Feeling the warmth of the scarf, Song Qiuyu was completely wrapped in Jiang Xiao’s scent.
Her gaze grew a little dazed, and she couldn’t help but become intoxicated by it.
This indescribable emotion—it wasn’t wine, yet for some reason, it felt a little intoxicating.
Gradually, she began to forget a few things.
Jiang Li’s voice finally quieted the buzzing in her mind for a moment.
Regaining her clarity, she turned her head to look, only to realize that the gaze she met was a little odd.
At once, Song Qiuyu grew alert. Instinctively, she clutched at her sleeve, not daring even to take a full breath.
“Qiuyu-ge, these past few months, it seems my brother’s been looked after by you quite a bit.” A polite smile appeared on Jiang Li’s face.
“Thank you so much.”
“Oh, that? You’re too polite! Brothers are supposed to help each other, and besides, Jiang Xiao and I were classmates in middle school. We’ve known each other forever!”
While speaking, Song Qiuyu turned and walked into the restaurant.
As soon as she stepped inside, she was met with several pairs of sparkling eyes turned her way.
She saw that the club members, who had been waiting for them, waved excitedly in greeting.
“You finally made it! We’ve been waiting for so long!”
“Yeah! The President wouldn’t let them serve food until you came—we’re all starving!”
“Hurry up, come sit here, there’s a spot!”
“Handsome, you can start serving the food over here now!” Ah, this place really was heaven!
Song Qiuyu couldn’t help but smile.
The nerves that had been tense all along slowly loosened without her realizing it.
Smiling, she made her way to an empty seat and obediently sat down, letting out a long breath.
“Here, this is the Menu. Take a look and order whatever you want!”
The President handed her the Menu, saying, “You and Jiang Xiao have to eat more this time—don’t worry about saving me money.”
“Mm!”
Song Qiuyu nodded briskly.
After taking the Menu, she noticed there was still an empty seat beside her.
Unconsciously, a face popped into her mind.
Right after, that very face appeared in her field of vision—Jiang Xiao, as natural as ever, took the empty seat next to her.
There were many Drama Club members, so one table wasn’t nearly enough.
The President had booked four full tables.
Every table was almost filled.
Yes, almost.
But as for Jiang Xiao coming over to sit beside her, Song Qiuyu wasn’t really surprised.
“Jiang Xiao, take a look at what you want to eat?”
She just got nervous again, but caring for the person beside her had already become a habit imprinted in her DNA—her body and mouth acted on their own.
“You order first. I’ll add on later when I see something.”
Jiang Xiao said this, but had already leaned over, looking at the Menu in her hands.
“This whole show Jiang Xiao and Song Qiuyu pulled off really scared us, especially when Jiang Xiao finished speaking at the start and then it was just silence for so long!”
Some members began summarizing the events of the stage play.
“Luckily, they didn’t let us down!”
Everyone thought that if it had been other members, the play would’ve been ruined for sure.
This success was not just because of Song Qiuyu and Jiang Xiao, but also thanks to Xie Zhuran and Lin An trusting them.
If it hadn’t been for Xie Zhuran and Lin An stopping things, the President might not have been convinced, and they would have rushed onstage to pull the two juniors down.
Faced with everyone’s approval, Song Qiuyu poured herself a cup of Dabaicha and took a sip.
Then she stood up from her chair. “I’m really sorry for causing trouble for everyone this time. Jiang Xiao and I promise it won’t happen again!”
Under the table, she subconsciously kicked Jiang Xiao with her foot. “Jiang Xiao, you get up and say something too.”
“I’m sorry. Actually, this was my idea alone. Song Qiuyu just improvised with me at the last moment.”
Jiang Xiao obediently stood and spoke.
Song Qiuyu was stunned.
That was the truth, but there was no need to blurt it out now.
The words had barely fallen when the whole restaurant erupted in the Drama Club members’ excited and shocked shouts, startling passersby again and again.
If possible, Song Qiuyu really wished people studying drama and directing could act a little more normal in public—not be so dramatic.
It really hurt their popularity with bystanders in these two majors.
“Song Qiuyu’s improvisation skills aren’t bad! If you work hard, maybe you’ll join a good crew by the first semester of sophomore year—oh!”
After a while, everyone calmed down. The President smiled, raised a glass, and stood up as well.
“Come, let’s offer an early congratulations to junior Song Qiuyu’s bright future!”
As soon as the President finished, the sound of chairs sliding back echoed one after another into Song Qiuyu’s ears, making her heartbeat quicken.
Enjoying this sense of recognition, she hurried to pour herself a drink.
But Jiang Xiao had already poured it for her, handing the glass to her side.
Song Qiuyu paused briefly at this, but the other members took it in stride—some even joked about the two of them, smiling.
Seeing such a harmonious scene, Jiang Li, however, frowned, her gaze shifting to Xie Zhuran.
A sudden thought crossed her mind.
Maybe she could have this person keep an eye out for her.
After all, she and Jiang Yu were only visiting for two days during the New Year’s holiday—after that, they’d have to go back to school.
The four tables filled with people talked and laughed, eating and chatting about topics with no real substance.
During the meal, someone brought up the recording of the stage play, saying it had already been uploaded online as soon as possible, but it was still under review, so they’d have to wait for updates.
Song Qiuyu was full of anticipation.
She was just waiting for this wave of traffic—those audience members who had been urging for new updates, once they saw the play, would definitely look forward to their new short videos even more!
In high spirits, she ate as she chatted.
Absentmindedly looking up, she suddenly caught sight of a freckled face in the crowd.
Coincidentally, that person saw her too, but after less than a second, her gaze shifted to Jiang Xiao, who was sitting beside Song Qiuyu.
This person was none other than the Female Warrior who had given Jiang Xiao a Silent Night Apple on Christmas Eve!
Song Qiuyu paused for a moment, looking at the other girl’s clothes, lips slightly parted.
Was this girl a part-time waitress?
“It’s that handsome guy from that day!”
The Female Warrior walked up to Jiang Xiao, her face blossoming into a radiant smile.
“Seems we really are fated to meet.”
“And you are?”
But clearly, Jiang Xiao didn’t remember the Female Warrior.
“An apple! I gave you a Silent Night Apple on Christmas Eve,” the Female Warrior said.
Jiang Xiao vaguely recalled something.
Seeing her grinning even wider, Song Qiuyu gripped her chopsticks tightly, pressing her lips together, feeling a little stifled in her chest.
Running into her again—this really was fate.
At that moment, from the next table, Lin An’s face suddenly changed as he looked at the Female Warrior and spoke: “Xia Qi?”
“Eh?”
The girl turned around and froze. “Isn’t that Lin An? How come you—”
“Lin An, you two know each other?” Xie Zhuran asked.
Song Qiuyu also looked over, just in time to see Lin An’s face darken, causing her to furrow her brows.