Shen An savored this meal to his heart’s content.
Once the seafood feast was served, he dove in with gusto, stuffing his face relentlessly. Xu Yijing tried striking up conversations several times, but he brushed them off with mouthfuls of food.
After a few attempts, she simply closed her mouth.
Their eating styles couldn’t have been more different.
If Xu Yijing embodied her usual elegant, ladylike poise, then Shen An was undoubtedly eating as if he’d starved in his past life, afraid he’d go hungry if he didn’t devour everything in sight.
Watching his greasy hands and the occasional slurping sounds from the corners of his mouth, Xu Yijing felt her forehead twitch faintly, creases forming briefly.
It reminded her of Shen An slurping noodles the night before. She was deeply curious—slurping while eating noodles made sense, but why was he slurping seafood too?
“Um…”
She hesitated, only to see Shen An holding a crab leg, blinking at her. “Do you want this one?”
He offered the uncracked crab leg toward Xu Yijing.
Or… maybe not.
Xu Yijing forced a smile. “No need.”
“Oh, I haven’t gotten the meat out yet. Let me do it for you.”
Shen An volunteered eagerly.
“No, really, it’s fine.” Xu Yijing rubbed her forehead.
“But you haven’t eaten much. Aren’t you hungry?”
A pile of seafood remnants towered in front of Shen An’s bowl, while Xu Yijing’s was spotless. She’d only quietly picked at a few pieces of fish the whole time.
“My appetite’s always been like this. Don’t worry.”
Xu Yijing said softly.
“But you look a bit frail. Is it a stomach issue?” Shen An asked.
“Maybe. You eat first. I need to use the restroom.”
Xu Yijing stood up. She couldn’t stand the “carnage” on the table any longer and needed a moment to compose herself.
The moment she left, Shen An withdrew his gaze and leisurely wiped the stains from his mouth.
He hadn’t meant to eat so sloppily, but he’d developed a bit of resistance toward spending time with Xu Yijing.
From subtle observations, he’d guessed she was very particular about cleanliness—perhaps even had a touch of OCD.
Rather than let her sit in awkward silence, it was better to eat messily and distract her.
About ten minutes later, when Xu Yijing returned, barely any seafood remained on the table.
She was a little surprised by Shen An’s appetite but even more relieved that she’d timed her return perfectly.
“Full?”
“Yeah, thanks. Next time, dinner’s on me.” Shen An said gently.
“We’ll talk about that later. Since you’re full, let’s head back.”
Xu Yijing turned away, thinking to herself, “I hope there’s another chance like this~ Heh.”
Shen An followed Xu Yijing out of the hotel.
They didn’t stop at the front desk, heading straight for the exit where her car waited.
She must have settled the bill while she was in the restroom.
Then again, if her mother owned the hotel, she probably didn’t even need to pay— just put it on the tab.
Back at the apartment, Shen An exchanged a few brief words with her before retreating to his room.
He was feeling sleepy and planned to catch an afternoon nap while he still had time.
He’d just lain down when his phone buzzed with a notification.
Nannan?
He assumed it was Chen Nannan messaging him, but when he checked, it was a friend request.
The four girls from the dorm—led by Wang Yuqiong—had all added him at once.
They must have just finished lunch.
The class meeting had ended three or four hours ago, so their meal had dragged on quite a while.
Shen An mused idly as he approved all four requests.
Ding!
The moment he did, Song Rui messaged him: “Thanks.”
Shen An replied with a question mark: “?”
Song Rui: “Thanks for encouraging me.”
“Oh, no big deal. You should thank your roommates—they put in a lot of effort. And give Yang Bin a nod too.”
“Who’s Yang Bin?” Song Rui asked curiously.
Shen An sighed inwardly for Yang Bin. “The unlucky guy who lost to you by one vote.”
“Oh, right…”
Song Rui hesitated. “So… why thank him?”
“Good question. Have you heard the story of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu?”
“A little.”
“Without Xiang Yu to make him look good by comparison, Liu Bang’s shine would fade a lot. Get what I mean?”
“Nope.”
“…”
Shen An switched topics. “You all done eating?”
“Yeah, heading back to the dorm now.”
“Where’s your dorm again?”
“East 7! East 7 Dormitory 105.” Song Rui was straightforward, giving him the full address.
“Got it. I’ll drop by sometime.”
“Huh? Can you even get in? The girls’ dorm doesn’t let guys inside.”
Shen An chuckled helplessly. “I mean if there’s a chance and I can get in.”
“Oh, right~ Should I tell Yuqiong and the others?”
“No need.”
That was about where the small talk could end.
Shen An had no desire to keep chatting. He was tired.
But Song Rui was proactive. She messaged again: “I beat that Yang Bin by one vote. Was that your vote?”
“You seem eager to repay me.”
“Not really… just… feels awkward not to.”
“You’re the academic committee member, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Here’s a deal then. If you want to thank me, just put a little extra effort into homework and such from now on. That’ll square us.”
“Huh? What’s wrong with homework…?”
“Whenever there’s homework, just do an extra copy for me and turn it in!”
“?”
Song Rui blinked in confusion. “That doesn’t seem right…”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“It might break school rules.”
“No rush. Think it over. But our chat’s gotta pause here, unfortunately.”
“Huh? Why?”
Shen An sighed. “Miss, aren’t you sleepy?”
“Nope! We’re waiting for the Little Yellow Shuttle back.”
“But I am.”
“Oh, right. Sorry! Rest up!!”
