21 – Brazenly Flirting with Girls
The clouds were thick tonight, blotting out the sky and hiding the stars, with no moon in sight.
Ruan Tiantian glanced at her phone—it was already 8 p.m.
Her stomach was empty, and her phone was almost out of battery.
She took the subway back to the commercial street near the school.
After exiting the station, she walked along the road.
Unable to hold back, she sniffled, her eyes slightly reddening. She felt a deep sense of melancholy—being alone always made her prone to feeling down.
Why did she have to end up with such a family? Mom, where have you gone?
For so many years, you never came back to see me.
Just then, raindrops began to fall on her, and she felt a chill on her arm.
She looked up, and raindrops landed on her face. The rain from the sky seemed like endless threads, and soon, it grew heavier.
She sighed, raised a hand to shield her forehead, and hurriedly ducked into a barbecue shop to take shelter from the rain.
Only after entering did she realize the shop was filled with students. This was the commercial street of the university district, a popular spot for students to spend time.
Especially on weekends, the owner’s business was booming.
She walked further inside and noticed the barbecue shop was quite spacious. Her watery eyes scanned the area as she searched for an empty seat.
Coming to a place like this alone for barbecue felt truly lonely. There were hardly any single seats available.
Most were at least for two people, and she began to regret stepping inside.
But with the rain outside, she steeled herself and continued walking deeper into the shop to find a seat.
Soon, she spotted an empty table tucked away in a corner.
However, it was a large table, not a two-seater.
Ruan Tiantian smiled faintly and, without overthinking it, headed straight for the spot.
She didn’t notice until she was almost there when a deep, magnetic male voice suddenly spoke beside her.
“What a coincidence, Ruan.”
Ruan Tiantian looked up to see Shen Xiuyu’s lips curved into a smile, his roguish peach blossom eyes fixed on her face. Shen Xiuyu was also sizing her up, his eyes gleaming.
Shen Xiuyu had changed into a black jacket, the zipper pulled all the way up. Dressed entirely in black, he looked both cool and rebellious. He sauntered over, taking long strides toward her.
Behind him was Lu Wenjie.
Shen Xiuyu glanced at the only remaining empty seat and asked, “Mind sharing the table?”
Before he even finished speaking, Lu Wenjie had already sat down and picked up the menu on the table to look through.
Shen Xiuyu smirked and took a seat as well.
Ruan Tiantian remained standing, unsure whether to sit or leave.
She stood there awkwardly.
Shen Xiuyu’s gaze fell on the girl’s fair arm, where several red marks were visible. His eyes instantly darkened.
He tilted his chin slightly, signaling to Ruan Tiantian, “Sit.”
Ruan Tiantian glanced at them and then took a seat.
Shen Xiuyu then snatched the menu from Lu Wenjie’s hands, leaving Lu Wenjie looking puzzled.
In the next moment, Shen Xiuyu extended the menu toward Ruan Tiantian. “You order first.”
Lu Wenjie: “…”
Shen Xiuyu then pulled out his phone, scanned the QR code on the table, and asked her, “What do you like? I’ll place the order.”
Lu Wenjie chimed in, “Two pitchers of passion fruit beer, beef skewers, pork tendon, chicken gizzards, grilled oysters, squid, stir-fried snails…”
Lu Wenjie listed a long string of dishes, and Shen Xiuyu added them all to the order one by one.
Then he looked up and asked Ruan Tiantian, “What about you?”
Ruan Tiantian finally shifted her eyes from the menu to Shen Xiuyu’s face.
“Just go with what Lu Wenjie ordered, I like it all.”
Shen Xiuyu scrolled down with his finger and added an extra cup of fruit tea for her.
Then he placed the order directly.
Lu Wenjie took out a cigarette from his pocket, and Shen Xiuyu glanced at him.
Lu Wenjie, confused, hesitated as he took it out. Just as he was about to light it, Shen Xiuyu’s hand snatched the cigarette from his grasp.
He casually tossed it into the ashtray. “There’s a girl here, don’t smoke.”
Ruan Tiantian watched Shen Xiuyu’s actions the entire time, and then Shen Xiuyu looked over, meeting her gaze.
She immediately averted her eyes, avoiding his stare.
Shen Xiuyu curled his lips and asked, “Were you secretly watching me?”
Ruan Tiantian immediately looked up, meeting Shen Xiuyu’s teasing gaze head-on. “I wasn’t. You’re sitting right across from me, how is that secretly watching?”
Shen Xiuyu picked up a set of utensils, tore open the packaging, rinsed them with hot water, and then pushed them in front of her.
“I know I’m handsome. If you want to look, just look openly.”
Ruan Tiantian had never met such a narcissistic guy, but he really did have the capital to be narcissistic.
She had never seen a boy more handsome than him—that kind of aggressively stunning, top-tier divine face that made it hard for anyone to ignore his presence.
Lu Wenjie felt like he was a super high-wattage third wheel.
Shen here was flirting so brazenly right in front of him.
This was a first.
Being the third wheel was totally worth it.
Shen Xiuyu stood up. “Wait for me a moment, I’m going out to buy something.”
Lu Wenjie: “Brother Yu, it’s raining outside. Where are you going?”
He picked up his phone from the table and said, “It’s fine, I’ll be back soon.”
Ruan Tiantian watched his retreating figure. Even in the crowd, his height was exceptionally outstanding, towering noticeably over the people around him.
With his excellent head-to-shoulder ratio, his shoulder line was straight and long—the kind of attractive, well-defined shoulders. His long legs took large, effortless strides as he walked casually.
The black hair at the back of his head was fluffy and stylish, cut a bit shorter near the neck, making him look even more clean and refreshing. Even the skin on the back of his neck was a cool, pale white.
He was also the fairest-skinned boy she had ever seen who didn’t come off as effeminate. His great physique couldn’t be hidden even by long sleeves and pants. Usually carefree and casual, when he wasn’t speaking, he seemed cold and roguish, looking unapproachable and not exactly like a good guy.
Lu Wenjie noticed Ruan Tiantian staring at Shen Xiuyu’s retreating figure and said with a mischievous tone,
“Shen here is just so handsome!”
Ruan Tiantian snapped out of it, glanced at him, and immediately withdrew her gaze.
“Fairy sister, you don’t have to be embarrassed. Our Brother Yu’s face—ever since kindergarten, there have been girls secretly or openly crushing on him. Even I can’t help but take an extra look at someone that good-looking.”
Ruan Tiantian took a sip of hot tea and said nothing.
She felt extremely annoyed at herself for staring at his retreating figure for so long just now.
She was merely appreciating him, not secretly crushing on him.
“When I first met Brother Yu back in the affiliated high school, he was really handsome, but his attitude was so arrogant and cold. I couldn’t stand him, so I got into a fight with him. After that, we became brothers.”
“You couldn’t stand him, so you fought him?”
“Back then, I was still a passionate, rebellious teenager. There was a girl I liked who had a crush on Brother Yu, so I couldn’t stand him. And he happened to be really arrogant, so we ended up clashing.”
Ruan Tiantian couldn’t help but laugh, then asked curiously, “So when you fought, who won?”