Please provide the text you would like me to translate.

Li Mingzhi walked in, took off his jacket, and hung it on the coat rack in the corner of the room. He noticed Huang Qi and Sha Zhouyin holding hands and remarked as he walked, "Are you two dating? Childhood friends who end up together after all these years—that’s no small feat."

Ye Shuokai asked, "You know each other?"

Li Mingzhi replied, "We’re from the same hometown. Huang Qi and her boyfriend come from the same town as me. The two ladies went to the same high school as I did, but they were in the elite class, while I was in the regular one."

Ye Shuokai said, "Oh, right, you all come from the same province. I didn’t even realize. Today’s such a coincidence—my grad school classmate is from Huang Qi’s hometown, and Huang Qi’s high school classmate was college classmates with Leilei’s high school friend. The world’s so small!"

Sun Hongguang chimed in, "Isn’t there a theory that says you can connect with anyone in the world through no more than six people? That’s fate! Let’s toast to our gathering today!"

With Li Mingzhi’s arrival, everyone was present. Drinks and wine glasses were raised, and laughter filled the room as they toasted together. There was a seat next to Ye Shuokai, beside Xiao Xu, and Li Mingzhi went there to sit.

Since it was a buffet and the table was long, after the meal began, the group broke up into smaller circles for conversation. Yun Lei and Ye Shuokai’s friends needed no attention from Huang Qi; Tian Yujia was sweetly cozy with her boyfriend; Bai Luyao had Sun Hongguang’s special care, and other young men would stop by to chat with her when fetching food. Huang Qi focused on having a private chat with Xiao Ying.

When she went out to get food, a server happened to bring in a large tray of freshly steamed crabs. She remembered Xiao Ying loved crabs as a child, and since they were now a rare and pricey treat, she greedily took six back to the table.

Sha Zhouyin saw her carrying a plate piled with crabs and asked, "Why did you take so many crabs? You don’t even like them, do you? There’s freshly grilled steak over there—I got you a portion, and you can get more if you want."

True to her bold, hearty nature, Lady Huang believed in drinking from big bowls and eating meat in great chunks. Fish, shrimp, and crabs were bothersome to eat—so little meat for so much trouble, and tasteless to boot.

"People can change! I like them now, and besides... crabs are expensive! At a buffet, you have to eat the pricey stuff to get your money’s worth! I got lucky and caught the fresh batch—once it’s out, it’s gone!" As she spoke, she placed the crabs in front of Xiao Ying and quietly swapped the steak over.

To avoid waste, the buffet portions were small; the steak was finished in a few bites, barely enough to fill Lady Huang’s teeth. To prove she really liked crab, she took one for herself.

She truly couldn’t understand the appeal—just a morsel of meat between the bones, impossible to extract. Annoyed by the tedious shelling, she shoved a crab leg in her mouth, gnawed for flavor, then spit out the remnants.

"You can’t eat crab like that—what a waste. Let me do it." Sha Zhouyin took the crab she was about to eat. "These are the crab’s gills—not edible. And the stomach inside the shell should be removed too."

Huang Qi watched as he cracked the crab open, cleaned it, separated it along the natural seams, and used a toothpick to tease out the meat, placing it on her plate. "All right, eat up."

So much effort for such a tiny lump of meat, and it was Xiao Ying who shelled it for her. Huang Qi almost couldn’t bear to eat it. She gingerly tasted a bite—hmm, it really was quite delicious.

Sha Zhouyin opened another male crab. This season’s crabs still had roe; he held half a crab to her mouth. "Here, eat the roe first, then I’ll shell the meat for you."

Huang Qi turned away in disgust. "Ugh! That’s the crab’s testes—I don’t want it. You eat it; you know what they say—eat to replenish what you lack."

She turned back to her chicken wings, took a couple bites, and realized his hand was still held out, his cheeks red, eyes fixed on her with an indescribable look.

Only then did Lady Huang realize what she’d just said, and her face flushed scarlet. "I—I didn’t mean it like that. You’re in great shape, you don’t need supplements..." Then she realized that sounded as if she knew certain things about his body. But she didn’t know a thing—she hadn’t even managed a first kiss! "You eat it yourself. I’ll... I’ll go get another steak!" She fled in embarrassment.

Lady Huang queued five minutes for steak at the buffet, waited until she felt sufficiently cooled off, and returned to the private room. She found Xiao Ying had shared the remaining crabs with Bai Luyao and the others, leaving only a pile of shells in front of him.

So, he really ate the crab’s testes—or rather, the roe?

Lady Huang feigned nonchalance and asked, "Weren’t you fond of crabs? Why not eat more?"

"Crabs are cold-natured—too many aren’t good for the stomach. One is enough. Since they’re hard to come by, it’s better to share so everyone gets a taste." His tone was normal, but his head was bowed, his ears red, stirring the shells with his chopsticks.

There was nothing left but shells—was he still craving more roe?

