ORCBRB – Chapter 5
Chapter 5
A few minutes later, the bell for class rang. The professor walked in with his lesson plan, took out the attendance register, and began recording participation grades.
Then, he started the lecture for the specialized course. The professor didn't just read from the textbook; he interspersed the lesson with cases from his part-time consulting work outside the university. Sang Shi'an barely heard any of it, her mind completely occupied with how to ask Jian Cenyu out for a meal.
Xu Taotao and Jiang Xinqi had helped her and Su Ningyue out plenty of times. It was rare for them to ask for something, so it wouldn't be right to refuse.
But...
Jian Cenyu had a "keep your distance" air about her at school. She didn't seem like someone who enjoyed lively gatherings. What if she said no?
Wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing?
Su Ningyue noticed Sang Shi'an's expression and lowered her voice. "Is your relationship with her really that bad? Should we just explain it to them?"
Sang Shi'an glanced at Xu Taotao and Jiang Xinqi, who were listening attentively to the lecture, then tilted her head, her voice muffled by her mask as she bit down on it. "It's not bad. Actually, we have a secret affair every night."
Then, she broke into a smile at Su Ningyue's momentary look of astonishment. "Just kidding."
Annoyed, Su Ningyue jabbed her with her elbow. "Yesterday you were so insistent on emphasizing how bad your relationship with Senior Jian was. What, a change of heart today? If you've really changed your tune, then satisfy the curiosity of the masses."
After speaking, her gaze swept across the lecture hall. Sang Shi'an immediately backed down. "No, no, no, I'm really not close with her. It'll be a hassle to invite her to eat with us. Let me think about it."
During the second half of the class, the professor started calling on students to answer questions. Sang Shi'an had no choice but to focus, temporarily pushing the matter of Jian Cenyu to the back of her mind.
After two long class periods, on the way to the cafeteria, Sang Shi'an was ambushed at the entrance by a senior who had been waiting for her.
It was currently the recruitment season for all the clubs and organizations at the university. The senior, Gu Yao, had been elected as the Secretary of the Youth League Committee due to her strong interpersonal skills.
Sang Shi'an had always been a sweet-talker. A single sentence—"Senior, you look so beautiful today! The Youth League Committee has snagged all the freshmen again this year. The people from the Student Union must be green with envy"—was enough to make Gu Yao laugh heartily.
"How could I compare to you?" Gu Yao teased back. "They still haven't managed to delete all the posts about you on the school forum."
Sang Shi'an raised her hands in surrender. "Senior, please don't laugh at me like everyone else. I haven't dared to take off my mask all day. I'm so embarrassed I could die."
Gu Yao patted her arm. "Stop pretending with me. Come on, I'll take you to meet a few teachers so you can make your face known."
Before Sang Shi'an could refuse, Gu Yao pulled her directly toward the faculty cafeteria. The Youth League Committee had school tasks every semester, which inevitably involved interacting with relevant teachers. Gu Yao led her to three teachers and greeted them with a polite and radiant smile.
A fear of teachers was a habit ingrained in almost every student. No matter how adept Sang Shi'an was at handling elders during holidays, facing teachers was always different.
After they sat down, Gu Yao was responsible for handling the teachers while Sang Shi'an took notes in her memo app. Fortunately, Gu Yao was very popular with the teachers; they looked at her as kindly as if she were their own daughter, and their concern extended to Sang Shi'an, who was acting as her little follower.
"This is Sang Shi'an, a sophomore in finance," Gu Yao took the opportunity to introduce Sang Shi'an to the teachers. "She's currently in the external relations department of the Youth League Committee. She's a very diligent junior, and she's done an excellent job with the events she's been in charge of."
Gu Yao gave her a look. Sang Shi'an hadn't expected this part. She froze for a second before quickly recovering and greeting the teachers.
The teachers were already finishing their meal when they arrived. After discussing official business, they left. Gu Yao then took Sang Shi'an to the counter to order food.
The dishes in the faculty cafeteria were not much different from those in the student cafeteria, but there were no long lines, making it much more convenient.
