Chapter 17: Let her keep it to buy candy

The matter of Xie Qin asking Zhang Zixin to deliver medicine to Shen Li was also brought up by his brothers during their drinking session yesterday.

The others didn't pay much mind, but as a girl, her intuition gave her a sense of crisis.

So today, she lied to him, saying she had no class, just wanting to accompany him to class to stake her claim.

She had thought she was his exception.

She hadn't expected him to say that sentence so casually and nonchalantly, immediately knocking her back to reality.

…

After returning to the dormitory, Shen Li charged her dead phone, read for a while, and at 8:30, went to take a shower, taking the opportunity to hang out the clothes she had washed in the machine.

She was in bed promptly at 8:45.

Zhao Zhouyuan had gone to the cafeteria to eat alone, stopped by the library to read a novel for a while, and only returned just before closing time. "I remember there are no 8:00 AM classes tomorrow; are you going to sleep this early?"

"No, I'm just tired and wanted to lie in bed for a bit."

"Oh, oh. If you're going to sleep, remember to tell me so I can be quieter."

"Mm."

Zhao Zhouyuan knew Shen Li didn't have the habit of staying up late, and she had never seen anyone with such a regular schedule, always asleep by 10:30 PM sharp.

When she woke up the next morning, she saw that Shen Li was already awake, sitting below reading a book.

Shen Li unplugged the charging cable before turning her phone on.

All that popped up were useless junk messages and news alerts.

Her phone was usually either on silent or turned off. She glanced at the time, set her alarm for class the next day, and was about to turn off the screen to sleep when—

A new message suddenly popped up.

Below it was another message from someone she hadn't saved in her contacts.

She tapped it open.

This number looked somewhat familiar.

The other party sent: Are you hungry?

Shen Li: "..."

Thinking it was a wrong number, she ignored it.

7:30 PM?

At the barbecue stall at the school entrance, the air was thick with the scent of smoke and fire. Business was quite good, and there were still many people there at this hour, mostly nearby students.

At a square table with five small stools circled around it, Xu Zhouyuan brought over a crate of beer. "Nobody leaves today until this crate is finished."

Zhou Mingyu grabbed a skewer. "Xu Zhouyuan... damn, you've got it good, stuck to your girlfriend every single day."

Xu Zhouyuan: "If you've got the guts, call your girlfriend out to get a room; I'll buy you the condoms, brother."

"Get lost." Zhou Mingyu saw that Xie Qin, sitting to the side, wasn't saying anything, his eyes fixed on his phone for a long time. Curious, he leaned over. "Brother Qin, who are you chatting with?"

"Found a thirteenth sister-in-law so soon?"

Xie Qin's long legs had nowhere to go, so he just stretched them out to the side, using his other hand to pick up a beer bottle and take a sip.

Just as he leaned over, Zhou Mingyu saw nothing before Xie Qin put his phone away, placing it face down on the table.

"So curious, want to lean over and take a look?"

Xie Qin's gaze remained lazy, as if he hadn't fully woken up from his nap. He had gone back to sleep, and after waking up, he had come out for barbecue. His gaze held little emotion as it fell to the side.

Perhaps fearing he might miss something, he hadn't set his phone to silent, turning the volume to the max, screen down, phone on the table.

"I wouldn't dare look. If I saw something I shouldn't... I'm afraid I wouldn't have the life to see tomorrow." Zhou Mingyu immediately chickened out.

Xu Zhouyuan couldn't stand Qiao Lang acting like a sissy. "A grown man, drinking Li Ziyuan? Don't be such a girl, drink something a man should drink."

The owner just happened to bring over the grilled skewers, three heaping plates.

"Whoa, so many? Can we finish this?"

"This is at least seven people's worth. Brother Qin, we're saying we have a bit of money, but let's not order this much. We can't even finish it, it's too wasteful."

Xie Qin took a sip of beer, tilted his head, and laughed mockingly. "Pretentious."

