Sang Zhi stared at the plain rice noodles in front of her, which were sparsely mixed with a few carrot shreds and vegetable leaves. It looked pitifully plain. Her gaze shifted and fixed on the bowl in front of Duan Jiaxu, which was filled to the brim with beef.

A surge of frustration stuck in her chest.

“……”

She really didn’t want to speak.

You! Really! Like! Eating! Beef! That! Much?!!!

Sang Zhi pursed her lips and reluctantly picked up her chopsticks.

Knowing that no one present would help her, she didn’t waste her energy complaining and silently scooped a bowl of the rice noodles that he had picked through.

At their table, the person who talked the most was Qian Fei, and it got worse after he drank. Throughout the evening, most of the conversation came from him and he basically cleared all the food.

Sang Zhi listened to their conversation with utter boredom.

It was all about games, games, and more games. There was no mention of girls and there was not a single word about studying.

Sang Zhi chewed on her rice noodles, her cheeks puffing out.

After a while, Qian Fei, who had a terrible alcohol tolerance, suddenly made a fuss. This time, he finally started talking about his love life, sounding desperate and distraught, “Why the hell don’t I still have a girlfriend? I’m already in my third year!”

Sang Zhi was reaching for a chicken wing when she was startled by his sudden shout and she quickly pulled her hand back.

She quietly glanced over.

Sang Yan smirked. “Stop yelling. You can cry about it after you graduate.”

“I won’t! I’m fed up!” Qian Fei pointed at Sang Yan. “The girls who come to me either ask for your number—” then he pointed at Duan Jiaxu, “or they ask for yours!”

“……”

Qian Fei started to sob. “No one ever asks for my number, mine personally!”

Seeing such a big guy cry like this, Sang Yan felt a pang of guilt and suggested, “How about this, next time, you say your name is Sang Yan. Then they’ll be asking for your number personally.”

Duan Jiaxu didn’t even lift his eyelids. He pulled out a napkin, picked up a chicken wing, and placed it in Sang Zhi’s bowl, casually agreeing, “You could say your name is Duan Jiaxu too.”

“……”

Wasn’t this just adding insult to injury?

Upon hearing those words, Qian Fei immediately stopped crying and stared at the two.

The scene froze for a moment.

Sang Zhi didn’t dare to keep watching, feeling like the atmosphere might explode any second.

But after a while, Qian Fei suddenly burst into tears again, as if he had received imperial favor, tearfully and gratefully saying, “Good bros!!! Wuuwuuwuu, good bros!!!”

Sang Zhi: “……”

Seeing that they had almost finished eating, Sang Yan went to pay the bill and fetch the car.

Duan Jiaxu helped Qian Fei stand up and looked down at Sang Zhi. “Kid, walk in front of Brother.”

Sang Zhi responded with an, “Oh.”

Hearing Sang Zhi’s voice, Qian Fei laboriously looked at her and suddenly remembered something. “Ah, Little Sister, Brother still owes you a claw machine prize. Wait, which one do you want? Brother is really good at claw machines.”

Seeing how unsteady he was on his feet, Sang Zhi hesitated and said, “No need……”

“No way! When I say something, I mean it. I never lie!” Qian Fei pulled out a twenty yuan note from his pocket. “Let’s go to the claw machine.”

Outside the barbecue place, there was a space next door with six claw machines.

Qian Fei exchanged all the money for coins and handed ten to Sang Zhi, looking generously spirited. “Which one do you want? Tell Brother and I will get it for you.”

Sang Zhi casually pointed to one.

Qian Fei staggered over.

Sang Zhi looked around and walked to a machine filled with Doraemon plush toys, directly putting in three coins. She wasn’t very good at it, her movements were slow, either missing the target or having the toy drop after grabbing it.

After a while, Duan Jiaxu came over and stood beside her.

Sang Zhi glanced up at him.

Seeing him reminded her of what had happened earlier, making her feel embarrassed. And she was still a bit upset about the beef incident.

She remained silent and inserted another coin.

