"I shouldn't have waited. I always thought women took forever in the shower, but I guess girls are no different."
Chen Yansen glanced at the time and grumbled under his breath.
"Yeah, it's almost one o'clock, and we still haven't had lunch."
Wang Zihao rubbed his stomach, his voice weak.
CREAK—
The door swung open, and Song Yuncheng walked out slowly, pulling a suitcase behind her.
She walked up to Chen Yansen, tilted her head up, and said, "Seeing as you've shown proper remorse, I won't hold it against you anymore. I'll wash the dirty clothes myself. Just be more careful when you're driving next time."
Her anger had clouded her judgment earlier. It wasn't until she saw her underwear and T-shirt mixed together that she realized how absurd her demand had been.
'Asking a guy to wash her clothes for her?'
'The very idea was ridiculous!'
"Let me treat you to a meal, as an apology. We've been waiting forever. Look, my classmate here is about to waste away from hunger."
Chen Yansen pointed to the chubby guy beside him and said with a teasing smile.
"You son of a bitch, Chen Yansen! You're a real piece of work."
Wang Zihao's face darkened. He put his hands on his hips and immediately shot back.
Song Yuncheng couldn't help but laugh when she heard this. She had been about to refuse, but then she had a second thought. 'I can't just let him get away with splashing dirty water all over me for free. I have to make him treat me to a huge meal.'
"Are you two really students at Xucheng Academy?"
Song Yuncheng asked, full of curiosity.
"I'm Chen Yansen, a journalism major from the class of '10. This chubby guy next to me... well, he's a guy. His name isn't important."
Chen Yansen extended his hand, introducing himself with a straight face.
"Senior, I'm Wang Zihao, e-commerce, class of 2010! It's a pleasure to meet you, even if we got off on the wrong foot!"
Wang Zihao pushed Chen Yansen aside with a grin.
"Song Yuncheng, visual communication design, class of 2009. So I guess that makes me your senior."
Song Yuncheng replied with a smile.
"The rain has stopped outside. We'll put your suitcase in the car first, and after we eat, we'll give you a ride back to the university."
Chen Yansen glanced out the window, changing the subject.
'In his mind, he was actually thirty-four years old; there was no way he was going to call a young girl 'Senior'.'
"No need to trouble yourselves. I can manage on my own."
Song Yuncheng shook her head and declined. In her mind, accepting his offer to buy her a meal meant the incident with him splashing water on her was closed.
'If she then let them drive her back to school, it would seem like she was pushing her luck and just trying to take advantage of them.'
"Enough chatter. I'm starving to death."
Chen Yansen waved his hand dismissively and turned to head downstairs.
"Senior, you must know the restaurants around the university pretty well. Could you recommend the one with the best food?"
Wang Zihao chimed in, trying to persuade her.
Song Yuncheng faltered for a moment. This seemingly simple question actually put her in a tough spot.
After a moment's thought, she recalled a roommate mentioning QQ-E Family, so she said, "There's a restaurant near the entrance called QQ-E Family. The prices are reasonable, and the food isn't bad."
When the three of them walked into the restaurant, they found that the spacious dining hall had only a few occupied tables, perhaps because the lunch rush was over.
Choosing a clean table, Chen Yansen sat down, looked at the menu, and called out to the owner, "We'll have the Chicken Hot Pot, Fish with Pickled Greens, Crispy Duck, and Poached Beef Slices. Oh, and a West Lake Beef Soup. We'll grab our own drinks."
"Isn't that too much?"
Song Yuncheng's jaw dropped, her face a picture of surprise.
"Not at all, it's only five dishes. Brother Sen, let's order three more to make it an even number."
Wang Zihao suggested.
"This is Hubei, not like back home. The portions here are huge. You'll see in a bit."
Chen Yansen ignored Wang Zihao and motioned for the owner to put the order in.
"Tch, how big can they be?"
Wang Zihao was clearly skeptical, grumbling and insisting on adding a few more dishes.
"Junior Brother Chen, they don't use small plates or bowls for serving here. They bring it out in basins."
Song Yuncheng quickly grabbed his arm, earnestly gesturing a circle even bigger than a washbasin.
"Holy shit! For real?"
Wang Zihao froze, plopped back into his chair, and clicked his tongue in amazement.
Chicken Hot Pot, 28 yuan!
Fish with Pickled Greens, 18 yuan!
Crispy Duck, 18 yuan!
The most outrageous part was the West Lake Beef Soup—only 8 yuan!
