The young nobles of Wuling rode east through the Gold Market, white horses with silver saddles traversing the spring breeze. Chapter 22: Unexpected Complications (1)

Before Xia Churan could recover, Fang Yu had already walked straight out of the restaurant, heading toward the latter half of the snack street.

“That brat Fang Yu, he actually ignored me!” Xia Churan stomped her foot in anger.

“Churan, I think that handsome guy probably has a girlfriend. Otherwise, how could he be indifferent to the belle of the Foreign Language Department?” Li Jing tried to comfort her.

“Hmph, if he really had a girlfriend, would he dare eat with us? Besides, they’re freshmen who just enrolled—where would they find the time? I don’t believe it!” Xia Churan’s pretty face was flushed, though it was unclear whether it was from the heat or her frustration.

After the meal, he swaggered back to the small courtyard, where Cheng Chen and the others had just woken up and were washing up outside.

“You’re back? How was registration today?”

“What do you think? The homeroom teacher gets up on stage and puts on some show for you.” He rolled his eyes; Cheng Chen hoping he’d study was a lost cause.

“Boss Fang, what’s the plan for the afternoon? Another trip to the internet café?” Lu Zhen trotted over on his short legs.

“Internet café again? Aren’t you guys tired of gaming every day? Why not just buy an internet café and live in it?” He curled his lip.

“It’s not that we don’t want to, but the problem is no money. If I really bought one, I’d never leave.”

“Where’s Zhao Bin? Still not up?” Fang Yu looked at the others.

“Yeah, I called him earlier, but Zhao Bin said he wanted to sleep in, so he probably won’t get up for a while.” Lu Zhen splashed cold water on his face.

“Let him be; there’s nothing urgent these days anyway. Here, your lunch.” Fang Yu handed over the bag he was holding, packed with fried rice and other snacks bought from the street.

In the afternoon, braving the scorching sun, he went to a clinic five kilometers from the school and, for a hundred yuan, obtained two fake medical certificates.

“Here, hand these in during military training.” Fang Yu tossed the certificates to Cheng Chen, who was gaming at the Seven Stars Internet Café.

“Only you could pull this off—I thought you were just talking.” Cheng Chen grinned and nodded.

Since returning after starting over, nothing pressing was on his mind. He texted Qin Lu a few times; the girl was busy with registration, and in a couple of days would start military training, needing to rebuild her social circle from scratch—a hectic time for her.

Fang Yu could only offer a few comforting words, though he wasn’t much better off. Every so often, girls texted him, subtly asking if he had a girlfriend.

He replied to everyone, as long as they looked decent in his memory, saying no, not in a hurry, just recovering from an injury, and so these university girls of 2005 were left sleepless, wishing they could take this fair-skinned, handsome boy into their arms and console him.

At half past five in the evening, just as he was about to head out for food, his phone rang—it was Xia Churan. Reluctantly, he answered.

“Senior, did you need something?”

“Can’t I call you without a reason? I’m at the snack street, let’s have dinner together! There’s a grilled squid place here that’s really good.” The girl’s voice was soft and gentle.

Fang Yu intended to refuse, but after glancing at the smoky, grimy internet café and the bedraggled students inside, he rolled his eyes.

“All right, are you with your friend?”

“Of course! If you want to dine with me alone, you’ll need to make a reservation.”

“Oh, then I’ll bring a friend, if you don’t mind?” He looked at Cheng Chen, who was deeply focused on slaying monsters.

Xia Churan seemed taken aback, pausing before she replied, “Oh, sure, where are you guys?”

“Not far, just at Seven Stars Internet Café. We’ll be right over.”

After hanging up, he grabbed Cheng Chen without explanation.

“Stop playing, I’m introducing you to some beautiful ladies.”

Cheng Chen, a simple soul, perked up at the mention of girls, put down his mouse, and squinted around eagerly.

“Pretty ladies? That sounds great! Where are they?”

“Stop looking; you won’t find them in this dump. Let’s go, dinner awaits!”

Lu Zhen quickly looked up.

“Boss Fang, you’re having dinner with beauties? Heh, take me along!”

Though Lu Zhen was a bit short, he was decent-looking, but Fang Yu didn’t plan to bring him or Zhao Bin today and waved his hand.

“Sorry, maybe next time. It’s their treat tonight.”

Lu Zhen didn’t insist, nodding as he turned back to his screen.

“No worries, just saying. This campus is big enough—there’s no shortage of girlfriends.”

He handed a fifty to Zhao Bin.

“Here, you guys get your own dinner. Cheng Chen and I have plans, we’ll be back later.”

Zhao Bin, engrossed in his drama, stuffed the money into his pocket.

“No problem, you guys go ahead. Lu Zhen and I can eat something simple.”

Cheng Chen was already impatient, rushing to the restroom to wash his face, deliberately fixing his hair, then eagerly tugging Fang Yu’s arm.

“Let’s go! I can’t wait to dine with the ladies.”

Fang Yu sighed. For now, only Cheng Chen, this handsome but not-too-bright guy, would do—he’d make do.

The two left the internet café and soon spotted Xia Churan and Li Jing—both tall and graceful—waiting at the street corner, quite a sight.

“Sorry, did you wait long?” Fang Yu greeted politely.

“It’s so hot! Let’s go, I’m starving,” Xia Churan said playfully, sticking out her tongue.

To give credit where it’s due, the handsome strategy worked. Li Jing was now staring intently at Cheng Chen’s striking face.

“Fang Yu, is this your friend? Is he from our school too?”

Cheng Chen wasn’t shy; faced with a beautiful girl, his IQ dropped by half, and he grinned.

“Fang Yu and I were high school classmates, now we’re in the Architecture Department. Which department are you in, miss?”

“All right, don’t worry about which department she’s in—let’s eat first.” Fang Yu eyed Cheng Chen’s lecherous expression, thinking if this went on, he’d soon be putting his hands where they didn’t belong.

The grilled squid place Xia Churan mentioned was in the latter half of the street, bustling with business. The four waited for a seat, then looked at the menu, which, besides squid, featured barbecue and fried chicken legs.

“These, and these—bring us a bit of everything.”

With Cheng Chen present, Xia Churan barely got a word in, left to quietly listen as Cheng Chen and Li Jing exchanged glances and flirted.

Fang Yu was amused, but kept it to himself, munching away at the greasy grilled squid.

“Damn, this squid is so tough—what’s so good about it? Even the restaurant’s name is ‘Kendeli’—it really takes effort to chew.”

“Yes, yes, Young Master Fang is clearly pampered at home, not used to food around here.” Xia Churan smiled as she handed him a napkin. She wasn’t foolish—one glance told her Fang Yu and Cheng Chen weren’t locals.