After today, Xu Qingqing's life returned to its former leisurely pace. Specifically, this included eating, attending classes, sleeping, habitually making unreasonable demands on her boyfriend, occasionally trading insults with keyboard warriors on Weibo, dragging Zhou Chenyu along to play some games, buying a bit of online buzz to spread some dirt on Bai Youlan, and causing trouble for Lin Donghan.
This continued until she was stopped by the class committee member after a lesson. The committee member asked, "Xu Qingqing, have you joined any club or the student union this semester?"
Prompted by the committee member, Xu Qingqing finally remembered. During the last registration period, her academic advisor had mentioned that her innovation credits weren't sufficient and told her to find a way to earn them this semester.
However, right after the semester started, Xu Qingqing had been busy all day reviewing for exams. After the make-up exams were over, feeling carefree with nothing to do, she had completely forgotten about joining a club.
Now, with the semester almost half over, both clubs and the student union had generally finished their recruitment periods. Although Xu Qingqing was only in her third year and had plenty of time to figure it out next semester, she happened to have nothing to do right now, so she thought she might as well get it settled early.
Thinking this, Xu Qingqing lost her mood for playing. After leaving school, she buried herself in her phone, gathering information and researching which club she should join just for the credits. She was even busy with this during her date with Xie Lianqing.
In a music-themed restaurant.
Xie Lianqing handed the menu to the server after ordering. After the server left, he looked across the table at Xu Qingqing, who was glued to her phone, and asked with an amused smile, "Haven't decided where to go yet?"
He already knew about Xu Qingqing's credit issue. His girlfriend was in a predicament, so of course he wanted to help her find a solution.
Xie Lianqing clasped his hands together, resting them on the table, his eyes smiling as he gazed tenderly at Xu Qingqing. He asked gently, "Do you need my help? I joined a few clubs when I was at school. I might still be able to contact someone to ask for you."
If Xie Lianqing hadn't mentioned it, Xu Qingqing would have almost forgotten that Xie Lianqing was also an alumnus of her university.
Xie Lianqing told her about the associations and clubs he had joined back then. "How about the Cultural Exchange Association? This club doesn't have overly complicated tasks, and the atmosphere is quite relaxed."
Xu Qingqing frowned, confused. "The book club? You mean that notorious, strict club that supposedly requires members to be in the top ten of their class academically or face expulsion? The one where you have to submit reading lists regularly after joining and hold weekly salon-style book meetings?"
Xu Qingqing seemed to have strong opinions about this club and said indignantly, "I heard members of the Exchange Association have to write a thousand-word reading reflection every week. Even the little essays I make you write to prove your love for me aren't that long!"
Xie Lianqing: "..."
He thought about it and decided not to tell Xu Qingqing that this Cultural Exchange Association was something he had founded during his time at school.
Unfortunately, Xu Qingqing seemed to be searching for the term "Exchange Association" on the school forum.
While browsing, she muttered angrily, "Who on earth set these kinds of rules?" They were so unfriendly to academic slackers like her!
Xie Lianqing's eyelid twitched. He watched as she scrolled on her screen. It looked like just a few more swipes down, and she would see his name written next to "Founder."
He took a shallow breath and immediately spoke up. "What about the ER Sandbox Simulation Club? No reports to write there."
Xu Qingqing's attention was indeed captured. She asked curiously, "What kind of club is that?" It sounded quite whimsical. Even though she didn't know what it was, anything related to sand probably wouldn't be too hard, right?
Xu Qingqing searched for the school club, clicked in, and grew even more bewildered. "Enterprise Resource Management? Members need to attend meetings every Wednesday night to participate in simulated business competitions?"
After reading the explanation for a while, she finally understood that it was essentially about simulating business operations, and the members of this club were mostly students from the Economics and Management majors. As an art student, she'd probably struggle to understand the rules.
Xu Qingqing was disappointed. She sighed and said, "Forget it, Senior Xie Lianqing. I'd better find one myself."
