"Brother Yuncheng, are you just here to join the fun?"
Lin Nianhe, holding the math test Su Yuncheng had just finished, looked at him with complex eyes.
Su Yuncheng’s ears turned slightly red as he looked at her without speaking.
Of course, he wasn’t here to join the fun; he was here to get close to her and shield her from the wind.
Lin Nianhe returned his perfect-scored test paper to him and turned to force a pep talk on Wang Shumei and Wen Lan, "Look at him, busy with work to the point of disappearance, and still gets full marks in math. You two are working so hard, you can definitely do it too!"
Wen Lan wrote furiously: "Silly girl."
Wang Shumei wrote swiftly: "Shut up."
They took the encouragement to heart.
Satisfied, Lin Nianhe turned back, wrote a note, folded it into a heart shape, and passed it to Su Yuncheng.
Seeing him play with the note back and forth without unfolding it, Lin Nianhe couldn’t help but poke the back of his hand with her pen, motioning him to open it.
Su Yuncheng was somewhat reluctant but, seeing the serious look in Lin Nianhe’s eyes, he had no choice but to suppress his distress and carefully unfolded the heart-shaped note.
As the paper unfolded, seven words appeared before his eyes—
"How about shabu-shabu for dinner?"
That evening, they had shabu-shabu.
"Brother Yuncheng, have you been discharged from the military?" Lin Nianhe asked.
"The college entrance exam is open to officers too," Su Yuncheng said, "Uncle Lin wouldn’t let me leave."
"Okay, that’s good. Otherwise, it would be a pity to give up on all the achievements you’ve worked for these past years," Lin Nianhe said as she picked up a slice of lamb, dipped it in sesame sauce, and then asked, "Which university do you plan to apply to?"
No need to think, Su Yuncheng immediately answered: "Wherever you go, I’ll go."
"I’m aiming for Peking University," Lin Nianhe said.
Tenderness filled Su Yuncheng’s eyes: "Then I’ll also try for Peking University."
Lin Nianhe intended to say something warm and fitting for the moment but, catching a glimpse of a dark shadow outside the window, she almost lifted the copper hot pot to hurl it out.
Sie Yufei lay on the windowsill, watching the two with resentment filled eyes: "You two have shabu-shabu without me? How can you even swallow your food?"
Su Yuncheng patted Lin Nianhe’s back to ease her and looked at Sie Yufei with eyes so cold it could freeze him to death.
He remained silent, seemingly contemplating which of Sie Yufei’s legs to break.
But Sie Yufei, oblivious to the threat, had eyes only for the copper pot on the kang table.
Because of this, he didn’t hesitate to use the information he got from Niuwa: "Brother-in-law, spare me some food, will ya?"
Su Yuncheng: "Get your own bowl and chopsticks."
Sie Yufei beamed with happiness: "Right away!"
She massaged her temples and glared at Sie Yufei rushing in, snarling at him, "Instead of attending evening self-study, you come here to mooch off a meal? Just think about that math test you got 26 points on, how can you have the appetite to eat?"
Sie Yufei picked up a slice of lamb with his chopsticks, dipped it in the sauce, and displayed it to Lin Nianhe: "Just , open mouth—put it in—chew—swallow—ah, that’s how it goes down."
Lin Nianhe’s patience ran out, and she kicked out at him.
Her kicking skills clearly couldn’t compare to Uncle Team Leader’s, Sie Yufei deftly dodged, avoiding the blow.
He hadn’t even had the chance to gloat to Lin Nianhe when Su Yuncheng’s foot accurately landed on his thigh.
Fourth Sie let out a wail.
He felt as if his entire leg and half his butt had gone numb, pained to the point that he was hopping around.
However, this did not stop him from stuffing lamb into his mouth.
He just felt a bit regretful; if he had known, he wouldn’t have dodged Lin Nianhe’s kick.
Even if she put all her effort into it, it wouldn’t hurt as much as a kick from Brother Cheng.
Amidst the aroma of the shabu-shabu, Fourth Sie’s survival guide had a new entry—
With Brother Cheng around, don’t even try to dodge Xiao He’s attacks.