25、
Only after Qiangwei finished the very last lobster pie did she remember the key issue.
“So who bought this feast?”
Chaoyang pointed at someone. “The designated target.”
Maomao grinned wickedly. “Who’s trying to seduce Ah Meow?”
Chaoyang grinned too. “Maomao, watch your wording. You’ll be the one screaming later.”
“Tch. If you’re always timid and cautious, how are you supposed to achieve great things?”
Anning asked curiously, “What counts as a great thing?”
Maomao: “For example XX, XX, and XXX.”
Everyone: “……”
Anning was still genuinely curious about what exactly constituted a “great thing.”
At that moment Maomao suddenly cried out, “Ah! Why is my heart suddenly beating so fast?”
Qiangwei: “Doesn’t it normally beat?”
“Faster! Faster!” Maomao stared at Anning, voice trembling. “Could it be… the dinner I just ate was bought by some handsome guy?”
Anning blinked. “Uh… was it poisoned?”
“……”
Originally, Anning had intended to make up some excuse. But after pausing a moment, she said:
“Mm… his name is Xu Moting. Right now we… seem to be dating.”
The moment those words fell, the entire room went silent.
Two minutes later, Dorm 315 exploded.
Anning had always been someone who remained calm and composed. Watching her friends go wild, her expression stayed peaceful… she simply hadn’t expected those three words to carry such terrifying destructive power.
Meanwhile, on Xu Moting’s side, it was the first time he couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh bitterly while signing the bill.
To think he’d actually started doing things like this.
Fortunately his rationality still existed. He hadn’t foolishly called her to ask, “How did it taste?” Otherwise he really would’ve looked like some cheap little brat fishing for praise.
After leaving the restaurant, someone suggested they head to a bar for another round. Moting checked the time.
“I’m not going. I still have things to do. Put the drinks on my tab.”
“Boss, don’t tell me someone’s waiting for you under the moonlight?” The mature-looking guy’s tone was full of probing intent.
Xu Moting merely patted his shoulder. “Heading back. Have fun.”
That night the group sat in the bar speculating wildly about who exactly Xu-laoda’s object of affection was. Third Brother and another guy had seen her before, while Zhang Qi naturally knew the most insider information.
But Brother Zhang valued self-preservation. Without permission from the parties involved, better not to say too much.
After Xu Moting arrived at his apartment and took a shower, he sat on the bed in a daze.
A rare occurrence indeed.
In the end he sighed and lay back, covering his eyes with one hand.
To throw caution to the wind for someone like this, risking everything recklessly… even he himself felt as though he’d been possessed.
Recently Anning had been leaving the house at dawn every day, rushing about in chaos. During those hectic two days she didn’t see Xu Moting at all. Though she didn’t consciously feel anything strange, she would occasionally drift into thought while writing reports.
Yet when she tried to trace those thoughts back, she found nothing at all.
Thus she categorized it as “ordinary absentmindedness.”
That Friday, when Anning and the others went to cheer for Qiangwei in the final competition…
She saw Xu Moting.
Mm…
He appeared to have been invited as an award presenter.
The man merely stood there calmly and steadily, open and composed, yet attracted attention from all directions.
Big Sister Fu, who had just come from a hotel, couldn’t help sighing. “If I’d been born two years earlier, I would’ve chased him!”
Maomao and Chaoyang had gone backstage to help. Upon hearing this, Classmate C immediately scooted over to chat with Big Sister Fu.
“Right? Right? Handsome, isn’t he? I found out he’s a top student from the Foreign Affairs Department. Surname Xu, only child, from a high-ranking family, filial, ambitious, driven, no bad habits.”
The person beside them couldn’t help feeling increasingly restless after hearing all that. Just as Anning was about to find an excuse to leave, Classmate C waved at her.
“Ah Meow, Maomao said you know him. Come on, let’s gossip and share resources!”
Anning wasn’t sure what nonsense Maomao had been spreading. Facing Classmate C’s eager expression, she could only brace herself and say:
“Actually… uh… your understanding of him is probably deeper than mine.”
Which was technically the truth.
Hearing that, Classmate C became greatly encouraged and continued enthusiastically with more insider information.
“There are already two girls in our dorm who swore that whoever manages to win him over will give a red envelope to the person who created this program, in gratitude for the opportunity.”
Anning suddenly made a small sound of realization.
Thinking about it carefully, shouldn’t that red envelope technically belong to her?
Of course, even if it did, she’d never dare accept it.
Only then did Anning realize that his former “low profile” had been shattered by her “trying to sneak through the back door.”
Mm…
What a sin.
And by the end of that day, someone’s “low profile” was completely shattered as well.
When Xu Moting presented the award to Fu Qiangwei, who had shockingly won third place, she loudly announced into the microphone:
“Thank you to Li Anning’s boyfriend for presenting me this award! Thank you! And thanks to everyone else too!”
“……”
At that moment, the Foreign Affairs Department’s boss—standing onstage with natural composure and a captivating smile under everyone’s focus—
Did not utter a single word of denial.