Tea-flavored Romance

Chapter 84: What a terrible thing to do!

"Not at all, it's all thanks to your excellent command, Gu."

"So you do know I was in charge?" Gu Xihua's tone suddenly became meaningful, but the smile on her lips didn't diminish at all. "Alright, since you did a pretty good job carrying out the plan, let's go, I'll treat you to dinner~"

"Now?"

"What? You have an appointment?"

"It can't really be called an appointment..." Master Ning paused slightly, his expression turning somewhat strange. He carefully chose his words as he replied, "Would you mind if the three of us ate together?"

"..."

Just as Master Ning was carefully dealing with the potential trouble caused by the collision of two SSR characters, the events that had occurred at the previous micro-film festival, after brewing and fermenting, surged in popularity, successfully making Master Ning a household name once again. The Weibo trending topic #DragonKing'sSweetWords# broke into the top ten, and his ingeniously conceived short poem "Desert" also caught the attention of many people.

[You're too powerful, Dragon King!]

[Tonight's NetEase Cloud Music depressing material is ready!]

[This is ridiculous! A poem with two uses: use it once to confess your love, and use it again after a breakup. The Dragon King is truly a genius!]

[I just love this kind of handsome guy who's both silly and talented... His name is Ning Yuan, right? I'll go bump into him tomorrow, let's have a sword fight right away!]

[Something's not right upstairs...]

[Something's off upstairs +1...]

Has no one paid attention to the Dragon King's short film? I watched the live recording, and it was absolutely brilliant. I was completely blown away after watching it; I couldn't believe it was directed by the same person.

[+1... He's way too strong for his rank; it feels like he's a smurf. I feel sorry for the other players competing with him.]

Xu Yi: Wiping away tears...

Who can argue with that? (choking back tears)

Riding on this wave of popularity, "The Tuner" quickly entered the public eye, and even the previously uploaded "Legend of the Dragon King" experienced a second spring, with its viewership rising again.

This frenzy of enthusiasm will eventually subside, but clearly not now. Lin Xiaoya, who witnessed the entire micro-film festival firsthand, didn't hesitate to use her online presence to fuel this Dragon King's celebration.

Then, a knowing smile appeared on Master Lin's lips.

Perhaps the poem "Desert" can be interpreted in reverse, but what does this coincidence have to do with the secret relationship between Ning Yuan and Gu Guanxue?

In Master Lin's mind, there was only one person with whom he could sincerely express his feelings in front of everyone—that was Gu Guanxue!

Besides her, there was no one else who could match the template Ning Yuan mentioned one by one!

Hmph... Since fate has allowed me to discover their secret relationship ahead of time and to plan ahead for so long, then the next thing to do is to slowly and meticulously close the net and crush them.

Pure lover, destroy me!

Lin Xiaoya: √

……

On the other side, at a Japanese restaurant.

Master Ning stuffed expensive sushi into his mouth while taking a sip of moderately sweet Japanese sake, feeling an even greater sense of pleasure from getting something for free. He glanced at Jiang Manyue across from him and noticed that the girl was eating at a leisurely pace, her attention seemingly entirely focused on her phone.

"What are you looking at?" Master Ning asked with concern. "Why aren't you eating? Is it because these dishes aren't to your liking? Shall I go order two more plates of salmon?"

Jiang Manyue: "..."

You rascal, you only start trying to get something for free, don't you?

Oh well, we're all in the same boat anyway.

Considering that someone's performance was barely acceptable, Jiang Xihua didn't intend to argue with him. She picked up the small porcelain cup in front of her and spoke softly.

"I'm watching Weibo, about you." The girl pursed her lips, took a sip of sake, put down her glass, and smiled leisurely: "You seem to be famous again today."

"Keep it low-key, it's all for pursuing Gu Guanxue." Master Ning clicked his tongue and replied matter-of-factly, "It's mainly because you, Jiang, gave it a good command. If you hadn't asked me to thank her at the micro-film festival, I really wouldn't have found such a good opportunity."

"You haven't completely turned against me, but I find your attitude a bit strange." Jiang Xihua narrowed her eyes slightly: "Aren't you going to explain the last poem?"

