Chapter Fifteen: Xia Linfei

After finishing all that, Su Yuan browsed a few news websites and then, like Ji Yehai, watched a movie for a while.

By ten-thirty, the movie had ended. A bustling crowd poured in from the entrance of the internet café. Taking a closer look, they turned out to be people preparing to stay online all night. Su Yuan turned her head to Ji Yehai and said, “It’s pretty late. How about we head back?”

Seeing him nod, she called out to Yang Xiaowei, who was currently flirting with his girlfriend over QQ, “Xiaowei, log off!”

Yang Xiaowei lifted his head and smiled. Unhurriedly, he sent a message to his girlfriend before leisurely logging off. Seeing this, Su Yuan said with a hint of jealousy, “You and your girlfriend are really affectionate. You can’t even be apart for a little while without sticking together like this!”

“Of course,” Yang Xiaowei replied proudly. “Xiaoying and I are deeply in love—one day apart feels like three autumns.” He then glanced smugly at Su Yuan and Ji Yehai and added, “You two should work harder too. Try to get out of the singles club this year!”

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t envious. What Su Yuan couldn’t stand most was Yang Xiaowei showing off his affection in front of her. In terms of looks, neither she nor Yehai was inferior to him in any way, yet this guy—of all people—had been the first to get a girlfriend. Clicking her tongue, she grabbed Ji Yehai and said, “Ignore him. Gao Jun wanted a family bucket, right? Let’s go buy it.”

Ji Yehai smiled faintly and asked Yang Xiaowei, “Xiaowei, are you heading back to the dorm to sleep tonight, or…?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Xiaowei’s definitely spending the night with his Xiaoying,” Su Yuan cut in.

Yang Xiaowei gave her a thumbs-up and said, “The one who understands me best is Su Su!”

Su Yuan grinned knowingly, waved her hand, and said, “Then why aren’t you going already? It’s so late—be careful your Xiaoying doesn’t misunderstand and think you’re out fooling around.”

“Don’t worry. We’ve got that much understanding between us. Xiaoying won’t overthink it.” Yang Xiaowei was already used to Su Yuan’s sharp tongue.

Yang Xiaowei and his girlfriend Mo Ying had started dating in their freshman year and soon moved out to live together, enjoying an unabashedly intimate life—truly head over heels in love. Every time Su Yuan saw how inseparable they were, she felt envious, so she often took verbal jabs at Yang Xiaowei, who had long since become immune.

After parting ways with Yang Xiaowei, Su Yuan and Ji Yehai went to a nearby KFC to buy a family bucket, then headed toward the dormitory area.

“You’re finally back,” Gao Jun said when he saw Su Yuan and Ji Yehai carrying the bucket. He rubbed his hands and snatched the food away. A single family bucket was a bit small for three people, but since it wasn’t a proper meal, it was more than enough as a late-night snack.

Su Yuan picked up a drumstick and took a bite, then suddenly stopped. She recalled rumors online about KFC using hormone-injected chickens. While these might not be true, they were enough to ruin her appetite. Looking at the golden drumstick in her hand, her throat moved, but she simply couldn’t bring herself to take another bite.

She was currently taking medication, so it was better to avoid external interfering factors as much as possible. Better safe than sorry—once she stopped the medication, there would be plenty of chances to indulge later.

“Why aren’t you eating?” Gao Jun asked curiously, chewing happily on a piece of chicken breast as he noticed Su Yuan hesitating.

Su Yuan shook her head and waved it off. “I don’t like eating this kind of stuff.”

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Ji Yehai glanced at her in surprise and said, “If you don’t like it, then don’t eat it. There are still two buns and half an ear of corn left—save those for you.”

Reluctantly putting down the drumstick, Su Yuan picked up her drink and took a sip, then grabbed the two warm buns. Thinking about how others were enjoying chicken wings and drumsticks while she could only nibble on bread and corn, she felt deeply unbalanced.

…

The higher education district also had residential areas and lively streets, though compared to the city center, it was noticeably quieter.

The sky was clear, and the sun scorched the ground. Across the wide road was a small plaza. At two in the afternoon—the hottest time of the day—the fountain in the center of the plaza shot water high into the air, and the mist shimmered with brilliant colors under the intense sunlight.

There were several shops nearby, but because of the heat, there weren’t many people on the street. Wearing a sun hat and holding a stack of flyers, Su Yuan stood not far from a supermarket, handing them out sporadically to the few passersby.

This was the job she had found online yesterday, and today she had come out to try it.

Beads of sweat hung on her face as waves of scorching heat poured down from above, filtering through her sun hat and beating on her head. At this point, Su Yuan was already regretting coming out to hand out flyers. Being self-reliant was easy to talk about, but far from easy to do. Even though the pay was eighty yuan a day with cold drinks provided, the work itself was grueling.

With half the flyers still in her hands and unable to endure the heat any longer, she quietly shifted closer to the supermarket entrance. A faint stream of cool air leaked out from inside, like a spring nourishing her soul.

