Li Yuan saw the hopeful look in Zhong Tingyue’s eyes and nodded, standing up to grab four bottles of Budweiser beer. He secured a bottle with his left hand and, using a chopstick in his right, deftly pried the cap off.
Watching Li Yuan skillfully open the bottle with a chopstick, Ding Shanshan clicked her tongue in amazement. "Tsk, tsk. Li Yuan, opening a beer like that... you must be a Northerner. You look like you can really drink."
Li Yuan replied with a smile, "Back in my hometown, with my alcohol tolerance, I’d have to sit at the children’s table during meals."
Ding Shanshan pouted, clearly unconvinced. "Oh, come on. You’re just messing with us."
"Back home, we down thousands of cups of baijiu; beer is nothing."
Li Yuan just laughed it off. He wasn’t actually lying. With his low tolerance, he wouldn’t even dare claim to be a drinker among his colleagues in the system.
Li Yuan opened two bottles of beer and placed them in front of Zhong Tingyue. "Tingyue, how’s your alcohol tolerance? Are two bottles enough?"
Zhong Tingyue shot Li Yuan a look and said flatly, "This is my first time drinking."
Li Yuan beamed. "Then I’m truly honored."
Ding Shanshan grinned as she poured herself a glass of juice. "I tried beer once. It was disgusting—tasted like hotpot rinse water. I don’t get why you guys love drinking so much."
Xu Tingrou chimed in, "Because drinking really can help you drown your sorrows. I had a beer once in high school, and that tipsy feeling did make a lot of my troubles disappear."
Ding Shanshan took a sip of her juice. "I think fruit wine is way better. It’s sweet, like a soda, but you still get that tipsy feeling."
Zhong Tingyue just smiled without saying anything, her gaze occasionally stealing glances at Li Yuan.
Li Yuan looked at Xu Tingrou and asked, "Tingrou, do you want some too?"
Xu Tingrou shot him a look and shook her head. Afraid he might misunderstand, she added in a low voice, "Today... it’s not a convenient time for me."
Li Yuan understood immediately. It was that time of the month.
"Tingyue, I’m a real lightweight," Li Yuan said. "Don’t get me drunk, or I won’t be able to find my way home."
Zhong Tingyue’s beautiful eyes were fixed on Li Yuan. Her reply stunned the other three at the table. "Then I’ll stay with you."
Ding Shanshan’s eyes darted between Li Yuan and Zhong Tingyue. There’s definitely something going on between them.
Struck with a playful idea, Ding Shanshan grinned and asked, "Li Yuan, let me ask you something. Do you have a girlfriend right now?"
Li Yuan instinctively glanced at Zhong Tingyue, only to find her watching him, waiting for his answer. Left with no other choice, he swallowed the words he had been about to say.
I’m so sorry, my precious girl.
"Hmm, how should I put this... I didn’t have one before, I don’t have one now, and as for the future... maybe I will, maybe I won’t."
Ding Shanshan pouted. "Li Yuan, I feel like you’re lying to us again. A guy who can lie as smoothly as you couldn’t possibly be single."
"So you’re deliberately trying to fool us, aren’t you?"
Li Yuan shook his head and said calmly, "Then just assume I have one." In truth, he did.
Ding Shanshan pouted. "You’re no fun. You’re not being straight with us at all."
"Let me ask you another question, and you better answer truthfully this time."
Li Yuan joked, "This feels like an interrogation. You’re making me a little nervous."
Ding Shanshan huffed. "Well, that’s what you get for lying to us in the first place. Consider this your punishment."
"Alright, I accept. Keep asking. I’ll tell you everything I know," Li Yuan said with a smile.
Ding Shanshan looked at him earnestly and asked, "Li Yuan, are you trying to pursue our Tingyue?"
Li Yuan glanced at Zhong Tingyue, noting the complex emotions in her eyes, but he still shook his head. "I know my limits. I wouldn’t want to make a fool of myself."
Xu Tingrou was taken aback by Li Yuan’s answer. How could he lack that much confidence? That didn’t seem right. Judging by his clothes, his conduct, his height, and his looks, he should be an extremely self-assured person.
"Hmph, you’re lying again! I don’t believe you for a second," Ding Shanshan said, nudging Zhong Tingyue with a grin. "Tingyue, on the way here, did Li Yuan sing to you?"
Zhong Tingyue’s beautiful eyes flickered toward Li Yuan as she gave a slight nod. He didn’t just sing to me—he wrote the song just for me.
"Wow, Li Yuan! You say one thing and do another! And you still claim you don’t have designs on our Tingyue?"
Ding Shanshan gave Li Yuan a look of disdain, not believing a single word he said anymore. He secretly sings a song for a girl but claims he doesn’t want to pursue her? Does he just want to be friends? Unbelievable. If it were any ordinary girl, fine. But this was her roommate, a girl with goddess-like beauty. From the moment she started university, she was showered with flowers and love letters. She and another girl were known as the ’Twin Beauties of the Finance Academy.’ Since the other beauty was also their roommate, the boys at the Finance Academy had nicknamed their room the ’Goddess Dorm.’
Ding Shanshan actually had a good impression of Li Yuan, so she offered a well-intentioned warning. "Li Yuan, if you don’t make a move soon, you’re going to lose your chance. The line of guys chasing our Tingyue could stretch from Mei Yuan all the way to your Lan Yuan. She gets flowers and love letters every single day. If you don’t act now, don’t come crying to me later when you regret it!"
Li Yuan simply smiled without saying anything. He knew Ding Shanshan was telling the truth.
Among the nearly one hundred institutions of higher education in Modu, Xia University was renowned for having the most beautiful women. With Zhong Tingyue’s goddess-level looks, she was guaranteed to attract a legion of suitors...
And it wasn’t just Zhong Tingyue. If that low-key treasure, Xia Zhijin, ever decided to stop hiding her looks, the same would happen to her.