Chapter 54: Walking Brother

Yang Tianxing's heart trembled after hearing this; he steadied his emotions and said with a smile, "Who said I was going to sell myself?"

Yang Tianxing thought to himself that even that tomboy He Yulin knew I was joking, yet you actually took it seriously.

Liu Jiaoyue stared blankly at Yang Tianxing. Seeing that he didn't take the money, she pushed the "huge sum" of 450 yuan forward again, looking somewhat stubborn yet also cute.

Yang Tianxing smiled and reached out to pinch Liu Jiaoyue's cheek.

Liu Jiaoyue had been cleaning very hard just now; her nose was covered in sweat, and her cheeks were flushed red. Yang Tianxing gently increased the pressure of his fingers a little.

"Mm..."

Liu Jiaoyue didn't know why Yang Tianxing was pinching her; she looked at Yang Tianxing with teary peach-blossom eyes, not knowing to step back or dodge.

"Too simple-minded."

Yang Tianxing couldn't help but sigh.

Just then, He Yulin returned to Building Z, Room 101: "Jiaoyue, I thought you had gone back. I only found out you were still cleaning here after asking your roommates."

She had just walked over and seen this scene—Yang Tianxing was pinching Liu Jiaoyue until she cried. He Yulin said loudly in anger: "Yang Tianxing, are you even human! You actually have the nerve to bully Liu Jiaoyue."

She walked over, pulled Liu Jiaoyue up, and left: "Jiaoyue, don't meet with this kind of person again in the future. He's no good!"

As she walked, Liu Jiaoyue turned her head to look at Yang Tianxing and discovered that Yang Tianxing was smiling gently at her, which made her feel at ease enough to leave.

They had originally planned to eat together that evening, but He Yulin had messed it up again, and Yang Tianxing was left all alone once more.

"Tomboy, I hope you stay single for all four years of college!"

Yang Tianxing cursed He Yulin, but since the External Liaison Department Minister Zhang Wei contacted him about a group dinner that evening, Yang Tianxing simply went to eat with that group.

Zhang Wei and Xun Can had also been fundraising for the past few days, but unlike Yang Tianxing who got it done all at once, they were scraping together 200 here and 300 there; sometimes they even put in a full day of useless work. Zhang Wei's voice was hoarse as she spoke.

"Cough, let's discuss our respective results."

Zhang Wei cleared her throat and said: "I've already completed my 1,500 yuan. What about Minister Xun's side?"

"Our group's 1,000 yuan task was also completed this morning," Xun Can said.

"What about Minister Yang's side?" Zhang Wei looked at Yang Tianxing and asked.

Yang Tianxing took out 1,000 yuan in cash and placed it on the table; the implication was clear.

Zhang Wei's eyes flickered, and she said with a smile: "I ran into Minister Xun several times at Hejiaying, but I've never seen Minister Yang there."

Yang Tianxing calmly exhaled smoke and did not respond.

Although it was called an External Liaison Department dinner, it was just a few people buying dishes at the cafeteria and putting them together. Everyone had been under a bit of pressure lately; the real dinner would probably have to wait until after the Freshman Gala concluded.

During the meal, Zhang Wei also allocated the use of the 3,500 yuan—some for banners, some for logo shirts, some for small gifts, and some for plaques.

When Zhang Wei asked Yang Tianxing about the sponsors' requirements, Yang Tianxing said: "Four eye-catching banners."

The format for this kind of event banner sponsorship was "XXX Merchant Congratulates the Humanities and Social Sciences Department on the Successful Opening of the Freshman Gala," which both promoted the gala and expanded the merchants' influence within the school.

Zhang Wei nodded: "No problem. We will each get the banners printed tomorrow. The Freshman Gala is this Friday; I hope everyone can hold on for a little longer."

The next day was a computer class. The Public Administration major had a secretarial component, so a computer certificate was one of the mandatory documents; otherwise, one could not graduate.

Before class, Yang Tianxing specifically detoured to Building Z, Rooms 101 and 102 to take a look. He hadn't locked the doors last night, intending to air out the musty smell as quickly as possible.

However, as soon as he walked in, Yang Tianxing felt that something was a little different, but he couldn't say what.

Although the environment was much cleaner, the other doors were still doors, the windows were still windows, and the walls were still walls.

