Chapter 31

With the wool Zhen Bao bought on Double Eleven, she knitted a scarf on Double Twelve. There was still a lot of yarn left, so Zhen Bao browsed online for glove patterns and bought some matching colored yarn near University A, then started knitting gloves.

"Zhen Bao is obviously a good wife and mother type," Jia Xiao Yu moved her chair to the window to bask in the sun while eating potato chips and watching Zhen Bao knit gloves.

"What type are you then?" Zhen Bao looked up and retorted.

"She's a foodie," Qian LeLe chimed in, lying on the bed.

"You're the foodie! Didn't you buy more snacks than me yesterday?" Jia Xiao Yu argued.

Qian LeLe laughed heartily.

Jia Xiao Yu asked Zhen Bao again, "When do you plan to give out the scarf you finished knitting?"

Zhen Bao had already decided, "On Christmas."

Jia Xiao Yu leaned against the chair and sighed longingly as she looked at Zhen Bao, "Having a boyfriend is so nice. Holidays like Christmas and Valentine's Day just exist to torture us singles."

Zhen Bao smiled and lowered her head.

There was a knock at the door followed by Feng Yue's voice.

Jia Xiao Yu really disliked Feng Yue. She gave Zhen Bao a sideways glance and deliberately turned her chair southward to ignore her.

Zhen Bao smiled wryly. The first semester of freshman year was almost over. After getting along for a while, Zhen Bao realized Feng Yue had some personality issues. For example, whenever Fu Ming Shi took Zhen Bao out, Feng Yue would pry and ask what they did together, along with other questions Zhen Bao didn't want to answer.

But they were from the same hometown. Feng Yue didn't have any major flaws either, so Zhen Bao couldn't just ignore her because Feng Yue talked a lot.

"Not going on a date with Shi Ming today?" Feng Yue stood at the door and teased.

"We're all busy studying for finals, no time for that," Zhen Bao lied smoothly. Fu Ming Shi was a busy man who had gone abroad recently. He probably wouldn't be back until the 20th.

"Then it's perfect, come shopping with me. I want to buy some stuff," Feng Yue looked inside the dorm and gazed expectantly at Zhen Bao.

It was cold outside and Zhen Bao didn't need anything. She said awkwardly, "I want to study..."

"With your grades, I'm not worried about you failing anything. What are you worried about?" Feng Yue interrupted swiftly, then pulled Zhen Bao outside and closed the door to whisper, "Zhen Bao, next Wednesday is Meng Ji Ning's birthday. You should prepare a gift for him too. He treated us to the autumn field trip last time, so we should show our appreciation when it's his birthday, right?"

Zhen Bao was surprised. "How do you know his birthday?"

Feng Yue: "A lot of girls in high school had crushes on him. Gifts would appear on Meng Ji Ning's desk every year on his birthday, so everyone in our class knew about it."

Zhen Bao thought about the autumn field trip and nodded, "Wait for me, I'm getting my wallet."

Since Feng Yue put it that way, Zhen Bao would look petty if she pretended not to know about Meng Ji Ning's birthday and was reluctant to spend money.

Carrying her bag, she squeezed onto the subway for a few stops with Feng Yue and entered a gift shop near University A.

There were all kinds of dazzling gifts. Feng Yue held onto Zhen Bao's arm as she looked at each one. Seeing the prices, Zhen Bao became reluctant to buy them. She didn't have much money and didn't want to put on airs for an ordinary former classmate.

"What do you think of this cup?" Feng Yue pointed to an insulated cup and asked.

Zhen Bao habitually looked at the price first—over 500 yuan—then examined the insulated cup. It did look quite nice and simple, suitable for a guy.

With approval, Feng Yue generously chose that gift, then accompanied Zhen Bao to pick one out.

Zhen Bao bought a 99 yuan pen. Feng Yue was already aware of her thrifty lifestyle, so she was actually relieved that Zhen Bao chose something so cheap.

~

On Wednesday evening after her part-time job and dinner, Zhen Bao called Feng Yue as agreed to go together to the male dorm area to find Meng Ji Ning. Feng Yue even knew which building Meng Ji Ning lived in. As they approached the building, she took out her phone and called Meng Ji Ning. She dialed three times but no one answered.