This spot was nice. Su Yuan was pleased with her positioning. There were also more people going in and out of the supermarket, and the flyers began to go out one by one.

“Please take a look. Welcome, thank you!”

The person was a young man. After taking the flyer, he glanced at her and asked, “Cold drinks on sale?”

At first she didn’t react. Once she realized he was talking to her, Su Yuan quickly nodded. “Yes. During the opening promotion, buy two drinks and get one free. Spend twenty yuan on snacks and get one cold drink free.”

Of course she had read the flyer herself and done her homework thoroughly. The flyer listed dozens of cold drinks, so most customers could understand at a glance. This was the first time someone had asked her about it directly. Following the principle that the customer was king, Su Yuan enthusiastically explained it to him.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Peng Jie, a junior from Binhe Institute of Technology, School of Economics.”

Seeing him extend his hand, Su Yuan was momentarily stunned. “Sorry, I’m just handing out flyers, not making friends.”

Peng Jie awkwardly withdrew his hand, glanced at her suspiciously, shook his head, and walked away.

“Was that guy just hitting on you?” A pleasant female voice sounded beside her. Su Yuan turned her head and saw a pretty girl looking at her. Confused, she asked, “Hitting on me?”

“You don’t even know what ‘hitting on’ means?” the girl asked with a smile.

Of course Su Yuan knew what it meant, but she didn’t think that Peng Jie had been hitting on her—at most, he just wanted to make friends. But then again, there didn’t seem to be much difference. Seeing that the girl was also holding a stack of identical flyers, she asked in surprise, “You’re handing out flyers too?”

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“Yeah. My name is Xia Linfei. And you are…?”

“Su Yuan.”

Since the other party was a girl, Su Yuan told her name straightforwardly.

“Su Yuan—that’s a nice name.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“How about we work together?”

“Sure!”

Xia Linfei was tall and well-proportioned, not so tall as to be intimidating. She had an excellent figure—a white shirt dress accentuated her curves. Her jet-black, glossy hair was tied into a neat ponytail, making her stand out like a dark horse among girls: graceful yet wild, highly attractive to male eyes.

She gave Su Yuan a refreshing, eye-catching impression. Standing together, the “handsome guy and beautiful girl” pairing was very eye-catching, and the next few hours passed quickly.

Xia Linfei fanned herself and complained to the heavens, “It’s really hot today.”

“Yeah. The weather forecast said it would be thirty-five degrees. Luckily, the hottest part of the day has passed. If it were like the past few days, with highs hovering around thirty-eight or thirty-nine, that would be real suffering.”

After enduring extreme heat, thirty-five degrees didn’t feel quite as unbearable anymore. Standing at this prime spot by the supermarket entrance, the flyers went out much faster. Possibly because Xia Linfei was a beauty, her efficiency was much higher than Su Yuan’s. Still, Su Yuan wasn’t bad either—she soon finished all the flyers she had left.

Handing out flyers had both time limits and quantity limits, and exceeding the quota came with extra rewards.

At five o’clock, the day’s work ended. Sitting in the cold drink shop, Xia Linfei stretched lazily, and that momentary languor made Su Yuan’s vision blur.

Noticing Su Yuan staring straight at her, Xia Linfei suddenly smiled and lightly patted Su Yuan’s shoulder. “Hey kid, what are you looking at? Never seen a pretty girl before? Oh—you probably don’t have a girlfriend yet. You’re not that young anymore; it won’t do if you’ve never dated. Some day, big sis will take you to meet my classmates—maybe you’ll find one you like.”

Her all-encompassing manner made Su Yuan a little embarrassed. From their brief chats during work, Su Yuan already knew that Xia Linfei was a student from the neighboring medical university, newly admitted this year to Binhe Institute of Technology for graduate school—making them fellow schoolmates.

As for dating a graduate student, she hadn’t considered that even before her transformation. She forced a dry laugh and said, “Uh, no need.”

Xia Linfei laughed. “What, looking down on big sis? Let me tell you, my friends are all pretty…”

Not wanting to be misunderstood, Su Yuan quickly waved her hands. “That’s not the reason.”

“Then is it because you think they’re older than you?”

They said that an older woman was a treasure, but in reality, many men didn’t like their girlfriends being older than them. Xia Linfei felt she had found the key issue. Her eyes lit up, and she leaned closer, whispering softly, “Let me tell you—mature women have real charm! I have several classmates who look cold, elegant, and noble like proud princesses, but with my help, they’re actually easy to win over. As the saying goes, even the strongest fortress can be breached from within. So, want to give it a try?”

Su Yuan fell silent, her cheek feeling strangely warm from Xia Linfei’s breath.

Xia Linfei seemed more than happy to play matchmaker. The corners of her lips curved upward as she decided to press on, leaning close to Su Yuan’s ear and chattering on.

“You look so handsome and cute. If you’d just take the initiative, you’d definitely win them over. Then who knows—you might even have one on each arm. How happy would that be?”

A warm breath brushed against Su Yuan’s neck, startling her. Looking into Xia Linfei’s bright eyes, she suddenly felt a chill run through her.