Chapter 45: CH 45.1

Thursday came around in the blink of an eye. After inquiring Ruan Nan about her preferences, Qin Juran decided upon a private dining room with good food at a decent price. The room also included a KTV machine, so they could drink and sing karaoke as they liked after eating. She woke up extra early on Thursday morning to reserve the room, and once 5 p.m. came around, she began dressing up and doing her makeup.

She changed into a black dress with nude pantyhose underneath. Her hair was curled in soft waves surrounding her face, and her red lipstick offset her porcelain skin, creating an alluring look.

When Huang Ying saw her completed look, her jaw dropped in amazement. She couldn’t help asking, “Juju, are you planning on confessing today? You look too stunning!”

Qin Juran lazily tossed her curls over her shoulder and clasped a statement necklace around her neck. “It’s just a normal dinner.”

Although it was supposed to be a “normal” dinner, truthfully, it was more than that. Lin Wei, Zhou Ziqing, and Wang Yuanyuan were all Ruan Nan’s closest friends, so the dinner seemed to represent the “meeting the friends” step of Qin Juran and Ruan Nan’s relationship.

As this thought came to mind, Qin Juran peeked at Huang Ying: “Are you busy tonight? Want to come?”

Huang Ying frantically waved her hands in the air: “I wouldn’t dare – I’ve never even spoken a full sentence to any of Ruan Nan’s group.”

“Is that so? Zhou Ziqing had been meaning to return the jacket to you, but never got a chance, so I told him that he could do it tonight.”

It turned out that at the sound of Zhou Ziqing’s name, Huang Ying became rather bashful. Although she tried her best to hide it, nothing got past Qin Juran. She chuckled and stood up from her chair, nudging Huang Ying into the bathroom: “Hurry and get ready.”

Ruan Nan arrived to pick up Qin Juran and Huang Ying punctually at 6 p.m. When they got to the restaurant, Lin Wei and the others had already arrived, and Lin Wei even invited some other students in their department who they were friendly with, as well as Ruan Nan’s bandmates Shan Zhuo and Gu Xiaoxue. Qin Juran expressed that it was fine with her to all dine together.

As they entered, Huang Ying and the others proceeded to walk in the front, while Qin Juran purposefully lingered in the back with Ruan Nan so that they could walk side by side. Ruan Nan was also wearing a dress tonight, but she gave off a charming and cute vibe compared to Qin Juran’s elegant and graceful vibe.

Seeing that Ruan Nan was wearing higher heels than usual, Qin Juran was worried that she would stumble. In a single motion, she draped her coat over Ruan Nan’s shoulders and pulled her into her chest.

Since they haven’t had much physical contact in the past few days, this small act of intimacy felt both strange and exciting.

Although the others in front hadn’t noticed, Ruan Nan felt a bit embarrassed. She pushed feebly against Qin Juran and mumbled in a faint voice: “What are you doing?”

Qin Juran leaned closer and nipped the corner of her ear: “I’m worried that you’ll trip into my arms later.”

“…..”

They had reserved a small private room since the group wasn’t too large. In fear that Qin Juran and Zhou Ziqing wouldn’t get along too well, Ruan Nan purposefully tried to seat the two of them apart. Meanwhile, Qin Juran glanced at Huang Ying and directed her to the seat across from Zhou Ziqing.

The warm light in the room made the plates of vegetables and fruits look all the more appetizing, and the plate of crisp golden ribs looked especially delicious.

As Qin Juran received each dish graciously from the waiters, she directly spooned some onto Ruan Nan’s plate first. Watching this graceful and courteous process, Huang Ying felt that she was going to faint from the overload of sweetness. Gu Xiaoxue, who was sitting nearby, noticed this familiar look in Huang Ying’s eyes and smiled knowingly, leaning in and asking in a politely lowered tone: “Huang Ying, you’re Juran’s roommate, right?”

Huang Ying nodded. “Yep, what about it?”

Gu Xiaoxue shook her head: “Nothing really, it’s just that I’m a little jealous that you get to witness everything firsthand.”

Hearing her words, Huang Ying quickly reacted, whipping her head in Gu Xiaoxue’s direction and tugging at her shirt sleeve: “You mean Ju-Nan?”

Gu Xiaoxue’s eyes widened in glee: “You too?!”

Immediately, the two of them began excitedly fangirling together in hushed voices.

