Chapter 221 - 219: The Sensitive Girl

Chapter 221: Chapter 219: The Sensitive Girl

Following the other upperclassmen who were heading to eat, the three of them soon spotted the Bauhinia Garden Restaurant right behind Building Six.

The cafeteria looked huge from the outside, a total of four stories. Probably because classes hadn’t officially started yet, there weren’t many people eating at the moment.

The three who had arrived earlier had already gotten their food. They found a table in a corner, eating while they waited for Jiang Xia and, incidentally, to see what his girlfriend looked like.

"They’re here, they’re here." Zhou Zijian glanced at the restaurant entrance. Jiang Xia was walking in front, leading two girls into the cafeteria.

The girl on the left was petite, wearing canvas shoes and a pair of jeans so faded they were almost white. Her top was a loose-fitting T-shirt with an unidentifiable logo. She kept her head slightly lowered, and her heavy bangs hung down, obscuring her face.

The other girl, by contrast, was a bit taller. She wore white sneakers and loose, black, wide-leg pants, paired with a light-colored blouse. The slightly cinched waist made her look tall and slim—a perfect figure.

A closer look revealed delicate features—perfect looks.

"Which one do you guys think is Brother Jiang’s girlfriend?" Zhou Zijian whispered.

Su Qing didn’t join this game. For one, he already knew. For two, he wasn’t in the habit of gossiping about people behind their backs.

"Probably the one on the left, right?" Zhao Ning said, uncertain.

Although he felt the girl looked too plain at a glance, a little unworthy of Jiang Xia, the other girl was just too stunning. She looked like the very definition of a campus belle. ’Could a girl like that really have a boyfriend?’

"I think so too. Look how she keeps her head down. She must have realized she was about to meet us, so she’s shy," Zhou Zijian said.

Zhao Ning nodded. That analysis seemed perfectly reasonable.

Jiang Xia nodded to his roommates, then turned and said quietly to Lin Yanwan, "You know Nanny Su. The other two guys are both computer science majors. The one on the left is Zhao Ning, and the one on the right is Zhou Zijian."

"Nanny Su? Isn’t his name Su Qing?" Lin Yanwan asked, confused.

"Uh, well, I just discovered he’s really good at taking care of people. He has some strong mother hen tendencies, so he totally deserves the ’Nanny’ title."

Hearing this, Lin Yanwan’s expression turned odd. ’What kind of ridiculous nickname is that?’

Tang Qiuting stole a glance at Sister Yanwan out of the corner of her eye and suddenly realized she also had strong mother hen tendencies. ’Does this mean I should call Sister Yanwan Nanny Lin?’

’No, that’s not right. A child from the mountains knows how to take good care of herself.’

Meanwhile, the other two watched Jiang Xia talking intimately with the goddess who was an A-plus in both figure and looks, while completely ignoring the other girl. Their mouths hung open, and they forgot to chew the rice they had just put in.

"Brother Su, don’t tell me Brother Jiang’s girlfriend is the gorgeous one."

Su Qing glanced back and gave a silent, slight nod. In his eyes, Lin Yanwan was indeed very beautiful; even he had rarely seen anyone with such stunning looks.

"Holy crap! That’s Brother Jiang for you, what a legend! To actually win over a goddess of that caliber!" Zhou Zijian was instantly envious.

"Brother Jiang, a role model for our generation!" Zhao Ning exclaimed.

If things went as expected, she was a shoo-in for one of the freshman campus belle spots this year.

And yet, on the very first day of freshman registration, this beauty was already taken.

It had to be said, for everyone else, this was a very sad story.

The three of them grabbed trays and first wandered past the serving windows to see what dishes were available. Tang Qiuting followed silently behind Lin Yanwan.

Undeniably, almost all the dishes looked delicious, but as soon as she saw the slightly expensive prices, she instinctively recoiled.

’A serving of fried noodles actually costs three yuan. Prices in the big city really are so high.’

’The money in my savings account still has to cover tuition, fees, and housing. There won’t be much left after that, so I have to be frugal with my daily expenses.’

"Qiuting, what do you want to eat?" Lin Yanwan asked her in a low voice.

"I... I’m still looking." Tang Qiuting’s gaze was slightly evasive. "Sister Yanwan, I’m not that hungry right now. You... you go ahead and get your food."

Jiang Xia saw this and knew perfectly well that the young girl was likely short on money and afraid to spend it carelessly.

But she also seemed like the type of kid with a strong sense of pride. If they weren’t careful, they could easily wound her self-esteem.

"Don’t worry, just get what you want. This meal’s on me." Lin Yanwan took the girl’s small, calloused hand and sighed softly to herself.

’This child... she was probably still helping her family with farm work this past summer.’

"N-no, that’s okay, Sister Yanwan. I have money," Tang Qiuting said, biting her lip and shaking her head gently.

"You’re already calling me Sister Yanwan, so don’t be so formal with me. I’m really happy to meet you, so please, let me do this, Qiuting," Lin Yanwan said with a serious expression.

"I... I..."

The girl from the mountains clenched her fists, unsure of how to respond. ’If I refuse her outright, wouldn’t that be like disrespecting Sister Yanwan?’

But her grandmother had told her since she was little that no matter how poor one is, one must never be poor in spirit. Her family didn’t have money, but they couldn’t accept charity from others for no reason.

’What do I do? What should I do?!’

Seeing her bite her lip, at a complete loss, Lin Yanwan knew she had likely touched upon a sensitive nerve and felt a pang of regret.

After all, any child from a poor, mountainous region who could get into Tsinghua would have their own pride.

So she said softly, "Qiuting, the ponkan oranges your grandmother grows are delicious. I didn’t bring any specialty products from my hometown, so how about we consider this meal an exchange of gifts between us, okay?"

Looking into her sincere eyes, Tang Qiuting finally gave a small nod. "Thank you, Sister Yanwan."

Her eyes lingered on the vegetarian dishes for a long time before she finally chose scrambled eggs with tomato. Including rice, it only cost 1.5 yuan. With the free soup, it was more than enough to fill her up completely.

Lin Yanwan and Jiang Xia exchanged a look, and both saw the deep sense of helplessness in the other’s eyes.

To be honest, the cafeteria prices at Tsinghua University were already incredibly cheap. A meat-and-vegetable combo was only four yuan, yet Tang Qiuting didn’t even dare to order it.

So, Lin Yanwan silently ordered an inexpensive meat-and-vegetable combo plate.

Jiang Xia glanced at the portion size and felt it was enough for two people. "Maybe I shouldn’t order anything, then?"

"Go order your own food. Qiuting and I are sharing this," Lin Yanwan huffed lightly.

The corner of Jiang Xia’s mouth twitched. He decisively ordered the three-yuan fried noodles, which came with egg, green vegetables, and tomato, and looked quite appetizing.

"Then you better not eat any of mine."

"Fine, I won’t! Qiuting has egg and tomato too, I can just eat some of hers. Right, Qiuting?"

Tang Qiuting blushed slightly.

"Mhm, Sister Yanwan, you can have as much as you like."