23: It's hard to persuade that damned person.

"A group dinner!? Great! Our dorm just had a drinking session last night, and I was just looking for a reason to get some payback!"

Chang Heng immediately agreed heartily.

Standing beside Tan Xinxin were two other girls, precisely the Xia Xiaodan and He Wenjing they had just mentioned.

"What do you guys think?"

Shen Qian looked at the other two and received affirmative answers, so he had no choice but to nod as well. In his plan, he didn't actually need to get close to Tan Xinxin yet; he wanted to let his charm work for a while first.

Since he was going for a high-quality approach, he couldn't rush; he had to take it slow.

But since she had come to him, he couldn't pass up the chance to get to know the girl better.

Their original plan was to eat near the school, but it was the start of the semester. Shen Qian and his friends were lucky to get a private room yesterday, but they weren't so lucky today.

"Sorry, Shen Qian. I originally wanted our two dorms to have a mixer, but it ended up like this."

"It's fine, we'll just book somewhere a bit further away."

With a girl he liked present, Chang Heng was very proactive, and Wei Mingtian beside him kept nodding. Shen Qian just watched quietly without making much comment.

"I've booked it, let's go."

Shen Qian took the phone and glanced at it. This was a private kitchen restaurant with an average cost of over 200 yuan per person, which was within an acceptable range. However, he was a bit worried. Seeing how eager these two brothers were, they probably wanted to show off their strength in front of the girls. Would they end up paying for the girls' meals too?

"Over 200 per person, isn't that a bit too expensive?"

"It's fine, this meal is on me!" As soon as Wenjing mentioned the price, Chang Heng patted his chest and declared he would treat them.

"How about we go Dutch? At over 200 per person, the eight of us might end up spending 2,000 yuan. No one's money grows on trees. If we don't go Dutch, let's change places. We're students; there's no need to eat that well."

Shen Qian had money, but he didn't like wasting it. Chang Heng did have the means to cover the meal, but if he did, this dorm leader would go down the path of being a sucker with no turning back.

Hearing Shen Qian's words, the expressions of two girls changed imperceptibly, while the remaining girl didn't express an opinion. Tan Xinxin immediately spoke up.

"Shen Qian is right. Our monthly living expenses are at most two or three thousand, maybe three or four thousand if we have a bit more. If one meal costs over 2,000, how are you going to live?"

"It's fine, let's just go there. The two of us will treat everyone. That way, even if it's 2,000, split between the two of us, it's only 1,000 each."

Good advice is lost on the doomed; Shen Qian finally understood the power of this saying. These two were currently blinded by lust, thinking that being extravagant in front of girls was charming. To think they were just talking to him about what scumbags were like—turns out they were purely theoretical.

He couldn't persuade them, couldn't persuade them at all.

Considering they would be drinking, Shen Qian simply didn't drive. He followed the others to call a taxi. Eight people, exactly two taxis.

In the car, Xia Xiaodan couldn't help but complain.

"This Shen Qian is way too stingy. It's just a few hundred yuan for a meal, and he still insisted on going Dutch."

"Not only stingy, but also hypocritical. If he was really afraid of his brother spending too much, he could have just chipped in a bit. It's about 2,000 in total; for two people it's over 1,000 each, but for four people it would only be 500 each. Splitting it like that would reduce the cost."

He Wenjing also spoke up indignantly.

"Alright, alright. We were supposed to treat them, but now they're treating us, so there's no need to say more."

Tan Xinxin tried to smooth things over.

In the other car.

Shen Qian looked at the two of them with a bit of disappointment.

"Is this how you chase girls? How long have you known them? Do you know their preferences? Do you understand their personalities? You're throwing money away without knowing anything. You'll easily be treated like suckers, you know?"

"It's just a thousand or so. Old Third, you're making a mountain out of a molehill."

"I'm making a mountain out of a molehill? How much are your monthly living expenses?"

"Mine is 2,000."

"Mine is 2,400."

"Oh wow, you have 400 more than me."

"Huh? You're all starting at 2,000? I'm the most miserable; I only have 1,500."

Gao Haitao clamored. No wonder he didn't speak earlier; it was because of his lack of financial resources.

"Don't worry, don't worry. We said this meal is on us, so it's on us. Old Third, we know what you're thinking—you're just afraid we'll be taken for a ride. Don't worry, we have our own rhythm."

This made Shen Qian's head ache. If they really had a "rhythm," they wouldn't have gone from being the ones invited to being the ones paying.

"Just think of it as us paying for the mixer. Who knows, the two of us might hit it off with Xia Xiaodan and the others. Haitao, do you like anyone? I think the one who hasn't spoken is also quite nice. I think her name is Xu Ling."

Shen Qian had an impression of this girl named Xu Ling. She wore large black-rimmed glasses, and her messy hair almost covered her eyes. Even though it was summer, she wore a loose jacket. Shen Qian didn't understand why someone who looked like such a shut-in would be willing to participate in a mixer.

"Forget it, I still prefer more normal girls. That girl looks even more gloomy than I do. I feel like if I stayed with her, my life force would be drained away."

"There's no one I like in our class, but it's okay. University is long; there's no rush."

The two cars soon reached their destination. As they were getting out, Gao Haitao suddenly spotted someone and tugged at Shen Qian.

"Old Third, 9 o'clock direction. There's a beauty."

Following his gaze, Shen Qian immediately saw the beauty.

When Shen Qian looked over, the girl's face was turned in another direction, seemingly waiting for someone. Soon, a tall and thin boy walked out of the parking lot, smiling as he greeted the girl.

But when the girl turned her face around, Shen Qian couldn't help but marvel that the world was indeed quite small.

The girl was Liu Xinyao, but the boy was not Wu Gao.

Shen Qian and his group were very conspicuous standing by the roadside, so Liu Xinyao naturally saw him as she passed by. A flicker of panic suddenly appeared on her face, like someone caught doing something wrong.

If she had come over to say hello, he would have responded, but it seemed she wanted to pretend they were strangers. Shen Qian cooperated with her performance.

"Having a car in university is so nice. That guy clearly drove that beauty here."

Boys didn't have the habit of checking other people's momentss unless they were newly posted. If Gao Haitao had seen Shen Qian's moments, he would have definitely discovered that this beauty had even taken a photo with Shen Qian.

After a short while, the car carrying the girls also arrived.

Suddenly, Shen Qian's phone chimed.

"He's my Senior. He's looked after me a lot, so I wanted to treat him to a meal. Don't misunderstand."

Shen Qian smiled as he replied to several reporting-in messages from his long-distance girlfriends, then tucked his phone back into his pocket.

Misunderstand? You only misunderstand if you care.

Since he didn't care, who cared who she ate with or how she ate?