It was Saturday, and Wen Banxia had arranged to go out with her boyfriend. Originally, they had planned to have breakfast off-campus, but since the nearby snack street was currently undergoing renovations, she had no choice but to head to the university cafeteria with him instead.
Fortunately, they had woken up early enough that there was still plenty of food available by the time they arrived.
However, just as they reached the counter to pay, Wen Banxia heard her boyfriend mention once again that he had forgotten his meal card.
Although it felt a bit strange, Wen Banxia swiped her card for him anyway. After all, standing there in a deadlock would have been far too embarrassing.
“Banxia, where do you want to go today?”
Once they sat down across from each other, Cheng Ran began to fish for her plans. He had no intention of going anywhere expensive because it would cost too much money. However, he absolutely could not let Wen Banxia think he was stingy; that would ruin his image.
Soon, Cheng Ran got his answer. “I want to go to Century City,” Wen Banxia said.
Century City was the closest shopping mall to Imperial Capital University. The items inside were not cheap, and having a meal there could easily cost several hundred yuan per person.
Cheng Ran’s eyelid twitched instantly. He began to brainstorm how he could refuse her—or, at the very least, how to talk her out of it.
“Banxia, most things in Century City aren’t worth the price. Even the food is overpriced and tastes terrible. Why don’t we go somewhere else?”
His tone was initially a bit sharp, but noticing the sour look on Wen Banxia’s face, he quickly softened his voice, suppressing his true nature.
Yet, his words had no effect.
Wen Banxia remained firm. “But I really want to go see it. A friend recommended a barbecue restaurant there; they said it’s quite good. I want to try it.”
Century City was indeed a bit pricey, but the costs weren’t that exaggerated. How could it possibly cost several hundred per person?
Wen Banxia lowered her eyes. Because she was in a bad mood, she didn’t notice that people nearby were watching her.
“Did you hear that? He can’t even stomach spending a few hundred bucks. How stingy,” Li Sang muttered with a dark expression, taking a bite of a fried dough stick.
“He is a student,” Qi Yan remarked, speaking up just as Li Sang finished her sentence. He seemed to want to offer an excuse for Cheng Ran.
But Li Sang cut him off ruthlessly. “Don’t use the ‘student’ excuse. If Wen Banxia offered to treat him, he’d agree without even blinking.”
As if she were a prophet, the moment Li Sang finished speaking, Wen Banxia spoke up. “It’s fine. I know your family situation is difficult and you have a younger brother. I’ll treat you.”
She said this without looking at him, her mind busy with other thoughts.
Cheng Ran, who had been racking his brain for ways to make her give up, underwent an instant transformation. His eyes brightened significantly. “That wouldn’t be right… I don’t want you to spend so much…”
Even though he said this, he didn’t mention “not going” ever again.
Watching this scene, Li Sang felt her chest tighten with sheer frustration. What are they doing? What on earth are they doing?! Why is she treating him?!
Li Sang felt a wave of exasperation, wishing she could just grab Wen Banxia’s hand and drag her away from there.
Among the group, Jiang Taian was the most relaxed. He had already silently finished an entire steamer of soup dumplings. By the time Li Sang snapped back to reality, even one of the two tea eggs sitting in front of her had disappeared.
This was simply too much!
“What are you doing? Are you the reincarnation of a starving ghost?” Li Sang snatched the egg that Jiang Taian had already half-peeled and stuffed it back into her own hand.
Jiang Taian’s hand paused. He calmly pulled out a tissue to wipe his fingers. “So, are we being stalkers today?”
The word was a bit harsh, but looking at the current situation, it was quite accurate. Li Sang, however, refused to accept it.
“How can you call it stalking? We’re just waiting for her to separate from her boyfriend before we take action.” Otherwise, it would be too easy to “startle the snake.”
“They’re on a date today. How long do you plan to wait?” Jiang Taian added.
Before Li Sang could give an answer, Qi Yan volunteered, “How about I just kidnap the boyfriend? I can do it without anyone noticing.”
He spoke with absolute certainty, as if he had done this countless times before.
Li Sang stared at Qi Yan and said expressionlessly, “We are decent people. We should do less of that sort of thing.”
“Qi Yan, on second thought, you should probably just kidnap him.”
After following Wen Banxia for two and a half hours, Li Sang gave up on being a “decent person.” When doing this kind of work, having lower moral standards made things much easier on oneself.
Qi Yan didn’t mock her or say anything else. He simply nodded and broke away from the group.
Less than three minutes after Qi Yan left, Wen Banxia was successfully left alone. The speed was almost absurd. If Qi Yan were still there, Li Sang would have wanted to give him a round of applause. How could he be so reliable?
She immediately quickened her pace toward Wen Banxia. When the distance between them was less than a meter, Li Sang lowered her voice and called out, “Wen Banxia.”
Hearing her name so suddenly, Wen Banxia instinctively stopped. “Who is it?”
Turning around, Wen Banxia was met with a beautiful but unfamiliar face. The other person was very close—so close that they were almost touching. Realizing this, Wen Banxia took an instinctive step back. “Who are you?”
She was highly guarded, backing away as she spoke, ready to run at any moment.
Unfortunately, someone was already standing in the direction she intended to flee. That person was Ling Lan, whose stride was even longer than Li Sang’s.
“My name is Li Sang,” Li Sang said with a bright, sunny smile.
Judging by that face alone, Wen Banxia didn’t think the person in front of her was a bad person. But in times like these, looks didn’t represent justice; she had to consider her own safety.
“I don’t know you.”
She continued to back up, only to bump directly into a firm embrace.
Almost reflexively, Wen Banxia whipped her head around to look behind her, but she froze the moment she saw who it was.
Ling Lan was very tall, standing out even among a crowd of men. Currently dressed in black leather boots, she stood there quietly, looking down at Wen Banxia with an expressionless face.
Being stared at by a girl who was nearly six feet tall made Wen Banxia feel inexplicably uneasy. Her gaze flickered nervously, but she quickly regained her senses and asked with a trembling voice, “Are… are you two together?”
Hearing this, Ling Lan glanced at Li Sang, then nodded after a moment. “Yes.”
As if sensing Wen Banxia’s fear, she added, “Don’t be afraid.”
“…” Being sandwiched from both sides, it was truly difficult not to be afraid.
“What do you want?” Wen Banxia asked again.
This time, Li Sang was going to speak, but seeing that Wen Banxia seemed less intimidated by Ling Lan, she raised an eyebrow and let Ling Lan explain instead.
Ling Lan understood the cue and said simply:
“Taking you away.”