Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan
Xie Shu only had a few thousand yuan for living expenses each month. How could he afford to suddenly top up ten thousand yuan into his account?
Besides, the school's top-up system required a student ID number, making it nearly impossible to recharge the wrong account.
So, it must have been someone else who topped it up for him.
It couldn't have been his parents; they didn't even know his student ID. Even if they did, they would have told him if they had recharged his account.
Considering who could casually spend ten thousand yuan, it could only be Ruan Nianxi.
To Ruan Nianxi, ten thousand yuan might just be pocket change, but for ordinary people, it was a significant amount.
Xie Shu had known since childhood that Ruan Nianxi's family was wealthy; she was a true heiress.
Even though he had guessed the right answer, Xie Shu didn't say anything and let others misunderstand.
It wasn't that he wanted to show off his wealth; he simply couldn't betray Ruan Nianxi.
He remembered her parents always forbade her from flaunting her wealth at school, emphasizing the need for her to keep a low profile.
Apparently, when she was very young, before they had met, she had been kidnapped.
The kidnappers used her to extort money from her parents. Although her parents were wealthy, they were still worried about her safety. After rescuing her, they insisted she live a low-profile life.
Her parents were busy all year round, rarely spending time with her. Their focus was on work, growing their already famous company even more.
They loved Ruan Nianxi, but they genuinely didn't have much time to spend with her. So they provided for her materially while stressing the importance of being discreet.
In short, they believed in not flaunting their wealth.
The incident from her past had also left a deep shadow on Ruan Nianxi, so she was very obedient.
Even when they went to school together, she would get off her luxury car several streets away from the school.
Thus, during their many years at the same school, he was the only one who knew her true identity, and he had never revealed it, fearing it might bring her trouble.
Years of habit kept Xie Shu silent.
Unexpectedly, he finally had the chance to help someone bear the burden of being seen as wealthy.
***
This morning, wanting to have breakfast with Ruan Nianxi, Xie Shu chose to eat in the cafeteria before heading to class.
His three buddies didn't want to be third wheels, so they took their breakfast and went to the classroom to save seats.
Now, it was just Xie Shu and Ruan Nianxi sitting together.
After the others left, Xie Shu asked about the money for the meal.
"Did you top up my card?"
"Yeah, I saw you were out of money yesterday, so I recharged it."
"Ah, I just forgot, it's not that I didn't have money. I don't eat at the cafeteria every day, so I might not even use it all."
"Take your time spending it. If it's not enough… there's more."
"…Anyway, thanks, but you really don't have to do this next time."
Their relationship wasn't even confirmed yet, and here she was, feeding him a 'soft meal' unexpectedly.
It really caught him off guard.
Xie Shu peeled an egg and handed it to Ruan Nianxi.
It was the second time, and Ruan Nianxi was still unsure if Xie Shu had peeled it especially for her.
"Don't want to eat it?" Xie Shu asked, puzzled.
"No."
Ruan Nianxi snapped back to reality and immediately took it.
She lowered her gaze, not daring to look directly at Xie Shu, trying to hide the unusual emotions in her eyes.
Her heart was racing faster and faster.
Afterward, both were silent.
Xie Shu ate his breakfast; he still had to rush to class soon, and the teaching area was quite far. He didn't have much time.
After breakfast, he picked up his laptop bag and walked with Ruan Nianxi towards the cafeteria exit.
As they walked, he told her to go back and rest well, not to harm her health.
Just as they reached the cafeteria entrance, Ruan Nianxi saw Su Qianyi approaching from a distance.
Her face instantly turned pale.
Xie Shu clearly saw Su Qianyi too, but after a glance, he looked away.
He turned to Ruan Nianxi, whose complexion didn't look good, and said, "Let's stop here for now. I have to go to class. You should go back and rest some more, don't hurt yourself."
With that, he hurried off towards the teaching area.
***
The teaching area and the dormitory area were in different directions, so he left in the opposite direction to Su Qianyi, and they didn't have to meet.
Just like that, Xie Shu left without paying any attention to Su Qianyi.
Ruan Nianxi was stunned in place. Why was Xie Shu's reaction different from what she had expected?
As for Su Qianyi, she had barely managed to get up this morning after a late night and was urged by An Tian. She was so sleepy on the way that she could barely keep her eyes open.
She walked with her head down, listless, and hadn't seen Xie Shu, let alone the scene of him standing with Ruan Nianxi.
Before entering the cafeteria, there were a few steps at the entrance. It was only then that she slightly raised her head, stepped up, and looked ahead, planning to see what to eat in the cafeteria.
Xie Shu used to buy her breakfast, and she rarely came to the cafeteria in the morning, so she wasn't very clear about what some of the stalls sold…
Xie Shu had been childishly playing hard to get with her these past few days, and she was afraid of going hungry like yesterday, so she came by herself today.
However, after climbing the steps, she hadn't gone far when she unexpectedly saw someone.
—Ruan Nianxi
Seeing her, Su Qianyi's already sour mood worsened instantly.
The two looked at each other with mutual disdain.
After a few seconds of eye contact, Su Qianyi coldly shifted her gaze and walked past Ruan Nianxi into the cafeteria.
Ruan Nianxi looked back at Su Qianyi's retreating figure, then turned to look in the direction Xie Shu had left.
Xie Shu had indeed seen Su Qianyi, she was certain.
But he hadn't reacted as he used to.
This time, he ignored Su Qianyi.
Right, she remembered Xie Shu always used to buy breakfast for Su Qianyi.
But not today, and Su Qianyi came to the cafeteria by herself.
For so many years, this was perhaps the first time she saw Xie Shu treat Su Qianyi with such indifference, barely even giving her a glance.
Had something happened between them?