The card-making couldn’t be finished today. Grandpa Huang told Ling Yun to come back and pick it up in two days, or he could mail it to her if she left an address.
Ling Yun thought about it and decided to come and pick it up herself; she would have other things to do by then.
By the time they finished, it was almost dark. Grandma Su originally wanted to ask them both to stay for dinner, but when she saw Yu Yixian winking at her frantically, she immediately understood what the girl was thinking.
Therefore, when Grandpa Huang suggested they stay, Grandma Su hurriedly patted her husband’s hand.
“Did you forget? We are going out to eat tonight.”
Grandpa Huang looked at Grandma Su in confusion, but seeing her determined expression, he figured he must have remembered wrong. He smiled and waved at Yu Yixian and Ling Yun. “Then you two kids go eat. Your grandma and I are going on a date.”
Grandma Su shyly patted her husband. “What kind of nonsense are you spouting in front of the juniors!”
Yu Yixian held Ling Yun’s arm, watching the old couple, whose affection was still as sweet as ever. She stole a glance at Ling Yun, only to find Ling Yun looking back at her.
Yu Yixian hurriedly looked away, joking with the old couple: “Alright, alright. Since that’s the case, the senior and I won’t be ‘light bulbs’ anymore. We’re leaving.”
Ling Yun was pulled along by Yu Yixian, nodded to the old couple, and said goodbye.
Not until they walked out of the alley did Yu Yixian realize she was still holding the senior’s arm. The belated shyness made her let go, and she touched her face and neck to soothe her embarrassment.
“Senior, are you going back to school?” Yu Yixian took out her phone to check the time.
“Yes, let’s go together. We can head back after dinner.” Ling Yun checked the messages in their group chat. There were no problems today; as long as Chu Qingyu was there, everything could be handled.
“Okay, I’ll call a car. Where should we eat?” Yu Yixian sent a text to the driver, asking him to come pick them up.
Back at the shop, Ling Yun had noticed Yu Yixian secretly yawning. She guessed that she might not have rested well the night before. Now that it was getting late, it would be better to eat near the school so she could go back to rest earlier.
“Let’s see what’s around the school.”
Yu Yixian nodded in agreement. Although she still wanted to spend more time with her senior, she had been too excited to sleep well last night, and she had spent the day drawing and crafting, so she was indeed a bit tired.
The two strolled around the school area, and suddenly, Yu Yixian smelled the aroma of Huangmenji (braised chicken rice) and instantly worked up an appetite.
After dinner, Ling Yun sent Yu Yixian to her dormitory building and didn’t leave until she watched her go inside.
It was a new week. Ling Yun was still so busy she was barely seen, but Yu Yixian wasn’t doing much better because she had just received bad news.
“When on earth did I sign up for this!!!” Yu Yixian wailed, slumping over her desk.
Tang Jia and Ye Qian, who were in front of her, turned around. Seeing Yu Yixian looking like a frosted eggplant, they couldn’t help but laugh.
“I remember it was last year, though I don’t quite remember which month. When we signed up, they said we’d get extra credits if we passed the National Computer Rank Examination Level 2, which is why we signed up. However, I heard that fewer than ten people from our department passed it last year, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself,” Tang Jia comforted her softly.
Ye Qian recalled, “That seems to be true. I remember Xiaoyue said that if that was the case, it wouldn’t matter whether we studied or not, so she didn’t sign up for the course.”
Wang Xiaoyue, who was sitting next to Yu Yixian, heard someone call her name and opened her eyes in a daze. “Are you guys done studying?”
“Look, our relaxed classmate Xiaoyue has woken up,” Ye Qian raised an eyebrow and smiled.
Wang Xiaoyue yawned, stretched, sat up straight, and said lazily, “I don’t understand it anyway. I’ve done my part, so I’ll just leave it to fate.”
“What a wonderful philosophy: ‘My life is determined by heaven, not by me,'” Yu Yixian said, giving Wang Xiaoyue a thumbs up while still slumped over the table.
The group chatted and laughed for a while, then went back to either cramming or sleeping.
Wang Xiaoyue closed her eyes and laid down for a while, but realized she wasn’t that sleepy, so she simply opened her eyes to watch Yu Yixian study.
Yu Yixian: “?”
What kind of hobby is this? Yu Yixian signaled with her eyes.
You’re pleasing to the eyes. Wang Xiaoyue blinked in response.
Tang Jia and Ye Qian were studying seriously in front, so for fear of disturbing them, Wang Xiaoyue took a notebook out of her bag, wrote a sentence, and pushed it to Yu Yixian.
【Isn’t your senior from the Computer Science major? Why don’t you let her teach you?】
Yu Yixian was taken aback, then looked down and wrote her reply with a pen.
【Forget it, it’s too much trouble.】
Wang Xiaoyue made a soft clicking sound. Realizing it was a bit loud, she quickly covered her mouth and looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to her, then breathed a sigh of relief.
