Chapter 143: Jiang Qin is a Bad Boy

On a late autumn afternoon, the sun hung high in the sky.

Although Linchuan University’s campus was desolate, with even the air carrying a dry chill, the sunlight was particularly brilliant and gentle, feeling warm on the skin.

The brick red walkway on both sides of the road was covered in golden fallen leaves, occasionally disturbed by wandering students tumbling onto the soft foliage.

Jiang Qin wore a black coat, his figure well-proportioned and upright, walking with an air of nonchalance.

Feng Nanshu wore a white coat, the collar revealing a fair patch of skin, her tall figure exuding an elegant aura reminiscent of a Korean drama lady.

The two strolled hand-in-hand on the leaf-covered walkway, their close shoulders and height difference creating an atmosphere like a campus romance novel.

“As the owner of Xitian, you can’t casually buy milk tea elsewhere. People might think Xitian’s tea isn’t good.”

Jiang Qin stepped aside for a wandering senior, instinctively tightening his grip on Feng Nanshu’s soft hand.

“Their cups have your name, ours don’t.”

Feng Nanshu lifted her gentle face, skin smooth and glowing, blinking her exquisite eyes with trembling lashes.

“Our cups could have your name too, but what’s the point? Other than you, who’d buy milk tea for my name?”

Jiang Qin paused briefly after speaking.

What did she mean by ‘ours’? He’d almost been led astray!

He turned to observe Feng Nanshu’s reaction, wondering if she meant it.

But the little rich girl’s side profile was so beautiful – not just fair and alluring, but glowing like a peeled boiled egg – that he couldn’t take his eyes off her beauty, forgetting his original intent.

“…”

“Don’t look at me, I’m’m getting embarrassed,” Feng Nanshu warned seriously.

Jiang Qin held his breath. “Why would you be embarrassed with your best friend looking at you?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re not having impure thoughts about me, are you?”

Feng Nanshu pursed her red lips. “No, my mind’s blank.”

Jiang Qin fell silent, his brow furrowing with a vague sense of restlessness.

She wasn’t embarrassed when he took her to the hot springs or touched her feet, so why was she embarrassed now with just a few glances?

Jiang Qin didn’t dare dwell on it, knowing overthinking could disturb his heart.

So they continued walking in slight awkward silence, making Jiang Qin feel uneasy, as if preoccupied.

After some hesitation, he picked up a pretty leaf and waved it before Feng Nanshu. “Does it look nice? A gift for you.”

“But I don’t have a free hand. Could you hold it for me?” Feng Nanshu wanted it but didn’t want to let go of either the named cup or Jiang Qin’s hand.

Jiang Qin found it odd. “Where’s your other hand?”

The little rich girl raised her right hand holding the cups from the academy supermarket, gripping the rims with her slender fingers.

“Don’t you have another hand?”

Feng Nanshu: ?

Jiang Qin suddenly realized he was grasping a soft, cool, small hand and lifted it to see, his expression freezing. “Feng Nanshu, when did you slip your hand into mine?”

“At the supermarket.”

“A skilled little thief! I didn’t even notice, and we held hands all this way?” Jiang Qin was astonished.

Feng Nanshu pursed her red lips. “Actually, my skilled hand was the one that got stolen.”

“?”

Jiang Qin pondered, about to let go, but the warmth was too tempting, so he gave it a squeeze, thinking since he’d touched her feet, holding hands wasn’t that big a deal, as long as their fingers weren’t interlocked.

“I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll allow us this indulgence, but no more after this. A girl stealing a boy’s hand is hooliganism. I won’t blame you this time.”

Feng Nanshu looked at him impassively. “Jiang Qin, you’re a bad boy.”

“Tsk tsk tsk, a bad boy? That’s so damn sweet…”

Gao Wenhui couldn’t help commenting, taking a few photos that all looked wallpaper-worthy.

Fan Shuling followed behind, not as close as Gao Wenhui, but she too felt Jiang Qin and Feng Nanshu made a perfect match – intimate yet not overbearingly passionate like new lovers, even their handholding was pure, giving people a warm, fluttery feeling that made them want a relationship too.

