Chapter 172 Supermarket Receipt

Chapter 172 Supermarket Receipt

Two days later, in the afternoon.

In dormitory 216, the only sound was the continuous clatter of keyboards.

Chu Ge sat in front of the computer, the light from the screen shining on his face.

He was staring intently at a long string of code on the screen, his brows furrowed. He hadn't even had time to go to the cafeteria for lunch in his search for a related bug that he didn't know where it was hidden.

The sound of a bathroom doorknob turning came from behind me.

"Click".

Chu Ge glanced back subconsciously, his fingers, which were typing on the keyboard, instantly hovering in mid-air.

Lu Jia came out of the bathroom.

Today, instead of his usual drab gray hoodie, he wore a clean white shirt with a neatly pressed collar, without a single extra wrinkle, and a navy blue knitted vest over it.

His hair had clearly been rinsed under the tap, combed neatly, with a few strands still damp and clinging to his forehead.

But what made Chu Ge stop what he was doing was not the clothes.

It was Lu Jia's expression.

Lu Jia stood in front of the half-length mirror in the dormitory, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes tightly.

His chest was heaving violently, and his breathing could be clearly heard even in the quiet dormitory.

Before he even stepped out the door, his face was already flushed red, the blush spreading down his cheeks to the base of his neck.

He pursed his lips tightly, staring intently at himself in the mirror.

Chu Ge turned around, rested his elbows on the back of the chair, and looked him up and down several times.

"What are you doing...?" Chu Ge hesitated for a moment, "Are you going to the execution ground?"

Lu Jia ignored him.

He looked in the mirror, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.

Then, he turned around and strode to his desk.

On the table, the decision tree for approaching people, made up of two A3 sheets of paper and filled with his own hard work, still lay there quietly.

The densely packed formulas, arrows, and probability calculations above are all part of his moat built over the past two weeks.

Lu Jia stared at the paper.

I looked for a second, then two seconds.

Then, he suddenly reached out his hand.

He grabbed the huge tree diagram filled with Nash equilibrium and sympathetic thresholds.

"Sizzle!"

The sound of paper being torn suddenly rang out in the dormitory.

Under Chu Ge's shocked gaze, Lu Jia clenched his fists tightly, crumpling the two pieces of paper into a huge, wrinkled ball.

Lu Jia didn't even glance at it again, and with a flick of her wrist, threw the crumpled paper into the trash can at the foot of the table.

Chu Ge was dumbfounded.

He pointed at the trash can, his voice distorted.

"Holy crap, are you crazy? You've been working on this for months, and you're just going to throw it away like that?"

Lu Jia turned to look at Chu Ge.

His face was still very red, but his previously evasive eyes now revealed a do-or-die spirit.

"Never mind."

Lu Jia's voice was a little tense, and her vocal cords trembled slightly due to nervousness.

"Brother Zhuo is right."

He swallowed.

"I want to walk in a straight line."

After saying that, Lu Jia turned around.

Without lingering any longer, he walked stiffly to the door, yanked open the dormitory door, and walked out without looking back.

boom.

The door closed.

Chu Ge stood frozen in his chair.

Several seconds passed before he suddenly realized what Lu Jia meant by "walk in a straight line."

This kid is really going to ask for her QQ number.

Chu Ge turned around and glanced at the densely packed code on the screen, which was still constantly reporting errors.

"Screw the bug."

2

Chu Ge grabbed the mouse and clicked "Save".

Then, he casually pushed the keyboard forward.

Why bother adjusting code at this point?

He kicked the chair aside, rushed out of 216, and pushed open the door to 215.

Dormitory 215 was very quiet.

Wang Dayong was hunched over his desk, clutching a nearly worn-out Zhonghua brand pencil, struggling with a thick book on "Mechanics of Materials" with a worried expression.

Chen Zhuo sat in his seat.

He held several sheets of wind tunnel test data that he had just brought back from the laboratory. Sunlight streamed through the window and fell on his profile. He was looking down, slowly flipping through and checking the complex fluid dynamics parameters.

Stop looking!

Chu Ge rushed into the house and slammed the door shut behind him.

He lowered his voice, but his voice revealed an barely suppressed excitement.

"Something's happened! Lu Jia just changed her clothes and came downstairs!"

Wang Dayong was stunned for a moment.

The Chinese pencil in his hand was suspended in mid-air.

Chu Ge took a breath and continued to reveal more information.

