Chapter 17: Shu Yi – The Tea Essence

“Give me back my phone, now!”

Ji Shuyi strained, jumping upwards to reach the phone Jiang Cheng was holding high above her head. When she realized she couldn’t reach it, she grew even angrier, her expression fierce.

“You dog of a man! You’re so annoying. Are you trying to make me bring bodyguards to school to protect me from you all the time?”

“Heh~” Jiang Cheng chuckled, his tone light and disdainful. “Why don’t you try it and see if I can still snatch you away even with bodyguards.”

“You!”

Frustrated, Ji Shuyi mustered all her strength and pinched him hard on his waist. Instead of the satisfying sound of him crying out in pain, she was pleasantly surprised to hear her phone ringing. Her eyes lit up instantly, and she said urgently, “It’s your sister calling.”

She didn’t have many contacts in her phone, and each one had a specific ringtone, making it easy to identify the caller. In an instant, she felt as though she had grabbed a life-saving straw, saying triumphantly, “Yan Yan calling me must be something very urgent, hurry up and give me my phone!”

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng subconsciously glanced at the caller ID: ‘Mei Yan’ – sure enough, it was his sister.

Reluctantly, Jiang Cheng lowered the hand holding the phone.

Before he even had time to answer, Ji Shuyi reached out and swiped to accept the call.

In the next second, Jiang Cheng watched in disbelief as the usually explosive ‘wild rabbit’ instantly transformed, her face crumpled into a pitiful cry.

“Waaah… Yan Yan~~ Jiang Cheng hit me~ He’s so mean! I’m so weak, how can I withstand being hit by him?”

As she spoke, she deliberately sobbed with exaggerated grievance, looking utterly pathetic and pitiful.

Jiang Cheng: “??!!!”

He immediately retorted, “Who hit you? You just make things up as you go along, don’t you?”

Ji Shuyi ignored him, glaring at him silently before snatching the phone and transforming into a little “tea spirit,” complaining, “Yan Yan~ You need to control your little brother. I always consider that he’s your brother and don’t bother arguing with him, but he never treats me like your friend. He bullies me every day!”

Shen Yan hastily consoled her, saying, “Alright, alright, I’ll definitely talk to him and stop him from bullying you. Is he still next to you?”

Ji Shuyi immediately changed her expression, looking triumphantly at Jiang Cheng, her tone still pitiful and aggrieved: “He’s right next to me. He even snatched my phone just now, that’s why I didn’t answer your call in time~.”

Shen Yan: “Then give him the phone.”

Ji Shuyi immediately handed over the phone: “Okay.”

Then, Ji Shuyi watched Jiang Cheng obediently take the phone, his eyes lowered. She didn’t know what Shen Yan was saying, but she only saw Jiang Cheng reply listlessly, “Oh, got it.”

Seeing the wind taken out of someone’s sails, Ji Shuyi smilingly took back the phone, deliberately saying into it, “First thing in the morning, acting like a dog bit me, scared me to death. I need a bubble tea to calm my nerves.”

Jiang Cheng, guessing her little game, immediately retorted, “Who drinks bubble tea first thing in the morning!”

Ji Shuyi immediately feigned a startled sob: “Yan Yan~~ Look at him~~”

Jiang Cheng: “……”

His fists were clenched so tightly that they cracked. He practically spat out the words from between his teeth: “Fine! I’ll go buy it for you!”

Having achieved her goal, Ji Shuyi immediately tilted her chin at Jiang Cheng and smiled triumphantly, like a peacock that had won a battle. But her voice, as she told him what kind of bubble tea she wanted, was still feignedly aggrieved.

Listening to her order, Jiang Cheng’s face darkened. He turned around and saw Chen Xingyi barely holding back laughter and several students who only dared to watch the spectacle from a distance. He roared, displeased, “What are you looking at! Get lost!”

“Pfft!” Chen Xingyi, seeing Jiang Cheng defeated, finally couldn’t hold back his laughter, laughing with unrestrained glee.

Jiang Cheng glared coldly at Chen Xingyi, so annoyed he didn’t even feel like hitting him. He strode off towards the school gates to buy bubble tea.

Lu Zhixia, who had been watching the whole time, smiled and secretly gave Ji Shuyi a thumbs-up as she saw Jiang Cheng leave. Then she said, “You talk on the phone, I’m going to slip away.”

