Chapter 63: Love Rises with the Wind, but the Chimes Stop, Leaving the Heart Unsettled

Shenhai, Metro Line 7 sped along its dedicated track, the lights inside the carriage blurring into streaks of light and shadow during the high-speed transit.

Several of Wang Can's classmates were huddled in a corner of the subway car, talking in low voices.

"I never expected that newly opened fried chicken cutlet shop to belong to Wang Can."

"Didn't I hear his family's financial situation isn't that great? Where did he get the startup capital?"

"How much money does it take to open a chicken cutlet shop? The school cafeteria stalls don't require rent, so tens of thousands of yuan is more than enough."

"Even so, it's still quite impressive. Starting a business right when you enter college."

"......"

Tang Baizhou, sitting in a seat by the window, listened to these conversations with a sense of inexplicable irritation, and finally couldn't help chiming in:

"College is a precious time; our energy should be focused on studies. Small-time hustles like this won't make much money, and instead, they'll interfere with proper business."

He paused, raising his voice a notch: "Instead of wasting time on this, we'd be better off thinking about the postgraduate entrance exams. Once you graduate and find a good job, a single month's salary will be worth a whole year's income from a little shop like that."

These remarks immediately won the agreement of several classmates.

They had studied bitterly for over a decade to get into university—certainly not to end up doing the work of street vendors.

The train soon arrived at Tang Baizhou's transfer station. Before getting off, he made a point of arranging with Shen Mengqing to go to the library together next weekend.

As the others got off one by one, the carriage gradually quieted down, leaving only Shen Mengqing and her quasi-best friend, Yu Ting.

Seeing that everyone else was gone, Yu Ting leaned close to Shen Mengqing and said, "Mengqing, don't you think Wang Can has been acting like a totally different person since starting college? First he's starting a business, then he's acting as a class representative. Could it be to get your attention again?"

She knew nothing about the "five-year pact" between the two, simply assuming that Wang Can wanted to get back together.

Shen Mengqing lowered her head, her slender fingers twisting the hem of her clothes: "If he were really doing it for me, he wouldn't be flirting with Dong Xinyi."

Thinking of this, Shen Mengqing felt as though a stone were lodged in her chest.

Dong Xinyi was someone she had personally deleted from Wang Can't contact list back in high school. Yet less than a year of the five-year pact had passed, and Wang Can was mixed up with that woman again.

"I don't see it that way."

Yu Ting mysteriously wagged her index finger, speaking in the tone of someone who had seen it all. "I know those little tricks men pull best; they're so childish."

"Didn't he find some girl from Shenhai University to deliberately make you jealous on the train last time? And you saw right through it instantly."

Yu Ting blinked. "So finding Dong Xinyi this time is most likely the same routine."

With that, she mysteriously lowered her voice: "Besides, don't you know what kind of person Dong Xinyi is? She'll hook up with anyone. I heard from Qian Yiqian that they send each other those kinds of photos every single night."

"Really...?" Shen Mengqing opened her eyes slightly in surprise.

Yu Ting curled her lips. "Who knows, but they certainly aren't decent photos. Otherwise, why would Qian Yiqian act like a heat-in-gassed hound, calling her 'Goddess Dong' in the group chat every single day?"

Shen Mengqing didn't reply, simply turning her gaze to the rapidly receding scenery outside the window, where her somewhat desolate profile was reflected on the glass.

Although Wang Can looked like he was working hard, his chosen direction seemed wrong.

......

......

Shenhai University, Arts Department Women's Dormitory.

The girls who had a social mixer with Dormitory 404 earlier in the day were returning to their rooms one after another.

Zhang Bailan's "quasi-girlfriend" Chi Xiaoxiao returned to her desk, and while starting to remove her makeup, brought up a topic: "What do you all think of the boys from the opposite dorm at today's mixer?"

Ma Xiaoli, sporting a jellyfish haircut, pushed up her glasses. "I think Chen Xiaobei is pretty good. He speaks gracefully and is quite knowledgeable."

"He's certainly smooth, but I think a guy like that is only good for dating."

