On a rainy night, the school beauty knocked on my door and asked for shelter

After the two groups got to know each other, they entered the bustling hot pot restaurant.

As soon as you enter, a rich aroma of hot pot wafts through the air.

The eight of them glanced at the other customers enjoying their meals and couldn't help but feel a little tempted.

Zhou Yue had called ahead to reserve a private room before arriving, and the group quickly entered a room with a round table and a rather large hot pot stove in the middle.

Just as everyone was preparing to sit in a semi-circle with four boys and four semi-circles with four girls, Zhou Yue suddenly smiled and said, "Since we're here to meet friends, let's sit with one boy and one girl separated, so it'll be easier to communicate that way."

Upon hearing this, the introverted Li Zhe and Zhao Ya were clearly a bit socially awkward.

Having two members of the opposite sex by their side upon meeting is still a bit too exciting for them.

However, seeing that no one else had any objections, they remained silent.

Since Zhou Yue was hosting, everyone followed her lead and took their seats.

Chen Mo was seated next to Su Yuqing and Zhou Yue, with Li Zhe next to Zhou Yue, Shen Xinghe next to Su Yuqing, Zhao Ya next to Shen Xinghe, and then Wang Lan and Lin Xiaoxiao, with Li Zhe next to Lin Xiaoxiao, forming a circle.

This arrangement was intentional on Zhou Yue's part.

She realized that Li Zhe and Zhao Ya were rather introverted and needed an extroverted member of the opposite sex around them to liven things up and prevent the atmosphere from becoming too dull.

Since it was difficult to separate Chen Mo and Su Yuqing, she arranged for Li Zhe to sit between herself and Lin Xiaoxiao, two more outgoing people, and for Zhao Ya to sit between Wang Lan and Shen Xinghe. This way, each person had an outgoing person nearby who could liven up the atmosphere and make the dinner more enjoyable.

This can also help everyone get to know each other more quickly.

Otherwise, if you put two quiet people together, they might not be able to exchange a single word for a long time.

As everyone took their seats, Su Yuqing subconsciously glanced at Shen Xinghe next to her. The closer she looked, the more she could see that this boy looked more and more like a girl, because his skin was simply too good.

Her skin was fair and moisturized, almost indistinguishable from a girl's.

"Hello, sister-in-law." Shen Xinghe nodded politely to Su Yuqing as he sat down.

He was rather immune to Su Yuqing's beauty, probably because he was used to seeing his own appearance.

Unlike Wang Lan and Li Zhe, who looked envious when they first saw Su Yuqing.

Upon hearing him address her as "sister-in-law," Su Yuqing immediately blushed slightly and nodded in response.

Once everyone was seated, the task of ordering food naturally fell to Zhou Yue, who was the most opinionated.

"Beef slices, tripe, shrimp paste, beef aorta... these are all a must!" Zhou Yue picked up her phone, scanned a QR code, and began quickly selecting food, looking quite confident. "Take a look and see if there's anything else you want to eat. Order whatever you like, don't hold back."

"Let me see..." Wang Lan didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up the menu on the table and glanced at it. "Another order of crispy pork! Duck intestines are good too!"

"Crispy pork and duck intestines, all ready!" Zhou Yue's fingers flew across the screen, then she looked up at the others, "What about drinks? What should we drink? Hot pot needs something cold to cool down and make it more refreshing!"

"I'm fine with anything." "Whatever you all say." Several voices rang out at the same time, mostly carrying the politeness of a first gathering.

"Let's start with two pitchers of chilled plum juice, a pitcher of kumquat lemonade, and a case of beer. Those who can drink can drink, and those who can't can have soft drinks. How about that?" Zhou Yue suggested, her gaze sweeping across the room, lingering especially on the faces of the other three girls as she sought their opinions.

"Milk, milk is better for relieving spiciness," Chen Mo said with a smile.

"Then let's have some iced milk." After ordering the hot pot base and other dishes, Zhou Yueli placed the order.

While waiting for the food to be served, a brief silence inevitably fell over the private room.

Although the seating arrangement was deliberate, we had only just met, and we didn't know where to start a conversation.

As the host, Zhou Yue naturally took on the important task of warming up the atmosphere.

She coughed lightly, her gaze first falling on Li Zhe beside her: "Li Zhe, where are you from?"

"Su...Su Province." Li Zhe was genuinely a little nervous when Zhou Yue suddenly spoke to him.

Although he couldn't tell the value of Zhou Yue's designer clothes, Zhou Yue was definitely a beauty. Li Zhe, who rarely talked to girls, was naturally a little flattered to be struck up a conversation with such a beautiful woman.

"You're from Jiangsu Province? I heard the food there tends to be sweet. Can you handle this spicy Hunan-Sichuan hot pot later?"

Li Zhe was surprised to be the first to be called out, and he pushed up his glasses somewhat awkwardly: "It's alright, I should be able to give it a try."

"Trying it won't do, you have to eat your fill!" Zhou Yue, with her cheerful personality, patted his shoulder with a natural and unobtrusive gesture. "Look at Wang Lan, he's obviously someone who can handle spicy food!"

Wang Lan immediately puffed out his chest: "Absolutely! We Northeastern men can eat anything, and spicy food is even more delicious!"

His exaggerated expression made everyone laugh, and the atmosphere instantly became much more relaxed.

"It's okay if you can't eat spicy food. I was just kidding. I made a half-and-half hot pot for you. Those who can't eat spicy food can have the mushroom broth," Zhou Yue said with a smile.

Lin Xiaoxiao joined the conversation, curiously asking Wang Lan if winters in Northeast China were really that cold, with snow reaching as high as a person.

Wang Lan immediately launched into a long-winded explanation, vividly describing the events and even including some amusing anecdotes from Northeast China, which made Lin Xiaoxiao giggle.

I always feel that people from Northeast China are born with a talent for stand-up comedy and comedy.

One person can talk nonstop and still make everyone laugh.

Just having that one person around is enough to keep the conversation from getting awkward.

On the other side, although Su Yuqing was next to Chen Mo, there was still some distance between them. She whispered to Chen Mo, "I'm quite lucky to have come to university this time. Our roommates are all very nice."

Chen Mo smiled and said in a low voice, "Even if we encounter something bad, I'm not afraid. At worst, I'll take you to rent a place to live."

Upon hearing this, Su Yuqing immediately recalled the comforting feeling of sleeping with Chen Mo in her arms at night. The thought of having to sleep alone in a bed for a while from now on made her feel a little reluctant.

As the two were talking, Zhao Ya, who was nearby, couldn't help but steal glances at Shen Xinghe.

Just then, Shen Xinghe seemed to sense her gaze, looked up, and gave her a polite, slight smile, appearing poised and graceful.

Zhao Ya felt like she had been caught doing something wrong, and quickly turned her head away with a flushed face, her heart skipping a beat for no reason.

This guy's smile... is just too devastating.

Shen Xinghe seemed to find her reaction amusing, a faint smile playing on his lips. He struck up a conversation with her, his voice gentle as he said, "Zhao Ya, judging from your accent, you seem to be from the South?" (End of Chapter)