They weren’t in the same department. Lu Zhixia studied Broadcast Announcing and Hosting, while Ji Shuyi was in the Department of Business Administration, so they didn’t have classes in the same building.

Ji Shuyi didn’t wait for Jiang Cheng. She walked towards the classroom while continuing her phone conversation.

On the phone, Shen Yan asked with an amused smile, “Did my little brother really hit you?”

Ji Shuyi then returned to her normal tone and said with a laugh, “Hehe… He didn’t hit me, but he definitely bullies me.”

Shen Yan: “Jiang Cheng isn’t a bad person. I guessed you were doing it on purpose. You two are like sworn enemies.”

“It’s his fault for always bullying me.” Ji Shuyi didn’t want to talk about Jiang Cheng anymore and changed the subject: “By the way, why did you call me? Is something up?”

“Some time ago, I went to England with Dad and had a particularly delicious and unusual meal in their castle. I figured it was a flavor you’d like,” Shen Yan said gently. “Bringing the finished dish back wouldn’t be as good, so I brought the chef back instead. I wanted to ask if you’re free this weekend to come and taste the delicious food.”

“Free, free!” Hearing about the beautiful meal, Ji Shuyi’s eyes sparkled: “Then I’ll come see you this weekend.”

Shen Yan: “Okay.”

Once she reached the large lecture hall, Ji Shuyi had barely found her seat when she received a call from an unknown number. Hesitating for a moment, she answered to find it was Jiang Cheng calling.

Ji Shuyi twisted her face in annoyance: “How did you get my number?”

Clearly, he had just gotten it from his sister, but Jiang Cheng said with a sullen tone, “I divined it.”

Ji Shuyi: “……”

Jiang Cheng: “I bought the bubble tea. Where are you?”

“Oops, too bad,” Ji Shuyi said deliberately. “I’m already in class. Bring it to the classroom.”

Hearing that she was intentionally trying to make things difficult for him, Jiang Cheng gritted his teeth: “Ji Shuyi!”

Hearing his teeth-gritting voice, Ji Shuyi felt a surge of happiness and smiled. She spoke to him with rare politeness and gentleness: “Then I’ll be waiting for you in the classroom on the third floor of Yude Building.”

After saying that, she hung up the phone.

Leaving Jiang Cheng, carrying the bubble tea in the morning sunlight, a picture of disarray and gloom.

This class was a large lecture attended by several classes together. The enormous classroom was gradually filling up. Ji Shuyi, in a good mood, took out her textbook, already imagining the frustrated expression of that arrogant, high-and-mighty big bad wolf as he came to deliver the bubble tea.

Hmph! Serves him right for spouting nonsense on the first day of school about how she had confessed to him but failed, leading to so many rumors around school about how she’d pursued him unsuccessfully and then gone off to flirt with Tang Yu!

How frustrating it must be.

“Hello, classmate, is this seat taken?”

Suddenly, a male voice with a clumsy Chinese accent rang out. Ji Shuyi looked up and saw a man with Western features.

A foreigner?

Ji Shuyi was slightly taken aback, but, upholding the demeanor of a great nation, she decided to be friendly. She immediately smiled slightly and said, “You can sit here.”

“Thank you,” the man said, offering his thanks before sitting in the seat next to her.

The class bell rang, but the professor hadn’t arrived yet. Ji Shuyi didn’t speak to the person next to her again, simply looking down and flipping through her book. Then, she heard the man next to her speak again: “Classmate, may I know your name?”

When faced with strangers, Ji Shuyi had an instinctive resistance, especially since he was asking such a personal question. She didn’t answer, but turned her head slightly, giving him an awkward yet polite, reserved smile before continuing to look down at her book. Her unwillingness to answer was obvious.

But the boy wasn’t discouraged or embarrassed. He even smiled and proactively apologized, saying, “Sorry, you’re too beautiful, I couldn’t help but ask.”

Ji Shuyi: “…”

It seems oiliness knows no nationality. (Meaning that being flirtatious/creepy is universal.)

At this time, the late-arriving professor walked onto the platform. He apologized to everyone for his lateness before starting the lesson.

As soon as he opened the class PPT, a sudden uproar and commotion erupted from below the stage.