CHAPTER 293: CHAPTER 288: PHOENIX MAN

Li Xin immediately knew her friend was infatuated again as soon as she saw that silly look; she must have visited Ye Qiu.

"Saw your god again?" Li Xin was somewhat exasperated, "Why would a rich and beautiful girl like you chase after a poor boy?"

Zhang Meng frowned slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable. But since the other party was her best friend and genuinely considered her wellbeing, she couldn’t get angry.

She could only gently tug at her sleeve, whispering, "Xinxin, I know you look down on Ye Qiu, but being poor is not his fault. Look at his good qualities, he’s handsome and hardworking, he’s really a nice guy, I really like him. Xinxin, please stop targeting him."

Deep down, Li Xin despised Ye Qiu, she glared at Zhang Meng, then tapped her head, "Only a silly girl like you would fancy him. So what if he’s handsome and has good grades? He has no such feelings for you. Otherwise, why would he keep you hanging on?"

"Oh, Xinxin, it’s me pursuing him, and one day I will make him accept me," said Zhang Meng, her face blushing shyly, "Besides, it’s not like he has no feelings for me at all."

At that moment, Zhang Meng thought of the scene where Ye Qiu gently rubbed her head, and his smile against the sunlight, feeling that her love was finally coming. Why else would Ye Qiu take the initiative to ask her to go study at the library?

"You!" Seeing her friend’s stubborn infatuated look, Li Xin sighed helplessly, "You’ll regret this one day."

"Ye Qiu, sorry, I’m late." Zhang Meng’s cheeks were red, and her forehead dotted with sweat, panting heavily as if she had run there.

She felt annoyed at herself, how could she have overslept? Would Ye Qiu blame her?

"Here, wipe your sweat." Ye Qiu handed her a wet wipe, "No need to rush, have a seat."

Seeing that Ye Qiu didn’t blame her, Zhang Meng relaxed and smiled as she took the tissue.

What to do? She somewhat didn’t want to use it; this was the first time Ye Qiu showed care for her.

"What’s wrong?" Ye Qiu looked at her puzzled, not understanding the thoughts of a girl with a secret crush.

Zhang Meng puffed her cheeks, painfully wiped her face, then her hands.

Ye Qiu said he came to study and truly meant studying. When solving tasks, he wouldn’t let himself be disturbed. Coming from a poor family background, it was not easy for him to get into Medical University. Due to the packed curriculum, he had no time to work part-time, so he had to get every semester’s scholarship; otherwise, the tuition fees would burden his family each year.

Zhang Meng gazed at Ye Qiu, deeply engrossed in his studies. How could he be so attractive? How could he be so outstanding?

Ye Qiu put down his pen, lightly sighed, "Zhang Meng, if you keep staring like that, I’m going to be overwhelmed."

Huh? Ah?

Zhang Meng’s eyes widened, her face flushed red like a tomato by the time she recollected herself.

"I...I didn’t mean to." Zhang Meng murmured softly, her head almost buried in her chest.

Ye Qiu chuckled softly: "Doesn’t your neck get sore?"

"It doesn’t." Zhang Meng didn’t have the courage to look up, only thinking about fleeing quickly, how embarrassing! Ah, how could she be caught by Ye Qiu?

"My neck is sore, it’s getting dark, let’s go have dinner."

Huh? He wasn’t mocking her?

Zhang Meng took a cautious glance at Ye Qiu and, seeing that he wasn’t mocking her, finally gathered the courage to raise her head: "Okay, let’s go to Dining Hall One, they have delicious sweet and sour spare ribs and soy sauce chicken."

Right after speaking, she remembered something and quickly changed her statement: "No, I’ve been dieting recently, I can’t eat meat, let’s go to Dining Hall Three instead, the hot and sour shredded potatoes and old-style steamed buns there are quite good."

"Dieting for what?" Ye Qiu took Zhang Meng’s bag, "I already told you at noon that you don’t need to diet, let’s just go to Dining Hall One."

"But..." Zhang Meng hesitated. Ye Qiu, despite his impoverished background, had a lot of self-esteem and would never accept her goodwill. The dishes in Medical University’s Dining Hall One aren’t cheap, and if Ye Qiu ate with her today, he might not have living expenses for the next several days.

"There’s no ’but’, let’s go." Ye Qiu smiled at Zhang Meng again, and in an instant, she couldn’t think of anything else and obediently followed behind him.

It’s just not fair!

It was not until they entered Dining Hall One that Zhang Meng puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. How could Ye Qiu smile so handsomely? And his voice, it was just too charming.

"Eat." While Zhang Meng was still zoning out, Ye Qiu got her some of her favorite dishes, sweet and sour spare ribs and soy sauce chicken, while his own plate consisted of a small meat stir-fry and braised fish; the soup was free, today it was seaweed and egg soup. Although it had less vegetables and more soup, seeing seaweed and egg flowers was already quite good.

Zhang Meng felt guilty again. Normally, Ye Qiu would eat two vegetarian dishes or one meat dish, but today he ordered two meat dishes, probably to look after her so she wouldn’t share her food with him.

Knowing Ye Qiu came from a poor background, how could she be so thoughtless! It was all her careless fault.

"Ye Qiu, I transferred the money for the meal to your Alipay," Zhang Meng pretended not to know the exact price of the dishes and transferred a few extra yuan, only hoping Ye Qiu wouldn’t notice, and ate her meal with her head bowed like a quail.

Ye Qiu, however, lightly frowned but said nothing, and they finished their dinner in silence.

"Zhang Meng." As usual, Ye Qiu walked her to the girls’ dormitory building, "You accidentally transferred too much, six yuan more. I’ve transferred it back. Be more careful next time."

After hearing Ye Qiu’s words, Zhang Meng suddenly became flustered: "I, I understand."

"Sigh!" Zhang Meng barely heard Ye Qiu sigh, her eyes reddened, feeling immensely upset with herself. Did she make a mistake again? Did she accidentally hurt Ye Qiu’s pride?

"Sorry." Zhang Meng said softly.

"You never need to say these three words to me." Ye Qiu raised his hand and rubbed her head, "It’s my fault, I have always let down your kindness."

"No, no, it’s just my wishful thinking." Zhang Meng looked up anxiously, her voice carrying a hint of a cry.

Ye Qiu looked at the silly girl helplessly and with a heartache, "I come from a poor background and am a loner, what do you like about me? It’s not worth it."

"No." Zhang Meng looked at Ye Qiu very seriously and firmly said, "You’ve always been a genuinely good person. Look, you are handsome, hard-working, and have good grades, everything about you is great. Do you remember? Last year in Huanghua Lane, it was you who bravely chased away those thugs to protect me despite your own safety."

"I just happened to see it, anyone else wouldn’t have just stood by."

"But you were the one who showed up at that time." Zhang Meng looked stubbornly at Ye Qiu.

"You still shouldn’t mistake gratitude for love."

"No." Zhang Meng pursed her lips, "I am very clear about my own feelings, Ye Qiu, I haven’t mistaken gratitude for liking."