Chapter 90: Fake Girlfriend, Real Fan

"Ai Qian! Let me introduce you two—"

Wei Dongming saw his girlfriend and smiled; just as he began speaking, the charming and lively Ai Qian rushed up to Cao Sheng, her eyes shining as she stared at him, "Zhongyuan Yidianhui! I've finally met you! I'm so happy to meet you—I'm your biggest fan! I love your novel The Days Living with the Flight Attendant! By the way, my name is Ai Qian—Ai as in 'ai jiu,' Qian as in 'single-person radical Qian'—nice to meet you, nice to meet you!"

She seemed excited, her toes slightly raised, and before she'd even finished speaking, a small, pale white hand reached out toward Cao Sheng.

Cao Sheng instinctively glanced at Wei Dongming behind her and saw his expression was grim, yet he was still forcing a smile.

"Hello! Pleasure to meet you."

Out of politeness, Cao Sheng reached out and shook her hand.

When he tried to pull his hand back, he found she was gripping it tightly—he couldn't withdraw it.

"You've got to sign something for me later! You know, I like writing too—can I ask you for advice on writing anytime in the future?"

Ai Qian held onto Cao Sheng's hand tightly, her face full of hopeful anticipation as she made the request.

Cao Sheng: "..."

What do you do when your ex-roommate's girlfriend is your biggest fan?

At this moment, he felt awkward.

He could only maintain his politeness, smiling and nodding, "Sure! For Wei Dongming's sake, I'll help if I can."

Ai Qian nodded happily; Cao Sheng tried again to pull his hand back, and this time she finally let go.

Seeing this, Wei Dongming hurried forward to invite everyone into the restaurant, finally easing Cao Sheng's embarrassment.

As they entered, Cao Sheng glanced at Pang Yunhai and Guan Zhi; Pang Yunhai raised an eyebrow at him, and Guan Zhi wore a strange smile.

Wei Dongming ordered a private room.

He enthusiastically urged Ai Qian to order dishes; she picked two, then handed the menu to Cao Sheng. When they sat down, she had immediately taken the seat to his left—now handing him the menu was convenient.

After handing him the menu, she leaned close to him, smiling brightly, "What do you want to eat? I'll order for you! Don't be shy! Tonight's meal is on me!"

Cao Sheng was surprised; Pang Yunhai and Guan Zhi also turned curious glances toward Wei Dongming.

Wei Dongming's face flushed red as he hurriedly said, "No, no! We agreed I'd treat tonight—Ai Qian, don't argue with me!"

Ai Qian waved her hand, "No way! Senior, you helped me bring Zhongyuan Yidianhui here—I'm already so grateful! How could I let you pay? No, no! I must treat you! Senior, please don't argue with me!"

"Senior? You usually call him 'Senior'?"

Cao Sheng was surprised.

Pang Yunhai and Guan Zhi also turned to look.

Wei Dongming's expression changed slightly; Ai Qian exclaimed, "What else should I call him? He's literally my senior! You're all my seniors too! What else would I call him?"

She looked curiously at Cao Sheng, then at Guan Zhi and Pang Yunhai.

Pang Yunhai spoke quickly, "Aren't you two dating? Don't you think it's inappropriate to still call him 'Senior'?"

"Huh?"

Ai Qian looked utterly astonished, "Dating? Who said that?"

She instinctively glanced at Wei Dongming.

Wei Dongming's face turned bright red; he stammered, "Th-this... Ai Qian, don't misunderstand—I, I only said that because I was afraid Cao Sheng wouldn't come! Yes! Yes! I only said it to help you get him here—I didn't mean anything else, really!"

Ai Qian: "??? "

Cao Sheng, Pang Yunhai, and Guan Zhi all fell silent.

For a moment, laughing seemed inappropriate, not laughing seemed inappropriate, saying anything felt redundant—they hadn't expected Wei Dongming's "girlfriend" was merely his own unilateral claim.

"Hehe, I see! Well then, no problem—thank you so much, Senior, for helping me get Cao Sheng here. Really."

Ai Qian suddenly let out a light laugh, easing the awkward atmosphere.

Then she turned back, her face radiant again, pointing at the menu and asking Cao Sheng, "Senior, order whatever you want! Don't worry—I have plenty of living allowance! Order anything you like, don't be shy!"

Cao Sheng resisted the urge to look at Wei Dongming's face, took the pencil from her hand, marked two dishes on the menu, then passed it to Pang Yunhai beside him.

Ai Qian was talkative and articulate, always finding endless topics to discuss.

Throughout the meal, her attention remained fixed on Cao Sheng—she kept serving him food, urging him to drink, or asking him questions about writing.

For example: How did he come up with the idea for The Days Living with the Flight Attendant?

For example: Is there a sequel? When the male lead goes to a bar alone for a drink and a woman approaches him—is that an intentional setup for a sequel? Etc.

As they talked, Cao Sheng realized she genuinely had interest and insight into writing—she wasn't a fake fan.

Cao Sheng occasionally glanced at Wei Dongming.

He noticed Wei Dongming had lowered his head, silently eating and drinking.

Meanwhile, Pang Yunhai and Guan Zhi relaxed completely, eating and drinking heartily, occasionally clinking glasses with each other, ignoring Wei Dongming and not disturbing Ai Qian as she chatted with Cao Sheng.

When everyone had eaten their fill, Wei Dongming stood up and said he needed to use the restroom.

When everyone went downstairs to pay, the restaurant owner pointed at Wei Dongming and smiled, "This handsome guy already paid the bill."

Ai Qian frowned and turned to look at Wei Dongming.

Wei Dongming forced a smile, "Ai Qian, let me treat you this time! Cao Sheng and the others came because of me—besides, aren't we too formal with each other?"

Ai Qian pursed her lips, glared at him for two or three seconds, then pulled out her wallet and said to the owner, "Owner! I'm paying for this meal! Give his money back to him—or my classmates and I will never come to your shop again!"

As she spoke, she pulled out two hundred-yuan bills and slapped them onto the counter.

Everyone caught sight of at least a dozen more hundred-yuan bills inside her wallet.

Moreover, in her wallet's card compartment were five or six bank cards.

How many college students these days carry this much cash? How many own this many bank cards?

Cao Sheng had nearly as much cash on him, but in terms of bank card count, he couldn't match her.

He only had one Agricultural Bank card.

At this moment, everyone realized Ai Qian was very rich.

Or rather, her family was very rich.

No wonder she told everyone not to be polite when ordering earlier.

The bar owner smiled wryly but didn't hesitate; she pulled out several bills and handed them to Wei Dongming, speaking politely: "Handsome guy! Since this beautiful lady said so, please bear with him! Give this lady her due, and give me a favor, okay?"

Wei Dongming took the money with a grim expression.

Ai Qian smiled and waved her small hand. "Owner, keep the change—it's a tip! No need to return it!"

Saying this, she gestured for Cao Sheng and the others to leave.

After stepping out of the shop, she walked naturally beside Cao Sheng's right side—on first glance, she looked like his girlfriend.

Wei Dongming, meanwhile, walked slowly at the back, head down, ignored by everyone.

After walking only a few steps, Cao Sheng stopped and said to everyone: "Everyone, you know I don't live in the dorms anymore. Since we've already had dinner, shall we part ways here? I need to go back and rest. See you later?"

Ai Qian blinked her crescent-shaped smiling eyes. "Senior, I heard you rent an apartment outside. By the way, where do you rent? Is it far from our school?"

Cao Sheng didn't think much and replied offhand: "Oh, over on Binjiang Road. Not far from school."