Song Rui put away her phone, puffing out her cheeks.
Wang Yuqiong noticed and glanced at their other two roommates, who were bantering up front. She leaned in. “How’d the chat go?”
Song Rui jumped, her hand jerking and nearly dropping her phone.
“Ah? What… what chat?”
Song Rui looked at Wang Yuqiong in panic.
“That Shen guy. You were messaging him, right?”
Wang Yuqiong said openly. “I happened to see.”
“Uh… just… thanking him.”
Song Rui scratched her head.
“For helping you decide to run for election?”
“Yeah… but he said to thank you… and that Yang Bin too.”
Song Rui spilled the details.
“Who’s Yang Bin?”
Wang Yuqiong paused. The name sounded vaguely unfamiliar.
That stumped Song Rui.
She said blankly, “One of our classmates? The one I beat by a vote, I think…”
The clear hint clicked for Wang Yuqiong, bringing a face to mind.
“Oh, got it. But why thank him?”
“No idea. He said without Xiang Yu’s contrast, Liu Bang wouldn’t shine as much. Yuqiong, do you get what he meant?”
Song Rui looked at her eagerly.
“Ha~” Wang Yuqiong covered her mouth and chuckled softly. “He’s just teasing.”
“Oh, I see.” Song Rui nodded, half-understanding.
She still didn’t grasp how it related to her election.
But if she admitted that, she’d look dumb.
So she pretended to get it.
“Were you gonna treat him to dinner?” Wang Yuqiong asked affectionately, taking Song Rui’s hand.
“I was thinking about it, but… I didn’t say it yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because he said he needed rest… and that to thank him, I should… do his homework.”
“Do his homework?” Wang Yuqiong’s eyes flickered with confusion.
“Yeah, he doesn’t plan to do it himself… and as academic committee member, I should help.”
“How can he say that?”
Wang Yuqiong said seriously. “Have you tallied up how much homework there is over four years?”
“I… I didn’t agree…” Song Rui whispered.
“You scared me. I thought you’d foolishly said yes.” Wang Yuqiong said indignantly. “Just treat him to dinner next time.”
“Yeah…” Song Rui nodded.
“But he seems pretty interested in you.” Wang Yuqiong shifted topics, gossiping playfully.
“Huh? Really?”
Song Rui hid a fleeting blush, ducking her head.
“Yeah, during the class meeting, he looked at you several times.”
Wang Yuqiong half-joked, half-teased. “He didn’t even glance my way when I walked by.”
“And he supported your campaign. How’d he even know you wanted to run? You hadn’t told us.”
Under Wang Yuqiong’s scrutiny, Song Rui stammered out the story of bumping into Shen An in the hallway.
“Hmm, judging by this, he really does seem to treat you differently.”
Wang Yuqiong rubbed her chin, lost in thought.
“No way, I think it’s just a coincidence…” Song Rui retorted weakly.
“Even if it was a coincidence, a normal guy wouldn’t ask you so many questions, right? He’d just take one look and go about his business.”
“Eh… yeah… you’re right.”
Song Rui never really had strong opinions of her own.
“In that case, you need to be a little careful,” Wang Yuqiong said, leaning close to Song Rui’s ear in warning.
Before Song Rui could ask why, she supplied the answer. “I get the feeling he’s someone with a pretty eventful past.”
“You know how guys like that are—great as close confidants, but a real handful as boyfriends.”
“And he seems to get along well with Senior Sister Nannan too. Think about it: he’s only been at school a few days, and he’s already thick as thieves with the Assistant Senior Sister.”
Wang Yuqiong laid it all out point by point for Song Rui, like her personal strategist.
Song Rui didn’t quite follow, though.
Why would being good as a confidant make him bad as a boyfriend?
And she hadn’t even said anything about wanting him as her boyfriend…
He probably wouldn’t be interested in someone like her anyway.
Deep down, Song Rui still believed it was just a coincidence—that he was simply a kindhearted guy.
But for all her inner doubts, she pretended to get it, nodding along vigorously.
After going on at length, Wang Yuqiong wrapped up. “Tell you what—when are you planning to treat him to that meal? I’ll tag along with you.”
Huh?
Song Rui blinked her big eyes, utterly baffled at how they’d circled back to this.
Wang Yuqiong patted her shoulder gently. “You’d probably have a hard time handling him on your own, right? If you end up tongue-tied, dinner’s going to be super awkward.”
Song Rui paused at that.
She had no idea how Wang Yuqiong had steered the conversation to dinner, but the point was valid.
Truth be told, Song Rui wasn’t keen on dining alone with Shen An.
That reluctance came from a touch of self-consciousness.
“What do you say?” Wang Yuqiong coaxed softly. “Unless you think you can manage him solo—that’d be ideal.”
“Um…” Song Rui hesitated.
Suddenly, voices sounded nearby.
“Are you two freshmen?”
Song Rui looked up to see several senior sisters walking toward them.
“Yes, we are,” Wang Yuqiong replied with a smile.
“Here, check this out. We’re setting up booths at the Main Athletic Field tomorrow. Swing by if you’re interested!”
The senior sisters handed a flyer to each of them.
The pages were packed with activities from various clubs, Student Union departments, and other college organizations.
Wang Yuqiong held the group back, chatting animatedly and firing off questions.
She was clearly intrigued.
Song Rui, meanwhile, bowed her head and studied her flyer in silence.
Her eyes locked onto the bold text right in the center: “College Art Troupe!”
