You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

Jiang Che was already used to Su Qinghe's excuses about the price.

Although Su Qinghe always made excuses, Jiang Che didn't feel annoyed or disgusted, because he knew that a person who was used to feeling inferior would not be able to accept others being too nice to her in a short period of time.

So, while flipping through the menu, he said to Su Qinghe without even looking up, "Why are you eating noodles? That's not nutritious at all. Didn't the doctor just say that you need to replenish your nutrition and blood, otherwise you won't be able to have the surgery?"

"Don't you want your eyes to get better?"

Upon hearing Jiang Che's words, Su Qinghe pursed her lips and obediently stopped making a fuss.

She said to Jiang Che, "Then...then you order the food, I've never eaten these before."

"OK."

Jiang Che took the menu from the waiter and quickly checked off several of his favorite signature dishes.

"Fish maw chicken soup, steamed grouper, blanched bok choy, and... abalone sauce rice, please."

Jiang Che handed the menu to the waiter, "This is all for now, order more if needed."

"Okay, Mr. Jiang, please wait a moment." The waiter took the menu and left.

As Su Qinghe listened to the list of dishes, she silently calculated the cost in her mind, and the more she calculated, the more alarmed she became.

This meal will probably eat up several months' worth of her living expenses.

Although Su Qinghe's family of origin was relatively wealthy, her parents treated her very poorly.

The family ate all sorts of delicious food at the dinner table, while Su Qinghe could only eat the leftovers.

Later, when she went to junior high school, she had to commute to school. Her parents only gave her a few hundred yuan a month for living expenses. This was only after she begged them desperately, even kneeling down and kowtowing to them until her head was bleeding.

Su Qinghe would never forget the way her parents slammed money in front of her: "How much does it cost for you, you bastard, to go to school? This is all we have. If it's not enough, you might as well go sell yourself! Don't fucking bother us!"

Forced into a corner, in order to avoid starving, she had no choice but to secretly take odd jobs at restaurants near the school.

They initially disagreed, but seeing how pitiful she was, they gritted their teeth and, risking punishment, let her stay in the store to help out with small tasks.

Su Qinghe couldn't help but wonder if she was really her parents' biological child.

What parents would treat their own daughter like this?

Stop overthinking it.

Seeing that Su Qinghe sat there silently for a long time without moving, Jiang Che assumed that she was still worried about the money, so he poured her a glass of warm water and put it in her hand. "I told you, the money is on me. Your task now is to eat and fatten yourself up so you can have the surgery sooner."

Jiang Che looked at her pointed chin and felt inexplicably annoyed.

How did the once dazzling beauty of Soochow University end up like this?

Su Qinghe came to her senses. Holding the water glass, she felt the warmth from her palms, and the unease in her heart was slowly replaced by a warm current.

She sipped her water and secretly went over the moves Bai Yuning had taught her in her mind.

Acting cute...showing weakness...

Hmm... Shouldn't we say something now?

"Jiang Che..." she called out softly.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Jiang Che was replying to messages on his phone when he heard this and looked up at her.

Su Qinghe hesitated for a long time, her face turning red, before she finally managed to stammer, "You...you're so kind."

Jiang Che clearly didn't understand why Su Qinghe would suddenly praise him, and his expression was blank.

After staring at Su Qinghe's rosy cheeks for a while, Jiang Che slowly came back to his senses, coughed lightly to cover up his unease: "Alright, stop giving me friend cards if there's nothing wrong with it."

Su Qinghe's attempt to start was unsuccessful, and she lowered her head in embarrassment, softly humming in agreement.

For some reason, the atmosphere suddenly became strangely ambiguous.

Fortunately, the food was served quickly, and the waiter broke the ambiguous atmosphere; the table was soon filled with food.

Jiang Che didn't sit still. He first ladled out a bowl of golden, rich fish maw and chicken soup and placed it next to Su Qinghe. Then, he carefully removed the fish bones before putting the fish meat into her bowl.

"Um... I can do it myself."

