After hanging up the phone, Lin Xigeng scratched her head, lowered her head, and sent a message to Xu Fang, telling him not to come. Then she looked around and followed the flow of people out of the subway station. She had a backpack on her back and was studying the map on her phone.
She smoothly made her way to the entrance of S University.
S University, established for many years, had a history of over a hundred years. After the passage of time, it looked majestic and grand. Although the school gate had been renovated in recent years, it bore the marks of time, giving it a touch of historical charm.
Even though it was a holiday period, the campus didn’t seem deserted. The coming and going of students filled the atmosphere with youthful energy.
Lin Xigeng closed her phone and was about to enter the campus when she happened to see Xu Fang walking out from the inside. She instinctively took a step back, turned around, and hid behind a nearby pillar.
Xu Fang had sharp eyes, and Lin Xigeng’s movements were quite noticeable, so he immediately noticed her. He casually walked over and stood next to her without saying a word. Lin Xigeng promptly began to drive him away.
“Brother, you should go back quickly.”
Xu Fang didn’t respond to her words and continued to walk forward leisurely. “I’m leaving.”
Lin Xigeng stopped in her tracks for a moment. Seeing that Xu Fang didn’t turn back at all, she followed him without principles. “You just want to use me to meet my sister. You’re even worse than a beast, not even able to be straightforward with your intentions.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Fang tugged at the corner of his mouth and said lightly, “Do you have a problem with that?”
Lin Xigeng fell silent.
“And,” Xu Fang’s expression carried a hint of puzzlement as if he couldn’t quite understand her words, “when did I ever need an excuse to see Lin Xiche?”
“… “
After packing the last cup of bubble tea and handing it to the girl in front of her, Lin Xiche finally relaxed. There were no more customers at the front counter, most of them had taken their packed bubble teas and left, and the remaining ones had found seats inside the shop.
Despite the weather cooling down, the air conditioning in the shop was still on, and soothing music played in the background, making it a very comfortable and pleasant environment. Therefore, the shop still had quite a few customers.
During her break, Lin Xiche wanted to ask if Xu Fang had picked up Lin Xigeng. Before she could take out her phone, she raised her eyes and saw Lin Xigeng pushing open the glass door of the bubble tea shop, followed by Xu Fang.
Upon seeing Lin Xiche, Lin Xigeng blinked and walked up to her. “What are you doing here, working?”
“Yeah.” Lin Xiche handed her a cup of bubble tea that her colleague had prepared in advance. “I still have two hours to go before my shift ends. Find a seat to pass the time, and let me know if you get hungry.”
Lin Xigeng took the cup and muttered, “Why are you working? Don’t you have enough money?”
Hearing this, Lin Xiche sneakily glanced at Xu Fang and casually replied, “No, I just have nothing to do.”
Lin Xigeng stared at her for a while but didn’t say anything more. She obediently took the bubble tea and found a corner to sit down.
At the same time, Xu Fang lowered his head to look at his phone. After a while, he raised his eyelids and walked over to Lin Xiche. He said casually, “Two cups of Oolong milk tea and two cups of pearl milk tea.”
Lin Xiche hesitated for a moment upon hearing his order, then lowered her head to enter the order into the cash register.
“Total is fifty-two.”
Xu Fang handed her a hundred-dollar bill, and Lin Xiche took it. Then, she slowly took out several banknotes and three coins from the cash register and handed them to him.
After that, she began to stick the names of the drinks she had prepared on the empty cups. She remembered the incident when she asked him to pick up Lin Xigeng and got scolded, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed. “You were originally coming to buy drinks anyway. What’s wrong with bringing Lin Xigeng along on the way?”
Xu Fang, engrossed in his phone, replied casually, “Isn’t she here now?”
Lin Xiche wanted to find a trace of apology in his expression but reminded him, “You also scolded me earlier.”
“Oh,” Xu Fang thought for a moment, then said calmly, “That’s because I felt like it.”
Lin Xiche was about to retort when a colleague called her over for help. She gave him a glare and didn’t say anything more, immediately going to assist her colleague. It was her first day at work, and there were still many things she didn’t know, so she could only help out where she could.
Xu Fang stood still and watched her until she looked over, then lowered his eyes and returned his attention to his phone.
His roommate was still urging him: [Boss, didn’t you just go out to pick someone up? It’s been almost an hour, we’re short one player! Can you please hurry up!]
Xu Fang: [I’ll be there soon.]
Xu Fang: [Wait a little longer, I’m buying bubble tea for you guys.]
Roommate: [Damn, no one wants to drink that.]
Roommate: [Who asked you to buy it???]
“…”
Lin Xigeng had chosen a bad spot, directly in front of the air conditioner. At first, it wasn’t too bad, but after sitting for a while, she felt extremely cold. She wanted to change seats, but it was difficult because the area was either occupied by couples or groups of students.
She glanced around and could hardly find an empty table.
Finally, Lin Xigeng carefully observed the area again and found an empty seat next to a young man sitting alone. He was the only person in the shop, apart from her, who was sitting alone.
