Princess Qi

The Chinese restaurant for the gathering was called Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. It was right beneath Building Six; there was even a door in the dormitory's first-floor lobby that led directly into the restaurant.

The restaurant was decorated in an antique style, full of Chinese flair.

It was fairly well-known even throughout Moscow.

By the time Wang Ye, Song Xiaogang, and Liu Xiaojie entered, quite a few people had already arrived in the restaurant hall. They were all international students from the same batch, and many of them were people Wang Ye was meeting for the first time.

The moment they stepped inside, a clear female voice rang out. "Are you Wang Ye?"

That question was actually a little rude, but once you saw who had asked it, you generally wouldn't fuss over something like that.

The girl was not particularly tall, just over 1.6 meters, but she had an excellent figure. Her legs were long and straight, with the perfect proportions of a nine-head-tall beauty.

She was also very pretty. Her fair skin carried a faint sheen, as delicate as porcelain.

Her long hair curled slightly, and her large, watery eyes, framed by fluttering lashes, were enough to make one's heart race.

When Wang Ye saw the girl who had spoken, he froze slightly, because he knew her...

Of course, he meant from his "previous life."

He had once had a conflict with this girl. Don't misunderstand—it wasn't a romantic dispute, but something else...

"Hello, my name is Nalan Yaqi. My friends all call me Princess Qi," the girl introduced herself generously.

Her name was rather unusual, as she had a double surname. "Nalan" was quite uncommon.

Beside him, Liu Xiaojie asked in surprise, "Nalan? As in Nalan Mingzhu's surname? Oh, right, what does Princess Qi mean?"

"Oh, Nalan Mingzhu counts as one of my ancestors. I'm from the Plain Yellow Banner. As for gege... it means gege, of course." Nalan Yaqi smiled as she answered.

Good heavens, she had even brought up the Plain Yellow Banner. Liu Xiaojie was left completely baffled.

After a long pause, he forced out a sentence. "Princess, the Great Qing is gone!"

He started laughing before anyone else did, apparently thinking he was quite funny.

But to Nalan Yaqi, the remark was clearly not amusing. She rolled her eyes at Liu Xiaojie and ignored him.

Instead, she turned to Wang Ye and asked curiously, "I heard you got into a fight the very day you arrived yesterday? You beat up that little punk? Good job! I'd been sick of the sight of that thug for ages. He's just some street loafer who spends all day bragging. Looking at him is annoying enough!"

Of course Wang Ye knew who Nalan Yaqi meant by "little punk." It had to be that short guy with long hair from last night.

As for the kid's name, he genuinely had no idea...

Wang Ye sighed inwardly. Bad news really did travel fast.

What had happened in the middle of the night yesterday had already become known to quite a few people. He had no idea how the news had spread.

He neither admitted nor denied it, merely saying with a smile, "It was just a small disagreement between students. It's already been settled. All right, everyone's here. Let's go sit over there."

With that, Wang Ye gestured to Song Xiaogang and Liu Xiaojie, preparing to head farther inside.

Nalan Yaqi was stunned. She looked at Wang Ye again. This boy gave her such a different feeling!

Whether back home in China or after arriving here, Nalan Yaqi had never lacked admirers.

Many boys her age could barely speak coherently in front of her, much less meet her eyes. They would only deliberately pull little tricks to attract her attention.

In Nalan Yaqi's eyes, those boys were simply too childish!

But Wang Ye showed no deliberate eagerness to please her or attract her attention at all. It was as though, in his eyes, she was just an ordinary girl who held absolutely no interest for him...

She had taken the initiative to speak to him, yet he looked impatient, as if he did not even want to say another word to her?

If it had been any other boy, he probably would have been desperate to keep chatting with her!

That made Nalan Yaqi a little unconvinced!

From childhood to adulthood, no one had ever looked down on her like this...

Fine then, man. You have caught this princess's attention!

"Hey, what's your phone number and QQ number? Let's add each other," she said to Wang Ye, lifting her pale chin slightly.

Wang Ye stopped walking, paused for a moment, then turned back with a smile. "I haven't bought a phone yet, so I don't have a number. As for my QQ number... without a computer or internet, adding me would be pointless."

He was not lying. Perhaps twenty years later, it would have seemed unbelievable for a college student not to own a phone.

But one must not forget that this was 2001...

For many people, mobile phones were still luxury goods!

This was not just true in China. The same was true in Russia, where many Russian college students did not have phones either.

Even the relatively common low-end Nokia 3310 cost more than two hundred US dollars—over two thousand yuan.

Among these international students, though, mobile phones were not particularly rare. After being there for some time, most of them had bought one.

It was not about showing off or competing with others.

First, it made it easier to call home.

Second, everyone else had one. If you didn't, that was a little hard to justify, wasn't it?

Nalan Yaqi was briefly speechless. Somewhat huffily, she said, "Fine, then. Anyway, I know which dormitory you live in!"

With that, she turned and walked away.

Watching her graceful figure retreat, Liu Xiaojie swallowed and said enviously to Wang Ye, "Brother Ye, that princess seems kind of interested in you. Sigh, handsome guys really do have it easy!"

He was not flattering Wang Ye. He was simply stating the facts.

Wang Ye had always been handsome. Back in high school, he had been the prince charming in the hearts of all the girls at school, earning the nickname "Little Lu Yi"!

Not to mention his tall, straight figure, his large eyes, high nose bridge, and clean, fair complexion.

Otherwise, even when he was nearly forty, he would not still have had his landlady auntie "thinking about" him...

Wang Ye smacked him hard on the shoulder and said with a laugh, "All right, quit talking nonsense. Let's go eat."...

At this gathering, there were two people in the entire hall who drew the most attention.

One of them was Nalan Yaqi. It had to be said that not only was she beautiful, but she was also very socially adept. She seemed familiar with nearly everyone.

A large crowd had gathered around her as well, all competing to talk with her.

The other focal figure was Wang Ye.

And it was not because he was handsome...

Apparently, word of what had happened last night had already spread among the students.

Song Xiaogang had arrived with the same batch as everyone else, while that long-haired delinquent had not, so everyone naturally felt closer to Song Xiaogang.

When one of their own classmates was bullied, they all shared the same indignation!

Fortunately, Wang Ye had stepped in and handled everything perfectly, making everyone feel proud and vindicated.

Naturally, everyone was happy to have a fellow student like him, so almost every person came over to exchange a few words with Wang Ye and get acquainted.

When you were away from home, who wouldn't want a friend like that...

The new book was already more than ten chapters in. How did everyone feel about the pacing so far? If you have any suggestions or opinions, feel free to leave a comment.