Chapter 45: Xie Qin

There was still a while before the dorm closed.

Shen Li went to a mobile phone store at the school gate.

The salesperson saw someone enter: "Student buying a phone? You can look at the newly released Apple phone."

"There's a special offer now, students can handle twenty-four interest-free installments."

A phone costing over ten thousand yuan was too expensive for her, and she still had to save money in her bank card for tuition.

"... I don't have that much money."

The salesperson went from enthusiastic to cold: "What's your budget around here, I'll help you recommend."

"Do you want to look at the Android phones here, they all have discounts now."

In the end, Shen Li bought a second-hand phone that cost less than a thousand yuan.

The salesperson helped her take out the phone card and asked her: "Do you only have one card? There are data cards here, do you want to handle one?"

"No need, thank you."

Finally, Shen Li hesitated, and took out another phone card from her bag, this card was handled by her mom, she had taken it out earlier.

Shen Li: "Can you help me, change this card on?"

Salesperson: "Okay."

When walking out of the phone store, the sky outside had completely darkened.

The phone was second-hand, a bit laggy, reacted, took a few minutes, a bit slow.

The original old phone number popped up dozens of missed calls, and some messages.

Shen Zhaozhao sent five messages, these messages were from a week ago.

Shen Li clicked open and saw a long string of dense text.

Shen Zhaozhao: Sister, I know... Dad and Mom asked you to give the recommended quota to me, which made you very angry. But no matter what, you can't run away from home.

Dad and Mom came home and didn't see you, actually they are still very worried about you, Mom asked you to play enough at Grandma's house and come back quickly, don't delay your studies.

Dad has re-handled the repeat procedures for you at Haishi Middle School.

As long as you come back, you still have a chance to get the recommended quota in next year's college entrance exam.

Sister... you should come back quickly.

Then a notification message popped up again.

It was a dynamic posted by Shen Zhaozhao on a social platform.

【After coming back from the Maldives, didn't expect there to be a surprise. To celebrate my recommendation to Qingbei University, Mom specially bought me an Apple full set. Thank you Dad and Mom, sob sob... I will love you forever.】

Along the small path leading to the dorm, the shrubs by the roadside had long faded from emerald green, and the sky was gray.

There was a cool wind blowing.

The fingertips clutching the phone were a bit pale.

When Shen Li returned to the dorm, it was already very late.

Zhao Zhouyuan had already showered and was lying on the bed reading a novel, hearing the movement, just glanced at the person who came back so late, and didn't make a sound.

There was a bowl of cooked wontons placed on her desk, it had been too long, and it was a bit cold.

Beside it was a sticky note with words written on it: Cooked too much, help me finish it.

Entering the autumn season of October, the temperature in the early morning had a bit of chill.

At this hour, the sky was very bright.

The dorm opened relatively early today, the door opened before five-thirty.

Shen Li put on an extra thin jacket today, walked out of the dorm, and her roommates were still sleeping soundly.

Zhang Zixin fell asleep at four-thirty, wearing noise-canceling headphones, and couldn't hear the movement.

When leaving, she closed the door softly.

Going downstairs, Shen Li was a bit surprised to see that figure not far away.

Xie Qin extinguished the cigarette butt in his hand, exhaled the last puff of smoke, and walked to her, lowering his eyes, his expression looking a bit tired, and there was a smell of alcohol on him that hadn't dissipated.

Shen Li looked at him: "You... got up so early?"

Xie Qin lazily lifted his eyelids, raised an eyebrow at her: "Is it possible, I didn't sleep?"

She was stunned: "Why haven't you slept yet?"

When Shen Li asked this, she felt that her question was a bit redundant.

Xie Qin tilted his head, a lazy smile spreading between his eyebrows, his tone frivolous: "Waiting for you."

Shen Li: "..."

Xie Qin continued: "I just wanted to know, what time you get up. What's wrong with you lately, you don't answer the phone, and don't reply to messages..."

"Avoiding me?"

Xie Qin leaned over, his line of sight parallel to hers, looking at her; his aura was too intense, and he was too close, the ambiguous atmosphere spread unexpectedly in the moment their breathing touched.

At this hour, there was almost no one on campus, most people hadn't gotten up yet, and they were mostly staying up all night, coming downstairs to buy breakfast.

Or there were a few boys who stayed up all night at the internet cafe and returned to the dorm to sleep.

Downstairs at the girls' dorm, Xie Qin was too conspicuous, and several gazes fell on them.

Shen Li avoided his gaze, her tone carrying a bit more coldness than usual: "... No, you go back and rest, staying up late is bad for your health."

Xie Qin's eyes narrowed slightly, the end of the sound dragging out a bit of careless playfulness: "Didn't see it, you're quite concerned about me."

Shen Li didn't bother, walked around his side, her footsteps didn't stop for half a second.

In the early morning at Chengde University, the shaded paths were chilled by the morning dew, and dappled sunlight passed through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting mottled spots of light.

Xie Qin walked to a position behind and to the right of her, blocking the scorching sun.

Less than five hundred meters from the girls' dorm building, there was a breakfast shop at the West Campus gate, and many people came to buy breakfast.

Shen Li ordered the same as usual.

The owner: "A bowl of small wontons and a boiled egg, right?"

Shen Li: "Yes."

The owner: "Eight yuan."

Shen Li was used to using cash, and she rummaged through her bag, about to take out the money.

Xie Qin, on the side, consciously raised his phone toward the QR code stuck on the wall, "I've scanned it."

The inside was full, so Shen Li found a seat at the entrance.

At a small folding table, Xie Qin sat in the seat opposite her, his phone and car keys placed casually on the table.

A silent stillness spread between the two.

Shen Li pulled out a few tissues and wiped the table.

"Just eating this little bit, don't you want anything else?" Xie Qin stretched out his long legs, his hands crossed over his chest, his gaze following her.

Shen Li: "Yes, that's enough."

Shen Li didn't know what he was doing following her; the two just sat there dryly, and his phone on the table vibrated with messages several times.

Perhaps Xie Qin felt annoyed himself, so he turned his phone to silent.

The landlady brought over the cooked small wontons, with green onions floating in the soup and a hot boiled egg in the bowl.

Xie Qin took the egg and peeled the shell; his knuckles were distinct, and the silver-black plain ring on his index finger looked very good.

Xie Qin didn't like silence much, so he picked a topic at random: "Woke up so early just to come downstairs for breakfast?"

Shen Li held her spoon, lowered her head, and took a sip of the soup, "Yes."

"You're quite self-disciplined."

Sleeping before nine-thirty every day and waking up at six.

Everything Xie Qin knew about this was from messages Zhang Zixin sent him.

"Aren't you eating?"

Xie Qin put the peeled egg back into her bowl and handed it over for her to eat, "If you feed me, I'll eat."

Shen Li: "..."