Chapter 19: Cao Sheng: This Isn

At this moment, a server entered to serve the dishes.

First came four cold appetizers, along with alcohol and beverages.

Cao Sheng noticed one of the four cold dishes was braised beef—he hadn't eaten a single bite of beef since his rebirth—and his eyes lit up; he immediately began spinning the glass turntable.

A girl sitting across from him also noticed the braised beef, her eyes brightening; as the dish spun toward her, she instinctively reached for it with her chopsticks—only to…

The braised beef spun right past her, and she watched helplessly as it finally stopped in front of Cao Sheng.

Cao Sheng wasn't paying attention to the girls; when he noticed one reaching for the braised beef, the turntable had already nearly brought it to him.

He glanced at the girl, hesitated slightly, then decided to see it through—he spun the dish fully to his side, grabbed his chopsticks, and scooped up four or five slices into his bowl.

Then he didn't look at the girl's expression again, just lowered his head and ate.

After all, he'd promised his roommates today—he'd eat plenty but speak little, not steal the spotlight.

He considered himself a man with some integrity.

When these girls first entered the private room, their eyes kept flicking toward him, and he'd felt a twinge of guilt toward his brothers.

Now he thought: I just spun the table and offended that girl—my brothers must be delighted.

At the same time, another thought crossed his mind: Should I offend a few more girls later? Let my brothers see my sincerity? After all, this meal was split evenly among them—I paid nothing, ate free, so I should act like it. Besides, none of these girls would ever be interested in us.

The braised beef tasted good.

The more he chewed, the more fragrant it became.

After finishing the braised beef, Cao Sheng lifted his eyes to another cold dish on the table—pickled chili chicken claws.

The dish had already been mostly divided among the girls; only two claws remained, so Cao Sheng quickly spun the turntable again—this time, more people noticed his move.

Several pairs of eyes turned toward him.

Including his two roommates.

One of them chuckled and secretly gave Cao Sheng a thumbs-up—he was clearly pleased with Cao Sheng's single-minded focus on eating.

Cao Sheng smiled back, grabbed the last two chicken claws with his chopsticks, and placed them in his bowl, chewing noisily and happily; after two bites, he found chopsticks awkward, so he put them down and picked up the claws with his hands to gnaw on them.

This sight left several girls across from him stunned.

Two of them whispered to each other; Cao Sheng faintly heard one say: "Looks like this guy really has a girlfriend—he doesn't care about his image at all in front of us…"

Cao Sheng glanced at her in surprise, thinking: You're shouting loud enough for everyone to hear, yet you're whispering? Why not just yell it?

He heard the comment—and so did many others in the room.

At that moment, Wei Dongming, who had been reluctant to let Cao Sheng join tonight's gathering, turned to look at him, his expression noticeably softer.

Song Chao, sitting beside Cao Sheng, nudged his arm; Cao Sheng turned to him, and Song Chao leaned over slightly, whispering: "Just keep quiet, no need to deliberately ruin your own image."

Cao Sheng laughed silently.

He thought: Brother, I'm creating opportunities for you! And you're telling me not to do this?

There were sixteen people in the private room, men and women; aside from Cao Sheng and a few introverted ones, everyone else was chatting, occasionally eating a bit of cold dish or sipping tea.

Suddenly, Pang Yunhai, the eldest among the men, stood up, clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention, then smiled and loudly proposed: "Hey! I think sitting like this isn't right. Since tonight is a joint gathering between two dorms, we should separate men and women! Not like now, with all the guys sitting together and all the girls sitting together—what do you all think? Let's switch seats immediately! Gentlemen, take the initiative! Lao Qi, stay where you are. Lao Wu! You're sitting next to Lao Qi—get up. Lao Ba, you too! Everyone, stand up every other person and swap seats with the girls! Don't forget to bring your bowls, chopsticks, and cups! Don't let the girls use your used utensils! Hehe."

As the eldest in Cao Sheng's dorm, Pang Yunhai had always liked giving orders; now he was once again showing off his big-brother authority.

All the guys except Cao Sheng readily agreed; those who were supposed to stand up rose and walked over to the girls' side, following Pang Yunhai's instructions and bringing their bowls, chopsticks, and cups.

The girls, however, all frowned.

Clearly, they disliked Pang Yunhai's arrangement.

But Pang Yunhai and the others had already strolled over cheerfully, asking every other girl to stand and switch seats; Cao Sheng noticed Pang Yunhai walking straight to He Xinglan, the most beautiful girl, and politely asking the girl beside her to move.

His tone was courteous.

But his eyes kept glancing sideways at He Xinglan—his intentions were obvious.

Cao Sheng shook his head.

He thought: Pang Yunhai's doing this, and none of these girls will like him tonight—He Xinglan probably already hates him.

Besides, Pang Yunhai is dark and fat; his looks and physique are completely mismatched with He Xinglan's, and now he's done something so annoying—how could she possibly find him attractive?

Suddenly, He Xinglan, who had not smiled once since arriving tonight, stood up, pushed her roommate back down into her seat, and said coldly: "Fangfang, stay right there. I'll go."

Then she picked up her bowl, chopsticks, and cup, stepped forward with two long, straight legs, walked toward the men's side. Pang Yunhai was startled, raised his hand as if to stop her, then thought better of it—he just watched as she passed behind two men and sat down beside Cao Sheng, pulling out the chair, expressionless, and began arranging her utensils.

Cao Sheng had been sitting still, but both his roommates on either side had stood up to swap seats, so the spots beside him had been empty.

Now, He Xinglan sat down to his left.

He was surprised.

He instinctively looked at He Xinglan—she was right beside his arm; at this distance, he could even see the fine hairs on her face.

He could also smell the faint fragrance radiating from her.

Cao Sheng blinked, then instinctively glanced at his roommates, wanting to say: This isn't my fault, right?

His roommates stared at him with varied expressions, all utterly speechless.

No one expected Cao Sheng, who'd said nothing and just eaten, to become the biggest winner—He Xinglan, the most beautiful girl from the girls' dorm, had voluntarily sat beside him.

Pang Yunhai had pulled off all those moves like a tiger—and in the end, it all benefited Cao Sheng.

But after He Xinglan's move, the other girls began cooperating with the seat swaps, eager to ease the tense atmosphere.

Moments later, the seating arrangement matched Pang Yunhai's wish: each man sat between two women, each woman between two men.

But Pang Yunhai couldn't smile—he'd assumed that as dorm elder, with the most handsome Cao Sheng and the already-dated Guan Zhi out of the running, he should aim for He Xinglan, the prettiest girl from the girls' dorm.

Result?

He Xinglan had sat beside Cao Sheng, while the two girls beside Pang Yunhai were one slightly overweight, the other with short hair and a fierce aura—clearly a sports student—nothing like his type.