Chapter 225 - 132: A Date for Three

Chapter 225: Chapter 132: A Date for Three

"So... your boyfriend is from our school? What’s his name?"

Shen Qingning looked at the girl—Xiao Wanqing—who was holding a small cake with a hint of anticipation on her face. She looked just like someone in love, and Shen Qingning was curious who at her university had the kind of charm to make a top beauty from the Shanghai Dance Academy come all this way just to surprise him.

Although, Xiao Wanqing had seen Shen Qingning before. During a video call with Su Ran, she’d caught a glimpse of a girl leaning against his shoulder—that girl had been Shen Qingning.

At the time, Shen Qingning had been so sick she was on the verge of fainting. She hadn’t even glanced at the camera; her only thought was to get to a doctor. Romance was the furthest thing from her mind.

As for Xiao Wanqing, she had indeed seen a girl, but it was just a fleeting glimpse. It’s not like you can zoom in on a video call. Besides, Su Ran had naturally been pointing the camera at himself; he wasn’t going to deliberately hold his phone at a 45-degree angle just to get them both in the shot.

Now, neither of them knew they had already met once before. Who would have guessed such a coincidence? Even less could they have known that their lives would intersect years later.

One had once rested on Su Ran’s shoulder.

The other had once rested in Su Ran’s arms.

"He..." Xiao Wanqing began, looking at the innocent-faced Shen Qingning beside her. "We’re not... officially boyfriend and girlfriend yet." She decided against saying his name. Su Ran was too well-known at this university; if she mentioned him, word would spread like wildfire. Instead, she just smiled brightly and said, "We’re just a tiny bit shy of making it official."

As for their actual relationship status, even Xiao Wanqing wasn’t entirely sure.

"Oh... I get it. You have a crush on him." Shen Qingning smiled; girls always enjoyed discussing who liked whom. "Well, I hope you two end up together."

"Thank you..."

Xiao Wanqing gave a sweet smile, her thoughts naturally drifting to her and Su Ran.

"What about you? Do you have a boyfriend?"

At Xiao Wanqing’s question, Shen Qingning sighed and shook her head. Seeing this, Xiao Wanqing felt she understood. She’d been in this situation before, after all. Shen Qingning’s expression of hopeless love was the spitting image of her own back when things with Su Ran were still so ambiguous. She knew exactly what was on the innocent girl’s mind. "You have someone you like, too, don’t you?"

"Me?" Shen Qingning tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, looking shy and hesitant. She had a lot weighing on her mind, things she was desperate to get off her chest. And here, sitting next to her, was a girl brave enough to go after the person she liked. Success or failure aside, her courage was admirable. Inspired, Shen Qingning decided to share what was on her mind. ’I won’t say Su Ran’s name, though,’ she thought. ’He’s too famous. If I mention him and she turns out to be a big mouth and tells her boyfriend, I’ll die of social embarrassment.’

"...He’s a classmate of mine. He’s been really caring toward me all semester. Then, I got sick once, and he took care of me the whole time... Sigh. I thought he was doing it because he liked me, but he was just being a concerned classmate. I was just reading too much into it."

"So you fell for him?"

"Er... yeah. A little."

"I get it. It’s so easy for a girl to fall for a guy in a situation like that. It happened to me, too..." Xiao Wanqing then shared her own stories—about Su Ran taking care of her when she was sick, and staying with her all night at the hospital when her father was admitted. The more she spoke, the sweeter the memories became, yet the more perplexed she felt. "It just makes me wonder, do guys not realize that being overly attentive to a girl will make her fall for them? Or do all the boys at Ning University have this little habit of taking care of girls? The guy I like does it, the guy you like does it... I’m getting really curious about the campus culture here."

’Xiao Wanqing was a little annoyed with Su Ran for being such a Mr. Nice Guy, spreading his kindness to every girl he met.’

Shen Qingning thought for a moment. "It’s probably our school motto. You know, ’Help your fellow students.’ Heh, I don’t really know. Anyway, the classmate I’m talking about is nice to everyone."

Xiao Wanqing said, "Well, the semester’s almost over. Aren’t you going to try confessing? Don’t shake your head! If you like him, you should just say so. They say it’s much easier for a girl to chase a guy than the other way around. It’ll be fine! Of course, that’s assuming your classmate isn’t as difficult to win over as the guy I like."

’Meeting Su Ran had been a humbling experience for Xiao Wanqing. Damn it! Me, Xiao Wanqing, and there’s a man I can’t win over? That’s just illogical!’

Shen Qingning replied, "Forget it. I’d rather not. He probably looks down on me."

"..." Xiao Wanqing looked at the innocent girl, tormented by her secret crush and her own low self-esteem. She glanced at Shen Qingning’s plain clothes and decided not to push the subject. She had no idea what kind of person this guy was. If Shen Qingning confessed and got rejected, especially for a girl with such low self-confidence, it could leave an indelible scar.

So she offered encouragement instead. "No one has the right to look down on anyone else. You need to be more confident, you know? Okay, we’re at your university. I’m off to find my friend. Bye!"

The two of them got off the bus. Xiao Wanqing, carrying the cake, made a dazzling entrance onto the campus. She planned to give Su Ran a surprise, so she hadn’t told him she was coming.

Shen Qingning paused at the gate to collect herself, then took out her phone and sent a message to Su Ran: [Class President, I’m at the school gate. Where are you?]

Su Ran: [I’ll be right out.]

Shen Qingning: [Okay.]

「Three minutes later.」

Su Ran ran out. He and Shen Qingning hailed a taxi and left.

「In the car.」

Shen Qingning: "How about I treat you to some seafood, Class President?"

Su Ran: "I’ve had a lot of seafood the last couple of days. Let’s switch it up. How about some maocai?"

Shen Qingning just said, "Oh." She knew the Class President didn’t want her spending her hard-earned money on him.

「On the food street.」

Shen Qingning ordered a large combo at a maocai restaurant and handed it to the server. "That’s all. Oh, right, no cilantro."

Su Ran smiled. "You knew I don’t eat cilantro?"

Shen Qingning: "Cilantro is so delicious, why don’t you eat it?"

Su Ran: "It stinks."

Shen Qingning: "It is not! People who don’t eat cilantro are heathens."