Chapter 52: Delicious Lip Balm

Chen Hansheng woke up early on Sunday. While brushing his teeth and washing his face, Guo Shaoqiang, still half-asleep, got up to use the bathroom.

"Old Four, up so early? Where are you going to have fun?" Guo Shaoqiang asked.

"I'm heading to the library across at East University to study," Chen Hansheng replied.

"Hmph." Guo Shaoqiang suddenly scoffed.

Chen Hansheng turned to look, noticing that Guo Shaoqiang seemed displeased.

"Old Four, do you think I'm easy to fool?" Guo Shaoqiang knocked on his own head and said, "I've got a lot of wisdom in here. You don't even know which way your school's library door faces, and you're going to East University's library? Aren't you afraid of getting lost?"

In Guo Shaoqiang's mind, he and Chen Hansheng were the same kind of people: they slept through class and the teacher would know it was time for the class to end the moment they opened their eyes.

Chen Hansheng sighed, "Can't fool your sharp mind. I'm actually going to chase girls."

Guo Shaoqiang finally nodded with satisfaction, "Good, do your best, and report back tonight with the results."

Jiangling University was located in the suburban area of Jianye, where traffic was light, and there were no large factories, so the morning air was particularly fresh with a slight chill from autumn. Chen Hansheng exhaled a puff of white breath, hands in his pockets, and ran toward East University.

The two campuses were separated by only one road, so it only took about ten minutes to reach the girls' dormitory at East University. A few boys were already waiting, some holding breakfast, eagerly watching the girls' dormitory doors.

It's easy to tell what the relationship between a couple is. If a guy is standing there empty-handed, he's probably already in a relationship, and they're just meeting up for breakfast. If he's holding breakfast, he's likely still pursuing her. Chen Hansheng, on the other hand, was an exception—he wasn't in a relationship, but he still showed up to share breakfast.

Chen Hansheng had arranged to meet Xiao Rongyu at 7:30 AM, and by 7:20, she appeared, walking downstairs with a group of girls, laughing and chatting. She was wearing a gray-white Nike hoodie, denim jeans that shaped her legs straight and slender, and her hair was tied into a ponytail. Her fair skin and delicate features, coupled with her smile and shallow dimples, made her the perfect college girlfriend according to conventional standards.

"Hey, this feels a little like being in a relationship," Chen Hansheng thought, just as a guy holding breakfast cut in and spoke up.

"Xiao Rongyu, I brought you breakfast again," he said.

The girls walking with Xiao Rongyu had clearly seen this before.

"Shaohua, thank you, but I'm about to go have breakfast, so you can take it back. And please don't bring me breakfast again," Xiao Rongyu politely refused.

When it came to rejecting boys, Xiao Rongyu was a pro. Back in Hong Kong City High School, most of the boys who thought they had a good chance and dared to confess were rejected by her.

The boy, however, seemed persistent. He placed the breakfast on a stone slab and said with a serious tone, "I'll leave it here. Anyone can take it. Even if you don't accept me now, I believe someday..."

"Hey, why are you eating my buns?" the boy was suddenly cut off by Chen Hansheng.

"You said anyone can eat it," Chen Hansheng casually stuffed a bun into his mouth.

The boy, clearly caught off guard, stammered, "Wait, could you at least say something before you eat it?"

"No problem," Chen Hansheng replied as he finished chewing. He pointed to the soy milk bag. "By the way, can I have a sip of your soy milk?"

Xiao Rongyu couldn't help but push him away, "Let's go, let's go, you're embarrassing me with your shamelessness!"

Before they left, she handed over five yuan and said, "Lin Shaohua, here's the breakfast money. Sorry about that."

...

East University's cafeteria was similar to Jiangling University's: filled with stainless steel tables and chairs and a noisy, bustling atmosphere. Chen Hansheng was focused on eating, while Xiao Rongyu seemed a little displeased.

"Don't you want to ask who that guy was?" she asked.

Chen Hansheng thought, "Who cares who he is? Probably just another one of your pursuers."

But since they had just reconciled the day before, he didn't want to provoke Xiao Rongyu too much, so he asked, "Who was that guy just now?"

