Chapter 580: Chapter 575: Bai Xiaotang Side Story (9)
When that familiar figure appeared on the surveillance screen, the light in Bai Xiaotang’s eyes dimmed considerably.
"Wait a minute, this person is holding a bag. Junior, take a look, is it your bag?" Li Lantian pointed excitedly at the man’s back on the screen, but when he turned to look at Bai Xiaotang, he saw her with her head down, not looking at the screen.
"Junior, do you think this person is..."
"Senior, there’s no need to look anymore."
"Huh?"
Bai Xiaotang looked at the two soldiers in the monitoring room and forced a smile that was even uglier than crying, "I’m sorry for the trouble. I made a mistake. I must have left my bag in the dormitory."
The base soldiers were somewhat surprised, turning to look again at the man on the screen, and confirmed once more: "Are you sure it’s not him who took your bag? Judging by his uniform, he should be a school instructor. We can contact him..."
Even though the surveillance was in black and white and colors couldn’t be discerned, the cloth bag that the man picked up from the chair in the surveillance had the style of a woman’s cloth bag.
"The bag he’s holding isn’t mine."
"Shall we keep looking?"
"No need, thank you anyway..."
Bai Xiaotang saluted the two soldiers, tightened her grip on the backpack strap, and left directly.
Li Lantian was a bit puzzled, saluted as well, and chased after Bai Xiaotang.
"Junior, what’s wrong?"
"Senior, let’s go eat, otherwise the dining hall will close soon." Bai Xiaotang forced a smile at him, holding back her bitter emotions.
Li Lantian was silent for a moment before cautiously asking, "Junior, was the person in the surveillance the man from the campus hospital the other day?"
Bai Xiaotang’s grip on the backpack strap tightened slightly, "No, Senior, let’s hurry up. It’s already 9:30."
Li Lantian observed her gradually quickening pace and smiled wryly.
The two arrived at the nearest second dining hall. By this time, there were few people eating inside, and many food stalls were already closed.
"Junior, let’s go to the second floor. There should still be some stalls open for ordering."
Bai Xiaotang nodded slightly.
As the two were about to head to the second floor, they saw Fu Yuanxuan and Yang Xingwei coming down from there.
Fu Yuanxuan was holding the pink cloth bag that Bai Xiaotang had been looking for.
The four of them stopped in their tracks, momentarily stunned in place.
Li Lantian glanced at the pink cloth bag in Fu Yuanxuan’s hand, feeling a tightening in his heart.
Yang Xingwei reflexively looked at Fu Yuanxuan, noticing his tense expression and tightly pressed lips, realized he was on the brink of anger.
He immediately said, "Oh? Are you Xiao Tang’s sister?"
Bai Xiaotang’s heart snapped awake, looking somewhat flustered elsewhere.
Yang Xingwei quickly descended a few steps, smiling as if seeing Bai Xiaotang for the first time, "Xiao Tang, do you remember me? I’m Yang Xingwei, Brother Fu’s childhood friend. We’ve met before."
Only then did Bai Xiaotang set her gaze on him, showing an awkward smile, "Hello..."
"Oh, no need to be so formal! Just call me Brother Yang. I didn’t expect you to study here. No wonder Brother Fu specifically applied to transfer over, it turns out it was because of..."
Before finishing his sentence, a warning came: "Yang Xingwei!"
Yang Xingwei’s body tensed, gave a dry laugh, and turned to look at Fu Yuanxuan on the stairs, "Brother Fu, didn’t you just buy snacks for Xiao Tang earlier? Now that she’s here, hurry and give them to her."
Bai Xiaotang, slightly stunned, turned her gaze to Fu Yuanxuan.
The cold aura of the man made him appear even more aloof, his face expressionless, silently looking at the girl downstairs.
Bai Xiaotang’s hopeful gaze gradually disappeared, and she turned to walk out.
"Junior..." Li Lantian, feeling the pressure from that glance, quickly followed, hearing Bai Xiaotang sulk, "Senior, I don’t want to eat at the second dining hall anymore, let’s go to the third one."
Yang Xingwei acted on instinct, stepping forward to block Bai Xiaotang, "Xiao Tang, wait a minute. The dining hall closes at 10 p.m., you won’t make it to the third one by now; better to eat here. Besides, it’s been so long since we last met, let’s catch up."
Yang Xingwei had a kind face, with two small dimples when he smiled, and his aura was like that of a neighborly brother, making it hard for people to refuse.
Under his semi-coaxing and tugging, Bai Xiaotang and Li Lantian were invited back to the second-floor restaurant.
"Brother Fu, you barely ate just now, have some more. It’s perfect since Xiao Tang is also here, let’s catch up." Yang Xingwei ignored the deadly stare from Fu Yuanxuan, flashing him a smile.
Fu Yuanxuan swallowed his anger, forcing himself to return to the second-floor restaurant and sat across from Bai Xiaotang.
A thud sounded as the pink cloth bag landed on the table between them.
The wrinkled cloth bag strap looked like it had been through rough treatment.
For some reason, Bai Xiaotang suddenly felt a bit guilty, but the thought of his act of taking the bag made her angry again.
She tightly pursed her lips and glared at the table in front of her.
Yang Xingwei hooked an arm around Li Lantian’s neck, forcibly dragging him along, "Hey, classmate, let’s go get some food."
As the two left, only Bai Xiaotang and Fu Yuanxuan were left at the table.
Fu Yuanxuan crossed his arms, gazing sternly at Bai Xiaotang for a long time. Seeing that she refused to look at him, his anger rose further, coldly asking, "Why are you having a meal with him?"
"We just finished class together."
"What class do you have that requires you to attend with a junior from the third year?" Fu Yuanxuan’s suppressed voice carried a mix of uncontrollable jealousy.
Bai Xiaotang bit her lip, looking up at Fu Yuanxuan with a hint of anger, "Brother Fu, are you questioning me?"
"I’ve seen your schedule, there’s no evening class today."
"So what?"
Seeing Bai Xiaotang so upset that her eyes were slightly red, Fu Yuanxuan swallowed down his line of questioning, looking away.
Bai Xiaotang tightened her grip on the backpack strap again, pointing at the pink bag in front of her, "Why did you take the snack bag?"
"I thought you didn’t want it."
Bai Xiaotang, filled with anger, didn’t look at him anymore.
When Yang Xingwei and Li Lantian returned with their trays, they found the pair of expressionless faces sitting across from each other, refusing to speak.
Yang Xingwei’s heart sank, quickly putting on a smile and trying to lighten the mood, "What’s going on here? Hurry up and clean up the table..."
But neither Bai Xiaotang nor Fu Yuanxuan moved.
Yang Xingwei helplessly set his tray aside, reaching for the pink snack bag, intentionally opening the zipper, exclaiming, "Wow, Brother Fu, did you buy Xiao Tang so many high-calorie snacks? Aren’t you afraid she’ll get chubby?"
"Shut up!"
Yang Xingwei glanced at him helplessly, deliberately shoving the snack bag into Bai Xiaotang’s arms, "Xiao Tang, your Brother Fu is a straightforward guy, doesn’t usually buy food for girls, but he means well. Take it and enjoy it later."
"I don’t want it." Bai Xiaotang immediately tossed the snack bag back onto the table.
Across from her, Fu Yuanxuan’s fingers clenched instantly, his gaze fixed directly on Bai Xiaotang’s eyes.
"Then whose snacks do you want? His?"
Li Lantian froze, suddenly feeling the air around him grow colder.
Bai Xiaotang’s eyes widened, and she shouted, "Yes, Senior Li’s chocolates are delicious!"
