The hustle and bustle of the food stall were impressive, and the service was surprisingly efficient.
The boss quickly brought over two large basins of crayfish, along with a plate of stir-fried assorted seafood and spicy Sichuan chicken.
The aroma that wafted over made everyone who hadn't had dinner yet involuntarily swallow.
"Come on, let's eat!"
Zhang Peng shouted, then eagerly picked up a crayfish with his chopsticks. He didn't even bother with gloves, directly using his hands to peel the shell.
The others were just as quick.
"Do you like crayfish?"
Qin Tian looked at Xia Nuannuan, who was wearing gloves and peeling a crayfish, and asked with a light smile.
Xia Nuannuan looked up at him and replied with a radiant smile, "Is there anyone who *doesn't* like them?"
"That's true, isn't it?"
Qin Tian nodded with a smile.
"It's just a bit troublesome to peel them."
As Xia Nuannuan spoke, she placed a peeled piece of crayfish meat onto his plate and then picked up another one with her chopsticks.
Qin Tian's smile was warm as he happily ate the piece of crayfish meat on his plate.
After everyone had sampled some of the dishes, the class monitor, Mu Nan, was the first to raise her glass.
Most of the girls were drinking fruit juice, but Mu Nan and Tian Jiajia, like the boys, were drinking beer.
"Come, everyone, let's have a toast. Congratulations on finishing the college entrance exams, and thank you to Xue Qian for treating us to this meal."
Mu Nan said with a hearty smile.
"No thanks necessary, it's what I should do."
Xue Qian quickly raised his glass in agreement, then smiled at Qin Tian and said, "If anyone should be thanked, it's Brother Tian. And thank you all for letting me tag along."
"We all owe a toast to Qin Tian. Not only did he predict the essay topic correctly, but he also let us mooch off this meal."
Tian Jiajia said with a smile.
Zhang Peng, uncharacteristically, didn't argue with her and nodded, "She's not wrong. Let's toast."
"Let's also toast to our past high school lives and our upcoming university lives. Cheers!"
Qin Tian raised his glass with a smile.
"Cheers!!!"
Everyone raised their glasses and shouted in unison, the atmosphere soaring.
Curious glances were cast their way from all around.
Seeing the gender ratio at Qin Tian's table, and the stunning looks of some of the girls, many people were filled with envy and jealousy.
For instance, at a nearby table, a group of boys who had been competing in drinking quietly started to grumble enviously.
"Damn, compared to them, we're like a monastery table!"
"Don't even talk about it. Comparing ourselves to others is just asking for misery."
"How did those three guys manage it? Honestly, only that one guy is somewhat handsome. I'm not impressed by the other two."
"Maybe their class just has more girls. Unlike our class, we only have a few girls, and they're not that attractive, plus they're all so arrogant. They won't even come if we invite them to dinner."
"I don't think they can be from the same class. Which class has so many beautiful girls?"
"Stop looking, stop looking. If we keep looking, the crayfish won't taste good anymore."
"Right, let's drink. Damn it, when we get to university, I'm definitely finding a girlfriend quickly."
"..."
"Brother Peng, besides the 'sister-in-law,' don't all these girls here not have boyfriends?"
Xue Qian tilted his head, leaned closer to Zhang Peng, and asked in a low voice.
Zhang Peng glanced at him, a playful smile on his face, "Oh? Got any ideas?"
"Of course!"
Xue Qian grinned cheekily and raised an eyebrow.
"The campus belle definitely doesn't have a boyfriend. Why don't you give it a shot?"
Zhang Peng ate a edamame bean and gestured towards Su Yan.
"Forget it, that's too difficult. I know my own limits."
Xue Qian shook his head, then his gaze fell upon Tian Jiajia, who was sitting next to Su Yan.
Tian Jiajia was peeling shrimp while chatting cheerfully with Su Yan.
He had only joined this small circle today and wasn't very familiar with the girls yet. He just felt that a girl who smiled so much must have a good personality, and she was also quite pretty.
"No way? Are you blind?"
Zhang Peng looked in the direction Xue Qian was looking, towards Tian Jiajia, and exclaimed in surprise.
"What's wrong?"
Xue Qian looked at him in confusion.
Zhang Peng stared at him with a peculiar expression and pouted, "You haven't been scolded yet, have you?"
"Huh?"
Xue Qian froze for a moment, then seemed to suddenly understand something and widened his eyes, looking at him with surprise.
"What is it?"
"Heh heh... Brother Peng, I get it. Don't scold me. I just didn't know, you know? Don't worry, I'm not that kind of guy."
"Huh?"
Zhang Peng was a bit stunned and frowned, "What are you talking about? Brother, have you misunderstood something?"
Xue Qian raised his hand as if to pat his shoulder but retracted it, realizing he was still wearing gloves stained with red oil. He chuckled, "Don't worry, Brother Peng, I'll support you."
"You're thinking about it the wrong way..."
"No, no, no. If I'm not good at anything else, I'm good at judging people. I understand."
"Heh!"
Zhang Peng was momentarily speechless, thinking that he might be mistaken.
This guy didn't have any social awareness at all, he was just completely clueless!
"By the way, should we compare our answers?"
Liao Juan suddenly asked loudly.
"Let's not. I don't even remember. If I compare answers and find out I got things wrong that I shouldn't have, how can I have fun?"
Cui Ying replied.
"I agree. We've finally been freed. I want to have fun for half a month without a care before the exam results come out."
Qiu Man nodded in agreement.
"You're right!"
Zhang Peng expressed his agreement, then glanced at Xue Qian beside him and said, "Unlike some people who got lucky, if we compare answers, only Brother Tian and he might not be upset. Let's just not do it."
Xue Qian looked at him with a bewildered expression, his mind full of question marks.
What's going on?
Weren't we just good buddies? Why is he suddenly so sarcastic?
He had already said he understood!
"Alright then, let's not worry about it and just focus on eating, drinking, and having fun."
Liao Juan also gave up on the idea of comparing answers. Then her gaze fell on Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan, and she suddenly teased with a smile, "Qin Tian, Xia Nuannuan, are you two..."
She only said half of it, but the teasing smile on her face implied the rest.
Hearing this, everyone else also looked at the two with knowing glances.
"What's going on?"
Only Xue Qian looked completely bewildered. He had assumed Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan were already a couple.
Xia Nuannuan lowered her head, her face flushing. Her heart was pounding, a mix of flustered shyness and a sliver of anticipation.
"This is between us. You're all too curious!"
Qin Tian's expression was calm as he naturally offered the peeled crayfish meat to Xia Nuannuan's mouth.
He peeled them quickly and ate little himself, having already fed her quite a bit. Before, he had just placed it on her plate, but now he was doing it intentionally.
Xia Nuannuan's mind was a bit jumbled at the moment. Seeing the crayfish meat offered to her, she opened her mouth and ate it without thinking.
"Eww..."
A chorus of "eww" erupted from the crowd.
The tone and the natural, practiced motion of feeding her had said it all.
It was just a little *too* sweet.
Hearing the "eww," Xia Nuannuan, with her slightly delayed reaction, finally came to her senses. Her pretty face was burning, as red as a ripe apple in late autumn.