Chapter 22: Still Thinking of Being Brothers with Me?

Su Zijin froze for a moment, her hands clenching involuntarily.

She knew exactly who this so-called "Campus Belle Xu" was—the very woman who had been the "white moonlight" of the fool standing before her. No one knew better than she did just how deeply he had been infatuated with that woman in the past. Even though he had repeatedly insisted that he had broken things off with her, given his personality... could he truly let her go?

Just as she was worrying about this, Xu Ye finished cleaning up. He washed the rag, hung it out to dry, and upon returning to the dormitory, said to Su Zijin with a gentle expression, "Let’s go. It’s almost noon; let me treat you to lunch."

Su Zijin stared at Xu Ye, focusing intently on his eyes. Only after confirming that there was truly no trace of anger, anxiety, or any other inappropriate emotion in his gaze did she break into a smile, relax her fists, and reply, "Okay."

"Is there anything you’d like to eat?"

"Anything is fine. Whatever you want."

*What the hell?*

This response sent a jolt through Xu Ye, triggering an inexplicable stress response. "Whatever"? It sounded like she was easygoing, but based on his experience over the past four years, it actually meant *nothing* would be acceptable.

If he suggested Sichuan food, the response would be, "Don't you know chili peppers are bad for a girl?"

If he suggested Cantonese food, she would complain, "Is there even any authentic Cantonese food in Jiangzhou? Everything here is loaded with chili, okay?"

"How about Western food then?"

"You only ever want to eat Western food. Aren't you sick of it? I am!"

"Then you decide. Whatever you say, I'll listen."

"What’s that supposed to mean? Are you impatient with me?"

"I said 'whatever,' can't you understand that?"

"You don't even know what I want to eat—do you even understand me at all?"

"You don't even know my basic preferences, and you have the nerve to say you want to pursue me? Get lost! I’m not eating with you!"

The more Xu Ye thought about it, the angrier he became. His hands began to itch; he felt like rushing over to Xu Ruowei right now and slapping her twice. But this wasn't the time for that. His top priority was getting through the current moment.

Before he could speak, Su Zijin’s voice rang out again. "Do you have any local specialties around here?"

"We do," Xu Ye replied subconsciously. "Pohu braised fish head, Lushan stone chicken, stir-fried mugwort with cured meat... though they’re all a bit spicy, and—"

"Then let's go. Let's have that."

"Uh..."

This time, it was Xu Ye’s turn to be stunned. She agreed so readily? Was the gap between her and that dog of a woman, Xu Ruowei, really that vast?

"What? Are you sick of it? Don't want to eat local food? We can have something else. How about barbecue?"

Xu Ye was dazed for a second, but in the blink of an eye, a deep smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

...

Elsewhere, the corners of Xu Ruowei’s mouth were also curled high. *Look at that, Xu Ye. Even without you, I have no shortage of lackeys fawning over me!*

It was a pity, though. To avoid affecting her upcoming plans, she couldn't be intimate with Pei An, and she had to keep playing along with Jiang Yang, letting him take advantage of her from time to time. But damn it, she was doing this right in front of Pei An! Yet, why did it feel so thrilling?

*No, no, what am I thinking?* The most important thing today was to teach Xu Ye a lesson, to let him see the consequences of making her angry! It was he who couldn't live without her, not the other way around.

*You’re just a pathetic lackey. Without you, I can replace you with a 'Lackey Jiang' or anyone else at any time. But without me, the Campus Belle, what do you have? Not even a stray dog would look at you twice!*

She instinctively reached for her phone to see if Xu Ye was losing his mind with anxiety, only to remember she had blocked him last night. *Hmph, no rush. The main event is tonight anyway. Let him suffer a bit longer; it would be best if he were worried to death!*

...

"Best Brother’s Home Cooking."

Su Zijin glanced at the sign above, her pretty face turning cold as frost. *What is this jerk thinking? Still thinking about being 'brothers' with me?* She hated the name of this place. She would secretly leave them a bad review later!

Xu Ye had no idea what she was thinking. If he did, he would certainly cry out in protest. Honestly, he chose this place purely because the food was good.

"What’s wrong? Let's go in."

"Oh..."

The restaurant's name sounded tacky, but the establishment itself was decent, leaning towards upper-middle class. Because the food was genuinely delicious, it was rarely empty, and it was nearly full at this hour.

Xu Ye scanned the room and said to the approaching server, "Any tables for two?"

The server was polite and replied with a smile, "Yes, please follow me." As she led them to a window seat, she cast an admiring glance at Su Zijin. Even as a woman herself, she couldn't take her eyes off her. *This girl is so elegant and beautiful.*

Thinking of the shop’s new promotion, the server smiled and said, "The two of you, we have a new activity. If couples or spouses complete a small challenge, you can get a fifty-yuan voucher. Would you like to try?"

Xu Ye froze, then quickly glanced at Su Zijin.

*Whoosh.*

A faint blush instantly bloomed on Su Zijin’s face, and she quickly looked away.

*This silly girl, why is she so cute!*

But after all, this was their first time meeting in person. "Online dating" was notoriously fragile when brought into the light. And the final, most crucial point: between him and Su Zijin, there was only "online" so far—no "dating" yet.

So, even though he was ten thousand times willing, he had to rush to explain, "Miss, don't misunderstand. We’re just classmates, not a couple."

As expected, once he said this, the tension in Su Zijin’s expression visibly eased. She wasn't ready yet. But she suddenly felt that this restaurant was actually quite good. She decided against leaving a bad review; she would leave a good one instead.

However... something occurred to her. She lowered her eyelids and asked softly, "Do you often come here with your 'white moonlight'?"

*Couples' activities?* It was probably something like kissing, hugging, or lifting each other up, right? Since this guy liked his "white moonlight" so much, wasn't coming here to eat... a perfect opportunity?

"She has never eaten out alone with me. And..." Xu Ye stopped abruptly.

"And what?" Su Zijin asked.

Xu Ye shook his head, looked at her earnestly, and said, "I have completely let her go. So, can we not mention her again from now on?"