Tea-flavored Romance

When asked what happened, she only managed a weak smile and said she was fine, just a little down. Her other roommates sensed something was wrong and, after a quick discussion, concluded that something had definitely happened to Xuebao.

"She was probably hurt by a jerk, right?"

"Please, what kind of scumbag could hurt our Xuebao? I don't think this is that simple."

“You’re right. I can’t imagine what kind of scumbag could beat my Xiaoxue.”

Everyone discussed the situation at length, but they couldn't come up with a conclusion that could convince everyone. In the end, the short-haired girl, who was the leader of the dormitory, was chosen as the representative and walked to the bedside of the most beautiful girl in the department.

"Snowball, what do you want to eat tonight?"

"Dinner... Is it already time for dinner?"

"You've been lying in bed all day, and now you can't even feel the passage of time?" the short-haired girl exclaimed in shock. "Have you broken up with your boyfriend?"

Gu Guanxue was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then shook her head in denial: "No."

"I'm not heartbroken."

"Then why are you acting like you're heartbroken and about to die..." The short-haired girl breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that it wasn't a breakup: "You're not eating or drinking. We were worried that you'd been cheated on by a jerk."

"What kind of scumbag could fool me?" Gu Xihua waved her hand: "I just feel a little listless... Is this what you guys call heartbreak?"

“If you ask ten people to come and see you, nine of them will say you look like you’ve just broken up with your boyfriend,” the short-haired girl said helplessly. “We’ve been worried and wanted to ask you what’s wrong, but we were afraid of making you feel even worse.”

"Is this a breakup?"

Gu Guanxue nodded thoughtfully, then gently shook her head and denied it again: "No, I'm just in a bad mood."

"But……"

"Alright, alright... To thank you all for worrying about me when I was in a bad mood, I'll treat everyone to dinner tonight~" As if to put an end to the topic, Gu Xihua quickly interrupted her and sat up from the bed.

"Really?" The short-haired girl was very skeptical. "You're back to full health so quickly? You're not just putting on a brave face, are you, my darling?"

"There aren't that many lovelorn stories. I'm already like this before I'm even in a relationship. If I really fall in love, won't I be wearing a mask of pain every day?" Gu Guanxue laughed. "It's just that I haven't figured out some things yet and I'm in a bad mood. I don't want to think about it now. Let's go, call the two of them. It's on me tonight. Eat as much as you want."

"Yay... To celebrate Olaf's rebirth and return from the ashes, I'll treat you to milk tea tonight."

Seeing Gu Guanxue seemingly gradually returning to normal, the short-haired girl was genuinely happy for her friend. After making some preparations, the four girls set off together to a newly opened, trendy restaurant.

The restaurant wasn't far away; the four of us took a taxi there in less than half an hour. However, being a popular restaurant, and with it being mealtime, it looked very lively from the outside, with every seat filled.

They queued outside for a while, chatting about food and drinks. Gu Guanxue didn't join in; she just looked down at her phone, checking the messages she hadn't replied to that day.

At first glance, it seemed there were no messages from anyone, which relieved Gu Guanxue slightly. However, along with her relief, she also felt a strange, inexplicable emotion. She gently shook her head, as if trying to clear the clutter from her mind.

"Listen to me, this restaurant's mousse cake is said to be amazing, and a lot of people have come to try it. Remember to take a couple of photos later!"

"Okay, okay, but I'm on a diet lately... I'll take more pictures later so I can dream about eating them tonight."

"Look at your pathetic self..." the short-haired girl teased with a laugh, then seemed to remember something and turned to Gu Guanxue to ask, "By the way..."

"Snowball, isn't your birthday coming up soon? Should I order you a strawberry chocolate cake again this year?"

Gu Guanxue was stunned for a moment, but her eyes quickly regained their clarity.

"No need this year." The girl said, waving her phone apologetically, "My old friends are planning to throw me a birthday party... to make up for not being able to come last year."

"Hmm? A birthday party? Isn't this great? Last year, the three of us couldn't even throw you a big birthday party, we just bought you a small cake..."

"It's nothing, last year's cake was delicious." Gu Guanxue chuckled. "Actually, they wanted to come and celebrate for me last year, but I didn't let them."

"Isn't it nice to have friends over for your birthday? Why can't you let them?"

"I don't know...maybe I was too naive back then, and I wanted to say goodbye to my past self." The girl said with a warm smile, addressing her three roommates:

"Can you come to the birthday party?"

Chapter 175: The Most Handsome One Isn't Right for You

The three girls were momentarily tempted by the idea, but quickly realized what was going on and waved their hands, saying, "Forget it, it's a birthday party your old friend specially threw for you, it wouldn't be appropriate for us to go..."

"Yeah, the three of us will just wait for you to come back in the dorm and we'll have a little cake with you~"

"Don't worry about it so much. I've never distinguished between old and new friends."

"Come and play with us, I'll do my best to entertain you."

The three of them looked at each other and quickly burst into laughter.

"Xuebao, in that case you'll have to hide all your handsome but single friends well. Besides you, there are two other single guys in our dorm... Why don't you give us a list and make a note of who's available to flirt with?"

“Great idea, Xuebao, you said you'd introduce me to a boyfriend... I remember you once said you ran into several handsome guys after your morning run and were even going to help me find out who the most handsome one was…”

The short-haired girl grabbed Gu Guanxue's arm and started shaking it, asking with a smile, "After all this time, have you finally made up your mind? You're not planning to secretly keep it for yourself, are you?"

Gu Guanxue was stunned for a moment, her memory seemingly returning to that morning after their encounter, when she mischievously told her best friend that she always valued friends more than romantic relationships.