"He crumpled up the entire sheet of sketches he'd been working on for months and threw it in the trash. Judging by his death-defying attitude, he was definitely going to ambush that senior on the main road!"

The stress analysis of the materials in Wang Dayong's mind instantly vanished into thin air.

"Smack."

Dayong threw the pencil in his hand onto the table and then abruptly pushed back his chair and stood up.

"Holy crap, they really went?!"

Da Yong's eyes widened, and his Northeastern accent immediately came through.

He paced back and forth in the dormitory corridor, rubbing his hands on his trouser legs.

"No, this is risky."

Dayong frowned deeply, he was worried.

"Lu Jia is only sixteen, and he's never even held a girl's hand before. He stutters when he gets flustered. If he just rushes over like a reckless fool..."

""

Da Yong slapped his thigh.

"What if the girl doesn't like him, or if she's with her roommate and they tease him a bit? He's so thin-skinned, he'd probably burst into tears on the spot, wouldn't he?"

Dayong became increasingly uneasy the more he thought about it.

He reached out and grabbed the gray sports jacket draped over the bed frame.

"Let's go, Xiao Zhuo, Chu Ge, let's hurry up and go take a look."

Dayong put on his clothes and walked out.

"If he goes alone and really gets into an awkward situation, at least we can go over and smooth things over, and pull him back!"

Chen Zhuo sat in a chair.

He listened to Chu Ge's report and watched as Da Yong prepared to step in and support him.

Chen Zhuo shifted his gaze from the wind tunnel data in his hand.

He raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

He really hadn't expected Lu Jia to be so efficient. She had just broken down his psychological defenses the day before yesterday, and today she was already on the battlefield.

Seeing Da Yong's anxious look, Chu Ge was also stomping his feet anxiously at the door.

Chen Zhuo couldn't help but chuckle softly.

He slammed the pages of data he was holding onto the table and casually placed a dictionary on top of them.

"Walk."

Chen Zhuo stood up, grabbed the clothes from the back of the chair, and put them on.

He tugged at his collar and casually stuffed his dorm room key into his pocket.

Let's go take a look.

Chen Zhuo's tone was relaxed, with a hint of anticipation.

"Dayong is right. His mind is probably a complete mess right now. Let's go keep an eye on him. If he gets stuck too badly, we'll just pull him back."

The three of them didn't waste any unnecessary words.

I opened the dormitory door and walked down the stairs.

The sun was shining brightly on a mid-March afternoon.

On the plane trees lining the main road of the campus, newly sprouted green buds sway gently in the breeze, and students carrying books walk by from time to time on their way to class or to the library.

Chen Zhuo and the other two left the dormitory building and jogged towards the main road.

When we were almost at the intersection of the main road.

Chu Ge, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He reached out and stopped Chen Zhuo and Da Yong behind him.

"It's over there."

Chu Ge lowered his voice and pointed forward.

Look in the direction Chu Ge is pointing.

Beside the main road, there is a row of extremely dense holly bushes that are more than half a person tall. In front of the bushes, there is a bulletin board for posting club posters.

And under a sturdy camphor tree a dozen meters diagonally in front of the bulletin board.

Lu Jia was standing there ramrod straight.

"Hurry, hide."

Da Yong patted Chu Ge on the shoulder.

The three of them immediately bent down and, using the roadside green belt as cover, slipped away quickly to the back of the row of holly bushes and the bulletin board.

This is a great location.

Through the gaps in the holly leaves and the edges of the bulletin board, one can clearly see what is happening on the main road, yet it is not easily noticed by pedestrians.

The three of them squatted on the muddy ground without any regard for their image.

It had rained for a few days, and the soil under the bushes was damp and soft to the touch.

Before long, mud splattered on the edges of their shoes and the legs of their trousers.

"Ouch, this tree branch is killing me!"

Chu Ge muttered a complaint under his breath as he adjusted his squatting position by prying at a holly branch in front of him.

"Keep your voice down."

Dayong glared at him and nudged him with his elbow.

"Don't let Lu Jia hear this."

Chen Zhuo squatted down next to the two of them.

He casually rested his hands on his knees, not caring at all that his trouser legs were covered in mud. Through the gap, he quietly observed Lu Jia in front of him.

Lu Jia's condition looks very bad.

A spring breeze blew by, and the dappled shadows of the camphor trees fell on his clean white shirt, his hands pressed tightly against the seams of his trousers.

