Tea-flavored Romance

“We’re very close, and since we were little, both our families have hoped that we could play together. Unfortunately, our personalities just don’t align… Jiang Manyue was quite despicable even when she was a child!”

Even now, Gu Guanxue is still full of resentment when she recalls these events from many years ago: "What I remember most vividly is that we agreed to play a horse riding game together once. Jiang Manyue lied to me and said that we could play horse riding, but we couldn't always be the horse alone. We had to take turns being the horse, and each person would ride three times. To show her sincerity, she even said that she would go first... When I heard that, I felt really bad, so I insisted on being ridden by her for three times... But after she finished riding me, she lifted my skirt and then denied it, and even asked me why I was lying on the ground! Wasn't it dirty?"

"That's clearly the behavior of a scumbag!" Gu Guanxue exclaimed excitedly, "She took advantage of my naivety, doesn't she have any conscience?!"

Master Ning couldn't help but laugh, thinking to himself that Jiang Xihua was really ruthless when she was young... such a scheming girl.

"So, don't be fooled by how we seem evenly matched now... she actually bullied me terribly when we were kids~" Xuebao turned her head pitifully and said, "In the normal course of events, you should be here now, putting your arm around my shoulder and comforting me so I don't cry..."

He paused for a moment, then smiled and walked forward, thinking to himself, "Do girls really have to be a little dramatic to be cute?"

Gu Guanxue leaned against Ning Yuan's shoulder and said with a grin, "Speaking of which, doesn't saying this make you feel like you've betrayed Jiang Manyue?"

"Since we're going to seek thrills, let's go all the way."

“Okay~” The girl nodded in agreement. “I’ll go buy a full moon outfit tomorrow.”

The two exchanged a smile and parted ways in perfect unison. As Gu Guanxue walked, she continued, "So, thanks to Jiang Manyue, I've started to become clever. You know, experience makes perfect. After being tricked by that guy so many times, my IQ has naturally improved... I even started an organization called the Jiang Manyue Victims Association – Beijing Headquarters."

"They even have headquarters and branches?!" Ning Yuan exclaimed in disbelief. "Jiang, you're so young, and you've already extended your reach to other provinces and cities?"

"It's mainly to make it easier to set up branches later, so we're just using the headquarters name for now." Gu Xihua waved her hand: "That's not important. You just need to know that when we left home to go to school, my relatives and friends were so reluctant to see us off... their tears almost flooded the high-speed rail station... but Jiang Manyue..."

"Let me put it this way: it's just that firecrackers aren't allowed at the high-speed rail station, otherwise my association members would definitely be celebrating her departure with gongs, drums, and firecrackers."

"They certainly cried, but those were tears of happiness and excitement."

Gu Guanxue paused, then said seriously, "Now you know why, even though I know Jiang Manyue very well, I rarely contact her anymore?"

Chapter 143: Boyfriend, can I borrow your hand?

Ning Yuan and she exchanged a glance. The girl's clear, bright eyes seemed to hold curiosity and amusement. She stared at him intently, as if deliberately observing Ning Yuan's reaction to the news, without blinking for a long time.

He quickly gave in, and asked with a hint of surprise, "So... you and Jiang Manyue actually don't get along very well?"

"Well, that's a fair summary in a way." Gu Guanxue paused and said, "Of course, you might be wondering why we're in the same school if we don't get along..."

"Regarding this issue... would you believe me if I said it was a coincidence?"

"..."

“It seems even you don’t believe it.” Gu Xihua sighed as she looked at Ning Yuan’s reaction. “Actually, my family doesn’t believe it either… They think we agreed to go to school far away together… Although I’m very reluctant, this might be the only way to get them to agree to me going so far away from home.”

"Am I conflicted? I'm only able to travel thousands of miles away from home and be free because of Jiang Manyue, but I don't want to be indebted to her at all."

"She's too lazy to contact me, and I'm too lazy to contact her. After all, we're all adults now. If a conflict arises, we can't just start pulling hair and wrestling like we did when we were kids..."

Xiao Guanxue and Xiao Manyue are fighting... This scene sounds strangely appealing...

"By the way, let me tell you a secret~" Gu Xihua winked mischievously, revealing with a hint of pride, "When we were kids, I always won fights~"

Ning Yuan understood immediately. He thought to himself that if Jiang, the flower of the Jiang family, had maxed out her intelligence and crushed the simple-minded (?) Gu, then in order to protect herself, Gu Guanxue should have maxed out her strength attribute as well.