"I'm partly to blame for those posts on the forum. It's not the first time the Student Union folks have had a problem with me. A bunch of grown men, when they couldn't beat me in recruitment, resorted to stirring up trouble on the forum. They knew you were the face of our Youth League Committee, so they started rumors about you dating. So shameless."
Sang Shi'an was taken aback, not expecting the school forum incident to be connected to the Student Union.
While waiting for their food, Gu Yao chattered on, "I heard someone asked you again last week if you wanted to join the Student Union, and even promised you a position? From the president to the department heads, it's almost all guys. They're so full of themselves, you'd think they were remnants of the Qing dynasty. Don't worry, now that I've introduced you to the teachers, I definitely won't let you down."
Sang Shi'an blinked slowly. Although a university was a small-scale society, she hadn't realized there were so many twists and turns between the two organizations.
She couldn't directly refuse Gu Yao's kindness. Her eyes casually scanned the area and landed on a dessert shop, so she proactively offered to buy milk tea.
"Auntie, two brown sugar bubble milk teas, please. Half sugar, no ice, thank you."
"You got it. I just made some fresh milk foam. Want me to add some for you?" The owner of the dessert shop was very enthusiastic. "These teachers don't like sweet things. If you want it, I'll add it for free."
Sang Shi'an smiled. "Sure, thank you, Auntie."
The owner turned to grab a new cup of milk tea from the sealing machine. Sang Shi'an was distractedly scrolling through the school forum and didn't notice someone approaching.
The newcomer took the milk tea the owner had just made and placed another order. "Auntie, an original egg waffle, please."
Sang Shi'an turned her head and was surprised to see Jian Cenyu.
The other woman was inserting a straw into her drink. Sensing her gaze, she looked up, and their eyes met.
It was Jian Cenyu.
Sang Shi'an didn't know what to say. She looked away first, planning to find a chair to sit and wait.
The television directly opposite was playing a cheesy idol drama about a hero saving a damsel in distress. The show was at its climax. After the man saved the woman from the sea, he was stunned by her beauty.
The woman asked the man, "Thank you for saving me. My family is very rich. How would you like me to repay you?"
The man shook his head firmly and said, "This isn't about money."
The woman was confused. "Then what is it?"
The man gazed at the woman affectionately. "I have enough money. This entire island is my property. I want you to repay me with your body."
Sang Shi'an's eyes immediately started to hurt, and she turned her gaze away.
When she looked back, she found Jian Cenyu still standing there.
Their eyes met, and Jian Cenyu called out to her, "Sang Shi'an."
Sang Shi'an replied, "What?"
"I just ran into your friend. She said you had something to say to me?"
Sang Shi'an's hand holding her phone suddenly tightened. Her first thought was Su Ningyue's suggestion to invite Jian Cenyu to dinner.
To be safe, Sang Shi'an asked, "Su Ningyue?"
Jian Cenyu nodded. "Yes."
Sang Shi'an closed her eyes and cursed Su Ningyue in her head. But after last night, Sang Shi'an realized Jian Cenyu wasn't as annoying as she had imagined. It wouldn't be a bad idea to improve their relationship.
So she started with some small talk. "Do you remember the school forum page I showed you?"
Jian Cenyu thought for a moment and said, "Their imaginations are very rich."
It seemed she didn't care about such rumors; she was very strong-willed.
To avoid any misunderstanding, Sang Shi'an made a point to explain, "During my freshman year, people used to ship me with Su Ningyue. It died down after a while. They're just bored and looking for trouble."
Jian Cenyu said thoughtfully, "So you didn't date at all during your freshman year?"
Sang Shi'an hadn't expected Jian Cenyu's focus to be on this and was momentarily speechless. "I..."
Jian Cenyu watched her darting eyes and suddenly smiled.
Sang Shi'an remembered the "special preference" Jian Cenyu had mentioned at the start of the semester. She had no idea how many times Jian Cenyu had been in a relationship and felt that Jian Cenyu was mocking her. She made another mental note against Jian Cenyu.
While looking away, she instinctively grabbed the milk tea in front of her and took a sip. "Don't laugh!"
This time, Jian Cenyu didn't laugh, but the look she gave her was slightly teasing.
