The two of them stood at the entrance of the restaurant for a moment before the boss himself came over and personally led them to a private room on the second floor.
The boss was no longer young—he looked to be in his fifties or older—but his attitude toward Wang Yuqiong carried a subtle note of respect.
Though nothing in their conversation stood out as improper, a few minor gestures caught Shen An’s attention.
The boss always lagged a step behind Wang Yuqiong, as if he didn’t dare to walk ahead of her.
One could argue it was simple courtesy toward a guest, which made a certain kind of sense.
But if that was the case, wasn’t Shen An a guest too?
Among the three of them, Shen An trailed at the end, Wang Yuqiong led the way up front, and the boss walked between them—behind her but ahead of him.
If Shen An had stayed silent the whole time, it might have made sense for the boss to treat Wang Yuqiong as the leader and direct his questions to her.
But Shen An had been the one bringing up dinner the entire time.
The boss merely glanced back at Shen An with a smile but showed no sign of slowing down.
The university had no shortage of rich heirs and heiresses. Wang Yuqiong had specifically mentioned that the biggest backer behind the scenes bore the surname Zhao. Shen An wondered if the Wang family ranked somewhere under them.
He made a mental note but betrayed nothing on the surface, acting every bit the ordinary student.
Once they were seated, Shen An asked, “Boss, what are your signature dishes?”
“You’ve come to the right place,” the boss replied with a grin. “This is an old establishment—we’ve got famous dishes from every cuisine under the sun. Whatever the guest prefers, our kitchen can whip it up.”
“Any seafood?”
“Ah, you’ve got good taste. Seafood’s a bit tricky this time of year, but that’s what makes it taste so damn good.”
The boss picked up the menu with practiced ease and began recommending dishes one by one.
Shen An ordered a few, then turned to Wang Yuqiong. “What do you want?”
“I’m good,” she said flatly.
“No complaints later if the dishes don’t suit your taste.”
“Don’t worry—you can polish off everything yourself. I’m already stuffed from sheer aggravation.” Wang Yuqiong’s smile brimmed with teasing as she spoke.
Shen An shrugged. “These’ll do, then.”
“Right away. Won’t keep you waiting.”
The boss turned to leave, closing the private room’s door behind him.
Shen An busied himself rinsing the teacups with hot tea and casually asked, “Have you eaten here before?”
“No.” Wang Yuqiong shook her head.
“Then how’d you know it’s good?” Shen An chuckled.
“Heard it from someone.” She pursed her lips, clearly not in the mood to chat with him.
“You’re ordering all this seafood—no worries about gout?”
She picked up the little order slip from the side and couldn’t resist ribbing him.
“Seafood’s just a trigger. Genetics are what really decide if you’ll get it.”
Shen An finished rinsing the cups and set a freshly filled one in front of Wang Yuqiong. “I’m in great shape. No need to worry about me.”
She rolled her eyes. “As if I’d worry. I just don’t like seafood much.”
“But you said you had no objections earlier.”
“Relax. I don’t like it, but I’m not gonna fight you for it.”
“That’s where we differ. I like seafood. Right now.” Shen An gave a light laugh.
“Right now?” Wang Yuqiong couldn’t help but grin. “What, did you only start liking it recently?”
“Hey, you’re sharp.”
Shen An nodded slightly. “I used to be meh on seafood, but I had some at the Azure Sea Grand Hotel a while back. After that meal, I was hooked.”
Azure Sea Grand Hotel?
Wang Yuqiong’s brows shot up at the name. “That place is supposed to be crazy expensive.”
“Not just expensive—insanely so.” Shen An smacked his lips.
“You must be loaded.” She crossed her legs, her eyes fixed intently on him.
“Nah, wasn’t my treat. Someone else picked up the tab; I just ate.”
“Was it Senior Sister Zhao who treated you?”
A mocking smirk tugged at Wang Yuqiong’s lips, as if she were calling him out for already mooching off her.
