After leaving the Literary Society's Activity Room, Jiang Qin looked at the clear sky after the rain and wondered whether he should treat them to the two meals he had promised.
After all, weather this cool was rare. Once the temperature returned to what it had been before, even treating himself to a reward would leave him sweating. Going out for a meal then would become a luxury again.
Hong Yan, Feng Nanshu...
Jiang Qin opened his contacts and hesitated between the two names. After checking the time, he decided to treat Hong Yan to lunch first and Feng Nanshu to dinner.
Playing footsie at night should be more convenient, right?
After all, doing that in broad daylight could easily make him famous.
The call connected soon, and Hong Yan's soft, sweet voice came through the receiver, carrying a hint of pleasant surprise.
After arranging the time and place, Jiang Qin slipped his phone back into his pocket. He accepted the bottle of mineral water Dong Wenhao handed him and looked toward the female college students by the lake with their slender waists and pale legs.
"The girls at your East Campus aren't that good-looking." Jiang Qin clicked his tongue, looking somewhat disappointed.
Dong Wenhao immediately disagreed. This was a matter of the East Campus's reputation. "It's the weekend today. The good-looking ones were already asked out. You wouldn't get to see them even if you wanted to."
"Are you kidding?"
"Leaving the others aside, just look at this year's freshmen. There are two junior girls with campus-belle-level looks. They've directly reset the East Campus's beauty record."
Jiang Qin silently took a sip of water. He already knew who Dong Wenhao was talking about. "From the Department of Law?"
Dong Wenhao's eyes widened. "Your information is pretty accurate. Interested?"
"Only dogs fall in love."
"Actually, there's no point in being interested. Beautiful girls are colder than the next. Even adding them on QQ is difficult. My roommate's a rich second-generation heir, and he couldn't even buy one with a thousand-yuan online bounty."
Jiang Qin nearly spat out his water. "There are actually suckers like that? To be honest, I'm an old friend of theirs. I can sell you their contact information. Have your roommate come find me."
Dong Wenhao glanced at him. "What a load of nonsense."
"Damn it, nobody believes the truth these days. What kind of screwed-up world is this?"
Jiang Qin cursed as he walked forward. He and Dong Wenhao passed through the flower-vine-covered Link Corridor and arrived at the southern bank of East Campus Lake.
Perhaps because he had received one hundred and fifty yuan for only eight articles and felt guilty about it, Dong Wenhao insisted on serving as Jiang Qin's tour guide and accompanying him the whole way.
The vice president of the Literary Society had excellent connections. Many people came over to greet him along the way, and Dong Wenhao took the opportunity to introduce Jiang Qin to two friends: Pang Hai, who studied graphic design, and Gao Dapeng, the president of the Part-time Job Association.
He felt that promoting Jiang Qin's website would definitely require publicity around campus. Since the next step was about to begin, these two people would be useful.
Jiang Qin got along quite well with the two of them. They even preliminarily settled on the publicity plan and the general direction of the poster design, waiting only for the amount of content to reach the required level before getting to work in earnest.
However, just as they began discussing the price, Dong Wenhao suddenly tugged on Jiang Qin and pointed toward a pavilion in the garden across from them.
"Look, one of the campus-belle junior girls, Chu Siqi."
"?"
Jiang Qin looked up and saw Chu Siqi in a white dress, just as if she had stepped out of a literary romance novel. Her fluffy, long hair fell over her shoulders, and her exposed arms were as fair and smooth as jade.
Standing in front of her was a boy in a black T-shirt. He was around 1.8 meters tall, wore silver-rimmed glasses, and had on a pair of Nike ZK3 basketball shoes matching Kobe's.
Gao Dapeng looked over as well, opening his eyes in surprise. "Isn't that Zheng Qinglong, the Student Union president from the Department of Law? I heard he's been pursuing Chu Siqi since the start of the semester. Did he finally manage to ask her out?"
"Damn, the one by the water gets the moon first. What a beast." Pang Hai looked thoroughly unconvinced.
"Let's go over and listen to what they're saying."
