Chapter 93: Will Simping Ever Pay Off? It’s All an Illusion!

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Zhou had to go through some serious effort to drag the humming, reluctant Feng Siruo away.

Two rounds on the Ferris wheel. No other rides?

What kind of amusement park trip was that?

For a man as ferocious as Jiang Zhou, only thrilling rides like the merry-go-round could truly satisfy him.

In the end, the not-quite-satisfied Feng Siruo obediently got back in the car.

“Had fun?” Jiang Zhou asked.

“Yes!” she nodded eagerly.

Jiang Zhou turned to look at her. “So, will you stand me up again?”

Feng Siruo pouted a little. “I didn’t do it on purpose…”

“Su Nan told me you came looking for me after you got back?”

“Mm-hmm…”

“Where did you go?”

“Your office, the little brick building…” she said, looking up at him.

Jiang Zhou tapped the steering wheel. “Why’d you come looking for me?”

“I was afraid you were mad.”

“Does it matter that much to you whether I’m mad or not?”

Feng Siruo fell silent, then nodded seriously.

It did matter. So much so that she’d skipped seeing her aunt and rushed back to campus.

She only had one goal in mind: not to upset him.

Jiang Zhou looked at her, a small smile tugging at his lips.

In truth, he didn’t need much. Just that one sentence was enough.

“Alright, it’s getting late. Let’s go find a place to eat.”

“You’re not mad anymore?”

“I was never really mad to begin with.”

“Really?”

“Why else would I be coaxing you to have fun in the middle of the night?”

“Oh.”

Jiang Zhou turned the key, and the car rolled out of the empty amusement park.

Downtown at night was alive and buzzing with people.

Cars flowed like rivers.

Since Feng Siruo wasn’t fond of crowds, they picked a quiet French restaurant instead.

Her little face was red the entire ride.

She didn’t know if this counted as a date or not.

She felt more like a kid…

And Jiang Zhou was like a parent taking her out to play.

But Ding Yue once told her: playing and eating = a date.

Sometimes it’s eating after playing.

Although when Ding Yue talked about “after eating” she had a strange expression and warned that kind of “game” shouldn’t be played lightly.

Feng Siruo still didn’t quite get what she meant.

As Jiang Zhou saw her staring, he teased, “Eat. What are you looking at? Want to carve ‘handsome’ into your eyeballs?”

Feng Siruo opened her mouth and showed him. “I’m eating.”

“You eat like a little chick pecking rice. So easy to feed?”

Feng Siruo looked down, her dainty nose crinkling slightly, but her eyes gleamed with happiness.

Soon, dinner was finished.

Jiang Zhou went to pay: 3,000 yuan.

As he stood at the register, he suddenly noticed a somewhat familiar face.

A girl in a shoulder-revealing dress, heavy makeup, long hair curled into soft waves.

She sat across from a tall, athletic-looking man with clearly defined muscles. She was definitely someone who worked out regularly.

Jiang Zhou didn’t know the guy. Never seen him before.

But he sure as hell knew the girl.

Wei Lanlan.

A junior at the School of Journalism.

The same senior that Gao Wenkai had been chasing for ages.

No doubt, that guy across from her? Her boyfriend.

He’d never met the guy before, but… he was the owner of that shirt currently hanging on their dorm’s balcony.

“Seriously? That’s all it takes to be a man-eater?

“Painted like a ghost. Even Ding Yue looks better.”

Jiang Zhou shook his head, muttered a few jabs, and walked out with the receipt.

Feng Siruo was waiting by the door, holding two shiny sugar-coated hawthorns.

She’d already taken a bite from the one in her right hand.

When she saw him, she immediately held out the other one.

“Sour boy, spicy girl… Are you trying to tell me something?” Jiang Zhou joked.

Feng Siruo’s face turned red. “It’s sweet.”

“Then let me try.”

Jiang Zhou leaned forward, mouth open like he was expecting to be fed.

Feng Siruo hesitated, then brought the skewer to his mouth.

But Jiang Zhou suddenly ducked. “I want the one you already bit.”

“I already took a bite!”

“Exactly. I want the one you bit.”

“Hmph!”

Feng Siruo huffed and climbed into the car with both skewers.

If he wouldn’t eat it, she’d give it to Ding Yue.

That girl would eat anything, sometimes even toes.

—

Twenty minutes later, they arrived back at University Town.

