Chapter 35: The Dog-Headed Strategist

After picking up their food, the four of them scanned the canteen for beautiful women while looking for seats, sighing at how great university life truly is.

Although girls in high school are innocent, their figures are still immature, and coupled with bulky school uniforms, it is hard to find a stunning beauty unless they possess an otherworldly appearance.

Women in society mostly have exquisite makeup, turning decay into magic, showing seven parts of beauty from three parts of features; it is only a pity that their speech and actions become mercenary—commonly known as "ordering based on the menu"—where women make comprehensive assessments based on a man's family background, appearance, and future prospects to decide how to interact.

Yet, university girls at this intermediate stage are both fashionable and young, and crucially, they still believe in love.

So much so that many boys, after stepping into society, regret most that they didn't have a simple romance in university.

After sitting down, Shen Yan discovered that university canteens are all much the same; everywhere there are couples cuddling affectionately, showing off their love frequently, and maxing out the hatred level.

There are also individual "single dogs" watching TV while eating; whenever the NBA makes a great shot, someone will get fired up, stand up, and shout—"Badass!"

Mixed in are a few "iron-headed" students reading in the canteen, presumably because they couldn't find seats in the library. It must be said that being able to study diligently in the noisy environment of a canteen is a skill that can be called unique in this world.

Feeling the atmosphere was a bit quiet, Shen Yan shoveled some rice into his mouth and said, "Tang, I saw you chatting and laughing with Yuan Mingqing during military training earlier; progress is quite fast, huh."

Tang Song grinned, "Yuan Mingqing is exactly my type—a delicate, quiet girl—I'm planning to try and develop things."

"You two are indeed a good match; if you need help, just say so, or you can have Youwei provide an assist."

Lin Yang got anxious upon hearing this, saying Shen Yan wasn't being a good brother, as he needed an assist too; Shen Yan just said Wu Yueer is different and he really couldn't do anything about it.

"It's like setting off firecrackers; you have to strike the spark of love first, otherwise, even if you're given more oxygen, it's just taking off your pants to fart—a superfluous effort."

Tang Song nodded in agreement, saying that since his own situation hadn't even started, he still needed to keep trying, then asked Shen Yan for ideas on how to increase the success rate of a confession.

Don't look at the fact that Tang Song had a relationship before; it actually only lasted for three months, and it was during that ignorant, immature high school age where the two were limited to holding hands and hugging, not even having kissed, and even the confession was initiated by the girl.

If you really want to talk about it, Tang Song is only a tiny bit better than a greenhorn when it comes to romance.

Shen Yan didn't have much experience either, but after pondering for a moment, he said bluntly: "There is a talent show segment during military training; you go up and sing a song, hinting that it's for Yuan Mingqing. If she's truly interested, she will definitely respond afterward. If it fails, it doesn't matter; anyway, not many people will know."

Tang Song's eyes lit up instantly.

This is a brilliant idea!

Showing off a talent in front of so many people, with the atmosphere built up just right, wouldn't the success rate climb by a large margin?

"Old Shen, if it succeeds, I'll treat you to skewers."

Shen Yan raised his eyebrows; it seems his role as a "dog-headed strategist" is still quite useful.

Five to six in the afternoon is the most beautiful time of the campus; the main campus road is bustling with crowds, with little couples strolling and playing hand-in-hand, and girls walking arm-in-arm, emitting silver-bell-like laughter.

Electric scooters and bicycles weave through each other, exceptionally lively.

A wisp of the setting sun hangs in the western sky, dyeing the surrounding clouds a brilliant red, and also reddening the youthful faces of the students.

After dinner, Shen Yan tossed his camouflage jacket directly to Lin Yang, preparing to go withdraw some money. There's no help for it; currently, Alipay hasn't become popularized, and WeChat Pay is even further off in the future. Without cash, one can say it's hard to take a single step in this society.

At this moment, Shen Yan couldn't help but miss the convenient life of later generations.

With a phone in hand, the world is mine.

Coming out of the Manweiju Canteen, one can see a row of small bungalows located directly opposite. Unlike typical teaching buildings, the rooms here are narrow, each less than twenty square meters, used for commercial purposes—there are milk tea shops, printing shops, computer repair shops, and so on, with a few ATMs at the very end.

Undoubtedly, these storefronts are all monopolized by those with connections.

"Shen Yan!"

After withdrawing money, Shen Yan had only walked a few steps when he heard a familiar shout from behind. Turning around, he saw the six-person group from Yu Youwei's dormitory walking over, chatting and laughing, each holding a colorful cup of milk tea.

"Yo! You're all here!" Shen Yan greeted with a smile.

Yu Youwei asked where Shen Yan was going, and Shen Yan said he was going to sit in the library to mooch off the free air conditioner.

"There's such a good thing?" Yu Youwei widened her eyes.

In this sweltering summer, the girls' dormitory faces south, and living so high up, the entire dormitory can be said to be nakedly exposed to the scorching sun. Whenever one enters the dormitory, one feels a heatwave rushing toward them, and even at night, one cannot escape the trouble of high temperatures.

The library is indeed a good place to go; why hadn't she thought of it?

She decisively decided to go with Shen Yan.

Chen Shanni and Luo Qiqi followed closely behind.

Taking the elevator to the ninth floor of the library, it was brightly lit and packed with people. Shen Yan found the books he wanted to read with ease. Looking around, he found a square table in the corner with two books on it, but the owners were nowhere to be found.

Reserving seats in the library is common in universities; it might be that the owners had something urgent to attend to, like getting a meal, or it could be the behavior of some ill-mannered people wanting to hog the seats.

It is meant to tell everyone that this seat is taken.

Fortunately, the management at Hangzhou University is quite effective; notices at the entrance clearly state that items used to reserve seats for more than thirty minutes will be cleared, and they are not responsible for any loss.

And sure enough, a security guard had already pushed a plastic bucket to that table, tossed the books into the bucket, and walked away dashingly.

Heartwarming! That's how it should be done!

Shen Yan gave the security guard a thumbs up, then decisively took the seat. Not long after, Yu Youwei, Luo Qiqi, and Chen Shanni arrived one after another, each holding a book.

Some were reading classics, some were reading literature; only Shen Yan, more prominent than a herniated disc, was reading "High EQ Quotes."

Seeing this, Luo Qiqi couldn't help but tease: "Shen Yan, you actually have quite a bit of self-awareness; read more books and stop being so infuriating when you talk all day."

"Likewise!" Shen Yan said indifferently.

Luo Qiqi took a deep breath, comforting herself: don't get angry, don't get angry, it's not worth it with this kind of person.

Then, the corners of her mouth lifted, and she silently began to flip through the book in her hand.

Yu Youwei shook her head helplessly, having no way to deal with these two.

It's just a small verbal dispute; is it necessary to be like this?