Chapter 32: The Unevenness of Life

After replying to the message, Jiang Qin stretched lazily, only to notice his roommates staring intently out the window.

Curious, he followed their gaze and saw the girls from Finance Class 3 shopping at a stall outside. Song Qingqing and Jiang Tian were among them, laughing brightly like blooming flowers.

"Old Jiang, stop staring. They're not yours anyway," Cao Guangyu teased.

Jiang Qin snapped back to reality, exasperated. "I was just wondering what you idiots were gawking at!"

Zhou Chao shoved Cao Guangyu. "You can't catch them yourself, so let Jiang Qin at least enjoy the view, huh?"

Cao Guangyu didn't buy Song Qingqing as top-tier, but he agreed with Zhou Chao's first point. "Old Jiang, switch targets. Pan Xiu's not bad—sure, she's no Song Qingqing or Jiang Tian, but she's a standout among regular girls!"

Ren Ziqiang, who'd been quiet, jerked his head up. "Pan Xiu's off-limits. I just added her QQ. Don't you dare steal her, Old Jiang—if it's you, I might actually lose!"

Zhou Chao and Cao Guangyu's eyes widened. "Holy crap, you move fast!"

"If you're not proactive with girls, there's something wrong with your head!"

Jiang Qin spat in disdain, his face dripping with contempt. If I really wanted a girlfriend, would I need you three losers plotting for me? Which eye of yours saw me drooling over Song Qingqing?

Ugh, these clowns were so dramatic.

Seeing Jiang Qin's dismissive look, Cao Guangyu, Ren Ziqiang, and Zhou Chao exchanged glances.

"Old Jiang, you mad? Sure, you're kinda handsome, but against a beauty like Song Qingqing, you're not exactly a shoo-in. Plus, you've got zero dating experience," Cao Guangyu said.

"Agreed. If you don't believe us, go try. You'll get rejected so hard you won't know which way's up," Zhou Chao added.

Jiang Qin shook his head. "Too low-tier. Not interested."

Zhou Chao scoffed. "Yeah, right—I believe you."

Jiang Qin shot him a look, thinking, Where's a guy with yellow pee to wake these fools up? No diabetics, though—don't want them tasting sugar.

Cao Guangyu smirked at Jiang Qin.

Old Jiang was such a poser—eyes glued, yet pretending he didn't care. Probably planning a sneaky pursuit. But chasing a girl like that was tough. Even a rich kid like Cao wasn't confident, let alone Jiang Qin.

Still, once Jiang Qin crashed and burned, Cao could swoop in and snag Song Qingqing.

Then Jiang Qin wouldn't be so smug—he'd bow down, happy to play little brother.

The more Cao thought about it, the sweeter it felt.

He'd always felt outdone by Jiang Qin's swagger, but in love, he'd finally get revenge.

"Holy crap, look—a goddess!"

As they each stewed in their thoughts, Zhou Chao's shout yanked them back to reality.

Cao Guangyu and Ren Ziqiang followed his pointing finger, their gazes freezing.

A girl with a litchi-patterned gray purse strolled through the aisle between tables.

She wore faded denim shorts, showing off long, fair, slender legs and a tiny waist, paired with a loose black lettered T-shirt. But her figure was so perfect it looked snug anyway.

Up close, she had a classic oval face—pink cherry lips, captivating eyes, and jade-like earlobes adorned with clover-shaped silver studs.

In that fleeting glimpse, the dazzle Song Qingqing had cast evaporated.

Song Qingqing first? Jiang Tian first? Faded—all faded.

But that awe quickly turned to panic.

The girl was heading straight for them, a shy smile on her delicate face.

These cowards barely dared look at Song Qingqing—now they were a mess, pretending to glance elsewhere, nervously fixing their hair and smoothing their clothes.

What they didn't expect was her sitting right across from them. She brushed back a stray lock of hair and looked at Jiang Qin.

"I'm here!"

Jiang Qin raised an eyebrow. "Perfect timing—these clowns needed a wake-up call."

Hong Yan blinked her pretty eyes, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing, just glad to see you."

"Thanks! But you're all here together—am I crashing your group thing?"

Jiang Qin shook his head. "Sit tight. They deserve the interruption."

Hong Yan giggled, confused, then glanced at the empty table. "You haven't ordered yet? Should I treat?"

"We ordered, but it's peak season—kitchen's swamped, so food's slow. Tea first?"

"Sure."

Jiang Qin slid over his rinsed teacup and grabbed the kettle, pouring her some tea.

Hong Yan murmured a soft "thanks," her eyes crinkling with a smile as she set her purse on the next chair.

Ren Ziqiang and Zhou Chao were dumbfounded, staring between Hong Yan and Jiang Qin, a "holy crap" stuck in their throats.

"Old… Old Jiang, who's this?"

"A freshman like us—Hong Yan, Law Department."

Jiang Qin turned to her. "Meet my roommates: Zhou Chao, Ren Ziqiang, Cao Guangyu."

Ren Ziqiang gaped at Jiang Qin. "You actually got a girl this gorgeous to eat with you?"

Hong Yan coughed lightly. "You've got it wrong—I'm the one who asked him out."

"?????"

She laughed sheepishly. "I even added his QQ first…"

Jiang Qin waved it off. "You just talk too fast—didn't give me a chance to say it first."

"But it's still true," she said.

Hong Yan's eyes flickered, unbothered by being the initiator.

Truth was, she'd come with a quiet spark of anticipation.

From their first meeting, she'd felt a rare curiosity and fondness for Jiang Qin. He was unruly yet steady—never stealing the spotlight at someone else's event, but flipping the script when it came to paying.

Simply put, she saw in him a youthful boldness without the obnoxious arrogance of loud, immature boys.

Seeing him again, her hopes held up.

He didn't flaunt her approach as a trophy or milk it for admiration—he cared about her feelings instead.

He was good. That was enough.

Meanwhile, Ren Ziqiang and Zhou Chao's scalps tingled.

They'd just been debating Song Qingqing versus Jiang Tian, thinking Jiang Qin was aiming for Song Qingqing. Now they saw the joke—they were on a whole different level from Old Jiang.

A goddess adding his QQ, asking him out? They hadn't even stepped into the real world, yet they'd already tasted life's unevenness.

Are we even at the same university, damn it?!

"Old Cao, you hearing this? It's insane!"

"Mm…"

Cao Guangyu's mouth twitched like he wanted to say something, but after a long pause, he swallowed it.

He knew Hong Yan—she was their high school's campus belle, his white moonlight back then. But judging by her vibe, she probably didn't remember him at all.