag chairs and small tables around.

These were the kind of large beanbag chairs thrown on the ground that you could comfortably sink into in any posture.

Quite a few Westerners were already sitting around, holding a bottle of beer and swaying to the music.

For Westerners, Vietnam is also a suitable place for budget travel. Although there are many developed countries in the West, there are also many poor people.

So they have developed a unique skill of making one cup of coffee last all day, or one small bottle of beer last all night.

In other words, when they employ this skill, by the time they leave, the coffee cup or beer bottle used as a prop would already be 'patinaed'.

"A Mei, A Quynh, let's just have some coconut water here tonight."

"Okay!"