Shen An raised his hand and playfully knocked her forehead. “Sounds like you’ve got her on the brain. Can’t go three sentences without mentioning her.”
Wang Yuqiong: ???
Her confusion swiftly turned to an indignant glare.
“What was that for? Did I say something wrong?” Shen An asked breezily.
“You’re so rude—don’t just go touching people like that.” She rubbed her forehead with a look of disgust.
“Fine, fine. After this meal, we go our separate ways and head home.”
“Hmph, I’d love to. But we’ll be coworkers from now on—or even if not, we’re in the same class. We’ll keep running into each other.”
Wang Yuqiong sighed. “Just thinking about it is torture.”
“Speaking of which, classes start tomorrow…” Shen An shifted topics, his face clouding over.
“Why the panic? You haven’t even looked at the schedule, have you?”
“Nope. Been swamped these past few days.”
“Fine, fine. Sending it to you now—check it out so you don’t show up late tomorrow.”
Wang Yuqiong pulled out her phone and sent him the class schedule file.
Shen An tapped it open and immediately gaped.
Holy…
Monday through Friday: at least two major lectures every day, all with morning classes.
Wednesday and Thursday were packed solid, from the first period in the morning straight through to the eighth in the afternoon.
This was a hellish schedule.
After scanning it, the dismay on Shen An’s face only deepened.
Wang Yuqiong couldn’t bear to watch. “What’s with that face? High school had way more classes.”
True enough.
High school had been true hell mode: from half-past six in the morning until after five in the afternoon, plus evening self-study. It was study, study, study, or on the way to study.
“True,” Shen An admitted, slumping back in his chair like a man with nothing left to live for. “But high school’s high school, and college’s college.”
“Aren’t colleges supposed to be chill? Light course loads, tons of free time?”
“This doesn’t look much different.”
“And… why so many English classes? Comprehensive English, Spoken English, English Listening, English Grammar…”
Shen An broke out in a cold sweat just looking at them.
Wang Yuqiong rolled her eyes again, thinking he was being dramatic. “Why freak out? Didn’t you ace English on your college entrance exams?”
He narrowed his eyes at that. “Full marks, yeah—but I’m actually not great at it.”
“And how’d you know I got full marks on English? I never told you. Did Senior Sister tip you off?”
Wang Yuqiong’s expression faltered for a second. “No, I just checked the files. Saw your scores by chance and remembered the perfect English.”
“Files? What files?”
“Duh, you’re not class president—you wouldn’t get them.” She said it with utter conviction. “Internal docs from the Academic Affairs Office.”
“But real talk, your scores are killer. Why come here?”
She eyed him curiously. “You could’ve gone to a top-tier school.”
East China Comprehensive University was a key university, high in the rankings, but in pure academics, it wasn’t quite at the absolute pinnacle.
All things considered, “comprehensive” summed it up.
Now it was Shen An’s turn to hesitate. He brushed it off just like she had. “Picked at random.”
“At random? Nobody picks a university randomly.”
Wang Yuqiong huffed, as if she’d seen right through him. “Bet you heard about the girl-to-guy ratio here and picked it on purpose.”
Shen An was grateful she’d handed him an even better excuse on a platter.
He nodded vigorously. “Cough, cough—guess you got me.”
“Tch. Plenty of guys come here with that in mind, only to realize it’s not what they expected.”
Wang Yuqiong teased. “The girls here are notoriously picky. Girl-heavy ratio or not—even if there were no guys at all, they wouldn’t settle.”
“If you’re chasing skirts, I’d drop that idea now. Buckle down and focus on studying.”
Shen An softened his tone. “Settle? Everyone here got in on merit. Who’s settling for who?”
“Er… just talking smack. No need to take it seriously.”
She explained, “Truth is, the girls here don’t go for the local guys, and the guys don’t go for the local girls. Mutual disdain. But as a girl, I gotta make it sound good.”
“Fair enough. That’s how it is everywhere—nobody’s ever hot for the people right in front of them.”
Shen An nodded in deep agreement.
