We agreed not to date, so why are you crying now that I've become the richest man?

On the other side, Li Xue also recognized the girl in front of her at a glance, who had fair skin and was dressed in a light pink tracksuit.

Last time, downstairs in the teaching building and office building, it was this freshman girl from the Foreign Languages ​​Department who was waiting for Ye Chen at the door with a cup of warm coffee. The two of them even had a verbal exchange back then.

Looking at Xu Jiao's beautiful face with its natural charm, Li Xue raised an eyebrow slightly and subtly took half a step to Ye Chen's left, her shoulder close to the cuff of Ye Chen's hoodie.

Xu Jiao, with her sharp eyes, immediately noticed the thin layer of sweat still damp on Li Xue's forehead and the unspoken familiarity between the two of them.

A sour sense of crisis surged up my chest.

But she was a smart and perceptive girl, and the words Ye Chen had told her at Nanyang Boshi Xinju immediately came to mind—that their relationship must be kept strictly confidential at school, and no messy rumors should be stirred up.

In a flash, Xu Jiao swallowed back the question that was about to come out of her mouth, took a deep breath, quickly put on a docile smile, and stepped forward:

"Senior Li Xue, Ye Chen, what a coincidence, you're here too?"

The way she called out "senior sister" was crisp and sweet, and she adopted a very humble posture, but her eyes seemed to casually sweep back and forth between the two of them, and her words were full of subtle probing.

Li Xue crossed her arms over her chest, making her already impressive bust even more striking. She looked at the junior student in front of her with a polite and generous smile.

"Oh, it's Xu Jiao, what a coincidence. Ye Chen is now a core member of our external relations department. My foot injury has just healed these past few days, so I asked him to come out for a walk with me and also to discuss the department's recent plans for networking events with businesses."

In just one sentence, the author not only reasonably explained why the two were alone on the playground, but also subtly revealed their "superior-subordinate plus departmental" relationship, implying that they would have many opportunities to meet in the future.

Xu Jiao's smile remained unchanged, but her fingers tightened their grip on the mineral water bottle.

"Oh, so you were talking about student council work. I thought Ye Chen was just nominally in the external relations department. I didn't expect Senior Li Xue to value him so much."

"Of course, I will take special care of talented people no matter where they are."

Li Xue remained unyielding, her gentle tone concealing a subtle barb.

The two women stood under the streetlight, seemingly polite and chatting, but their eyes met and collided in mid-air, making even the night breeze around them tense up.

If any ordinary freshman boy were caught in the middle, he would probably be at a loss and sweating profusely by now.

But Ye Chen stood between the two, showing not a trace of panic on his face. With his hands in the pockets of his gray sweatpants, he calmly took over the conversation:

"What special attention? Actually, it's because Minister Li has gotten so used to conscripting men that he even has to ask me for free advice when he goes for a walk."

He first chuckled and teased Li Xue, diluting the previous deliberate formality, then naturally turned to Xu Jiao and asked in a gentle tone:

"What about you? Aren't you in your dorm right now? Did you just come out for some fresh air after studying vocabulary at the library?"

Hearing this casual question, Xu Jiao understood the way Ye Chen was offering her, the tension in her eyes eased, and she obediently nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I spent the whole night reading English books in the library, and my brain was completely numb. I just wanted to come to the playground to get some fresh air."

Before Li Xue could reply, Ye Chen had already turned around, pointed down at Li Xue's right foot, which was wearing a running shoe, his playful expression vanishing, replaced by a serious tone that brooked no argument:

"Alright, Minister Li, you've finished your work report. You just ran two laps and walked for almost twenty minutes. Your rehabilitation exercise volume for today has exceeded the standard."

"Before your ankle starts to ache, go back to your dorm and soak your feet in hot water right away. You can't skip even half a lap. If it swells up again tomorrow morning, I won't have time to carry you to the infirmary again."

These words contained both the junior's firm encouragement to the senior, and also revealed a private familiarity that only the two of them knew. Especially the last sentence, "I'll carry you to the infirmary one more time," made Li Xue's lips unconsciously curl up.

Even though Ye Chen "kicked her out" in front of Xu Jiao, a potential rival, Li Xue was not unhappy at all; on the contrary, she felt very proud.

Li Xue lowered her arms from her chest, tucked a stray strand of hair that had been blown by the wind behind her ear, and rolled her eyes at Ye Chen:

"I know, you talk too much, you're even more nosy than our dorm leader!"

"Xu Jiao, I'll go back to my dorm to soak my feet now. You two can chat."

"Take care, senior, and watch your foot injury."

Xu Jiao smiled and waved goodbye.

Only when Li Xue's figure disappeared into the night along the tree-lined path leading to the junior girls' dormitory area did Xu Jiao's smile vanish.

She puffed out her cheeks, took a step forward to stand in front of Ye Chen, tilted her head back, and whispered a complaint:

"You, Ye Chen, you just said you were going back to school after finishing company business this afternoon, and now you're here on the track to accompany a beautiful senior for a night run and rehabilitation? And you even carried her to the infirmary? Tell me honestly, how many girls have you been flirting with at school?"

Looking at Xu Jiao, who was bristling like a kitten guarding its food, Ye Chen chuckled. He glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then raised his right hand and gently scratched the tip of her pert nose with the knuckle of his index finger.

"Why are you being jealous? She helped me out of a lot of trouble in the external relations department at the welcome party. She even danced on stage with an injury and swollen her ankle. I have to do something about it, both morally and logically."

"You, on the other hand, reacted quite quickly just now and didn't give yourself away. You did a good job and deserve praise."

The warm touch on her nose, coupled with Ye Chen's doting praise, dispelled much of the sourness in Xu Jiao's heart.

She snorted, then nudged Ye Chen's arm with her shoulder, and whispered in the shadow of the streetlight, in a sound only the two of them could hear:

"Since I've been so considerate, how are you planning to reward me tonight, Boss Ye? I changed all the sheets and duvet covers at Nanyang Boshi Xinju this afternoon when I went to clean the house..."