Chapter 74

Just thinking about how his awkward behavior had been seen by the girl beside him, Xu Yan felt a bit embarrassed — with Chen Yaoyu's pride and aloofness, wouldn't she have mocked him to death for his momentary loss of composure?

But to Xu Yan's surprise, he found no trace of mockery in Chen Yaoyu's eyes. Her gaze gave him a warm feeling, and she repeated her words: "Have some soup, or your stomach will hurt."

"Ah!" Xu Yan responded in a low voice, lowering his head to focus on drinking the soup. He could feel Chen Yaoyu's gaze fixed on his profile, as if her eyes had a warmth of their own, making him feel warm and fuzzy.

After finishing the soup, Xu Yan asked Chen Yaoyu, "Yaoyu, do you usually drink alcohol?"

Chen Yaoyu shook her head and said clearly, "My family is very strict at home, so I generally don't drink. The girls in my dormitory all know this."

Seeing the disappointed look on Xu Yan's face, she smiled, "But if you want to drink, I can accompany you."

"Hehe, it seems I have a lot of influence. Alright, since you're willing to join me, let's have a little tonight."

Xu Yan casually picked up the bottle and poured a glass of beer for both himself and Chen Yaoyu. He warned her, "You don't usually drink, so just have a little. There's no need to drink too much — here, cheers! To our meeting by chance!"

They lightly clinked their glasses, and Xu Yan drank his in one go. Putting down his glass, Xu Yan was surprised to find that Chen Yaoyu had also finished her beer. A flush rose to her cheeks, and her eyes were bright, making her look even more beautiful.

Seeing Chen Yaoyu's bright eyes looking at him, wanting to say something but holding back, and after two glasses of beer, Xu Yan felt the alcohol start to affect him. He suddenly felt that nothing in the world was impossible, and he laughed, "Yaoyu, if you want to say something, just say it. It's fine, I'm not a kid anymore, I can handle it!"

Chen Yaoyu thought for a moment, then she said softly, "Actually, it was a mistake for Xiaogong not to choose you. She will definitely regret it in the future."

Xu Yan smacked his lips, still a bit surprised by Chen Yaoyu's straightforwardness — it seemed that there were others at the table who had also picked up on the nuances in Gong Xueting's words.

He smiled bitterly, "Who can predict the future? But you seem to know a lot about this."

"Actually, Xiaogong is beautiful, polite, and kind, and she gets along well with people. Many boys in the department like her, and you're not the first to try to pursue her. And —"

Chen Yaoyu glanced at Zhao Tianyu and pouted, "Besides her senior, many boys from her department or other departments have pursued her, but she has never been moved by them. Well, the girls in our dormitory know very well that Xiaogong has always had someone she likes."

Hearing this, Xu Yan's heart tightened, but he had to pretend to be calm, "Hehe, who is it?"

Chen Yaoyu smiled, her smile tinged with a bit of mockery and sympathy, "Xu Yan, can't you see it yourself?"

Xu Yan looked at Gong Xueting, then he smiled bitterly, "Teacher Situ?"

"Yes, it's Teacher Situ. Since the beginning of college, Xiaogong has always tried to take his courses. They have interacted a lot and are very familiar with each other. When Xiaogong's father had an accident, Teacher Situ immediately gave her 100,000 yuan to help her — you should be able to guess this, right?"

Listening to Chen Yaoyu, Xu Yan could hear his heart breaking. His lips twitched, and he numbly poured himself another drink, the taste in his heart indescribable. Recalling the times he had spent with Gong Xueting, her radiant smile, Xu Yan felt a sharp pain in his heart.

It turned out that all along, he had been deluding himself. The girl he liked already had someone in her heart.

These days, Xu Yan had been looking forward to each Sunday's science fiction appreciation class, the only time he could see Gong Xueting. Now, knowing that she already had a boyfriend, Xu Yan felt a sense of despair, as if everything in the world had lost its meaning. His heart was filled with frustration and anger, but he didn't know who to vent it on.

Hate Gong Xueting? But she had never made any promises to him, never deceived him, and never tried to seduce him. Everything was his own delusion. Even if he had saved her father, she owed him a debt of gratitude — but Xu Yan knew that gratitude is gratitude, and feelings are feelings; they shouldn't be mixed together. Just because he had saved her father, she didn't have to agree to be his girlfriend. Such a behavior of using favors to demand returns is something others might do, but Xu Yan would never do it.

Then, should he hate Teacher Situ Xiao? But what did this have to do with him? It was Gong Xueting who liked him, not the other way around. It's natural for two people who like each other to be together. Moreover, he and Gong Xueting had known each other and interacted before Xu Yan did. Now, it was Xu Yan who had inserted himself, not the other way around. Even from Xu Yan's perspective as a rival, he couldn't deny that Teacher Situ Xiao was handsome, charming, and had a sunny and open personality, making him the kind of man most girls like. If Xu Yan were Gong Xueting, he would probably choose such a mature, humorous, and good man over himself.

After thinking for a long time, Xu Yan smiled bitterly and asked, "Yaoyu, why did you tell me this?"

Chen Yaoyu looked at Xu Yan with sympathy and said, "Before, I wasn't very close to you, and this was Xiaogong's personal matter, so I didn't want to meddle. But now that Xiaogong has explained it to you, I have no reservations — actually, you haven't known Xiaogong for very long, right? Well, since we're friends, I don't want you to get too deep into this. It's better for you to know the truth early."

Xu Yan smiled bitterly; Chen Yaoyu had good intentions, but he wished she hadn't been so straightforward.

He poured himself another full glass of beer, raised it to Chen Yaoyu, and was about to drink it, but Chen Yaoyu suddenly reached out and grabbed his glass, stopping him. Xu Yan was taken aback and asked, "Yaoyu, what are you doing?"

