Chapter 48

"Isn't it all because of that Shen Ci?" Lin Biqi refused to be outdone, stood up, and retorted: "She's a joke in school now, bragging about donating four top-tier astronomical telescopes to the school's astronomy department. Brother Li Xiao, can you please wake up? What is there about a person like that worth you still pining for her?"

"Do you want to be ridiculed by everyone along with her? Isn't Auntie doing all this for your own good? You're still obsessed and unrepentant now—do you think you're worthy of Uncle and Auntie?"

Neither of them controlled their volume for a moment, and the scene of their argument was seen by quite a few passing students.

Li Xiao already felt that his current situation was a mess. Having done one absurd thing after another in front of Shen Ci, he really didn't want any more complications to arise.

And Lin Biqi was a huge, inescapable trouble.

"I don't need you to worry about who I'm worthy of. I'll say it again: stay out of my business."

Li Xiao said this in a low voice, but it was full of pressure.

He only wanted to repair his relationship with Shen Ci now; his heart held only Shen Ci.

And when Shen Ci received Gu Lianxing's message, she had just woken up in her sixty-square-meter bedroom, but she had no intention of not returning to school.

You can hide from the first day, but you can't hide from the fifteenth. Besides, she had no reason to hide from Li Xiao; she hadn't done anything wrong.

Most importantly, she wasn't afraid of facing Li Xiao at all.

It was just noon when she returned to school. Shen Ci went straight to the school cafeteria, intending to find Gu Lianxing for lunch, but as soon as she got out of the car, she ran into Qu Yang and Shao Yu at the school gate.

"Shen Ci?"

Shao Yu waved excitedly when he saw Shen Ci.

Shen Ci nodded with a smile and cast her gaze on Qu Yang. Unlike the previous times she had seen him, when he was always wearing a jersey, today Qu Yang was wearing a clean white T-shirt and gray sweatpants, making him look a bit less wild and a bit more well-behaved.

"Are you two coming back from off-campus?"

Shen Ci asked in a natural tone.

Qu Yang nodded, and Shao Yu blurted out: "Don't mention it. This kid dragged me up at five in the morning to line up at Xinguang Department Store. But by the time we got there, the line had already stretched for two blocks. It was all for nothing."

Hearing this, Shen Ci asked curiously: "What were you lining up for? So many people!"

"Sneakers. This kid just loves shoes. This time it was the Nike and LeBron collaboration, a global limited release. The money you tipped us for those Carnivals—this kid saved it all just waiting to buy shoes today!"

"Shao Yu!" Qu Yang glared at him, signaling him to shut up immediately.

Only then did Shao Yu realize what he had done, covering his mouth as he discovered he had let it slip in a moment of forgetfulness.

Qu Yang was also incredibly embarrassed; if it weren't for his skin tone, his face would surely have been beet red.

On the contrary, Shen Ci didn't show any reaction, but asked with a surprised smile: "You knew that person was me?"

Qu Yang thought about how he had even shown his abs to the top donor at the time, and he wished the earth would just be destroyed right now.

Shao Yu pointed at Qu Yang cautiously: "He recognized you!"

Shen Ci became even more curious and looked at Qu Yang, pressing him: "How did you recognize me?"

Qu Yang only felt his ears burning, so hot it made them itch. He said with an unnatural expression: "I just happened to see a post you made once, but you deleted it quickly, so I remembered it."

"Your ID is 'Yang Bao', and his name is Qu Yang, so he remembers it very clearly," Shao Yu added.

Qu Yang shot him a glare, scaring Shao Yu into closing his mouth immediately.

"I'm not being self-absorbed, I just remembered it subconsciously," Qu Yang quickly explained.

Seeing his flustered and bewildered look, Shen Ci smiled even more happily: "I know. My ID is because Faye Wong has a song called 'Yang Bao', and I like it very much."

"Oh." Qu Yang nodded.

Shen Ci thought he was very cute, but she didn't continue to tease him, instead pulling the topic back: "So you didn't get the shoes?"

Shao Yu didn't dare to speak anymore, so Qu Yang said himself: "I definitely couldn't get them at the original price. I'll just have to be earlier next time."

One could hear the obvious disappointment in his tone.

The group chatted as they walked into the cafeteria before parting ways.

Finding Gu Lianxing, she had already ordered food for Shen Ci in advance. As soon as they met, Gu Lianxing asked impatiently: "Did you go back to the dorm? Is Li Xiao still there?"

Shen Ci shook her head: "No, I came straight here as soon as I got back to school."

Gu Lianxing's pretty face twisted into a bun: "He seems possessed. He really waited for you downstairs at the dorm all night. What did you do to him again?"

"I didn't do anything!" Shen Ci quickly shook her head to distance herself!

Not wanting to talk about anything related to Li Xiao anymore, Shen Ci turned to ask Gu Lianxing seriously: "Lianxing, you have many connections. Do you know any shoe scalpers?"

"Shoe scalpers? What shoes do you want to buy?" Gu Lianxing blinked in surprise.

"The new Nike and LeBron collaboration. I heard a lot of people started lining up last night."

"Sneakers?" Gu Lianxing was slightly startled, subconsciously lowering her voice as she blurted out: "Buying them for Li Xiao?"

"I'll buy him a coffin!" Shen Ci rolled her eyes immediately.

"Then... then why are you buying sneakers?" Gu Lianxing was puzzled for three seconds, then her eyes widened abruptly: "Do you have a boy you like?"

"Big sister, can't I just buy a pair of sneakers for no reason and out of the blue?"

"Normally speaking, that's not very likely."

Shen Ci:...

Sighing, and thinking there was nothing she couldn't tell Gu Lianxing, she simply said bluntly: "Qu Yang has helped me several times, so I thought I'd buy him a pair of shoes to thank him. It's just a pure expression of gratitude, absolutely no ulterior motives—though if he's willing to let me touch his abs, that's fine too."

Gu Lianxing exclaimed upon hearing this: "Shen Ci, you're quite ruthless. Li Xiao waited for you all night downstairs at the dorm like a homeless child, and you're here telling me you want to touch Qu Yang's abs? If you had any conscience at all, you should have brought me along! I want to touch them too!"

"That's why we're good sisters," Shen Ci laughed: "So, can you help me with this favor or not?"

Gu Lianxing picked up her phone with a haughty look, raised her eyebrows triumphantly, and said: "I may not have other things, sister, but I have extensive connections. Wait for me to ask around for you."

Seeing this, Shen Ci nodded with satisfaction. Just then, her own phone rang, and she swiped right to answer it.

"Excuse me, is this Miss Shen? We are Shunfeng Delivery. The four astronomical telescopes you ordered have arrived. We are at the gate of the University of Science and Technology. Where should we deliver them to you?"

Shen Ci was startled. So fast?

"Then please wait a moment, I'll come out to meet you right away."

Shen Ci hung up the phone and hurried to leave, but she didn't expect that as soon as she looked up, she would see Li Xiao walking over quickly from not far away, with an indignant-looking Lin Biqi following behind him.

Seeing Shen Ci's movement, Li Xiao thought she was trying to hide from him again. After standing still in front of her, he excitedly grabbed her wrist and said with red eyes: "How long are you going to keep hiding from me?"

Lin Biqi, seeing Li Xiao tightly gripping Shen Ci's hand, immediately turned red-eyed. Seeing the surrounding students casting curious looks, she directly put on a show and said loudly: "Brother Li Xiao, she's not hiding from you at all—it's because she bragged and now feels too ashamed to face people!"

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