"Sister You!" A familiar, excited voice rang out.
Jiang You glanced over and saw Yang Qi striding toward her like a gust of wind. The breeze ruffled his flamboyant red hair, and his handsome face was lit with a bright, enthusiastic smile. His red eyes were exceptionally brilliant.
He was carrying a cup of milk tea. He squatted in front of Jiang You, took her hand, and placed the warm drink in her palm.
Jiang You instinctively closed her hand around the milk tea. She paused, then looked down at Yang Qi squatting beside her. "What are you doing here?"
’I didn’t ask him to come.’
"I heard from your followers that you got punished with sweeping duty, Sister You, so I came to help out." Yang Qi grinned, his smile so wide it revealed a row of eight perfectly straight teeth.
Jiang You’s eyes shifted. His smile was both brilliant and fawning—a blatant attempt to curry favor.
"Mm, go ahead and sweep then," Jiang You said casually.
He grabbed a nearby broom and instinctively glanced at Xu Che, who was sweeping over there. Noticing the other guy was rather good-looking, a flicker of hostility flashed in his eyes.
With Yang Qi’s help, the two of them quickly finished sweeping West Road.
Just then, classes let out.
"Sister You, let’s go eat together." Yang Qi quickly and carelessly tossed his tools aside and sidled up to Jiang You like an enthusiastic golden retriever.
Jiang You got up from the bench as well. Without another word, she said, "Let’s go."
As she was leaving, she noticed the tools. She was about to instinctively tell Xu Che to please put them away, but she quickly stopped herself.
’How could a young miss like her possibly be polite!’
’Even if I don’t say anything, Xu Che will definitely take them back anyway.’
So, Jiang You completely ignored Xu Che and left with Yang Qi.
Xu Che lifted his gaze to the two of them walking away in the distance.
The girl walked slowly, her posture casual and leisurely, yet it still carried an air of arrogance and detachment.
The red-haired young man beside her leaned in very close, constantly saying something with a fawning smile. He was even bowing and stooping, his posture exceptionally deferential, like a big dog with no sense of personal space.
Xu Che couldn’t help but furrow his brow slightly, his dark eyes flashing with a cold undercurrent.
’How can he be so close to her?’
Xu Che’s pale, thin lips pressed into a straight line as he recalled her leaning in close earlier, and the sweet scent she brought with her.
She smelled so good. Just being near her, he could smell a light, sweet floral fragrance.
His chest grew a little warm.
Xu Che raised an eyebrow again, looking toward the girl who was gradually disappearing into the distance.
Only after she was out of sight did he begin to gather the tools and head back.
Jiang You went to eat with Yang Qi, who waited on her hand and foot during the meal.
Yang Qi constantly told Jiang You about his life, like how he’d bought a race car and wanted to take her for a spin.
Or how he’d gotten into another fight with someone who’d provoked him, and how he’d beaten them up.
He also mentioned his large motorcycle collection, saying he wanted to show it to Jiang You and take her for a ride.
Yang Qi talked nonstop. It was a little noisy.
’He’s so noisy,’ Jiang You thought. Even when she didn’t say a word, he could carry on the conversation all by himself.
"Sister You, next week is my birthday. You have to come," Yang Qi said, his voice softer now. He sounded cautious and anxious.
He had laid so much groundwork, all just to cautiously tell her that his birthday was coming up.
He knew she definitely wouldn’t remember, so he had to tell her.
Jiang You stared down at her diet meal, her mind wandering. She wasn’t really listening to Yang Qi. She still preferred being with her three followers. Although they also talked a lot, they gossiped, and she enjoyed listening in on the drama.
Yang Qi was one step short of flaunting a big gold chain and stuffing it into her hands. His desire to take her out, along with his sycophantic attitude, was written all over his face.
"Sister You! Sister You!" Yang Qi called out again, a bit frantically.
Jiang You finally seemed to snap out of her daze and looked at him. "What is it?"
"My birthday is next weekend, and I wanted to reserve some of Sister You’s time in advance!" Yang Qi grinned. "You have to come to my birthday party, Sister You!"
Jiang You thought his smile always had a hint of foolishness to it.
"Mm," Jiang You replied noncommittally.
Over by the cafeteria entrance, Xie Heng was arriving with his team, planning to take them to a private room on the third floor.
Each floor of the cafeteria represented a different social class. Only those with purple rose brooches could go to the third floor, while the top floor was reserved for those with gold brooches.
Layer upon layer.
Since Jiang You was just having a diet meal, she couldn’t be bothered to go to the third floor and ate on the first floor instead.
Someone on Xie Heng’s team noticed Jiang You.
"Captain, isn’t that our sister-in-law?" the skinny guy next to Xie Heng, Xu Wen, asked with a smile.
"Hey, it really is. Why don’t we skip the third floor and eat here on the first floor with our sister-in-law?" a young woman next to Xu Wen suggested. "I can also explain that my quitting the team really has nothing to do with the Captain, right?"
Now, she only dared to stand next to her boyfriend, Xu Wen, terrified of being misunderstood by Jiang You again.
Xie Heng’s gaze fell upon Jiang You. Sitting across from her was someone from another school.
His cold, thin lips seemed to dip into a slight frown. "No need. We’re going to the third floor."
He said nothing more and headed straight upstairs.
He was treating his team to this meal entirely because he was adding Jiang You and had to make their original Healer quit. Based on Xie Heng’s understanding of Jiang You, while that woman might be joining, she was still a first-year, and the first- and second-year curriculums were different.
In the future, when Jiang You wasn’t available, they would have to enter dungeons without a Healer, and his teammates would inevitably get hurt.
Therefore, Xie Heng had to treat them to a meal to appease his teammates.
Even though his teammates all said they didn’t mind, Xie Heng still insisted on treating them.
The four team members watched Xie Heng walk upstairs and exchanged uneasy glances, but ultimately said nothing and hurried to follow him.
Jiang You remained completely oblivious. After she finished eating, she returned to her dorm to rest.
Her terminal vibrated.
Jiang You raised her wrist and saw an incoming call from Xie Heng.
She paused for a moment before accepting the call, guessing it was about running a dungeon.
After the call connected, Xie Heng’s cold voice hammered down. "Are you free this afternoon? We’re going to run a dungeon."
Jiang You felt that Xie Heng’s voice seemed even colder than usual.
She didn’t know why, but then she remembered what the novel said. ’My fiancé already detests me, and he’s only going to hate me more later on.’
Jiang You didn’t dwell on it. She just glanced at her class schedule; she had class this afternoon.
"I have class," Jiang You replied.
Then, remembering her persona, she added, "Even if I’m not free to run a dungeon with you this afternoon, you’re not allowed to go with any other Healer. That Healer from last time—did you make her quit or not?"
"She quit." Xie Heng’s tone grew even colder. "So you don’t have to worry about me running dungeons with another Healer. If you go crying to the elders again..."
He trailed off.
"If I go crying to the elders again, what will you do?" Jiang You asked, deliberately provoking him.