She suddenly felt a sense of sympathy, but mainly, she just wanted to take the seat.
The air conditioning was really too cold here.
The young man seemed to be playing a game, and his slender fingers were moving rapidly on the screen. His skin was very fair, and he wore a pair of black-framed glasses. His facial features were sharp and distinct.
He was quite handsome.
Lin Xigeng felt that he looked much better than Xu Fang. She wondered why Lin Xiche had chosen the hot-tempered Xu Fang even in a school full of handsome guys.
“Excuse me.” Lin Xigeng stood next to him and called out.
The young man was wearing black earphones on his ears, and either because the volume was too loud or for some other reason, he seemed to not have heard her at all, not paying any attention.
Lin Xigeng decided to tap his shoulder and called again, “Excuse me.”
The young man subconsciously took off one side of his earphones, and although he was still focused on his phone screen, he lowered his voice and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Lin Xigeng pointed to the seat opposite him and said, “Can I sit across from you?”
At her words, the young man raised his eyes, his almond-shaped eyes narrowing slightly. However, his gaze didn’t linger on her for long. Soon, he lowered his eyes again.
“Sure.”
The table was a round glass table, not very spacious, and it held desserts and bubble tea. The seating was a bit scattered, and Lin Xigeng had trouble finding a place to put her bubble tea. She cautiously pushed the plate with desserts toward the guy’s direction.
However, for some reason, the bottom of the plate seemed to be sticky, and Lin Xigeng couldn’t move it even with a bit of effort. She didn’t want to use too much force, fearing that she might accidentally spill the desserts.
After half a minute, Lin Xigeng was getting a bit frustrated, so she decided to move it back to her side.
This time it moved easily.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone watching her. Lin Xigeng looked up and saw that the guy’s gaze was no longer fixed on his phone. He was supporting his chin with one hand, looking at her with a hint of interest in his eyes.
“Do you mind? That…” The guy gestured toward the plate in front of her and smiled gently. “I’ve already eaten from it.”
Meanwhile, Lin Xiche, after finishing her shift, scanned the shop and noticed something interesting.
Lin Xigeng was sitting by the wall, and across from her was a guy she recognized.
He Ruliang.
Although Lin Xiche had known that He Ruliang was here, she hadn’t noticed that the two of them were sitting together.
They seemed to be having a conversation, and the atmosphere appeared to be quite pleasant.
It was the first time Lin Xiche had seen He Ruliang not looking at his phone during his free time.
From Lin Xiche’s perspective, with Lin Xigeng’s back to her, she could only see He Ruliang using a spoon to eat the cake in front of him without saying much. Lin Xigeng seemed to be making some gestures, and she appeared to be in a good mood.
Lin Xiche walked over, greeted He Ruliang politely, and said goodbye to them before pushing Lin Xigeng to leave.
Once they were outside the bubble tea shop, Lin Xiche asked, “Why were you sitting with him?”
“Do you know him?” Lin Xigeng scratched her head and looked a bit mysterious. “Don’t you think this guy has good qualities? He’s handsome, a top scorer in the college entrance exam, well-mannered, and, most importantly, has a good temperament.”
“… “
“I just subtly asked him a few questions, and it seems like he’s quite well-off too.” Lin Xigeng clenched her fist and had a determined look on her face as if she had made a decision. “Lin Xiche, you should go for him.”
Lin Xiche had a sip of her leftover bubble tea and nearly spat it out when she heard this. She was choked for a moment before she could respond, “Are you out of your mind?”
Her disgusted expression made Lin Xigeng widen her eyes, looking incredulous. “You’re not interested in someone with these qualities? He’s good-looking, a top scorer, well-mannered, and, most importantly, has a great temperament.”
“… “
“I found out that he’s repeating a year because of gaming.”
“I know,” Lin Xigeng replied casually, not caring. She analyzed seriously, “But he’s still on the right path. He has the fundamentals. As long as he gives up gaming and focuses on studying, he still has the potential to earn scholarships and make a lot of money.”
“… ” Lin Xiche was at a loss for words after hearing her reasoning. To help Lin Xigeng escape from Xu Fang’s clutches, she decided to use her voice volume to win. Playfully, she said, “Anyway, he’s way better than Xu Fang.”
Lin Xiche had just begun to speak when someone suddenly pinched her cheek from behind.
The touch was firm, with a hint of coldness on the fingertips. It wasn’t too gentle, but it wasn’t painful either. The person behind her twisted her head slightly to the right, and she followed the force, turning her head to meet his gaze.
Xu Fang had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, making his bangs wet. Underneath, his eyes were dark and deep. He was wearing a navy blue short-sleeved shirt with a round neckline, revealing his collarbones and a portion of his fair and firm neck. Soon, he released her cheek, looking somewhat inexplicable.
“Why did you reject me?” Xu Fang asked.
Lin Xiche replied, “…”
Lin Xigeng added, “…”
Leave a Reply