Chapter 40

The two packed up their things, left the library, and walked ten minutes to a nearby snack street.

The snack street was much livelier; even though it was already ten o’clock, people kept coming and going—office workers off for the weekend, students from nearby middle schools, and residents coming down to buy late-night snacks.

Xu Qingzhou bought a rolled pancake and splurged by adding sausage and egg; Song Yao hesitated for a long time, then simply did the same as Xu Qingzhou.

After buying the pancake, Xu Qingzhou stopped in front of a small cart.

“One cup of lemon water.”

The vendor was a girl; after nodding, she asked, “Handsome guy, what about your girlfriend—what does she want?”

Song Yao hadn’t wanted milk tea—she’d gained two pounds lately from eating late-night snacks with Xu Qingzhou every day—but hearing the vendor’s term, she decided she should get something too: “I’ll have a cup of lemon water too.”

Song Yao’s eyes darkened; she wanted to punch someone. She’d even accompanied him to his exam, yet when it was her turn, he’d just said vaguely, “Hmm, good luck”? Her sincere feelings were being trampled on! Xu Qingzhou was walking ahead when he suddenly noticed Song Yao lagging behind; he turned and saw her glaring at him, her gaze heavy and gloomy—the words “I’m not happy” written plainly on her face.

Read! {

Soon, the two cups of lemon water were ready.

The boy wore a lazy, indifferent expression; the girl’s gaze was plaintive—look at her, her eyes were even red, clearly suffering great injustice.

Especially after hearing Song Yao’s words, the vendor quickly constructed a story in her mind: a heartless man abandoning his girlfriend.

“.”

“Fine, I’m wrong. How about this—I’ll take you to your exam on Wednesday.”

As soon as Song Yao said that last line, she realized she’d been tricked—he’d wondered why this girl kept tagging along to his exams; turns out she’d been planning all along to get him to accompany her later.

“Heartless guy!”

“Just remember to be careful when you take a taxi,” Xu Qingzhou said, finding Song Yao oddly cute—she clearly wanted him to come with her, yet pretended to be aloof.

He had no interest in such meaningless gatherings.

The two walked back slowly.

Song Yao sipped through her straw, watching Xu Qingzhou devour his food, and asked, “Wednesday… do you have other plans?”

Song Yao froze. That’s it? That’s all? Why wasn’t Xu Qingzhou following the script? Or was her hint still too subtle? “My dad might be busy that day—he won’t be able to drop me off.”

Xu Qingzhou’s scalp prickled—he realized he’d gone too far. Song Yao, the campus beauty, wasn’t easy to tease; he hurried over. “Big sister, you’re making people misunderstand you!” The surrounding crowd’s glances had turned suspicious.

But Xu Qingzhou was deliberately provoking Song Yao—he feigned confusion and even asked, “Huh? What’s wrong?”

“There’s an alumni gathering from middle school.”

Shhh~ The crowd around them were mostly young night-market-goers who loved gossip; their eyes instantly snapped over.

And such gatherings always carried some element of competition.

“Hmm, good luck.” Xu Qingzhou did it on purpose—he wasn’t that clueless; he clearly understood Song Yao’s meaning. This wasn’t even a hint—it was a blatant declaration.

Song Yao stayed silent, just staring at Xu Qingzhou. Her temper flared—she didn’t care about misunderstandings or the strange looks from the crowd.

“Wait, these two seem familiar… Holy crap, aren’t these Xu Qingzhou and Song Yao from our school?!”

“Is this guy planning to cheat and dump her?”

“Don’t want to go,” Xu Qingzhou shook his head. In middle school, he’d been a quiet loner—except for Guo Ziyang, he hadn’t known anyone well.

At this point, if they were dating, the guy would normally start reflecting on whether he’d done something wrong.

Song Yao raised an eyebrow. “Are you going?”

!.

Song Yao stared straight at Xu Qingzhou, a wave of grievance surged up; her voice rose several notches: “Xu Qingzhou, you promised my dad that day.”

Song Yao’s eyes brightened slightly; she spoke casually: “I signed up for the theory test on Wednesday.”

Xu Qingzhou promised.

“Really?” Song Yao bit her lip.

“Really. Can we go now?”

“Mm.”

(End of Chapter)