"You're not even sincere. I don't want to tell you," she replied as she put down her chopsticks.

"I see," Chen Hansheng muttered, but he remembered the real reason he had come to "date" her, so he wiped his mouth and asked, "Actually, it doesn't matter who else I'm dating. I just want to know what our relationship is now."

Xiao Rongyu looked up and casually twirled a lock of hair with her fingers, smiling as she replied, "What do you think our relationship is?"

Chen Hansheng, being direct, answered, "If we're in a romantic relationship, you can let me kiss you. If we're just friends, then I've got some stuff to do back at the dorm, so I'll head back after breakfast."

"Pervert!" Xiao Rongyu spat, grabbed her bag, and left.

Chen Hansheng didn't actually go back to the dorm. Otherwise, all his efforts from yesterday would have been wasted.

The East University library was warmer than the outside, but the air quality wasn't great due to the crowd. Still, Chen Hansheng liked the smell of books and the focused atmosphere of students engrossed in reading.

Since they arrived early, Xiao Rongyu found a table by the window and said, "I'll go get some water and find some books. Can you watch our spot?"

Chen Hansheng nodded. When he sat down, he accidentally knocked over Xiao Rongyu's bag. Her makeup mirror, lipstick, nail clippers, phone, keychain, and a small package of sanitary pads scattered all over the floor.

"Wow, this is even more amazing than Doraemon's pocket," Chen Hansheng muttered as he picked up the scattered items.

When Xiao Rongyu returned, she had a few books in her hands. "I got you some management books that might be related to your major."

Chen Hansheng shook his head, "I won't read those. I'll go look for some law books later."

"You're not even a law major, why would you read those?" she asked.

"I told you, I need to make my own money in college. I might not need to understand management, but I definitely need to understand the law," Chen Hansheng explained, but then added with a grin, "Actually, I'm not really interested in reading. I'll just hire a pretty law senior to guide me."

"Cut it out," Xiao Rongyu muttered as she buried herself in her books.

Xiao Rongyu was a major in international business, and since she had passed the TEM-8 (Test for English Majors), she had more job opportunities, so she had to memorize a lot of things.

Chen Hansheng, however, was getting sleepy and lacked patience for books. He was much better at hands-on tasks and socializing, especially when it came to urgent and practical matters.

While he was napping, Xiao Rongyu flipped through the law books Chen Hansheng had borrowed.

"Business Law," she read quietly to herself and made a note. She then returned to studying, but Chen Hansheng's loud snoring prompted her to gently nudge him.

"What time is it?" Chen Hansheng groggily asked as he rubbed his eyes. Sometimes he was just stubborn and preferred sleeping in the library over his dorm, even though it left his neck and shoulders sore.

"It's almost 11 o'clock. In about half an hour, we'll go for lunch," Xiao Rongyu said. She had read dozens of pages by now.

Chen Hansheng smiled. "Waking up and getting food afterward—this is the best."

The air conditioning made him feel a little thirsty, so he pointed at Xiao Rongyu's water cup. "Can I have a sip? I'll use the lid."

Xiao Rongyu glanced at her cup but didn't say anything.

Without waiting for permission, Chen Hansheng took the cup. Just then, a few university boys entered the library. They didn't seem to be there for studying and glanced over at Chen Hansheng's table before leaving.

"Are they looking at you?" Chen Hansheng asked, frowning.

"They're looking at you," Xiao Rongyu replied.

Although the words were the same, the tone and meaning were completely different.

Chen Hansheng quickly caught on. "Recently, haven't many people been confessing to you?"

"Yeah, quite a few," Xiao Rongyu replied.

"So, you're using me as a shield, even in the morning?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's right," Xiao Rongyu said with a sly smile, her eyes narrowing mischievously. Her lips, covered in lip balm, looked soft and glossy.

But Chen Hansheng wasn't one to lose out. "You use me as a shield? Then I expect some interest in return."

*Thud.*

Chen Hansheng set the cup down and freed his hands.

"Hmm..." Xiao Rongyu's voice lingered for a moment. 

The lip