“If we’re going to eat, we should have a destination. What would you all like?”

“Hotpot. It’s perfect hotpot weather.”

The late autumn in Linchuan was already quite cold, especially nearing evening when the northern winds brought an evident chill.

In this cold, Feng Nanshu, Gao Wenhui and Fan Shuling unanimously suggested hotpot, and Jiang Qin agreed, driving them to a hotpot restaurant downtown.

Perhaps many felt it was a hotpot kind of day, as the restaurant was packed.

The four ordered a split pot and a table full of meats.

After a while, half the dishes were gone, the little rich girl’s lips reddened from the spice, but her eyes shone with delight.

…

After finishing at the hotpot place, Jiang Qin drove back to Linchuan University and dropped the three girls off at their dorms.

The sky was darkening, the chilly air enveloping the campus and driving couples off the streets.

Jiang Qin had planned to take a shower at the bathhouse but received a call from Lu Guangrong.

Old Lu opened with some superficial greetings, asking about Jiang Qin’s business and if he needed any help, generously offering the academy’s assistance.

As a counselor who was rarely seen, this sudden call of concern immediately put Jiang Qin on alert.

Sure enough, Old Lu then said some leaders would be inspecting Room 208 in an hour, instructing Jiang Qin to tidy up and present his best for the review.

“Teacher Lu, which leaders will be coming?”

“Just some from our school – the principal overseeing operations, Zhang, and the publicity director, Gu.”

“Got it.”

Jiang Qin hung up and pocketed his phone.

His business application was registered under the finance department, so it made sense for Old Lu to know about this inspection.

Jiang Qin knew this review was inevitable after his venture made the papers.

The school leaders were bound to look into a student business getting so much attention.

Carrying his shower caddy, he considered if he still had time to bathe before greeting the leaders in twenty minutes.

But then he thought better of it.

What if the leaders arrived early?

What if only Su Nai was in the office?

What if…

Oh damn, this could be bad.

Even if Su Nai wasn’t there, if Dong Wenhao and others were playing cards when the leaders came, that wouldn’t look good.

So Jiang Qin skipped the bathhouse and headed straight to 208.

Su Nai was quietly testing the website at her desk, looking like an ordinary girl without weird hobbies.

But Dong Wenhao was indeed playing cards, judging by Lu Feiyu’s paper-covered face, likely in the thick of a game.

“Alright, enough, stop playing and clean up your messes.”

Dong Wenhao brushed aside the papers. “But boss, you said we worked hard at the University of Science and Technology and could relax and play these two days.”

“Today’s special – school leaders are coming for an inspection.” Jiang Qin kicked Lu Feiyu’s butt. “Wash your face, you look like you’re wearing a paper curtain.”

“Boss, gentlemen use words, not fists!”

“Save the sayings, people are coming soon, get moving!”

Roused by Jiang Qin’s urgency, the 208 crew cleaned up the cards, restoring the office look.

“How’s this, boss? Good enough?” Dong Wenhao asked.

“Still needs some work.”

“What else needs doing? I’ll get right on it.”

Jiang Qin squinted, surveying the room. “We need more computers, heaters, printers, nice chairs.”

Dong Wenhao: ??????

“Here’s what we’ll do – move everyone’s laptops next door to 207 and just leave three here. Take our space heaters, printers, water coolers, even my boss chair and those new chairs – lock them all in 207.”

“Boss, are we moving out?”

Jiang Qin lowered his voice. “School leaders with real power are coming to inspect. Time to play poor!”

Dong Wenhao understood and had people quickly move the items to 207.

“Lu Feiyu, you changed the bulbs last time, right? Unscrew two of them.”

“Boss, do we really need to go that far?” Lu Feiyu looked stunned.

Jiang Qin side-eyed him. “It’s about setting the atmosphere, get it? When the leaders come and see this dim, bleak little room with hardly anything valuable, they’ll have to arrange something for us, won’t they?”

Convinced, Lu Feiyu laid newspapers on a desk and unscrewed two bulbs.

And so a proper office became a bleak, dim room exuding a hardscrabble ambiance.