12 – Shen Xiuyu actually added you?
Xu Qi looked at Ling Yushi across from her, her face showing the stirrings of a budding crush. “She probably wishes we wouldn’t wait for her. She wants to go back to school with Shen Xiuyu.”
Ruan Tiantian said, “In that case, let’s head back first. It’s safe with Shen Xiuyu anyway.”
After speaking, she began moving her steps toward the main road.
Fu Li glanced at Ruan Tiantian, then at Shen Xiuyu, before directly following Ruan Tiantian’s footsteps.
Shen Xiuyu remained standing in place, his gaze drifting once again toward Ruan Tiantian.
Not a single person was in sight.
He immediately turned around and looked toward the main road, spotting three girls walking side by side.
Without paying any further attention to what Ling Yushi was saying, Shen Xiuyu immediately called out in Ruan Tiantian’s direction.
“Classmate Ruan—”
Hearing Shen Xiuyu call her, Ruan Tiantian paused her steps, turned her head, and looked at him.
Shen Xiuyu strode over and stopped in front of her. “Let’s go back to school together.”
He used a statement, not a question.
Ruan Tiantian was just about to say it wasn’t necessary.
But Ling Yushi walked over directly, saying cheerfully, “Sure, let’s go back together.”
“Classmate Ruan, you can ride in my car. I’ll call another taxi.”
Upon hearing Shen Xiuyu’s words, Ling Yushi’s sweet smile instantly froze on her face.
She gave Ruan Tiantian a deep look, secretly gritting her teeth.
Her hands, hanging at her sides, clenched tightly, her manicured nails digging into the soft flesh of her palms.
Ruan Tiantian lowered her eyes. “No need, I’ll share a taxi with them.”
Hearing her refusal, Shen Xiuyu didn’t say anything, only smiled slightly.
Then he took out his phone and called a taxi.
“I’m not comfortable with you all going back alone. I’ll call a taxi for you.”
The group stood by the roadside bus stop waiting for the taxi, and Shen Xiuyu didn’t leave either.
He sat on the bench at the bus stop, holding his phone horizontally as he played a game.
She glanced toward the young man. White Bluetooth earbuds were tucked into his ears.
The surrounding streetlights were dim, and the cold white light from his phone illuminated his face, bringing a gleam to his originally dark pupils.
Shen Xiuyu’s nimble fingers slid across the screen, looking completely at ease.
Ling Yushi stood beside him, pretending to watch him play the game, but her beautiful eyes were entirely focused on admiring the young man’s profile.
Just then, the taxi Shen Xiuyu had called arrived.
Fu Li opened the car door and called out to Ling Yushi.
“Yushi, are you coming back?”
Shen Xiuyu turned off his phone screen, his gaze falling on Ruan Tiantian.
Ruan Tiantian also looked at him, their eyes meeting.
She said, “Thank you for today. You should go back and rest too.”
Shen Xiuyu stood up, raised an eyebrow, and asked with a smile, “You think a simple ‘thank you’ is enough to send me off?”
“What do you want then?”
Shen Xiuyu curled his lips, his captivating peach blossom eyes carrying a hint of roguish charm as he studied her pure and clean face for a long while.
Only then did his thin lips utter a few words, “Go back. What I want, I’ve never failed to get.”
After saying this, he left.
Ling Yushi remained standing in place, gazing longingly at the young man’s retreating figure.
Xu Qi called her several times before Ling Yushi finally got into the car.
Ruan Tiantian sat next to Ling Yushi, and she could feel the girl beside her occasionally glancing her way.
She pretended not to notice, holding her phone and idly scrolling through Weibo.
Suddenly, she received a new friend request notification on WeChat.
She tapped it open and casually accepted the request.
Tonight, far too many people had added her as a friend. Knowing they were all classmates, she didn’t think twice before approving the request.
Then she exited the WeChat interface and went back to scrolling through Weibo.
At that moment, Ling Yushi, who had been secretly observing her all along, spoke up.
“Tiantian, was the person who just added you Shen Xiuyu?”
She looked up and met Ling Yushi’s gaze. “Was it? I don’t know. So many people added me today, and I haven’t had time to add notes for many of my classmates yet.”
Fu Li tugged at her hand. “Shen Xiuyu actually took the initiative to add you?”
Xu Qi widened her eyes in disbelief. “We added him on WeChat, and he still hasn’t accepted our requests to this day.”
Ruan Tiantian lowered her gaze, recalling what Shen Xiuyu had said to her before she left.
He had brushed her off with just a “thank you.”
“Maybe he helped me today and wants to collect on the favor.”
Fu Li wore an expression that said she already understood. She exchanged a glance with Xu Qi.
Shen Xiuyu was notoriously hard to get close to. During military training, countless senior girls had tried to cozy up to him, offering water and all sorts of snacks. They had all seen it with their own eyes.
But this guy was cold, a bit of a rebel, and had a somewhat arrogant temper. Even after outright rejections, the senior girls still wouldn’t give up, sending wave after wave of gifts and persistently trying to get closer.
Ever since military training, everyone had known just how difficult it was to get close to him.
Yet now, this very person had taken the initiative to add Ruan Tiantian on WeChat. Combined with his actions today, wasn’t it obvious that he was interested in her?
As for Ruan Tiantian herself, after casually mentioning the “favor,” she simply went back to idly scrolling through Weibo.
Shen Xiuyu drove his car, following leisurely behind Ruan Tiantian and her friends.
The taxi driver glanced in the rearview mirror several times at the car trailing behind.
If it weren’t for the fact that the other car was a Koenigsegg, he might have thought someone was tailing him.
The driver remarked casually, “The car behind has been following me for a while. Probably just heading the same way, since it hasn’t tried to overtake me all this time.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ruan Tiantian turned around and, through the transparent car window, caught sight of the all-black Koenigsegg.
His car was cool and flashy, just like him—impossible to miss at a glance.
She wasn’t surprised that someone like him would drive such a car.
She had always known his family was wealthy. His family ran a gaming software business, his mother was an investor in the entertainment industry, and his sister was a popular rising star. Shen Xiuyu had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Naturally, he was different from ordinary people like them.
Ruan Tiantian turned her gaze away.
Ling Yushi replied, “He’s our classmate, so of course he’s heading the same way as us.”
Inside Shen Xiuyu’s car, metallic music played as his eyes remained fixed on the taxi ahead.
His vision was sharp, and with the rear window being transparent, he could even see Ruan Tiantian glance back at him just moments ago.
He accelerated slightly, closing the distance between them even more.
Shen Xiuyu followed her all the way, like a knight providing an escort.
The taxi stopped at the school gate, and Ruan Tiantian got out.
As Shen Xiuyu passed by her, he noticed her glance and deliberately rolled down the car window slowly.
His stunningly handsome profile appeared in Ruan Tiantian’s line of sight.
After the car had driven some distance away, Shen Xiuyu curved his lips into a smile, his eyes gleaming with confidence.