While eating her steak, Lady Huang’s mind wandered back to last summer, to the first time she saw Xiao Ying, and that healthy, muscular naked form... Now that they were dating, she hadn’t glimpsed even a sliver of skin beneath his clothes—not even a hint. Would she be allowed a proper look this summer?

Xiao Ying was young and strong, always doing physical labor, his body robust. Other than being a bit underfed, he hardly needed supplements. She chewed her steak, pondering, then pushed her plate toward him. "Have some steak, too."

Sha Zhouyin said, "If you like it, eat more."

Lady Huang blurted, "You should eat more beef, to build muscle."

He choked, lifted his head, and looked at her with a gaze both ambiguous and plaintive. "So you still prefer muscular men..."

What was that supposed to mean! She meant, eat more meat so you have strength for work! Is it a crime for a construction worker to build muscle? Eggplant and steamed buns every day won’t cut it! And even if she likes muscular men, so what? Isn’t he a muscular man himself? His chest muscles are quite developed—why not show them so she can check for herself!

Lady Huang was roaring inside, and her gaze, perhaps, betrayed her unstoppable dominance, which made her beloved unable to withstand it. He stood up and said, "I’ll go get two more steaks."

"Uh?" She pointed to her plate. "I haven’t finished yet."

Her beloved lowered his head, cheeks flushed, and said shyly, "You like it, don’t you?"

That line... could mean so many things...

The restaurant offered complimentary wine; some of the men had already started drinking, and those with low tolerance were getting tipsy, their voices louder, the atmosphere growing lively.

Huang Qi was drawn by their laughter and looked to the far end of the table, only to meet a pair of bloodshot, alcohol-flushed eyes. Xiao Xu was staring at her intently. Her heart skipped, and a mouthful of steak stuck in her throat.

Fortunately, Xiao Ying soon returned, blocking her view as he set down some plates. When he sat, she glanced again; Xiao Xu was no longer looking her way, called over by Li Mingzhi to keep drinking.

Over there, Yun Lei and Ye Shuokai were surrounded by classmates playing truth or dare, losing several rounds, bombarded with ambiguous questions until their faces were red. Yun Lei protested, "You just love digging for gossip and laughs! Our story’s been picked clean—go find new couples to interrogate!" She glanced around. "Hey, Huang Qi! She just started dating her boyfriend, and he’s here for the first time—go interrogate them!"

Among the group, only Tian Yujia and Huang Qi were close, and some of Ye Shuokai’s dorm mates had met Huang Qi more often; the rest were mere acquaintances, hesitant to tease her. Yun Lei, worried the focus would shift back to herself, jumped in, "Huang Qi, your hometown friend said you and your boyfriend grew up together—childhood sweethearts! That’s even more romantic than us! Spill the details of your love story!"

Everyone turned their eyes to Huang Qi and Sha Zhouyin. Huang Qi was a bit embarrassed. "Nothing romantic, really—we’re from the same place, knew each other as kids, and now we’re together."

Such a brief answer wouldn’t satisfy Yun Lei. She turned to Li Mingzhi. "If you won’t say, I’ll ask your hometown friend. Hey, classmate from home—do you know their romantic history? Spill it!"

Li Mingzhi was drinking with Xiao Xu but put down his glass at this. He glanced at everyone and at Huang Qi, paused deliberately, then said slowly, "Huang Qi and her boyfriend—now that’s a legend. You could write a book about it."

When the promise of gossip appeared, everyone perked up. Though they restrained themselves from interrupting, their eagerness was obvious. Yun Lei urged, "That amazing? Tell us, tell us. Don’t worry about Huang Qi—I’ll cover for you."

Li Mingzhi said, "Huang Qi, since you won’t say, I’ll help you out. Don’t blame me for spilling too much."

His tone was playful, and the crowd’s appetite for gossip was whetted. Yun Lei pressed him to go on.

Li Mingzhi took a sip of wine. "Huang Qi and her boyfriend were neighbors as kids, very close—so close their parents arranged a child engagement. We played pretend weddings, and Huang Qi would only accept Sha Zhouyin as her groom—no one else. And me, I’m not ugly, right? Yet she beat me up countless times over this.

"Then, in the third year of middle school, Sha Zhouyin’s family had some trouble—details I won’t share, but it was big, made the local headlines.

"His parents passed, he moved in with relatives, didn’t do well in the high school entrance exam, went to a technical school. The environment was rough, full of delinquents, impossible to study. After graduation, he started working—construction, I think?

"I thought it was such a pity—childhood sweethearts, well-matched, Huang Qi got into our university, and with such a gap, most couples would have split. But their bond was so deep, so steadfast, they stayed together. That’s the power of true love!"

When he finished, the gossip-seekers were silent; even Yun Lei didn’t know how to respond. The atmosphere was awkwardly quiet.

Huang Qi finally understood—some people are always creditors, never just acquaintances, no matter how far from home. There’s an old saying: dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, mice dig holes. It fit Li Mingzhi and his mother perfectly. That habit of elevating himself by exposing others’ weaknesses hadn’t changed, even after years of schooling and earning a graduate degree.