Chapter 83

Chu Tianshu got into the car, carefully dusted off the gray marks on his suit and shoes, and then rolled down the window to look at the teaching building, waiting for the bell to ring.

The bell rang.

Groups of young men and women, full of youthful vigor, streamed out of the teaching building. They walked in clusters, joking and laughing, their young faces, pure eyes, and radiant smiles shining like the sun in the sky.

A few minutes later, Chu Tianshu saw Ning Xin's figure.

From a distance, Ning Xin seemed to have grown a bit taller and more robust. Her big eyes were still bright, and her ponytail often bounced as she walked. She wore white high heels, white short socks, and a white outfit that made her fair skin look like snow, radiating a youthful aura.

It was clear that she was popular, walking alongside several male and female classmates. One of the male classmates made a joke, which made Ning Xin burst into a clear, ringing laugh.

Chu Tianshu suddenly had a mischievous idea and called Ning Xin's phone.

Ning Xin suddenly stopped, said goodbye to her classmates, and walked to a tree to answer the call.

Chu Tianshu said with a smile, "Hello, Senior Brother sends his greetings to Junior Sister Princess."

"Hey, the sun isn't rising from the west today, is it?" Ning Xin said, smiling and looking up at the sky.

"Hehe, Little Sister, didn't you complain that I never call you? Now that I do, you're not used to it?"

Ning Xin pouted and said, "You laugh before you speak, so you must be up to no good."

Chu Tianshu laughed smugly, making Ning Xin feel uneasy.

Ning Xin said bluntly, "Stop laughing and get to the point."

"Nothing. I just missed you, Junior Sister. I wanted to hear your voice. Is that not allowed?"

"You're so boring. I'm hungry," Ning Xin said.

"What's a little hunger? You've gained quite a bit of weight, Junior Sister. If you keep eating like this, you'll catch up with Second Senior Brother."

"How do you know?"

"Hehe, you forgot, Senior Brother has千里眼 (千里眼 means '千里 eye,' which is a term for someone with extremely good eyesight) and 顺风耳 (顺风耳 means '顺风 ear,' which is a term for someone with extremely good hearing)."

"Cut it out." Ning Xin's voice paused briefly, then she asked with a smile, "Where are you?"

"From the rooftop of my office building, I'm looking at you with a kind gaze." Chu Tianshu suddenly said, "Be careful, if you walk any further, you'll bump into the railing."

"Really? You're that good?" Ning Xin stopped, and indeed, she was very close to the railing. She held her phone and, with her left hand on her forehead, looked up at the sky again.

Chu Tianshu laughed, "Haha, Little Sister, you're pretty good yourself, you've even learned Senior Brother's gestures."

"Ah?" Ning Xin was really taken aback. But she quickly reacted and said, "You're so bad, hiding in the dark and peeping at girls isn't a good habit."

Chu Tianshu teased, "Am I peeping if I'm watching you grow up in broad daylight?"

Ning Xin's tone suddenly became stern, "Senior Brother, do you know what Princess Iron Fan hates the most?"

"No idea," Chu Tianshu answered without hesitation.

"Little bugs that crawl into her stomach," Ning Xin immediately replied.

"Ha ha..." Chu Tianshu couldn't help but laugh.

"Come clean, are you in Linjiang?"

Ning Xin, holding her books, started looking around.

Chu Tianshu felt he couldn't hide anymore and said, "Junior Sister, turn your head to the right, good, a little more, yes, perfect, then..."

Ning Xin obediently turned her head slowly and saw Chu Tianshu, who was sitting in the car with a mischievous smile, waving at her.

Ning Xin screamed and ran over, opened the car door, and climbed in, pinching her fists and hitting Chu Tianshu's head.

"Beat you to death, you liar..."

Chu Tianshu held his head and shouted dramatically, "Help, someone, help!"

"Shout all you want, no one will save you," Ning Xin said, but her hands stopped, and she turned her head to look out the window.

The surroundings were empty, with only a few students holding lunch boxes, and no one had noticed the commotion in the car.

Ning Xin, holding her books, tilted her head and said in a commanding tone, "To make up for my mental distress, you have to take me out to eat."

Chu Tianshu started the car and drove out of the school gate, then asked, "No class this afternoon?"

Ning Xin raised her head and said, "Compared to you coming all the way to see me, class is nothing."

Seeing her youthful and lively demeanor, Chu Tianshu felt much lighter, and the troubles and unhappiness of the past few days were temporarily forgotten.

After leaving the school gate, Chu Tianshu asked, "Where to?"

"I'm not very familiar with this place. You're treating me, so you decide," Ning Xin said cheerfully.

Chu Tianshu looked at the traffic outside and said, "Linjiang has a street of snacks, with more local flavors than the风情街 (风情街 means '风情 street,' which is a term for a street with local charm) in Qingyuan City. If you're not afraid of gaining weight, you can try it."

