Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Morning classes were over, and with only one major lecture in the afternoon starting at three-thirty, they had plenty of time to spare.
Ning Xi dragged Xia Sheng on a quick tour around the university’s vicinity before finally pulling her into a cafe. The interior was lovely, decorated in a classic European style with the melodious sound of a piano creating a warm, romantic atmosphere.
Since it was a weekday, the shop wasn’t very crowded. The two of them picked a seat by the window.
Ning Xi pulled out some trinkets she had bought while window shopping and shared them with Xia Sheng. “Sheng’er, look at this little chick hair clip. Isn’t it cute? I just got two for five yuan back at that shop.”
Xia Sheng took a glance and replied nonchalantly, “Mm, cute.”
“You’re being so perfunctory,” Ning Xi grumbled, pinning one of the clips onto Xia Sheng’s head.
Xia Sheng’s beautiful face maintained its usual distant, indifferent expression, giving off an ethereal vibe that seemed detached from the mundane world. With a little yellow chick clip on her head, however, she looked quite charmingly mismatched.
Ning Xi couldn’t help but laugh. She took out her phone and snapped several photos of Xia Sheng from various angles-sitting, standing, and leaning.
Helpless, Xia Sheng reached out and pinched Ning Xi’s baby-fat cheeks. “Do you have ADHD? Sit down.”
Ning Xi loved being close to Xia Sheng and proactively rubbed her face against Xia Sheng’s hand. “Let’s cuddle, beautiful.”
Xia Sheng laughed and pushed her away. “You little rogue.”
Ning Xi giggled and prepared to sit. The cafe used two-seater sofas, and since Ning Xi liked sticking close to Xia Sheng, she sat on the same one. Xia Sheng’s backpack was resting right by the armrest, and as Ning Xi sat down, she accidentally knocked it to the floor.
The contents of the bag spilled everywhere. Ning Xi quickly crouched down to pick them up. “Sheng’er, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
Xia Sheng helped her gather everything. Ning Xi noticed a large number of business cards on the floor.
“Sheng’er, why did you prepare so many business cards?”
She picked one up and looked at it. The card only had Xia Sheng’s contact information and nothing else.
Xia Sheng explained, “These are for the people who come to me for fortune-telling.”
Understanding dawned on Ning Xi, and she continued picking things up.
Once they were back on the sofa, the bell at the door chimed as a customer entered. Xia Sheng glanced over and felt the person at the door looked somewhat familiar.
After a few seconds, she remembered that this was the young master of the Zhou Family-the one she had an arranged marriage with. They had crossed paths once before at the high-speed rail station.
Zhou Yichuan’s eyes lit up when his gaze met Xia Sheng’s. His eyes swept over the girl with a hint of lingering greed.
Ever since that fleeting glimpse at the station, he had frequently thought of this girl. He had even found himself liking Xia Zhiruo a bit less lately.
He thought he would never see her again in his life, but he hadn’t expected to run into her again so soon!
This was practically fate!
The young man beside Zhou Yichuan also noticed Xia Sheng’s presence. He whispered, “Brother Chuan, isn’t that the girl from the station last time? Is she looking at you?”
Zhou Yichuan withdrew his gaze, feigning indifference. “Maybe. Let’s order drinks first.”
“Such a big beauty is staring at you, and that’s all the reaction you have?”
Zhou Yichuan scoffed. “There are plenty of women chasing me usually, and many are prettier than her. This woman is just average.”
Despite saying that, he raised his hand to fix his hair, conveniently exposing the Rolex on his wrist in Xia Sheng’s direction.
Hearing Zhou Yichuan’s words, the young man was filled with envy. “Brother Chuan, you really are something. So many women throwing themselves at you, while I’m still a solo-since-birth loser.”
After ordering, the two found a place to sit. The young man noticed Xia Sheng looking over at them several more times and whispered, “Brother Chuan, that girl is looking this way again.”
