Rong Xue glanced at Qiao Ye and the younger student, whose name she still didn’t know. “I didn’t eat enough earlier. How about you guys?”
Qiao Ye disliked Fu Xizhi, convinced she was hiding her true intentions behind a facade.
She said to Rong Xue, “I’ll go with you.”
Rong Xue looked at the younger student for her opinion. The girl, soft-spoken and refined, deferred to Qiao Ye on everything.
With the three of them in agreement, Fu Xizhi adjusted her backpack and flashed a bright, cheerful smile. “Great! It’s just on the next street.”
Fu Xizhi walked at the back, keeping a respectful distance and leaving several paces between herself and Rong Xue.
Under the dim glow of the streetlights, she observed Rong Xue’s slender, upright figure.
She must have practiced dance as a child, Fu Xizhi thought. Her legs are so long and straight, and the lines of her shoulder blades are so clean and sharp.
The ice cream in Fu Xizhi’s hand had mostly melted. After a few more steps, she tossed it into a nearby trash can.
A few paces ahead, the younger student seemed to notice she was walking alone. She slowed her pace, moved to Fu Xizhi’s side, and introduced herself: “I’m Chen Zhaoli, a sophomore from the neighboring university.”
Fu Xizhi was surprised. Chen Zhaoli seemed like the type who would think carefully before interacting with others; she hadn’t expected her to be the one to break the ice.
She also introduced herself and asked, “Are you and Qiao Ye very close?”
Chen Zhaoli replied, “We’ve met for the first time today. We’ve only exchanged a few messages on WeChat.”
“Oh… So you’re on a date today, unboxing each other,” Fu Xizhi said.
Chen Zhaoli shook her head. “It’s just a gathering of student council members from our two universities to build some rapport.”
“And everyone here is single?” Fu Xizhi immediately sensed the underlying motive. When college students who aren’t very familiar with each other arrange a meal, the intention to hook up is practically written on their faces.
“Yes,” Chen Zhaoli paused, carefully avoiding any accusation that Fu Xizhi was stalking them. She stated firmly, “You seem very concerned about this, Senior.”
Fu Xizhi smiled. “I’m not someone who denies the obvious, but I’m not that concerned. I only get truly concerned about people I like.” She narrowed her eyes, rubbing the tip of her index finger with her thumb. “I’m just a little annoyed. Just a little.”
After a ten-minute walk, they arrived at the barbecue restaurant near 11 PM.
The place was packed, so the owner seated them in the outdoor area.
The four of them sat around a circular table, with Rong Xue positioned between Fu Xizhi and Qiao Ye.
The server brought over a menu and a pen for them to mark their choices.
Fu Xizhi tapped the menu with the pen and said softly, “Oysters and vegetables should be fine, right?”
Rong Xue nodded in silent agreement. Fu Xizhi was being unusually considerate this time, knowing Rong Xue wasn’t actually hungry and couldn’t stomach heavy, greasy meats.
As the other two chatted, Fu Xizhi pushed the menu toward them and asked casually, “Want some beer?”
Qiao Ye ignored Fu Xizhi, her lips curling in a slight pout.
Chen Zhaoli said she’d drink. Qiao Ye looked at her, puzzled. “What if we drink too much? We’ll have to rush back to the dorms.”
Chen Zhaoli kept her head down, marking the menu. “I have a place outside of school,” she said nonchalantly.
“Oh,” Qiao Ye murmured, falling silent. Her gaze lingered on Chen Zhaoli for a couple of seconds, a brief, assessing look.
Such subtle intentions were painfully obvious. Fu Xizhi cupped her hand over her lips and chuckled, the sound dripping with sympathy. Qiao Ye shot her a glare but remained silent.
Fu Xizhi ignored her and turned to Rong Xue. “I heard you’ve been getting along really well with someone from the neighboring school.”
Rong Xue felt a wave of awkwardness. Even if she wanted to maintain her cold, aloof persona, she wasn’t autistic; she had to respond.
But with outsiders present, the conversation was too dense. She didn’t know which lies to use to brush it off without exposing herself.
She chose to be sparing with her words. “It’s fine.”
Fu Xizhi recalled, “I came across a video of you a few days ago. You looked stunning, and it had tons of likes. I thought a bunch of people would be adding you, just adding to my competition.”
“Did I bother you?” Rong Xue asked without looking at her, her gaze drifting aimlessly over the passing cars and the noisy street.