"Hmm? Xuebao, what are you thinking about? Why are you spacing out for no reason?"

"It's nothing." She snapped out of her reverie and blurted out instinctively, "The most handsome one isn't right for you."

Short-haired girl: ?

"Where is it unsuitable?"

"Nowhere is suitable," Gu Guanxue said. "I'll introduce you to others when I have time."

"Are the others as handsome as the original one?"

"..."

"Let me tell you, Sisi," Gu Xihua said to the short-haired girl with a serious expression, "Looks can't put food on the table. You need to learn to appreciate your partner's other good qualities."

"I understand..." The short-haired girl nodded thoughtfully: "So what other good qualities did that other guy have?"

Gu Guanxue: "..."

"Sisi, stop thinking about that guy. You can't handle him."

"He's usually a bit of a jerk, though he can be quite reliable when he's serious... But he often has ambiguous relationships with other girls, and he used to have a bad habit of chasing after 'green tea' girls! Aside from having a bit of talent and good looks, and being able to make you happy so you're never bored with him, he really has no other redeeming qualities."

Sisi: (Suppressing laughter) Oh, okay, I understand.

Is this the legendary "the deeper the water" law? Olaf, when did you become so silly? This is so unlike you.

Gu Guanxue seemed to realize that her attitude was wrong, and refused to speak again, only keeping her head down and continuing to reply to the messages that her friends kept sending her. Before she could stop for a while, one of her roommates gently pulled her arm.

"Hey hey...look, look...isn't that someone from our school? The computer science department's heartthrob who used to be on good terms with Xuebao? What's he doing here?"

"It seems so... The girl opposite him seems to be from our school too, right? I saw her in the library."

Upon hearing this, Gu Guanxue raised her head and looked in the direction the group was pointing. She saw Ning Yuan and Jiang Manyue sitting in the restaurant, surrounded by a group of people who were talking to them enthusiastically.

Jiang Xihua, sitting in the restaurant in the distance, continued to eat her food in front of her without looking at anything else, seemingly completely unaware of the scene in front of her. Ning Yuan, on the other hand, was dealing with the enthusiastic fans with great helplessness. These were not fans of his Dragon King, but fans of the sword fairy Jiang Manyue who had appeared briefly before.

Although he never cared much about fame, he suddenly felt unbalanced when he was outshone by Jiang Manyue.

Master Ning: This is outrageous! I haven't even had my fill of fame yet, and I'm already past my prime?! Even Jiang Manyue can now attack me so openly?!

The group of people who came to say hello seemed to be photographers who had participated in the previous game expo. They were all captivated by Miss Manyue's sword fairy cosplay and became loyal fans.

Unfortunately, Jiang Manyue disappeared before the game expo even ended that day, leaving fans without a chance to get her contact information or send her a picture. They also tried to contact the organizers but were told they had no comment. These fans had initially thought their encounter that day was just a dream, but unexpectedly, a chance gathering of like-minded people allowed them to finally meet their idol.

They originally thought that if they ignored the other party, they would leave knowingly. However, Jiang Manyue's indifferent response made the fans even more excited. They shouted that this was exactly the feeling, so cool!

Ning Yuan: "..."

Fans are truly an extremely irrational species. Fortunately, my fans are well-behaved, cute, and not clingy; they basically won't bother me when they see me.

"Miss... could you please give me your contact information?" a girl asked eagerly. Jiang Xihua didn't even raise her eyelids, and simply replied, "I don't have any contact information."

Girl: Oh ho~

Is this what it feels like to have your heart hit...? How cute...

"Well... then we won't bother you any longer... we'll be going now~"

If Ning Yuan knew what this female fan was thinking, he would definitely ask her a question mark.

You call this cute?

Fans left one by one with regret. Ning Yuan, who was finally free from the ordeal, said with lingering fear that being famous was really too scary, and that he would definitely have to wear sunglasses next time to feel safe going out.

"What are you afraid of? They're not looking for you."

"That's true, but I do have fans, you know. What if they recognize me someday?"

Jiang Xihua declined to comment, gave a cold laugh, and continued to bury herself in the seemingly fancy dish on her plate.

"Hey, Jiang, could you at least try to be a little more supportive? You're making me really awkward."

"I don't know how, can you teach me?"

"It's not impossible... How about you teach me how to confess to Gu Guanxue first?"

The two of them were originally chatting in the coffee shop, trying to figure out the development of the relationship between Ning Yuan and Gu Guanxue. Incidentally, Master Ning also wanted to understand Gu Guanxue from Jiang Manyue's perspective.

After all, knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory. Generally, when pursuing a girl, you start with her best friends. Although Jiang Manyue can't be considered one of Gu Guanxue's best friends...

But it's at least half a, right?

The idea of ​​having only half a best friend in the confession strategist group doesn't sound very reliable, but Ning Yuan thinks it's all okay.

With Jiang Manyue's intelligence, she will surely be able to perfectly understand his tactical intentions and provide the most perfect plan to help her confess her love successfully!

However, just as Master Ning was secretly praising his own wit, Gu Xihua, who was standing outside queuing to enter the restaurant, gradually developed a subtle look in her eyes.

Gu Guanxue: ?

She narrowed her eyes slightly, a sharp edge appearing in her gaze as she looked at the two of them.

Chapter 176: Xuebao, let me explain!

"Oxford..."

"Ok?"

Sisi asked cautiously, "Should we go to another restaurant? It seems quite crowded here."

"Yeah, yeah... it's not like we have to check in here... let's go to another one."

"You're right. You can't completely trust all the reviews online. Shall we go find a new store?"