After a while, Ruan Nan finished ordering the dishes and Qin Juran had ordered some drinks for the table. Lin Wei stood up and poured a glass of alcohol for all the guys first, then asked Wang Yuanyuan, Huang Ying, and Gu Xiaoxue whether they were drinking, to which they all replied that they would stick with soda.

Lin Wei proceeded to pick up Qin Juran’s glass without asking her, although she didn’t protest. However, Ruan Nan stopped him before he could fill the glass, frowning: “Lin Wei, why didn’t you ask Qin Juran whether she wanted to drink or not?”

Lin Wei smirked teasingly, “She’s meeting all the brothers-in-law, wouldn’t this occasion call for a drink?”

“What – brothers-in-law? What are you going on about, Lin Wei…” Ruan Nan tried to refute him, but her protests were smothered by the sounds of laughter erupting across the room. Lin Wei pointed with his chin: “How much are you drinking, Qin Juran?”

Qin Juran didn’t argue, only curling her lips and meeting his eyes: “Pour me however much you’d think your Sister Nan would let me drink.”

“Woah—”  The group once again erupted into laughter. Ruan Nan didn’t know when everyone had become so close with Qin Juran; what was supposed to be a dinner congratulating her on her internship seemed to have turned into a wedding banquet…

Although Lin Wei and the others were already familiar with each other, Qin Juran had no problem conversing and laughing along with them. Along with the delicious dishes that Ruan Nan ordered, the entire table was filled with a lively and cheerful atmosphere. The whole time, Qin Juran took note from the corner of her eye of Ruan Nan’s particular tastes: she didn’t like alcohol, choosing to drink soda instead. There was one male student who was rather ignorant; right as Ruan Nan was holding a pork rib to her mouth, about to bite in, he stood up and held his glass up towards her, asking to drink a toast together. In response, Qin Juran held out her own glass in Ruan Nan’s stead.

By the time they were about halfway through the meal, Qin Juran had already drunk nearly half a glass of wine. She had pretty good alcohol tolerance and already learned how to skillfully pace herself from her past life. Nonetheless, her face had a light pink flush from the alcohol, which, framed by her soft curls, only made her look especially alluring under the warm light in the room.

Ruan Nan accidentally knocked a small spoon onto the floor. As she bent over her seat to pick it up, she shifted towards Qin Juran and tugged on her skirt, whispering, “How come I didn’t know you could drink?”

Qin Juran also leaned over so that her eyes were straight across from Ruan Nan’s, not caring about how they might appear to anyone else in the room. “There’s a lot of things you don’t know. Do you want me to teach you about them tonight?”

Ruan Nan turned away without replying, face aflame. Lin Wei was practically drunk at this point and his face was flushed a deep crimson. He stood up and shouted in a slurred voice: “Come on guys, just eating is no fun, let’s play a game! Everyone will have a chance to choose someone at this table to say something sincere and personal to. There will only be this one chance, you better seize it!”

One male student pulled him back: “Let the campus flower and Miss Ruan talk about their personal matters in private. If they let you hear, then it wouldn’t be personal anymore!”

Lin Wei didn’t relent: “What’s wrong with the brother-in-law knowing about their personal matters?”

The rest of the group began laughing and agreeing that it was a good idea. Although it wasn’t exactly a thrilling game, but many times, the half-truths that come out in these lively atmospheres are mixed in with earnest feelings.

Soon, Lin Wei was ready to take the first shot. Raising his glass, he declared, “Qin Juran, I would like to say something to you.”

He swayed on his feet and his words came out slurred, “How do I say this…to be honest, the first time I walked onto this campus and saw you, I thought that you were beautiful, really beautiful. You looked like a small fairy in your white dress, but it was too bad that our personalities were incompatible at the time. I’m the kind of person who hates when people cry too easily; I remember on the first day of class, just because someone took your seat, you burst into tears. That seriously ruined my mood…..”

“But that’s all way before, way in the past. It’s said that during college, everyone will mature and change. Even though your change was a bit sudden, my point is, I really like this new spunky side of you! I hope you’ll always stay like this!”

Qin Juran didn’t refute him, and raised her glass with a laugh, taking a shot with him.

Next up was a male student in their department who wanted to say something to Ruan Nan. He was quite nervous as he spoke, trembling from Qin Juran’s fierce gaze focused upon him: “A while ago, I think I must’ve done something to upset Ruan Nan, but I never got the chance to apologize and was always too afraid to ask. So today, I’d like to take this chance to tell you.”

