Chapter 207 - 204: In Front of the Coffee Shop
"You’re from Fushan University?" Zhao Liqing asked, surprised. "Heehee, I go to Fushan University too! I guess that makes you my senior. I’m in the finance department, how about you?"
"The Chinese department," Ye Xing said with a smile. "Haha, what a coincidence. To think I’d run into a junior from my own school all the way out here."
"People who study Chinese are usually very talented. Ye Xing, where are you working now?" Zhao Liqing asked curiously.
"I’m not working at the moment," Ye Xing said. "I quit my job a few months ago. I used to just run a street stall, do a bit of business. Nothing major."
"A street stall?" Zhao Liqing froze for a second, looking utterly confused. "Ye Xing, you’ve graduated, haven’t you? With a bachelor’s degree from a top-tier university, why wouldn’t you get a proper job?"
Fushan University was a top-tier school. With a bachelor’s degree from there, even a fresh graduate should have no problem landing a job that paid three to five thousand a month. Giving up a perfectly respectable job to run a street stall was, frankly, a little hard to understand.
"Haha, I just prefer having a bit more freedom," Ye Xing said. "What about you? You look a little younger than me. How old are you?"
"I’m twenty-one! And you?" Zhao Liqing asked.
"Only twenty-one, huh? Two years younger than me. Huh? Wait a minute. I just graduated this year, so you should still be in school, right? A sophomore?" Ye Xing asked curiously.
"Mmm! I guess so," Zhao Liqing said, nodding.
"Only a sophomore, and you’re already out on blind dates?" Ye Xing asked, even more confused. "Aren’t you worried it will affect your studies?"
People who went on blind dates were usually older singles, or someone like Ye Xing who was getting a lot of pressure from his family, but even he had already graduated. It was quite rare to see someone still in college—and only a sophomore at that—going on a blind date. After all, it was easy enough to find someone to date at university; very few students resorted to something like this.
Ye Xing couldn’t help but look over at Zhao Liqing with curiosity. He noticed the rims of her eyes were slightly red, and she seemed to be in very low spirits.
"I dropped out. I’m working now," Zhao Liqing said with her head lowered.
"Why’d you drop out? I get the feeling your grades weren’t bad," Ye Xing said, puzzled. "So where are you working now?"
"I... I work at..." Zhao Liqing looked nervous and stammered, clearly conflicted. She seemed to be on the verge of speaking, but then hesitated.
"You’re not running a street stall too, are you? Haha, just kidding. It’s fine if you don’t want to say. I was just asking casually," Ye Xing laughed.
After a brief pause, Ye Xing’s tone turned serious. "Look, the truth is, my parents are in a huge rush. They’re setting me up on blind dates left and right, and I honestly didn’t even know about this arrangement. The thing is... I already have a girlfriend. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, I hope you can forgive me."
"Huh? You already have a girlfriend?"
"Yeah," Ye Xing said.
"Oh." A trace of disappointment appeared in Zhao Liqing’s eyes.
𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
The silence that followed was a bit awkward.
"Haha, it feels like fate, running into a fellow student in a small place like Ice Sea," Ye Xing said with a small smile. "Even if our blind date was a bust, we can still be friends, right?"
"Mhm!" Zhao Liqing nodded. "Have you been back to campus recently?"
"It’s been a while. I went back for a bit during a class reunion two months ago."
"Oh, recently at school..."
The two started to chat. Since they were from the same university, they had plenty to talk about, and the conversation flowed easily as they ate.
Before they knew it, it was already past six, and the sky outside was growing dark. The plaza came alive with the flickering of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple neon lights, bathing the square in a kaleidoscope of color. Cars drove by and pedestrians milled about, their voices and laughter filling the air.
Once they had finished most of their food and drinks, the two of them headed for the counter.
"Check, please!"
"Of course, sir. The total is four hundred and sixteen yuan," the server at the counter said.
After Ye Xing took out his wallet and paid, his phone suddenly went BEEP BEEP in his pocket. It seemed he had a new message.
Ye Xing immediately took out his phone and swiped the screen open. It was a QQ message from Zhao Liqing. He tapped on it.
A red envelope icon appeared. Just as Ye Xing was looking at it in confusion, a small hand shot out from beside him, and a slender, pale finger quickly tapped the icon on his screen.
Success! Red envelope received: 208 yuan!
Ye Xing couldn’t help but look at Zhao Liqing beside him. The girl was winking playfully at him.
"I thought we agreed it was my treat? What was that for?" Ye Xing asked, exasperated.
"Heehee, let’s just go Dutch," Zhao Liqing said, sticking her tongue out playfully. "Come on, let’s go!"
Ye Xing shook his head with a resigned sigh and left the cafe with Zhao Liqing.
The two had just left the cafe and hadn’t taken more than a few steps when suddenly—
"There’s the punk! So he was hiding in the cafe. Son of a bitch, he had me searching all over for him."
"Let’s fuck him up! He dared to mess with one of us from Jun Hao. He must be tired of living!"
With a loud roar, five men burst from the crowd ahead. Each was armed with a steel pipe or an iron rod, and they charged toward Ye Xing with murderous intent.
At the head of the group was a large man with dried blood still on his mouth and two missing front teeth. It was none other than Bao Dachang, the man Ye Xing had tripped twice in a row.
The moment the five men spotted Ye Xing, they moved with incredible speed, quickly surrounding him. Wasting no time, they swung their iron rods down at him.
Ye Xing’s eyes narrowed. He pulled Zhao Liqing behind him, preparing to teach the five of them a lesson.
Zhao Liqing’s face went pale. She fumbled for her phone and started dialing 911, shouting, "Stop it! I’m calling the police!"
The five men paused for a beat, then sneered. "Well, look at this. The little chick wants to protect her lover boy."
"This chick is pretty damn hot. Heh heh, you wanna save your lover boy? Fine. Just spend the night having some fun with me and my boys!"
"Hey, this girl looks kinda familiar! Old Bao, take a look. Isn’t she—"
"Haha! I didn’t get a clear look before. Isn’t this the fresh meat from our nightclub? I’ve been wanting to have a piece of her for ages!"
The five men’s eyes lit up with undisguised lust as they leered at Zhao Liqing’s slender figure.
Ye Xing frowned and turned to Zhao Liqing. "Liqing, you work at a nightclub?" ’Based on our conversation, my gut tells me she’s a quiet, innocent girl. I really can’t believe she’d work at a place like that.’ The current situation, however, filled him with doubt. Zhao Liqing had become extremely flustered the moment she was recognized.
"I... No, that’s not... I..." Zhao Liqing’s face was deathly pale, her expression a mask of panic. She was so frantic that tears started to well in her eyes. "I don’t! Ye Xing, it’s not what you think... I..."