Tea-flavored Romance

He had already finished the pork knuckle delivered by then, and his fighting spirit was even stronger after the meal. His only regret was that his mouth was a little dry, probably because the pork knuckle was a bit too salty. So Master Ning got up and went to the bar to order a bottle of "Fighting Spirit Forest".

At the critical moment! Lin Xiaoya's gaze sharpened, and the instant she sensed Ning Yuan's intention to get up, she quietly rose and, taking advantage of her closer proximity to the bar, slowly walked towards it.

One step, two steps, the distance between the two seemed to be constantly shrinking. Master Lin remained calm and spoke softly to the bartender.

"Excuse me, could you please bring me a bottle of soda water?"

"Okay, this is five yuan."

"Thank you."

"Brother Wang, give me a bottle of Dou Qi Forest..."

Master Ning's languid voice came from behind her. Lin Xiaoya's expression remained unchanged. After taking the soda water, she turned around leisurely and met his gaze.

The timing was perfect; in just a fleeting instant of intersection, Lin Xiaoya's eyes perfectly captured the surprise and confusion. Ning Yuan's eyes also held a hint of bewilderment, as if he had been betrayed.

This is Moyu Internet Cafe, without a doubt... but why! Master Lin is here!

The girl only glanced at Ning Yuan briefly, without saying hello, and then they brushed past each other before she slowly walked towards her machine. Ning Yuan was left standing there, questioning his existence.

She had no intention of greeting Ning Yuan from the start. Her time and effort spent lurking here tonight were solely for the purpose of making eye contact with him. Like a snake hidden in the grass, her sole aim tonight was to plant a seed in his heart, seize control, and incidentally, pique his curiosity. She would quietly wait for the day when she could say to Ning Yuan:

"Hey, haven't we met somewhere before?"

The power of tea, level nine!

Ning Yuan! Gu Guanxue! Do you recognize this formation?

"Ah Yuan, your Dou Qi Forest..." Brother Wang placed a bottle of sparkling water on the bar and called out to him. Ning Yuan was interrupted by the call and quickly went over.

"Brother Wang... I have a question for you... Do you know that girl? Does she come here often?"

The bespectacled internet cafe manager glanced at Lin Xiaoya's back and casually said, "I'm not sure. She's probably been here once or twice before. I think she has a membership card here."

Master Ning was taken aback upon hearing this, and stood there lost in thought...

Was it really a chance encounter? Or did Lin Xiaoya start her scheme too early?

There's always this feeling of being betrayed... Is it because of the internet cafe where I'm always slacking off? The legacy of the will to betray.

Ning Yuan pondered for a moment but couldn't come up with a solution, so he took his sparkling water and returned to his seat. However, this time he had no interest in continuing to play the game and his eyes kept glancing in Lin Xiaoya's direction.

Hmm... what are we playing? AD?

She looks like she has really fast hand speed... Is she a dedicated e-sports girl focused on playing games? And she even has a VIP membership at the Moyu Internet Cafe. I never knew Master Lin had this side to her persona?

Judging from her demeanor just now, she didn't greet me? Could it be that she's forgotten about our meeting at the library?

The first exchange between the two masters was as fleeting as a gentle breeze or a dragonfly skimming the water, without any real fighting. Having spent so much time with two SSR characters, Ning Yuan hadn't completely lost his tea-tasting instincts. But as the saying goes, something unusual is bound to happen. Ning Yuan keenly sensed that Master Lin's appearance wasn't a coincidence, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was...

If he hadn't had ulterior motives towards Lin Xiaoya from the start, he probably would have fallen for her tricks by now. Just as Ning Yuan was racking his brains trying to figure out what was wrong with this situation, Xiao Ling'er beside him suddenly stirred and woke up groggily.

"Ningyuan...what time is it...?"

Why does it smell like pork knuckle?

"Don't think too much about what other people are eating. It's still a long way from morning. Go back to sleep, sweetie."

"Oh……"

Ning Yiling drifted off to sleep again, while Ning Yuan pondered and kept an eye on Lin Xiaoya's movements, seemingly waiting for the ninth-level Bull Strength master to make another move against him. However, no matter how long he waited, or even tried to entice her to attack several times at the bar, Lin Xiaoya remained unmoved, focused on controlling her game character.

Lin, the e-sports girl, Xiaoya.

This woman... she's got some tricks up her sleeve.

Master Ning was quite frustrated and abandoned his observation plan, stroking his chin as he gave his conclusion.

Hold your position and wait for the rabbit to run into the tree stump!

Although we don't know what Master Lin's purpose was in this move, waiting for the opportune moment is always a good idea.

Lin Xiaoya: √

With everyone harboring their own ulterior motives, Master Ning's all-nighter didn't go smoothly, while Lin Xiaoya, having been an e-sports girl for most of the night, was getting a little tired as dawn approached. In the end, she got up and left on her own, not knowing whether she was going to have breakfast or go back to her dorm to catch up on sleep.

Seeing that it was almost time, Ning Yuan didn't stay any longer. He woke up Ning Yiling, and the two of them left the Moyu Internet Cafe together, heading straight to a nearby breakfast shop.

His luck seemed worse this time than last night; the chance encounter at the breakfast shop failed to trigger, and Master Lin had vanished without a trace. He looked around for a while, but finding no one, he had no choice but to give up.

What are you looking for?

"It's nothing... Eat up, here's your savory tofu pudding."

Ning Yiling took a bite or two listlessly. The delicious breakfast failed to energize her. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly said, "I plan to sell some old things to get through this economic crisis."

