After a moment's consideration, Li Xian shook his head and declined the offer. Deng Hanyu showed no displeasure, picking his jacket back up and laying it across his knees.
Everything he did was perfectly appropriate, and a faint smile never left his face, yet something about him made Li Xian uncomfortable.
Once they were seated, Deng Hanyu spoke first:
"What a coincidence."
The remark left Li Xian puzzled. He frowned at Deng Hanyu, who curled his lips into a slight smile and said:
"We're taking the same class. I noticed you in the classroom earlier."
Although Deng Hanyu gave nothing away outwardly, there was a probing undertone to his words-Li Xian had claimed during their online chats that he was a freshman, in which case he shouldn't have been taking the same class as Deng Hanyu.
He watched Li Xian quietly, waiting for an explanation.
Li Xian gave the answer he had prepared in advance, his tone natural:
"I'm attending class for someone else to make a little extra money."
Deng Hanyu's smile grew a little more genuine at this explanation. He seemed to believe Li Xian:
"Then we really were meant to meet."
Li Xian nodded with an obliging smile, hoping to get to the point as soon as possible. Deng Hanyu, however, was in no hurry. He gently adjusted the sleeve of the jacket draped over Li Xian's back and asked pointedly, "Your boyfriend's?"
"No-"
Li Xian denied it instinctively. Only after the word left his mouth did he realize he had sounded a little too eager, so he adjusted his tone and said:
"It's a friend's jacket."
"A friend..." Deng Hanyu leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful. His silence seemed deliberate, as though he were waiting for Li Xian to speak first.
With the conversation stalling,