Ning Xin looked at herself, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded firmly, "No problem, I'll lose weight after eating."

"Alright," Chu Tianshu agreed and drove straight to the snack street.

He recommended the snack street based on his imagination. For someone like Ning Xin, who grew up in a military compound, Western and Chinese cuisine might be boring, and the only thing that could interest her might be local snacks.

Sure enough, Ning Xin was very excited and asked about several local specialties on the way, her mouth watering as Chu Tianshu told her they were all available.

About twenty minutes later, Chu Tianshu brought Ning Xin to the snack street in Linjiang City.

Faced with the various local specialties, Ning Xin's curiosity far outweighed her appetite. She would stop every few steps, curiously asking the vendors a few questions. When Chu Tianshu suggested trying something, she would always smile and shake her head, swallowing her saliva and saying, "Let's keep looking, don't miss the best ones."

After they had walked about half the street, Chu Tianshu's stomach started to growl.

"Ha ha, you couldn't hold out either," Ning Xin said, laughing, and then pointed to a clean and tidy shop, "I want to eat osmanthus rice wine tangyuan."

Chu Tianshu, afraid Ning Xin would change her mind, quickly pulled her into the snack shop.

The shop was small but clean and tidy.

Chu Tianshu ordered two servings of osmanthus rice wine tangyuan and two steamed buns, and specifically asked the helper to wipe the table and chairs.

Since it was noon, only an elderly couple from out of town were slowly savoring their food in the shop.

Noticing Ning Xin's surprise, Chu Tianshu explained, "The timing is wrong. If it were around 7 or 8 in the morning or evening, you'd have to fight for a seat."

Ning Xin said "Oh" and didn't sit down. Instead, she went to the kitchen at the back of the shop, standing in front of the food counter, curiously asking the gray-haired master about the details of making osmanthus rice wine tangyuan.

The master, probably flattered by Ning Xin's praise, was very enthusiastic, his face beaming with a smile as he introduced the process in broken Linjiang Mandarin.

Chu Tianshu sat on a small stool, drinking tea, his eyes involuntarily falling on Ning Xin.

In fact, after the military training and campus life, Ning Xin's body had become more rounded, her waist perfectly shaped, and her figure more full. Dressed in white, she attracted the attention of many men passing by the shop, and two men even entered and chose a table not far from Chu Tianshu, their eyes frequently glancing at Ning Xin with lecherous looks.

Chu Tianshu didn't pay much attention at first, but when he called the helper to add water, he noticed the two men looked familiar, which made him alert, though he couldn't immediately remember where he had seen them.

Before Chu Tianshu could think more, the two men started to act suspiciously. They pretended to look for something to eat and squeezed in on either side of Ning Xin.

One of the muscular men stared at the master and suddenly asked, "Hey, why is there a fly on the tangyuan?" As he spoke, his hand pointed from Ning Xin's face to the stove.

Ning Xin seemed to be on guard and, at the moment he reached out, she turned her waist, avoiding his hand. However, her body moved closer to the bald man, almost touching his chest.

Chu Tianshu, without thinking, stood up and shouted, "What are you trying to do?"

The two men were taken aback and turned to see Chu Tianshu. The bald man immediately laughed, "We just want to eat..." As he spoke, he waved his hand, pretending to point to the stove but intentionally moving toward Ning Xin's chest.

Ning Xin twisted her waist, dodged the sudden move, and stepped back to Chu Tianshu's side.

The helper brought the steamed buns and osmanthus rice wine tangyuan.

Ning Xin sat down and started to enjoy her food.

Seeing their plan fail, the two men sat down, angry and embarrassed, and called for the helper to bring more snacks.

The bald man, eating and laughing, said, "Damn, there are so many people pretending to be cool these days. Driving a car to eat snacks, if you don't have money, don't try to pick up girls."

The muscular man added, "Yeah, a cheap domestic car, probably borrowed from somewhere, trying to trick underage girls."

Ning Xin's face turned red with anger, and she was about to react.

Chu Tianshu smiled and stopped her with his chopsticks, then picked up a steamed bun and held it in the air, saying to himself, "Junior Sister, if I use this meat bun to hit a dog, what do you think?"

Ning Xin understood Chu Tianshu's intention and said loudly, "I bet those two dogs won't bark anymore."

"Little bitch, who are you calling a dog?" The muscular man stood up, pointing at Ning Xin, and shouted angrily.

Ning Xin's eyebrows furrowed, and she said disdainfully, "Whoever answers is the one I'm talking about."

The bald man also jumped up and shouted, "Little girl, don't think we won't hit women. Let me tell you, our boss slapped a woman a few days ago. If you keep talking nonsense, I'll slap you too, ha ha."