Under the admiring gazes of other girls, Su Yan and a girl wearing glasses got into Qin Tian's car. "You two head straight to the station. Our male classmates are already waiting there. Be careful on the road, we'll go ahead."
Qin Tian instructed the girls before restarting the car.
Upon hearing this, the girls' eyes grew even more envious, regretting not having become closer to Su Yan.
"This is Zhuang Zhe, a roommate."
Qin Tian introduced Zhuang Zhe beside him as he turned the car.
Zhuang Zhe turned to look at the two girls and greeted them with a shy smile.
"Hello!"
Su Yan nodded with a smile and then introduced the girl beside her.
The girl's name was Tian Jing. Her name suited her, and her demeanor was also very quiet.
Coincidentally, her surname was the same as Tian Jiajia's. It was unclear if Su Yan's close relationship with Tian Jing had anything to do with this.
Tian Jing and Zhuang Zhe exchanged a smile, acknowledging each other. Both were clearly not very talkative individuals.
"Aren't you going, Nuannuan?"
Su Yan asked with some surprise.
In her eyes, Xia Nuannuan and Qin Tian always seemed inseparable.
Although this social gathering was an event between the male students of the Economics Department's first class and the girls from their class, Xia Nuannuan shouldn't have wanted to miss it.
"Did she not tell you? She invited the girls from our class to her dad's for a seafood feast."
Qin Tian replied with a smile.
"Is that so!"
Su Yan nodded in realization and added, "She's really generous! She must be the center of attention among your class's girls now, right?"
Qin Tian smiled proudly and nodded. "She was just a temporary class monitor appointed by the counselor at first, but she's done a pretty good job over the past half month."
"Of course! With her great personality and generosity, who wouldn't like such a class monitor!"
Su Yan said with a charming smile.
Beside her, Tian Jing wore a reserved smile, quietly listening to their chat, her eyes showing a hint of envy.
Due to her personality and having been buried in her studies previously, she didn't have many friends, let alone close ones.
Therefore, when Su Yan invited her into the car, she was stunned for quite a while.
Their friendship was actually just from visiting the library together twice and discussing their favorite literary classics and authors.
When Su Yan first spoke to her, she was quite flattered.
At this moment, Tian Jing envied not only their friendship but also the genuine affection between Qin Tian and that girl.
On the first night of military training, the tug-of-war event between the two classes had made that girl the object of envy for almost all the girls in their class.
After the military training performance yesterday, all the first-year girls in the university began to envy and covet this girl.
And now, even though that girl wasn't here, Qin Tian's words were filled with doting and affection for her.
Such a romantic, devoted, and nearly perfect boyfriend was something almost every girl had fantasized about.
"Have you been in contact with Tian Jiajia recently?"
After a moment of silence in the car, Qin Tian found a topic.
Upon hearing the name, Tian Jing looked at Su Yan beside her with surprise.
"We've been keeping in touch by phone. Their school is still undergoing military training, and they're all doing well. With her personality, she won't have trouble finding people to hang out with anywhere."
"That's true!"
Qin Tian chuckled and nodded again. "Zhang Peng also messages me often. That guy is just too slow!"
Su Yan knew exactly what he was referring to and said with a gentle smile, "Jiajia is also quite oblivious. She hasn't realized her true feelings yet!"
"It seems we need to help them out a bit, give them a push from behind. Otherwise, they might not contact each other at all this semester. Once time passes, their feelings might truly fade."
"You guys figure out a way. I'm not good at this!"
"There's something you're not good at?"
Qin Tian glanced at her in the rearview mirror with feigned surprise.
Su Yan rolled her eyes and said crossly, "I'm a single dog. How can I be good at matchmaking other people? Can I compare to you?"
"What are you saying? As if I'm some Casanova. I'm not good at it either!"
Qin Tian said seriously.
"Have you asked all the first-year students at Jiangda University before saying that?"
Su Yan pouted playfully.
Beside her, Tian Jing's smile widened. She hadn't expected Su Yan to have such a humorous side.
"That's for Nuannuan. It's different!"
Qin Tian said with a serious expression.
"Ugh... I can't stand it. Please, Nuannuan isn't here. Can you put away your magical powers? I'm tired of your public displays of affection."
Su Yan complained with mock disgust.
"Ahem... Sorry, it's a habit."
Qin Tian apologized with a dry laugh.
Su Yan and the other two couldn't help but roll their eyes.
"A Zhe, say something too. We can't do all the talking, can we?"
After another period of silence, Qin Tian looked at Zhuang Zhe beside him.
"Huh?"
Zhuang Zhe blinked, his expression awkward. "Say what?"
"Just say anything. With two beautiful ladies sitting behind you, don't just sit there like you're meditating. Otherwise, I'll really start to suspect you're not normal!"
Qin Tian said speechlessly.
Hearing this, Su Yan and the other girl couldn't help but smile.
"Um..."
Zhuang Zhe forced himself to turn towards Tian Jing behind him. After stammering for a long time, he blurted out, "You don't like talking either?"
Tian Jing: "..."
Qin Tian raised a hand to cover his forehead, his lips twitching fiercely.
Su Yan laughed even harder, looking at Tian Jing with keen interest.
"Uh!"
Tian Jing responded with a dry chuckle.
"Me too. I find communicating with people too difficult. I'd rather read a book."
Zhuang Zhe said with a bitter expression.
Tian Jing smiled faintly and asked, "Then why... did you come to this social event?"
"Before, I could just focus on studying. Now that I'm in university, I've one foot out of the school gate. I can't always be a bookworm. I just want to learn how to communicate with people, especially girls."
Zhuang Zhe answered honestly.
Tian Jing's eyes brightened, and she nodded slightly in agreement, "Yes, that's what I think too."
As their eyes met, they seemed to find a sense of camaraderie.
Qin Tian and Su Yan both showed a hint of surprise in their eyes.
Could these two... have hit it off just like that?
"What books do you like to read?"
"Me? I prefer traditional classic novels. Dream of the Red Chamber is my favorite. I've read it many times. Unfortunately, I don't know if it was left unfinished or if the later content was lost."
"Yes, yes, I also really like Dream of the Red Chamber, but I also like some foreign novels."
"I've read fewer foreign classics. Mainly, I was studying before and didn't have time to read."
"There's plenty of time in university. I can recommend some books to you when you have a chance."
"Okay!"
...
Honestly speaking, one quiet and reserved person, and one gentle and introverted girl, they actually managed to strike up a conversation.