The lotus pond was chilly and the wind was biting. Under Zhuang Yu's disappointed gaze, Si Si took Cui Jiaying's cold little hand and left.

"Why are you here?" Cui Jiaying blushed slightly.

"You were acting suspiciously, so I followed you to check on you, afraid you'd been scammed." Si Si smiled faintly. She was very happy that Xiao Yingying had rejected her classmate's confession without giving her any chance.

"How could I be fooled? He's not my type at all." Cui Jiaying pouted.

"So what kind of girl do you like...?" Si Si looked at her with a smile, her beautiful eyes seeming to see right through her.

Cui Jiaying looked away nervously, her heart pounding, and a faint blush creeping up to her ears.

"Good-looking, understanding, and sincerely kind to me."

Si Si's lips curled up slightly. What a coincidence!

"It seems our Yingying is quite charming; so many people like you."

"Besides Zhuang Yu, which other boy is there?" Cui Jiaying asked, puzzled.

“I didn’t say it was a boy,” Si Si chuckled.

Cui Jiaying "???"

Her heart was racing for no reason; something about Si Si's words sounded strange.

"Who did you just say I like?"

"Isn't the best way to reject someone the same thing? Besides... whoever makes your heart race all the time is probably it."

Si Si squeezed her small hand and asked, seemingly casually, "Are there really people like that?"

"No...no." Cui Jiaying stammered, swallowing hard, and raised her hand to tidy the hair behind her neck to hide her panic.

"Really? Then it seems she'll have to step up her game," Si Si said calmly.

Cui Jiaying pursed her lips, her gaze lingering on Si Siqing's cold and beautiful face for a few seconds before she suddenly turned her head away, and the two briefly met eyes.

"Why are you looking at me?" Si Si asked with a light laugh.

"without……"

Cui Jiaying stammered, avoiding eye contact, her heart pounding.

"Alright, let's go back to the dorm. Have you decided where to eat tonight?"

Speaking of this, Cui Jiaying got excited: "I know a self-service BBQ restaurant with a great atmosphere and very fresh ingredients! There's a TV station nearby, so after we eat, we can go sing karaoke and party all night long!"

◇

In the dormitory, Lin Yanwan was on the balcony talking to Ji Wanqiu on the phone.

"Yanwan, now that it's winter break, when are you and Jiang Xia planning to go home?" Ji Wanqiu asked.

"Mom, it might be at the end of the year. There are still some things to take care of at school," Lin Yanwan said after thinking for a moment.

"We still need to come earlier. Tickets are hard to buy during the Spring Festival travel rush. Don't delay too long. Xiaoman has asked many times when her sister is coming back." Ji Wanqiu's soft laughter came from the phone.

"Yes, I know."

Thinking of her adorable younger sister, Lin Yanwan couldn't help but smile.

"What about Jiang Xia? How has he been lately?"

"He's a good guy, just a bit busy most of the time. But we see each other every day."

"Will you two come back together then?"

"Yes...that's right."

“Okay, then call your dad before you leave, and he will drive to the airport to pick you up.”

"OK."

After hanging up the phone, Si Si and Cui Jiaying returned from outside.

"Let's go, ladies, let's go get some BBQ tonight! I know a really good all-you-can-eat BBQ place..."

Cui Jiaying went on and on, and Lin Yanwan took out her phone and sent a text message to Jiang Xia.

"I went to eat barbecue with them. Remember to eat by yourself."

"Okay, I'll go in a bit. Please don't drink!"

"Don't worry, where are you now?"

"I'm at the company, there's a last-minute meeting, I need to take care of something."

"Oh, do you want me to bring you some food?"

"No need, you guys have fun."

After completing the real-time communication, the four sisters then set off from their dormitory and spent more than half an hour arriving at the Xiwangzhuang commercial area near the southeast gate of the school. It was not far from Tsinghua Science Park, separated only by Dongguancun Avenue.

The barbecue restaurant that Cui Jiaying had mentioned was right here. After getting off the train, the group walked for a short while and found a very popular all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant. Almost all the customers were students from several nearby universities.

The group waited in line for a while, and once inside, they found the store to be quite nice.

The decor is a modern minimalist style that is quite common in later times. The self-service area in the lobby offers a full range of dishes, including vegetarian and meat dishes, seafood, cooked food and snacks, fruits and drinks, and pastries and desserts. Thai, Japanese and Korean cuisine are also available. However, the prices are a little expensive, averaging 120 yuan per person.

Qiu Ting felt bad about the cost; if she had that money in the school cafeteria, it would have been enough for her to live on for ten days to half a month.

Then this girl from the mountains ate very hard from beginning to end, eating whatever was expensive, determined to eat her way back on the 120 yuan.

Thus, the other three witnessed Qiu Ting's true appetite for the first time—the food containers next to her were piled high, and she ate plate after plate of cooked food and snacks.

"Qiu Ting, have you never had enough to eat at school?" Lin Yanwan's expression was somewhat strange.

Qiu Ting swallowed the black pepper steak in her mouth, wiped her mouth with a tissue, and whispered, "No, not really. The school cafeteria serves quite a lot, so I don't feel particularly hungry."

Having grown up in the mountains, her requirements were very low; she only needed to maintain human vital signs.

"Then eat more. There are no restrictions at the buffet. Except for taking food away, you can eat as much as you want as you can eat," Cui Jiaying said with a smile.

"Qiu Ting, would you like some salmon sashimi?" Si Si asked.

Qiu Ting shook her head vigorously. "Sister Si Si, I'm not used to eating raw food. If it's cooked, then it's fine."

"Then I'll bake it for you." She smiled faintly.

About half an hour later, the other three people had almost finished eating, but Qiu Ting was still eating. She finished off the plump and juicy pork belly in just a few bites with freshly squeezed juice.

"Go Qiuting! We definitely won't get our money's worth for this meal. Our dorm is counting on you." Lin Yanwan chuckled.

"How full are you now?" Si Si asked curiously.

"Seven points?" Qiu Ting swallowed another bite of cheese and corn and said.

Upon hearing this, the group gasped in surprise; this guy's appetite was far too big.

"Qiu Ting, let me see where you hid all the food." Cui Jiaying chuckled and touched her stomach, only to find it was only slightly swollen.

Lin Yanwan even felt that if it were the mobile internet era with the rise of 4G in later years, Qiu Ting could easily support herself by relying on the traffic brought by her food broadcasts.

After all, she really eats, not the kind of fake mukbang that's edited or involves induced vomiting. Moreover, Qiu Ting's small stature contrasts sharply with her large appetite, which will probably attract a large number of fans.

(End of this chapter)

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