No? Can I read the mind of my mortal enemy?

Now, Shi Qiao's entire outfit was in the same color scheme as her clothes.

She took a half step back and covered her neck.

"How dare you take advantage of someone when they weren't looking!"

No wonder she was so obedient the other day, she was waiting for her here!

Pei Jingnian smoothed out her scarf, "Now you can't see it anymore, right?"

Shi Qiao turned her head, her teeth clenched so tightly, "Going to put on makeup, goodbye!"

About an hour later, Shi Qiao put on a retro Hong Kong style makeup, tied her hair into a retro side bun, and pulled out some stray hairs to modify her face shape.

As soon as she stepped out of the room after getting ready, she found Pei Jingnian waiting right outside her bedroom door.

The burgundy cotton-linen shirt was casually unbuttoned at the top two buttons, with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, revealing the obvious lines of the forearms. The overly long part was half-tucked into dark jeans.

Her hair was styled into a side-parted slicked-back look, and because she used hair clay, it looked fluffy and light, perfectly showcasing her eyebrows and eyes, instantly drawing people's attention to her face.

Shi Qiao was also momentarily stunned.

Pei Jingnian's outfits always seem to be black, white, and gray, so this bold color actually suits him surprisingly well.

"Wait, Pei Jingnian, are you dressed like this to tell everyone we're wearing matching outfits?!"

Pei Jingnian straightened his cuffs. "In your current scenario, your boyfriend is someone else."

"So in their eyes, I must be an older brother who loves but cannot have, secretly wanting to wear matching outfits with you."

Thinking about it that way, I should feel wronged.

He reached out and carefully secured a short hairpin adorned with roses to her side bun.

Shi Qiao fanned herself and said, "Yue, where is that strong smell of vinegar coming from?"

She glanced at her watch; it was almost time. "Let's go, let's go."

*

To avoid arousing suspicion, Shi Qiao specially asked Jiang Youran to wait at home, and they drove her there.

The restaurant caters to everyone's spending level; it's a fairly authentic old-fashioned eatery.

Pei Jingnian couldn't drive in, so he dropped Shi Qiao and Jiang Youran off first and then went to find a place to park before coming back later.

After chatting for a while in the private room, Pei Jingnian's analysis proved to be correct.

There was indeed a second half, and the voice actor that Youyou had been longing for didn't arrive until the second half.

The class reunion wasn't entirely with her classmates, but Shi Qiao was a well-known figure at school who could talk to anyone, so she didn't hold back.

"Shi Qiao, you look so beautiful today!" A girl with a bob haircut sat down next to Shi Qiao. She was Xu Qing, the class monitor from the next class.

She organized this class reunion, and Chen Yuanyuan was invited because of her connections.

"Qingqing, you look absolutely gorgeous today!" Shi Qiao grabbed Xu Qing's hands. "Help, I've been missing your beautiful hands for so long."

Xu Qing was embarrassed by the praise, and soon all the girls present gathered together.

Since it wasn't officially mealtime yet, everyone was chattering away, sharing all sorts of bizarre stories about university life.

"Heavens, you have no idea how many weird men I've met since I entered university."

"A foreigner I knew told me 'I love you' on our third meeting, so I climbed up to a nunnery that very night."

"I really don't know where they get their confidence. Some guys even came up to me with cow-shaped hairpins on their heads. I almost fainted in the classroom."

As they chatted, the topic shifted to Shi Qiao and Jiang Youran. "Hey, Qiaoqiao, Youyou, you two haven't said a word since you started college...?"

They nudged each other, "How was it?"

Jiang Youran stood up straight, "I've already sacrificed myself to the paper doll, don't bother me."

"What about Qiaoqiao?" Their smiles were somewhat eerie. "I remember Xu Qing said Pei Jingnian was coming today. Could it be as your...?"

Shi Qiao was drinking water and almost choked. "No, no, no, I, well, I am indeed not single, but my partner is not Pei Jingnian."

She raised her voice slightly, feeling a little uneasy, afraid that they might misunderstand and that it would reach her mother's ears.

"Ahem, how could it be Pei Jingnian? We don't get along."

Xu Qing frowned. "Ah? Qiaoqiao, you don't still think...?"

An Rui coughed lightly, "Qing'er, come here for a moment, the boss asked us to confirm the order."

