Xie Huai’s ride was a black electric scooter.
He had gotten this beat-up vehicle from somewhere, its engine humming loudly, creaking and squeaking all the way.
Xia Xia sat on the back seat, tightly gripping the leather cushion that had split in several places, while the passing breeze tousled her hair into complete disarray.
Xie Huai rode at breakneck speed, not even slowing for speed bumps, nearly jolting Xia Xia’s bottom in two.
Xia Xia wanted to hold his waist but felt too embarrassed, nearly falling backward several times as she swayed precariously.
Xie Huai wore a navy blue T-shirt today, the wind filling it up and making the hem billow. His waist was lean and well-shaped, and occasionally when the wind lifted his shirt hem, revealing the fair skin underneath, Xia Xia couldn’t help but steal a few extra glances.
Afraid of falling, she clutched the edge of his shirt for balance.
Xie Huai slowed down a bit: “Hold my waist, don’t grab the shirt.”
Hearing this request, alarm bells went off in Xia Xia’s mind.
She refused: “Don’t try to take advantage of me. Even though we’re in the middle of nowhere, if you try anything inappropriate, I’ll still scream for help.”
“I’m telling you to loosen your grip,” his voice sounded slightly irritated, “You’re choking me with the collar.”
His collar was already small, and Xia Xia’s tight grip on the hem was pulling the shirt down, making it hard for him to breathe.
Xia Xia: “…”
She let go, thinking she hadn’t even spent much time with Xie Huai, yet she was already becoming conceited like him.
Xie Huai parked the scooter in front of a milk tea shop.
The shop was tucked in a corner of the pedestrian street behind the University of Technology’s back gate. It was small, with a dusty signboard above the door missing one of its two characters, leaving only the crooked character for “tea” hanging there.
Xia Xia pushed open the door, getting a handful of dust from the glass.
The shop owner was a young man, and with no customers around, he was slouched in a soft chair behind the counter playing mobile games.
Xie Huai took off his bodhi bead bracelet and tossed it on the marble counter: “Zhao Yi Lei, time to do business.”
The man looked up at Xie Huai: “You’re late.”
Xie Huai went behind the counter, took out ten paper cups, and arranged them in a line: “Had something come up? I’m here now, that’s good enough.”
Zhao Yi Lei quit his game and got up lazily.
Xia Xia couldn’t figure out what Xie Huai was up to and studied the man before her.
Zhao Yi Lei was a typical northern man, burly in build with a rough voice, wearing only a tank top that showed off his muscular chest, with two points clearly visible through the fabric.
Xia Xia wasn’t particularly attracted to men who looked like fitness trainers and hesitated at the door about whether to enter.
Zhao Yi Lei: “Xie Huai, why isn’t your girlfriend coming in?”
Xie Huai glanced at Xia Xia: “Girlfriend?”
Xia Xia immediately said ingratiatingly: “We’re just classmates, don’t insult Huai Ge’s taste.”
Zhao Yi Lei turned to make milk tea, and for each flavor he prepared, Xie Huai would pour half a cup into the paper cups on the counter.
“What are you standing there for? Come here.” Xie Huai pushed the cups toward Xia Xia, “Drink.”
Xia Xia picked up a cup, but paused before drinking: “Is it free?”
Xie Huai: “…”
Zhao Yi Lei laughed: “My shop hasn’t had customers for days, brother’s treat.”
So Xia Xia didn’t stand on ceremony and drank all ten cups clean in one go.
Xie Huai’s gaze fell on her: “Which ones taste best?”
Xia Xia thought for a moment and pushed forward two cups: “These two are better, what do you think?”
“What does he think? All milk tea tastes the same to him. If he could tell the difference, he wouldn’t have needed to bring you here.” Zhao Yi Lei smiled, “Little sister has good taste. These two flavors were my shop’s signature drinks two years ago until that trendy milk tea shop opened next door last year, and then nobody came here anymore.”
Xie Huai nodded: “I’ll take these two.”
Zhao Yi Lei: “How many?”
Xie Huai pulled out a paper from his pocket, the one where Xia Xia had written down key points after yesterday’s freshman assembly.
He took a pen from the counter and started calculating in the blank space, muttering to himself.
“Management School, Law School, and Foreign Languages School are training on the east field, the female students add up to…” he counted on his fingers.
“Four hundred and twenty-three.” Xia Xia announced just as Xie Huai had barely counted two fingers, “A total of four hundred and twenty-three female students.”
She calculated so quickly that Xie Huai cast her a distrustful glance and pulled out a calculator from under Zhao Yi Lei’s counter.
“You’ll get the same number with the calculator.” Xia Xia understood what Xie Huai wanted to do. She propped her elbow on the counter and said eagerly, “Huai Ge, see how good I am at math? And I don’t even need to do military training. Hire me, I guarantee I’ll sell everything for you.”
Xie Huai punched in 423 and tossed the calculator aside: “You won’t do.”
“Why won’t I do?” Xia Xia protested, “Didn’t I help you sell plenty of things last night? Ten yuan per hour for handing out flyers – you can pay me eight, such cheap labor shouldn’t go to waste.”
Xie Huai: “Don’t remind me about last night. Everything you sold was to male students. Have you ever seen many guys drinking milk tea?”
Xia Xia was stunned: “How do you know I only sold to male students?”
“All the water bottles you sold were dark colors, all the desk lamps had Transformers and car patterns, and not a single pink one sold.” Xie Huai paused his writing and turned to look at her, “You didn’t sell a single mosquito net. Know why?”