Chapter 159: Affected by One's Company

Even Luo Yixia had not expected him to agree so readily. She had initially thought he might not want to go and was fully prepared not to force him.

She slipped the slip of paper inside her book and went back to reading.

Throughout the entire afternoon, under Song Chengyi's thoughtful care, Luo Yixia felt warm and cozy inside, finding herself even more motivated to study than usual.

When class ended, Song Chengyi said, "I'm heading back to the dormitory. You go back and change your clothes."

Luo Yixia was browsing messages on her phone, which were about the gathering location for the evening.

"Okay."

"I'll wait for you downstairs at your dorm."

The two parted ways as soon as they left the teaching building.

Luo Yixia scampered obediently back to her dormitory and changed into her thick cotton-padded coat.

"Xiaxia, how did it go? Did you utterly captivate the room?" Gan Yanyan asked with a sly smile.

"I think I won."

"What makes you say that?" Lin Ya was eating cherries, and Luo Yixia immediately reached out and grabbed a handful.

"Because he said he doesn't like me wearing makeup, nor does he want me to freeze, and he also said I'm here for him to look at, not anyone else." Luo Yixia covered her face with her hands as she spoke, blushing.

Lin Ya suddenly felt the cherries in her hand lost their appeal...

"It turns out we worried for nothing." Lin Ya resentfully put the cherries down on the table.

Luo Yixia tried to reach for more, but Lin Ya slapped her hand away.

"What was that for?" Luo Yixia asked with a wronged expression.

"You're infuriating to look at." Gan Yanyan casually pulled the bowl of cherries over to herself and ignored Luo Yixia completely.

As the group walked out of the dormitory, they saw Song Chengyi standing downstairs, a bag slung diagonally across his shoulder.

"Tsk, I suddenly want to go back to sleep," Lin Ya muttered, curling her lip.

"Me too," the other two echoed.

Jokes aside, though—

Song Chengyi remained as eye-catching as ever, but it no longer had any real effect on the people involved, and Luo Yixia had already grown used to it.

[Old Sheng is treating us for once, we've got to bleed him dry.]

Messages kept refreshing the class chat, and Luo Yixia couldn't help feeling a twinge of sympathy for Old Sheng's wallet.

When they arrived at the reserved private dining room, it was already packed with people—four full tables in total.

When the door opened and Song Chengyi appeared, the room instantly quieted down considerably.

For a moment, the atmosphere grew somewhat awkward.

"Why did you guys take so long to get here?" asked someone she was close with.

"Somebody's boyfriend thought she wasn't wearing enough clothes, so they had to go back to the dorm to add another layer," Gan Yanyan said with a helpless shrug.

After that, everyone in the room wore meaningful smiles, and some of the boys even let out low whistles.

"Xiaxia, come sit here with the senior," a classmate called out.

After sitting down, Song Chengyi politely greeted the people nearby.

However, since there were only a few boys at this table, Song Chengyi's presence didn't feel awkward at all.

Deep down, Luo Yixia instantly regretted it. Had she known, she wouldn't have asked him; she felt it was too much of a stretch for him to come here. It was far too noisy, and he wasn't used to such environments.

"Where's Old Sheng?" Gan Yanyan asked.

"He went to order the food." Just as the reply came, Old Sheng pushed the door open and walked in.

Old Sheng adjusted his glasses and swept his gaze around the room, seeing it packed to capacity without knowing who might be missing.
"Is everyone here?"

"Everyone's here. Senior Song came too."

Old Sheng squinted around the room until he finally spotted Song Chengyi off to one side.

Song Chengyi stood up first to greet Old Sheng. "Hello, Professor Sheng. Sorry to crash the party."

"What do you mean by crashing? This time, you're the hero of our class!" Old Sheng laughed heartily.

Everyone was very enthusiastic throughout the evening. Since they still had classes the next day, Old Sheng didn't allow any alcohol, and they simply had a hasty meal.

Though they had expected Song Chengyi to be the center of attention, he really wasn't. Because people didn't know him well, very few came over to strike up a conversation.