Su Qinghe was a little flattered, but when it came to doing it herself, she didn't know where to start with the chopsticks.

Jiang Che couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, stop being so stubborn and hurry up and eat."

As he spoke, he placed another piece of bok choy on her plate. "Open your mouth."

Su Qinghe was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously opened her mouth.

The tender bok choy hearts were fed into my mouth, with a hint of garlic flavor, and they were delicious.

But what Su Qinghe found even more delicious was that Jiang Che had fed her this.

Is this what Sister Bai meant by "interaction"?

This is way too...too intimate!

Su Qinghe smiled faintly, her lips pursed, like a young girl experiencing her first love, her heart filled with sweetness.

The guests at the surrounding tables kept casting curious glances at her. Although Su Qinghe couldn't see them, the feeling of being pricked by needles made her even more shy, and she only dared to lower her head and sip her soup in small sips.

Jiang Che, on the other hand, was quite calm.

It's just taking care of a patient, what's the big deal?

Besides, he's willing.

Along the way, he came to a realization: since Su Qinghe was interested in him, why couldn't he try to like her in return?

Anyway, he didn't really have anything to do with Lin Wanwan to begin with, and now there's this girl who's cute and pretty, and most importantly, she's got eyes for him. He's not stupid, how could he not know how to choose?

Therefore, Jiang Che is now treating Su Qinghe completely like a girlfriend.

Hey, I have to say, he actually found this feeling quite enjoyable; it really did feel like a sweet romance.

The atmosphere between the two was just right, and Su Qinghe was no longer as shy as she had been at the beginning.

She mustered her courage and prepared to pick up a piece of meat for Jiang Che as well, but just as she picked up the meat with her chopsticks, a sharp, piercing female voice suddenly exploded in her ear—

"Oh, isn't this Young Master Jiang?"

Startled, Su Qinghe's wrist trembled, and the meat she was holding fell onto the table with a thud.

She will never forget that voice in her life.

It's Lin Wanwan.

Jiang Che frowned upon hearing the voice, and the gentle expression that had been on his face vanished instantly.

Instead, he looked impatient.

He put down his chopsticks, slowly turned his head, and immediately saw a man and a woman standing in the aisle.

The woman was none other than Lin Wanwan, dressed in a flamboyant manner, carrying a Chanel bag, her chin held high above the sky.

The man next to her, with dyed blond hair and dressed in cheap-looking but extremely tacky trendy clothes, was casually putting his arm around Lin Wanwan's waist.

Zhang Yang.

After seeing Lin Wanwan's WeChat Moments that day, Jiang Che also got to know this person.

He's a nouveau riche who got rich overnight from a family's land expropriation and is notorious for his pretentiousness.

"What bad luck! I can't even find something dirty while eating a meal."

Jiang Che didn't get up either. He leaned back in his chair, scoffed, and slowly wiped his hands with a wet wipe.

Lin Wanwan's face stiffened, then she sneered, pulled Zhang Yang over, and stopped directly at their table.

Her gaze shifted and landed on Su Qinghe, who was sitting opposite her with her head down and remaining silent.

"Oh, who do we have here?" Lin Wanwan exaggeratedly covered her mouth, deliberately speaking so loudly that everyone in the restaurant could hear, "Isn't this our long-lost campus belle from Suzhou University?"

"I heard that the campus belle of Suzhou University has been wandering the streets for over a month? How did she end up like this? Oh dear, has she gone blind?"

Lin Wanwan's eyes were practically overflowing with malice, her face practically screaming "jealousy."

Back in school, Su Qinghe always outshone her in every way. She was prettier, had better grades, and was more talented. She attracted countless boys who liked her.

Seeing her former goddess reduced to this state of scavenging for trash, Lin Wanwan felt incredibly satisfied.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Jiang Che, your taste is getting more and more unique these days," Lin Wanwan mocked. "Did you give up on yourself after I dumped you? You actually have the heart to eat this kind of trash you picked up from a garbage dump?"