Two tables away, Gong Shaoyang had sat down next to Lin Xuechun, his gaze fixed squarely on her face, one corner of his mouth hitched up in a roguish grin as he said something to her.
Xi Chenzhou looked for only two seconds before expressionlessly averting his gaze.
He continued eating.
More than half of the food on his tray was already gone.
The meals at domestic universities were far more varied than what he’d had abroad.
Overseas, it had been sandwiches, burgers, and pizza day after day, or else various pan-seared meats and seafood with salad.
After a while, he’d stopped having any expectations when it came to food—it was purely about getting his daily energy.
By comparison, the cafeteria food back home was at least palatable.
“That scumbag is chatting up my goddess—why’s he keep clinging to her?”
Shen Yu was monitoring Gong Shaoyang’s movements in real time.
Xi Chenzhou was just about done eating. He set down his chopsticks, reached naturally into the pocket of his hoodie, pulled out his phone, and unlocked it.
His fingers tapped across the screen.
Lin Xuechun was halfway through her meal when a figure suddenly appeared beside her, accompanied by a mix of men’s cologne and hair gel.
She furrowed her brow slightly, a bit put off.
“Classmate Lin, what a coincidence.” Gong Shaoyang greeted her.
“Hello.” She nodded politely at him, then lowered her head and continued eating.
She wasn’t familiar with Gong Shaoyang.
They’d met because she’d once accompanied Zhou Xinran to watch Xu Yang play basketball, and Gong Shaoyang had been there too. He’d added her on WeChat, then asked her out several times after that—she’d turned him down with excuses every time.
To be honest, he wasn’t bad-looking. He was tall enough, and he had a decent build, but she felt nothing for him—no physical pull whatsoever.
On top of that, Xu Yang had mentioned he was into casual hookups, so she wanted to keep as much distance as possible.
“Classmate Lin, we’ve got a friendly match against the medical university next door on Sunday. You should come watch!” Gong Shaoyang curved his lips upward, the silver earring on his right ear glinting under the cafeteria’s bright lights.
Lin Xuechun gave an awkward smile. “Sorry, Classmate Gong, I’ll be busy with my group project this weekend. I probably won’t have time to watch the game.”
Thanks to her face, even her rejections came across as sincere.
He’d asked her out several times, and she’d never once agreed. Gong Shaoyang refused to give up and pressed further: “Then when will you be done? Send me a WeChat message, and we can grab dinner together. There’s a nice French restaurant—lots of influencers go there.”
The thing Lin Xuechun hated most was influencer-frequented restaurants. She was just thinking of an excuse to refuse when her phone, lying beside her tray, vibrated.
She picked it up and unlocked it.
A WeChat message had come in.
xcz: 【How are you getting there on Saturday?】
Zhou Xinran had picked a bookstore café inside a mall on the pedestrian street in the city center—more than ten kilometers from campus.
Lin Xuechun hadn’t expected Xi Chenzhou to message her. She instinctively lifted her head and glanced toward his table.
Two tables away, Xi Chenzhou was looking down at his phone. As if sensing her gaze, he looked up too, and their eyes met in midair.
His expression was indifferent, as if he hadn’t been the one who’d just sent that message.
Lin Xuechun pressed her lips together, looked away, and turned to Zhou Xinran. “How are you and Xu Yang getting there on Saturday? Subway or cab?”
Zhou Xinran’s gaze drifted a little, and she said guiltily, “Um… babe, we’re… Friday night…”
They’d probably be getting a hotel room.
Lin Xuechun blinked and gave her a knowing look, then lowered her head to reply to Xi Chenzhou.
Little Snow Not Pure: 【I’m taking the subway.】
xcz: 【Leaving from campus?】
Little Snow Not Pure: 【Mm-hmm.】
xcz: 【What time?】
Little Snow Not Pure: 【9?】
xcz: 【Together. Meet at 8:50 outside your dorm?】
Huh?
Meet outside her dorm? He wanted to go together with her?
【You’re coming with me?】
xcz: 【Mm. Not too familiar with the routes around here.】
Not too familiar?
He wasn’t from Jingbei either?
Still, that reason… seemed plausible enough.
Little Snow Not Pure: 【See you Saturday then.】
xcz: 【Mm.】
After sending her reply, Lin Xuechun went ahead and scrolled through the other unread messages she’d gotten.
Leaving Gong Shaoyang hanging.
Gong Shaoyang prided himself on having enough presence that no girl would overlook him, and for a moment, he was genuinely annoyed.
The main thing was, he’d asked Lin Xuechun out several times now, and she’d found an excuse to refuse every single time.
“When are you free?”
He finally couldn’t hold back and asked directly.
“Huh? What?” Lin Xuechun looked up a beat late, her eyes dazed and innocent, as if she truly had no idea what he was talking about.
Gong Shaoyang gritted his teeth, the right corner of his mouth twitching upward. “I want to take you out to dinner. I know this place—”
“Oh, dinner! No need to be so polite, Classmate Gong. I haven’t done anything to help you.” Lin Xuechun cut him off, picked up her tray, and stood. “I’m done eating. Enjoy your meal.”
With that, she shot Zhou Xinran a look.
Zhou Xinran caught on quickly and stood up with her tray too. “Babe, come with me to the parcel station to pick up a package, and I want to grab a milk tea on the way…”
“Sure, let’s hurry then.”
The two worked in tandem and slipped away in no time.
Even Gong Shaoyang, dense as he could be, could tell that Lin Xuechun was deliberately avoiding him.
What was he being so high and mighty about? It was just a meal—did he think she was chasing after him or something?
Gong Shaoyang’s face was as sour as could be. He threw down his chopsticks and stopped eating. Without even returning his tray, he stormed off in a huff.
Shen Yu had been keeping an eye on the situation the whole time.
“Hahahaha, looks like Gong Shaoyang hit a wall with my goddess. I knew she’d never fall for a scumbag like him. He couldn’t even get three sentences in before she bailed—she couldn’t get away from him fast enough, oh hahahaha!”
“Hey, Zhou-ge, what kind of guy do you think my goddess likes? Gong Shaoyang’s a piece of trash, but he’s not bad-looking, and even he’s not good enough for her…”
“No idea. Done eating? If you’re done, let’s go.” Xi Chenzhou cut off his gossip, tucking his phone back into his hoodie pocket.
“Almost, almost.” Shen Yu picked up his tray, shoveled a few mouthfuls of food in with his chopsticks, chewing loudly, then stood up. “Mm, alright, alright, let’s go.”
…
Saturday morning.
Lin Xuechun crawled out of bed. Her other two roommates were still asleep, so she tiptoed down from her bunk, washed up, and got ready.
Not wanting to rush in the morning, she’d already washed her hair the night before—this morning she only needed to brush her teeth and wash her face.
As expected, Zhou Xinran hadn’t come back last night—she’d stayed out with Xu Yang. She’d gone off the grid at eight in the evening, not even replying to WeChat. Normally she was a night owl, the type who wouldn’t sleep until the moon did. For her to sleep that early last night, it wasn’t hard to guess what she was up to.
Lin Xuechun knew her girl was off having a good time, so she didn’t bother her.