Zhang Zixin: "We can pack it up if we can't finish."

"I suddenly remembered, did Shen Li eat breakfast? I'll call and ask her. Don't know if she's asleep at this hour."

"But I think she's probably asleep."

Shen Li had sent a message urging her to go to class. She tapped on the string of numbers, put it on speaker, and dialed.

Shen Li was closing her eyes, feeling a bit sleepy, when she was interrupted by the phone ringing.

At this hour, she didn't know who would be calling her.

She glanced at the caller ID.

She pressed the answer button, kept her eyes closed, and spoke. "Hello, who is this?"

A pleasant, yet emotionless voice came through the phone. Everyone's gaze turned toward it.

"It's me, Zhang Zixin."

Shen Li's old-fashioned phone had a loud speaker even without being on speakerphone.

Zhao Zhouyuan, who was still doing her skincare under the bed, heard the voice. Her hand, wiping on face cream, slowed down, her eyes watching Shen Li's movements on the bed in the mirror.

"Mm, is something the matter?"

Zhang Zixin: "We're out eating barbecue, just wanted to ask, do you want to eat? Or should I pack some and bring it back for you later?"

"..."

Besides Zhang Zixin's voice, Shen Li seemed to hear other people's voices too.

Zhou Mingyu: "Why go through all that trouble? Just come out, I'll drive to the dormitory building to pick her up. If the dorm is locked, we'll just say a word to the dorm auntie."

Zhang Zixin changed her tune. "If you aren't asleep, just come out? That way I don't have to pack it back, it doesn't taste good cold. If you come out, I'll have Zhou Mingyu go pick you up."

Shen Li: "Thank you. I'm already in bed getting ready to rest. You guys go ahead and eat."

"... Alright then, go to sleep." Zhang Zixin didn't say anything more and hung up the phone. "I knew it, she's definitely about to sleep at this hour."

Being rejected time and again, Xu Zhouyuan was getting impatient. "This person is harder to invite than a deity. Don't call her next time, what's there to call her for?"

"So damn pretentious."

"Last time, did Brother Qin's electricity money get returned to you? I suspect that when she said she'd return it, it was probably just talk."

Zhang Zixin: "Xu Zhouyuan, do you want to die? I've already said, don't talk about Shen Li like that. She just doesn't hang out with us. She doesn't want to come out, and she's not wrong for refusing us. Do you really think you're such a prize that every woman is dying to be with you?"

"She has the freedom to refuse. You've talked so much trash behind her back."

"It won't kill you to say less."

Seeing she was truly angry, Xu Zhouyuan immediately chickened out. "Sorry, sorry, I was wrong, wifey. I won't say it anymore. Give me a kiss."

"Get lost." Zhang Zixin elbowed him in the chest.

It was also Xu Zhouyuan who reminded her. Zhang Zixin took a fifty-yuan note out of her wallet. "This money should be what Shen Li left on my desk for the electricity bill last time. I didn't ask her to pay, but I didn't expect... she still returned it."

Xie Qin saw the crisp fifty, looking like a new bill just withdrawn, and curled his lips into a smile. "Let her keep it to buy candy."

This amount wasn't even enough for a pack of his cigarettes.

Xie Qin didn't care for it at all.

Zhang Zixin thought the same; Xie Qin definitely wouldn't care for this little bit of money.

She was also able to hang out with Xie Qin because of her relationship with Xu Zhouyuan.

Xie Qin was quite generous with his friends; when they went out, he was basically the one spending the money.

Hanging out with him, she hadn't gained few benefits from him either.

She liked hanging out with Xie Qin, not for the money, but mainly because besides being real, he was also clearly a scumbag, and he would stand up for his friends, so the few around him were happy to hang out with him.

Zhang Zixin took the fifty yuan back. "Then I'll give it back to her when I go back to the dorm later." ===== CHAPTER 18 =====