The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

Ye Shu's sudden hug, seeking comfort, completely shattered Xia Qing's initial temper tantrum over the junior schoolmate.

The pressure on Ye Shu's chest gradually loosened, and she slowly wrapped her arms around his back, gently patting it twice.

"Alright, alright, it's no big deal."

Xia Qing is usually very strong-willed, but she responds better to gentleness than force. The more you argue with her, the more she will argue with you. However, if you suddenly act coquettishly like Ye Shu, she will become very gentle, provided that the relationship is close enough.

"Tell me, what happened? Did your junior schoolmate eat you up?"

Ye Shu lingered on her shoulder for a few more seconds before recharging, then climbed off her and sat down next to her.

He turned to look at Xia Qing, and his first words were very serious:

"Xia Qing, don't worry, I really, really don't have any other feelings for Jiang Yining. She's just an ordinary college classmate of mine, really."

Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, Xia Qing couldn't help but chuckle. She picked up a strawberry from the glass bowl and popped it directly into Ye Shu's mouth, a gesture of devotion.

"Okay, okay, are you acting out a romantic drama? Let's get down to business. What did she do to scare you like that?"

Ye Shu took a bite, chewed, swallowed, and held the remaining half in her hand. She organized her thoughts and recounted the events as objectively as possible:

"Actually... she didn't do anything to me. I just ran into her at the shop today. She came in for coffee and recognized me. Then... she said she wanted to treat me to dinner, saying it was to reconnect with old classmates, so I called you to ask for permission."

Ye Shu paused, then threw the remaining half into her mouth:

"But... the way she talked, the way she looked at me, and later... I just felt something was off. I felt... like she might have some kind of romantic interest in me."

After saying that last sentence, Ye Shu felt her face getting hot.

Telling his girlfriend that other girls might be interested in him... how to describe it... it's a bit narcissistic, inexplicably awkward, and a bit nervous about Xia Qing misunderstanding, which makes him keep glancing at Xia Qing's face while he's saying this.

Upon hearing this, Xia Qing's smile faded slightly; she did feel a bit uneasy and uncomfortable.

That's normal, though. No one would be too happy to hear that another person of the opposite sex might be interested in their partner.

Even though she trusted Ye Shu, there's a saying: "It's not the thief you should fear, but the one who has his eye on you."

She didn't say anything, but simply stretched out her arm, wrapped it around Ye Shu's neck, and pulled her forcefully towards herself.

Ye Shu leaned over as well, resting his head on Xia Qing's shoulder.

Xia Qing's faint fragrance mingled with the scent of strawberries, wafting into Ye Shu's nose with each breath.

Xia Qing, with a possessive touch, rubbed Ye Shu's collar with the hand that was around his neck, and then asked:

"So what do you want?"

Ye Shu leaned on her shoulder, a position that made him feel very relaxed. Without much hesitation, he shared the thoughts he had been pondering while walking through the neighborhood:

"I think... if she mentions dinner again, or contacts me again, I'll agree and then make things clear to her. I feel it's better to be direct about these things; dragging it out isn't good for anyone, it not only delays the other person but also causes trouble for ourselves."

Xia Qing tilted her head slightly and looked down at the head resting on her shoulder.

She could sense the seriousness with which Ye Shu spoke; he wasn't just trying to appease her, but genuinely believed it.

She tightened her grip on Ye Shu's shoulder, and with her other hand free, she reached out and pinched Ye Shu's lower lip, pulling it up and shaking it:

"Then you should have gone with her tonight. Why didn't you just talk it out face-to-face? Why come back to me begging and saying it's scary?"

Xia Qing's question hit the nail on the head, and it was also the key point Ye Shu was about to make. Ye Shu tilted his head slightly, looked at Xia Qing, and said three words very seriously.

"I'm scared."

Xia Qing was speechless for a moment, feeling both like laughing and a little soft-hearted.

Ye Shu usually seems quite reliable and doesn't seem to care about anything, but when faced with something like this, he immediately chickens out.