"Why don't you try?" Feng Yue looked up at the balcony of Meng Ji Ning's dorm room and urged Zhen Bao.

Zhen Bao felt it was unnecessary and guessed, "Maybe he's showering. Let's try again in a bit?"

Feng Yue pursed her lips, unwilling to give up, and kept calling to no avail.

Feng Yue was a little upset now and hurried Zhen Bao, "You try. If it doesn't work, let's go."

Zhen Bao had no choice but to take out her phone.

Meng Ji Ning was in the library with his phone on silent. He saw Feng Yue's incoming call but didn't want to answer. Now the screen lit up again, but the contact had changed to Zhen Bao. Meng Ji Ning's heart stirred and he swiftly grabbed his phone, walking away a few steps. Just as he was about to answer, the call ended.

Meng Ji Ning simply went outside the reading room and called back.

On the other end, Zhen Bao ended the call, hoping they could leave already. But Feng Yue insisted on waiting a little longer. Zhen Bao was helpless when her phone suddenly rang. She took it out—it was Meng Ji Ning. Feng Yue saw it too. Under the dim streetlamp, she looked extremely unhappy.

She had been harboring this crush for three and a half years. She really liked Meng Ji Ning.

After waiting another few minutes, Meng Ji Ning rode over on his bike and stopped in front of them with a bright smile. "Two great beauties celebrating my birthday with me, I definitely won't fail any exams this year." As he spoke, his gaze lingered more on Zhen Bao's side. He had given up pursuing her, but his fondness for Zhen Bao still remained. He was willing to treat Zhen Bao as a real friend.

"Happy birthday." Zhen Bao smiled and handed over her gift. "Just a little something, don't look down on it."

Meng Ji Ning unwrapped it right there and spun the pen around. Satisfied, he said, "I'll use it for my finals."

After putting away the gift, Meng Ji Ning looked to Feng Yue.

Feng Yue passed her gift over. Meng Ji Ning also unwrapped it to find an insulated cup. A trace of complexity flashed through Meng Ji Ning's eyes, but he didn't show it. He thanked Feng Yue as he put the insulated cup into his bag, "Let's go, I'm treating you to barbecue. I'm starving after looking at books for so long."

Zhen Bao had just eaten not long ago and wasn't hungry at all. "Why don't you two..."

Before she could finish, Feng Yue grabbed her arm and got Zhen Bao to ride with her there, whispering, "I'm hungry, keep me company."

Zhen Bao had no choice but to agree.

Many restaurants had opened around the school. The three entered a barbecue place.

Zhen Bao ordered two skewers of spicy lamb and nothing else, while Feng Yue had a good appetite and ordered several items. Right after the server took their menu, Jia Xiao Yu called Zhen Bao to ask why she hadn't returned to the dorm yet. After learning Zhen Bao was celebrating a former classmate's birthday, Jia Xiao Yu felt relieved and hung up, as if Zhen Bao might get snatched away.

After eating one lamb skewer, Fu Ming Shi called too.

It was too noisy inside, so Zhen Bao went outside to take the call.

"Not in your dorm?" Due to the time difference, Fu Ming Shi had just woken up and could tell it was a little noisy on Zhen Bao's end.

"It's Meng Ji Ning's birthday. He treated me and Feng Yue to barbecue." Zhen Bao explained very frankly.

Fu Ming Shi frowned. "Did he invite you on his own initiative?"

Zhen Bao thought about it. "No, we went to give him a birthday present first, then he treated us. I guess it was his way of thanking us."

Fu Ming Shi's brows remained furrowed. "How did you know it was his birthday?"

Zhen Bao glanced inside the restaurant and whispered, "Feng Yue told me and dragged me to buy a present, so I couldn't not give him one."

Fu Ming Shi laughed. "How much did you spend?"

Zhen Bao was a little embarrassed. "99 yuan."

