Chapter 394: Chapter 393: So She Had Once Been This Amazed by Zhou Mochen...
Although those rumors about Gu Yunjia had circulated at school for a while, they were ultimately just rumors. Besides, they were so outrageous that hardly anyone believed them.
Other than Xu Su, who had been told by Gu Yunjia herself, and Xi Zirong, who had accidentally overheard the inside story, neither Huang Feng nor Qian Jia knew. Xu Su had never told any of her other classmates.
Zhou Mochen knew, of course, but he didn’t even frown at the mention of her name. He paid such matters no mind at all.
Xu Su felt as if the dust had finally settled. Now that she was coming to Beijing for university, Gu Yunjia’s ’uncle’ couldn’t possibly still be a factor, right?
’Things will get better and better for her, won’t they...’
They had been classmates, and even very close friends once. Xu Su genuinely hoped that Gu Yunjia would have a bright future. A little setback during one’s youth was nothing...
After they had eaten and drunk their fill and were preparing to leave, Xu Su, who had chugged a lot of water, stood up to go to the restroom.
Zhou Mochen saw that her eyes were clear, but he also worried she might be too proud to ask for help, so he didn’t offer to go with her. He just reminded her not to wander off and to ask a server for directions.
Even so, Xu Su was a little exasperated. ’Seriously? I’m just going to the restroom, and he has to give me all these instructions.’
Beside her, Huang Feng shot her a teasing grin, wiggling her eyebrows...
Flustered by her friend’s silent ribbing, Xu Su hastily got up and left.
She had only taken a few steps out of the private room when she saw a waitress passing by, carrying a bottle of wine with both hands. Xu Su took the opportunity to ask her for directions to the restroom.
The young waitress responded with a stunned expression. Xu Su paused, touching her face, and then realized she had forgotten to put her mask on.
Wearing a mask whenever she went out had become a habit for her lately. She’d even worn one when they first entered the restaurant. She had only forgotten it for this quick trip to the restroom.
Xu Su felt helpless. She didn’t like having to hide her face whenever she went out. In her past life, she never had the habit of wearing a mask, but her social circle had been simple back then—she was either at school or by Zhou Mochen’s side.
Just as Xu Su was about to say something, the waitress, lost in a daze, let her grip slacken. The wine bottle she was holding slipped, about to shatter on the floor...
At the last second, Xu Su’s reflexes kicked in and she snatched the bottle out of the air. She glanced at it before handing it back to the deathly pale waitress, murmuring, "Be careful."
’That wine isn’t cheap. If it had shattered, it would have cost her at least half a year’s salary...’
The young waitress took the bottle back with both hands and bowed in thanks, her face still pale with shock.
Xu Su waved it off and asked for the location of the restroom again.
"There’s a sign up ahead on the right. You’ll see it when you get there." Halfway through her sentence, the waitress pointed to a nearby private room door and added, "Or, you could wait a moment. I can show you the way after I deliver this wine."
Out of politeness, Xu Su glanced in the direction the waitress was pointing. Unexpectedly, her gaze met a pair of deep, profound eyes.
A tall, slender young man dressed in black was standing outside the very door the waitress had indicated. He had a phone pressed to his ear, apparently having stepped out to take a call. His eyes were fixed in their direction—it was impossible to tell for how long. When he saw Xu Su look over, his gaze flickered.
......
Xu Su was frozen for several seconds before she managed to look away.
"That’s alright,"
Xu Su smiled at the waitress. "Go on, you’re busy. I know the way."
’This place isn’t that big, and there aren’t many rooms. It’s not like I could get lost.’
The path to the restroom led right past the young man in black, and Xu Su felt a strange flutter of nervousness.
She recalled something Gu Yunjia once said: when someone’s looks reach a certain level, they can have a real impact. And she had just been hit by that impact.
Other than Zhou Mochen, this was the first time someone’s appearance had truly taken her breath away.
The last time she’d felt so struck by someone’s looks was when she first met Zhou Mochen in her past life.
The memory was so distant that Xu Su had almost forgotten she’d once been so captivated by Zhou Mochen’s appearance...
When Xu Su returned from the restroom, she entered the private room, excited to say something, but then she saw her darling boyfriend sitting there...
She quickly swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue. ’That was a close one,’ she thought.
She had been about to tell her two best friends that she’d just run into a ridiculously handsome guy. Thankfully, she’d managed to stop herself.
If she had said that, given Zhou Mochen’s jealous streak, there was no telling how he would react.
She kept quiet, but Huang Feng waved her over. "Susu, you didn’t take your phone? You’ve got a ton of QQ messages."
On the table, the screen of the phone Xu Su had left behind was constantly lighting up with notifications, all from the Qingxuan Sect elite group chat.
Huang Feng was sitting right next to Xu Su’s spot, and the phone was on the table between them. She leaned over to take a look. "Your group is so chatty. Dozens of messages in just a few minutes. Our class group chat with dozens of people has never been this active."
On the other side of the table, Zhou Mochen’s eyes were downcast, his thoughts hidden. He knew, of course, about Xu Su’s various QQ groups. He knew she’d met a circle of friends through an online game, some of whom would be her future classmates at University B. He also knew that the group was planning an offline meetup in Beijing soon.
He didn’t really have a problem with it. His only condition was that Xu Su report her plans to him in advance, wherever she went. This was for her own safety, after all.
Truthfully, Zhou Mochen’s controlling tendencies had improved, more or less. He was gradually persuading himself to accept that Xu Su had her own social life.
Whether it was her close friendship with Huang Feng and Qian Jia, her plans to meet online friends in person, or her growing rapport with Shen Chen—as long as it all happened where he could see it, he could endure it.
Unless she crossed a line, Zhou Mochen was unwilling to argue with Xu Su about anything. He was terrified of the days when they would give each other the cold shoulder...
Xu Su picked up her phone and looked at the group chat. It was incredibly active, with lots of people popping up to chat. She scrolled up through the history to see what all the fuss was about.
Huang Feng leaned in to look over her shoulder.
"Hey, isn’t this picture from this restaurant?" Huang Feng said suddenly, pointing at an image. "I just took a photo downstairs. It’s definitely this place."
Xu Su tapped the image to enlarge it. It showed another private room. The decor, layout, and style were indeed very similar to theirs. Then she noticed the server’s uniform in the corner...
Xu Su confirmed, "It’s the same restaurant. It looks like one of my group members is eating here right now, too."
"What a coincidence!" Qian Jia had never made friends online before and was amazed. "Are you going to go see what they look like?"
Xu Su gave a noncommittal shrug, her eyes scanning to see who had sent the picture.
...’Master?’
"Do you want to go meet them?" Zhou Mochen asked from the side, noticing her hesitation. "I can go with you."
"..." Xu Su thought for a moment. "Never mind. It would be pretty rude to just show up unannounced. They aren’t expecting it."
