Shura Field

Xiao He had not expected things to develop to this point either. Perhaps it was because Huang Ling and he had personalities that were too similar. Huang Ling clearly thought much the same way he did: since Xiao He and Ye Wanqing were not a real couple, there was nothing wrong with her and Xiao He developing in that direction, right? After all, it was hardly possible for a man and a woman to develop a purely platonic friendship.

Logically speaking, Ye Wanqing really had no reason to get angry or stop them, but...

Although Ye Wanqing and Xiao He were only pretending to be a couple, she felt an indescribable frustration inside, as if she had lost to Huang Ling in terms of being a "woman." It made her especially unwilling to accept it.

"Do whatever you want," Ye Wanqing said sulkily. "If you have what it takes."

"Then that's settled." Huang Ling smiled in satisfaction, then winked at Xiao He. "Now there won't be any problems... All right, shall we order? I'm starving."

"Mm-hmm! Order whatever you want!" Xiao He finally dared to speak. The atmosphere earlier had been so oppressive he could barely breathe. He had never thought he would experience such a shura field one day.

However, the meal was not particularly pleasant. Ye Wanqing remained sulky beside them the entire time.

Xiao He did not know how to comfort her either. After all, he had basically caused the current situation.

"I ordered my steak medium-rare, but they still served it medium-well." Huang Ling rolled her eyes. "I thought a restaurant capable of opening chain locations in Beichang City would be different, but it's nothing special..."

"You can tell?" Xiao He asked with interest.

"The difference between medium-rare and medium-well is quite obvious." Huang Ling explained, "To cut costs, ordinary Western restaurants sometimes use domestic beef for their steaks. Eating that beef rare carries a greater risk, so many restaurants just cook the steak medium-well. They think ordinary people cannot tell the difference, but it's actually an easy way to judge a steak's quality."

"I see..." Xiao He said in realization. Huang Ling winked at him and smiled. "So, shall we blacklist this place? Let's not come here again. The restaurants that dare to serve true medium-rare steaks are the ones with solid quality."

"Okaaay," Xiao He drawled. Huang Ling took out her phone with a smile. "I know a few pretty good places, and they aren't especially expensive. Want me to recommend them to you? They might be crowded on weekends, but we're college students—we can go on weekdays..."

"Sure, sure." Xiao He said excitedly. "You find the good restaurants, and I'll pay."

As Xiao He chatted and laughed with Huang Ling, Ye Wanqing sat beside them with a bellyful of frustration. She thought to herself, What is this? At home, we can barely say two sentences without getting into an argument, but here he is chatting and laughing with this woman...

Ye Wanqing's mind told her that she had no reason to be angry, much less jealous. Yet her heart urged her to smash her pasta into this senior's face, then slap her salad onto Xiao He's face. In the end, however, reason prevailed.

Xiao He only felt that time passed especially quickly when he was with Huang Ling. More than an hour went by in the blink of an eye.

"Making you treat today was your hush money." When it came time to pay, Huang Ling teased him, "From now on, we'll split the bill."

"It's fine. It's just a meal; it's only right for the guy to pay..." Xiao He said modestly. Huang Ling disagreed. "We're not close enough for you to keep treating me. It's fine, I have my own money."

After thinking it over carefully, Xiao He felt that made sense. Huang Ling had moved out and rented her own place during her sophomore year, which meant her family's circumstances were probably not bad. Renting a place alone was not cheap. Take the apartment he and Ye Wanqing rented, for instance—rent, utilities, internet, and gas added up to more than three thousand a month. Split between the two of them, that was fifteen hundred each.

Still, the fact that she had taken the initiative to suggest splitting the bill improved Xiao He's impression of her even more.

After they finished eating, Huang Ling pointed behind her. "I'll head back on my own. I live pretty close to here anyway. You should go back with your girlfriend, okay? We can contact each other by phone if anything comes up."

Xiao He actually wanted to walk her home, but Ye Wanqing was still his "official" girlfriend, so he had to prioritize her for now. Thus, he nodded. "Then be careful on your way back... See you tomorrow."

On the way back, Ye Wanqing walked quickly, striding toward home as if she did not want to stay outside for even one more second. Xiao He could not help being surprised. Such a petite girl could walk this fast? She was clearly so sluggish when jogging...

"Hey, why are you walking so fast?" Xiao He frowned and hurried after her.

"I don't want to stay outside anymore, okay?" Ye Wanqing replied irritably.

"What are you getting angry about?" Xiao He asked helplessly. Ye Wanqing said furiously, "What do you think?! Can't you hold back for two years? Did you have to pull something like this while we're still bound by the contract? What if something goes wrong and drags me down too?"

"It won't. I think the Special Response Department needs me... us now," Xiao He explained. "Look, even if my ability is not useful in combat, it can still be used to solve scientific problems or illnesses that humanity currently cannot handle. They won't just fire us casually, right?"

"Why take that risk?" Ye Wanqing snapped. "Once the contract ends, you can go find whatever stray cats and dogs you want. I won't care!"

"It's not that I insist on messing around during the contract period, it's just... Haven't you ever had this feeling?" Xiao He asked seriously. "That if you miss this person, you might never meet anyone more suitable than her again."

Ye Wanqing froze. Clearly, she had never had that feeling, but that only made her even angrier. She quickened her pace and nearly broke into a run. Xiao He had no choice but to speed up after her, urging, "Hey, slow down. Be careful walking so fast..."

Before he could finish, Ye Wanqing stumbled, let out a scream, and fell to the ground.

Xiao He hurried over and checked on her. Since it was summer, she was wearing shorts. A large patch of skin on her knee had been scraped open, and blood slowly ran down her calf. He helped Ye Wanqing to her feet and frowned. "I told you to slow down. Even if you're angry, why were you walking so fast? If there's something wrong, just take it out on me..."

Holding her by the arm, Xiao He asked, "How is it? Can you walk?"

Ye Wanqing was angry, overheated, and in pain. She could not even walk quickly anymore. She tried to pull away from Xiao He, but her knee was injured, and every step tugged at the wound. After two steps, the pain left her unable to continue.

A wave of grievance suddenly flooded her heart. Not caring that she was out on the street, she covered her mouth and began to cry.

"Oh, come on! Why are you crying?! You're such a grown-up, and you're crying over a fall..." Xiao He was most afraid of seeing girls cry. He quickly began consoling her, "Don't cry, don't cry. So many people are watching! Let's go home first, okay?"

"How am I supposed to go home? Can't you see my leg is scraped up?!" Ye Wanqing demanded angrily.

"I saw it, I saw it." As Xiao He spoke, he opened his arms to her. "Want me to carry you home?"