Zhou Yichuan turned back and met the girl’s eyes directly. Her companion was also looking at him, but she immediately retracted her gaze and looked away guiltily the moment their eyes met.
Compared to her companion’s obvious panic, the girl appeared much more composed, calmly averting her gaze.
She was probably panicking inside and just putting on a brave face.
Zhou Yichuan curled his lips into a smirk.
He really was quite charming, attracting two members of the opposite sex at once.
As he stood up, the young man beside him asked, “Brother Chuan, where are you going?”
Zhou Yichuan gave a confident smile and said, “That girl peeked at me so many times. She definitely has feelings for me but is too shy to make the first move.
“Women are thin-skinned. In times like this, we have to be the ones to give them a little face.”
The young man had a sudden realization. Zhou Yichuan said no more and walked straight toward Xia Sheng’s table.
Seeing Zhou Yichuan approaching, Ning Xi leaned in and whispered awkwardly into Xia Sheng’s ear, “Sheng’er, that guy is coming over!
“Do you think he heard me calling him greasy and is coming to settle the score?”
She was wrong! She would never talk about people behind their backs again!
Before Xia Sheng could respond, Zhou Yichuan had already reached their table.
He leaned his hip against the table and turned sideways, looking at Xia Sheng from what he considered his most handsome angle. Then, using his left hand-which sported a Rolex-he pulled out his phone and held it out to her.
“Add me. We can hang out together when you’re free.”
Xia Sheng didn’t even look up. “Get lost.”
Zhou Yichuan: “…”
Ning Xi silently gave a thumbs-up.
As expected of a Mystic Sect Master, that aura and confidence were truly top-tier!
This was the first time in Zhou Yichuan’s life he had been rejected like this, and his expression soured. After a few seconds, as if a thought had struck him, he raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Playing hard to get?”
When that question came out, Ning Xi broke out in goosebumps.
This guy looked decent enough, but she hadn’t expected him to be such a narcissist.
No, he was more like a ‘not-so-average but overconfident’ man.
He wasn’t ordinary, yet he was still overconfident and greasy.
Xia Sheng also frowned slightly and stood up. “Ning Xi, let’s go.”
Ning Xi nodded and left with Xia Sheng.
Zhou Yichuan’s face darkened again. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a business card on the floor. He picked it up and glanced at it.
Upon seeing the phone number on the card, a smile tugged at the corners of Zhou Yichuan’s mouth.
She really was playing hard to get.
Pretending to be indifferent while deliberately leaving her contact information to bait him and play mysterious.
Impressive. She had quite the tactics.
He took the card back to his seat. His friend leaned in and asked, “Brother Chuan, how did it go? Why did that girl just leave?”
Zhou Yichuan tossed the card onto the table for the young man to see.
“She’s putting on an act to bait me, probably trying to seem unique. I’ll admit she succeeded; I’m actually interested in her now.”
“That woman has so many tricks,” the young man remarked before adding, “But Brother Chuan, don’t you like Xia Zhiruo? Are you having a change of heart?”
They had come to A University today specifically to wait for Xia Zhiruo, yet Zhou Yichuan was already interested in someone else.
Zhou Yichuan tucked the card back into his pocket and said dismissively, “Does my liking Xia Zhiruo conflict with me being interested in this woman?”
The young man remained silent.
That felt a bit like being a scumbag…
Zhou Yichuan and his friend waited in the cafe for nearly half an hour before Xia Zhiruo finally arrived.
“Brother Yichuan, I’m sorry. I got stuck in traffic on the way here. Have you been waiting long?”
The young man asked curiously, “There’s traffic between the A University dorms and here?”
A flash of guilt crossed Xia Zhiruo’s face.
She had actually been on a date with the young master of the Shi Family today and had only rushed back after receiving Zhou Yichuan’s call.
“Isn’t it the start of the semester? Some upperclassmen from the Performing Arts Department treated us to dinner, and the place was quite far away.”
Xia Zhiruo changed the subject. “Brother Yichuan, did you come to see me for something specific today?”