novelraw Chapter 996 - 995: Someone Who Doesn’t Want to Owe Him a Favor
Chapter 996 - 995: Someone Who Doesn’t Want to Owe Him a Favor
As the end of the semester approaches, the students of R University are immersing themselves in intense exam preparation. According to Little Treasure, Zhu Qianyu is an excellent student who not only studies during the exam period but also frequents the library to study whenever she has no classes in the afternoon.Thus, when Little Treasure enters the library once again, unsurprisingly, he sees Zhu Qianyu sitting in the same corner as yesterday, even in the exact same posture.
Little Treasure’s gaze sweeps across a sea of heads to catch sight of Zhu Qianyu, biting her pen cap and furrowing her brow slightly as she reads. Perhaps sensing something, she suddenly lifts her head, her amber eyes meeting Little Treasure’s gaze directly, causing his heart to pound uncontrollably.
This feeling of heart-racing panic and loss of self-control is not new to Little Treasure; besides that one time in the book city a few years ago, the other two occurrences were all caused by Zhu Qianyu.
Her eyes are bright and clear, with the afternoon sunlight filtering through the curtains to softly illuminate her pupils, reflecting a dazzling glow.
Little Treasure stares at her unblinkingly from a distance, his feet moving steadily just like yesterday, as he walks up to her with confident strides, nods with a smile, and pulls out a chair to sit beside her.
Zhu Qianyu watches him sit down and asks casually, "Are you a student here?"
From his age, it seems likely, but his demeanor says otherwise. Plus, he’s clearly a father to twins, claiming to be a student seems absurd.
Of course, nowadays university students can marry and have children, but the aura and presence he exudes are not typical of a student.
Little Treasure shakes his head, "I’m not!"
Little Treasure is never one to lie. Furthermore, even though he hasn’t accurately defined their relationship, he knows he doesn’t want it to be based on falsehoods.
Zhu Qianyu receives the expected answer and responds with an "Oh...," then turns back to focus on her book.
She’s reading a different book today, one in Chinese, no longer requiring a bulky dictionary, which somewhat disappoints Little Treasure.
He had spent last night rummaging through a pile of professional books related to directors and films in various languages, only to find them temporarily useless.
Despite the disappointment, Little Treasure’s face betrays none of it as he methodically takes out his laptop and starts handling work matters just as he did yesterday.
"Mr. Ji..."
The pleasant female voice reaches him, and Little Treasure slightly tilts his head, secretly delighted, as he’s finally addressed as Mr. Ji instead of just sir.
"The medicinal wine from yesterday was quite effective, thank you," Zhu Qianyu says with no expression on her face, not even a smile, making one wonder about the sincerity of her gratitude.
Yet, even so, Little Treasure can’t help but feel happy, "You’re welcome!" He is about to say more when Zhu Qianyu takes her wallet from her bag, "How much was it? I’ll repay you!"
Little Treasure hesitates instinctively wanting to refuse, but seeing her determined look, he casually suggests an amount.
"Not much, fifty yuan."
He’s no fool; if she’s asking, it means she doesn’t want to owe him a favor, so why make it difficult for her?
This makes sense, even though those few bottles of medicinal wine are certainly worth more than that.
"Here’s the money! Thank you for going out of your way to bring it to me."
Zhu Qianyu is actually aware that each of those four bottles costs more than fifty yuan, but if he says it’s fifty, then fifty it is.
Little Treasure takes the money, carefully folds it, and puts it in his own wallet.
"This is for you."
Little Treasure looks at her in surprise as she magically produces a paper box from somewhere, "What’s this...?" It seems like some kind of pastry?
Zhu Qianyu was uncertain about meeting him today, yet she took her lunch break to visit a bakery outside the school and made this cake. Regardless of whether he’d accept the original price for the medicinal wine, she didn’t want to owe him a favor.
"I’ve been learning baking lately; it might not be very tasty, please bear with it!"
Little Treasure has loved sweets since childhood, just like Da Bao, and he especially can’t resist delicious cakes and desserts. Plus, considering this was made specifically for him, the thought fills him with uncontrollable joy.
"Thank you, I really love cake!" Little Treasure beams brightly, grinning wide enough to almost reach his ears.
Faced with this joyful, harmless man, Zhu Qianyu is momentarily stunned.
This man is excessively handsome!
It’s a pity that it’s only skin-deep!
"Don’t get your hopes too high; I’m just doing this for fun!"
Her words are purely modest, as Zhu Qianyu had truly inherited her mother’s talent, making pastries that rival those of star-rated pastry chefs.
"Can I eat it now?"
The excited young master lifts his head to look around, checking if the library had any signs prohibiting food.
Zhu Qianyu pauses again, slightly bewildered by this dashing man’s unapologetic childlike manner and his straightforwardness.
The young master scans his surroundings, finding no sign banning food, and even sees some students munching on bread, "Can I eat it, right?"
The young master’s joy is overt and unmistakable, his smile dazzling, and Zhu Qianyu, intending to lie that he can’t, somehow nods her head.
"Mm!"
But after nodding, she suddenly recalls something.
"But, I didn’t bring a plate." Just as she says this, the young master is already opening the box and carefully removing the cake.
"Is it mango mille-feuille cake?" His keen nose detects the mango’s aroma even before cutting into the cake.
"Yes, girls usually love this; you might not like it?"
Zhu Qianyu hadn’t anticipated that a gesture meant only to repay a favor would actually provide him with a conversation starter.
But since she’d given him the cake, it wouldn’t be right to ignore him completely with a scowl.
"No, I love it a lot!"
The young master’s joy was genuine, not feigned, as he eagerly picked up the plastic fork that came with the box, using it as a utensil to expertly cut a small piece, which he promptly popped into his mouth.
Though it was a rather crude action, his execution made it seem like a kid indulging in a long-desired treat, cute and beyond reproach.
The young master squints his eyes in enjoyment, exclaiming, "Hmm... so delicious, Beibei and Guoguo would surely like it too!"
After speaking, he seemingly remembers something and looks up at Zhu Qianyu, "Beibei Guoguo, the two little rascals you saw that day, they are my nephew and niece."
The young master wasn’t explaining the relationship between him and the two kids, but merely telling Zhu Qianyu who Beibei Guoguo were.
Zhu Qianyu nods perfunctorily, "Mm, I know."
But her disdain grows ever larger in her heart.
Clearly, they are his son and daughter, yet he claims they are his nephew and niece. This man is truly terrifying, pretending not to recognize his own children just to woo a girl.