Chapter 194: The Art of Language
Wei Xiao had deliberately changed his outfit today.
Compared to most public schools in the country, Mingde’s uniform was already considered quite stylish. But in Wei Xiao’s eyes, a uniform everyone wore had no individuality at all—it couldn’t highlight his temperament.
Since he planned to win Gu Qinghuan’s favor, he naturally had to dress up properly.
He didn’t know much about Yunjin Tower, only that Wei Yan had mentioned it in passing—something about it being backed by a prominent family.
The Wei family had just returned to the country and had no foundation yet, so it was better to stay cautious.
At the moment, Wei Xiao was using Han Lang’s secondary membership card. Once all the necessary procedures after their return were completed, Wei Yan would apply for a membership card of his own and was even considering opening a private club.
When he arrived at Yunjin Tower at 11:10, a server asked about his preferences and arranged a window-side private room with a good view. Then they politely left, saying a dedicated staff member would come shortly to assist with ordering.
Wei Xiao sat inside, looking out at the skyscrapers, waiting calmly for Gu Qinghuan.
Fifteen minutes later, the door opened and Gu Qinghuan walked in.
Wei Xiao stood up, intending to greet her politely. But when he saw her appearance, he was genuinely surprised—
Didn’t expect she could actually look this good when dressed up.
Though that was what he thought, his face wore a gentle smile. “You look much prettier than usual today. Did you dress up specially?”
After all, coming to a place like Yunjin Tower—she must feel quite pressured, right?
“Not really specially dressed up. Chuchu had someone take me to a styling studio,” Gu Qinghuan replied innocently. Then she added, “By the way, why didn’t you send a car to pick me up? Whenever Chuchu invites me out, she always arranges transportation.”
Class Three, listening through the hidden microphone: Nice!
Qin Yue: [Exactly! Inviting someone to eat and not even arranging a ride—so stingy!]
Bao Qingsong: [Pointing fingers.jpg]
Yao Shali: [This psycho really knows how to use psychological suggestion. That opening line “did you dress up specially” makes it sound like the class monitor did it for him—subtly increasing her perceived attention toward him.]
Song Yi: [Best defense is offense! My sis just hit back with “you’re not as good as Jiang Chuchu”!]
Ming Xiaolan: [In terms of linguistic finesse, class monitor is already master level.]
Gu Qinghuan, of course, had no idea what was happening in the group chat. She only saw Wei Xiao momentarily speechless and felt in a great mood as she sat down on the opposite sofa.
Just then, the ordering staff entered with tea and snacks, placed them down, and handed menus to both of them.
Wei Xiao wasn’t sure whether her earlier remark was intentional, but it had indeed irritated him. He was about to browse the menu to subtly intimidate her—
Only to see that she didn’t even open it and instead looked directly at the staff.
“Do you have honey-glazed ham today?” Gu Qinghuan asked expectantly.
Xu Xinghe: [I suspect class monitor still remembers I took the last piece last time.]
Qin Yue: [She definitely remembers. She went straight for it.]
The staff smiled. “Yes, we do. Would you like one portion or two?”
Wei Xiao disliked sweets. Just hearing “honey-glazed” killed his appetite. “One portion for her is enough.”
Gu Qinghuan continued, gesturing, “And that dish we had last time—what meat was it? Not chicken, duck, or goose. The skin was a bit thick but not greasy, and there was a small scoop of caviar on top…”
The staff replied, “Caviar goose breast. We have it today.”
“One portion of that too,” Gu Qinghuan said immediately.
Wei Xiao listened as Gu Qinghuan and the staff went back and forth, ordering around four dishes. Only then did she seem to remember him and turned her head.
“Aren’t you ordering?”
What is there to order?! How does she know Yunjin Tower’s menu so well?!
Wei Xiao tightened his grip on the menu edge, forcing a smile. “Do you come here often?”
Given her family background, she shouldn’t have been here at all.
“Not often. Just twice. But the first time was a buffet, so I got to try a lot of dishes,” Gu Qinghuan said, looking slightly embarrassed.
Wei Xiao was surprised. “Yunjin Tower offers buffet?”
The staff politely explained, “We don’t offer public buffet service, but we can arrange banquet-style buffets upon request.”
Then they added, “Miss Gu is probably referring to the banquet hosted a few months ago by our boss’s daughter for her classmates.”
Wei Xiao’s thoughts spun. “Jiang Chuchu?”
Among those students, the only one he was certain had the financial ability to host an event at Yunjin Tower was Jiang Chuchu. And now the staff said “the boss’s daughter”…
So Yunjin Tower belonged to the Jiang family?
“Yeah,” Gu Qinghuan replied. “I thought you knew?”
Bao Qingsong: [Double kill!]
Yao Shali: [“I thought you knew” hits way harder than “you didn’t know?”]
Ai Ning: [He likes messing with people’s mentality, so now we mess with his!]
Wei Xiao’s expression stiffened for a moment, but remembering his purpose today, he forced himself to endure it.
“I came here before with my father, so I didn’t know the details,” he said with a smile.
Gu Qinghuan gave a light “oh” and skipped the topic entirely, repeating her earlier question:
“Aren’t you ordering?”
Wei Xiao flipped through the menu and ordered a few dishes for himself.
They each ordered individual portions.
Gu Qinghuan thought to herself—with Yunjin Tower’s food, I should be able to endure his face for one meal.
After confirming the order, the staff left. The private room was once again left with just the two of them—
Plus all of Class Three listening in.
Gu Qinghuan poured herself a cup of tea and asked casually, “So, what’s the purpose of inviting me today?”
But before he could answer, she quickly added:
“If you’re hoping I can help you join the student council, sorry—that’s not something I can do. You’d be better off clinging to the president or vice president.”
Qin Yue: [That’s assuming they’d even let him cling, hahaha!]
Yu Xin: [I can totally imagine them rejecting him.]
Jiang Chuchu: [If it’s a certain someone, the moment Wei Xiao reaches out, his hand gets chopped off.]
Lin Zhulu: [I really want to see his expression… just hearing it isn’t satisfying!]
Wei Xiao’s face darkened further, but he used the act of drinking tea to steady himself.
When he set the cup down, his expression had turned much more sincere.
“This failure was a valuable lesson for me,” he said earnestly. “I underestimated the situation here before. Everyone performed better than I expected. It’s only natural I didn’t get selected.”
“Oh?” Gu Qinghuan raised a brow. “So what is it, then?”
“I want to prepare properly and apply again next semester,” Wei Xiao said seriously. “So this semester… can I follow you and learn from you?”
Gu Qinghuan raised an eyebrow. “You mean… be my assistant?”
Wei Xiao nodded readily. “Exactly.”
Jiang Chuchu: [Say it again—don’t come anywhere near her!!!]
