Chapter 31: Just Lying

“Remember your birthday is coming soon, here’s a present for you in advance.”

Xu Mingyuan took out a crystal ball from his pocket, grabbed her wrist and put it in her hand.

The crystal ball was filled with transparent liquid, and a princess in a white dress was dancing in the snow. Snowflakes were flying because of the shaking, and Tao Shuxin couldn’t take it back when she saw it for the first time.

The crystal ball felt a little warm in my hand, it seemed that it had been in my pocket for a long time.

Tao Shuxin had noticed this crystal ball, but it was priced at nearly one thousand yuan. The clerk saw that she looked like a student and didn’t give it to her. Unexpectedly, it was bought by Xu Mingyuan.

How did this guy know that I liked this crystal ball?

“I don’t want it. What’s the point of celebrating my birthday? My birthday is still more than a month away!” Tao Shuxin said stubbornly, but she held it tightly, fearing that it would fall to the ground.

“Then celebrate your solar birthday first.”

“That will take a month!”

“They said it was sent in advance. I still have classes in a month, so I don’t have time to buy gifts. Just take it first. When it’s your birthday, take it out and look at it. Just treat it as a gift on the same day.”

“I don’t want it. You’re not sincere at all. Where’s the receipt? Go and return it. It’s quite expensive.”

Tao Shuxin stretched out her hand, but Xu Mingyuan could already see the reluctance in her eyes.

We’ve known each other for so many years, how could I not know your little preferences?

Xu Mingyuan sneered, picked up the crystal ball and stuffed it into her coat pocket, then zipped up the pocket and left.

“I don’t want it, take it away, take it away quickly…”

Tao Shuxin followed closely behind him, but when she saw Xu Mingyuan walking towards his classmates, she didn’t say anything.

But I felt so happy in my heart that I couldn’t suppress the smile on my lips.

“Hey, hey, hey, you guys are almost there. If you’re not hungry, I still want to eat. How about we go get something to eat first and come back to buy it later?”

Xu Mingyuan called his classmates and prepared to go eat something nearby.

Although he sat most of the time and did not consume much energy, he was young and strong, and his stomach would start to rumble when it was time for dinner.

If I hadn’t seen Xiao Yangzhi’s interest, I would have run away long ago.

In fact, it was just a little after two o’clock, and they usually shopped until four or five o’clock.

Although they all wanted to shop for a while longer, Xu Mingyuan had already said so, so they all looked at each other, waiting for the other to make a decision.

Xiao Yangzhi must be on Xu Mingyuan’s side. Tao Shuxin had just been bribed, and Jiang Ping, a boy, naturally didn’t want to go shopping. The remaining Tang Lin and Li Siqi hesitated for a moment, and seeing that no one spoke, they had to obey the majority.

“Let’s eat nearby. We’ll be back soon. Or why don’t we go get some noodles? We can eat faster.”

As soon as Tao Shuxin stepped out of the door, she started chattering non-stop.

Seeing her suddenly change from depressed to happy, Tang Lin couldn’t help but wonder, your mood changes too quickly, right?
But when Tang Lin saw Xu Mingyuan chatting with Tao Shuxin as usual, she narrowed her eyes.

He stared at Xu Mingyuan closely, thinking that he was quite resourceful. He should tell Taotao to make her alert.

“We finally come out and we’re going to eat noodles? No, why don’t we go eat mutton hotpot? It will be more lively with more people.” Xu Mingyuan suggested.

“Hot pot? It seems good too.” Tao Shuxin thought.

“Let’s go, then. Since it was me who suggested it, is it okay for me to treat you?”

“Do you really need to treat me? Why are you pretending to be so rich?”

“It’s just so-so. It’s no problem to get any 10 or 8 million.” Xu Mingyuan said shamelessly.

“Why do I see cows flying in the sky? Xu Mingyuan, can you please tone it down a little?” Tao Shuxin rolled her eyes.

“Believe it or not.”

Xu Mingyuan looked arrogant, as if this was really true.

In fact, he only has over one million in his account now, but this number will increase exponentially. I believe it won’t be long before it will far exceed seven figures.

Of course, no one believed him and thought he was joking.

Only little Yangzhi believed it firmly, because his brother had brought about earth-shaking changes in him. Perhaps his brother was a young talent like Bill Gates, as dazzling as a meteor in the dark night.

