Chapter 99: Not Giving Up

After the four morning classes ended, Shen Yan stood up to stretch, packed his notebook, and was just about to slip away when he saw Yu Youwei standing prettily by his electric scooter.

She was wearing a khaki work jacket paired with black slim-fit trousers; as the autumn breeze brushed her face, her wavy hair fluttered gently.

She was looking at him with a beaming smile.

"Shen Yan, we haven't eaten together in a long time. The spicy dry pot on the third floor of the cafeteria is pretty good; let's go try it."

Shen Yan's eyes flickered, and he said he had something to do in a while and would do it next time.

"Why do I feel like you've been avoiding me lately? Is it really impossible for good friends to even have a meal together?" Yu Youwei pouted, a hint of sadness appearing in her eyes.

Recently, Shen Yan had either been skipping class and disappearing, or making excuses about being too busy, to the point where they hadn't even had a proper meal together since their last conversation.

She couldn't help but overthink it.

Does not being able to be lovers mean they must be strangers?

In fact, Shen Yan had no such intention at all.

From beginning to end, he held no resentment toward Yu Youwei; in his previous life, Yu Youwei was single-minded and devoted only to her studies, so he couldn't very well harbor hatred just because she had no interest in him.

In this life, he had taken the initiative to let go of those feelings, and even though Yu Youwei's mindset had changed, she had never done anything excessive, so they hadn't reached the point of a total break.

The reason he decided to keep his distance from her was simply to hope that this relationship would fade away as much as possible.

Now that Yu Youwei was positioning herself as a friend, Shen Yan didn't keep up his guard anymore and said with a smile, "I'm not avoiding you. Alright, let's go eat."

Only then did Yu Youwei reveal a smile again.

At the peak of the lunch hour, the campus asphalt road was bustling with people; students moved in groups of three or five, their laughter rising and falling, as if telling of the joys of campus life.

The plane trees on both sides of the road were lush and leafy, their massive crowns like large umbrellas held aloft, enveloping the students; sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting down a lively scene.

Since they were close to the cafeteria, neither Shen Yan nor Yu Youwei had ridden their bikes, walking leisurely side by side, and the students around them who noticed this all cast their gazes over.

"Hey, hey! Look, is that Shen Yan who did the Moonwalk?"

"It really is! He's even more handsome in person than in the video!"

"Wow! I finally saw my idol."

"Who is that girl next to the idol? Is she his girlfriend?"

"Probably. That girl looks like Yu Youwei from the School Beauty Ranking."

"They look quite good together standing there."

The whispers reaching his ears were like a scorching tide, causing a shy blush to rise on Yu Youwei's cheeks. She secretly glanced at Shen Yan from the corner of her eye, only to find his expression as calm as water, giving off the feeling of someone who wouldn't change color even if Mount Tai collapsed before him.

Especially charming!

At this moment, a tall beauty came up to Shen Yan, accompanied by a strong, somewhat pungent scent of perfume.

The beauty parted her red lips, revealing a myriad of charms, and said, "Student Shen Yan, can you give me your QQ?"

Shen Yan said, "I only have one QQ. If I give it to you, what will I use?"

What?

The beauty was stunned, left at a loss by Shen Yan's train of thought, and then said again, "I'm asking you, what is your QQ?"

"It's a chat tool!"

What a bizarre logic!

The beauty was speechless; she wasn't stupid, and if the other party didn't want to make friends, continuing to pester him would only make her lose face, so she had to leave in frustration.

"Pfft!" Yu Youwei finally couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Shen Yan, I don't think even a mantis shrimp is as cheeky as you right now."

Shen Yan smiled and said nothing, while Yu Youwei talked to herself, saying that next time someone came to hit on her, she would use this method too—either play deaf and dumb, or play the fool; if that didn't work, she'd learn from Wu Yue'er and just snap back at them.

Arriving at the third floor of the cafeteria was like entering a world of its own; the environment here was vastly different from the first and second floors, with only one spicy dry pot restaurant operating. Three rows of neat plates were placed on the windowsill, orderly like soldiers in formation, filled with a dazzling array of ingredients.

The two of them each took an iron tray and picked the ingredients they liked; the average cost was twenty-five, which was still within an acceptable range for college students, and most importantly, it was unexpectedly delicious.

The two chatted while eating, mostly Yu Youwei talking about how she had successfully joined the Student Union, working as a junior staff member in the Art Department, and how the Minister thought highly of her and was preparing to make her a Vice Minister in her sophomore year.

Shen Yan said, "That's great. The Art Department is responsible for organizing various cultural activities, which helps in training organizational and management skills, and since singing is your specialty, you can fully showcase your talents."

"Right, right!" Getting Shen Yan's approval, Yu Youwei couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

Then she talked about the situation of others: Luo Qiqi was in the External Liaison Department, Wu Yue'er had joined the Dance Club, and Chen Shanni and Yuan Mingqing were quite lazy, living a carefree life.

Huniu joined the Dance Club?

In Shen Yan's mind, an image of Huniu doing square dancing appeared—unable to tell left from right, flustered and messy—which had caused quite a few jokes at the time.

Sure enough, she had commendable courage, specifically choosing a field she wasn't good at.

Yu Youwei asked Shen Yan again if he still had any thoughts of changing his major.

She had kept this matter silently in her heart.

Shen Yan felt that tossing and turning was too much trouble, so he would just leave it as it was. Yu Youwei's face immediately lit up with joy, saying that he was so smart, he would definitely be the most dazzling star in the legal world.

Honestly, ever since Shen Yan showed off his power in the classroom last time, reciting legal provisions fluently, she felt that Shen Yan was particularly suited for the legal profession and would definitely be an invincible lawyer in the future.

Shen Yan was noncommittal about this; with money in hand, he would have to be out of his mind to become a lawyer.

After lunch, before they parted ways, Yu Youwei hesitated again and again, but still spoke her mind: "Shen Yan, I know you don't like me right now, but I won't give up. Don't feel any burden, and don't avoid me. I just hope that one day when you and Hao Anqi break up, you can give me a chance."

After saying this, Yu Youwei flashed a brilliant smile and then rode off on her bike.

Shen Yan, left where he was, scratched his head.

"Damn! What is all this."