She just wanted to find a club to coast along in, to pass the time and get the credits. Xie Lianqing, being a top-tier academic genius, probably disdained and wouldn't even know about such clubs. She shouldn't make things difficult for herself or for him.
Senior Xie Lianqing...
He began to regret it. If he had known there would be a day like today, he wouldn't have set such difficult rules back then, just because he wanted to ensure the club was filled with elites.
With Senior Xie Lianqing unable to help, Xu Qingqing had no choice but to rely on herself. She continued to focus on her phone, busy searching.
Actually, joining a club normally wouldn't be this difficult. Xu Qingqing's current dilemma was because most of the semester had already passed. Clubs generally weren't recruiting new members anymore, and even if she joined, it likely wouldn't count for credits.
Xu Qingqing scrolled through the school forum all evening and finally managed to add a contact person for one club. She scheduled a time to talk with them the next day, commonly known as an interview.
Near University A, a bubble tea shop.
Xu Qingqing looked up at the new drinks menu on the board, torn between two beverages. The new green plum tea seemed pretty good, but she had originally wanted a milk smoothie...
Xu Qingqing was taking too long to decide. Fortunately, she was very pretty, and her look of confused indecision unconsciously added to her cuteness. Some people nearby even secretly took photos with their phones, planning to post online to ask if this beautiful girl ordering bubble tea was some celebrity or influencer.
The person taking Xu Qingqing's order hesitated, wanting to urge her to hurry up and order, but also feeling it was worth it to get a few more glances at this beauty. Moreover, just by standing there, she was attracting more customers to linger, which was free advertising for the shop.
Just then, a blue sports car drove past behind her. The car window slowly slid down, revealing a face wearing sunglasses. One hand was on the steering wheel, the other was draped around the girl in the passenger seat—he looked like trouble.
The combination of a luxury car and a beautiful woman instantly attracted the attention of everyone around. However, the car owner was staring straight at the figure slightly ahead of him. Following his gaze, everyone looked towards Xu Qingqing in front of the bubble tea shop.
The sports car owner had already struck a pose, ready to show off, waiting for Xu Qingqing to notice him. But she hadn't noticed the commotion behind her at all. She was biting her finger, still agonizing over the bubble tea choices on the menu, not even turning her head the entire time.
As Xu Qingqing continued her internal debate, the person in the car grew impatient. "Xu Qingqing!"
He whistled, his tone sarcastic as he called out, "Well, well, haven't seen you in a while. Has Miss Xu actually fallen so far as to buy her own bubble tea now?"
The scent of drama!
The onlookers' eyes instantly lit up. They pretended to mind their own business while secretly pricking up their ears.
The stage was set, but the female lead was still staring at the drink menu board from beginning to end, not even turning her head.
Being watched by the surrounding crowd, the shouting car owner felt embarrassed. He coughed a few times. "Xu Qingqing, are you deaf?" Probably afraid Xu Qingqing would ignore him again, he deliberately raised his voice for this last sentence.
The girl standing next to Xu Qingqing was the sophomore student in charge of interviewing her. Seeing more and people gathering to watch, she nervously tugged on Xu Qingqing's sleeve and whispered, "Senior, I think someone is calling you."
Only then did Xu Qingqing snap out of it. She slowly took off her earphones and turned around gracefully, looking at the other party.
Amidst the excited crowd and the nervous, agitated gaze of the male lead in question, Xu Qingqing frowned slightly and asked, "Who are you?" She hadn't even decided which flavor of milk tea she wanted to buy yet, and her train of thought had been disrupted just like that.
Everyone was watching.
The male protagonist couldn't stand it the most. He swiftly slid down his sunglasses, revealing a handsome face. "I'm Yang Jun! Your ex-boyfriend!"
Xu Qingqing was stunned for a moment, seemingly thinking and trying to recall. After a long pause, whether she actually remembered or simply gave up, she casually brushed him off with an "Oh."
After saying that, she turned to the stunned cashier and said, "One plum tea and one milkshake, no ice, no sugar."
She decided to buy one of each and drink half of both.
What a little genius she was. Xu Qingqing silently marveled at herself.