Whether a mage counters a warrior or a warrior counters a mage depends on which class goes first.

Moreover, judging from what happened after she grew up, it seems that Gu Guanxue switched to a melee mage.

He thought for a moment, then couldn't help but cautiously probe: "Since you and Jiang are the kind of people who would fight... then why..."

"So why did you agree to help you pursue Jiang Manyue, right?" Gu Xihua snapped her fingers: "Good question~ Actually, to be honest, I don't know why I wanted to help you either."

She stopped, turned around and smiled gently: "It's probably just a feeling. I feel that you are a very good person, with a promising future."

Master Ning thought to himself, "What merit do I have to be favored by Miss Gu? Could it be that Miss Gu is actually a lecherous old man who took a liking to my good looks at first glance?"

"What a mysterious and capricious choice," Ning Yuan sighed slightly, then continued, "So, you're coming clean with me now... because...?"

"To set the stage for you, so you can meet my friends later," Gu Xihua replied bluntly. "You'd better not tell the Jiang Manyue Victims' Friendship Association that you're planning to pursue her, or they won't treat you like a human being."

"Are they here to help with the game expo too?"

“Of course.” The girl’s eyes seemed to be filled with a subtle light: “I originally wanted to play secretly, but since we’ve already been discovered, I might as well invite them openly. That way, I’ll feel more confident.”

Master Ning: ?

I have a strange feeling that there's a strange coincidence in the development of this world line... Is it just my imagination?

I used to envy Lin Xiaoya's anime club for having plenty of manpower, so that they had people to do everything from makeup and costumes to moving props when they participated in the game expo. But now, Gu, the most beautiful girl in the department, has summoned monsters to help her out!

What's causing this inexplicable nervousness? Why am I nervous about meeting Gu Guanxue's friend?

He swallowed hard, feeling utterly ashamed, and couldn't recall which philosopher had said it: "When a girl is willing to introduce you to her social circle, it means you already have a certain place in her heart—at least you're not some lowly backup option."

Hmm, I think I originally preferred to be a backup option, right?

Master Ning felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He looked at Gu Guanxue, opened his mouth, and asked, "Then... in what capacity should I accompany you...?"

Gu Xihua smiled slightly, stretched out her small hand, and her eyes looked pure yet alluring, like a siren from legend who manipulates people's hearts.

"Boyfriend...can I borrow your hand?"

"???"

……

Regardless of Master Ning's response, Jiang Manyue's expression visibly stiffened upon receiving the message from Ning Yuan, and her fists clenched involuntarily.

Translate this for me: what does it mean that Gu Guanxue asked you to deliver a message to me?

Translate this! What the hell is this? Gu Guanxue asked you to deliver a message to me?!

This is blatant provocation! And it's an extremely egregious one at that!

Jiang Xihua felt challenged, a provocation from Ning Yuan and Gu Guanxue working together. Gu Guanxue's move surprised her. She pondered for a moment, a growing doubt appearing in her usually cool and indifferent eyes, as if she was beginning to wonder what trump cards Gu Guanxue held that she hadn't yet anticipated…

Normally, Ning Yuan would have been very curious about her since he had seen her at the same hotel, and would have come to find out what was going on... That would have been the normal course of events. But why was he suddenly lured away by Gu Guanxue halfway through his journey?

Having her fish snatched away by someone else, Jiang Manyue naturally didn't intend to let it go unpunished. She also held a grudge against that foolish fish that didn't understand the principle of "a wise man submits to circumstances," intending to retaliate in kind later.

Forgiving him is God's business; what she needs to do is to bring him as close to God as possible.

Closer~

A certain silly fish in the distance, holding the hand of the most beautiful girl in the department, suddenly shivered for some reason. Then, doubts arose, and he looked around nervously.

Why do I have this inexplicable sense of crisis? Is it just my imagination?

I clearly haven't acquired any talent for danger prediction... Whose aura is just too strong?

But nobody around here is watching me...

Gu Guanxue, who was standing to the side, seemed to notice Ning Yuan's little actions of looking around. She couldn't help but gently squeeze his hand and lean down to whisper in his ear, "What are you thinking about?"

The girl smelled clean and pleasant around me. Before coming here, she had gone back to her dorm to change into an off-the-shoulder skirt and delicate high-heeled sandals, which made her slender ankles look even more adorable. She was already tall, and the high heels and skirt accentuated her already perfect figure.

High heels are a girl's battle gear, and that's absolutely true. Gu Guanxue, who usually seems easygoing and carefree, now exudes a noble and sharp aura.