Feng Siruo got out of the car and walked to the dorm entrance. Then she stopped and turned around, waving softly at him.

Jiang Zhou understood. She wanted him to leave first, only after he left would she go upstairs.

This girl, despite being painfully shy and clueless about romance, was trying. She was learning, making progress.

Jiang Zhou didn’t say anything. He simply drove back to the guys’ dorm.

By then, it was 10 p.m.

Xu Haodong, Zhang Guangfa, and Gao Wenkai were all inside.

The first two were catching up on homework.

Gao Wenkai was smoking silently by the window.

“You’re back?” he said.

“Yeah,” Jiang Zhou nodded. “What are you doing? Acting deep again?”

Gao Wenkai pointed at the balcony. “Just finished washing her clothes. Feeling kinda down.”

“You should be.” Jiang Zhou couldn’t even be bothered to lecture him anymore.

He’d warned him countless times: don’t chase that senior, she’s scamming you.

But he wouldn’t listen. What was the point?

Just then, Zhang Guangfa tossed a bag of chips into the trash.

Gao Wenkai blinked. “What are you doing? That’s perfectly good chips!”

“They’ve been open for two days. Got stale.”

“Dude, if you didn’t want ‘em, give ‘em to me! I haven’t eaten yet!”

“You serious?”

Right in front of their eyes, Gao Wenkai grabbed a handful of stale chips and shoved them in his mouth.

Xu Haodong was stunned. “Dude, you’re the richest one in the dorm after Jiang Zhou. And you’re eating Guangfa’s trash chips?!”

“Wasting food is a crime. You guys don’t get it.”

Zhang Guangfa sighed. “If you were really hungry, I could’ve just ordered food for you…”

Gao Wenkai’s eyes lit up. “Seriously?! Guangfa, you’re the best, bro!”

“You paid last time at the cafeteria. I’ll order you something good.”

Just then, Jiang Zhou suddenly took Zhang Guangfa’s phone.

The others were confused.

“What are you doing?”

“Food can wait. We need to talk.”

Jiang Zhou dragged over a chair. “Gao Wenkai, it’s only the 10th. Where’s your living allowance?”

Gao Wenkai laughed awkwardly and stayed silent, crunching his chips.

“I’m asking you, as your brother. Where’s your money?!”

Gao Wenkai flinched under the shout. “I… I lent it to her. She said she needed books and didn’t have enough for living expenses.”

“How much?”

“I only had 1,800 yuan left. I gave her all of it.”

Jiang Zhou sneered. “So she took your entire allowance, and now you’re eating stale chips?”

Xu Haodong and Zhang Guangfa frowned. “You idiot. She’s totally scamming you.”

“No she’s not!” Gao Wenkai muttered. “I told her I still had more money. I said no rush in paying back.”

Jiang Zhou handed the phone back. “Then it’s on you. You’re willing, then starve willingly.”

“I’m a man. I won’t starve.”

Jiang Zhou lit a cigarette and went back to bed, ignoring him.

A moment later, Gao Wenkai hesitated. “Guangfa… still order food?”

Zhang Guangfa sighed. “The day you get your money back, I’ll treat the whole dorm to a feast.”

“Are you guys even my bros?!”

“Exactly because we’re your bros, we can’t let her keep playing you.”

Gao Wenkai angrily tossed the chips and threw himself into bed.

But three minutes later, he suddenly sat up, clutching his phone.

“Hard work pays off! Hard work pays off!

“She said she didn’t eat dinner and wants to eat with me!”

Gao Wenkai leapt off the bed, threw on his jacket, and ran out.

Xu Haodong and Zhang Guangfa stared, dumbfounded.

“Wait… simps do get a happy ending?”

Jiang Zhou frowned immediately. “Bros, suit up. We’re following him.”

“Huh? But he’s going on a date…”

“Date my ass!”

Xu Haodong was confused. “What’s going on?”

Jiang Zhou stubbed out his cigarette hard. “I had dinner with Feng Siruo earlier. I saw that senior. She was eating French cuisine with her boyfriend.”

“What?! But didn’t she say she hadn’t eaten?”

“Exactly. So why lie? Why invite him out of nowhere?”

Zhang Guangfa’s eyes widened. “She’s calling him… to pay the bill?! That’s disgusting!”

Jiang Zhou buttoned up his jacket. “We can’t let him be a sucker anymore. Let’s go!”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s get dressed now!”