Chapter 67: Covering the Scent of Perfume

Back when Yang Tianxing was at home, whenever Gao Meilan suddenly shouted his full name, "Yang Tianxing," a "bamboo shoot fried with meat" (a beating) would follow.

As for the nickname "Little Yang," it was the exclusive property of certain people, such as Shao Ziyang and Tan Zhizhi, because Yang Tianxing was slightly younger than them.

Not all classmates older than Yang Tianxing could call him that; Hu Jiahao always called him "Yang Tianxing or Tianxing," and in their university dormitory, Fu Yiming never called him "Little Yang" either.

Today, Tan Zhizhi called out his full name, "Yang Tianxing," so it was clear she was truly angered.

Yet Yang Tianxing didn't feel that way at all; he rustled the paper bag and said to Tan Zhizhi in all seriousness: "You've been away from the simple working people for too long. This is biodegradable polyethylene material; it doesn't pollute the environment, it's sturdy and durable, and it can satisfy all your needs as a girl for shopping, eating, and going to class."

Tan Zhizhi didn't listen to Yang Tianxing's nonsense: "Other people's boyfriends send chocolates or flowers; who sends a paper bag, and one with an advertisement on it at that?"

"Then are we a couple? Let me touch you to prove it."

"Pah, in your dreams."

The two bickered all the way to the Jiaoda canteen, and they had barely started eating after getting their food when Yang Tianxing suddenly sighed: "I finally know what it feels like to have needles pricking one's back."

Tan Zhizhi looked at Yang Tianxing, not understanding what he meant.

"If glares were bullets, I would have been turned into a hornet's nest by now. Eating with you at Jiaoda is too risky."

Tan Zhizhi lifted her graceful chin and asked proudly: "Are you scared?"

"Yeah."

Yang Tianxing nodded immediately; he hoped Tan Zhizhi could be considerate of him and stop coming to Jiaoda to eat.

"Then shall we go eat at the Finance Institute?"

Little Zhizhi was indeed very considerate, thoughtfully offering a suggestion.

Yang Tianxing was silent for a long moment, then deeply refused: "For your sake, I am willing to endure this risk."

If they ate at the Finance Institute, it wouldn't be a matter of risk anymore.

Yang Tianxing didn't dare continue this topic, fearing that if Tan Zhizhi got annoyed, she would really run to the Finance Institute to find him, so he quietly shifted the conversation: "Didn't you say you were getting along well with a sophomore senior? How could you have no friends?"

Tan Zhizhi came from a privileged family and her own qualities were too outstanding, making her the frontrunner to be the school beauty among the Jiaoda freshmen of the '02 intake; plus, her personality was somewhat tsundere and distant, so she didn't have many close friends in her dormitory, or even among the '02 freshmen.

Conversely, she got along quite well with a sophomore senior, and according to Tan Zhizhi's description, that senior was also very pretty.

"Senior Gu has student union activities today, otherwise you wouldn't have come to find me."

Tan Zhizhi said with dissatisfaction.

At this moment, someone suddenly greeted them: "Hi, classmate Yang Tianxing."

It was actually Tan Zhizhi's roommate, Jiang Yuxin, whom he had met at the Jiaoda gate last time; standing next to her was a boy, fair and clean, with the feeling of a male lead in an art-house film, his eyes behind his lenses flashing with a confident glow.

"So it's classmate Jiang."

Yang Tianxing responded with a smile and also nodded to the boy beside her.

"He is Yuxin's boyfriend, named He Yican."

Tan Zhizhi introduced them in a low voice.

Yang Tianxing nodded, thinking to himself, *what the hell*, this name is so "male lead" style; why isn't he called He Yichen?

He Yican extended his hand like a gentleman: "Hello, Tan Zhizhi, we met at the school auditorium."

Yang Tianxing was somewhat surprised; didn't this kid have a girlfriend? Wouldn't Jiang Yuxin be angry if he shook hands with another girl right in front of her?

He looked up at Jiang Yuxin, who was smiling without saying a word, as if she were just treating it as a normal greeting.

Yang Tianxing wasn't worried about Tan Zhizhi, though; she had mastered the skill of "Eighteen Falls of Sticky Clothing" back at Jinzhou No. 1 High School, and as long as she didn't want to make contact, she could certainly refuse politely.

Sure enough, Tan Zhizhi responded politely first.

"Hello, Senior He."