Jiang Qilü, who was amply endowed, took over the conversation. "Personally, I prefer Yang Shuang's type—clean, refreshing, and meticulous, with a little touch of cleverness, and the local Shenhai dialect he speaks is really interesting."

Chi Xiaoxiao curled her lip in front of the mirror, secretly scoffing that Jiang Qilü had probably taken a fancy to Yang Shuang's status as a local of Shenhai.

With those big breasts and upturned buttocks, that woman sure knew how to calculate, starting to plot household registration matters for her future kids this early on.

Chi Xiaoxiao took a light sip of the milk tea on her desk and said offhandedly, "I think Chen Xiaobei is quite nice too."

"Huh?" Ma Xiaoli blinked, looking rather surprised. "Aren't you dating Zhang Bailan?"

"I just think he's nice. Besides, Zhang Bailan and I just chat; we're not dating."

Chi Xiaoxiao tossed her long hair with confidence, her gaze casually sweeping over the other girls in the dorm.

Ma Xiaoli pursed her lips and said nothing more.

Chi Xiaoxiao turned her gaze to Dong Xinyi, who hadn't chimed in. "Xinyi, what about you?"

In terms of looks, she privately believed that only Dong Xinyi managed to outshine her slightly in the dorm.

Dong Xinyi kept her head down, her fingers continuing to tap away on her phone screen: "I'm only interested in Wang Can. Just don't fight me for him, and we're good."

Chi Xiaoxiao visibly breathed a sigh of relief, a smile returning to her face: "Don't worry, nobody's going to fight you for him."

Just a fried chicken cutlet shop, nothing worth obsessing over.

......

......

Neon lights flashed along the commercial street near Shenhai University, colorful signs competing for attention in the night, dazzling the eyes.

Two figures emerged one after another through the glass doors of the "Ziyu Tianxiang" Foot Bath City.

Wang Can stretched lazily and contentedly, every bone in his body making a satisfying cracking sound, while Qiao Huayang was still immersed in the recent experience, his gaze drifting.

"Brother Neng, this is the first time in my life I've turned girls down three times in a row, and I still ended up getting such comfortable service," Qiao Huayang said, smacking his lips.

Before entering, Wang Can had given Qiao Huayang strict orders: no matter what the entering technician looked like, he had to say "change one" three times in a row.

And Qiao Huayang, visiting such a place for the first time, had his eyes pop straight out of his head when he saw the technicians walking in carrying small cases.

Those big wavy curls, low-cut tops, and ultra-short skirts that threatened to expose something at any moment made his Adam's apple bob up and down. He swallowed hard several times before managing to stutter out, "Change one."

Who would have thought the second one would be even more stunning? That completely opened the door to a new world.

Acting as if he had discovered some incredible video game, Qiao Huayang approached every single change with the eager anticipation of opening a blind box.

It got to the point where the proprietress of the foot bath city assumed these two students, who had only ordered the 118-yuan set meal, were there to cause trouble.

"Well? Are you disenchanted with women now?"

Wang Can lit a cigarette for once, the pale blue smoke curling in the neon lights.

"Don't put women on such a high pedestal. They'll polish your stinky feet and massage them for an hour just for money. When you told me to switch technicians, even if they weren't happy about it inside, they still had to smile and say 'Sure'."

"Next time you get too nervous to speak around a girl, come here and cycle through two rounds of technicians. I guarantee you'll regain your confidence," Wang Can said, blowing out a smoke ring.

Qiao Huayang nodded heavily, though it was unclear whether he had actually taken it to heart or simply thought the foot massage was genuinely comfortable.

Wang Can glanced at him sideways and suddenly turned serious: "Though you can come to a place like this occasionally, there's one saying you must engrave in your mind."

"What saying?" Qiao Huayang leaned in curiously.

"Affection rises with the wind, and the bell stops at..."

Wang Can suddenly choked on his cigarette halfway through, coughed, and changed his tune, "I misspoke. It's: once you stop topping up your balance, the relationship fades away. Don't let yourself get scammed."