As soon as Zhong Suian finished speaking, the three girls’ expressions became more colorful than the last.
Lin Yue’s face instantly turned bright red.
“What do you mean? You were the one who told us to choose whatever we wanted!”
Li Xiao immediately chimed in.
“Exactly! So many people heard you. Don’t tell me you’re trying to go back on your word!”
Zhong Suian innocently shrugged.
“I only told you to take your time choosing. I never said I would pay for you.”
She tilted her head.
“What? Don’t tell me… you can’t afford the bill?”
Her words were like a hard slap across their faces.
Their cheeks burned with embarrassment.
The atmosphere around them seemed to freeze.
They could feel the strange looks from the other customers and hear the employees whispering among themselves.
Every stare and murmur felt like a needle piercing their skin, making them wish they could disappear on the spot.
They wanted nothing more than to argue back confidently.
But the reality was—
Forget more than a hundred yuan. Even gathering a few jiao between the three of them would be difficult.
After several tense seconds, they exchanged glances and finally had no choice but to lower their heads to Zhong Suian.
“An’an~”
Lin Yue forced out a smile.
“Stop joking around, alright? Hurry and settle the bill. The employees are waiting.”
“Exactly.”
Li Xiao quickly supported her, her tone carrying a faint threat.
“We all live in the same dormitory. We see each other every day. Isn’t this kind of joke inappropriate?”
Zhang Meng moved closer and tried to affectionately link arms with her.
“Friends should take care of each other! How about this? You pay for us today, and we’ll treat you to a big meal another time.”
Zhong Suian immediately laughed.
“Take care of each other?”
She glanced at the piles of gift boxes.
“I buy you luxury goods, and you repay me with one meal?”
“You’ve certainly made an impressive calculation.”
Zhang Meng’s expression changed, but she still forced herself to smile.
“Don’t say it like that. We’re all roommates. We see each other every day…”
“Roommates?”
Zhong Suian sneered.
“Weren’t you just saying that being my roommate was embarrassing?”
“What happened?”
“Now that you can’t afford the bill, you suddenly want to talk about our relationship?”
The three girls’ faces instantly turned pale.
So Zhong Suian had heard everything they had said about her.
Realizing there was no hope of tricking her into paying, they immediately flew into a rage.
Lin Yue could no longer maintain her fake smile.
“Zhong Suian, you deliberately played us, didn’t you?”
Zhang Meng violently threw the box in her hand onto the floor.
“You bitch! You planned this from the beginning, didn’t you? You deliberately lured us into a trap!”
Li Xiao simply began acting shamelessly.
“I don’t care! You have to pay for us today!”
No matter how much they caused a scene, however, it had no effect on Zhong Suian.
She was already sitting on a sofa in the lounge area, leisurely enjoying the delicate pastries Xiao Song had brought her.
In her eyes, the three hysterical girls looked like ridiculous circus clowns.
No matter how much they shouted or threw tantrums, they could not escape the bill.
The surrounding customers watched with great interest.
Some had even taken out their phones and started recording.
The sales associates also looked as though they were enjoying the show.
Aside from the three girls, the person with the ugliest expression was Jason.
What should have been a guaranteed major sale had somehow turned into such a ridiculous farce.
Since they were his customers, he had no choice but to deal with the mess himself.
No matter how reluctant he was, Jason could only suppress his anger and step forward.
“Ladies!”
His voice was filled with restrained fury.
“This is a public place. Please stop causing a disturbance.”
“If you continue disrupting our business operations, we will have no choice but to call the police.”
The moment they heard the word “police,” the three girls immediately stopped shouting.
Their faces turned deathly pale.
Lin Yue lowered her voice and spoke weakly.
“Then… I don’t want these things anymore. Please return them.”
The other two also looked at Jason hopefully.
The items cost several yuan each.
Even if they sold themselves, they still could not afford them.
Jason sneered.
“You don’t want them anymore?”
He slammed the bill onto the counter.
“The clothing tags have already been removed. The bags have scratches, and the scarves are covered in lipstick and foundation.”
“And now you’re saying you don’t want them?”
Frightened by his expression, Li Xiao shrank backward.
“We… we’re only students. We don’t have that much money…”
Jason nearly exploded with rage.
They had no money, yet they dared to pretend to be wealthy and waste his time?
“Students? Fine.”
“Tell me which university you attend. I’ll have your school administration come and collect you.”
“N-No! You can’t tell the university!”
Zhang Meng burst into tears.