This time, she still didn’t catch anything.

Sang Zhi glanced sideways and saw that Qian Fei hadn’t caught any either, which made her feel slightly better. She was torn between continuing to play or not wasting more money.

The next second, Duan Jiaxu lazily said, “Kid, give Brother a coin?”

“……” Sang Zhi turned her head, reluctantly asking, “Why are you asking me for one?”

Duan Jiaxu smiled. “Brother has no money.”

After a brief standoff, Sang Zhi still gave him a coin.

Duan Jiaxu stood in front of the claw machine and asked her, “Which one do you want?”

Sang Zhi pointed at the one wearing a red hat and couldn’t help but say, “I tried to grab it six times and still couldn’t get it.”

Duan Jiaxu responded, “Mm, let me try for you.”

Sang Zhi stood aside and watched. She saw him aim at the doll and gently tap the button. The claw descended, grabbed the toy, rose a few centimeters, and then dropped it.

“……”

Sang Zhi shifted her gaze to Duan Jiaxu’s face.

He didn’t seem embarrassed at all. Instead, he turned to her and said, “Can you give Brother one more?”

“……”

For the next while, Sang Zhi stood speechlessly by his side, enduring Duan Jiaxu’s continuous and shameless requests for more tokens. It wasn’t until the very last attempt that he finally succeeded in grabbing the stuffed toy.

Duan Jiaxu squatted down and took it out of the machine, saying, “Trying to grab a toy isn’t easy.”

Sang Zhi replied, “It would be better to just buy one.”

“I haven’t played this before.” Duan Jiaxu looked up and handed her the stuffed toy. “Why do you seem so disdainful?”

Sang Zhi’s fingertips twitched but she didn’t take it.

Duan Jiaxu kept his hand extended.

After several seconds, Sang Zhi lowered her eyes and accepted the toy. “Thank you, Brother.”

Duan Jiaxu chuckled lightly. “You’re such a stubborn kid.”

“……”

“I got the doll for you.” Duan Jiaxu stood up and ruffled her hair. “Don’t cry anymore, okay?”

Those words seemed to be addressing what Sang Yan had told Qian Fei earlier.

But he clearly knew it wasn’t because of that. It was as if he had completely forgotten about the matter, pretending to be unaware to spare her feelings.

Warmth rose from Sang Zhi’s neck to her ears. She tightened her grip on the doll, suppressing the corners of her mouth from rising, and silently nodded.

Because Qian Fei was very drunk, Sang Yan first drove him home with Duan Jiaxu and helped him inside. Only then did they drive to the entrance of Nanwu University.

Duan Jiaxu got out of the car, waved to the two of them, and entered the campus.

The night was deep but the main gate of the university was spacious and bright, though the streetlights inside were dimmer. The young man’s tall and slender figure gradually blended into the darkness until he disappeared.

The car started.

Sang Zhi withdrew her gaze and asked, “Brother, does Brother Jiaxu live at the school?”

“Yeah.”

“Why doesn’t he go home?”

“His home isn’t here.”

“Aren’t school on break now?”

“I don’t know the reason.” Sang Yan clearly didn’t want to talk to her. “Why are you asking so many questions?”

Sang Zhi was silent for a while, but still leaned forward out of boredom and asked, “Earlier, Brother Qian Fei said someone asked him for your phone number. Is that true?”

Sang Yan replied, “Nonsense.”

“Was there any follow-up?”

“If I didn’t give it, how could there be a follow-up?”

“Oh.” Sang Zhi thought for a moment. “Good thing you didn’t give it.”

Sang Yan turned the steering wheel, not saying a word.

The next second, Sang Zhi added, “I think maybe they asked Brother Qian Fei for your number so you could give them Brother Jiaxu’s number.”

“……”

“Brother, be careful.”

“Shut up.”

“Don’t let them humiliate you.”

“……”

“Even though you are indeed the ugliest one in our family……” Sang Zhi paused as if carefully choosing her words, and said honestly, “But you are also quite ugly outside.”

“……”