"Don't misunderstand, I'm not stopping you from drinking. I just want to drink with you."

She also poured herself a full glass of beer, clinked it with Xu Yan's, and drank it in one go. Xu Yan stared at her, "Yaoyu, I'm drinking because I'm heartbroken... what are you doing? Drinking so fast?"

After two large glasses of beer, Chen Yaoyu's eyes were a bit blurry, and her face was flushed. Hearing Xu Yan's words, she giggled, "Heartbroken? Xu Yan, you really like to put on a show! You haven't even started a relationship, have you?"

That's right, he hadn't even started!

Xu Yan smiled bitterly and drank his beer in one go. The alcohol made him feel unusually comfortable, a carefree and light feeling. At this moment, he realized that Chen Yaoyu's words earlier weren't very polite, and he couldn't help but laugh, pointing at her and laughing uncontrollably.

At this point, Chen Yaoyu also realized that she had used some coarse language. She playfully stuck out her tongue, poured herself another glass of beer, and said to herself, "It seems this alcohol isn't so bad... here, Master Xu, I'm toasting you!"

Hearing this, Xu Yan remembered the time he and Chen Yaoyu had pretended to be spirits, and he laughed, "Alright! Here, let's drink!"

That night, Xu Yan didn't know how much he had drunk, but he managed to walk out of the restaurant on his own, while Chen Yaoyu had to be supported by Yu Lan and Gong Xueting, still babbling and demanding to drink more with Xu Yan.

On the way out, Gong Xueting kept complaining to Xu Yan, blaming him for making Chen Yaoyu drink so much. Xu Yan obediently accepted the scolding, but in his heart, he was wondering who was making who drink.

At first, Chen Yaoyu had said she was drinking to keep Xu Yan company because he was heartbroken, which made Xu Yan a bit touched. But he didn't expect that after three glasses of beer, Chen Yaoyu's true nature emerged. She charged at him with her glass like a bayonet, insisting on drinking glass for glass with him. If he didn't drink, she would pinch his nose and force it down his throat.

Moreover, he couldn't refuse. Chen Yaoyu glared at him with red eyes and threatened, "If you say no again, I'll shout in front of Gong Xueting and everyone else that 'Xu Yan is in love with Gong Xueting and has been dumped!' Do you believe I'll do it? Do you believe it? If you do, then drink this glass!"

Under such intense pressure, what could Xu Yan do? He could only obediently drink with Chen Yaoyu. Fortunately, Chen Yaoyu still had some sense. Although she got drunk later, she didn't say anything inappropriate, or Xu Yan would have been too embarrassed to face anyone.

After everyone was full and drunk, the teachers left first, and the boys were responsible for escorting the girls back to their dormitories. Because of the annoying Zhao Tianyu, no one felt like talking, and they silently escorted the girls to the dormitory building.

The girls helped the drunk Chen Yaoyu up to the dormitory. Xu Yan and Liu Yang were about to leave, but at this moment, Gong Xueting quietly approached Xu Yan.

Liu Yang, being a considerate person, immediately knew that the girl wanted to talk to Xu Yan. Without Xu Yan's prompting, he automatically stepped back thirty steps and lay down on the grass in front of the girls' dormitory, looking up at the stars.

That night, Gong Xueting had also drunk a lot, though she wasn't drunk, her face was flushed. Standing in front of Xu Yan, she hesitated to speak.

With the help of the alcohol, Xu Yan didn't feel the pain of heartbreak as much. He looked at Gong Xueting and said, "Xueting, do you have something to tell me?"

Gong Xueting bit her lip and nodded lightly, "Um... Xu Yan, you drank a lot tonight, didn't you?"

"Uh..." Xu Yan had a premonition and roughly knew what Gong Xueting was going to say. He smiled bitterly, "Uh, I drank a lot because I was happy — it seems you also drank a lot, right?"

Gong Xueting smiled tiredly, smoothed her bangs, and said thoughtfully, "Yes, everyone drank a lot — I saw that Yaoyu also talked to you a lot. She must have told you a lot, right?"

Xu Yan gradually understood her intention but still pretended to be confused, "Hehe, we didn't talk much, but we did drink a lot. Xueting, your roommate is really bold. When it comes to drinking, even boys can't match her."

Gong Xueting laughed, "Is that so? But Yaoyu usually doesn't drink when we go out. I've known her for two years, and this is the first time I've seen her drink, especially with a boy, and to this extent... You might have noticed, Yaoyu is a bit proud and doesn't give face to just anyone."

"Is that so? It's the first time Yaoyu drank? She doesn't seem like it!"

Xu Yan laughed dryly, looking around as the boys escorted the girls back to the dormitory, passing by him and Gong Xueting, casting curious glances at them.

Xu Yan's heart was being tormented — "Girl, how long are you going to beat around the bush? Just get it over with! Knowing that the axe is about to fall is also a kind of torture."

Clearly, Gong Xueting was trying to find a suitable topic to naturally steer the conversation in the direction she needed, but she couldn't find a good angle. She could only continue to beat around the bush, "Really, you can ask anyone in our dormitory, Yaoyu usually doesn't drink. This time, it was because of you, Xu Yan, that she made an exception... It shows that she values you a lot."

"Hehe, should I be flattered by that?"

"Ah, hehe, that's not what I mean. What I mean is, to us, you are not just anyone."

At this point, Gong Xueting seemed to have found a suitable topic and quickly seized the opportunity to steer the conversation in the direction she needed, "Xu Yan, you are kind and热情, humble and humorous, with a good heart and a willingness to help others. You also have great abilities and saved my father — these days, I have felt that meeting you is the greatest luck