Wang Yuqiong frowned at that. “So you’re saying you don’t think much of me either?”
He shot back, “Do you think much of me?”
“Of course not!” she denied in a hurry.
“See?” Shen An grinned and patted her shoulder. “At first, I figured your outgoing type wouldn’t mesh with a quiet guy like me.”
“But now? I think we could be solid bros.”
Wang Yuqiong raised her little hand and lightly elbowed him back. “What do you mean ‘wouldn’t mesh’? Is my personality that bad?”
“No, no—I just meant you came off so bold and outgoing at first. Figured it wouldn’t click with someone as taciturn as me.”
“You? The strong, silent type?” Wang Yuqiong tilted her head. “Aren’t you misunderstanding yourself a little?”
Shen An smiled faintly. “Deep down, I’m actually someone who prefers peace and quiet. Believe me?”
Wang Yuqiong nearly shook her head on reflex. He didn’t look like the quiet type at all.
But the sincerity and earnestness in his eyes made it hard for her to dismiss him outright.
“If I had to describe myself,” Shen An continued softly, “I’d say I’m an outgoing introvert. I come across as sociable and easygoing, able to chat with just about anyone. But it’s all surface-level—nodding acquaintances at best. I don’t open up easily, and I don’t have many real friends.”
Wang Yuqiong fell silent, absorbing his words.
Shen An watched her, then smiled again. “That’s why I think we could become good buddies. You strike me as the same type.”
“It’s just a mask we wear—the outgoing persona. Inside, we’re both independent and quiet souls.”
“You might think I’m being ridiculous or jumping to conclusions after only a few meetings.”
“But connections between people are magical like that. Sometimes, you know right away if you can be friends. It only takes one meeting, one real conversation.”
“Romance has love at first sight, after all. Why shouldn’t friendship?”
“It doesn’t need time to build—just time to prove itself.”
Shen An rested his chin on his hand, gazing intently into Wang Yuqiong’s eyes with utmost seriousness. “When it comes to friendship, you’re my love at first sight. We’re destined to be soulmates.”
Wang Yuqiong stared at him blankly for a moment. A faint blush crept across her delicate features, and in a mix of embarrassment and annoyance, she reached out to cover his eyes.
“Just say what you have to say—stop staring at me like that!”
“And love at first sight? That’s so corny. Like I’d ever fall for you on sight.”
Shen An put on a wounded expression. “I meant in the friendship sense. Don’t get the wrong idea.”
“Pfft, who’s getting the wrong idea?”
Wang Yuqiong pulled her hand back and gave him a light scolding. “It’s ‘birds of a feather’ or ‘kindred spirits.’ You can’t even use the idiom right, and yet you aced language arts?”
“Ah, right right right—kindred spirits. My bad.”
Shen An broke into a wide grin, his laughter bright and unrestrained. It was so infectious that Wang Yuqiong couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle, though she held back from laughing fully to preserve her poise.
As their laughter faded, Wang Yuqiong shot him a coquettish glare. “Don’t get too smug. I’m not like that at all. I’m a thousand-faced fox.”
“Whatever side you want to see, I can show it to you.”
“A fox? You’re one too?” Shen An arched an eyebrow.
“Too?”
Wang Yuqiong eyed him with playful curiosity.
“Oh, no, nothing like that. Comparing myself to a fox probably isn’t the best idea.”
“Mind your own business~” Wang Yuqiong replied, her charm on full display. Amid her gentle demeanor shone a touch of allure, blended with the shy pride of a young woman. It left Shen An momentarily entranced.
She caught his dazed look, and her smile blossomed even brighter, brimming with satisfaction.
At that moment, the door swung open, and the server arrived with platters of freshly prepared seafood.
Shen An’s attention snapped to the food. He grabbed his chopsticks. “Here we go—dig in, dig in.”
Wang Yuqiong blinked in surprise, then shot him a faintly resentful glare. She muttered under her breath, “Always thinking with your stomach, just like a pig. Kindred spirits? I’m not soulmates with a pig like you.”
