Chapter 77: Han Ning VS Su Qinghe! First Head-on Clash?
Seeing Su Qinghe’s dazed expression, Gu Yifan paused for a moment. The scene suddenly gave him the feeling of a wife waiting at the village entrance for her husband to return from a long journey.
The corners of his mouth lifted into a slight smile, and he slowly walked toward Su Qinghe.
A shadow suddenly fell over her. Su Qinghe, who had been lost in thought, snapped back to reality and looked up to find Gu Yifan’s handsome face right in front of her.
Su Qinghe froze, then broke into a brilliant smile a second later.
That sweet smile was enough to melt Gu Yifan’s heart.
"Su Hanhan, what are you so lost in thought about?"
Gu Yifan said with a faint smile.
"N-Nothing."
As if remembering something, Su Qinghe’s face flushed slightly, and she stammered.
Seeing her shy, adorable appearance, Gu Yifan couldn’t resist reaching out and pinching her delicate little nose.
His sudden, intimate gesture made Su Qinghe’s face turn an even deeper shade of red.
Fortunately, Gu Yifan didn’t continue teasing her and quickly pulled his hand back.
"Come on, let’s go eat!"
he said, smiling at Su Qinghe.
"Mhm..."
Su Qinghe’s face was still flushed. She kept her head down and responded in a small voice.
Then, the two of them turned and walked toward the school cafeteria together.
Lately, aside from the occasional dinner at Gu Yifan’s house, they had been eating most of their meals in the school cafeteria.
The cafeteria food wasn’t great, but its main selling point was convenience.
After all, the college entrance exams weren’t far off. While Gu Yifan no longer needed to study, Su Qinghe still did!
...
In the school cafeteria,
there was already a long line, even longer than usual.
Many resident students like Gu Yifan were choosing to eat here to save more time for afternoon studying.
As for a midday nap?
Did seniors even have the luxury of a nap?
At most, they could catch half an hour of sleep at their desks in the classroom.
But of course, not everyone was working that hard.
Take Gu Yifan, for example.
After finishing lunch with Su Qinghe, he would usually accompany her to the school library. While she studied, he would be at her side, sleeping soundly.
The library wasn’t normally open during the lunch break, but the librarian had gotten to know Gu Yifan extremely well recently.
Plus, Gu Yifan was a smooth-talker who wasn’t afraid to use the power of cash, occasionally slipping the librarian a carton of nice cigarettes. Their relationship couldn’t be better!
After a couple of drinks, the man would probably be ready to kowtow and become sworn brothers with him on the spot!
...
"It’s the weekend, but it’s still so crowded!"
"Hey... Hanhan, go find a place to sit. I’ll get in line for the food!"
Gu Yifan said to Su Qinghe after scanning the noisy crowd.
"Oh, okay..."
Su Qinghe nodded obediently.
"Okay, I’ll go get in line. You go find us a table!"
Gu Yifan nodded, then took his meal card and found a slightly shorter line to join.
Meanwhile, Su Qinghe obediently went to look for an empty table.
The two had grown accustomed to this division of labor.
At first, Su Qinghe had always insisted on lining up for the food, but Gu Yifan had been quite bossy and forced her to switch roles.
She didn’t dare to defy him, so she had no choice but to obediently accept. Over time, she stopped protesting.
She simply committed every bit of Gu Yifan’s kindness to memory.
After scanning the cafeteria, Su Qinghe spotted an empty table by the window.
She remembered that Gu Yifan liked sitting by the window, so she hurried over.
When she reached the table, Su Qinghe noticed it was still greasy from the previous diners.
So, she took out a roll of tissues from her small, faded backpack, tore off a couple of sheets, and began to wipe the table carefully.
’In the past, she would have been too reluctant to use these tissues. A roll cost three yuan, after all; using them to wipe a table was such a luxury!’
’Usually, if she found a dirty table, she would just use a few pieces of scrap paper to wipe it!’
But ever since she started eating with Gu Yifan every day, she had begun to carry tissues with her. She had silently taken note of his expression one time—he had run out of tissues, and his brow furrowed when he realized he had nothing to wipe his hands with after the meal.
It was from that moment that Su Qinghe learned Gu Yifan was a bit of a germaphobe.
As she was diligently wiping the table, a few girls at a nearby table were chatting and laughing while they ate.
Just then, one of the girls, who had her hair in pigtails, noticed Su Qinghe. She tapped her best friend on the shoulder and said, "Hey, Xiaoning’er, isn’t that Su Qinghe? The one who was eating noodles with Gu Yifan this morning?"
That’s right!
The girls were all from Gu Yifan’s class, 3-1. Two of them were none other than Gu Yifan’s childhood friend, Han Ning, and her best friend, Wu Xiaoyan!
Hearing this, Han Ning turned her head and saw Su Qinghe in the distance, carefully wiping the table.
Just as she finished wiping the table, as if sensing something, Su Qinghe also turned her head and looked toward Han Ning.
Their eyes met.
Su Qinghe paused. She recognized Han Ning and knew about her relationship with Gu Yifan, so she gave her a polite nod.
For some reason, looking at Su Qinghe filled Han Ning with a sudden, inexplicable irritation.
She didn’t speak or respond, simply retracting her gaze with a blank expression.
Seeing that Han Ning didn’t acknowledge her, Su Qinghe didn’t mind. She looked away and began searching the crowd for Gu Yifan.
"Xiaoning’er, you know the pauper school belle, Su Qinghe?"
Wu Xiaoyan, seeing the exchange, asked curiously.
"I don’t know her!"
Hearing the question, Han Ning’s hands paused mid-motion. She replied coldly.
"Uh..."
Noticing that Han Ning’s tone was off, Wu Xiaoyan was completely bewildered.
’Did I somehow manage to annoy this little princess again?’
’Wait!’
’I don’t think I said anything wrong, did I?’
’Why is she suddenly upset again?’
But they had been best friends for years. She knew Han Ning’s personality, so she wasn’t angry.
’Could it be because of Su Qinghe...?’
Wu Xiaoyan glanced at Su Qinghe in the distance, then back at the silent, sullen-faced Han Ning beside her. She had a feeling her best friend was hiding something from her.
’Could it really be what I thought before? Is it because of Gu Yifan?’
’A clichéd love triangle???’
Just as her mind was racing with wild thoughts,
Han Ning suddenly stood up. And to her utter bewilderment, she walked straight toward Su Qinghe...