Chapter 23 (1/2)

Chapter 23

Xiao Rongyu had just taken a shower and was wearing an elegant knee-length nightgown with her wet hair draped over her shoulders. But silly her had decided to walk out to meet Hansheng looking like that. She walked out of the school gate for quite a while before she saw Chen Hansheng.

“Why did you call me out so late at night? I was getting ready to sleep.” Xiao Rongyu complained.

However, when she noticed the fruits in Chen Hansheng’s hands, she was very happy. “The fruits in the school convenience store are not very fresh. Where did you buy these grapes and cherries?”

“I bought them from the nearby Yiwu Business Center.”

Chen Hansheng had been smoking before she arrived. When he saw her, he quickly threw the cigarette away.

“Hansheng…”

Xiao Rongyu was touched. “These fruits are quite expensive. Don’t buy them again in the future.”

Chen Hansheng thought to himself, ‘There won’t be any more in the future. If it weren’t for the fact that school had just started and I didn’t have a chance to get close to Shen Youchu yet, I wouldn’t have given these fruits to you.’

“As long as you like them,” said Chen Hansheng instead.

Xiao Rongyu looked at Chen Hansheng a little strangely. Xiao Rongyu was much more beautiful than Teacher Xiaoyu from earlier. Moreover, the former had just taken a shower thus emitted a pleasant fragrance through the evening air.

Chen Hansheng’s stomach suddenly rumbled. He had drunk coffee all evening and hadn’t had time to eat.

“Did you not eat dinner?” Xiao Rongyu had heard his tummy rumble.

“I was going to but then I spent my money on the fruits. Do you have any money?”

Chen Hansheng was so smooth at lying.

Xiao Rongyu thought that Hansheng had returned to his former self.

“I only have ten yuan to buy a hairpin.”

Xiao Rongyu opened her palm, revealing a ten yuan note.

“Ah, that would only get me two wheat crackers.” Chen Hansheng shook his head and sighed.

…

There was a large number of stalls set up after 8:00 pm along the road between Donghai University and the School of Finance and Economics. Most of the stalls sold food or drinks to satisfy bored university students’ late-night cravings.

Chen Hansheng managed to get himself two wheat cracker sandwiches and just barely convinced the stall owner to give him a cup of juice for free. He and Xiao Rongyu found a random place to sit down and eat.

Xiao Rongyu peeled the grapes as she sat next to Hansheng, occasionally advising him to eat slowly.

“Xiao Rongyu.”

Suddenly, they heard a surprised voice call out Xiao Rongyu. They turned and saw a boy walk over quickly.

“Hello, Senior Zeng.”

Xiao Rongyu greeted him politely as Chen Hansheng took a good look at him. Based on his outfit, he looked like he was at least a junior because no freshman or sophomore would tuck a white shirt into his pants.

He didn’t think too much about it and continued eating.

“I just came back from my internship at the institute and didn’t expect to see you here,” said the male student as he looked at Chen Hansheng and tried to figure out the relationship between the two.

“I heard from our teacher that Senior Zeng has managed to get a placement at the Jianye Geological Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Congratulations,” said Xiao Rongyu with a smile.

She established a boundary between them as she talked and Senior Zeng knew. Moreover, Xiao Rongyu had no intention of introducing Chen Hansheng, so he could only ask her directly. “Is this a junior too?”

Chen Hansheng had just finished eating and was about to light a cigarette. When he heard the question, he waved his hand dismissively and said, “I’m Xiao Rongyu’s high school classmate and go to the school just across the street. Senior, do you want a cigarette?”

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

Since Hansheng was a student of the School of Finance and Economics, Senior Zheng heaved a sigh of relief. He didn’t think that Xiao Rongyu would take a fancy to a boy from a second-tier school who smoked and had no regard for his appearance.

“Alright, then. I’m heading back to campus. Our professor wants us to take up an important project so I’m helping him draft some of the documents.”

Senior Zeng seemed calm but there was a hint of arrogance as he spoke. Without another look at Hansheng, Senior Zeng finally left.

“We had a student in senior year that was favored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences before he officially graduated. The other day, he came to our class to look for a laboratory assistant.”