Jiang Qin hurriedly waved them off, avoiding the situation like the plague. "You guys go. I'm not going. We know each other, and I'm afraid it'll cause trouble."
"Don't talk nonsense. Come on, don't be shy. You should get a look at the East Campus's ceiling of beauty." Dong Wenhao reached out and dragged him over.
"I really don't want to look!"
"That's not up to you. Otherwise, you'll claim later that the East Campus doesn't have any good-looking girls!"
The four of them crept over, planning to catch them off guard. Unfortunately, their target was far too conspicuous. The others weren't blind—how could they fail to notice four people approaching? One glance was enough to expose them completely.
Being discovered didn't matter, though. Pang Hai, Gao Dapeng, and Dong Wenhao stopped hiding and walked over openly.
"Zheng Qinglong, you're something else. You're hitting on a junior girl right after the semester started—and the prettiest one at that!"
Zheng Qinglong revealed his handsome face, pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, and replied with a smile, "Cut it out. I only took the opportunity to chat with my junior."
Pang Hai couldn't help clicking his tongue. "Stop bullshitting. How come I've never seen you looking for me to chat?"
"Fine, I do have a good impression of Junior Chu. But she hasn't agreed yet, so don't go spouting nonsense."
"Not yet? Tsk, I say, Junior, don't agree to him. This guy is too glib. Be careful not to get fooled!"
Zheng Qinglong smiled like a gentleman. "If you don't agree to me, is there anyone else worthy of Junior Chu?"
Chu Siqi felt embarrassed by their teasing. She had just been about to say that she wasn't planning to date in college, but when she looked up, her face suddenly went pale, and her hands clenched together unconsciously.
Jiang Qin...
At that moment, Jiang Qin stood at the very back of the group, making few movements and showing little expression.
"Hmm?"
Zheng Qinglong froze for a moment when he noticed Chu Siqi suddenly walking toward the unfamiliar boy behind them. Her eyelashes trembled, and there was even a trace of panic on her face.
Pang Hai, Gao Dapeng, and Dong Wenhao followed her gaze, and their eyes finally landed behind Jiang Qin.
Then, three seconds later, they witnessed a scene that nearly dropped their jaws.
"Jiang Qin, what are you doing at the East Campus?"
Jiang Qin took a step back and nodded politely. "I came to take care of something."
Chu Siqi stared at the half-step he had retreated and seemed somewhat dazed. "Don't misunderstand. He's a senior from the Student Union of our Department of Law. He said there was a problem with my student records, so he asked me out to discuss it."
"Whatever. You two can talk. Don't mind me."
"What kind of attitude is that? Everything I said is true!"
Jiang Qin sighed helplessly. "I know. I heard you. But I genuinely don't care. Go ahead and take care of your business."
Chu Siqi stopped in her tracks and bit down hard on her moist, pink lips. A layer of tears welled in her eyes. "Why won't you just listen to me properly? You're trying to anger me to death!"
"What the hell did I do now?"
"You're pretending not to care about me and pretending not to like me. I admit it worked—you win, all right? I'm sick of this already. Hurry up and make up with me!"
Jiang Qin took a deep breath. "How many times do I have to say it before you understand? I really don't like you. I'm not pretending. Could you stop acting as if I'm your boyfriend all the time? We have nothing to do with each other in the first place. You're making me uncomfortable."
Chu Siqi forcibly suppressed her temper and softened her tone. "Let's make up. I can forgive you for ignoring me all Summer Vacation. We can go back to how things used to be."
"Holy shit, Chu Siqi, do you really not treat people like people? How can words that are so cruel and cold come out of that thirty-six-degree mouth of yours?"
Jiang Qin found it impossible to understand. He had no idea how Chu Siqi's mind worked at all.
Go back to how things used to be?
I desperately pursued you, and you refused me. Then you turned around, put your arm around your new boyfriend, and asked me whether he was handsome.
Someone get me a yellow stream and finish me off. What was the point of being reborn?
Chu Siqi stared blankly at him. Suddenly, a deep sorrow rose from the bottom of her heart.
Tears spun in her eyes, and the tip of her delicate nose reddened. At that moment, she finally understood what it meant for two people to meet again as strangers.
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