He had been standing there for quite a while, without even changing his posture, as if the pause button had been pressed.

"What's that kid doing?"

Chu Ge's legs were getting sore from squatting, so he switched feet and muttered with a frown.

"He's here standing guard as a security guard? Where's the target? Did he miscalculate the time? Maybe the person doesn't even take this route today?"

Da Yong peeked out from the side.

His brows were furrowed, and his face was full of worry.

"What do you know? This is called mental preparation."

Dayong looked at Lu Jia's stiff back and clicked his tongue twice in distress.

"Oh my god, look how suffocated the child is! I can see him struggling to breathe even from this distance. What should we do? I hope he doesn't faint on the spot."

Just as the two were whispering to each other.

At the end of the main road, two girls appeared.

One of the girls was wearing a light-colored trench coat and carrying two thick textbooks. She was chatting and laughing with her classmate as they walked towards them along the roadside.

Lu Jia's body tensed up suddenly.

It's like a bow that's been stretched to its limit.

Behind the bushes, Chu Ge gasped.

"Here it comes!"

Chu Ge grabbed Da Yong's arm, his fingers sinking into Da Yong's coat.

"Target spotted."

The three of them fell silent instantly.

They all held their breath, their six eyes fixed on the scene not far away.

The distance is gradually closing.

ten meters.

five meters.

Just as the senior in the trench coat was about to pass by Lu Jia.

Lu Jia took a deep breath.

It finally moved.

He suddenly took a big step forward, standing straight in front of the senior student without warning.

The senior student was startled by the figure that suddenly rushed out.

She instinctively stopped and looked at him with some surprise.

The female classmate next to him was also stunned, looking at the little boy in the white shirt with a flushed face with suspicion.

Lu Jia stood there.

The three people behind the bushes, separated by more than ten meters, could not hear each other's voices.

But they could clearly see Lu Jia's movements and expressions.

He turned as red as a boiled shrimp.

My shoulders were trembling slightly, uncontrollably.

His mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't form a coherent sentence for a long time.

"It's over."

Chugo closed his eyes in anguish behind the bushes.

He covered his face with his hands.

"He's stuck, he's definitely stuck. I bet his mind is completely blank right now, he's even forgotten his own name."

Da Yong was so anxious that he kept scratching his head.

He wished he could speak up for Lu Jia.

"Why isn't it saying anything yet! Oh, I'm so anxious!"

Seeing Lu Jia's flushed face, Da Yong couldn't squat down any longer.

"No, I think it's going to crash. How about I go out and pretend to ask for directions, distract that girl, and give them some space?"

As he spoke, Da Yong braced himself against the muddy ground and tried to stand up.

Chen Zhuo was quick-witted and nimble-fingered.

He grabbed the hem of Dayong's clothes and dragged him back into the bushes.

Don't go.

Chen Zhuo remained squatting in place, his gaze still fixed on the front.

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable force.

"Wait a minute."

Chen Zhuo said softly.

"This is his own business; let him finish what he has to say."

In front.

Lu Jia stared intently at the first button on her senior's trench coat.

I didn't dare look her in the eye.

His throat was dry and tight, and his head was covered in sweat.

"Senior... Senior."

Lu Jia finally spoke.

But he was saddened to discover that he really did have a stutter, and it was more severe than he had expected.

"I...I..."

'

The senior student looked at the boy in front of her, who was so nervous that his whole body was stiff.

She did not back down.

They did not show any signs of wariness or disgust.

She simply stood there quietly, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, a gentle smile in her eyes, patiently waiting for him to finish speaking.

"I...I think you're great."

Lu Jia finally blurted out the words that had been stuck in her chest.

He spoke so fast it was as if he was answering a question in front of others, and his voice even trembled slightly.

"Could...could I...add you on QQ?"

He finished speaking in one breath.

Lu Jia closed her eyes tightly.

He was prepared to be rejected outright.

however.

The expected rejection did not occur.

"Pfft."

A very light and cheerful laugh rang in Lu Jia's ears.

Lu Jia quietly opened one eye.

The senior student was covering her mouth, her eyes crinkling with laughter. It wasn't mockery, but rather a kind of good-natured laughter that came from finding the situation cute and vivid.

"OK."

The senior's voice is very pleasant, with a soft and gentle quality typical of girls from the South.

She took a black ballpoint pen from the top of the book she was holding.

"Where should I write it?"

She looked at Lu Jia's empty hands and asked with a smile.