"Explain what? What's there to explain!" Master Ning said righteously, "I was just subtly hinting at the time Gu Guanxue gave me the 'friend card' before. Wasn't the very first sentence, 'This is my heart,' clear enough?"

"Who knew there would be such a coincidence? It can even be read backwards!"

Whether the two most beautiful girls in the department believe it or not, Master Ning is definitely not going to admit it. His explanation to Gu Guanxue will naturally begin with "this place is barren and desolate," so in the end, it doesn't bother either side—perfectly reasonable!

Unless these two sisters collude! But given their personalities, it's unlikely they'd both offer such futile testimony. Besides... Gu Guanxue doesn't even want to eat with the three of them, so why would she go and coordinate her testimony with Jiang Xihua?

Not long ago, Gu Xihua extended a freebie invitation to him, leaving Master Ning in a state of great dilemma. Because before that, Jiang Manyue had also extended a freebie invitation…

It was clearly a double dose of freebies, which should have brought double the happiness... but why...?

After careful consideration, Ning Yuan declared, "I want them all."

Would you mind having dinner with three people?

Gu Daxi smiled without changing his expression: "I mind quite a bit."

Unfortunately, since the two SSR characters still adhered to the rule of "kings don't meet," Master Ning couldn't force them to meet. Actually, his reason for wanting the three of them to have dinner together was quite simple: to test the waters of their relationship.

If we can't organize a game, then we'll just have to continue enjoying double the happiness.

only……

Ning Yuan secretly glanced at Jiang Manyue's reaction. Her expression remained calm and composed, making it impossible to tell whether she believed Ning Yuan's words or not.

I always felt that this girl, like Gu Guanxue, was the kind of person who would say, "I suspect you want to be a double agent, but I don't have any concrete evidence yet, so please behave yourself in the future..."

Although we got through the first mission crash without any real danger, what will we do next?

What a tragedy...

……

"Jiujiu, we're going to class. Aren't you coming?" Inside the dormitory, several girls, carrying their drawing boards and getting dressed, were about to leave when they asked a certain silly girl curled up on the bed before leaving.

"I'm not feeling well... could you ask me to take a day off?" A muffled voice came from under the covers. Hearing this, the roommates didn't suspect anything, asked a few questions with concern, and then agreed, closing the door behind them.

After her roommates left the dorm, Lu Jiujiu lifted the blanket, carefully sensed her surroundings, and after confirming that no one was nearby, took out her phone and swiped the screen.

The page above is clearly a Baidu search page, displaying the entire search history:

Ningyuan seems to have confessed his feelings to me, what should I do?

What should I do if my childhood sweetheart confesses his feelings to me?

What should I do if my fake childhood friend confesses to me?

How long after confessing your feelings is it appropriate to kiss?

Will a college student drop out of school if they get pregnant?

What is the situation regarding the two-child policy? Is an application required?

The search history from top to bottom seemed to vividly recreate Lu Hanhan's mental journey just as she was lying under the covers. She touched her burning cheeks and felt as if her fingertips were being burned by the temperature.

What should I do?

What a tragedy...

Chapter 85: Master Lin: The Power of Tea, Great Perfection!

Ning Yuan was naturally unaware of Lu Jiujiu's inner thoughts. Right now, what was more important to him was to fleece Jiang Xihua as much as possible and enjoy the pleasure of getting something for free.

As the saying goes, things are valued for their rarity, and the more unattainable something is, the more it is coveted. Who can blame him when Jiang Manyue is so unreasonable? So when faced with two SSR invitations, Master Ning didn't think twice and chose the Jiang-type flower first.

There was no other reason, I just wanted to get rid of her for free and vent my anger... As for the deeper reason, it might be that I was worried that if Jiang Manyue found out that I didn't choose her in the two choices, she would retaliate with dirty tricks - Gu Guanxue herself said that this girl's heart is black, so of course I have to be careful.

Despite Master Ning's repeated explanations that his choice of Jiang Manyue first wasn't so simple and hoping Gu Guanxue wouldn't misunderstand, seeing her final smile and the expression that said, "I understand, you don't need to explain," Master Ning felt that Gu Guanxue wasn't as relieved as she appeared on the surface...