Seeing that Xu Qingqing was ignoring him again, Yang Jun completely lost it. "What kind of tone is that?! Have you forgotten me?! Don't look at the milk tea, look at me! Think harder!"
His voice was loud and agitated. Xu Qingqing found it headache-inducing. She covered her ears and was just about to say something when the junior schoolgirl standing beside her whispered a reminder, "Senior, I know him. That guy, the one you dumped because the milk tea he bought wasn't 75 degrees."
Due to Xu Qingqing's utterly high-maintenance and dramatic personality, she was practically famous at A University. The few relationships she'd had since entering school were widely followed, and her ex-boyfriends even had a dedicated thread on the school forum.
In the thread, enthusiastic netizens had collected and organized the victims' names, photos, heights, weights... Family background and special talents weren't important; the most crucial part was always noting down the bizarre reasons Xu Qingqing had used to break up with them.
This thread remained highly popular on the forum. The fundamental reason was that everyone wanted to know just how far this woman could go with her antics.
The junior schoolgirl had been one of the followers of that thread back in the day, even getting into online arguments debating which of Xu Qingqing's many breakup reasons was more outrageous: "doesn't eat cilantro" or "his name has too many strokes."
So the moment Yang Jun appeared and shouted his name, the junior immediately matched him to someone from the thread.
Hearing her reminder, Yang Jun immediately leaned in, excitedly saying, "Yes, yes, that's me!"
The surrounding crowd immediately shot him strange looks. That didn't sound like something to be proud of, why was he so excited?
If Yang Jun knew what others were thinking, he'd be furious.
Yang Jun was a rich second-generation heir; his family owned mines, and he was decent-looking himself. He particularly enjoyed sweet-talking innocent, naive girls at university. Breaking up and falling in love were as normal for him as eating and drinking—a true playboy.
That day, he was impatiently trying to break up with his new girlfriend when he saw Xu Qingqing, so beautiful she seemed to glow, walk out of the school gate.
Yang Jun was instantly struck by her beauty. He deployed money, romance, and sweet talk, spending a full year to finally manage to woo this incredibly high-maintenance young lady.
Then, just after he finished bragging extravagantly in his buddies' group chat, before he could even revel in his triumph for two hours, Xu Qingqing came out with, "The milk tea you bought isn't 75 degrees. We're done."
And just like that, he was dumped, utterly bewildered.
This breakup reason was truly unprecedented and likely never to be repeated. The damage Xu Qingqing inflicted on him was something he would never forget for the rest of his life.
Besides, what normal person drinks 75-degree water anyway? Wouldn't that burn your mouth?!
Yang Jun felt he had been wronged terribly. Full of regret, he wanted to find Xu Qingqing to reconcile and beg for forgiveness. Not only did she block all his contact methods, but she also personally went on the forum to verify that he took Liu Wei Di Huang Wan (a traditional Chinese medicine for kidney health) and that the condoms in his car were the smallest size.
When Yang Jun found out, he was almost driven mad with anger. What grudge did she have against him to spread such rumors?!
He had practically treated Xu Qingqing like an ancestor, washing his hands and burning incense before meeting her, carrying mouthwash with him, desperately maintaining his devoted lover persona. How could there possibly be that kind of thing in his car?!
Thanks to Xu Qingqing's notorious reputation as a drama queen, Yang Jun successfully made it onto the thread of her ex-boyfriends and earned the "most hilarious" bizarre breakup reason. Now, basically every girl at A University who used the internet and checked the forum knew about him, this idiot who took medicine and had the smallest size.
He now understood: Xu Qingqing had been deliberately playing him all along.
With the prompts from the junior and Yang Jun himself, Xu Qingqing finally remembered.
“Oh, it’s you.” Realizing it was an acquaintance, Xu Qingqing became interested. Mainly because she had already chosen her milk tea and just happened to have time to watch a fool.
Yang Jun straightened up, puffed out his chest, and stared at her. "Yes, it's me."
He thought, following Xu Qingqing's usual tactics, that if she had truly been deliberately toying with him back then, she would definitely bring up that rumor in front of his new girlfriend and the crowd.
