Chapter 24: Putting on Airs

As they chatted about this and that, noon quickly arrived.

The group had their fill of drinks and called the boss over to pay the bill.

What Jiang Qin didn’t expect was that the other two guys weren’t the same hopeless type as Qin Zi’ang and actually only paid for their own milk teas.

That idiot Guo Zihang though took out his living expenses and was about to treat everyone but Jiang Qin stopped him.

Becoming a bootlicker before college even starts and licking the boots of some unfamiliar girls plus two guys – isn’t that the definition of a hopeless case?

In the end, everyone properly paid their own bill. Only Jiang Qin looked the boss in the eye and asked him to round it down.

“Classmate, your milk tea was only 10 yuan to begin with. There’s no change to round down.”

“Then can I pay 8 yuan?”

“Uh…well, I guess that’s fine.”

Hearing this exchange, the others couldn’t help giving him disdainful looks.

College students may not have much spending money but they should be able to afford a 10 or 20 yuan milk tea right?

Smack!

With a crisp sound, Jiang Qin decisively slapped a brand new 10 yuan bill on the table.

“Keep the change, the extra 2 yuan is your tip.”

“????????”

The boss was dumbfounded, the Linchuan University of Science and Technology students were dumbfounded, but Jiang Qin just smiled.

What’s the meaning of life?

Of course it’s putting on airs at any time to pass the long boring years.

Seeing this, Hong Yan sitting across from him couldn’t help sizing Jiang Qin up. She felt this guy was quite interesting. Not only did he speak appropriately, he was also unconventional, seeming different from the guys she’d met before.

The three guys beside them were lost in thought, wondering if they could also try putting on such brilliant airs without spending money.

A little past 1 PM, the weather was sweltering and the group started discussing where to go for lunch.

Jiang Qin patted Guo Zihang’s shoulder, indicating he wouldn’t be joining them. He wasn’t a student at the University of Science and Technology to begin with so there was no need for him to stay long.

“You all eat well, I need to head back to my school first.”

Guo Zihang instantly panicked, “Godfather, I can’t do this without you here! I don’t know how to talk to people I just met!”

Jiang Qin spat fiercely, “You coward, you’re really embarrassing your godfather. I’ll help you socialize but don’t tell me I need to help you date in the future too.”

“But…official enrollment is tomorrow. What do you have to do this afternoon?”

“Feng Nanshu is arriving this afternoon. I need to show her around first. That girl is terrible at familiarizing herself with new environments.” As he spoke, Jiang Qin took out his phone to check the time.

“Bro Jiang, why do I feel like you’re raising a daughter?”

Jiang Qin paused at those words, feeling they weren’t wrong. That Feng Nanshu had social anxiety and was a natural airhead. She really was like a little girl who never grew up. Him being a guy nearing 40, saying he was raising a girl wasn’t too off.

So Jiang Qin bid farewell to the group and took the bus towards Linchuan University.

As soon as he got off at the stop, he saw the familiar school gate. The so-called gate was actually an irregular quadrilateral building, completely white, with the four characters “Linchuan University” written on it. You could say it was majestic or artistically distinct.

Since it was the start of the school year, there was a huge crowd at the school entrance. All sorts of clamor, yelling and car horns could be heard nonstop. There were freshmen arriving with family in tow, upperclassmen just returning to school, and even nearby vendors seizing the chance to squat by the gate selling basins, cups, clothes racks and all kinds of daily necessities.

In short, it was chaotic.

Jiang Qin didn’t want to squeeze through so he stood by the bus stop watching the female students come and go, admiring their fair, jade-like legs and full, shapely hips.

But the next second, he glimpsed a familiar girl from the corner of his eye and that girl was also looking at him in surprise.

“Jiang…Jiang Qin?”

“Hong Yan, why are you at Linchuan University too?”

The two questions were asked and the two looked at each other. Then it all became clear.

Well damn, they had been mutually pretending.