Wait a minute, the issue was with the window.

Yang Tianxing walked to the glass window, where a lush pothos plant had suddenly appeared. The dappled sunlight hit the green leaves, making the stems and veins on the back seem even clearer.

In the late autumn atmosphere, this inconspicuous, delicate touch of green gave the entire room a warmer feeling.

Yang Tianxing reached out his finger to fiddle with the leaves and muttered to himself: "I wonder which cute simpleton put you here."

……………

In college computer classes, the teacher usually lectured at the front while the students chatted on QQ in the back. Fu Yiming, Yi Min, and a few other boys had even downloaded CS, preparing to have a PK match between dorms.

Like everyone else, Yang Tianxing nimbly logged into his QQ.

"Chichu Ge" was his QQ nickname. He opened his friend list and saw a few familiar silly names.

"Youthful and Too Wild" belonged to that idiot Shao Ziyang; he was putting on airs and had downloaded a photo of Leslie Cheung from somewhere to use as his avatar.

"Icelandic Snow" was Hu Jiahao, whose red VIP status constantly displayed his noble identity.

There were also a few others like "Heart Sickness Has No Cure," "Naturally Dorky from Staying Indoors," "See Clearly Because I Look Down on It," "Oddball Sakai's Bomber," and "Irretrievable Tenderness"—these kinds of non-mainstream names; at the time, they didn't feel "chuunibyou" at all.

"Ding ding ding."

Yang Tianxing hadn't been on QQ for a while and had received a friend request. The verification message read: "Brother, I am your little sister."

"I didn't expect there to be this kind of sexual harassment ad in this day and age."

Yang Tianxing quipped, curled the corner of his mouth, and replied: "I don't like little sisters, I like young married women."

A few minutes later, Empress Dowager Gao's call came through.

"Your aunt's daughter has her high school entrance exam next year and has some questions she doesn't know, so she added your QQ to ask you. What kind of nonsense did you reply with!"

"Damn..."

Yang Tianxing hurriedly explained: "Mother, this is a misunderstanding, listen to my explanation (excuse)..."

"I won't listen! You dog, you started getting cocky as soon as you got to college. You just wait for me!"

Gao Meilan hung up the phone fiercely, and Yang Tianxing didn't take it to heart.

Wait then, what are you going to do, come find me?

"Ding ding ding."

A friend sent a message. Yang Tianxing looked and saw it was Shao Ziyang.

Youthful and Too Wild: Little Yang, how long has it been since we met? I'm coming to find you to hang out this weekend.

Chichu Ge: No time, don't disturb.

Youthful and Too Wild: Every time I look for you, you say you have no time. Are we still brothers! (Angry emoji)

Chichu Ge: No.

Nianshao Tai Qingkuang: (Three bleeding kitchen knife emojis)

Yang Tianxing couldn't be bothered to reply and directly closed the chat window for "Nianshao Tai Qingkuang".

At this moment, the bottom right of QQ was "beep-beep-beeping" and jumping again.

Yang Tianxing, impatient, was just about to log out of QQ when he discovered it was a message sent by "Cicada Hidden in Summer", and he could only sigh to himself, warning himself to definitely set his status to invisible the next time he went online.

Cicada Hidden in Summer: Little Yang, I'm coming to visit you tonight; I want to see your new storefront.

Chichu Ge: The freshman gala is these few days, I've been busy non-stop.

Cicada Hidden in Summer: Then how do you have time to be online?

Chichu Ge: I came to look up some information, and while I was at it, I got on QQ to remind you that a cold front is coming these two days, so remember to keep warm (rose emoji).

Cicada Hidden in Summer: (Shy emoji) Got it, then I'll come visit you on the weekend. I've been really busy with elective classes these few days, I won't talk anymore, I have to go to class.

Following that, the avatar for "Cicada Hidden in Summer" turned gray.

Yang Tianxing stared blankly; if Tan Zhizhi came over alone, something might happen, so he had to find a few third wheels to accompany her.

He thought for a moment, then clicked open the chat boxes for "Nianshao Tai Qingkuang" and "Iceland's Snow".

"Ziyang, Jiahao, come to Finance Institute to hang out this weekend. The scenery here is beautiful, the beauties are as numerous as clouds, a pot of hot tea is ready, awaiting your arrival."