Maybe she'd ask something like, "Is your illness cured yet?" or "Are you still suffering from kidney deficiency?" At that point, he could loudly explain himself, questioning her why she had to harm him, just in time to clear his name and prove his innocence.
Yang Jun had even rehearsed his lines, waiting for Xu Qingqing to speak so he could refute her. However, he didn't expect that she seemed to have already forgotten about the previous incident and didn't bring it up at all, leaving him feeling like a monkey was scratching at his heart—agitated and restless.
Xu Qingqing glanced at Yang Jun, her gaze falling on his convertible car. She asked with keen interest, "Is this your new car?"
Yang Jun wanted to say something but stopped himself, but under Xu Qingqing's gaze, he unconsciously puffed out his chest and said with feigned nonchalance, "Yeah. It's alright, I guess."
Not everyone is online every day digging for gossip and clues. Moreover, Yang Jun wasn't even a student at A University, so to this day he still didn't know Xu Qingqing's background. He only knew she was a young lady from a somewhat wealthy family with an extremely high-maintenance temper.
He deliberately said with pretended regret, "It's a shame you insisted on breaking up with me back then. Otherwise, I could take you for a spin now."
At this moment, the onlooking crowd also realized this seemed to be a scene where an ex-boyfriend, having made it big, shows up with a new flame to humiliate his old love.
"No need." Xu Qingqing glanced at Yang Jun and his car, remarking offhandedly, "I already have one of this model in my garage. Driving it isn't very interesting."
Everyone was stunned.
Yang Jun laughed in anger. "I know you, Xu Qingqing, you care about face, but you can't brag like this, can you?"
Xu Qingqing shrugged indifferently. "Think whatever you want."
The milk tea was ready. Xu Qingqing picked up her bag and the drinks, took the junior schoolgirl with her, and got into her Pagani Huayra parked across the street, leaving behind a crowd of gossiping onlookers.
As she passed by Yang Jun's car, she hit the brakes and stopped, tossing out one last sentence: "Also, don't say you know me from now on. Among all my ex-boyfriends, you drive the shabbiest car. It's too embarrassing."
A car worth just two million, and this Yang Jun thought he could pick up every girl in the world? Too low-tier.
Xu Qingqing felt her decision to dump him back then was indeed very wise; it simply lowered the standard of her ex-boyfriend lineup. If there were a few more like Yang Jun, she would lose the courage to date altogether.
Sigh, this was why, even though she knew the plot, she still felt somewhat reluctant to break up with Xie Lianqing.
It wasn't because Xie Lianqing was too exceptional, but because everyone else was just trash.
Recalling her ex-boyfriends, Xu Qingqing felt they couldn't even compare to Zhou Chenyu, let alone Xie Lianqing.
Yang Jun was still chasing after her, shouting, even as Xu Qingqing entered the school grounds.
The junior schoolmate beside her looked at Xu Qingqing with eyes practically sparkling, asking excitedly, "Senior, is it really true that none of your ex-boyfriends had a car worse than his?"
Xu Qingqing was shocked. "How could that be?"
She said righteously, "I was just showing off." She couldn't even remember who all her ex-boyfriends were, so how could she remember what cars they drove?
The junior schoolmate was speechless.
After parking the car, Xu Qingqing led the junior schoolmate into a café she frequented.
The junior schoolmate fidgeted a little. "Senior, can we sit here if we don't order coffee?"
University A was a prestigious century-old institution with comprehensive facilities both on and off campus, including cafés and Western restaurants. Some were affordable and student-friendly, while others were quite expensive. The café Xu Qingqing brought her to was one of the latter.
This café was a famous internet celebrity spot in City A, featuring very fresh and stylish decor and high-end coffee varieties, with each cup costing hundreds.
Although the junior was a student at University A, she had never been here for coffee before.
Xu Qingqing, who was putting her bag down, looked up in surprise. "Who said we aren't ordering? Didn't you tell me yesterday you liked coffee?" She had specifically asked for today's interview.
She waved for the menu, skillfully ordered her usual drink and a few desserts, then let the junior order.