The teasing tone in the man's voice was too obvious. Zhen Bao didn't want to entertain him anymore. "Anything else? If not, I'm going back in." "Remember to tell me when you get back to your dorm." Fu Ming Shi said with a laugh.

Zhen Bao gently murmured yes.

Returning to the restaurant, she saw Feng Yue and Meng Ji Ning chatting and laughing from afar. Zhen Bao didn't think too much of it until she got back to the dorm that night. Jia Xiao Yu gossiped, "I bet Feng Yue has a secret crush on Meng Ji Ning. She didn't dare make a move alone, so she kept dragging Zhen Bao along under the guise of being former classmates. Zhen Bao, don't get too involved in the future, or Meng Ji Ning might misunderstand and think you have a crush on him too. Humph, with how obvious Feng Yue is being, there's no way Meng Ji Ning hasn't noticed. He's probably not interested in her and is deliberately playing dumb."

Qian LeLe nodded in agreement.

Fan Xuan also looked very convinced.

Zhen Bao carefully recalled and realized Feng Yue did seem to have a thing for Meng Ji Ning.

With this suspicion, whenever Feng Yue invited her out and it involved Meng Ji Ning, Zhen Bao declined as much as possible.

~

Fu Ming Shi was delayed abroad by two days. When he returned to the capital, it was Thursday—Christmas Eve.

Today, Zhen Bao had a total of eight classes. At noon when she rushed out of the classroom building, she secretly looked for Fu Ming Shi, feeling he might come wait for her without notice. But there was no one by the bike racks. Zhen Bao was a little disappointed and kept glancing at her phone during afternoon classes.

"It's snowing." Jia Xiao Yu poked her arm to get her to look outside.

Zhen Bao turned her head. Flakes were fluttering down outside the window—the second snowfall of the year.

Her phone suddenly vibrated and Zhen Bao immediately lowered her head.

Fu Ming Shi: It's snowing. Let's have dinner together tonight.

Zhen Bao secretly smiled: Okay.

Knowing Fu Ming Shi would only come at night, when the eighth class ended, Zhen Bao raced out of the classroom to hurry off to her part-time job. Outside, goose feather-sized snowflakes gently floated down. The road in the distance had accumulated a layer of snow, while the marble pavement in front of the classroom building had a slightly better accumulation because of all the student traffic.

Zhen Bao put on a hat and quickened her steps outward.

She didn't expect the snowy marble surface to be so slippery. Before Zhen Bao even reacted, she plopped down on the ground. Her butt really hurt!

Some students behind her laughed out loud. Zhen Bao didn't have time to feel embarrassed. She brushed off her hands and carefully got back up, keeping her head low as she gingerly walked forward. She finally made it onto the concrete path and heaved a long sigh of relief.

"Does it hurt?" A familiar voice suddenly came from above her head.

Zhen Bao looked up in shock.

Fu MingShi wore a knitted hat and down jacket, his dark eyes smiling at her.

What are you smiling about?

Thinking that he had just seen her embarrassing herself, Zhen Bao's face flushed with heat.

"There was traffic on the road. I just got here, otherwise I would have waited for you in the lobby." Fu MingShi put his arm around her shoulders and led her towards their bicycles. If he had arrived two minutes earlier, Zhen Bao wouldn't have fallen over.

Not having seen each other for over ten days, and embarrassing herself at their first meeting, Zhen Bao didn't want to speak. She got on her bike and only said sullenly: "Now that you're here, how are you going to spend the next two hours?"

"Give me your student card. I'll go to the library." With students all around them, Fu MingShi concentrated on riding his bicycle.

Zhen Bao didn't want him to waste two hours for nothing. Leaning her head against his back, she said: "The snow is too heavy. Go back first. Come again tomorrow night." Tomorrow was Friday. She could stay at the villa for one night. It would be more worthwhile for Fu MingShi to wait.

Fu MingShi asked irrelevantly: "Where did you eat barbecue last time?"

Zhen Bao was surprised for a moment, then blurted out: "That place outside school."

"Was it good?"

"It was ok."

Fu MingShi: "Then you can treat me to it tonight."

Zhen Bao: ......

Could it be that he came specially to mooch a free meal?