Chapter 27 You don't actually like me, do you?
Song Xu heard Jiang Ran's words clearly; she was saying them specifically for him.
Song Xu scoffed at any words of admonition; he was only concerned with Lin Xi's reaction and wanted to know if anything had happened between them last night.
Upon hearing Jiang Ran's words, Lin Xi paused in his actions, lost in thought. He recalled Song Xu's assertive attitude just now, which was no different from before, so he must not have done it intentionally last night; he was genuinely drunk.
Moreover, even if she were really bullied, she couldn't drag Jiang Ran down with her. Jiang Ran was going to join the public security system in the future, and she couldn't have any negative things about her.
Thinking of this, Lin Xi shook her head slightly at Jiang Ran, "No."
"Really?" Jiang Ran asked again to confirm when she saw Lin Xi hesitate.
Lin Xi nodded readily, "Really, I won't lie to you. If I'm in trouble, I'll definitely ask you for help right away."
Jiang Ran wanted to say something more, but the waiter came over to serve the dishes, so she shut her mouth.
Lin Xi looked at the dishes that were served. The plates were huge, with the food only placed in the center. It was hard to imagine that just one bite would cost a hundred yuan or more.
Jiang Ran thoughtfully introduced each dish to Lin Xi, who silently memorized the names: French-style baked snails, Manhattan steak, salt-baked Australian lobster, chocolate pudding...
It was delicious, but Lin Xi felt guilty eating it. "Ranran, this meal must have cost a lot of money, right?"
Lin Xi considered whether to split the bill with Jiang Ran, but she was reluctant to part with the money. The 20,000 yuan she had was for tuition fees, and she also owed hundreds of thousands of yuan in debt.
“It doesn’t cost any money,” Jiang Ran said, taking out a card. “My brother has a membership card here, so we can just swipe the card and get a big discount.”
“Then I’ll treat you to dinner next time we meet,” Lin Xi thought for a moment, “and I’ll cook for you myself.”
“Great!” Jiang Ran said, showing great interest. “Xi Xi, you can cook too!”
Lin Xi smiled and said, "It should be considered pretty good."
Song Xu remained silent behind Lin Xi, his face grim. The restaurant's membership card required a minimum top-up of 50,000 yuan, with larger discounts for higher top-ups.
He frequently dines here and has already topped up his account with 500,000 yuan, which is the lowest discount he can get at 60%. I wonder what kind of discount the woman in the man's card can get.
Song Xu ate exceptionally slowly today. His assistant, Zhang Qing, had almost finished eating, but seeing that Song Xu showed no sign of stopping, she could only continue eating as well.
Lin Xi and Jiang Ran chatted and laughed as they ate very slowly.
"Xixi, do you know where our class monitor got into?" Jiang Ran suddenly asked.
Lin Xi shook her head, "I don't know. I only know you. I haven't contacted anyone else."
Jiang Ran invited Lin Xi to join the class group, but Lin Xi didn't add anyone as a friend.
She doesn't have the energy to deal with these unnecessary relationships; the value of friends lies in quality, not quantity.
Hearing this, Jiang Ran's smile deepened. "That sounds nice, but I think I should still tell you that our class monitor and you got into the same university."
"He asked me for your phone number these past couple of days, but I didn't give it to him."
Class monitor Xiao Yang had added Lin Xi as a friend a few times, but Lin Xi automatically blocked him. She knew that Xiao Yang liked her, but she didn't like him.
She doesn't like to flirt with male classmates, nor does she have the time or inclination for it. Her current focus is only on studying and making money; love is just a burden to her.
Lin Xi hummed in agreement. "That's fine. Jiangbei University is huge. I doubt we'll have many chances to meet, so there's no need for us to keep in touch."
"Xixi, did you never have a crush on any boy during your three years of high school?" Jiang Ran's expression turned serious.
“No,” Lin Xi answered decisively, “They only know how to act cool and stylish; none of them are likable.”
Song Xu leaned back in his chair, slowly chewing his steak, his mind filled with the words "acting cool and stylish".
Guys who try to look cool and stylish are indeed annoying, unlike him, who is the epitome of cool and stylish just by standing there.
It seems Lin Xi isn't a love-struck fool, which makes Song Xu very satisfied.
Zhang Qing, sitting opposite Song Xu, silently counted the number of times Song Xu chewed. Song Xu had already chewed thirty times for one bite of steak. Zhang Qing glanced at the time and realized that he had a meeting at one o'clock in the afternoon. At this rate of eating, he would probably be late.
"President Song..."
Zhang Qing wanted to speak up to remind him, but saw Song Xu raise his hand, telling him to shut up.
Song Xu put another piece of steak in his mouth and chewed slowly, listening intently to the conversation between the two people behind him.
Jiang Ran laughed when she heard Lin Xi's answer, and then tentatively asked, "You don't actually like girls, do you?"
Lin Xi raised her eyes and stared directly at Jiang Ran. "You don't actually like me, do you?"
Their eyes met, and they saw only each other; time seemed to stand still.
Jiang Ran was the first to give in, her laughter shattering the barrier between the two and the outside world. "I admit defeat!"
Lin Xi looked away, a smile playing on her lips. "You're always like this, so bad at it yet so playful."
Jiang Ran pushed her chocolate pudding in front of Lin Xi, "You can have this too, you know I don't like sweets."
Adhering to the principle of not wasting food, Lin Xi ate two desserts, which made her feel very satisfied. Eating sweets always makes her feel better.
Song Xu wasn't in a good mood; he felt that something was off about Lin Xi's female classmate.
Lin Xi and Jiang Ran finished eating.
Song Xu also put down his knife and fork. He stood up first and stood in front of Lin Xi. "Your foot isn't fully healed yet. I'll take you home."
Zhang Qing was extremely anxious. The meeting was starting in ten minutes, and the chairman and president would both be attending.
"Xixi, what happened to your foot?" Jiang Ran asked immediately upon hearing this.
"I twisted my ankle, but it's almost healed."
After explaining to Jiang Ran, Lin Xi glanced at Song Xu and said, "Mr. Song, I'll just take a taxi back. You still have work to do."
"That's right," Zhang Qing nodded in agreement.
"There's nothing urgent." Song Xu really wanted to take Lin Xi home and ask her about what happened last night.
Jiang Ran took the bag from Lin Xi's hand. She carried the bag in one hand and supported Lin Xi with the other. "Xi Xi, I drove here. I'll take you home."
In contrast, Lin Xi preferred Jiang Ran to take her home. She nodded and then looked at Song Xu, "Mr. Song, Ranran will take me home. I'll head back now. You can continue with your work."
Song Xu glanced coldly at the eyesore Jiang Ran and snorted heavily, "I'll go back for dinner tonight."
"Okay," Lin Xi replied.
"Wait for me to eat together," Song Xu added.
Lin Xi was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Okay!"
Fearing that Song Xu might make further unreasonable demands, Jiang Ran pulled Lin Xi away.
Song Xu stared at the two figures as they left, his gaze fixed on the view outside the window.
Jiang Ran opened the door of a Land Rover and helped Lin Xi inside.
"Zhang Qing, can you help me investigate this woman named Jiang Ran and find out what her family does?"
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