77: The fourth golden flower

There were very few people in the school during the holiday, and correspondingly, many of the canteen stalls were closed. This explains why these three hadn't been eating at the canteen these past few days.

"Third Brother, I just got my living allowance. How about we go out to eat? My treat."

Looking at the empty cafeteria, Gao Haitao suggested.

During the National Day holiday, the families of Chang Heng and the other two had given them their living expenses, plus an extra sum of money for them to go out and have fun. Who would have thought these three would end up drinking heavily in the dorm for several days.

"That works. There really isn't much good food here."

Just as Shen Qian was about to leave, his gaze fell upon the back of one of the stalls. A girl was sitting there, and since there were no customers, she was just looking at her phone.

With just that one glance, Shen Qian could confirm that this girl was definitely above a 6 out of 10.

"Let's go."

"Wait a moment."

Shen Qian quickly walked toward that stall. The closer he got, the more delighted he became. He was right; this girl was definitely a 7, on par with Xie Wan.

"Student, what would you like to eat?"

When the girl turned her face towards Shen Qian, she was slightly stunned. This boy in front of her was very handsome, with a heroic air between his brows that she hadn't seen in other boys.

"Are there any openings for work-study?"

"Ah?"

"You should be a student like me, right? It's too crowded here on normal days, so I was looking for a part-time job."

"This stall doesn't need anyone right now, and the holiday is almost over. If you need something usually, you can check the campus confession wall; there are many part-time job postings there."

The girl was very patient.

"I'm a first year student, so I don't know much about these things. Are you a freshman too?"

"I'm not; I'm a sophomore."

"Hello, Senior Sister."

"Hello."

"Then, Senior Sister, do you often work part-time? If you do, would it be convenient to exchange contact information? That way, if there's a suitable opening, you can bring me along."

"This... okay then."

[You have successfully added the contact information of an 8-point girl. This action conforms to the scumbag standard. Reward is being issued...]

"Senior Sister, what is your name?"

"Feng Qinmian. Qin is for piano, and Mian is for sheep."

Shen Qian's mind raced. He felt like he had heard this name somewhere before. Soon, he remembered: Qin Lan mentioned the four golden flowers on campus last night. He had already met the first three, and this girl was the fourth.

"My name is Shen Qian. Qian is for Qiankun. Also, Senior Sister, I don't actually need a part-time job; I just wanted to meet you. You are very beautiful, and your name is lovely too."

Feng Qinmian looked at Shen Qian in astonishment, but the verification message on her phone had already come through. Shen Qian had just glanced at it; this Senior Sister's moments were very simple, almost monotonous, but that didn't matter. Meeting her was just the beginning.

He had obtained the basic information; that was enough.

As for whether she would delete him later, that was also unimportant. Currently, he had 4 girls rated 7 points or above. These 4 alone were enough to consume his energy; this Senior Sister could be a backup option.

"It's fine. Even if you don't need a job, you can still look for me if you need any help."

"Thank you, Senior Sister."

Shen Qian said this and left, leaving only his back behind for the girl.

Watching Shen Qian leave, the girl murmured, "Shen Qian, Sheng Qian (remaining money)... what a nice name."

"What were you up to?" Chang Heng asked, looking at Shen Qian who came running back excitedly.

"Just hitting on someone."

"Damn, you really don't let any opportunity pass! That stall vendor, she must be thirty or forty years old at least."

Shen Qian didn't say anything. After all, given Feng Qinmian's looks, if these guys had seen her, they definitely wouldn't have gone out to eat. It's hard to leave a good impression when several grown men are staring intently at a woman.

The group found a restaurant near the school. Under Shen Qian's strict prohibition, they refrained from drinking alcohol. They ordered seven or eight dishes, and each person consumed three bowls of white rice. Shen Qian was genuinely hungry, while the others hadn't properly eaten staple food for days.

"Third Brother, any plans for the afternoon?"

"None for now. How about you guys?"

"Sigh, we've already wasted six days. We want to take advantage of the last two days to see Shanghai."

"Alright then, since I'm free, I'll go with you guys."

"Aren't you going to spend time with Tan Xinxin?"

"I've spent five days with her; it's time to separate a bit and give each other some space."

"Um, Third Brother, have you and He Wenjing started dating yet?"

Seeing Chang Heng stammering, Shen Qian knew the other party must have something to say.

"Just say it if you have something on your mind. Being so hesitant isn't like you."

Chang Heng scratched his head awkwardly.

"These past few days, He Wenjing and I have been chatting quite well."

"Weren't you all drunkards these past few days? Where did you chat?"

"Aiya, not these past few days, but before the holiday. Besides, we only drank at night; we were sober during the day."

"Heh..."

Shen Qian sneered. These guys were sober for less than four hours during the day, and during those four hours, the girls were probably having the time of their lives. What decent person would try to chat with a girl during that time?

"Let me guess, does she take a long time to reply to your messages these days?"

"How did you know?"

"I guessed. Let me guess again, are her replies less enthusiastic than before?"

"Yeah, I have that feeling."

Shen Qian held up two fingers.

"There are two possibilities. The first possibility is that she is spending time with her Boyfriend and doesn't have time to reply to you."

"Impossible, she's single. I asked."

"How did you ask?"

"I just asked her if she had a partner, and she said no."

Shen Qian sighed inwardly. It was straightforward for a boy to ask another girl if she had a partner, but this was equivalent to directly exposing one's own neediness, telling the other person, 'If you don't have a partner, I'm going to pursue you.' If he then actively sought out other girls to chat with, he would immediately be in a weak position in the relationship dynamic.

If he then actively sought out other girls to chat with, in a romantic relationship, he would immediately be in a weaker position.

"Fine, fine. If she doesn't have a partner, then it's the second possibility: she doesn't like you."

In reality, the fact that the girl occasionally replied to a message during this time suggested she might have a slight interest in Chang Heng, or perhaps she was just giving him face due to his position as the class monitor, but it definitely didn't equate to liking him.

"Doesn't like me? That can't be right. When we were chatting before, I felt like she liked me a lot."

"There it is, the three great illusions of men."

Shen Qian thought things were going badly and looked at him.

"So, what exactly did you want to ask me for?"

"I, I, I wanted Tan Xinxin to help me test the waters. If it works out, then I'll confess."

Shen Qian quickly looked at the other two.

"You guys knew about this?"

"Of course, we even formulated a comprehensive plan. I'm responsible for finding the venue, Second Brother is responsible for the process. Since we weren't sure about the girl's feelings, and you were traveling, we didn't want to bother you, so we've been waiting for you to return."

Gao Haitao chuckled, but Shen Qian only felt a headache coming on.