Ruan Nan also raised her glass in response. She was never much of a smiler, but she nodded in acknowledgment. “I remember you.”

The student visibly tensed up.

“But I don’t exactly remember what incident you’re talking about.”

The disaster was averted.

As Ruan Nan sat back down, Qin Juran brushed her hair behind her ear: “Looks like Ah-Ruan doesn’t have a great memory?”

Ruan Nan turned to look at her: “I don’t bother to remember the things I don’t want to for very long.”

“Is that so…” Qin Juran elongated her words, turning her eyes away: “Then do you still remember the first time you laid down upon me?”

“Qin Juran, you—!”

Qin Juran must be referring to that time Liu Qiang had dragged her to Lover’s Hill to trouble her. Ruan Nan had accidentally knocked into Qin Juran, then ended up being pulled to the ground with her.

Qin Juran was as cunning as always, Ruan Nan thought.

Afterward, it was Shan Zhuo and Gu Xiaoxue’s turn. They both chose Ruan Nan since they were most familiar with her, and talked about how their band was able to become so popular and well-liked because of her. Ruan Nan objected, expressing that every member of the band was indispensable.

Once it was Huang Ying’s turn, she flicked a quick glance at Qin Juran and seemed to hesitate for a moment, but continued to raise her glass towards Qin Juran: “Juju, I want to tell you – we always thought that you were an exceptional person who was chasing her own dreams, but like the lofty moon, we could never reach you. I never imagined that you’d become so sincere to me one day, I, I ….” As she spoke, her eyes began tearing up, and the nearby Gu Xiaoxue hurriedly comforted her.

Huang Ying shook her head sheepishly: “Anyways, it’s just as you said: people change. Even a person’s negative qualities can be fixed.”

Qin Juran nodded, the smile on her face widening. Huang Ying’s own change over the course of time was also apparent. Truthfully, neither of them were in the right or wrong; they must’ve just put up guards around each other because of their differing personalities. But just as she said, anything can change.

Although Huang Ying didn’t have much of a presence in their department before, after this declaration of hers, everyone in the group realized that this girl was actually pretty interesting, fun to both eat and chat with.

When Zhou Ziqing’s turn came around, both Ruan Nan and Lin Wei expected that he would choose one of themselves, and mentally prepared themselves. However, he surprised them by turning straight to Qin Juran’s direction instead, gesturing towards her.

Everyone in the room seemed to freeze, anxiously waiting for Zhou Ziqing’s next words.

From the corner of her eye, Qin Juran saw that Ruan Nan had subconsciously balled her hands into fists on her lap. This seemed to be a habit of hers any time she was nervous.

Qin Juran stood up, raising her glass, not appearing concerned in the least. She calmly met Zhou Ziqing’s eyes and patiently waited for him to continue.

The two faced each other for a long moment. Zhou Ziqing looked as if he was mulling over his thoughts. He flicked another glance at Ruan Nan, then finally spoke: “Qin Juran, I hope you won’t deceive us.”

Everyone seemed to have an idea what kind of “deception” he seemed to have misgivings about, but no one wanted to elaborate.

Qin Juran raised a brow, said a quick word of “I won’t,” then downed the rest of her drink in one gulp.

The game continued, moving on to some male students in their department who Qin Juran never really paid attention to before. Feeling rather warm in the face, she turned to Ruan Nan and murmured, “I’ll be right back, going to the restroom.”

Ruan Nan nodded in acknowledgment.

When Qin Juran walked out, the entire restaurant was already packed with people. Some of the customers in the private rooms had already finished eating and turned their karaoke machines on. The muffled melodies that trailed out into the hallway created a strange, hazy atmosphere.

Someone walked out of one of the rooms right as Qin Juran walked past. He seemed to recognize her, standing in place and staring in her direction.

However, many S University students frequented this restaurant, so Qin Juran didn’t pay him any mind and continued towards the restrooms.

After coming back out, Qin Juran went to wash her hands in the communal area. The flush on her face still hadn’t resided. She wet a napkin and gently soaked her face with it. She was beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol; despite her subjective knowledge of how to pace herself, this “Qin Juran’s” physical body was simply unable to tolerate alcohol very well. She only drank one glass and her face was already this red, and her head was beginning to spin.

Qin Juran walked slightly unsteadily out of the restroom. When she made it upstairs and was approaching her room, she nearly collided with someone head-on. In the dim hallway light, Qin Juran tried to snap out of her muddled state of mind to make out the figure before her: Fan Chuan?