Chapter 37: Boiling Sheep, push harder, Pleasant Sheep has no strength left

Fan Xi was stunned for a moment, then revealed a smile.

"Classmate."

Her answer was the same as before, but for some reason, Ying Ziyun always felt that the tone of her answer this time was different from the last, though she couldn't put her finger on the specific difference.

Xu Heng was a distance away from the two of them, not too far, and could hear the gist of their conversation.

He also caught the meaning behind Ying Ziyun's words; it was nothing more than suspicion regarding the relationship between Fan Xi and him.

And Fan Xi was no fool; she spoke with great discretion. In reality, their relationship was a bit closer than just classmates, having reached the level of friends—after all, the two of them had been chatting online for over two months.

But to avoid creating extra complications, she still said they were classmates, an answer that also kept Ying Ziyun from continuing to ask.

Yet, after hearing the conversation between the two, it was Xu Heng who became curious instead.

Why was Ying Ziyun so concerned about someone else's relationship with him? The two had already broken up; to put it nicely, it was a peaceful breakup, and there would basically be no connection in their lives from here on out.

Could it be that Ying Ziyun really wanted to get back together with him, and it wasn't just a momentary impulse?

Xu Heng had always assumed that when Ying Ziyun mentioned getting back together in the car last time, it was just delirious rambling after suffering from heatstroke. Now, judging by her inexplicable attitude toward him, it seemed like she might actually have some regrets.

After thinking for a long time without understanding, Xu Heng simply gave up.

To be so adamant about breaking up, and then thinking about getting back together after only four months—that wasn't Ying Ziyun's style.

Xu Heng could only categorize this behavior of Ying Ziyun's among the "Grand Exhibition of Confusing Female Behaviors."

After all, a girl's thoughts are hard to fathom.

Upon reaching the lobby, the group gathered together again.

Zhao Gaoyang asked the young lady at the front desk for a private room with great confidence, only for her to ask, "Sir, do you have a reservation? Our hotel's private rooms require booking two days in advance."

Zhao Gaoyang was dumbfounded. The last time they came to this hotel, the group sat in the lobby; he had no idea that eating in a private room required a reservation, and he stood there stuttering for a long time, unable to speak.

Fortunately, the young lady at the front desk noticed his embarrassment and said, "Our hotel still has a few semi-private rooms. How many are in your party? I will arrange one for you."

A semi-private room was one of those small, individual spaces partitioned off by a screen; it was certainly of a lower grade than a private room, but much better than the noisy, bustling lobby.

Zhao Gaoyang finally breathed a sigh of relief and complained, "If I had known you didn't have any private rooms here, I wouldn't have come. Sigh, the situation today is special, and we don't have time to go anywhere else. Help us clear out a nine-seat semi-private room."

After he finished speaking, the young lady at the front desk found a free waiter and had him lead Xu Heng and his group to the semi-private room.

On the way, Zhao Gaoyang explained to Fan Xi, "It's not that I didn't book a private room; it's mainly because this hotel is too small. I see that the big hotels always have private rooms to spare. Next time, I'll take you to a bigger and more impressive hotel."

Fan Xi smiled politely and said softly that the semi-private room was quite nice too, that his intention was enough, and that since they were all classmates, he should save some money.

Hearing this, Zhao Gaoyang felt wonderful inside, as sweet as if he had been smeared with honey.

After entering the semi-private room, Cheng Huaiyu was the first to find a seat. Dan Yuyue sat on his left without hesitation, and Zhao Gaoyang, who was close to him and also the host, sat on Cheng Huaiyu's right, which was also the position closest to the partition door.

Dong Xinxin and Wang Yi, two close friends, sat together, with Sheng Bo next to them.

After the six of them were seated, the remaining three, including Xu Heng, were in an awkward spot.

Sheng Bo initially signaled to Xu Heng to sit next to him, but Ying Ziyun sat in the seat next to him with an expressionless face.

This made Sheng Bo's scalp tingle.

