Chapter 20: The Foodie Cao Sheng

A moment later, the hot dishes were brought to the table one by one.

There was dry-pot mutton, chopped chili fish head, steamed pork with rice flour, braised stinky mandarin fish, steamed preserved meats, pork bone soup with Chinese yam, stir-fried pork with pickled vegetables and bamboo shoots, steamed edamame with minced meat, and so on.

With over a dozen dishes, the table was packed full.

It looked very sumptuous.

But tonight, the 16 people from their two dormitories were having a get-together; with so many people eating these dishes, it actually wasn't much. Cao Sheng's roommates were very enthusiastic, frequently striking up conversations with the girls beside them; their minds were not on eating at all.

Even Guan Zhi’s attention was primarily on his girlfriend, Xu Ling.

Only Cao Sheng had his heart and mind entirely on the food.

Anyway, before the get-together today, his brothers had told him to eat more and talk less tonight, so he might as well eat!

Mutton, fish head, steamed pork with rice flour, stinky mandarin fish...

Whichever dish was delicious, he would set his chopsticks on it.

As for the slightly inferior dishes, he didn't even look at them.

Since his rebirth, apart from eating some good food during the New Year, he had been living frugally after arriving at school, and the quality of his meals had never been high.

He had long wanted to improve his diet.

And tonight, with this delicious feast that didn't require him to pay, why should he be polite?

The more he ate, the more satisfied his brothers would likely be.

Just as he was eating with his mouth glistening with oil, he suddenly caught a glimpse of He Xinglan beside him frowning as she watched him.

Cao Sheng gave her a smile, stretched out his chopsticks to pick up a piece of fish cheek meat and put it into his mouth, and then his chopsticks reached for the steamed pork with rice flour.

He Xinglan: "..."

At this moment, Xu Fengmao, who was sitting on the other side of He Xinglan, turned the lazy Susan on the table, pointed at the mutton hot pot with a beaming smile, and said to He Xinglan, "Beauty! Mutton is good for your complexion. Try a piece; this mutton is cooked quite well."

He Xinglan looked at him, then looked at the mutton on the table, was silent for a few seconds, and said indifferently, "Thank you, I don't eat mutton."

Xu Fengmao’s smile faltered slightly.

Cao Sheng glanced at the two of them, feeling a bit like laughing, and quickly lowered his head to continue eating his own food.

At this time, the slim girl sitting on his right side tilted her body slightly, leaned toward him, and asked in a low voice, "Hey, do you really have a girlfriend?"

Cao Sheng was a bit surprised that this girl had actually taken the initiative to talk to him.

He looked at her, smiled, and neither admitted nor denied it.

It wasn't that he was being cold on purpose.

It was just that no matter how he answered this question, it wouldn't be appropriate.

If he admitted he had a girlfriend, he didn't actually have one.

If he denied it! His brothers had already said he had a girlfriend; if he denied it now, it would be equivalent to undermining his brothers.

Seeing Cao Sheng smile without admitting or denying it, the slim girl thought he didn't want to bother with her; she rolled her eyes slightly and stopped trying to talk to him.

This meal lasted for over an hour.

They had drunk plenty of beer and beverages, and the dishes on the table had been mostly eaten.

A girl put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth with a paper napkin, and suggested, "I'm full. How are you all doing? Shall we call it a day here? Let's disperse?"

This remark immediately received the agreement of several girls.

Then the girls stood up one after another to say goodbye.

Seeing this scene, Guan Zhi, the organizer of tonight's mixer, hurriedly stood up, trying hard to create opportunities for his brothers, and loudly arranged for his roommates to escort the girls beside them back.

But the girls refused one after another.

The scene was quite chaotic for a moment.

Several boys shamelessly followed behind certain girls, insisting on escorting them back to their dorms.

Meanwhile, the girls politely declined while quickening their pace out of the private room.

Cao Sheng was quite relaxed, like an outsider.

Guan Zhi hadn't arranged for him to escort any girl back.

