Chapter 41 Reencounter with Mingxuan

Chen Ang frowned and turned around; only then did he see the girl's face clearly.

It was her, the girl named Ming Xuan.

Last time on the influencer street, his phone screen had been broken, and later she had sent a 500-yuan red packet.

Ming Xuan tugged on his sleeve and turned to say to the boy who had chased after them, "I told you, I have a boyfriend."

She looked up at Chen Ang, her eyes filled with pleading and a hint of nervousness.

The boy froze in place, his gaze falling first on Ming Xuan's hand tugging at Chen Ang's sleeve, then moving down to see the triple-fold phone in Chen Ang's left hand.

His look at Chen Ang changed instantly; it was a scrutiny mixed with disdain and an innate sense of justice.

"Your boyfriend?" He laughed somewhat deliberately. "Old man, at your age, stop trying to pick up college girls. How many of you rich people are actually good?"

Chen Ang listened, his expression unchanged, though his gaze began to size up the boy.

Just as Ming Xuan was about to retort, he spoke directly: "So what if I have money? Have I broken the law? College student, if you want love, first ask yourself if the wallet in your pocket can support your hormones."

The boy was stunned upon hearing this, his face suddenly flushing red, his lips moving, but he couldn't say a word.

Chen Ang lowered his head, pulled his hand away from Ming Xuan's grip, and turned to walk away.

Ming Xuan was stunned for two seconds, then hurried to catch up, following him all the way to the BMW, where she opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat.

The X5 was powered on but not ignited; Chen Ang looked at the girl in confusion.

Ming Xuan adjusted her position, turned her head to look at Chen Ang, and the car remained quiet for a while.

"Thank you, old man, you helped me out of a tight spot again." She finally spoke, her voice much steadier than before.

"If you hadn't pulled me, I would have already left." Chen Ang turned to look at her. "Are you an adult? Are you planning on going home with me?"

"Ah... no..." A layer of crimson flushed over Ming Xuan's smooth, jade-like cheeks. "I was just afraid he would keep chasing me."

Chen Ang looked through the windshield and saw the boy's dejected back, then said: "There... he's gone. Aren't you getting out of the car?"

Ming Xuan shyly stuck out her tongue, stretched her neck to look outside, then turned to say, "Old man, let me treat you to a meal, just to thank you."

Was this intentional or a coincidence?

It happened to be mealtime, so Chen Ang glanced at her and nodded. "Fine."

The restaurant was chosen by Chen Ang, located at the end of Xuefu Lane outside the west gate of Bin University, a small but clean Sichuan restaurant.

Ming Xuan chose a window seat, pushed the menu to Chen Ang, and sat there resting her chin on her hand, watching him.

"Old man, you order. We agreed that I'm treating."

Chen Ang didn't refuse; he casually checked a few items and handed it to the waiter.

Ming Xuan's gaze shifted to the triple-fold phone on the table. She pointed at the phone and said, "Old man, you changed your phone, and yet you still took my 500 yuan."

"The screen was broken by you guys, and the money was something you insisted on giving."

Chen Ang picked up the kettle to rinse his bowl, ignoring the girl's coquettish complaint.

"Fine, you're right." She let go of her chin, lifted the kettle Chen Ang had just put down, and asked, "Old man, do you usually not do these things for girls?"

"I'm not a simp." Chen Ang replied indifferently.

Ming Xuan giggled, her eyes curving into crescents.

"Do you eat here often?" Chen Ang noticed she was quite familiar with the place.

"I've been here a few times, with my roommates." Ming Xuan's smile faded. "But I haven't been hanging out with them much lately."

Chen Ang didn't pursue the question; girls' dormitory issues weren't something that could be cleared up in a word or two.

He just remembered Director Xu Qingwan saying at the time that a six-person dormitory could have ten or twenty WeChat groups.

Moreover, he noticed Ming Xuan's attire; apart from those white sneakers, her watch was Cartier, and the embroidery on her jacket cuffs was the Gucci bee pattern.

The girl in front of him was clearly not a child from an ordinary working-class family; she wore every luxury item extremely understatedly, as if deliberately trying to hide them.