Fu Xizhi replied casually, “No. The harder the challenge, the greater the sense of achievement.”
It was as if Rong Xue were a snow-capped mountain, and she was a climber conquering one peak after another, always aiming for a higher challenge.
Rong Xue was speechless. Sharp wit and cutting remarks weren’t her style, so she simply chose to ignore the comment.
Qiao Ye, unable to stand it, shot a glare at Fu Xizhi. “What do you think Rong Xue is to you?!”
Fu Xizhi thought for a moment. “My future girlfriend?” She felt a reflexive hostility toward anyone who got too close to Rong Xue, even if there was no romantic or sexual connection.
She knew Qiao Ye would always defend Rong Xue. Any comment she made that even remotely touched upon Rong Xue’s personal life was immediately categorized by Qiao Ye as “malicious intent.”
Fu Xizhi tapped the plastic table. “Rong Xue, give me a straight answer. Do I have a chance?”
Caught in a difficult position, Rong Xue nodded slowly.
Just then, the waiter brought over a bucket of beers.
Fu Xizhi met her eyes. “You’re so honest. Let’s drink to celebrate early.”
Rong Xue suppressed her frustration and hooked two fingers around a beer bottle. “Now?”
Fu Xizhi stared at her for a few seconds, then pulled an economics textbook from her backpack and flipped it open. “Drinking on an empty stomach is bad for your health. Don’t rush it.”
You’re the one rushing, you moody little devil!
“Hmm,” Rong Xue grumbled inwardly, forced to wait for the skewers to arrive.
She had already mentally prepared herself to drink all the alcohol alone. Even though she knew she’d done nothing wrong, Fu Xizhi always seemed to be in a foul mood.
Qiao Ye took in the subtle, awkward tension between the two. She gave Rong Xue’s stool a gentle kick.
“You didn’t touch a drop of alcohol when we had Japanese food.”
Rong Xue replied, “Street-style BBQ is just better with drinks.”
“Can you handle it?” Qiao Ye asked.
Fu Xizhi looked up from her book, a smile playing on her lips. “Manager Qiao, if Rong Xue didn’t want to drink, she’d refuse on her own. She’s a person, not someone you need to make decisions for.”
Qiao Ye shut her mouth and started playing on her phone, seething. First, Fu Xizhi had randomly popped up and threatened to stalk her. Now, she was reading a book at a BBQ joint; it wasn’t like they were cramming for the Gaokao.
And that cryptic laugh Fu Xizhi had just let out… Qiao Ye suspected it was pure contempt.
Chen Zhaoli, having finished ordering, saw the chilling atmosphere and decided to keep her mouth shut.
The four of them sat around a small round table, surrounded by the bustling noise of the restaurant, yet they remained as silent as if they were too hungry to speak.
Twenty minutes later, two large platters of skewers arrived. Fu Xizhi picked up a lamb skewer, praising the flavor while complaining it was too spicy.
“You guys should eat too.”
Qiao Ye snorted coldly. She grabbed two beer bottles, positioned them so their caps touched, and held them apart.
Qiao Ye used the armrest of his chair as a fulcrum, pressing down on one beer bottle while lifting the other slightly. With a sharp clink, the cap of the second bottle flew into the air.
“Whoa, Manager Qiao, that’s some skill!” Fu Xizhi exclaimed.
Qiao Ye ignored her and filled Chen Zhaoli’s plastic cup. Chen Zhaoli’s eyes sparkled as she cheerfully thanked him.
Just as she was about to pour a drink for Rong Xue, Fu Xizhi blocked her arm and asked, “Rong Xue, you two seem to be getting along so well. Do you know how to open a beer like that?”
This completely infuriated Qiao Ye. He no longer cared what impression the wealthy young woman he’d just met, Chen Zhaoli, would have of him.
Just as Qiao Ye was about to lose his temper, Rong Xue gestured for him to stay calm. She unhurriedly picked up Fu Xizhi’s economics textbook, gripping a beer bottle in her other hand.
Clamping the bottle against the hard, straight edge of the book, she gave it a swift, mid-air flick. The cap popped off with a sharp crack.
Fu Xizhi watched the cap land on the ground, her eyes wide with excitement. “So cool! Did you learn that from Manager Qiao?”
Qiao Ye was stunned. Anyone who didn’t drink regularly had no reason to practice such a trick, especially one meant to impress others.