At this very moment, he was like a spectator.

He was smiling as he wiped the oil stains from his mouth with a napkin, watching the noisy scene.

He had long known the outcome of this get-together in the original timeline.

The only difference was—in the original timeline, Pang Yunhai hadn't targeted He Xinglan as his goal, so He Xinglan hadn't sat next to him, Cao Sheng.

Everything else was about the same.

Therefore, at this moment, he felt a bit of sympathy for his roommates.

Because he knew that they would all end up with nothing tonight; they had spent money and acted like sycophants, yet they wouldn't get a single chance in the end.

He suddenly let out a burp.

It happened to be heard by He Xinglan as she passed by him, and she couldn't help but look at him again.

A moment later, everyone came out of the restaurant.

Guan Zhi, with his arm around Xu Ling's waist, stood at the entrance of the restaurant with a smile, waving goodbye to the girls and watching them leave together.

They walked toward the school gate together, while several of Cao Sheng's roommates followed them, thick-skinned, insisting on escorting them back to their dorms.

These people were: Wei Dongming, Zhai Jun, Pang Yunhai, and Xu Fengmao. Wei Dongming and Pang Yunhai seemed to have shifted their targets, setting their sights on someone among the girls.

Cao Sheng, Song Chao, Zheng Xiaoqiang, and Guan Zhi and Xu Ling stood at the restaurant entrance watching these people walk further and further away, their expressions varied.

Guan Zhi suddenly asked with a smile, "Song Chao, Xiaoqiang, why didn't you two go along to see them off? With so many beauties, aren't there any you two like?"

Song Chao gave a self-deprecating smile, "I can tell that none of these girls are interested in me, so why should I go join in the fun?"

Zheng Xiaoqiang shyly scratched his head and blushed, "It's about the same for me. The two girls who sat next to me tonight didn't want to talk to me at all."

Xu Ling looked at Cao Sheng, "Hey! Cao Sheng, Guan Zhi and the others all say you have a girlfriend, but they also all say they've never seen what your girlfriend looks like. Do you really have a girlfriend?"

This question drew the attention of Guan Zhi and the others to Cao Sheng.

Cao Sheng shrugged and said casually, "I said I didn't, but they didn't believe me and insisted I did, so I guess I do!"

"Huh?"

Guan Zhi was surprised, "You really don't?"

Xu Ling and the others were all very surprised.

Song Chao: "Third Brother, you really don't?"

Zheng Xiaoqiang: "Then why did you agree when everyone told you to eat more and talk less tonight? Don't, don't you want to find a girlfriend?"

Xu Ling was even more surprised. She looked at Cao Sheng, then at Guan Zhi and the others, and asked in disbelief, "What? It was you guys who told him to eat more and talk less tonight? No wonder! I was wondering why he didn't say a single word today and just kept his head down eating the whole time! So it was you guys who made him do that? How could you do this? Do you know how many people in our dorm are interested in him? You, you... sigh! I don't even know what to say to you guys."

Facing Xu Ling's complaints, Guan Zhi felt a bit depressed and frowned at Cao Sheng, "Third Brother, you really don't have a girlfriend? Then what's with you not coming back to the dorm every few days recently?"

Song Chao: "Yeah! Guan Zhi goes to get a room every time he doesn't come back, so when you didn't come back to sleep at night, we naturally assumed you went to get a room too!"

Zheng Xiaoqiang: "Exactly!"

Guan Zhi didn't mind what Song Chao and Zheng Xiaoqiang said, and even looked smug, while Xu Ling blushed a little.

She quietly pinched the skin on Guan Zhi's waist, causing him to gasp in pain.

Cao Sheng laughed, "I went to the internet cafe to stay overnight. I told you that long ago, but you didn't believe me. What can I do?"

Since there was an opportunity to explain that he didn't have a girlfriend, he was willing to explain.

After all, he didn't intend to go through his entire university life without finding a partner.

If everyone kept thinking he had a partner, it would certainly make it much harder for him to find one.