"Didn't I say that your brother would treat you to dinner?"

"I don't want to eat instant noodles every day like you!"

"Not bad, daughters should be self-reliant." Ning Yuan gave a thumbs up: "What are you planning to sell?"

"Old books, old laptops and stuff..." Ning Yiling looked up and asked, "Do you buy them?"

"The Guide to Self-Cultivating Leeks? We won't accept that."

"Are you trying to get bloodshed this early in the morning?" Ning Yiling clenched her fist and said angrily, "I wasn't talking about that book... Never mind, you won't buy books anyway. You can help me sell my old computer instead."

Ning Yuan laughed in exasperation: "So you all think that all we computer science students do is repair and buy computers, right?"

Chapter 73: Your brother is not as simple as you think!

Ning Yiling sneered, "So you think that all of us who study finance will be doing accounting?"

"Accounting is one of the career paths for finance majors."

"Repairing and selling computers is also a career path for your computer science department."

"..."

Seeing that he couldn't win the argument, Ning Yuan decided not to dwell on the issue with this little girl. He glanced at the tofu pudding in front of him and gently added a spoonful of sugar.

"Okay, sort things out later and I'll help you get an estimate... Second-hand laptops aren't worth much, so be prepared."

"Okay, as long as we can eat... How's your movie coming along?"

Having made the decision to sell his possessions, Ning 10 asked casually, seemingly a little absent-minded.

"It's all sorted out, and I even became a bit of an internet sensation."

"Tch, aren't you ashamed... My roommate was holding up my phone and asking if this was your brother, and I was too embarrassed to answer. Wasn't your script called 'The Tuner'? Why did you change it to that?"

"It was just something I did on the spur of the moment. Come to think of it, that little drama actually made some money."

"You made money and you still make me eat instant noodles! Ning Yuan, you have no heart!"

"Making money is a matter for next month. Besides, shouldn't we save more money now? Don't you understand the importance of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure?"

"You're clearly trying to trick me on purpose! You did it on purpose!"

Master Ning interrupted the girl and said earnestly, "Did you really think that when your brother took you to the 'Slacking Off Internet Cafe' all night yesterday, it was just to scam you?"

"Can't you think about how heartwarming my reasons are? Can't you carefully consider what we've both gained?"

"Your brother isn't as simple as you think!"

Xiao Ling paused for a moment, then slowly typed a question mark.

What did I gain? What were the reasons behind it?

Is there a reason behind his actions?! This guy is clearly just getting revenge for me chasing him around with a trash can!

"Ningyuan!"

There was no response. Master Ning had already hurriedly finished his bowl of tofu pudding and ran off, not forgetting to turn back and wave as he ran: "I've already paid the bill. Sister, you should think about it carefully. Don't come looking for me if you don't figure it out!"

Ning Yiling: "???"

When did the Ningyuan species become extinct? I need an answer urgently, waiting online.

……

After parting ways with Xiao Ling'er, Master Ning transferred most of his meager living expenses to his younger sister on the way, while he himself planned to live off the little savings that every man needs.

Making her eat instant noodles is one thing, but giving her living expenses to her poor sister is quite another.

Don't ask why, just say he's a great brother to China.

Ning10: [I'll return it to you in a few days!]

Ning Yuan: [Laughing and patting a dog's head.jpg]

Afterwards, Ningyuan went back to his dorm and took a nap. After staying up all night, it's impossible to sleep through the night; he usually wakes up around noon. Fortunately, he didn't have classes in the afternoon, and his three roommates could take care of his meals, so Ningyuan was able to rest and recuperate in his dorm without worry.

[Director Ning, I heard you didn't come home last night after dropping off the girl from another school back at her dorm?]

Just as Ning Yuan was lying in bed in his "lazy" mode, Gu Xihua suddenly sent him a message, followed by a cute emoji of a little penguin tilting its head.

Ning Yuan's expression was strange. He thought to himself, "Did this girl plant a double agent next to me? How does she know everything that I didn't come back all night?"

"No, I went to an internet cafe for an all-nighter." Master Ning thought for a moment and then asked, "Is something wrong?"

[It's nothing serious~ I'm just worried that Director Ning might not have enough self-control and might ruin your grand plan to woo Jiang Manyue.]

Gu Guanxue replied with a grin: "[If you haven't won over Jiang Manyue yet, my advice is to be careful with your words and actions~]"

[Does this mean that once you've successfully flirted with someone, you can let loose and be yourself?]

【Of course, Director Ning, don't worry about flying. I'll take care of collecting the bodies.】

【But it still can't fly!】Master Ning couldn't help but feel speechless. He thought to himself, did Gu Xihua send a message just to remind me not to be a scumbag? She really has no confidence in me.

If I wanted to be a real scumbag, I probably would have over 500 WeChat friends!

Those who praise my true name will find eternal life in the fishpond! With my looks and charisma, even with a burdensome younger sister and the need to appease the naive rich woman Lu Jiujiu, I, Ning Yuan, can still carve out my own path as a scumbag!

Judging from your tone, you seem quite disappointed.

No regrets, no regrets, my feelings for Jiang were genuine.

That's good~ What are your plans for the near future?

What are your recent plans?

Ning Yuan paused for a moment, thinking to himself, "I don't seem to have any plans lately... The short film is finished, and now I just need to wait to win an award and pay back Lu Jiujiu, while also waiting for the full moon and snow-viewing missions to refresh. I'll follow the missions and use my invisible charm on the two girls to meet the conditions for swiping the card..."