Although Tao Shuxin said that she wanted to go shopping after dinner, when she really sat on the chair, she didn’t want to move even a finger, and she didn’t bother to mention it anymore.

The menu went around the table and returned to Xu Mingyuan’s hands. Students don’t eat out often, and they are embarrassed to order. Seeing this, Xu Mingyuan ordered a shabu-shabu hotpot with a variety of dishes. There were four girls among the six people, and their appetite was limited, so it was enough.

The greatest joy of eating hotpot is preparing the sauce. People at this age are most willing to share. Everyone has his or her own recipe and likes to let others try it as well.

Nanxi is in the north, and people have been using copper pots to cook hot pot meat since the last century. The sauce is mainly sesame paste, with ingredients such as leek flowers and fermented bean curd. Xiao Yangzhi has lived here for a long time, so naturally he adapted to the local customs.

Rejecting Tao Shuxin’s offer to add all sorts of condiments to his bowl, Xu Mingyuan added some sesame paste and a sauce of oil.

He is quite casual about food, and does not mind northern or southern cooking styles. He uses sesame paste for spicy hot pot and oil sauce for clear soup pot. He believes in having multiple ways of eating with one dish.

Seeing Xu Mingyuan’s novel way of eating, Tao Shuxin insisted on asking him to help her prepare a portion.

Xu Mingyuan couldn’t refuse, so he had no choice but to go out and prepare the oil dish for her.

“Hello.” Tao Shuxin carefully greeted him, then looked around the room to see if anyone had come out, and then whispered, “Where’s the base?”

“What base?”

“It’s the base of the crystal ball!”

“If it takes up too much space, just throw it away.” Xu Mingyuan said casually.

“What? You threw it away? Where did you throw it? Let’s go back and look for it.”

Tao Shuxin suddenly became anxious. How could such an expensive thing be thrown away just like that?

She was still thinking about how to return the gift to Xu Mingyuan. Now that she had received half of the gift, she would be at a disadvantage again.

“I forgot about it a long time ago. Even if I go back to look for it, it might have been thrown away by the cleaning staff.”

“Where can I put it without a base? It might break if I’m not careful.”

Tao Shuxin looked resentful.

“Haha, then you’ll just have to be careful to preserve it. Okay, here you go.”

Xu Mingyuan said indifferently.

“oops!”

Seeing that Xu Mingyuan was still mixing the oil dish for himself, Tao Shuxin snatched it away in anger and pinched him.

Seeing Tao Shuxin returning to the private room with an unhappy look on her face, Tang Lin was even more puzzled. Why did this damn girl have such a different expression from time to time?
The meal lasted for more than two hours, and most of the time we were chatting, mostly about what happened in the class or our aspirations for the future.

Picking up the last fish ball and stuffing it into his mouth, Tao Shuxin said incoherently: “Well, we should go. I’m so worried if we go back too late.”

“Then let’s disband. Look carefully under your feet and make sure nothing is left behind.” Xu Mingyuan said.

“You haven’t settled the bill yet? How much did our table order?”

“I told you I’d treat you, so don’t worry about it. I’ve already paid the bill. I’m going to take Xiao Yangzhi back first. See you tomorrow.”

After Xu Mingyuan finished speaking, he asked Xiao Yangzhi to take the clothes she had bought.

“How can this be possible? Let’s get married together.” Tao Shuxin said.

“Yes Mingyuan, you treated us to milk tea, so we can’t let you pay for it alone.”

Although Jiang Ping’s family conditions are ordinary, he is also a face-conscious person. There are a lot of seafood on the table, so the price should not be cheap.

“Don’t talk nonsense. If you become rich in the future, just remember that I treated you to this meal.”

Xu Mingyuan didn’t want to haggle with them over the hundred or eighty yuan for meals. Students usually don’t have much money and have to save for pocket money, so he just considered it a favor.

“Mine is for you.”

Tao Shuxin said this and started rummaging through her small bag.

Everyone agreed that this silly girl still wanted to pay. Her EQ is so low.

When Xu Mingyuan passed by, he threw something into her bag, then left with Xiao Yangzhi.

Tao Shuxin wanted to hold him back, but suddenly saw something being thrown into the bag. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a wooden sculpture base, which was just the right size to hold a crystal ball.

Her face instantly turned rosy and lovely, and she had forgotten what she wanted to say.

This guy! He just knows how to lie!
(End of this chapter)