【You’re so dumb! Are you really just trying to study? I’m starting to doubt how you even got so many girlfriends before.】
Yu Yixian’s eyes lit up when she saw Wang Xiaoyue’s words. She turned to look at her in surprise and gave a thumbs up.
【Smart! But be more precise: they are ex-girlfriends!】
Wang Xiaoyue rolled her eyes.
【OK, ex-girlfriends. Don’t hurry up and ask your senior.】
Seeing Yu Yixian take the bait and pull out her phone, Wang Xiaoyue shook her head triumphantly and laid back down on the table to catch a nap.
I must have been a matchmaker in my past life. If Yu Yixian and her senior end up together, I deserve half the credit!
Yu Yixian looked at their chat history which hadn’t ended long ago. Thinking of Wang Xiaoyue’s words, she couldn’t resist the temptation and sent a message.
[X: Senior, are you free? /Little cat peeking.JPG]
Yu Yixian thought the senior would take a while to reply, since she had said she was a bit busy. To her surprise, her phone dinged as soon as she put it down.
[Ling Yun: I’m free. Would you like to have dinner together?]
Yu Yixian was surprised; she hadn’t expected such a pleasant surprise. However, she didn’t forget the purpose of reaching out to her senior.
[X: Yes, I would! But I’m looking for you for something else. qwq]
[Ling Yun: What is it?]
[X: Senior, can you help me with tutoring? I have the Computer Level 2 exam this Saturday, but I don’t know anything right now. /Crying/Crying/Crying]
[X: If you don’t have time, it’s okay. What do you want to eat tonight?]
Even if the senior didn’t have time to tutor her, at least she had earned a dinner. How happy!
[Ling Yun: I have time. Do you have evening classes today?]
[X: No, I have them tomorrow night. /Little cat rolling.JPG]
[Ling Yun: Okay, let’s go to the library for tutoring after dinner.]
Yes!
Yu Yixian happily put away her phone. Suddenly, she felt that the “heavenly books” in front of her didn’t seem so difficult to understand anymore~
In the evening, Yu Yixian ran off amidst the teasing glances of her roommates and stood at the school gate waiting for Ling Yun.
Before long, Ling Yun’s figure appeared across the street. Seeing Yu Yixian standing at the gate, she walked a bit faster to reach her.
“How long have you been waiting?” Ling Yun took something she had just bought out of her trench coat pocket; it was a rabbit-shaped daifuku, though perhaps because she had run a few steps, the rabbit was slightly lopsided.
“So cute!” Yu Yixian held the rabbit daifuku, her eyes filled with surprise.
“I’m glad you like it. What do you want to eat for dinner?” Ling Yun looked at Yu Yixian gently.
“How about rice noodles? I smelled them earlier,” Yu Yixian replied subconsciously, her eyes never leaving the rabbit daifuku.
Seeing that Yu Yixian liked the gift so much, Ling Yun was also very happy. She had seen the rabbit daifuku in a cake shop and just felt that Yu Yixian would like it.
After answering, Yu Yixian felt she was a bit too casual, and since she was always the one making the decisions, she didn’t know if the senior liked it or not.
“Anything is fine, Senior, you decide.”
Ling Yun shook her head. “Let’s have rice noodles. I’m not a picky eater.”
There was an authentic Northeast “Crossing-the-Bridge” rice noodle place at the school gate, and the taste was incredible. All four people in Yu Yixian’s dorm loved it. Hearing the senior say that, Yu Yixian couldn’t really argue.
Next time—next time, she would ask first!
After eating the rice noodles, Yu Yixian ran to a bubble tea shop to buy two drinks. She couldn’t just let the senior tutor her for nothing.
One cup was full sugar, and one was 30% sugar.
Having spent these days with the senior, Yu Yixian had observed many small details—for example, the senior didn’t like sweets very much, preferred strong flavors, liked spicy and salty food, and wasn’t picky but would leave the food she didn’t like until the very end.
For instance, the senior had left the chrysanthemum greens in the rice noodles for last. She also noticed that after finishing, the senior peeked into the pot and felt relieved when she saw there were no more left—she was particularly cute.
I’ve caught a senior who doesn’t like vegetables. No matter, in the future, I can eat all the dishes she doesn’t like!
“Senior, this is for you.”
Yu Yixian returned with the bubble tea and handed the 30% sugar cup to Ling Yun.
Ling Yun was a bit surprised. She took it and was even more surprised after seeing the label on the cup.
“Hehe, I remember you don’t like it too sweet, so I specifically ordered 30% sugar as a small token of thanks for your help with my tutoring.” Yu Yixian squeezed her index finger and thumb together to make a tiny gesture.
“It’s nothing, just a small favor,” Ling Yun shook her head. To her, tutoring Yu Yixian was actually a form of relaxation.
She liked seeing Yu Yixian every moment.