I'm back in 1990

Chapter 1081: Food Partner

"Comparative Literature?" This major was unfamiliar to Maowa, so he looked blank.

This wasn't the first time Su Jin had encountered someone unfamiliar with her major, so she patiently explained, "To be precise, my major is called 'Comparative Literature and World Literature.' It teaches how to study literature across ethnicities, languages, cultures, and disciplines. For example, it involves researching the similarities between 'The Peony Pavilion' and 'Romeo and Juliet.'"

This left Maowa completely confused, but he still politely invited, "Sit down and let's talk!"

"Thank you!" Su Jin said, expressing her gratitude, and then sat down.

Mao Wa then asked, "Which university did you attend in China?"

The School of International Chinese Studies at East China Normal University.

"East China Normal University?" Maowa looked at the girl in surprise. What a small world! He never expected to meet Miguo's classmate.

Su Jin looked at the boy in front of her, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing!" Maowa waved his hand.

Seeing that the previous topic was not suitable for a friendly conversation between the two, the girl changed the subject.

She suddenly asked Maowa, "Do you usually wear designer clothes?"

Maowa looked down at his clothes and smiled, "What do you think?"

Su Jin laughed too: "I don't think so. I was observing you over there for a while. My cousin also has that hoodie you're wearing. It's a basic style from a certain brand. Your down jacket is from an outdoor brand, but the style looks like it's from two years ago."

Maowa was somewhat surprised: "You're observing me?"

Su Jin blushed slightly: "It's nothing, I was just killing time anyway, and you lent me your charger, so I should at least remember how kind you are."

Maowa laughed; this girl was quite interesting.

As the two were talking, the boarding announcement came over the loudspeaker, indicating that they could board their flight.

The two packed their things and walked out of the lounge together. A long queue had already formed in front of the boarding gate, and economy class passengers were boarding one after another. Mao Wa showed his boarding pass. He had a first-class ticket and had a separate lane.

Su Jin followed closely behind. Her boarding pass was for business class, but she could still use the same boarding lane as Mao Wa.

The two parted ways at the cabin door; one was led to business class by a flight attendant, while the other was taken to first class.

With the flight attendant's warm greeting, Maowa arrived at his seat, 2a by the window. The seat was very spacious and also a private space with excellent privacy.

Shortly after he sat down, he heard the flight attendant arranging upgrades and such. He didn't pay attention, put on his headphones, closed his eyes, and planned to take a nap.

After a long time, the plane began to accelerate and take off. A dozen minutes later, the plane reached the clouds, and the cabin instantly became bright.

Maowa pulled down the sun visor, intending to close his eyes again, when he suddenly heard someone talking to him from the other side of the aisle: "What a coincidence, we meet again."

He opened his eyes and froze.

Su Jin was sitting next to him, smiling at him.

"I was very lucky. The flight attendant told me there were empty seats here and upgraded me to a cabin for free."

Mao Wa laughed: "Then you're really lucky."

Su Jin smiled too, her eyes curving into crescents: "Right!"

The two chatted happily along the way.

Mao Wa also learned that Su Jin was a junior in college this year, one year ahead of him and one year older. Su Jin even jokingly asked him to call her senior.

As they were talking, Su Jin suddenly suggested, "How about this, when we get to Los Angeles, I'll treat you to dinner. The world created by Siji Jiucai (a pseudonym) is all in '1990, I'm Back.' It'll be a way of thanking you!"

Mao Wa waved his hand dismissively: "No need to be so polite."

Before he could finish speaking, Su Jin interrupted him: "I really want to thank you, and this is my first time in Los Angeles. I'm unfamiliar with the place, so I'd like to ask you to show me around."

But soon after, she added, "If you don't have time, then forget it."

Maowa nodded: "Okay!"

Su Jin's eyes lit up: "Then it's settled."

The plane continued flying west, and the sky outside the window gradually darkened. The lights in the first-class cabin were dimmed, and a flight attendant came over to ask if they wanted their beds made up. Maowa told her to wait a little longer. Su Jin, however, asked the flight attendant to help her recline her seat. She smiled and said goodnight to Maowa, then closed the door, pulled up the covers, and quickly fell asleep.

More than ten hours later, the plane landed at Los Angeles International Airport. The two collected their luggage together, went through customs, said goodbye at the exit, and someone came to pick up Su Jin.

Su Jin took out her phone: "Leave your number so we can keep in touch."

Mao Wa entered his US phone number into Su Jin's phone and saved it there.

He also reminded Su Jin: "Change to a local SIM card as soon as possible. It's not cost-effective to use a domestic SIM card here."

"Okay, I got it!" Su Jin smiled and waved, then followed the person who came to pick her up.

Watching Su Jin get into the car and leave, Mao Wa suddenly remembered something: he had forgotten to ask her which college she was from. But it wasn't a big deal; they were both at UC, so they'd see each other soon.

Mao Wa turned around and saw his friend James, with Park Sung-ho standing next to him, looking at him with a mischievous grin. The two of them had come to pick him up.

He casually pushed the suitcase he was carrying towards the two of them: "You're late."

James argued, "No, no, no, we weren't late. We arrived a long time ago, only to find you with a girl. So, to avoid disturbing you, Park and I didn't show up."

"Yeah, we're buddies, right?" Park Sung-ho loved to show off his Chinese in front of the Russian kids.

That evening, he received a text message from an unknown number: "I'm at the dorm, everything went smoothly. Don't forget about dinner. You're in charge of finding a place; it's on me."

Maowa typed back: "Okay, is this your new phone number? I've saved it."

Two days later, the two met at a Chinese restaurant near UC.

Su Jin wore a light blue knitted sweater and her hair was tied in a ponytail, making her look much more lively.

It seemed that the food at this restaurant suited her taste quite well. She ate heartily, complaining as she ate, "The food in the cafeteria is awful. I've been surviving on instant noodles for the past two days."

Mao Wa laughed. He was the same when he first arrived. The dietary structure of Chinese people is quite different from that of Europeans and Americans, which is why he often cooks in his small apartment.

Seeing that Su Jin was eating with relish, he urged, "Then eat more."

When she was about 70% full, Su Jin put down her chopsticks and asked, "What do you usually do at school? Besides attending classes?"

Mao Wa replied, "The lab, I spend most of my time in the lab."

"Are you eating?"

"I eat at the cafeteria or cook at home, but I mostly cook at home because I don't really like the food here."

Su Jin looked at him with delight: "How about we eat together from now on? I'll take care of the ingredients, and you can cook. Of course, I'll also wash the dishes."

Mao Wa paused for a moment, but quickly nodded in agreement.