Chapter 321 The Background Fiancée in Campus Novel (24)

Chapter 321: The Background *Fiancée* in a Campus Story (24)

"Are you sure we’ve never met?"

Tang Qing sat composedly, propping her chin on her hand as she stared directly at Shen Shu before her, said flatly, "No."

Shen Shu: "Are you the only child of the Tang family?"

"Still on that topic?"

Perhaps finding Shen Shu's question amusing, Tang Qing smiled faintly before replying, "Yes, the only one. The Tang fortune’s all mine someday."

"What, *volunteering* to marry in?"

Her teasing gaze met his, and Shen Shu froze once more—those eyes were far too similar to the ones in his memory.

Piercingly clear.

Shen Shu fell silent, gave her another once-over before slowly pulling back the chair under her watchful gaze.

"This seat is reserved," Tang Qing pointed out.

"I reserved it."

"So it was you." Playing dumb, Tang Qing remarked, "Then it seems... I've taken your spot."

She made a show of standing up, pausing just long enough before Shen Shu finally spoke. "No need."

"The person I'm waiting for might take a while..."

"Shen Shu." The aloof ‘Top Student Shen’ unexpectedly held out his hand toward Tang Qing. "Hello."

"Hello."

Likewise, Tang Qing offered her hand. The moment their palms touched, Shen Shu realized—this was a *woman’s* hand.

*Small. Soft.*

Before he could process it further, Tang Qing withdrew hers first.

Pretending they were strangers, Tang Qing deliberately asked, "From your earlier question, you know Cen Yinghuai, then?"

Shen Shu: "I do."

"We’re roommates."

"What a coincidence, running into my fiancé's roommate..." Her voice trailed off playfully, smooth as a purr, like the world's most pampered cat.

Shen Shu continued pressing. "So... how did you and Cen Yinghuai meet?"

This fiancée? Cen Yinghuai had never brought her up.

That "widowed" label from last time had seemed like nothing more than Cen Yinghuai's typical crap.

Only today did he learn there really was such an arrangement...

"Cen Yinghuai and I aren't close." Tang Qing brushed it off. "It's an arranged marriage."

"We met once. If I recall correctly, that *young master* probably can’t stand me."

"After all... the moment he met me, he rushed home to cancel the engagement."

That totally sounds like something Cen Yinghuai would pull.

Weirdly, when Tang Qing mentioned the canceled engagement, his chest clenched—just for a second, weird and unexpected.

Wait, had he actually cared that much about Cen Yinghuai’s engagement?

Before he could finish thinking, Tang Qing suddenly spoke up, "Classmate Shen..."

"Since you know Cen Yinghuai, could you pass on a message for me?"

Shen Shu: "What message?"

Her eyes like polished glass fixed calmly on him as the corners of her lips curled into a smirk loaded with implication. "Tell him that turning me down? Biggest mistake of his life."

"He’ll regret this."

Just watching her now...

Shen Shu knew—

Cen Yinghuai would definitely regret it.

After Tang Qing left, Shen Shu went over every detail of their encounter in his mind, fingers tapping rhythmically on the table. Right then, Xin Ke approached.

"Customer, this is our new menu item..."

Her customer-service smile froze the moment she recognized Shen Shu.

Why him?!

Her first instinct was to shove the tray in front of her face.

Crap, why did she have to run into the class genius here?!

"Give it up. I can see you."

The tray stayed stubbornly in place as Xin Ke made a last-ditch effort. "Uh... customer, my face is doing this thing... trust me, you don’t wanna see."

Shen Shu flatly said, "It’s not your face cramping. It’s your brain."

One glance, plus Xin Ke’s pathetically obvious attempt at concealment, was enough for Shen Shu to figure it out.

Before leaving home today, he never expected such weird run-ins.

Watching Xin Ke sit across from him like a kid caught cheating, Shen Shu couldn’t help but think of the ex-fiancée from earlier.

If she had also been disguised as a man...

Xin Ke’s reaction would’ve been the normal one.

"Shen Shu... that’s the whole story."

Xin Ke’s tone was mumbling her explanation.

The new dessert she’d brought out earlier—originally meant as thanks for Tang Qing’s help—was now pushed toward Shen Shu. In a tiny voice, she added, "Shen Shu..."

"I came to St. John's University because I had no other choice."

"We're classmates and even roommates... Since I always clean the dorm so well... You'll help me, right?"

Under the table, Xin Ke's fingers clenched into tight fists, her fingertips turning pale from how hard she was gripping as she anxiously awaited Shen Shu's reply.

In the agonizing silence, Shen Shu finally spoke: "Just keep things the way they are. Don’t make things difficult for me."

"I have no interest in exposing you."

Xin Ke instantly looked up!

Her face lit up with joy!

She knew it!

The ace student wouldn't actually be that cruel!

Just as she was about to thank him, Shen Shu suddenly asked, "That person who was here just now..."

"Why did she help you?"

When he had entered, Xin Ke was being picked on. Just like Tang Qing at school, his fiancée had also chosen to help Xin Ke...

Two people who are nothing alike—why would they make the same choice?

"Do you know her?"

Xin Ke shook her head blankly. "No."

"Have you met before?"

Xin Ke shook her head again.

A beauty like that? She’d remember!

"Try harder to remember."

But no matter how hard she tried, nothing came to mind.

Seeing Xin Ke still looking totally blank, Shen Shu finally blurted out, "Don’t you think she looks like Tang Qing?"

Only then did it click for Xin Ke, finally understanding what Shen Shu was implying.

Her first reaction was to shut down his theory immediately!

"Absolutely impossible! I checked multiple times—Xiao Tian—er, Tang Qing has an Adam’s apple."

Whenever she peeked at her angel, she couldn’t help but notice that prominent Adam’s apple...

A guy’s Adam’s apple...

So damn sexy!

Besides, something crazy like a girl disguising as a boy—me doing it was shocking enough! There couldn’t possibly be a second!

Listening to Xin Ke’s explanation, Shen Shu still had a gut feeling that something wasn’t right.

The ace student frowned, he was laser-focused on whether his fiancée was actually his roommate...

Completely forgetting that, in his own dorm, Xin Ke was also a girl!

System announcement: "Detected increase in Shen Shu’s affection value. Affection level now at 27."