Chapter 239: Because I’m About to Take the College Entrance Exams

“It’s Xiao Yue.” She still had a smile on her face, but it was clearly no longer as genuine as it had been at the start.

“That’s what I said! It’s definitely Xiao Yue. Xiao Ye doesn’t sound like a local name at all; it sounds like the name of someone whose life isn’t going very well.”

Yang Shuli showed no sign of apology for getting the name wrong. Instead, she reached out and poked Xu Nian, who was beside her. “Look at you. You remembered her name wrong, didn’t you?”

She made it seem as if Xu Nian was the one who had misspoken.

However, both of them had clearly heard her.

Xu Nian simply rubbed Yang Shuli’s head gently. “There’s no need to worry about such trivial things. It’s not something worth remembering, so it’s fine if you can’t.”

“I’ve noticed you’re quite disrespectful. How can you not remember someone’s name?” Then, Yang Shuli looked at the young woman in front of them. “The two of us are out to eat. What are you doing here?”

“Me? I’m out to eat as well.”

Yang Shuli seemed to suddenly realize something. She began to conspire loudly right in front of the other person while facing Xu Nian. “How did this person just ask you out yesterday and then happen to run into you today? Is she stalking you?”

Xu Nian smiled helplessly.

It was actually quite simple to track their movements. One only needed to wait at the school gate closest to the food street during meal times. One could always intercept this pair, who were eye-catching enough as it was.

Then, pretending it was a coincidental encounter wasn’t difficult. It was just that the other party seemed a bit too eager for success; the lack of any interval had even caused Yang Shuli to notice something, let alone Xu Nian.

It was essentially putting her strong ulterior motives on display.

“I remember telling you that if you continued to be this persistent, it would be the last time the two of us met.” Xu Nian’s expression cooled, but perhaps because Yang Shuli was beside him, he wasn’t quite as indifferent as when he had been alone with her yesterday.

“I know, I remember.” An apologetic smile hung on the young woman’s face. “I know our meeting yesterday might have been somewhat unpleasant, so I’ve come to apologize this time. I hope you can be the bigger person, Brother Xu.”

Xu Nian’s expression remained unchanged as he watched her performance.

Clearly, this girl probably wasn’t here to apologize. If she had intended to from the start and knew she was in the wrong, she wouldn’t have been able to pull off what happened yesterday.

Thus, this was just an extension of another goal.

“Western food. Yesterday’s meal was unpleasant because of me, so I plan to make it up to you both this time. It is a sincere gesture, and I hope you’ll accept.” The apologetic smile on her face seemed to deepen.

It looked very sincere, but unfortunately, Xu Nian didn’t believe it.

However, Yang Shuli, who was beside him, believed about 80% of it.

“Hey, hey, she said she wants to treat us to a meal. Should we go?” She whispered to Xu Nian.

Xu Nian felt like he could almost see saliva dripping from the corner of this gluttonous girl’s mouth.

This phenomenon related to why their meals together usually followed a “you treat, then I treat” format. One of the main reasons was that Yang Shuli felt food tasted best and most fragrant when someone else was paying.

The same logic applied now.

Yang Shuli really wanted to eat the meal the person in front of them was offering.

“Do you really want to go?” Xu Nian’s question was genuine.

He had originally planned to ignore her. Regardless of whether she was sincere, the best way was to stay away and then call someone to remove this grasshopper that was jumping around in his life.

But if Yang Shuli wanted to eat, then it wouldn’t be impossible to remove her after finishing the meal.

He had done plenty of “killing the donkey after its work is done.”

He didn’t have the habit of being soft-hearted just because he ate someone’s food. Since she said it was an apology, then it was an apology.

In moments like this, he acted a bit muddled, pretending not to understand the hints in her words; the only thing he could see was the deliciousness of the food.

“Your treats always taste the same. Occasionally, I need to see what other people’s treats taste like,” Yang Shuli said, sounding somewhat matter-of-fact.

“Then shall we go eat?”

“I’m gonna eat, eat, eat, eat, eat!”

Yang Shuli sounded more and more like a gluttonous beast.

The loud conspiracy in front of the young woman finally ended.

Although she had heard the contents of the “conspiracy” clearly, she still asked, “You two, what have you decided?”

“Lead the way,” Xu Nian said.

“Hey, hey…” Just as they started walking, Yang Shuli grabbed Xu Nian’s sleeve and gave it a gentle tug.

Xu Nian thought she had suddenly regretted it, so he turned back and waited silently for her to speak.

“This counts as her treat. You promised to treat me to a big meal, so you can’t use this to try and fool me.” Yang Shuli’s tone sounded fierce but cute, and her expression matched.

“I know.” Xu Nian was actually hoping for more opportunities to treat her himself. That way, he could at least choose the date location, making it easier to arrange things.

“That’s good.” Yang Shuli chuckled and leaned against Xu Nian’s arm.

At this moment, her sense of happiness seemed incomparable to anything else.

The young woman walking in front turned her head slightly and saw this scene, her gaze sharpening for a moment.

However, she simply continued to lead the way obediently.

The restaurant chosen this time was a bit different from the last one; they even had to take a car to get there.

Of course, the girl calling herself Xiao Yue was the one driving.

When Yang Shuli first got into the car, she thought she might be kidnapped, thinking this person might be someone heartbroken and desperate.

But she saw Xu Nian’s calm and casual expression, so she assumed there were no problems.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was better than the last one, and there was even someone playing an instrument in the lobby.

However, Yang Shuli didn’t understand it; she just felt that this type of consumption and sense of ceremony usually meant the number on the bill would be very long.

Moreover, the food here wasn’t necessarily delicious; it just looked good.

The chefs in the back might be specialized: some made the rice, some made the dishes, and some did the plating.

“Every time I see you, Brother Xu, I always feel like reminiscing about the past. Back then, we were all young, and under your leadership, we carved out a place for ourselves. I would be willing to repay that kindness with my entire body,” Xiao Yue said. “Unfortunately, you left later and washed your hands of it all.”

The food hadn’t arrived yet. Hearing this, Yang Shuli tilted her head to look at Xu Nian. “It sounds like you were pretty impressive back then. Why did you stop?”

Xu Nian let out a light laugh. “Because I was about to take the college entrance exams.”