Chapter 107: Dining

Hearing this, Jiang Zheng suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. The two of them had clearly gone to the library together, yet when Jiang Zheng went to eat, he hadn’t called out to him.

It wasn’t that Jiang Zheng valued romance over friendship; he had simply forgotten at the moment.

When they entered the library, Yu Qingkui was sitting across from someone else, reading in another area. Jiang Zheng was deeply engrossed in his book, and when Jiang Qianyue appeared and they started chatting, he momentarily forgot about Yu Qingkui.

“I actually wanted to find you back then, but when I did, I figured you had probably gone to eat,” Jiang Zheng explained.

Yu Qingkui looked at him with a hint of grievance. “I waited for you until after one o’clock. And you say I went to eat?”

“Ah? Really… maybe I didn’t see clearly. Haha… haha,” Jiang Zheng said awkwardly.

Yu Qingkui didn’t press the issue and changed the subject: “By the way, are you going again tomorrow?”

Jiang Zheng thought for a moment and replied, “We’ll see tomorrow. If nothing unexpected comes up, I probably will.”

Yu Qingkui nodded and returned to his seat to continue reading.

The dorm’s study atmosphere was a bit lacking, but since they could seize time to study, they did so.

As the library was about to close, Yang Po finally returned at the last moment.

He opened the dorm door, panting heavily. “Luckily, just in time.”

Jiang Zheng said, “Second brother, if you’d come back any later, you probably wouldn’t have gotten in.”

“Yeah, when I arrived, the dorm auntie was already locking the door. Good thing I ran fast enough; otherwise, I’d have been locked out for real,” Yang Po said.

“Next time, watch the time. Usually, if you tell the boss, you can get back before closing,” Jiang Zheng advised.

“Mm, got it,” Yang Po nodded.

……

The next day was Sunday, still a day without classes.

They were free to arrange their own schedules, except for freshmen who were still undergoing military training.

Passing by the playground, Jiang Zheng saw a few students, either sophomores or juniors, carrying popsicles and sodas, walking deliberately in front of the formation of freshmen.

While walking, they ate and drank with obvious enjoyment.

Jiang Zheng knew immediately this was intentional.

Imagine such a scorching day, with freshmen standing in the sun in military posture, the burning sun blazing overhead, their mouths parched and dry. At that moment, seeing someone pass by with icy treats like popsicles and soda would cause a tremendous psychological blow.

The fiery glares from the freshmen said it all.

The group didn’t antagonize for too long, knowing that if they did, they might earn lasting resentment and no one would come out ahead.

Jiang Zheng shook his head, unwilling to comment on such childish behavior.

Arriving at the library, today he didn’t join Yu Qingkui, mainly because he got up quite late.

By the time he woke, Yu Qingkui had already gone to study.

Occasionally, Jiang Zheng would sleep in. Perhaps it was because he felt no urgency, allowing himself to rest longer.

When Jiang Zheng went to the library, he wasn’t in any particular hurry. Yu Qingkui was preparing for postgraduate exams, so he studied diligently every day.

Jiang Zheng was different; he didn’t plan to take postgraduate exams, so he studied more casually, focusing only on subjects that interested him.

If he wasn’t interested, he wouldn’t bother.

Leisurely arriving at the library, Jiang Zheng found all seats occupied.

With no choice, he could only stand and read.

He picked up an interesting book, unrelated to the subject he had been reading the day before.

Jiang Zheng held the book and read with great interest.

Suddenly, a hand tapped his shoulder, pulling him out of his concentration. He turned to see who it was.

“Oh, it’s you,” Jiang Zheng said.

“Who else did you expect?” Jiang Qianyue replied.

“I thought it was my roommate,” Jiang Zheng said.

Jiang Qianyue nodded, then asked, “Standing and reading? Didn’t get a seat?”

“Yeah, I got up too late today, and when I came, there were no seats left,” Jiang Zheng shrugged.

“But standing and reading has its own charm,” he added.

“Really? Then I’ll try it too,” Jiang Qianyue said.

She turned, grabbed a book, and stood next to Jiang Zheng, reading.

Jiang Zheng smiled; obviously, standing wasn’t as comfortable as sitting.

He thought quietly that if Jiang Qianyue got up, there should be a seat freed up.

He didn’t move to sit, though; doing so would make him seem too miserly.

Time passed slowly, and Jiang Qianyue began to feel uncomfortable standing.

“Sitting down to read is definitely more comfortable,” she said.

Jiang Zheng glanced at his phone, noting the time. “If you’re tired of standing, how about we go eat?”

“Alright, I’m hungry anyway,” Jiang Qianyue agreed.

The two left the library together again, and Jiang Zheng drew another round of envious glances.

Yu Qingkui was once again left behind in the library, not invited to eat.

Jiang Zheng thought that if he invited Yu Qingkui along with Jiang Qianyue, the dorm gossip would flare up again.

So, he simply didn’t call Yu Qingkui, especially since Yu Qingkui didn’t even know he had come.

“What do you want to eat today?” Jiang Qianyue asked.

“You decide. Whatever you want, I’ll eat,” Jiang Zheng replied.

“I know a decent Western restaurant nearby. Let’s go there,” Jiang Qianyue said.

Jiang Zheng nodded in agreement.

Following Jiang Qianyue’s lead, they arrived at a Western-style restaurant. Jiang Zheng realized this was the very place where he had once worked part-time—quite a coincidence.

The food there was indeed good, and the prices weren’t too steep.

“What do you want? You order,” Jiang Qianyue handed him the menu.

Jiang Zheng took the menu, browsed through the dishes, but found nothing particularly appealing or detestable.

He handed the menu back and said, “You pick. I don’t know what to order.”

Jiang Qianyue studied the menu for a moment before suggesting, “How about this set meal?”

Jiang Zheng glanced and nodded, “Alright, let’s go with that.”

After Jiang Qianyue placed the order, they waited.

The set meal included many dishes, each in small portions, designed primarily for tasting.

Of course, combined, it was enough to satisfy an average appetite.

The set wasn’t cheap, and the wait was quite long, with significant intervals between dishes.

After two hours, they finally finished the meal.

While eating dessert, Jiang Qianyue asked, “So, are you full?”

Jiang Zheng pondered briefly before saying, “How about two more steaks?”

Jiang Qianyue was surprised, “Two more? Can you finish that?”

Jiang Zheng replied, “I’m growing lately; I can handle it.”

Jiang Qianyue nodded and let Jiang Zheng order the two steaks.

To her astonishment, Jiang Zheng finished both steaks.