His current appearance suddenly made Xia Qing feel as if she had a big dog wagging its tail leaning on her shoulder, which was actually kind of cute.

After saying that, Ye Shu realized he might have sounded a bit cowardly, so he winked at Xia Qing:

"How about... Sister Xia Qing, next time she asks me to come with you? With you there, I'll feel more confident. We can have a meal together, and you can just sit there and be the best 'no disturbance' sign without even saying a word."

Upon hearing this, Xia Qing raised an eyebrow, loosened Ye Shu's lower lip, gently poked his forehead, and said with a look of disgust:

"You want me to go? To have dinner with that girl who seems to have a crush on you? For such a trivial matter, I'm going to personally supervise it, as if I can't live without you. Don't you feel awkward? I do!"

"Then what's so awkward about it?"

Ye Shu retorted confidently:

"You're my girlfriend, so we're... the official couple! Yes, the official couple! What's there to be embarrassed about? We're going to assert our ownership, to politely ask someone to back out, it's all aboveboard. With you here, I can talk things out. Otherwise, if it's just the two of us eating together, what would that look like? It'd be awkward, and we wouldn't be able to explain ourselves."

As she spoke, Ye Shu even counted on her fingers to present the facts and reason with Xia Qing:

"Don't you read novels? They always say that this is the easiest time for misunderstandings to arise between two people, like when someone's drunk or something goes wrong. And for a female student to suddenly appear so enthusiastic towards me, to put it bluntly, I'm afraid it's a setup..."

At this point, Ye Shu seemed to have been reminded of something, and he seemed genuinely afraid. He said:

"Damn, could this really be a honey trap...? I'll have to bring that old bastard Han Yang along..."

Xia Qing, standing beside him, gave him a "Are you kidding me?" look, letting him imagine what he was going through. Seeing this, Ye Shu's eyes lit up, and he immediately unleashed his trump card:

"Anyway, if you're not going, I... I'll ask Sister Zhi Qiu to go with me. Sister Zhi Qiu is the most reasonable person; she'll definitely be willing to go with me. Then I'll tell Jiang Yining, 'This is my girlfriend, Zhi Qiu.' Anyway, someone has to go with me; I can't go alone. If this meal is unavoidable, then you choose—you go, or let Sister Zhi Qiu go?"

He's just being a scoundrel!

Xia Qing was both annoyed and amused by his shameless attitude, which seemed to say, "Anyway, I'm sticking with you, or Sister Zhi Qiu."

However, the thought of Ye Shu introducing her as "This is my girlfriend Zhi Qiu" made her unhappy. She still wanted to hear Ye Shu introduce her as "This is my girlfriend Xia Qing".

She glared at Ye Shu and pinched his nose with her hand:

"Ye Shu, you're really...impressive!"

He vented his anger on Ye Shu's nose, but still gave in:

"Fine! I'll go! I'll go, okay? I want to see what kind of junior schoolgirl could scare our Uncle Ye like this, having to bring her family to a meal."

Upon hearing this, Ye Shu's worries vanished. Having learned from so many melodramatic online novels, he was determined to nip any potential safety hazards in the bud.

He casually put his arm around Xia Qing's waist and rubbed his face against her shoulder. Now that he needed her help, he figured he had to offer her something in return. He spoke in a voice Xia Qing liked:

"Xia Qing is the best! Xia Qing is the most loyal! With you here, I'm not afraid of anything!"

"Don't give me that! Talking about being loyal to your girlfriend? You're really something!"

Xia Qing patted his head as he rubbed it, but the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up. There was nothing she could do; Xia Qing was most susceptible to this kind of thing.

She picked up a strawberry, popped it into her mouth, and asked somewhat indistinctly:

"So when are you planning to ask her out?"

At this point, Ye Shu suddenly stopped the activity of rubbing his shoulders against Xia Qing's, which was generating heat, and suddenly looked up and clapped his hands:

"By the way! We don't have any way to contact you!"