A newly opened hot pot restaurant.
Upon entering, they happened to run into Lin Ling and Fu Shirin.
They decided to share a table.
"Damn, is that your cousin? He's so handsome!"
Lin Ling expressed her shock, while Fu Shirin cast her a sidelong glance.
"Brother Yu's cousin is also very beautiful," he said deliberately.
Lin Ling glared at him, "My eyes aren't blind."
With that, she pulled Wen Tingxue and walked ahead.
Fu Shirin: "..."
Indeed, one shouldn't argue with girls; in the end, it's yourself who gets upset.
After sitting down, Wen Tingxue whispered conspiratorially in Lin Ling's ear, "Are you guys...?"
Her raised eyebrows held a story in every strand.
A story of ambiguity.
Lin Ling's cheeks flushed slightly, "More or less."
"I knew it," Wen Tingxue smiled.
Lin Ling blinked, "Isn't it that obvious?"
"I can tell, and you say it's not obvious enough?" Wen Tingxue retorted.
She had felt something was off when they were at the same table.
Fu Shirin often turned to talk, and sometimes, when Lin Ling was annoyed by the noise, she would directly kick him.
Although he would kick back, the force wasn't strong, and Lin Ling always won.
It was clear he was letting her win.
Later, during PE class, Fu Shirin deliberately pulled her hair and tripped her on the grass.
Furious, Lin Ling chased him around the track.
The key was, Fu Shirin was nice to everyone else, but he specifically liked to bully Lin Ling.
And he only picked on her. Sometimes, after making her cry, he would coax her apologetically.
If there wasn't something going on between them, she definitely wouldn't believe it.
Lin Ling covered her mouth and laughed, "Are you really badmouthing yourself like this?"
Wen Tingxue: "I'm telling the truth."
She was slow to react to matters of the heart. The reason she was sure Yu Wenli liked her was entirely due to his persistent attention.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to think in that direction.
As they were talking, Yu Zhitong suddenly raised her hand, "Waiter."
Her action was somewhat abrupt, and everyone instinctively looked at her.
Only Song Ruining knew what she wanted to say, and a smile curved his lips.
"Hello, is there anything you need?"
The waiter quickly approached, smiling.
Yu Zhitong flipped her phone screen, "Excuse me, can this be canceled?"
"This..."
The waiter looked at the cutlery and tissue fees that were automatically selected in her shopping cart and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry, it can't be canceled."
Yu Zhitong immediately smiled, "Then do you provide free cutlery?"
The waiter hesitated, "Um..."
"You don't?" Yu Zhitong pressed.
The waiter smiled.
Yu Zhitong took a deep breath, "Where's your boss?"
The waiter quickly pointed towards the counter.
"Alright, you can go back to work."
Yu Zhitong stood up.
Song Ruining adjusted his glasses, his dark eyes behind the lenses instantly sharpening.
"I'll go with you."
"Okay."
Yu Zhitong nodded, and they walked towards the counter side by side.
Fu Shirin blinked in confusion, "What are they doing?"
Yu Wenli: "Giving a legal lecture."
"Huh?" Fu Shirin was even more confused.
Then he heard Yu Zhitong's voice rise:
"Since you're in the catering industry, you should know.
When consumers come to your establishment for your services, you have an obligation to provide the necessary cutlery for dining."
The counter was already bustling, and Yu Zhitong and Song Ruining were quite conspicuous.
With just a couple of sentences, they drew a crowd of onlookers, much to the boss's annoyance.
"Which eye of yours saw that I didn't provide them? Aren't the tissues and cutlery in the shopping cart?!"
"They are, but you neither asked if we needed them nor gave us the chance to refuse. This infringes on our right to choose," Yu Zhitong retorted.
The boss was silenced. Song Ruining pushed up his glasses and added, "Restaurants can charge for cutlery.
But you must inform customers in advance; otherwise, it's an infringement of the right to know.
Besides that, you must also provide free cutlery.
And the free cutlery must be disinfected and meet national hygiene standards."
Song Ruining looked at the boss with a faint smile, "Excuse me, do you want us to call the authorities? It's not good for a new store to have a complaint, is it?"
The hot pot restaurant was located near the school, and the cutlery and tissue fees were so high.
They clearly intended to take advantage of the students' money.
If they hadn't known, they might have tolerated it. But now that they knew, could they?
The surrounding students immediately started to cause a scene.
"Call the authorities! We didn't even use the tissues, and they charged me four yuan. That's a rip-off!"
"Exactly, and we couldn't even cancel it."
"Complain! They even charge for dipping sauce!"
The commotion grew louder, and the boss, sweating profusely from anxiety, finally compromised.
The students erupted in cheers.
Fu Shirin's mouth gaped open in surprise, "What major did your cousin study? That's so cool!"
Yu Wenli: "Law."
"Is your cousin studying that too?" Fu Shirin then asked Wen Tingxue.
"Yes."
"Damn, so cool, so cool! I want to apply to political science and law university too." Fu Shirin instantly fell in love with law.
Lin Ling frowned, "If you go to political science and law university, where will I go?"
"We'll go to the capital together. Where else would you want to apply?"
"..." Lin Ling said, "I prefer Jiangcheng."
During the meal, they discussed the English speech competition.
Fu Shirin and Lin Ling both supported her participation. Song Ruining also said, "Challenging yourself isn't a bad thing.
And given your major, your future development direction is unlikely to be confined to China forever. Practicing your spoken English more is beneficial."
Yu Zhitong nodded, "Xiao Xue, I know about this speech competition. It's quite prestigious.
If you get a job later, you can put it on your resume. You have no idea how intense the competition is these days.
An extra advantage provides more security. Besides, you're being taught by Ah Li himself, so you're sure to get a good ranking."
Wen Tingxue bit her lip, looking hesitant, "What do you think?"
She still relied more on Yu Wenli.
Yu Wenli smiled and picked up a slice of meat for her, "Brother won't interfere with your choice. If you want to go, I'll accompany you; if not, I'll continue teaching you."
He wanted her to depend on him, but he didn't want her to depend on him too much.
There were some things she needed to decide for herself.
No one else could help.
Song Ruining raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had expected Yu Wenli to encourage her to go, but instead...
He was more mature than Song Ruining had imagined. Being with him was indeed quite suitable.
The conversation shifted several times, eventually landing on Song Ruining.
"Senior brother, are you planning to stay in Jiangcheng?"
Yu Zhitong asked. Song Ruining nodded, "Yes, I'll start my job in a few days."
"So soon? Aren't you considering other options?" Yu Zhitong sounded regretful, "I heard many law firms in the capital have offered you positions."
Song Ruining smiled, "My original intention for studying law was in Jiangcheng."
Wen Tingxue knew what he was referring to.
Years ago, when their aunt resigned from her teaching position and started a business, which grew larger and larger, she was framed by competitors, which implicated her husband.
The Song family fell into difficulties. It was Yu Xiuxiu who led the charge to turn things around, her eloquent words leaving the opposing party speechless.
From then on, her cousin began preparing for law school.
Wen Tingxue ultimately decided to participate in the competition.
Not for the sake of winning, but to give herself an account.
After so many days of effort, it was time to see the results.