A couple of people did wander over eventually, mostly because Luo Yixia was sitting right beside him and everyone in the class knew he was her boyfriend; no one would dare flirt with someone's boyfriend right in front of her. At most, a few just said hello out of sheer politeness.

Still, Song Chengyi was true to form—cold as usual. After offering a brief, detached reply, the conversation naturally died out.

Of course, in such a lively setting, gossip was inevitable.

"It seems Xu Nian didn't come today," two girls whispered at the neighboring table.

"How could she possibly come? It would be too awkward. Just to come and take verbal hits?"

"He Zhen didn't come either."

"He never liked participating in class activities anyway. He never came to any of the previous gatherings."

Hearing this, Luo Yixia didn't think much of it, nor did she care.

Old Sheng was sitting not far from Song Chengyi, occasionally striking up a conversation with him—mostly asking about his studies, of course.

During the meal, Song Chengyi excused himself to go to the restroom.

Shortly after, Luo Yixia followed him out.

The two of them bumped into each other right in the hallway.

"Why did you come out?" Song Chengyi asked, noting that this direction wasn't toward the restroom.

"Well, I know you don't like taking advantage of others, but these are my classmates. I figured I should be the one to pay," Luo Yixia said, stars in her eyes.

"How did you suddenly get so smart?" Song Chengyi reached out and ruffled her hair.

"Hey, I've always been smart, okay?" Luo Yixia blinked craftily.

"More like you've been influenced by being around me," Song Chengyi teased, tapping her nose.

"Shameless."

The gathering ended at nine o'clock, and everyone started discussing going to a KTV next.

"Sorry, our residential complex gates close around ten," Song Chengyi refused with a smile.

Hearing that, no one tried to persuade them to stay.

"We're heading back first. Have fun, everyone," Luo Yixia said, holding onto Song Chengyi's arm as she waved goodbye to the group.

"Get home safely!" Gan Yanyan shouted.

Quite a few people walked them to the restaurant entrance. Watching their retreating figures walking hand in hand, they surprisingly looked exceptionally well-matched. Luo Yixia was talking away, tilting her small face up with a bright smile, while Song Chengyi looked down at her with infinite gentleness and patience—completely different from his usual aloof self.

"So this is what true love looks like," a girl murmured, smacking her lips.

"I'm so envious..."

After venting their awe, they returned to the private room, where Old Sheng was just asking the waiter for the bill.

"The total consumption for the private room is 4,358 yuan, and the bill has already been paid," the waiter said with a smile, flipping through the ledger.

"Paid? Who paid?" Old Sheng pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"It was a tall, handsome guy wearing a black down jacket," the waiter answered effortlessly, primarily because the young man had been too striking to forget.

"Was it Song Chengyi?" someone asked.

Old Sheng wore a puzzled expression as well.

"He did go out for a bit earlier, saying he was going to the restroom."

"Why don't we ask Xiaxia?"

Old Sheng pressed his lips together and remained silent.

Gan Yanyan immediately dialed Luo Yixia's number.

The call was answered almost instantly.

"What's up?" Luo Yixia's clear, bright voice came through.

"Xiaxia, is Song Chengyi with you?"

"Yeah, we're still on the road. Do you need him?"

"No, no, no. I just wanted to ask—um, was the bill for tonight paid by him? The waiter's description sounds a lot like him." To be honest, asking like this made Gan Yanyan a bit hesitant since no one was entirely sure, and it could get awkward if they guessed wrong.

Silence hung on the other end for a moment, and everyone held their breath. Soon, a male voice came through clearly: "Mm, I paid. Let's treat tonight as my treat. Isn't it an unwritten rule that anyone who gets off the singles market has to treat the class?" Song Chengyi still sounded faintly amused as he spoke.

"Give me the phone," Old Sheng said in a deep voice. He took the phone, turned off the speakerphone, and stepped outside.

