59: Chapter 59 Can the train ticket be rescheduled?

South of the county town, there is a street full of restaurants, and the food is very good.

Shen Weiyue took the two girls and picked a popular fish hotpot restaurant, finding a window seat to sit down.

"Take a look at the menu and order whatever you like."

"Wow, Master Shen, did you strike it rich? So generous?" Ning Xi took the menu, rubbing her hands in exclamation.

Shen Weiyue smiled and said, "How much could those two little mouths of yours possibly eat? Order without worry."

Hearing this, Ning Xi stopped being polite and pulled Zhao Qingyan over to discuss what to eat.

Zhao the Fox didn't have much interest in food and said indifferently, "Anything is fine for me, whatever."

Shen Weiyue felt a physiological panic the moment he heard that and hurriedly said to Ning Xi, "Sister Xi, you have to be serious, no 'whatever' allowed!"

"Haha, I definitely won't just pick 'whatever', I love good food the most."

Ning Xi chuckled as she used a pencil to circle items on the menu. In a short while, she had selected the side dishes, then handed the menu to Shen Weiyue and said, "You order the fish."

Shen Weiyue didn't decline; he went straight to the back kitchen to pick out the fish and have it prepared on the spot.

As soon as he left, Ning Xi asked Zhao Qingyan, "Qingyan, which major were you recommended for?"

"It hasn't been decided yet; the school said I can choose freely," Zhao Qingyan replied indifferently.

"Oh my god, you're amazing."

"Ning Xi, you're also very amazing. I hope we can continue to be schoolmates."

"Mm-hmm, let's see if luck is on our side."

Ning Xi said this, but in her heart, she thought that being friends with Zhao Qingyan was too much pressure.

She was beautiful, had a high IQ, and a good family background.

Anyone standing next to her would just be a foil.

After chatting for a few sentences, the two stopped talking; it seemed Shen Weiyue was the lubricant, and it was hard to find common topics when he wasn't there.

Not long after, Shen Weiyue returned covering his face. Ning Xi asked, "What happened to you?"

"Sigh, bad luck. I got slapped by a fish tail while catching the fish. It's a complete humiliation," Shen Weiyue said resentfully.

"Pfft, hahaha." Ning Xi laughed until she was swaying back and forth, her two little dimples showing.

Zhao Qingyan watched him take his hand away, revealing a faint mark on his face, and couldn't help but chuckle.

It was like a plum blossom blooming in the clear snow; after the ice melted, it was full of radiance. Shen Weiyue was stunned by her beauty.

In Sichuan Province, when eating cold-pot fish, you usually have to mix your own dipping sauce. Shen Weiyue went to the restroom and returned to see a chaotic mess of ingredients in Zhao Qingyan's bowl. He asked suspiciously, "Fox, why did you add so much oyster sauce?"

"Isn't this soy sauce?" Zhao Qingyan asked back, frowning.

"Good grief... have you never stepped foot in a kitchen at home?" Shen Weiyue's mouth hung open in surprise. "If you eat that, you'll be choked by the saltiness."

Zhao Qingyan did not answer his question, responding with silence. Silence was an admission.

Looking at this genius girl who wouldn't be stumped by any exam question, now left at a loss by a bowl of seasoning, Shen Weiyue felt a bizarre, surreal sensation in his heart.

"Forget it, forget it. I'll mix one for you. What flavor do you like?" He asked her with a smile.

"Your flavor." Zhao Qingyan blurted out. Seeing his expression shift, she quickly pointed at his bowl, "The flavor in your bowl."

"My bowl is very spicy."

"I want that one."

"Then I'll give you mine, and I'll go make another one."

Shen Weiyue pushed his bowl in front of Zhao Qingyan and headed back to the seasoning station. When he passed Ning Xi, she looked at him with confusion.

"Go back and see for yourself. I don't even want to talk about the bowl Zhao the Fox has," Shen Weiyue sighed and shook his head.

When Ning Xi went back and looked, she gave a polite, awkward smile.

Hehe, it seems Zhao Qingyan isn't good at this. A cooking novice.