Such a girl would naturally have some habits that were incompatible with ordinary people; it was perfectly normal that the dormitory atmosphere wasn't good, and it was impossible to judge who was right or wrong.

The dishes arrived one after another. Ming Xuan picked up a slice of boiled fish, and it was so spicy she stuck out her little tongue, making "hissing" sounds.

Chen Ang ordered a bottle of ice water, opened it, and handed it over.

"Thank you, old man." Ming Xuan took it and took a small sip, exhaling hot air, and said embarrassedly, "It's too spicy, but it's also delicious—the kind you can't stop eating."

Chen Ang smiled and lowered his head to eat as well.

"Old man, what do you do for a living?" After dealing with the spiciness, Ming Xuan asked curiously.

"Lying flat at home." Chen Ang replied calmly.

Ming Xuan stared at him with her large eyes for a few seconds, then asked: "Then were you a graduate of Bin University too? You seem quite familiar with this area."

Chen Ang picked up a piece of husband-and-wife lung slices and put it into his mouth. "Yeah, graduated many years ago."

Ming Xuan's eyes lit up, she leaned forward slightly, resting her elbows holding her chopsticks on the table. "Then you're my senior. I'm from the Normal University, right next door."

"It's separated by a street, not really next door."

"It counts." When she smiled, the shallow red tear mole at the corner of her eye lifted up. "Senior old man, what major did you study back then?"

"Finance." Chen Ang answered simply, his gaze falling on the girl's left eye corner.

Director Xu Qingwan also had a tear mole, but it was black and on the right eye corner.

She used to always wear a ponytail—sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes tied to the side.

The girl in front of him had worn a high ponytail both times he saw her, so he was slightly distracted.

"Old man?" Ming Xuan waved her hand in front of him.

Chen Ang snapped back to reality, shifted his gaze, and moved his cup. "What did you say?"

"I said our school's spicy hot pot is better than Bin University's. Do you want to come try it another day?" She withdrew her hand, propped her chin up to look at him, her eyes filled with a hint of playfulness. "But next time you have to treat me; this time I said I was going to thank you."

Chen Ang shook his head and asked: "Are college students nowadays so keen on socializing? I'm thirty-two, you're about nineteen?"

"Forget it if you won't agree." Ming Xuan muttered, her eyes dimming. She lowered her head to pick up food, but couldn't help stealing glances at Chen Ang.

Chen Ang saw everything in her expression. "We'll talk about next time later."

Then he put down his chopsticks, glanced out the window, and said, "It's getting late, I have things to do, so I'm leaving."

Seeing that Chen Ang was ready to end the meal, Ming Xuan said a bit unhappily, "I haven't finished eating yet."

However, Chen Ang picked up his things and left, turning back to tell her to remember to pay the bill.

In her daze, Chen Ang had already left the restaurant.

Does he not even want to see me off?

Ming Xuan's little face drooped, her small mouth pursed, looking aggrieved.

Less than two kilometers away from the university town, his phone suddenly rang.

The screen displayed a landline number. Chen Ang answered, and a woman's voice came from the other end, her tone urgent: "Hello, are you Chen Zetian's parent?"

"Yes."

"I am Chen Zetian's homeroom teacher. Could you please come to the school? Chen Zetian got into a conflict with a classmate during lunch break and injured the other student's eye. The school doctor says it's quite serious. We've already notified the other student's parents, and now both sets of parents need to be present."

"Injured an eye? Chen Zetian?" Chen Ang asked, feeling a bit unsure.

"He poked him with a pencil tip. Please hurry over." The homeroom teacher's voice was clearly anxious.

"Is the other person's eye okay?" Chen Ang said, stepping on the gas pedal.

"He has already been sent to the hospital. The school doctor says there might be a risk of blindness." The teacher didn't hide anything, sighing again.

Chen Ang hung up the phone.

Pencil, eye?

His hand on the steering wheel couldn't help but tighten. Had the retribution for spoiling the child come so quickly and so violently?

Chen Ang was taken aback; he stepped on the gas, and the X5 sped off in the direction of the Third Experimental Primary School.