As for Mo Qingqiu…
Su Yichen pulled out his cigarette case and lighter, sat on a roadside bench, and lit a cigarette.
‘Should I still go to Guanghan Palace today?’
Su Yichen fell into a rare state of indecision.
The current choice felt like two branches in a *galgame*. Choosing Guanghan Palace meant taking Mu Qianqian’s route. Going to the Literary and Artistic Union Department meant taking Mo Qingqiu’s route.
According to his original plan, he was supposed to go to Guanghan Palace today to apply for a job. That would allow him to cut directly into Mu Qianqian’s life.
Mu Xia was still acting a bit strange, but Mu Qianqian seemed relatively simple.
The principle of picking the softest target to handle applied everywhere, even if the targets were twins. Obviously, the older sister was easier to handle than the younger one, and softer to push around.
But the situation had changed now that he had run into Mo Qingqiu.
That woman was far from simple. Even after spending time with her, he couldn’t see through her character at all.
Su Yichen took out his phone again and looked at the information regarding Mo Qingqiu.
No matter how he looked at it, everything between the lines suggested she was a woman of extraordinary intelligence, confidence, and immense personal charisma.
However, after interacting with her today, he found her to be different.
Her scattered remarks were either an attempt to establish leadership, or she was just a do-gooder. If it wasn’t one of those two, then she was stirring the pot.
As the President of the Literary and Artistic Union Department at Qingyue University, Mo Qingqiu didn’t need to establish leadership, and she definitely wasn’t a do-gooder.
Therefore, she was stirring the pot.
‘Why would she do that? What does she stand to gain?’
Su Yichen carefully thought over every detail of his interaction with Mo Qingqiu today, including her movements, tone, and expressions.
After an unknown amount of time, Su Yichen flicked away the ash and extinguished the cigarette on a trash can. He shook his head and headed off in a certain direction.
***
September 23, sunny, 3:30 PM.
It was the same dessert shop, but this time, it was the smaller Room A1.
Mo Qingqiu leaned against the sofa. Her soft, chestnut-colored wavy hair fell naturally over her chest in a lazy and uninhibited manner, while her beautiful long legs rested casually on a cushion at the other end.
She had already changed into a black uniform that carried a heavy student vibe.
The white light from the ceiling spilled over her rounded, straight calves. Through the thin black stockings, one could faintly see her small, pale toes.
Pushing her exquisite black rimless glasses up her high nose bridge, Mo Qingqiu let out a soft moan and turned a page in her book. It was a foreign work on psychology.
“Su Yichen…”
Mo Qingqiu’s gaze drifted. She was absentminded, and her attention was clearly not on the book. Thinking back on the gathering this afternoon, one thing felt increasingly strange to her.
‘Why would Tong Ya and Luo Yueli be so… good to an ordinary boy like Su Yichen at the same time?’
Mo Qingqiu couldn’t judge whether they liked Su Yichen or not, but they definitely had feelings for him.
Setting Luo Yueli aside for a moment, even Tong Ya had retracted her claws in front of Su Yichen, pretending to be a well-behaved and submissive kitten.
She even feigned poverty just to get closer to him.
‘It’s almost like she’s a devoted pet.’
It was completely illogical. Mo Qingqiu couldn’t understand what kind of man could make Tong Ya act like this. She had someone check Su Yichen’s records earlier; he had no background at all.
Aside from ranking first in the entire College of Liberal Arts during his entrance exams, he had no other highlights.
He was of average height and even more average looks.
‘Why would such a man make Tong Ya become a submissive pet? Could it be that the Eldest Miss of the Tong Clan… is playing some strange role-playing game? Is she teasing Su Yichen?’
Most of the young ladies she knew had somewhat eccentric personalities, so strange hobbies weren’t surprising.
However, as an onlooker, Mo Qingqiu could see clearly that if Tong Ya was acting, she was far too immersed in the role.
The same went for Luo Yueli. Even though her movements and expressions during the meal seemed fine, the moment she walked into the dessert shop and saw her childhood friend with Tong Ya, the sudden blankness in her clear eyes had completely betrayed her.
‘So, what exactly is the situation?’
This drama seemed a bit too big. Mo Qingqiu felt that if she rushed in to enjoy it now, she might not be able to handle it.
But if she did nothing, it felt like something was missing. She might not be satisfied with how this story ended naturally.
What she wanted to see was a perfect, grand performance. Therefore, she had to prepare the tools and seasonings to slowly sculpt it.
Only then, when it was finally finished, could she fully and thoroughly enjoy the thrill of that delicacy exploding on her taste buds.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
Right then, a soft tapping came from the door of the private room.
“Come in,” Mo Qingqiu said as she sat up straight.
The door opened as soon as she spoke, and Shen Ran walked in. “President, I’m here.”
“Mhm, take a seat.” Mo Qingqiu pointed to the soft sofa opposite her, took off her glasses, and smiled. “Shen Ran, order whatever you want to eat.”
Her voice was very gentle, as if she were talking to her own younger sister.
“I ate enough at noon. I’m not hungry yet.” Shen Ran sat down.
Her movements were somewhat stiff, not at all as relaxed as Mo Qingqiu’s. After all, there was a massive gap between them in terms of experience and status.
“President Mo…” Shen Ran opened her lips, clearly having something to say, but her gaze was drawn to the black rimless glasses on the table in the next second.
“What, do you like these glasses?” Mo Qingqiu naturally noticed Shen Ran’s reaction and smiled.
“If you like them, I’ll send you a new pair later. I’ve known you for quite a while now, and you seem to really like glasses.”
“Thank you, President,” Shen Ran replied with a smile. “I do really like glasses, especially when beautiful people wear beautiful glasses. I think… you’d definitely look beautiful wearing them.”
“Is that so?” Mo Qingqiu put her glasses back on.
Shen Ran was momentarily dazed, a trace of undisguised envy showing in her expression. “So beautiful, President. You truly deserve to be our school beauty. As for me, I don’t look good in glasses at all.”
“That’s just other people’s opinions. Since you like them, I’ll keep them on.” Mo Qingqiu chuckled and poured a cup of hot tea for Shen Ran.
“Since you like glasses so much, does Jiang Jingjie wear them? I saw him once, and he didn’t seem to.”
“He doesn’t…” Shen Ran replied. “But as long as I can see him wearing them occasionally, it’s fine. President, tell me… how should I pursue him?”
Shen Ran lowered her head as she spoke, staring intently at the ripples in her tea. “I don’t know how to get along with boys at all.”