He had temporarily escaped disaster, but Shen An didn’t let his guard down.
Compared to a little weakling like Song Rui, Zhao Qingyu was the real sly fox—the kind that devoured people whole without spitting out the bones.
He followed her to a corner of the hall. Once she stopped, he grinned and asked, “Any more orders, Senior Sister?”
Zhao Qingyu narrowed her eyes, her arms crossing habitually over her chest.
This gesture was usually interpreted as defensiveness, especially with someone you weren’t close to.
But the meaning of any action wasn’t fixed; it varied by context and person.
Beyond defensiveness, in this moment—at least in Shen An’s eyes—it was Zhao Qingyu’s habitual way of maintaining her “aloofness.”
“What did that little girl just say to you?”
Zhao Qingyu pondered for a moment. “Song Rui, was it?”
She gave a light laugh and patted her forehead. “I can never seem to remember her name. How rude of me.”
Paired with her crossed arms, those words carried an unmistakable air of casual indifference and arrogance.
Shen An smiled and shook his head. “Though you say you can’t remember, Senior Sister, you always manage to get Song Rui’s name exactly right.”
Zhao Qingyu’s expression froze for an instant, her feigned nonchalance disrupted by his subtle counter.
Hmph~
She took a step forward, closing the distance to Shen An, and stared intently into his eyes. “So, what did Song Rui say to you?”
“Does that mean I can accuse you of gossiping about my private life again, Senior Sister?”
Shen An blinked, a teasing glint in his eye.
“You can!”
Zhao Qingyu let out a cold huff. “Spill it.”
“It was nothing. She just asked if I was free tonight. She wants to watch the fireworks, but her roommate doesn’t seem interested.”
Shen An smoothly spun his explanation. “Song Rui’s a bit timid and introverted. She doesn’t want to go alone, so she asked me.”
“Oh~ Sounds like you’re well on your way to becoming her big brother, taking care of everything for her.”
Zhao Qingyu’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Even during the first interview, you fought tooth and nail for her chance. You two seem pretty close, and she relies on you a lot.”
In just a few short sentences, Zhao Qingyu packed layers of sarcasm and pointed barbs.
Along with a meaningfully probing “question.”
Shen An deftly deflected her sharp words without missing a beat. “You’re joking, Senior Sister. It’s not like we’re that close—just normal friends.”
“You haven’t been in our classes, so you’re missing some context. Song Rui looks out for me too. We help each other out.”
“Oh~” Zhao Qingyu nodded in mock realization. “And how exactly do you ‘help each other’?”
“Well, she grabs breakfast for me sometimes, helps with homework—stuff I’m terrible at. But she’s the one who struggles with networking in the group.”
“We just cover each other’s weaknesses. I help her with group stuff, and she helps me day-to-day.”
Shen An stated it all with perfect confidence.
Zhao Qingyu wasn’t entirely convinced, but pressing further would make her seem desperate.
She furrowed her brow slightly and scolded him. “You can’t even buy your own breakfast? Can’t you get out of bed?”
Hearing this, Shen An put on a crestfallen expression. “Laziness might be my one fatal flaw. Getting up early for class is pure torture for me.”
He rubbed his hands together. “Not being late is already the greatest respect I can show the teacher and the class.”
Zhao Qingyu arched a brow, her red lips pressing into a line as if she had something to say. But what came out was laced with a hint of resentment: “I guess that’s something to envy.”
“Hey, come on, Senior Sister. Why would you envy that? You probably don’t even buy your own breakfast—someone brings it right to your bed the moment you wake up!”
“?”
“Uh… cough cough, I didn’t mean anything by it, Senior Sister.”
“What do you think I’m envying? I’m envying how close you two are!”
“Oh? That? No need to envy us. My relationship with you is even better, Senior Sister!”
The probing question hidden in her words had really just been fishing for that exact answer.
Shen An delivered it neither too deliberately nor too solemnly, figuring it should hold off her offensive for now.
But women were always greedy for more.
Zhao Qingyu covered her mouth with a light laugh, her smile genuinely bright—an affirmation of his response.
Once the smile faded, she narrowed her eyes again. “I remember Yuqiong is in the same class as her, right?”
“Wow, Senior Sister, your memory is sharp.”
Shen An gave her a thumbs-up.
Zhao Qingyu sighed. “It’s strange, really. Girls should get along easier, but in your case, it seems reversed.”
Shen An kept smiling, firmly declining to engage.
“Earlier outside, you and Yuqiong suddenly vanished. I asked Song Rui, and she said you went after Yuqiong.”
Zhao Qingyu slipped back into her casual tone. “What happened? It sounds like there was some friction between you two.”
“No real friction—just a little spat.”
“What kind of spat? Tell me.”
“Uh, Senior Sister…”
Zhao Qingyu said coolly, “As Troupe Leader, it’s my duty to know about any issues between members, to prevent small conflicts from escalating.”
“Besides, you’re the office secretary. You have to deal with every department. If you clash with someone and it affects work later, that wouldn’t be good, right?”
It was an airtight excuse.
Shen An shrugged. “Well… it might not be objective coming from me. Why not ask Yuqiong?”
“No problem. Hers might not be objective either. I can ask you first, then her.” Zhao Qingyu’s smile turned sly. “Putting both sides together—that’s what makes it objective.”
Good grief, she was digging to the root of it.
Shen An grumbled inwardly. “Simply put, it was an uneven distribution issue.”
“I was grilling stuff for everyone earlier, but I didn’t get to her, so she got upset~ She thought I was targeting her.”
“But I swear, I wasn’t. There were just too many people; I forgot for a moment.”