When eating the fish, Shen Weiyue asked for three aprons.

Ning Xi chirped happily like a lark, while Zhao Qingyan ate in small, slow bites, holding her hair back and staying quiet.

However, she was quite skilled at eating fish; a piece of fish would go in, and after a few quick movements, only the bones would be spat out, clean without a shred of meat left.

Her agile fish-eating tongue technique... Shen Weiyue shuddered inwardly, silently cursing himself for his sinful thoughts.

Today's merit -3.

Seeing his strange expression, Ning Xi didn't know what he was thinking and asked, "Master Shen, why are you in such a rush to go to Shenzhen? Many classmates are holding graduation banquets; aren't you going to attend?"

"I'm not attending. My ticket is already booked, and I'm leaving early tomorrow morning." Shen Weiyue smiled and shook his head, following the topic, "What, are you inviting me?"

"No, I'm just hosting an internal family banquet; only relatives are attending," Ning Xi replied apologetically.

Bringing up this topic, Zhao Qingyan suddenly spoke up, "I'm also having a graduation banquet. I want both of you to come."

"Ah???"

Shen Weiyue and Ning Xi were both stunned. Given Zhao Qingyan's cold and trouble-averse personality, she should logically be the last person to hold a graduation banquet.

"I didn't want to hold one either, but my parents insisted. My dad really wants to invite his leaders and colleagues..."

"When is it?"

"Tomorrow at noon."

"This... by then I should already be in Guizhou Province... I can only wish you well from afar."

"Then, can you reschedule your ticket?"

Hearing this, Shen Weiyue stopped his chopsticks. Although Zhao Qingyan's cold gaze was full of anticipation, this matter really disrupted his plans.

"Bus tickets are hard to reschedule; they deduct money, and I've already agreed on the time with my parents."

"How much is it? Return it, and I'll buy you a new one."

"..." Shen Weiyue was speechless.

Ning Xi was also stunned. What was Zhao Qingyan trying to do? Had her attitude toward Shen Weiyue reached this point?

As expected, she knew it would be like this. Zhao Qingyan was a girl after all.

Shen Weiyue gave a dry laugh, unable to gauge Zhao the Fox's attitude, thinking to himself, could she like me?

But this thought was immediately extinguished. He didn't want to be seen as an arrogant, average guy. This fox probably just wanted a couple more friends.

But since she had put it that way, refusing would be a bit unreasonable, especially since she had helped him so much with his studies.

Shen Weiyue readily agreed, "Alright, I'll change the time. You don't need to buy it for me; I'll go buy a new one in a bit."

Zhao Qingyan ate the fish happily, the corners of her mouth curling into a beautiful arc.

She didn't know why she wanted Shen Weiyue to attend so much, but subconsciously, she just wanted him to appear at the graduation banquet.

Of course, the proud Zhao the Fox might just want to prove to her parents that she had succeeded; she had trained a Stupid Donkey to get into a prestigious university. What an incredible achievement that was!

Ning Xi witnessed all of this, and suddenly felt a bitterness in her heart, which then spread to her mouth, as if she had bitten into a fish gallbladder.

In her eyes, Shen Weiyue was clearly a maverick guy, but this wasn't the first time he had changed because of Zhao Qingyan.

And he probably hadn't even realized it himself.

By the end of the meal, everyone had their own thoughts. Throughout the process, Shen Weiyue naturally displayed good manners, taking care of the two girls perfectly.

"Alright, I have things to do, so I'm off. See you at the Fox's graduation banquet." After the meal, Shen Weiyue waved and left stylishly.

Zhao Qingyan and Ning Xi exchanged glances; having no further topics, they bade each other farewell and walked in different directions.

Shen Weiyue got on the bus, his mood inexplicably becoming tense.

It wasn't because he had to find the landlord to get his deposit back, but rather because he planned to take the deposit and go find Liang Yuting to apologize to her in person.

He wanted to have a proper talk with her to resolve the misunderstanding or the knot in their hearts.

No one wants to be trapped in regret for the rest of their lives.