Letting out a cheeky grin, Yuan Yuehan and Zhang Xiaolu followed after Tang Yuanyuan but kept some distance between them.
“Hey, wait up,” Tang Yuanyuan called out as she jogged up to the young man in glasses.
The young man stopped walking and turned around.
“Hey.”
After rushing out to catch up to him, Tang Yuanyuan fumbled as she came to a stop in front of him. The young man reached out to help her but retracted his hand when he saw that she had steadied herself.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah.” She nodded and hurriedly took out some money from her wallet to give to him. “This is for what you paid for us earlier. You can have it back.”
Since she did not have change with her, she gave him the biggest note she had.
He looked at the money in her hand and smiled as he fidgeted with his glasses. “Pardon me, but I didn’t spend that much money.”
Tang Yuanyuan quickly turned red. “I know, but I don’t have any change. Just take this for now.”
She was going to shove the hundred note at him but he blocked it and her soft, small hand touched his warm palm instead.
In comparison, her hands were icy cold. Ever since she was little, aside from Yuchi Yishu, Zhong Chufeng, and the two Han brothers, she never had any physical contact with another guy.
Bumping into his hand left her slightly stunned and she quickly pulled back on impulse.
“S-Sorry,” she apologized with a flushed face. The money also fell out of her hand and onto the ground.
He lowered his gaze at her and smirked upon seeing her flustered appearance. Bending down, he picked up the money from the ground.
“I’m not a monster. I don’t eat people so you don’t have to be so nervous.”
After he said that, she felt even more embarrassed and stammered as she spoke.
Just then, Yuan Yuehan and Zhang Xiaolu, who kept watch the whole time, quickly made their way over. “Oh, Yuanyuan hasn’t had a lot of interactions with guys. She’s not scared; she’s just shy.”
“Isn’t that right, Yuanyuan?”
The young man smiled as he looked at the three of them. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Zong Yongran, a third-year student.”
“Eek! You’re our senior.”
“Nice to meet you, Yongran. We’re only second-year students. I’m Yuan Yuehan, this is Zhang Xiaolu, and this is Tang Yuanyuan.”
Tang Yuanyuan?
Zong Yongran looked at Tang Yuanyuan’s flushed cheeks and teased, “Your name is just as cute as you are. Tang Yuanyuan, you shouldn’t force yourself to eat spicy food next time if you can’t take it. It’s not good for your digestive system.”
“Mm-hmm.” She just nodded.
“Also.” he paused and handed her the money. “You don’t have to pay me back. We’re all from the same school anyway, and you’re my juniors. It’s only right that I buy you a meal.”
“N-No, you don’t have to,” Tang Yuanyuan immediately refused while Zhang Xiaolu took the money back from him. “Got it. Thanks, Yongran. If we ever get a chance to, we’ll buy you a meal next time.”
“Sure, if the chance comes. I still have class so I’ll get going now.”
“Alright. See you, Yongran.”
The moment he was gone, Zhang Xiaolu and Yuan Yuehan shook Tang Yuanyuan by her arms. “Who would have thought? After you’ve been here for so long, that was the first time someone made a move on you. I always wondered; since you’re so beautiful and you come from a great family, how did someone like him only show up now?”
“It’s not like there weren’t any.” Yuan Yuehan crossed her arms. “They were just too timid. The Tang Group is one of the Three Big Groups in North City. Even if they wanted to, they wouldn’t have dared.”
“Finally, there’s someone brave enough now. But I don’t think he’s desperately trying to pursue you seeing as how he knows when to back off. He didn’t even ask you for your number. He’s a total pro who just made it seem like paying for the meal was purely coincidental.”
Yuan Yuehan suddenly grinned. “Yuanyuan, are you interested?”
Tang Yuanyuan shook her head. “Enough with the blabber. We’re probably not going to meet him again.”
She already had someone in her heart, although they assumed she was only acting that way because of her lack of interaction with guys.
“Whether we meet him again or not will depend on what he does. Okay, let’s head back for today. Yuanyuan, if you and Yuchi Yishu don’t end up together, you should try things out with Yongran if he chooses to pursue you.”
“Try?”
“Yeah, just try it. He’s good-looking and seems very neat. If you date someone as gentle and considerate as him, best believe that he will treat you with the utmost care.”
Tang Yuanyuan could not help but think of Yuchi Yishu. Yishu doesn’t look gentle on the outside. His handsome features also seem to make him less approachable as he always wears a tight-lipped, straight face. He’s not much of a talker and he’s always frowning.
But still, he treats me with the utmost care in the world.
“Yeah, you should never go for those nasty and hard rocks who don’t care about you at all. You have to go for someone like Yongran.”
“I don’t think appearances tell the whole story,” Tang Yuanyuan murmured. “It’s just a person’s outer shell.”
“Yuanyuan, are you thinking about Yishu? We don’t mean him; we mean nasty and hard rocks. Yishu isn’t a rock.”
“Huh?”
“He’s more like a snowy mountain, but the snow melts eventually. On the other hand, a rock will always be a rock—nasty and unyielding.”
Can snowy mountains melt?
Why does it feel so difficult? A small ice cube can melt easily, but a whole mountain?
Whatever; I don’t want to think about this anymore.
Tang Yuanyuan returned to campus with them and happened to meet Zhong Chufeng, who came over to look for her.
She spotted him standing by the school gate from a distance away. Yuan Yuehan and Zhang Xiaolu, who had their arms hooked on either side of her, also spotted him.
They teased, “I’ve noticed that Zhong Chufeng is especially attentive when it comes to you. If you don’t want to be with Zong Yongran, you can try things out with him too.”
“What?”
What nonsense are these two talking about?
Tang Yuanyuan changed the topic.
“I don’t want to think about this for now. I’ll consider it when I get to university.”
“Huh? University? But you’re already an adult.”
So what? I still look like a child to a certain someone. A year or two after getting into university, we’ll see if he still sees me as a child.
Tang Yuanyuan clenched her fists.
“My relationship with Chufeng is really pure. You guys can say these things to me, but don’t say them in front of him. I don’t want things to get awkward between us.”
Thus, the two of them had no choice but to do as she asked.