“And she didn’t say anything! Sigh.”
Shen An sighed.
Zhao Qingyu raised a brow. “That’s it?”
“Yeah. Then she huffed that she wasn’t eating and ran outside. With this blazing sun and the long walk back, I was worried she’d get lost or suffer heatstroke, so I chased after her.”
Shen An pouted. “Senior Sister, what’s with girls these days? They get mad over nothing, get all imbalanced inside, bottle it up instead of speaking up. Just say it straight, right? Why make people guess? I’m no mind reader—how am I supposed to get it right every time? And if I don’t, they get even madder! So hard to please, don’t you think?”
Zhao Qingyu: …
“Yeah, I agree that’s not good.”
Zhao Qingyu gritted her teeth, her eyes flashing with murder.
“Heh heh, but I got lucky. I caught up to her, we talked, I apologized, and she cooled off.”
“Then it was fine. Don’t worry, Senior Sister—I won’t start conflicts easily, and it definitely won’t affect work.”
Shen An patted his chest in assurance.
“Mm, Yuqiong does seem over it.”
Zhao Qingyu leaned in closer. “I saw her come up to you earlier and whisper something. She doesn’t want to watch the fireworks alone either and wants to go with you, does she?”
The conversation had circled back to the starting point.
But rather than wasted words, it was all deliberate buildup from Zhao Qingyu.
If she’d asked outright at first, she’d have left too much room for Shen An to wriggle.
“This… she didn’t say.”
Shen An hesitated.
“So what did she say?” Zhao Qingyu gazed at him with a beaming smile.
“Uh…”
“Shen An~” Zhao Qingyu suddenly reached out, her fox-like eyes softening with gentle warmth.
“Hm?”
“You’re the office secretary—my secretary.”
Zhao Qingyu tenderly straightened his collar. “Is there anything you can’t tell me? And I’m not gossiping about your private life. In your position, there’s no real divide between public and private.”
“Public matters can be private, and private can be public. You get it?”
“I do!” Shen An nodded.
“Good. Now that you understand…” Zhao Qingyu released her hand, her smile radiant. “What did she say to you?”
“She… she told me to go back and charge my phone.”
Shen An said solemnly.
“Oh? Your phone’s dead?”
“Yeah.” Shen An pulled out his phone from his pocket and tapped the screen—no response.
“You’ve been busy all afternoon; I didn’t see you using it.”
“Maybe I forgot to charge it last night.”
“Ah, that’s careless.”
“I… I’ll do better next time.”
“Mm, knowing to improve is good.” Zhao Qingyu nodded in satisfaction, then added, “Yuqiong’s thoughtful, though—specially reminding you so you don’t forget tonight.”
“Heh heh…”
“Do you have your charger with you?” Zhao Qingyu asked.
“Uh…”
“You don’t?” A sly glint flashed in her eyes.
“Guess not…”
“Then how are you going to charge it? Your room doesn’t come with a charging cable.” Zhao Qingyu seemed a bit “troubled” herself.
“I… I’ll just borrow one from someone else.”
“Sigh, why go through all that hassle?” Zhao Qingyu extended her hand. “I can charge it for you, can’t I?”
Shen An: ?????
Here it comes—the true intentions revealed.
A massive hotel like this, and it wouldn’t have charging cables?!
What year did she think it was?
“What, afraid I’ll snoop through your phone?” A trace of disdain crossed Zhao Qingyu’s face. “Relax, I have zero interest in that junky phone of yours.”
“I’m just offering to top it up for you as a convenience.”
Shen An chuckled to himself.
If you really had no interest whatsoever, couldn’t you just grab one from the hotel manager?
Not even mentioning that—he’d already spotted several right there at the front desk.
“What? Still not trusting me? Then lock your phone.”
Zhao Qingyu shot him a sidelong glance, her eyes brimming with disdain and disgust. “I don’t know your password anyway, so I couldn’t get in even if I tried. Problem solved, right?”
Shen An smiled faintly. “How could I not trust you? I don’t even bother setting a lock myself. I’m just worried about putting Senior Sister out.”
With that, he handed her his phone.
He knew exactly what Zhao Qingyu was scheming, but for him, it might not be such a bad thing.
If the phone stayed in his hands, how was he supposed to dodge invitations from Song Rui and Wang Yuqiong later?
Better to toss this hot potato her way.
Even if she did nothing at all, he could always pin the blame on her.
In a way, Zhao Qingyu’s sudden meddling had inadvertently bailed him out.
Zhao Qingyu took the phone with a casual flick of her wrist, the disdain in her eyes un faded. She stared at the pink phone case, her disgust somehow deepening even further.
Then she looked Shen An up and down, as if on the verge of saying something but holding back.
Shen An could already read it in her gaze: What kind of grown man uses a pink phone case!
“Then I’ll leave it to you, Senior Sister.”
Shen An said with a light laugh.
“Mmm~” Zhao Qingyu hummed through her nose and turned to go.
“Hey, Senior Sister, you’re just leaving like that?”
Shen An called after her in a hurry.
Zhao Qingyu paused. “Something else?”
Shen An scratched his head. “I figured you came all the way here specifically to give me some instructions or other.”
He was dropping a hint for Zhao Qingyu.
She arched a brow, the corner of her mouth quirking up. “Oh? Good thing you reminded me.”
“I do have something to tell you.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“Stay put in your room, got it?”
Shen An put on a show of surprise. “Huh? I… I was planning to watch the fireworks.”
Zhao Qingyu merely smiled without a word and walked away.
Watching her retreating figure—her steps carrying just a hint of smugness—Shen An broke into a roguish grin of his own.
Tsk~
