Monday, no early morning class.

That gave everyone enough time to actually rest.

The four of them didn’t roll out of bed until close to nine, and made it to the classroom just as the first bell rang.

After the lecture block ended, Xu Ye headed straight for the shop with Zhang Xinzhou and Yang Fei. Li Tongwen started to follow, but Xu Ye stopped him. “Go eat first. Then come relieve us at the shop — otherwise there’s nobody minding the place in the meantime.”

Li Tongwen nodded and peeled off.

The three of them jogged over to find Chen Jianjun’s truck already idling outside.

Xu Ye dug out his keys and rolled up the shutter. Chen Jianjun followed him in, took one look at the half-empty shelves, and did a double-take. “I figured that first load would last you at least a week. How’d you move it so fast?”

Xu Ye smiled. “Just got lucky, I guess.”

Chen Jianjun could tell he wasn’t going to get more than that, so he didn’t push it. He helped carry the new stock inside.

While Xu Ye and the others were getting everything onto the shelves—

In the counselor’s office in the teaching building, Zhang Yiyang stood in front of Su Tong. “Counselor, I don’t think what Xu Ye’s doing is appropriate. He’s the class president — how can he be off running his own business on the side?”

Su Tong tilted her head. “What do you find inappropriate about it?”

“Being class president should be a full commitment. If he’s running a shop, when is he going to have time for class affairs?”

“Class president duties aren’t actually that demanding,” Su Tong said. “And for that matter, our school actively encourages entrepreneurship among students. I can’t strip him of the role over something like this. Zhang Yiyang — do you have some kind of personal issue with Xu Ye?”

“No, nothing like that,” he said, not quite meaning it. “I just think it doesn’t look right.”

Su Tong straightened up in her chair, still smiling. “Zhang Yiyang, do you know how many votes you got in the election?”

“I know. Three.”

“Do you know that one of those three was from Xu Ye?”

“What—!” Zhang Yiyang’s head snapped up. He stared at her, utterly disbelieving. “That can’t be right.”

“Xu Ye and his roommate walked their slips up to the podium together. Everyone else used black pens — only those two used red. Afterward, Xu Ye told me himself that he’d voted for you, so there’s no mistake.”

Zhang Yiyang went quiet.

Standing there, he genuinely couldn’t make sense of it. They’d been competitors — why would Xu Ye throw his vote the other way?

Su Tong cut through his thoughts. “It’s getting late, go grab lunch. If Xu Ye’s ever unavailable, I’ll pass class matters along to you.”

“Yes, Counselor.”

Zhang Yiyang left the office looking thoroughly unsettled.

Su Tong watched him go, shook her head with a small sigh, and turned as two colleagues came through the door. “Ayi, Xiaofang, come here a second.”

“What’s up?”

She lifted a bag of fruit off the floor, smiling. “One of my students dropped these off this morning. Come take some.”

“Su Tong, that’s bribery,” the two colleagues teased.

She rolled her eyes. “It’s from his own fruit shop.”

“A freshman running his own shop?”

“I know. I was surprised too.”

…

By the time Li Tongwen finished eating and got to the shop, Xu Ye and the others had the new stock fully arranged.

“Li Tongwen, we’re heading to the cafeteria. You’re on watch.”

“Got it.”

The three of them headed over. The lunch rush had mostly cleared out.

Coming in through the main entrance, Xu Ye was still deciding what to eat when a familiar figure appeared, walking toward them from the other direction.

Yang Fei saw Senior Jiang Wei coming and immediately jabbed Xu Ye hard in the ribs with his elbow.

“What?” Xu Ye frowned.

Yang Fei’s mouth moved but made no sound.

“Did you go mute?”

“C-campus… campus—”

Xu Ye looked up.

Jiang Wei was heading straight toward them — long hair down, a pair of bright eyes set into a face with a naturally cool expression, a trim figure shown off simply by a white blouse and high-waisted jeans, radiating the kind of unforced confidence and polish that you either had or you didn’t.

Watching her approach, something clicked in Xu Ye’s head. Jiang Wei was the Finance School’s campus belle. If she shared his Moments post, the fruit shop’s visibility would probably go up another level.

So.

As Jiang Wei drew level with the three of them, about to pass by, Xu Ye reached out a hand and stopped her.

Zhang Xinzhou and Yang Fei both startled.

Excuse me? What are you doing?!

Jiang Wei looked at the arm that had appeared in her path, her brow knitting slightly.

Xu Ye smiled. “Senior Jiang Wei, want to add each other on WeChat?”

Yang Fei’s eyes nearly left his head.

You’re seriously just going to open with that?! Just straight-up “add me on WeChat”?!

The cafeteria still had a fair number of people in it, and plenty of them had noticed — campus belle walking through a room tended to attract eyes.

Time seemed to slow.

The air seemed to hold its breath.

No one could have said exactly how long passed, but — to Yang Fei’s absolute bewilderment — Jiang Wei reached into her jeans pocket, pulled out her phone, and said with perfect composure, “You scan me, or I scan you?”

Xu Ye smiled. “I’ll scan you.”

WHAT?!

She actually said yes?!

That makes no sense!

Jiang Wei, as campus belle, had been turning people down since her freshman year. There had been a memorable incident where someone set up a heart made of candles under the women’s dorm and was gearing up for a grand romantic declaration — she hadn’t even looked at it, just reported it to the floor attendant, who arrived with a basin of wash water and extinguished every candle before the confession began. After that, nobody with any sense tried that kind of thing with Jiang Wei again, and her reputation around campus had crystallized into something untouchable and a little icy.

So what exactly was happening right now?

Xu Ye asks to add her, and she just… adds him?

Yang Fei wasn’t the only one with his jaw on the floor — several nearby guys watching the QR codes get scanned were visibly cycling through admiration, envy, and barely concealed outrage.

This guy.

“I’m Xu Ye, by the way, Senior.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Wei answered and started to move on.

Xu Ye added quickly, “Senior Jiang Wei — could you share my top Moments post for me?”

Jiang Wei’s step faltered.

She took a slow breath, then walked out of the cafeteria at a brisk pace.

This guy… he added me just to get me to share his Moments post?

“So what are we eating?”

“No, hold on — why did Senior Jiang Wei actually add you?”

Xu Ye shrugged, wearing the expression of someone who is well aware he deserves to be hit. “Probably because I’m pretty good-looking.”

(End of Chapter)