Forget it... I don't want to think about it anymore. Anyway, no matter how vengeful Gu Guanxue is, she can't be as vengeful as Jiang Manyue. Between two evils, I'll choose the lesser one. At least being betrayed by her will cause me less harm.

"What are you thinking about?" Jiang Xihua glanced up slightly and asked, "Why did you suddenly shake your head?"

"It's nothing..." Master Ning stuffed a piece of tuna sushi into his mouth without changing his expression, swallowed it, and took a sip of sake: "I was thinking... there are so few girls like Jiang, no other girl can compare to you... Can I have another bottle of sake? This stuff is pretty strong."

"Whatever." The girl seemed unmoved by the compliment. She casually flipped through the sashimi on her plate and suddenly asked, "The prize money for this competition must be quite substantial, right?"

"Jiang, what do you mean by this?" Master Ning asked warily. "Although the prize money is quite a lot, considering I need to pay back the money, reward the brothers, and cover next month's living expenses... Oh right, and I also need to support another good-for-nothing... Actually, I'm quite poor... I can only bring you breakfast tomorrow at most! If one day isn't enough, two days will do..."

"There's no need for that, I was just asking." Jiang Manyue didn't seem to be planning to squeeze Master Ning dry. She rested her chin on her hand, as if she was about to say something, but was suddenly interrupted by a voice.

"Um... excuse me... you are... Ning Yuan from the Computer Science Department, right?" A girl in a short skirt, whom I had never met before, approached me and asked softly, her voice trembling with excitement.

"..."

"I'm."

Ning Yuan was stunned for a moment, still somewhat bewildered before turning around. But when he turned and saw the person who had come and a familiar figure behind them, he immediately understood and asked, "Is there something you need?"

"We are alumni of the music department. We just went to see the short film festival... Ningyuan, your film is very well made... I really like it... May I take a picture with you?"

“If you’re the director of the winning short film competition, of course you can,” Ning Yuan said with a smile. “I just hope you won’t post on your WeChat Moments with the caption: ‘Greetings, Lord Dragon King.’”

"No, no, no..."

The girl waved her hands repeatedly, then took out her phone and turned on the front camera. Just as she was about to lean in and pout cutely, the person behind her tugged at her clothes and spoke softly.

"Jiajia... be careful..."

"What's wrong, Xiaoya...? Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..." The girl called Jiajia glanced back, then seemed to understand her friend's look, and quickly apologized: "I was too carried away... Um, miss, I hope you don't mind, I just came here to take a picture... Xiaoya, can you take the picture for us?"

Lin Xiaoya gave Ning Yuan an apologetic look, took the phone, and then Jiang Xihua slowly spoke up: "It's okay, I don't mind... I'm not his girlfriend, please go ahead."

Master Ning shrugged upon hearing this, saying nothing. The girl in the short skirt felt reassured and bent down next to Ning Yuan, making a peace sign. Master Ning, who was originally sitting at the Japanese-style table, had intended to stand up to cooperate, but seeing the girl bending down to accommodate his filming, he felt a little embarrassed but still cooperated by making a peace sign.

Perhaps this is what it feels like to have fans... I hope this girl didn't come just to take a picture with the Dragon King!

"Thank you, thank you..."

Lin Xiaoya handed the phone back to her best friend, saying apologetically, "Ningyuan, I'm so sorry for causing you trouble... It's all my fault. I just saw you here and casually mentioned that we've met before... I'm really sorry..."

"Xiaoya! I was the one who insisted on coming here, how can it all be your fault?" The girl in the short skirt replied somewhat uneasily, "I'm sorry, I'm sure I've disturbed your meal by coming so abruptly..."

“I have no objection,” Master Ning said, glancing at Miss Jiang Manyue.

"I have no objection either."

"That's good... Please enjoy your meal... We'll go eat first!"

Lin Xiaoya seemed to want to say something more, but her best friend pulled her away, leaving Ning Yuan with a hesitant and apologetic look.