Chen Yansen looked at the menu, a flicker of nostalgia in his eyes. In his past life, he and the bastards from his dorm often came here for extra meals.
Before long, several heavy basins of food were brought to the table.
"Holy shit!"
Wang Zihao shot up from his seat. His first instinct was to grab his phone and snap a few pictures—CLICK, CLICK—to send to his parents.
The three of them were already starving and immediately dug in.
Even though it was their first meeting, they were all young people. The conversation revolved around college entrance exams and school life, and they warmed up to each other in just a few minutes.
When Chen Yansen and Wang Zihao learned that Song Yuncheng was in charge of welcoming new students the next day and was also selling phone cards part-time, they subconsciously exchanged a glance.
"What's the commission for one card?"
Chen Yansen took the initiative to ask.
"It's 30 yuan for each activated card. If I sell 10 cards, that's 300 yuan, which is enough for my living expenses for a whole month."
Song Yuncheng chewed on her chopsticks, a hopeful look in her eyes.
'Only 300 yuan for a month's living expenses?'
Wang Zihao heard this and thought it was a pitifully small amount; after all, his dad gave him 800 yuan a month for spending money.
Chen Yansen felt differently. In his last life, he'd been a simp, spending all his living allowance on gifts for a girl, so he was naturally broke. To him, 300 yuan a month was indeed enough, but only enough to survive.
'Rice with soup on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; winter melon, bean sprouts, and tofu on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Opening a jar of Lao Gan Ma on the weekend was considered a feast.'
'He was an old pro when it came to that kind of life.'
'She eats so little, yet her figure is so amazing. Her natural gifts are truly top-tier!'
Chen Yansen couldn't help but sneak another peek, sighing in silent admiration.
"How about this: you work with us. We'll give you a 50 yuan commission for every card you sell."
Chen Yansen paused, then made the offer.
"You guys sell cards too? But aren't you just freshmen?"
Song Yuncheng was full of doubt, finding it hard to believe.
"We're the general agents for China Telecom at Xucheng Academy. We can give you the sub-agent commission rate."
Chen Yansen put down his chopsticks and explained slowly.
The subtext was obvious. He was openly telling Song Yuncheng that someone else was pocketing a 20 yuan difference from her sales.
"Never mind. I've already promised my senior."
Song Yuncheng's expression changed. She let out a long sigh and ultimately rejected Chen Yansen's offer.
'There were plenty of people in her department who wanted to be agents. Even though her senior was making a profit off her, she knew that without her senior pulling the strings, she wouldn't even have the chance to earn that 30 yuan.'
"Zihao, remember what I told you before? If a person's moral compass is too strong, they're destined to never get rich."
Chen Yansen couldn't bring himself to call her stupid to her face, so he brought up an old topic, using Song Yuncheng as a negative example for Wang Zihao's benefit.
"I think keeping a promise is far more important than 20 yuan."
Hearing this, Song Yuncheng didn't get angry. Instead, she stated her true feelings with a serious expression.
"Well said, Senior! Chen Yansen is just a materialist, don't mind him!"
Seeing the atmosphere get a little awkward, Wang Zihao quickly tried to lighten the mood with a joke.
Chen Yansen just smiled and didn't say anything more.
'College students are supposed to be a bit naive, that's normal. A few days of screwing bolts in an electronics factory and they'd quickly understand the fundamental logic of society—the strong prey on the weak!'
'Being pure and kind only gets you branded as 'weak and easily bullied'.'
"I... I'm just an ordinary person, too."
Song Yuncheng said with a soft sigh.
For the latter half of the meal, no one spoke much, and the atmosphere grew quiet. However, after they left the restaurant, Chen Yansen still pulled open the car door and gestured for Song Yuncheng to get in.
Song Yuncheng couldn't win against his persistence, so she obediently got into the passenger seat.
"Junior Brother Chen, do you think I'm too stupid?"
Seeing that they were almost at her dormitory building, Song Yuncheng finally couldn't hold back the question that had been on her mind.
"No. In my opinion, kindness and keeping one's promises are the most valuable qualities a good person can have."
Chen Yansen said with a wide grin.
"Then why did you...?"
Song Yuncheng was confused.
"Because I'm not a good person."
Chen Yansen parked the car steadily in front of the dormitory, his tone flat.
"…"
Song Yuncheng was speechless and almost wanted to laugh. It was the first time she had met such a peculiar guy, one full of twisted logic, who was so brazen about being bad.
"By the way, do you have a boyfriend?"
Chen Yansen leaned over slightly, unbuckling her seatbelt for her as he asked the question with feigned casualness.