The junior was dumbfounded, looking at the three large cups of milk tea on the table, and really wanted to ask, 'If you're drinking coffee, why did you buy milk tea?'
Holding the menu and staring at the prices, her eyes went wide. Finally, gritting her teeth, she ordered a relatively cheap one. She had long admired this café but never felt she could afford it... Fine, she'd just eat at the cafeteria for the next week, wuwuwu.
Just as the junior finished her mental preparations, she turned to see Xu Qingqing leaning over, recommending, "No dessert? It's really good too!"
Finally, on Xu Qingqing's suggestion, the junior also ordered a mousse cake. Her heartache over her wallet completely vanished the moment she tasted the delicious food.
Xu Qingqing sipped her milk tea and asked, "It's delicious, right? This cake really goes well with coffee."
The junior, eating her dessert, nodded happily with squinted eyes. She suddenly felt Xu Qingqing wasn't so bad, not as awful as she had imagined.
Before coming, the junior had asked about Xu Qingqing. Based on rumors, she thought the other girl would be very spoiled and willful. Unexpectedly, after interacting today, she found that apart from being a bit out of touch with reality, Xu Qingqing was actually okay!
Although she still didn't understand why the other girl came to a café to drink milk tea.
Xu Qingqing was also very satisfied with her performance today. This drama club was a society she had carefully screened and inquired about.
It was said the club only held meetings once a semester. If you didn't sign up for rehearsals, there was basically nothing to do normally. It was practically Xu Qingqing's dream society! As long as she passed today's interview, she could happily coast for credits again.
Watching the junior happily eat her dessert, Xu Qingqing felt she had this in the bag!
The junior still didn't know about Xu Qingqing's far-sighted planning, even though the other girl had asked her out today specifically to discuss joining the club.
Eating her dessert, the junior didn't forget the main task and looked up to ask cautiously, "Senior, do you want to join our club?"
Xu Qingqing immediately nodded. "Mhmm! Is your club still recruiting?"
The junior said, "We are, but only the Public Relations department needs people."
She hesitated. "We're a performance club, a school-organized society. The rehearsal space is okay, but performance costumes and props require money. The Public Relations department is responsible for helping members secure reasonable funding to maintain the club's operations..."
Xu Qingqing had a sudden realization. "Securing investments?"
The junior blushed and nodded. "Yes. So people in this department usually work a bit harder. But don't worry, senior, we don't need to secure sponsorships every time..."
Xu Qingqing understood and asked the question she cared about most: "I saw on the forum that your club doesn't require regular check-ins, is that true?" Some small clubs had big, annoying rules, particularly enjoying holding meetings, requiring members to attend several times a week. Xu Qingqing had no patience for that.
The junior said, "Yes. We only have occasional meetings when preparing for performances."
Xu Qingqing rubbed her chin and asked, "Are you short on funds recently?"
The junior didn't understand her meaning and answered honestly, "The school is planning an event, and our club must contribute a performance..." Otherwise, the club wouldn't be urgently recruiting.
Xu Qingqing immediately decided. "I'll sponsor it."
The junior was stunned.
And just like that, Xu Qingqing successfully joined the new club.
After the interview ended, Xu Qingqing had something to do and left first. When the junior finished eating alone and went to pay the bill, she found her portion had already been settled.
The junior was confused. She clearly saw Xu Qingqing leave without going to the counter.
The staff member smiled. "Miss Xu has a membership card for our café. All charges are directly deducted from the balance."
In fact, because Xu Qingqing was a VIP member of this café, she received a small gift every time she came for coffee. Today she left in a hurry, so the staff gave the gift to the junior.
Even after returning to her dorm, the junior felt a bit dazed.
After her meeting with the junior, Xu Qingqing drove to the port. It was Zhou Chenyu's birthday today, and he was throwing a party on a yacht. Xie Lianqing, Le Jiaojiao, and the others had already left earlier. She had waited until now because of her interview appointment.
In City A, the yacht sailed slowly, white spray splashing across the broad sea surface.
