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

Zhao Ya was surprised that this handsome young man, who seemed somewhat distant, would take the initiative to speak to her. After a slight pause, she replied softly, "Yes, I'm from Jiang Province."

"Jiang Province is a wonderful place with beautiful scenery." Shen Xinghe's tone was natural, neither overly enthusiastic nor cold, which perfectly eased Zhao Ya's tension.

"Yes, yes." Zhao Ya relaxed a bit and tried asking, "And you?"

“I’m also from Jiang Province, specifically Taizhou,” Shen Xinghe replied.

“I know Taishi. Taishi is by the sea. I’ve heard that your seafood is famous, and you also have a lot of local snacks. I’ve always wanted to try them,” Zhao Ya continued, picking up where she left off.

"If you have the chance to come visit next time, I'll treat you to some blue crabs," Shen Xinghe said with a smile.

Although Wang Lan was mainly talking to Lin Xiaoxiao and Zhou Yue, she was also listening to what was happening around her. When she saw Shen Xinghe and Zhao Ya chatting, she couldn't help but chime in and ask Shen Xinghe about interesting things related to his modeling job.

Shen Xinghe mentioned some trivial matters, which drew gasps of surprise and curiosity from everyone.

Just then, the waiter came in and prepared the huge hot pot with two broths in front of them. One side was bubbling with spicy red oil, while the other side was bubbling with the fresh aroma of mushroom soup. Following that were plates of fresh ingredients.

The rich aroma instantly filled the entire private room, making everyone's mouths water.

"Come on! The pot's boiling! Put the meat in! Put the meat in!" Zhou Yue cheered, taking the lead in shoveling a plate of fatty beef rolls into the hot oil. "Don't be shy! Help yourselves out, and you'll have plenty to eat!"

With delicious food in front of me, the initial unfamiliarity and awkwardness quickly melted away.

Everyone started eating, and the sounds of the soup bubbling, clinking chopsticks, gasps from the spiciness, and exclamations of delight mingled together, creating a lively atmosphere.

Chen Mo carefully placed the first slice of blanched tripe into Su Yuqing's bowl.

Su Yuqing gave him a sweet smile.

Everyone who saw this scene immediately felt touched by its sweetness.

"This smells so strong, so damn sweet and sour from being in love!" Wang Lan couldn't help but tease, which made everyone burst into laughter.

This made Su Yuqing, the female lead, blush with embarrassment.

She's naturally shy, and showing affection in public is one of her weaknesses.

Although I feel very sweet inside, I can't help but feel shy at the same time.

Just then, Li Zhe was so overwhelmed by the spiciness of the hot pot that he forgot all about his image and started panting heavily like a puppy, sticking out his tongue.

This caused everyone to burst into laughter again. While laughing, Zhou Yue thoughtfully poured him a glass of milk, saying, "Hurry up and drink some iced milk to relieve the spiciness. If you can't handle the spice, then eat the mushroom soup."

"Thank...thank you." Li Zhe mumbled a thank you before quickly taking the glass of iced milk from Zhou Yue and gulping it down.

After drinking a whole glass of iced milk, he finally felt much better, as his tongue, which had felt swollen from the heat, was now much more comfortable.

At the same time, he was so scared that he dared not cook hot pot in spicy oil again.

Wang Lan was eating the spicy hot pot while sweating profusely from the spiciness. Seeing this, Lin Xiaoxiao teased him with a laugh, "Wang Lan, your head is like a waterfall. Why don't you try the mushroom soup hot pot too?"

"This is exactly the feeling I wanted!" Wang Lan exclaimed, thoroughly enjoying herself. She even tried to persuade Li Zhe, who wasn't very good at spicy food, to try the hot pot with chili oil, but Li Zhe waved his hand and refused, which made everyone laugh again.

Shen Xinghe ate with great elegance, even to the point of being pleasing to the eye, but he ate quickly, clearly a man who could eat a lot and knew how to eat well.

Zhao Ya ate her food in small bites, only occasionally answering quietly when Wang Lan or Shen Xinghe asked her questions, but her expression was noticeably more relaxed than when she had just sat down. The steam from the hot pot enveloped everyone's faces, bringing them closer together.

The eight of us enjoyed our first college get-together dinner in this lively and delicious atmosphere.

Soon, after several rounds of drinks and several dishes, the atmosphere at the table became even more harmonious and warm.

The initial awkwardness was completely dispelled by the spiciness of the hot pot, and the conversation gradually shifted from local customs and traditions to the upcoming university life.

"By the way, don't universities have military training? I didn't see any relevant information," Wang Lan said suddenly, as if she had just remembered something.

"I've checked. Our school's military training is usually scheduled after National Day," Li Zhe said, pushing up his glasses.

"So late?"

"Because of the weather in Xiangsha, if it's too hot and humid at the beginning of the semester, it won't be good for the students during military training. They say the weather will be cooler after the National Day holiday," Li Zhe explained.

"I see. Our school is really quite humane," Wang Lan said with a smile.

"After National Day...that's good, at least we can have a month's rest." Lin Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief, then grinned and said, "But the sun will probably still be strong then, so I'll have to prepare some sunscreen."

“I have plenty of sunscreen, I’ll share some with you later,” Zhou Yue replied, her tone as generous as ever. “I have all kinds of SPF, so you won’t get tanned.”

"Sister Yue is awesome!" Lin Xiaoxiao immediately chimed in.

At this moment, Zhao Ya looked at Shen Xinghe curiously: "Shen Xinghe, you must have a lot of experience with sun protection when you're shooting on location, right?"

She asked the question rather tactfully, but everyone understood that with his skin so delicate, even more so than a girl's, he must have put a lot of effort into skincare.

Shen Xinghe was scooping a shrimp paste out of the mushroom soup pot with a slotted spoon when he heard this. He paused for a moment, then smiled faintly: "It's alright. The main thing is physical sun protection and timely reapplication. For military training, I suggest you choose SPF50+ PA+++ or higher, and it's best to reapply every two hours."

He spoke of it quite naturally, without any hesitation.

"I've got it! I've got it!" Zhou Yue nodded repeatedly, then joked, "It seems like Shen Xinghe could be our skincare consultant from now on!"

Listening to Shen Xinghe's use of professional terminology about sunscreen, the other two boys at the table, apart from Chen Mo who had been cared for by his junior and senior sisters when he was a criminal police officer and had mentioned similar terms when giving them sunscreen, didn't understand at all.

Wang Lan muttered to herself, "Applying sunscreen is such a hassle..."

He's a rough, unrefined man; he used to only apply Dabao cream in the winter at most.

"It's a hassle, but we have to do it, otherwise it'll be even more uncomfortable if our skin peels from the sun," Zhou Yue said, speaking from experience. "Especially for someone like Li Zhe with sensitive skin, you need to be extra careful."

Li Zhe pushed up his glasses and nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Chen Mo listened quietly, occasionally exchanging a glance with Su Yuqing.

Su Yuqing mostly listened to what everyone was saying, a gentle smile always on her lips.

She found it very interesting that her new classmates, with their diverse personalities, were all full of energy and anticipation for the future.

Her heart felt warm; these new friends had lessened her anxiety and filled her with anticipation for the upcoming university life. (End of Chapter)