They were actually both Linchuan University students but coincidentally met at the University of Science and Tech mixer and both pretended to be students there. Turns out they were really schoolmates.

“Let me reintroduce myself. Hong Yan, Linchuan University School of Law.”

“Jiang Qin, Linchuan University School of Finance.”

Hong Yan was surprised she had guessed right and couldn’t help laughing, “Why didn’t you say so from the start? You even said you were a computer science major at the University of Science and Tech. You were so convincing!”

Jiang Qin smiled slightly, “I’m too handsome, don’t look like a top student. I was afraid people wouldn’t believe me if I said it.”

“Really?”

“Of course. But mainly I wanted to keep my friend company. He was the main character so there was no need for me to show I’m a cut above.”

“I was thinking the same actually.”

Hong Yan’s eyes sparkled. She suddenly felt a fond curiosity towards this person.

Ever since she was young, she had emotional intelligence exceeding her peers and was very good at being considerate of others’ feelings. This gained her many friends but also troubled her.

Why?

Because with EQ higher than her peers, the actions of those around her seemed childish in her eyes. Especially since she had good looks and figure, many guys in high school liked to shout and make a ruckus in front of her to get her attention.

Once, when she was passing the basketball court, someone even deliberately dunked in front of her then pretended to accidentally throw the ball at her.

She found those people very silly but couldn’t say it directly so she could only speak less and smile more.

This made her very lonely.

But this time, she had met someone whose words and actions made her feel very comfortable, which was really rare.

Imagine if the people in the milk tea shop earlier were swapped for someone else.

He would definitely want to show his superiority, declaring he was from Linchuan University as soon as he opened his mouth, hoping to be praised by others.

Hong Yan didn’t dislike that type of person, she just preferred making friends with those more steady and mature. Everyone has their own preferences and Jiang Qin hiding his identity happened to match Hong Yan’s taste.

But she had to hurry back to the dorm to tidy up now. She didn’t have much time to chat so she took the initiative to add Jiang Qin on QQ.

“This is my first time actively adding a boy on QQ. I’ve never done it before.”

“What a coincidence. It’s also my first time having a girl actively add me on QQ.”

Hong Yan smiled serenely and easily, “I’ll get going first then. I have a bunch of things to do at the dorm. Want to get together and chat sometime?”

Jiang Qin nodded slightly, “Sure, see you when we’re free.”

“Bye.”

Hong Yan waved at him then turned to enter the east campus gate.

Jiang Qin crossed the pedestrian bridge and walked all the way to the main campus. He squeezed in with great effort only to find that, well damn, it was even more crowded inside.

There was even a guy who seemed to have gotten separated from his girlfriend in the crowd. He was shouting “Qi Jiayi” “Qi Jiayi” like crazy.

Jiang Qin found it annoying so he kindly squeezed over to tell him – Bro, Qi Jiayi equals 8. We’re all college students now, how have you not learned addition and subtraction?

After that, Jiang Qin followed the map included with the admission notice and finally found his dorm building in the equally crowded dorm area.

As soon as he entered, there were already three people chatting in the room. Jiang Qin felt a bit irritated from being jostled so he sat in a chair to rest while listening to them talk, gradually getting an understanding of the three.

Zhou Chao, from the southern city of Longcheng, had very dark skin and was rather short.

Ren Ziqiang, from Dongshan, was thin and tall with some acne but spoke very politely.

Cao Guangyu, from Hangcheng, wore a full set of brand name clothes and had a very arrogant air. When introducing himself, he even specially mentioned his dad was a businessman.

“What about you, bro?”

“Jiang Qin, from Jizhou. I like doing business normally.”

“Fuck, are you trying to one-up me?!”

Cao Guangyu’s mouth nearly went crooked from anger. Aren’t you just forcing yourself to be my dad? Ren Ziqiang and Zhou Chao beside him burst out laughing, thinking he deserved it. That’s what you get for showing off!

Jiang Qin thought, I didn’t say anything wrong! This daddy really does like doing business. Don’t believe me? Bite me!