Downstairs, a group of people in bikinis and swim shorts were playing and flirting. Waiters weaved through them, constantly serving alcohol, juice, and desserts. Someone set off a party popper, and confetti fluttered down from the air.
In the card room, smoke filled the air, and chips moved back and forth on the table. Zhou Chenyu searched all over the large yacht before finally finding Xie Lianqing standing on the second floor.
It was Zhou Chenyu's birthday. He was hosting a party on the yacht, inviting friends from their circle to have fun. Of course, Xie Lianqing wouldn't miss his good friend's birthday.
He had finally managed to pull Xie Lianqing out, intending to take him around to have some fun. But after chatting for a bit, he blinked and Xie Lianqing had disappeared. It took until now to find him again.
Xie Lianqing leaned lazily against the railing on the second floor, overlooking the blue ocean below. He hung his head, seemingly looking at something, his black short hair falling to shade his brows and eyes.
Two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing delicate collarbones. He held a cigarette in his left hand, the smoke drifting up slowly with the sea breeze.
The next moment, Xie Lianqing raised his hand, squinted his eyes, and took a drag.
Zhou Chenyu hadn't seen Xie Lianqing like this in a long time. In fact, he hadn't seen Xie Lianqing smoke in ages.
Ever since the other man returned to the country and started dating Xu Qingqing, he had shed his sharp edge, becoming gentle and modest.
Zhou Chenyu made a bet that if he hadn't told that little fool Xu Qingqing, she probably still wouldn't know that Xie Lianqing smoked.
And smoking wasn't all Xie Lianqing could do. Besides being good at studying, competitions, and gracefully taking care of others, he could also smoke, race cars, gamble on stones, and rock climb.
Any fancy tricks others could play, Xie Lianqing knew them all. He just didn't want to show that side of himself in front of Xu Qingqing.
As his best friend, Zhou Chenyu understood Xie Lianqing's struggles and inner conflicts over the years all too well. While others were surprised that Xie Lianqing and Xu Qingqing got together, placing bets on when they would break up, Zhou Chenyu never placed a bet or commented.
He knew no one would believe his answer, but he genuinely thought that perhaps Xu Qingqing and Xie Lianqing would be together forever, growing old side by side, deeply in love.
If nothing unexpected happened.
Recalling the past, Zhou Chenyu couldn't help but walk over and stand beside Xie Lianqing, adopting the same casual posture.
Xie Lianqing lifted his eyes, saw it was him, and said nothing.
Zhou Chenyu glanced over and noticed the other's phone screen displayed a document. Xie Lianqing's brows were tightly furrowed, as if he was writing something.
He couldn't resist teasing, "Still working even when you're out having fun?"
This was way too dedicated. Although Zhou Chenyu had long known how much Xie Lianqing loved his work, he never expected him to bring it to a party.
Unexpectedly, without even looking up, Xie Lianqing replied casually, "No."
Curiosity piqued, Zhou Chenyu leaned in to look. "Then what is it?" Given their relationship, there was nothing he couldn't ask.
The next second, he heard Xie Lianqing say in a calm tone, "Qingqing's homework."
Zhou Chenyu's eyes nearly popped out. "You're not helping her do her homework, are you?"
Xie Lianqing typed with one hand and said, "Mhm. She's busy today, asked me to do it for her."
Although Xu Qingqing's major had fewer classes, there was still regular homework. If the usual grades weren't up to par, the chances of failing the final exam would increase significantly.
Xie Lianqing finished the last bit, checked it over, and then sent it to Xu Qingqing.
It was Zhou Chenyu's birthday today. Unfortunately, Xu Qingqing had a full day of classes, so she could only come to the birthday party after school.
But Zhou Chenyu was still somewhat surprised and asked, puzzled, "Does the homework have to be submitted today?" Xu Qingqing just had more classes today, right? She could totally do it later.
Xie Lianqing took a drag of his cigarette and smiled faintly at the question. "Yeah, she could."
He exhaled the smoke, his voice carrying a unique, intoxicating gentleness. "But she doesn't want to do it."
So of course, he did it.