The two met up, and An Rui lightly tapped Xu Qing with the menu, saying, "Let's not say anything yet. Qiaoqiao has a boyfriend now, and if she still sees Pei Jingnian as just a brother, wouldn't it be awkward for her if we said anything?"

Xu Qing glanced at Shi Qiao out of the corner of his eye, "No, Qiao Qiao is such a big idiot!"

"I think everyone in the entire school, except for her, knows that Pei Jingnian likes her, right?"

"Holy crap, the whole grade was practically obsessed with it in our first year of high school, okay? Even the teachers were into it!"

Anrui seemed to recall something, and smiled like an aunt, "Speaking of which, we were among the first to discover it."

It all started when they sneaked back to the classroom during free time in PE class.

Shi Qiao's class also had physical education, but she was kept in the classroom by the teacher because she was the only one in the class who failed chemistry.

When they passed by Shi Qiao's classroom, they saw her through the back window, slumped over her desk with a pen still in her hand, seemingly asleep while being punished by copying chemical equations.

They were about to go into the classroom to check on poor Xiaoqiao when they saw Pei Jingnian through the window and were startled.

He stared at her without blinking, his usually frosty expression completely melting away. His lips parted slightly, but they were too far away to hear what he said.

He quietly drew the curtains to shield her from the glaring sunlight.

He gently brushed her hair aside, his movements incredibly light.

He took the pen from her hand, sat down beside her, propped his head up with one hand, and began to copy and write.

Xu Qing also recalled this, proudly tilting her head back, "Of course, I even argued with Pei Jingnian and Qiaoqiao, those 'toxic fans,' back then."

An Rui straightened her back as well, "After all, only a real sister-in-law and a real brother-in-law can make them break down."

"I never expected... it would end badly."

Xu Qing shook her head. "Respect him. Who told him to be so awkward back then? If Qiaoqiao really chose someone else, it's his own fault."

Meanwhile, on the other side, there was a group of boys.

"Brother Heng, you've finally arrived! Look who's over there?"

"What a coincidence! Brother Feng!"

The man known as "Brother Heng" is Feng Heng. He has a clean-cut look and is wearing a simple black T-shirt. He arrived in a hurry and was wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Looking up, she saw Shi Qiao shining in the crowd and blushed instantly.

Feng Heng picked up his glass and took a sip of ice water. "You guys... keep your voices down."

"Hey Feng, I overheard this when I was passing by the girl. Shi Qiao isn't with Pei Jingnian anymore; she's with someone else, I don't know who."

Another male student, Jiang Xin, chimed in, "But a friend of mine at Victoria Harbour University told me that he had run into Shi Qiao a few times. She's pretty, so it's natural that she looks familiar."

"I originally wanted to pursue him, but I gave up after hearing about all the things that guy surnamed Pei did."

Feng Heng coughed lightly, "Let's not talk about that. No matter what, Shi Qiao has a boyfriend..."

"Heng-ge, listen to me! The point is, my friend said that Shi Qiao has only ever been seen with that guy surnamed Pei, and has never been with any other guys."

"I just observed that Shi Qiao has been chatting there for so long, but she hasn't sent a message to her boyfriend at all."

"Besides, how could a normal man tolerate Shi Qiao having a non-blood-related brother constantly hanging around her?"

"So I reasonably suspect that Shi Qiao doesn't have a boyfriend at all."

He patted Feng Heng on the back and said, "Brother Heng, you were the one who got scolded but still kept liking Shi Qiao."

"Don't think I don't know, you didn't go abroad, you came to Hong Kong for her."

"You usually won't come out when I call you, but if someone happens to say they're coming, you'll come running right away."

Feng Heng's face grew hotter and hotter as he spoke. "These are all just your wild guesses. What if she really does have a boyfriend?"

Jiang Xin touched his chin. "But I think my sixth sense is pretty accurate."

"Or, how about I try to subtly probe later?"

"Test what?" A cold voice came from behind.

She turned her head and met Pei Jingnian's gaze.

Jiang Xin choked back tears, "Pei...Senior Pei! We were saying...let's see if we can get Feng Heng drunk!"

He glanced past the group of boys and lingered on Feng Heng for a brief half-second.

He remembered this person.

He looked away.

Fortunately, they stubbornly persisted and came.

We need to keep a close eye on things today.