Running Interference

The young woman smiled faintly at his words, straightened her skirt, and sat down.

Xiao Bei looked at her, flashed a row of pearly white teeth, and said with a smile, "Hello, classmate. I'm Xiao Bei."

Now that they had made contact, he had to press the advantage. Only by taking the initiative could there be a story, right?

Don't be too afraid to go up and greet a pretty girl just because she was beautiful.

After all, plenty of people thought the same way. No matter how beautiful a goddess was, she was still human.

If you truly couldn't overcome your fear of greeting a goddess, just think: didn't goddesses fart too?

Hey, I fart, goddesses fart—we weren't all that different!

Of course, you absolutely must not walk up and ask a goddess directly, "Hey, goddess, do you fart?"

Then it would just depend on whether you could take a beating.

The young woman was also a little curious about the boy in front of her. Seeing Xiao Bei take the initiative to greet her, she responded with a polite smile as well. "Hello, classmate. My name is Liu Qingyan!"

"That's a lovely name. A daughter of the Liu family, breathtakingly beautiful, gentle and fair of face!"

The moment Xiao Bei heard Liu Qingyan's name, he immediately thought of its meaning. Qing implied a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms, which suited her appearance perfectly. Yan referred to gentleness, approachability, and beauty. Though he had not interacted with her much, she gave off the impression of a graceful, virtuous young lady—gentle, approachable, and lovely. Gentle and fair of face.

At his words, Liu Qingyan smiled slightly. Especially when she smiled with narrowed eyes, she possessed the softness and delicate sweetness of a girl from Jiangnan.

She studied Xiao Bei, then said happily, "Classmate, your words are so sweet. And that was quite novel too—no one has ever described my name that way before."

"You're too modest, miss. Are you a freshman too?" Xiao Bei didn't let the atmosphere cool down and immediately tossed out another question.

A faint smile appeared on Liu Qingyan's face. "I'm not a freshman. I'm a junior this year, so you should call me Senior. Come on, junior, call me Senior."

"Hello, Senior!" Xiao Bei called out immediately. There was no way he would pass up a form of address that could bring them closer.

"Where do you go to university, Junior?" Liu Qingyan brushed back her lovely hair.

"Hangzhou. What about you, Senior?"

"I'm in Shanghai."

Xiao Bei was slightly stunned. She actually wasn't in Hangzhou, but he quickly accepted it. Shanghai didn't seem that far from Hangzhou anyway!

"What university do you attend, Senior?"

Liu Qingyan pursed her lips in a smile and replied, "Modu Music Academy."

Xiao Bei's eyes lit up. Modu Music Academy?!

Wasn't that a cradle for stars?

Damn, his luck was this good? He'd hooked up with—no, met—a senior who might become a star in the future.

Just as Xiao Bei was about to say something flirtatious, they saw a man arrive at the other empty seat.

Xiao Bei and Liu Qingyan were not seated in a row of two, but in a row of three.

Liu Qingyan sat in the middle, while Xiao Bei was by the window.

The man who had just arrived took the aisle seat.

The moment the man reached his seat, he froze. He had never expected the person beside him to be such an absolute beauty!

The man clearly wasn't a student. His face was greasy, his head fat and round. He wore a dog-head print T-shirt, a thick gold chain around his neck, skinny pants and loafer shoes below, and a large "H" belt around his waist. He had no luggage.

He merely had a black wallet tucked under his arm.

There was also a strong smell of alcohol about him.

The moment he sat down, he familiarly asked Liu Qingyan beside him, "Beauty, are you from Modu Music Academy? I know that place well. Want to become a star? I know lots of directors."

Facing this overly familiar man, Liu Qingyan coldly replied, "Thank you, but no need."

At that moment, Xiao Bei frowned slightly. Instinctively, he felt that the man before him was no good.

But since this fat pig had not done anything excessive yet, Xiao Bei did not say anything.

Seeing Liu Qingyan reject him outright, the man felt he was losing face.

He hurriedly held out a hand, showing off an obviously fake Rolex Green Water Ghost, and said smugly:

"Beauty, look at my watch—a Rolex! Look at my belt, it's VL. You can tell how capable I am!"

"To make it in this world, you need connections and strength, especially people like you who study the arts."

"Call me Big Brother today, and I guarantee you'll live the good life in the entertainment industry!"

Liu Qingyan frowned slightly at his words. Clearly, she had never encountered such a situation before, so she shifted a little toward Xiao Bei.

Pfft!

At that moment, Xiao Bei suddenly laughed.

The man narrowed his eyes slightly and glared at Xiao Bei fiercely.

"What are you laughing at? Do I look funny?"

"Big Brother, you misunderstand. You look devastatingly handsome. It's just that, Big Brother, Rolex and LV are in fashion now. Your Rolax and VL are already out of style!"

After hearing Xiao Bei's words, the man's cheeks reddened slightly. Clearly, he knew that his attempt at showing off had made a complete fool of himself!

Then he muttered awkwardly, "Real big shots keep a low profile!"

Sitting in the middle, Liu Qingyan smiled slightly at Xiao Bei's teasing of the man. There was a little more curiosity in the way she looked at him.

Xiao Bei smiled at her, just about to say something when the fat pig beside them interrupted again. "Beauty, what a coincidence! Amid the vast sea of people, we met here. That proves that in our past lives, we must have brushed shoulders! Only then could we meet like this in this life!"

Hearing the fat pig's words, Xiao Bei's heart stirred. He did not immediately step in to resolve Liu Qingyan's harassment, wanting instead to see how she would handle it.

Liu Qingyan gave the fat pig a bland glance and replied without much emotion.

"I did indeed brush past you in my previous life. This life will be the same!"

"Beauty, meeting is fate. You're still young and haven't entered society, so you don't know how terrifying society is. Trust Big Brother. Acknowledge me as your big brother, and I'll protect you completely!"

"I can protect myself!"

Liu Qingyan remained indifferent. After speaking, she turned to look in Xiao Bei's direction.

She felt deeply uncomfortable. All kinds of people existed these days.

The man still wanted to speak, but Xiao Bei directly said to Liu Qingyan, "Senior, I'm going to the restroom. Could you please watch my things for me?"

"Okay."

Liu Qingyan agreed immediately. Xiao Bei smiled slightly, left his seat, and took a turn around the restroom.

He soon returned to his seat. At that moment, the man was still pestering Liu Qingyan.

Xiao Bei winked at Liu Qingyan, then said, "Senior, someone's in the restroom. I'll need to go again later. How about we switch seats? That way I won't have to trouble you again later."

"Oh... okay!"

Liu Qingyan immediately understood that Xiao Bei was helping her out. A trace of goodwill toward this junior rose in her heart.