Then she looked at her palm apologetically, stuck out her tongue, and said: "I accidentally got some food on my hand while getting lunch just now, it's a bit greasy..."

Sensing Tan Zhizhi's intention not to shake hands, He Yican's expression shifted slightly, but he reacted quickly; being refused a handshake in full view of everyone wouldn't sound good if it got out.

Therefore, He Yican immediately changed the direction of his hand, preparing to shake hands with Yang Tianxing to ease the awkwardness.

"Not bad adaptability."

Yang Tianxing evaluated in his heart, and he also extended his hand in a friendly manner, preparing to provide a step for He Yican to climb down.

Unexpectedly, things took another turn; just as Yang Tianxing reached out halfway, He Yican suddenly pulled his hand back.

Yang Tianxing looked up to see a playful and mocking look in He Yican's eyes behind his glasses.

"Screw your mother, you get rejected by a woman and take your anger out on me?"

What kind of person was the rogue Yang Tianxing? How could he swallow such an insult? He grabbed He Yican's hand as it was about to retract and gave it a hard yank.

"Clang!" came a sound.

He Yican, whose strength was not as great as Yang Tianxing's, fell directly onto the stainless steel dining table; his glasses flew off, and his clothes were dirtied.

Yang Tianxing even said with a grin: "It's just a handshake, why so excited?"

He Yican had tried to be clever only to end up worse off; he glared fiercely at Yang Tianxing and walked out of the canteen, flicking his sleeves.

Jiang Yuxin followed behind unhurriedly, even turning her head to smile at Yang Tianxing.

With such an incident occurring, they couldn't finish their meal, so Yang Tianxing and Tan Zhizhi ate a few bites and left the canteen.

Downstairs at the girls' dormitory, Tan Zhizhi "forced" Yang Tianxing to buy her a cake; she sat on a stone bench, eating it one bite of cream and one bite of fruit at a time, her slender calves swinging back and forth.

Suddenly, a tall girl trotted over from not far away, saying: "Little Zhizhi, I heard about it as soon as I finished my meeting; He Yican was humiliated by a dark-skinned boy in the canteen."

Only when this girl got close did she notice Yang Tianxing; she looked him up and down, and her face immediately turned red.

Tan Zhizhi pulled her over and introduced her: "This is Senior Gu Xiaojin."

Yang Tianxing nodded: "Hello, I am that dark-skinned boy; my name is Yang Tianxing."

Gu Xiaojin was even more embarrassed, and Tan Zhizhi laughed from the side: "Aren't you a bit dark? And your temper is foul, just like a rascal."

The two girls huddled together talking about many things; Yang Tianxing felt a bit bored, so he wanted to borrow a computer to go back, and he also asked gossiping: "Isn't that He-whatever's girlfriend Jiang Yuxin? How come..."

Gu Xiaojin smiled and replied: "This is something everyone in the International Trade Department knows; He Yican is pretending to pursue Jiang Yuxin, but actually, it's to use the opportunity to pursue Little Zhizhi. Their relationship as a couple is actually fake."

"Oh~"

Yang Tianxing suddenly realized: "Your circle is truly messy."

"You're the one who's messy; I'm not messy at all."

Tan Zhizhi pinched Yang Tianxing lightly; in front of her best friend, she really wanted to display the posture of a pampered girl, and Yang Tianxing generously indulged this attitude.

Of course, borrowing the laptop was no problem at all; Tan Zhizhi readily took it down for Yang Tianxing, then continued chatting with Gu Xiaojin.

However, as they chatted, Tan Zhizhi suddenly remembered something: "Oh no, I forgot to move a Word diary on the laptop desktop into the D drive."

Gu Xiaojin asked: "What diary?"

"About Yang Tianxing."

"Isn't that just perfect? You're always complaining that he doesn't confess his feelings anymore; if he opens the diary, it might even serve as a reminder."

Knowing nothing, Yang Tianxing carried the computer back to the Finance Institute Entrepreneurship Base; he prepared to teach Liu Jiaoyue how to use Excel on the computer.

As he neared the entrance, Yang Tianxing lifted his sleeve and sniffed.

Tan Zhizhi liked to spray some perfume, and since Yang Tianxing had been right next to her just now, his body had also picked up that scent.

"It's not safe after all."

Yang Tianxing thought to himself, turned around, and went to a convenience store to buy a bottle of beer; he drank three-tenths of it and splashed seven-tenths on himself, which perfectly masked the scent of the perfume.