"Are you nervous?" she asked.

Chapter 144: Brother-in-law Xue

Ning Yuan shook his head. Although Gu Guanxue's idea of ​​him coming to meet her friend as her boyfriend left him speechless, he was not the girl's real boyfriend after all, so it would be too much to say he was nervous.

If he were to actually date Gu Guanxue, he would naturally have to take her previous social circle seriously when he first met her. So right now, he could only be described as feeling a little awkward.

Are you sure... your friends won't see through my act?

"Why would they suspect you're fake?" Gu Xihua said with a grin, "I'm their leader, the kind who's ruthless and doesn't talk much. Any of them, men or women, who dare to question you, I'll have them all dragged out and beheaded!"

"If there really was a boss like that, you'd probably be all alone in a few days," Ning Yuan couldn't help but chuckle. "Let's go, is that the one up ahead?"

The two walked hand in hand into a billiards club. Gu Guanxue gave the name of the private room with ease, and then led Ning Yuan up the stairs while saying, "They are one of the few friends who gather here... Jiang Manyue also knows them, but try not to mention her name... lest it scare them away."

Master Ning was speechless upon hearing this. He thought to himself, "Is Jiang Xihua some kind of cold-blooded female demon who can stop children from crying at night? Why do these guys all sound so cowardly… Miss Manyue is clearly quite kind…"

Pretty kind...right?

He's becoming increasingly curious about the growth process of these two SSR characters, Jiang Xihua and Gu Xihua. He feels that if he had the chance to find someone to tell them in detail, it would definitely be an extremely interesting story.

A soft, white hand took Ning Yuan's in its grasp, leading him forward. Although their roles seemed somewhat reversed, Ning Yuan enjoyed the wonderful feeling of being led by the young woman. He had initially found it strange that they had started holding hands on the street when they had met in a private room on the second floor.

It wasn't until he had the upper hand and had walked the path of power, enduring the envious, jealous, and hateful gazes of passersby, that Master Ning began to realize that his previous thoughts had been completely unnecessary.

There's a reason for watching the snow! Why question her decision?

What is the essence of an old pervert? Many people may misunderstand or not know at all. I actually have a hand blindness. I can't tell the difference between a young lady's hand and a rough man's hand, so I have no idea whether Gu Xihua's small hands are nice to touch or not.

The club was elegantly decorated. After walking up the stairs to the second floor and through a short corridor, Gu Guanxue turned her head slightly and smiled at him before pushing open the door to the private room.

"Hey everyone~ It's been a long time since we last met~"

Inside the private room, two men and two women were sitting on the pool table, one leaning over the edge in a poker position, and the other two chatting on a nearby sofa. All four of them looked up at the sound of the conversation. A girl standing at the pool table, holding a cue with perfect form, exclaimed in surprise, immediately dropped her cue, and ran over to give Gu Xihua a bear hug.

"Xiaoxue, I've missed you so much."

“Waaah…you finally deigned to come see us…” Another girl wearing a fisherman’s hat also came over: “I thought you didn’t want us anymore.”

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't step on me! Chen Ling, you're so fat... you're going to break my heel!"

"If they break, I'll buy you ten more pairs!"

"You think you're all that, with your few bucks? Don't show off... Go away, go away, go somewhere else!"

"Sister Xue, where have you been hanging out lately? Why haven't you been hanging out with us guys?" A guy with a buzz cut walked over carrying a golf club, looked Ning Yuan up and down, and asked, "And this friend is...?"

Gu Guanxue broke free from the girl's embrace, turned to Master Ning, and grinned, "My boyfriend. What do you think?"

Master Ning's heart skipped a beat, thinking to himself, "Is this journey of unknown significance finally about to reach its first minor climax?"

A familiar and classic opening. The guys inside don't look like ordinary people based on their clothes, and their every move exudes an air of arrogance... while he's just an unremarkable guy who was brought in by Gu Xihua...

Huh? Wait a minute, I think I'm more handsome than them?

However, thanks to Louis Koo's performance, the phrase "ordinary and unremarkable" has begun to take on a positive connotation. Therefore, Ning Yuan decisively abandoned his obsession with the adjective and instead continued to ponder:

Seeing that I, an ordinary person, had won the heart of their circle's goddess, their first thought must have been:

Enraged and embarrassed, they started making things difficult for each other?

The man with the buzz cut: "Oh."

"Should we call her Brother-in-law Xue?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" another boy in a plaid shirt with a crew cut said, "Call me 'brother'!"