Jiang Xia rubbed his slightly swollen face and took a taxi directly to the bustling Ionia Internet Cafe. Compared to the sweltering weather outside, the air conditioning inside the internet cafe was much cooler.
Looking around, there were almost no empty seats on the seventy or eighty computers in the hall, and most of the people using the internet were students who had just started their summer vacation.
He approached the bar and was surprised to find his former deskmate still engrossed in a book, his dark bangs hanging down, casting large shadows on his forehead.
As if sensing someone's approach, Chen Yao looked up and a hint of surprise appeared in her eyes when she saw Jiang Xia.
"We agreed to come at six o'clock in the afternoon, but it's only a little past four now."
"Does that mean the private room isn't available yet?" Jiang Xia asked.
"Hmm... let me see. Yes, I'll get off the plane around 5 o'clock."
"It's alright, I'll just wait here for a bit."
"Why are you all alone? Where's your inseparable school beauty and academic genius wife?" Chen Yao gave him a deep look. He was rubbing his face with an ice-cold mineral water bottle, and his originally handsome cheeks were slightly red and swollen.
"What happened to your face? Did you two get into a fight?" she asked.
“Old classmate, I don’t remember you being a gossip.” Jiang Xia said helplessly, “There’s no way I could fight with her, never. She’ll be here in a bit. As for the injury on my face, just pretend I fell down.”
Chen Yao couldn't help but scoff. So, she's deliberately trying to embarrass herself? Does she really think that the second-best student in the whole school is so easy to fool? She'll never believe that.
However, since he didn't want to talk about it, she was too lazy to ask. Everyone has secrets.
"But you, how can you concentrate on reading in such a noisy environment? These people online keep asking you to add money, settle accounts, and buy instant noodles. How do you manage that?" Jiang Xia asked curiously.
Chen Yao countered, "Someone draws every day and their grades improve dramatically, how did you manage that?"
"...Perhaps I have a special talent."
"Then I will be single-minded."
As she spoke, Chen Yao lowered her head again. Instead of wasting time, she might as well read a few more lines of text.
What book are you reading?
"Criminal law," she said without looking up.
"Punishment..." Jiang Xia thought to himself, "I know someone named Zhang San who is exceptionally good at explaining punishment. Everyone calls him the outlaw. If you have the chance, you can go and listen to his lectures. I guarantee you'll benefit greatly. However, I don't think he's a professor at Peking University."
"who?"
Jiang Xia raised an eyebrow: "You've never heard of Teacher Zhang San, who's so famous?"
"Never heard of it." Chen Yao shook her head gently.
He thought about it carefully. In this era, the Internet was just emerging and was not as rampant as short videos in later generations. Even if Teacher Zhang San was giving lectures, it would be difficult for everyone to know about it.
"Never heard of it, that's fine." Jiang Xia smiled, her swollen cheeks looking somewhat stiff.
He sat on the sofa chair next to him, closing his eyes and pretending to doze off: "I'll take a nap. After the four machines in the private room come out, you can give each machine ten yuan directly."
Chen Yao nodded gently, and after a few seconds, she slowly said, "I saw in the class group that someone is organizing a teacher appreciation banquet on the 10th of next month and has invited all the teachers. Are you going?"
Jiang Xia was slightly dazed. He had almost forgotten most of his memories of the teacher appreciation banquet from his previous life. He wasn't the main character that day; instead, Wang Ming performed exceptionally well and was admitted to the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He was forced to drink a lot of alcohol for his brother.
“Go ahead, it’s good to see your teachers again. You really don’t know how many more times you’ll see them after graduation,” he said.
"Yes, I'll go too."
For the next forty minutes or so, the two didn't speak. One slept, and the other focused intently on studying criminal law. Whenever someone got off the plane or asked for more money, Chen Yao would multitask.
"Chen Yao," Jiang Xia suddenly said with her eyes closed.
After about thirty seconds, Chen Yao's voice, mixed with the sound of turning pages, slowly rang out: "Speak quickly if you have something to say."
"Could you please not tell my classmates that I'm making animations?"
Her tone remained calm and even, without any noticeable change: "Oh? Mr. Jiang has become rich and is afraid of seeing his poor relatives again?"
"Yes, and not entirely."
As someone who is mentally in his thirties, Jiang Xia does not hide his inner thoughts.
"Mainly, I'm afraid of trouble, or rather, I want to develop in a low-key way. To be honest, dealing with a group of people I have connections with but don't really know is exhausting."
"Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who likes to gossip," Chen Yao said calmly.
"Thanks."
The air returned to calm. A few minutes later, four young, unconventional junior high school students walked out of the internet cafe together, muttering things like Sky City and the dim fluorescent sword. It seemed they had all been addicted to Full-Time Warriors.
"Go ahead, the private room is all set up. It'll cost ten yuan per machine, right?" Chen Yao tapped the keyboard, accurately entered the keys, and clicked "OK".
"Oh right, where is the private room again?" He slowly opened his eyes, his facial muscles stiff and still aching.
“Go straight from here, then turn left into the second room, rooms 61-64.”
"Oh, thank you."
He shook his head and walked towards the private room inside, but Chen Yao stopped him: "Old classmate, where's the money? It's 40 yuan in total. You're a boss now, don't even think about buying on credit."
"Oh dear, I forgot."
Jiang Xia turned around, took out fifty yuan from his purse, and handed it over: "For the remaining ten yuan, do you have any melon seeds or peanuts? Just give me some when they come."
"Four people eat for ten yuan?" Chen Yao said with a rare smile.
"You bet we're poor. Running a company costs money for everything. We almost couldn't even pay salaries. Every little bit helps. Didn't you see my face was swollen and I didn't have money to go to the hospital?"
She couldn't help but roll her eyes; this guy didn't utter a single word of truth.
"Alright, alright, get out of here. I'll bring it to you when Wang Ming and the others arrive."
"Thanks, old classmate."
Jiang Xia waved to her with one hand in his pocket and the other behind his back, which made Chen Yao scoff and say, "His face is so swollen, and he thinks he's so handsome. Who would even look at him?"
Upon entering the private room, fortunately, there was no overwhelming smell of smoke.
He lay on the sofa chair, checked the time and saw that it was still early. He gently rubbed his swollen face, took out his phone and sent the private room number of the internet cafe to the group chat, and continued to close his eyes and sleep.
At 5:47, Lin Yanwan rushed into the internet cafe, panting, and leaned on the counter to ask, "Chen Yao, where's Jiang Xia?"
Chen Yao was slightly surprised, as it was the first time she had seen Lin, the school's goddess, so flustered, her eyes filled with concern.
Tch, what a hypocrite! He still says there was no fight?! If there wasn't a fight, why would his girlfriend be so worried?
"Go straight from here, then turn left into the second room, go inside."
Thanks.
She left those words behind, then turned and rushed inside.
...
(I've spent the whole day decorating the wedding room, and I still have to entertain relatives and friends tomorrow. I'm exhausted.)
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