Sang Shi'an realized something. Her gaze fell stiffly on the milk tea cup. The taste of honey pomelo in her mouth reminded her—this was the one Jian Cenyu had just been drinking from.
Jian Cenyu took the cup back from her hand and nonchalantly put the straw to her lips.
"Hey, you!" Sang Shi'an kicked Jian Cenyu's shoe, her eyes landing on the milk tea again, utterly horrified. "I just drank from that, and you're just drinking it like that?"
The owner finished making Sang Shi'an's milk tea. Jian Cenyu was closer and handed it to her. "Why not? Is it any less than the number of times you stole my things when we were kids?"
At the mention of this, Sang Shi'an felt a pang of guilt. "You're so annoying."
Seeing Jian Cenyu still looking at her, Sang Shi'an put on a stern face. "Jian Cenyu, can't you have some sense of personal boundaries in your social interactions?"
Jian Cenyu's gaze lingered on her eyes for two seconds before moving away. "Aren't we friends?"
Sang Shi'an gave a fake smile. "Anyone who wants to be my friend has to at least bathe and burn incense, then piously write a thousand-word application. Don't you try to take advantage of me."
Jian Cenyu's tone was a bit peculiar. "Is that a requirement for being friends?"
Sang Shi'an nodded haughtily. "The line of people who want to be my friend is in the thousands, if not tens of thousands. But..."
She drew out her words, her tone shifting. "Considering we've known each other for so many years, I can let you cut in line."
Jian Cenyu asked, "Cut in line?"
Sang Shi'an could finally bring up the dinner. "I'm treating my classmates to dinner this week. You should come along."
Jian Cenyu didn't answer immediately. She stared at Sang Shi'an for several seconds before asking in an ambiguous tone, "Your friends saw the forum posts and want to meet me?"
Although it was a question, her tone was certain.
Before Sang Shi'an could answer, Jian Cenyu suddenly raised her hand and ruffled the top of Sang Shi'an's hair, as if scolding a child. "Is this how you've been asking people for things all these years?"
Sang Shi'an's eyes widened in astonishment. She instinctively raised her hand to slap Jian Cenyu's away, but Jian Cenyu caught her by the wrist, and she couldn't break free.
"You... you let go!" Her tone was fierce, and the anger caused a blush to quickly spread across her already thin-skinned face.
Jian Cenyu released her hand. "I'm very busy every weekend. I have to go to the company on Saturday and I'm in the lab on Sunday."
At this point, Jian Cenyu fell silent, seemingly weighing her options.
The corners of her lips, which had been slightly upturned, gradually flattened, like a silent refusal.
Sang Shi'an would not accept failure. "Hey, this is the first time I'm inviting you to dinner since school started. We're going to a very expensive Japanese restaurant."
Jian Cenyu shook her head. "It's not about the money."
Sang Shi'an's heart skipped a beat. She subconsciously felt there was a second half to that sentence. The hero-saving-the-damsel scene from the TV drama came to mind, and on a whim, Sang Shi'an asked, "Then what's the problem? Don't tell me you want me to repay you with my body?"
Jian Cenyu was visibly stunned. Her palm holding the egg waffle tightened slightly as she asked in a flat voice, "Are you that cheap?"
Offering herself for just one meal.
Sang Shi'an, who had been regretting her quick words, was asked this by Jian Cenyu and, in turn, started joking without a second thought. "You don't like girls anyway, so it's useless even if I offer. No loss for me."
"So are you going or not?" When Sang Shi'an relaxed, her voice carried a soft, trailing note she herself didn't notice.
"Okay," Jian Cenyu nodded. "But I might not be able to arrive on time."
The moment she heard Jian Cenyu agree, Sang Shi'an's heart beat unusually fast for a few seconds. She looked away, picked up her milk tea, and walked off. "Come or not, whatever."
Jian Cenyu nodded in understanding. "Right. After all, there are thousands of people waiting to be your friend."
Sang Shi'an's steps faltered. She turned her head. "...Say that again and we're breaking up."
Jian Cenyu laughed softly. "Alright, I won't say it."
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