University A was a prestigious institution, and they had worked extremely hard to gain admission.
If this incident reached the university, it would certainly have a negative impact on them.
The spectacle had gone on long enough.
There was no point in watching anymore.
Zhong Suian said goodbye to Xiao Song, casually picked up her shopping bags, and took a taxi back to the university.
The dormitory was naturally empty.
Since the incident involved such a large amount of money, it would probably take quite some time to resolve.
Zhong Suian was happy to be alone.
After taking a shower, she went to bed early.
Being wealthy felt wonderful.
Even her sleep was especially peaceful and sweet.
By the time she woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.
Zhong Suian narrowed her eyes and checked her phone.
Today was a day off.
Zhong Yaoran was probably resting as well.
It was the perfect opportunity to visit his university and bring him the gifts.
After washing up, Zhong Suian casually put on one of her new dresses, picked up the presents, and headed downstairs.
The early spring sunlight filtered through the gaps between the plane-tree leaves.
She walked toward the university entrance beneath the mottled shadows scattered across the ground.
Returning to student life gave her the strange feeling that time had flowed backward.
Zhong Yaoran was only two years older than her and studied at X Sports University.
The drive took slightly more than half an hour.
By the time Zhong Suian arrived, it was almost lunchtime.
She took out her phone and called him, but no one answered.
Zhong Suian frowned.
Only then did she realize that she did not know his exact class or dormitory building.
Still, she had already come all this way.
She lowered her phone and looked around, intending to ask someone for directions.
At that moment, three boys wearing athletic uniforms walked past while talking and laughing.
“Excuse me…”
Zhong Suian politely approached them.
“Could you tell me how to get to the tennis department dormitory?”
Zhong Suian’s skin was fair and radiant.
Although she wore only a simple solid-colored dress, she carried an indescribably elegant air.
Both her figure and complexion were clearly different from the female students on campus who trained outdoors throughout the year.
The three boys visibly froze.
They barely dared to look directly at her, and the tips of their ears turned slightly red.
“Y-You’re from another university, right?”
One boy scratched his head.
“We’re from the tennis department. Who are you looking for? We might know him.”
Zhong Suian had not expected such a coincidence.
“I’m looking for Zhong Yaoran. He hasn’t answered my calls.”
“Do you know him?”
The three boys exchanged looks.
“Know him? Zhong Yaoran is our roommate!”
“If he isn’t answering at this hour, he’s probably at the parcel station.”
One of them thought for a few seconds before kindly giving her directions.
“Go straight down this road. When you reach the library, turn right.”
“At the fork, turn left and continue all the way to the end. You’ll see the parcel station there.”
He gestured with his hands as he explained.
The boy smiled apologetically.
“We should take you there ourselves, but we have something to do today. Sorry.”
Zhong Suian thanked them and followed the tree-lined path.
As she walked, however, doubts began to rise in her mind.
Weren’t most university dormitories shared by four people?
It was lunchtime, and the other three were going out together, yet Zhong Yaoran was not with them.
Could her third brother be getting excluded?
But the three boys had seemed genuinely friendly, not as though they were pretending.
Lost in thought, Zhong Suian walked for about ten minutes before reaching her destination.
Since it was lunchtime, only a few people were at the parcel station.
She searched carefully several times but saw no sign of Zhong Yaoran.
Was he not here after all?
She felt slightly disappointed and was about to turn around and leave.
At that moment, a teasing voice came from behind the parcel station.
“Hey, Little Zhong. Didn’t you just get paid yesterday? Why aren’t you eating something better?”
Zhong Suian followed the voice in confusion.
Under the shade of a nearby tree, three young men wearing blue vests were gathered together eating lunch.
The one crouching on the steps while holding two steamed buns was none other than Zhong Yaoran.
He appeared to be in a good mood.
Faced with his coworkers’ teasing, he did not take it seriously.
Instead, he swallowed the two cold steamed buns in only a few bites, barely even chewing.
Then he stood up, dusted off his pants, and walked toward a delivery cart without looking back.
“Alright, take your time eating. I’m going back to work.”
After turning away, where the others could no longer see him, the corners of his lips rose into a smile.
Yesterday, his younger sister had finally accepted his transfer.
Although she had not replied, that was already enough.
At least she was now willing to accept his kindness.
Today, he would sort parcels for another two hours.
No—three hours!
That way, he could earn even more money for his sister to spend.
With that thought, Zhong Yaoran was immediately filled with motivation.
Even his movements became much lighter.