The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

Seeing that the leader had failed, the man with the middle parting stepped forward and gave Xu Xi a flirtatious wink.

"Hey sis, I have a cat that can do backflips. Want to add me on WeChat and I'll send you a picture?"

Upon hearing the cat doing a backflip, Xu Xi blinked her big eyes, a look of curiosity appearing on her pretty face.

She smiled gently and took out a QR code image from her phone.

"Sure, but I don't have WeChat. Could you add my boyfriend? I'll check it out with him later."

Upon hearing the word "boyfriend," the man with the middle parting changed his expression slightly.

He took out his phone, pretended to scan the QR code in Xu Xi's hand, then exclaimed that the camera was broken and hurriedly left.

As the only hope for the entire village, the man in overalls cleared his throat, walked up to Zhao Lin, and stammered as he tried to organize his thoughts.

"Excuse me, I have a boyfriend who works at a teachers' college."

As Zhao Lin spoke, she smiled and raised the pendant around her neck, shaking it.

This is a matching necklace she and Qi Yu own.

"Uh... sorry to bother you."

The three losers slunk away, sparking a series of snickering discussions.

"Damn! Good thing I didn't stand out; they're all taken."

"What a pity, these three beautiful flowers on a high mountain can only be admired from afar, not touched. Alas..."

"I'll wait until military training to see if there are any pretty girls in the next class!"

At the same time, Wen Yao and Zhao Lin grabbed Xu Xi's shoulders from both sides and shook her repeatedly, looking at her with curiosity.

"Xi Bao! When did you start dating someone?"

"Tell us the truth! Who is your boyfriend? Where is he from? Do we know him? How old is he?"

"Quickly promote his authority! We'll vouch for you!"

The surround sound made Xu Xi's little head buzz.

"No...it's my brother's QR code, I just used it to cover for myself..."

After saying that, she shook her phone screen, and sure enough, Xu Nian's friend's profile picture was displayed.

"Tch~"

Upon hearing this, Wen Yao and Zhao Lin both pursed their lips, losing interest.

......

A short while later, a balding man walked into the classroom.

He introduced himself as Liu Wei, the class advisor, and wrote his phone number on the blackboard so that students could contact him if they encountered any problems.

Next, Liu Wei talked about the military training topic that the students were most concerned about.

Due to the closure of the playground in the North Second District of the school for construction, military training has been postponed to the next semester.

This made the students extremely happy, and they cheered loudly.

The reason is that the next semester will start in the spring, and the military training then will not be as hot as it is now in the middle of summer.

"Classmates, we need to choose a class monitor. Those who are interested in serving as class monitor, please raise your hands."

Liu Wei glanced at the youthful faces below the stage and said with a smile.

A few hands were raised sparsely in the classroom.

"Yaoyao, why aren't you raising your hand?"

Xu Xi reached out her small hand and gently shook Wen Yao beside her.

During her high school years, Wen Yao served as class monitor and was very responsible.

He is considerate of every student and is generous and efficient in handling matters.

But now Wen Yao kept her head down, as if afraid of attracting attention.

"Shh~ I don't want to be one."

Wen Yao frowned, gestured for Xu Xi to be quiet, and shook her head.

If you were to say what her biggest takeaway from her three years as class monitor was, it would be this:

That definitely means I should never be a class monitor again.

Working outside can earn money, but working for the class is entirely out of love.

Dealing with all sorts of trivial matters every day left her physically and mentally exhausted.

Why not just give up and be a salted fish?

Ultimately, a boy who was very tactful in his speech won the position of class monitor with the support of his classmates.

The counselor reminded him that the class monitor has a one-month probationary period, after which a vote will be held to decide whether he can remain in office. Only if he can get the support of three-quarters of the students can he officially become the class monitor.

After the meeting, the students gathered in groups by dormitory, with the boys arm in arm and the girls holding hands, ready to head to the cafeteria.

"Let's go, Xibao, let's go to your brother's for lunch."

Okay.

Xu Xi nodded, deciding it was a good opportunity to check on how her brother's shop was doing.

The three girls walked out of the school gate and headed together towards Xu Nian's restaurant.

"It feels a bit far; it's been almost twenty minutes since we walked here."

Wen Yao wiped the sweat from her forehead, looked up at the scorching sun, and couldn't help but frown.

Zhao Lin nodded in agreement.

In terms of straight-line distance, the restaurant is not far from the business building, almost separated only by a fence.

However, if someone wants to leave, it becomes much more complicated. They need to leave from the school gate and then go around in a circle, which takes a lot of time.

"It would be great if a school gate could be opened next to our business building."

Xu Xi's face must have looked sallow from the sun; she probably regretted not bringing a parasol.

Even the tuft of hair on her head drooped listlessly, sticking to her fair forehead.

Fortunately, my brother's shop has air conditioning, so if we just hold on a little longer, we'll be able to enjoy a refreshing breeze.

"Brother Xu Nian, we've come to freeload a meal!"

Xu Nian stood outside the shop, tiptoeing and anxiously looking around, pacing back and forth from time to time.

Upon seeing his sister and her group, he forced a smile, quickly opened the glass door, and invited them into the store.

As Xu Xi entered the restaurant, a look of enjoyment appeared on her face. Feeling the cool breeze from the air conditioner, she closed her eyes slightly, as if she had come back to life.

"How's business, Xu Nian-ge?"

Wen Yao fanned herself with her hand, looked around the restaurant, and couldn't help but frown.

Every seat was empty, far from the packed house they had envisioned.

"Hey...you're the first table today."

Xu Nian sighed, scratched her head awkwardly, and looked worried.

"what?"

The three girls exclaimed in unison in surprise.

Not a single customer all morning? That's a bit of an exaggeration.

"Is the signboard design not attractive enough?"

Zhao Lin frowned in thought. She designed the signboard, which wasn't particularly extravagant; it was simply a wooden background with artistic lettering.

She felt that dumplings, a food that symbolizes traditional culture, were not suitable for overly flashy promotional methods.

"It shouldn't be that. Could it be because I didn't do a GG?"

Wen Yao shook her head. Compared to the almost uniform white background and black lettering signs of other shops, Zhao Lin's sign was already distinctive enough.

On her way there, she noticed that many shops had put up GG signs at the entrance of the alley, especially several chain stores, reminding passersby how far in to find a certain restaurant.

Xu Xi frowned, her small hand supporting her chin, as if she was thinking about something.