"Look at you, kid. Clearly, I was the one treating everyone to a meal to reward them for winning awards on New Year's Day. Why did you go and settle the bill?"

"Professor Sheng, Xiaxia often mentions you. She says you care a lot about her, that you're a very dedicated teacher, and that Xiaxia has always given you a lot of trouble."

This single remark completely blocked any reprimand Old Sheng had prepared.

"As her student, it's only right for me to treat you to a meal. How could I let you foot the bill? Of course, this was also Xiaxia's idea. She said she's always wanted to find an opportunity to treat you and everyone else, and tonight finally gave us the chance."

Old Sheng's mood finally improved considerably. "Since Xiaxia has this kind heart, I'll gladly accept the thought. Next time—next time I'll treat you, and you two aren't allowed to interfere."

"Alright, we'll definitely let you play host next time," Song Chengyi replied with a smile.

Old Sheng let out a huff and hung up the phone.

Luo Yixia had witnessed firsthand how Song Chengyi managed to convince Old Sheng in just a few words, and she felt immense admiration. "How on earth did you pull that off? Old Sheng's stubbornness is legendary."

"Didn't you hear it yourself?" Song Chengyi handed her phone back to her.

"I thought Old Sheng would at most back down halfway and transfer the money back to you. I never expected him to just agree like that."

"I praised you for being smart just a moment ago, and now you're muddled again," Song Chengyi said with a helpless look.

"Oh, come on, tell me!"

"Figure it out yourself. It's so simple." Song Chengyi walked ahead in brisk strides, then turned back to flash a smile at her.

"Hey, don't be like that! Tell me!" Luo Yixia chased after him.

"Catch me first and then we'll talk." Song Chengyi chuckled, breaking into a run, with a figure hot on his heels.

Lin Ya walked in carrying a stack of red paper, a calligraphy brush, and a bottle of ink.

Luo Yixia had just finished washing up and was still feeling drowsy—winter truly was the season best suited for hibernation.

"Some seniors doing a work-study program were selling couplets downstairs, so I joined in on the fun," Lin Ya said, placing the items on the table.

Gan Yanyan walked over and flipped through the stack. "Huh? You just bought red paper? Where are the couplets?"

"I bought brushes and ink so we can write them ourselves! After all these years of practicing calligraphy, going out to buy couplets would be an insult to the books we've read and the characters we've written," Lin Ya retorted briskly.

Gan Yanyan stuck her tongue out.

"Come on, let's think of some couplets to write," Lin Ya said, looking at the three of them.

As a result, all three of them silently turned away and busied themselves with other things.

"Are you all really not going to cooperate?"

"You're our dorm leader, this sort of thing suits you best," Luo Yixia chimed in weakly.

Though they all thought the same way, they couldn't withstand the dorm leader's threats.

Luo Yixia felt her hand holding the brush was actually trembling. "How about Jiayu writes it? My hand is shaking."

"Your handwriting is gorgeous, stop dawdling," Lin Ya urged.

Amidst everyone's expectations, Luo Yixia swung the brush with a flourish.

First line: Year after year, may we never fail a single exam.
Second line: Dawn and dusk, may we always have handsome guys by our side.
Horizontal scroll: May next year bring immense wealth.

"You don't have many merits, but your handwriting really doesn't look like it belongs to you—it's a real feast for the eyes. Still, my couplet idea is the superior one," Lin Ya proclaimed, picking up the couplet and gazing at it like a proud mother looking at her own child.

"Just yesterday you said I was pretty," Luo Yixia talked back in defiance.

"Oh, I forgot." Lin Ya ignored her completely and hurried off to paste the couplet on the door.

After the group finished bustling around happily, Luo Yixia took a photo of the couplet and sent it to Song Chengyi.

[How's that? Impressive, right? I wrote it myself.] Her expression practically begged for praise.

As a result, he leisurely replied: [Heh. Dawn and dusk, may we always have handsome guys by our side, huh?]

Luo Yixia's heart skipped a beat. Oh no, she had forgotten—her man was a walking jar of vinegar.