105 Treat Me to a Meal!
Then again, if Shen Xi said she did not like him, Guan Lei knew his mood would plummet. The possibility that Shen Xi did not like him was disturbing in the extreme, and Guan Lei felt uncomfortable at the mere possibility.
The longer the silence stretched, the better Xiang Cheng’s mood became. If Shen Xi said she liked some sleep-deprived brute like Guan Lei, he would puke his heart out in disgust.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xue continued to add fuel to the fire, a mocking expression plastered on her face. “It’s alright. We’re both girls. I understand if you’re feeling too shy to express yourself.”
Guan Lei latched onto that proposition eagerly. Although he regularly sported a pair of dark circles under his eyes, nothing bad could be said of his looks. It was normal for a girl to like him… It was normal for a girl who liked him to feel shy in expressing her feelings. Even if she tried to play down or deny her affections for him, it would not be a true representation of her inner heart.
Shen Xi glared at Jiang Xue, the horrible troublemaker that she was. “I’m not like you. At the very least, I’m someone who goes to school because I want to enter university. I’m not like you, whose mind is filled with nothing but love and affection and what you can get out of it. So please don’t lump me in with you. It’s gross.”
Jiang Xue felt uncomfortable being rebuked by Shen Xi. However, when she considered her own goals, she smiled, happily agreeing, “Yes, yes. You’re absolutely right. We’re not the same. To you, learning is more important than anything else. Hence, it is only natural you would suppress your feelings to the greatest extent to focus on what is most important to you.”
Shen Xi chose to ignore Jiang Xue’s ridiculous assumptions and turned to leave. However, Jiang Xue, who seemed to have forgotten herself, grabbed her arm in a bid to stop her.
“Since Brother Xiang Cheng has said he’ll treat you to a meal and Guan Lei has agreed, why not join us? Come on! Let’s go, let’s go!” Jiang Xue chortled happily.
Jiang Xue even invited Zhao Yuan and the girl from the unknown class. She was acting as if she were Xiang Cheng’s girlfriend already.
Jiang Xue could barely contain her excitement. It was her first time gaining the upper hand in a contest of wills with Shen Xi, and she would make her competitor suffer as much as she could.
Guan Lei could not help but smile at the sight of Shen Xi’s grimace. She looked like she wanted nothing more than to dismember Jiang Xue for the slight against her. Maybe Shen Xi really did have feelings for him and was too embarrassed to admit it.
At this point, Xiang Cheng’s face had turned green with anger, a large, angry vein throbbing at his temple. Shen Xi was his! Shen Xi was supposed to be his future wife, the woman of his life.
The thought that Shen Xi might not be his, but another man’s love interest nearly gave him an aneurism. The person in question only made it worse.
How could Shen Xi love an awful barbarian like Guan Lei instead of him? The more he thought about the possibility, the worse his mood became.
Zhao Yuan was enjoying the show. She and the unknown girl next to her were going to be treated to a meal; the added entertainment was a bonus.
Zhao Yuan was happy for her friend and supported Shen Xi’s feelings for Guan Lei. Although Guan Lei almost always looked gloomy, he was not by no means lacking in appearance. He was three inches taller than Xiang Cheng and had the uncanny ability to make one feel safe in his presence.
At least, that was the impression he had given her in the bathroom outside the music room and how he handled the aftermath. Just earlier, he had not hesitated to offend Xiang Cheng in defence of Shen Xi. It w quite manly.
“Does Shen Xi really like Guan Lei?” The girl next to her asked Zhao Yuan weakly.
Zhao Yuan glanced at the girl next to her and shook her head. “I don’t know, but Xixi never said she disliked Guan Lei.”
“Really?” The girl asked in disbelief.
Zhao Yuan looked at the girl curiously and asked, “Why are you asking this? By the way, what’s your name? Which class are you in?”
The girl pursed her lips and offered a brittle smile. “I’m just curious. I’m in Grade 12, Class 8. My name is Li Jin.”
Zhao Yuan nodded and introduced herself to Li Jin in a friendly manner. “My name is Zhao Yuan. You should know Shen Xi. She’s my deskmate. That guy’s name is Guan Lei. You can ignore the other two.”
Li Jin nodded a little awkwardly and then was inexplicably dragged by Zhao Yuan to the cafeteria area of the school.
The cafeteria of Zhuo Ying High School was very big. In addition to the usual canteen fare, there were also many high-end restaurants to meet the different needs of the school’s students.
Xiang Cheng led the group to the most expensive restaurant in the cafeteria — Auspicious Dragon Hall.
Xiang Cheng wanted to show Guan Lei the difference between them. If he knew what was good for him, he would run away with his tail between his legs and not covet what he could not afford: Shen Xi.