“I was bored and learned it from a video,” Rong Xue said casually, handing the beer to Fu Xizhi. “Here.”
Fu Xizhi took it. “What about you?”
Rong Xue quickly opened another bottle, skewered a green bean, took a bite, and then drank straight from the bottle, glancing sideways at Fu Xizhi.
Fu Xizhi just smiled, chewed her mutton skewer, and ignored Rong Xue, turning instead to chat with Chen Zhaoli.
Rong Xue polished off her first bottle the fastest. She had just opened a second when Qiao Ye, who had only finished one glass, tried to slow her down. “Slow down. This is drinking, not a competition.”
He’s right, Fu Xizhi thought, nodding. Letting Rong Xue drink herself into a melancholy stupor alone was no fun.
She snatched the bottle from Rong Xue’s hand. “Manager Qiao is right. How about we play a little game?”
Rong Xue, whose face never flushed from alcohol, remained calm. “Sure.”
“The game is: ‘I’ve never…'” Fu Xizhi burst out laughing. “I’ve never skipped class.”
Rong Xue, Qiao Ye, and Fu Xizhi all took a drink. Only Chen Zhaoli remained still.
The three of them stared at her. Fu Xizhi looked like she’d discovered a new continent. “You’re such a good girl! I can understand not skipping class freshman year, but you’re a sophomore now. You’re too good.”
Chen Zhaoli, chewing an oyster, replied simply, “I’ll try skipping next time.”
“Alright, alright,” Fu Xizhi announced. “Rong Xue, your turn.”
Rong Xue thought for a moment. “I’ve never been afraid of cockroaches, especially not in the shower.”
Fu Xizhi’s face twisted into a mask of anguish. She threw back her drink, realizing she was the only one traumatized.
She forced a laugh. “Who wouldn’t be scared of a cockroach with twin ponytails the size of a thumb?”
It all started one day when she was in the shower. Her hair was soaking wet, and as she opened her eyes, she saw a dark cockroach clinging to the steam-covered white tiles, its two little antennae twitching.
Without even drying off, she dashed into the bedroom and threw herself at Rong Xue, clinging to her like an octopus. “C-C-Cockroach!!!” she shrieked, trembling.
Rong Xue had just finished working and was already half-asleep, her eyelids heavy and sore. She couldn’t even bring herself to get angry.
So, she had no choice but to kill the cockroach for her and help her bathe. Because Fu Xizhi was traumatized, Rong Xue had to stay with her in the shower that night.
The conversation between Qiao Ye and Chen Zhaoli was a common topic, but it was losing its explosive appeal.
Everyone knew perfectly well that since they weren’t very close yet, it would be awkward to bring up anything related to their love lives.
Fu Xizhi’s alcohol tolerance was far lower than Rong Xue’s. After two beers, her cheeks were flushed pink. She swayed dizzily, waving a meat skewer. “Before I was ten, I never liked anyone, you know, in a romantic way.”
She had voluntarily accepted the penalty and was now glaring at the other three.
Rong Xue guessed she was tipsy and decided to provoke her. “You were a child lover? Who was so short-sighted that they’d fall for you?”
Fu Xizhi tapped the empty bottle against her arm. “No way. Don’t tell me you didn’t have a crush on anyone before you were ten?”
Rong Xue dodged with a side-step, and Fu Xizhi nearly fell forward, barely steadying herself by grabbing the edge of the table.
She took a sharp breath, a wave of nausea rising in her throat. A soft chuckle sounded in her ear as Rong Xue leaned in. “Your face is as red as a monkey’s butt,” she whispered. “Say a few fewer words before you make a fool of yourself.”
Who dares to laugh at me!
Fu Xizhi glared, her eyes sweeping over Qiao Ye. “You?”
Qiao Ye, however, remained completely unbothered. From Fu Xizhi’s earlier antics, he figured she was just bluffing. “What ‘me’? You’re the one who’s crazy. With a tolerance this bad, you’re still trying to play the big shot.”
With the last case of wine nearly empty, Chen Zhaoli suggested they head home early to rest.
Fu Xizhi waved a hand in a firm refusal. “No way. There’s still a little bit left. I’m seeing this through to the end. I’m going to be the big winner.”
She pointed her index finger at the three of them in the air, her tongue slurring heavily. “I’ve never… had car sex.”