Chapter 191: The Ways of the World

Chapter 191: Chapter 191: The Ways of the World

He looked at Su Qinghe and asked, "Are you thinking of bringing some for your classmates, too?"

"Mm-hm~"

Su Qinghe nodded lightly.

"Is... is that okay?"

She looked at Gu Yifan and asked in a small voice.

"Of course, you silly girl!"

Gu Yifan ruffled Su Qinghe’s hair, his expression gentle as he said softly, "But we only have a few bottles of water left at home. I’ll buy you a whole case to take with you when we pass the corner store later."

"Huh?"

Su Qinghe was taken aback for a moment. She quickly said, "That’s... that’s too much, isn’t it? Just a few bottles will be fine."

"No, you need it."

"The afternoon will be even hotter than this morning. Take them with you and give them to any classmates who need one."

Gu Yifan said with a wave of his hand.

"Huh?"

"G-give them to... other people, too?"

Su Qinghe asked, a little confused.

"Yeah... Just see who needs one and let them help themselves."

Gu Yifan nodded.

"But..."

Seeing Su Qinghe hesitate, seemingly worried about the cost, Gu Yifan patted her head and said, "Hey, it’s fine. A case of water doesn’t cost much. Think about it—you’ve all just met. If you only give some to Classmate Bao and her friends, what will the others think of you? You can’t play favorites, right?"

"Huh?"

Su Qinghe was still confused.

’Logically, shouldn’t I just give water to the people who are nice to me? That’s what any normal person would think, right?’

"Hmm... let me put it this way."

Seeing the utter confusion on Su Qinghe’s face, Gu Yifan thought for a moment before explaining, "China is a society that runs on relationships and social etiquette. Sometimes, a small favor can go a long way."

"Take this water, for example. It’s like doing a small favor for your classmates. Once they feel indebted to you, they’ll be more likely to look out for you in class."

"Of course, in other matters, we should naturally distinguish between who we’re close to and who we’re not. You should definitely get closer to people like Classmate Bao and her friends, since you have a better relationship with them."

"After all, once classes officially start, we’re in different majors. Our schedules might not always line up, so I might not be able to be with you all the time. If they’re there to look after you for me, I’ll feel more at ease."

"That’s also the reason why I plan on treating them to dinner."

Gu Yifan explained with great patience to Su Qinghe.

????

Su Qinghe was completely lost.

Being so innocent, she simply couldn’t grasp the intricacies of it all.

She had only wanted to bring a bottle of water for Bao Baijie and her friends; she hadn’t thought about it any further than that!

"Sigh~"

Seeing Su Qinghe’s dazed expression, Gu Yifan sighed helplessly. "Never mind. You don’t have to understand all this. Just listen to me and do as I say."

"From now on, I’ll handle things like this for you."

"Oh, okay."

Hearing this, Su Qinghe nodded obediently.

Later that afternoon, when the sun was blazing high in the sky, she finally began to understand what Gu Yifan had said. As her classmates, parched from not bringing enough water, took the bottles from her and shot her grateful looks, it all started to make sense.

...

The afternoon passed quickly in a blur of marching and standing at attention.

At five-thirty in the afternoon, the sun had begun its descent, its rays no longer as harsh as before.

"TWEEET—"

A sharp whistle blast echoed from the large stage on the training grounds.

After simultaneously making a show of checking their watches, the drill instructors for each class called everyone who was sitting and resting back to their feet.

"Company!"

"Attention!"

"Right, dress!"

"Eyes, front!"

"At ease!"

"Dismissed!"

...

With the instructor’s loud command, the entire training ground instantly erupted into a flurry of activity.

A dense, dark sea of heads swarmed toward the exits of the grounds.

"Classmate Qinghe, thanks for the water today!"

"Yeah, I was about to die of thirst! Your water was a real lifesaver, Classmate Qinghe. Thank you so much!"

...

As they left, many people passed by Su Qinghe and thanked her.

It made Su Qinghe wave her hands, insisting it was nothing, but she couldn’t fend off the flood of gratitude from everyone.

At that moment, Su Qinghe’s little face was flushed red with shyness, but inside, she was incredibly happy.

Because... she had never felt anything like this before.

From elementary school through high school, she’d never had any friends. Her relationships with classmates were always distant, and she was a complete loner. Never before had so many people greeted her like they did today.

’But... this feeling is actually pretty nice,’ Su Qinghe thought to herself.

"Hey, Qinghe, you’re waiting for your guy, right? We’re gonna take off then!"

Just then, a voice pulled Su Qinghe’s thoughts back to reality.

She turned to see Bao Baijie and the others waving goodbye, about to head off.

"W-wait a second."

Su Qinghe snapped out of it and quickly called them to a halt.

On the way to military training that afternoon, Gu Yifan had told her he planned to treat Bao Baijie and her friends to dinner tonight.

"Hm?"

Bao Baijie and her friends paused, turning back to look at Su Qinghe in confusion. "Qinghe, what’s wrong?"

"Could you wait a moment? He said he wants to treat you to dinner."

Su Qinghe said in a small, slightly embarrassed voice.

"He?"

Bao Baijie and her friends were stunned for a moment.

Bao Baijie, the first to recover, asked, "Qinghe, are you saying your guy wants to treat us to dinner?"

"Mhm."

Su Qinghe nodded. "He said he wants to thank you for taking care of me."

"Er..."

"Qinghe, are you serious?"

"Isn’t that backward?"

"Shouldn’t we be the ones taking care of you? We’ve been mooching water off you all day."

Bao Baijie said, a bit embarrassed, "If anyone should be treating someone, it should be us treating you two to dinner, right?"

"Huh?"

Su Qinghe was taken aback and quickly waved her hands. "N-no, that’s not necessary."

Recalling what Gu Yifan had said that afternoon, Su Qinghe added, "He said that since he’s the guy, and it’s our first time meeting, he should be the one to treat."

"That’s right!"

"Qinghe’s right. Since it’s our first time meeting, it should definitely be our treat."

Just then, a voice came from behind them.

At some point, Gu Yifan had appeared behind the group.

He was watching them with a smile on his face.

When Su Qinghe saw Gu Yifan, her eyes lit up as if she had just found her anchor.

Unconsciously, she had begun to rely on Gu Yifan more and more.

Gu Yifan walked to Su Qinghe’s side and said with a playful smile, "So, ladies, give us a chance to treat you. How about joining us for dinner tonight?"

"Hehehe..."

"Well..."

Hearing him put it that way, they all felt a little embarrassed and didn’t know what to say.