15、
What… was happening now?
He…
was her high school classmate?
Anning watched Xu Moting greet everyone politely, refined and scholarly as ever. The flirtatious guy who’d just been asking about DVDs casually slung an arm over his shoulder.
“Old classmate, long time no see!”
Ah…
He was from the neighboring class…
And she couldn’t remember him at all.
“I remember it was you who came to notify me last week,” Xu Moting said quietly, sounding slightly congested, like he had a cold.
The guy chuckled and withdrew his arm.
“Forgot Boss Xu doesn’t like people hanging off him.”
Xu Moting merely smiled faintly without replying.
Then he walked over and pulled out the empty seat beside Anning—
and sat down.
He seemed not to have noticed her at all.
The vice class monitor handed him a can of beer.
“Not easy getting you to come.”
“I had time, so I came.”
Xu Moting lightly shook the beer can in his hand, then casually picked up the glass of fruit juice to his right and took a sip.
Beside him, Anning stiffened.
“Um… that’s my cup.”
Xu Moting turned his head slightly.
“So what if it’s yours?”
“… ”
Fine. He was the boss.
Anning tactfully surrendered.
“Please enjoy…”
The vice class monitor, who had witnessed the entire exchange from nearby, stared in utter disbelief.
“Xu Moting, you’re bullying a girl?!”
The volume and wording immediately drew everyone’s attention.
Xu Moting raised a brow slightly.
Meanwhile Anning hurriedly waved her hands.
“No no, he’s not bullying me! I volunteered!”
“… ”
This was what people meant by making things worse the more you explained.
The moment she realized what she’d said, Anning wanted nothing more than to crawl under the table.
Why did she always become like this whenever she encountered him?!
She despised herself.
“We’re probably all older than Li Anning, right?” the guy who had brought her in earlier said, tactfully changing the subject to save her.
Anning shot him a grateful glance.
Beside her, Xu Moting appeared absentminded, tapping the glass lightly with his index finger.
“I remember Anning was one or two years younger than us,” the vice class monitor lamented nostalgically. “I was always deeply traumatized by the fact she was born in ’86. Younger than me, yet she still beat me on every exam!”
Anning lowered her head awkwardly.
“…I tried my best.”
The vice class monitor froze.
She’d tried her best… to score lower…
“I don’t want to live anymore!”
That little commotion successfully dissolved much of the awkwardness.
The atmosphere improved, and conversation topics became increasingly unrestricted. Dirty jokes started flying around, making several girls blush repeatedly.
Anning thought that if Qiangwei were here right now, she’d definitely be having the time of her life.
And… probably dominate the field completely.
Someone came over carrying alcohol.
“Li Anning, let me toast you?”
Seeing that it was the guy who had helped her earlier, Anning was just about to take the glass when the person beside her beat her to it.
“She still has things to do later, so she shouldn’t drink too much. I’ll drink for her.”
This was what people meant by smearing someone black and then framing it beautifully afterward.
Several classmates were already shooting suspicious looks at Li Anning…
Of course, nobody dared stare at Xu Moting directly.
The vice class monitor laughed.
“Know why my ex-girlfriend and I broke up? Because she downed three bottles of XO without even changing expression. The moment I saw that, I knew our fate together had ended.”
Everyone burst out laughing.
“Was it because having such a strong girlfriend hurt your pride?”
“Heh heh. Mainly because I wanted a girl who’d get drunk after one cup.”
“Brother, you’ve gone bad. You’re no longer the model student vice class monitor we once knew. But honestly? Still a role model worth learning from!”
The vice class monitor sighed.
“With Li Anning around, I don’t dare claim the title of ‘excellent student.’ Not to mention Xu Moting’s here too.”
Anning smiled helplessly.
Meanwhile, she could sense that although the person beside her maintained a faint smile the entire time, he seemed strangely distracted.
So she reached toward the beer can he had set aside—
only to be stopped before touching it.
More precisely—
his palm covered her fingers.
He turned toward her.
“What is it?”
“…Thirsty.”
Xu Moting smiled, opened the can for her, and pushed it over.
“Don’t drink too much.”
“… ”
She wasn’t an alcoholic.
Meanwhile, Anning watched him leisurely pick up her fruit juice glass again and continue drinking from it.
…Could she reasonably suspect he was teasing her on purpose the whole time?
A female classmate suddenly asked:
“Li Anning, are you doing graduate studies at X University?”
“Mhm.”
“So you and Xu Moting go to the same university?”
“…Mhm.”
“Heh.”
Anning: “… ”
Xu Moting ladled two spoonfuls of corn chowder into her bowl and murmured softly:
“Stop focusing only on chatting with people.”
When had she done that?!
Anning lowered her head gloomily and continued eating.
The vice class monitor leaned over from the other side.
“What’s Xu Moting saying to you?”
Anning thought for a moment.
“If you mean just now… then probably: don’t talk to you.”
Vice class monitor: “… ”
The classmate beside him overheard and burst out laughing, sympathetically patting the vice class monitor’s shoulder.
“Sigh. Some things never change, brother.”
The vice class monitor laughed helplessly.
At that moment, a female classmate came over to toast them. The flirtatious guy immediately looked eager to stand up, but she said:
“Sorry, I came to toast Xu Moting from our class.”
“I’m from our class too!” the flirtatious guy protested. “Miss, do you discriminate against guys under 180 cm?”
The girl smiled awkwardly.
“Not discrimination. Just no interest.”
The flirtatious guy let out a tragic howl and collapsed dramatically into the vice class monitor’s arms…
Watching their antics, Anning couldn’t help laughing.
Meanwhile, the girl had already raised her glass toward Xu Moting.
“Cheers first, feel free to drink as you please.”
And Xu Moting truly did take “as you like” literally—
he casually lifted his fruit juice and lightly toasted her with it.
Finally, under the female classmate’s meaningful gaze, Anning quietly turned her head toward the beautifully lit wall lamp in the corner.
Mhm…
Even if her face was red, it was definitely because of the lighting.