Chapter 377 292: The One Next to Xue Rui (2)

Xue Rui pulled Jiang Yuan's hand off him. "I should be the one asking you. Why are you chasing me?"

He had fled out of sheer instinct. In his memory, getting caught by Jiang Yuan meant either being dragged to class or being assigned some chore. In short, nothing good ever came of it.

"I'll treat you to a meal," Jiang Yuan said.

"That I can do. Lead the way."

Xue Rui made a "please" gesture and lowered his head to get a good look at Jiang Yuan.

It was actually his first time seeing Jiang Yuan without any makeup. In the past, the guys had all moaned and groaned about their female class monitor. Many had badmouthed her behind her back, spreading rumors about how ugly she must be without makeup.

Now that he saw her, it was clear that was just a bunch of male students, flustered after being caught for misbehaving, spreading malicious rumors. Jiang Yuan was actually quite pretty without makeup. She was also about five-foot-seven, but with gems like Lin Ruoxi and Gu Muxue setting the bar so high, he'd reluctantly give her a 7.5 out of 10.

"Tch. So you only stopped for me because I mentioned food?" Jiang Yuan shot Xue Rui an irritated glare.

The West District cafeteria was located between the dorm buildings. They reached the first floor after just a few steps. Many young couples were inside, enjoying the air conditioning and playing on their phones.

Xue Rui didn't even glance their way, heading straight for the third floor.

"You want to eat upstairs?" Jiang Yuan hesitated.

It was almost time for the evening meal, and she could already predict their classmates' movements. They would eat in the cafeteria and then gather at the classroom. If they ate on the first floor, she could round up their classmates and prevent anyone from getting lost on campus at night.

Xue Rui grinned. "I heard the third floor is the most expensive. And since you're treating..."

Jiang Yuan checked her watch. She figured they still had enough time. "The third floor it is, then."

By now, Xue Rui had a good idea of what Jiang Yuan wanted. It was probably about the class monitor election. So, without any courtesy, he requested hot pot and even ordered two servings of fruit.

"I don't eat fruit," Jiang Yuan said.

"I never said it was for you. Can't I get a portion for Lin Ruoxi?"

"Huh?" Jiang Yuan's eyes widened. She was paying, and Xue Rui was not only eating his fill but also taking some to go?

'Whatever. I have important things to discuss. I won't bicker with him about this for now.'

"Xue Rui, I want to run for class monitor. It's very important for my future," Jiang Yuan said, getting straight to the point. She figured Xue Rui was smart and had already guessed what she wanted.

Treating him to a meal was tantamount to showing weakness, but she really had no better option. Xue Rui posed too great a threat. He had only been here for half a day, yet he'd already gotten chummy with the guys in the male dorms and even gone over to the female dorms to solve a problem.

Just before the counselor left, she had even given Xue Rui a meaningful look, clearly having a much deeper impression of him than of her.

Xue Rui didn't say a word, just focused on eating.

He, on the other hand, had no intention of running for class monitor. His schedule was already packed, and he was even planning to participate in the fall recruitment season.

Of course, not as a candidate, but as a boss looking to recruit students from various universities.

He had a project ready to launch, and its target users were university students. It made the most sense to have students run it.

As for the position of class monitor, it wouldn't help his career in the slightest. In fact, all the miscellaneous tasks would only hold him back.

But then again, another problem arose. If he didn't run for class monitor, there would be no strong competitor from the male students, and the position would ultimately fall to Jiang Yuan. And then she'd be busting him for skipping class every day?

'That won't work either. I can't accept that.'

"I plan to take the civil service selection exam in the future. Computer science is a versatile major that also helps with getting a government job, which is why I chose it. Being class monitor is really important to me. Just name your price," Jiang Yuan said.

Xue Rui asked nonchalantly, "In that case, if I skip class in the future, can you cover for me?"

Jiang Yuan's expression froze. This was Xue Rui's condition?

"Fine," Jiang Yuan nodded.

Xue Rui put down his chopsticks. "In that case, I absolutely can't let you have it."

Jiang Yuan looked astonished. 'What did I just say?'

"You're not even the class monitor yet and you're already trying to use special privileges. What will happen once you join the civil service?" Xue Rui said with a laugh.

Jiang Yuan's face turned red. How could Xue Rui say something like that!

'Those words just now... was he baiting me?'

Xue Rui stared at Jiang Yuan with curiosity. 'So my class monitor can make such a flustered expression? This is too much fun.'

In reality, he just didn't trust Jiang Yuan. Could a promise made before she became class monitor even be counted on?

"You... Then let's have a fair competition." Jiang Yuan slammed her chopsticks down angrily. She opened her makeup bag, sat to the side, and started applying makeup in her mirror, thinking about leaving a good impression on the boys in their class later.

The class monitor was usually chosen after military training, so performance during the training was key.

Xue Rui ate his meal at a leisurely pace. He had told the little lady to let him know when she got to the cafeteria.

「Dining Hall - First Floor.」

Lin Ruoxi bought a rice bowl and sat down to eat at a table not far from her roommates. Her eyes were glued to the stairwell, hoping Xue Rui would appear at any moment.

Xue Rui had told her that Jiang Yuan was treating him to a meal to discuss something, so he probably couldn't eat with her today.

"Old Biao, you didn't call Old Xue to eat? I get the feeling you two knew each other before," Zhao Chaojie asked, slinging an arm around Qian Huabiao's neck.

Qian Huabiao leaned toward Cai Huazhou with a look of disgust. "Old Cai, we're both from the 'Hua' generation. Let's stay far away from those two."

"Were you really looking for Old Xue? I'm too embarrassed to even call you out on it."

"So what? It's easy on the eyes just to look."

The guys laughed and joked as they bought their food. When they looked for a place to sit, they saw Lin Ruoxi eating all alone at a table, with a shameless upperclassman pestering her for her contact information.