Because everyone understood that the purpose of Zhao Gaoyang's treat this time was to get closer to Fan Xi.

The seat to Zhao Gaoyang's right was clearly reserved for Fan Xi.

So for the remaining two seats—one to Fan Xi's right and one to Ying Ziyun's left—no matter where Xu Heng sat, he wouldn't be in anyone's good graces.

In this day and age, the mainland had gradually developed the concept of palace intrigue dramas, and Sheng Bo felt that if Ying Ziyun were in ancient times, she would at least be a heavyweight character at the level of an Imperial Noble Consort.

This level of calculation was truly unrivaled.

Just when everyone thought Xu Heng would hesitate for a long time, he didn't even think about it and sat down gracefully to the left of Ying Ziyun.

This not only made everyone else's jaws drop, but even Ying Ziyun turned her head and looked at Xu Heng calmly.

The atmosphere turned bizarre for a moment.

"Hey, hey, hey! Why are you all just staring? Let's order, let's order." Zhao Gaoyang took the initiative to pat the seat next to him and said to Fan Xi, "Class Monitor, come sit here."

Fan Xi tucked her hair and said, "Leave some space for the waiter to serve the food. I'll sit next to Xu Heng."

After saying this, she took her seat to the left of Xu Heng.

In the ten-seat semi-private room, the only empty seat was between her and Zhao Gaoyang.

Zhao Gaoyang's movements slowed by two beats; it wasn't until a few seconds later that he managed to control his facial expression.

"The Class Monitor is still the most thoughtful."

Preferring to sit next to Xu Heng rather than him—for a split second, Zhao Gaoyang thought of something, but he quickly consoled himself by saying that Fan Xi was just trying to consider the big picture, as that seat was indeed blocking the door, and if Fan Xi sat there, it would be difficult for the waiter to come in later.

Besides, there was only one seat between them now; perhaps this was a hint from Fan Xi?

She meant that they were only one seat's distance away from becoming a couple.

Zhao Gaoyang felt he still had to find a way to continue narrowing the distance between them.

Recovering from his disappointment, he said loudly again, "Brothers and sisters, don't try to save money for old Zhao today! Order whatever you want to eat, order freely."

Dan Yuyue hissed and said, "Zhao Gaoyang, you've really made it big now, huh? You don't even care about the cost when eating in a place like this."

Zhao Gaoyang grinned, his teeth appearing even whiter and brighter against his dark skin.

They didn't stand on ceremony; starting from Cheng Huaiyu's side, each person ordered one of the hotel's signature dishes, such as squirrel fish, salt-water duck, phoenix-flavored shrimp...

By the time it reached Xu Heng, seven or eight dishes had already been ordered. Adding the two dishes Zhao Gaoyang ordered himself, there were over ten dishes, totaling nearly a thousand yuan.

Xu Heng glanced at the menu, then placed it in front of Fan Xi and asked in a low voice, "What would you like to eat?"

Fan Xi flipped through the menu and said, "Then let's just order the assorted tofu."

She didn't want to spend too much of Zhao Gaoyang's money, feeling that ordering a standard, middle-of-the-road dish was best.

Xu Heng nodded, helped her check off the assorted tofu, and then checked off a few bottles of Snow beer and a bottle of orange juice.

Fan Xi asked him why he didn't order any Wine.

Xu Heng explained that women made up the majority of those present, and since they basically didn't drink Wine, it would be a waste to order it.

He didn't know how much money Zhao Gaoyang had, so he still tried his best to help him save a little.

Fan Xi nodded in agreement; she could barely manage a little beer, but she truly could not drink Wine.

After ordering the dishes, Xu Heng called the waiter over to hand him the menu, instructing him to bring three bottles of iced Snow beer and three bottles that were not iced, and to go light on the spice and keep the flavors mild.

During this time, he did not notice Zhao Gaoyang's murderous gaze at all.

Just now when ordering, Fan Xi and Xu Heng had their heads pressed so close together they were practically touching, just like a couple.

Where did this put him?

As the big sucker paying the bill for them?