"ah."

Lu Jia suddenly realized what was happening.

He was so nervous that he didn't bring any paper or pen when he came out.

He frantically rummaged through his pants pockets.

Finally, he pulled out a crumpled supermarket receipt that had been tucked in there at some unknown time.

Lu Jia blushed and awkwardly handed over the receipt.

Behind the bushes.

Chu Ge watched as Lu Jia pulled out a receipt, and almost choked on his breath.

"Holy crap..."

"Chu Ge rubbed his hair in despair."

"He took the supermarket receipt to write down his QQ number? Why didn't he just take a tissue?"

Da Yong frowned and sighed.

but.

The situation ahead did not develop in the direction of their anticipated collapse.

The senior student looked at the crumpled receipt, but instead of being disgusted, she smiled even more happily.

She took the receipt quite naturally.

Place it on your book.

He carefully wrote a string of numbers on the blank space on the back of the pen.

After she finished writing, she handed the receipt back to Lu Jia.

"My handwriting is a bit messy, please don't mind it."

The senior student winked at him.

Then, pulling along the female classmate who was still secretly laughing beside him, he turned around and continued walking forward.

After taking a few steps, the senior student turned back.

"Hey junior, remember to add me on QQ and add my name in your contact details."

After saying that, she turned and merged into the crowd on the main road, her back view light and graceful.

Lu Jia was left alone, standing there blankly.

Behind the bushes.

A profound silence fell.

A full five seconds passed.

"Holy crap..."

'

Chu Ge clung to the tree branch, his voice filled with disbelief and shock.

"This actually works?"

Chu Ge turned his head and looked at Chen Zhuo and Da Yong.

He felt that all the logic he had studied for so many years had completely collapsed at this moment.

"He stuttered so much, couldn't even give a proper opening, and then pulled out a receipt for instant noodles, and the girl actually gave him her QQ number?"

Chu Ge roared in a low voice in a fit of rage.

"Is there any justice left in this world? If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have gone there before."

Da Yong stood there stunned for a moment.

Then, he grinned sheepishly and laughed silently.

"That's good, that's good."

Da Yong breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest.

"This shows that the girl has a kind heart and doesn't mind that our brother is bad at talking."

Chen Zhuo squatted in place.

Looking at Lu Jia, who was still standing under the camphor tree in the distance.

A gentle spring breeze rustled through the trees, making a soft, whispering sound.

On the main road ahead.

Lu Jia stared blankly at the shopping receipt in her hand.

A string of QQ numbers was clearly written on it in black ink.

He suddenly grinned and chuckled silently.

He carefully folded the receipt, pressed it against his chest, put it in his shirt pocket, and held it tightly with his hand.

He turned around, ready to run back to his dormitory.

Just as she turned around and took a couple of steps, Lu Jia suddenly stopped.

Right in front of him.

Behind the row of dense holly bushes and the bulletin board, Chu Ge and Dayong, whose legs had gone numb from squatting, stood up while brushing the mud off their trousers.

Chen Zhuo also stood up and casually patted the dust off his hands.

The four people were a few meters apart.

Their eyes met.

Lu Jia's silly smile froze instantly.

The redness that had finally faded a little returned to his cheeks at a visible speed, turning all the way to his ears.

He subconsciously clenched his hand, which was covering his chest, even tighter.

Da Yong strode over directly.

No unnecessary words.

Da Yong grabbed Lu Jia's neck with his thick arm and vigorously rubbed Lu Jia's neatly combed hair.

"Okay, Lu Jia."

Da Yong's voice was filled with genuine joy as he ruffled Lu Jia's hair into a mess.

"You didn't embarrass our two dorms. Gang and the others saw everything from behind. That step you took was really manly."

.

Lu Jia coughed as she was being strangled, and hadn't even regained her balance yet.

Chu Ge then approached from the other side.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Chu Ge, with a gossipy look on his face, reached out to pull away Lu Jia's hand that was protecting her chest.

"Show me that supermarket receipt. I want to see if the QQ number written on it is edged in gold."

"I won't let you see it."

Lu Jia blushed, clutching her pocket tightly, and retreated while dodging Chu Ge's movements.

Amidst their playful banter.

Chen Zhuo walked at the very back.

He emerged from the shadows of the bushes, facing the spring breeze.

Chen Zhuo walked up to Lu Jia.

He laughed and slapped away Chu Ge's wildly grabbing hands.

Then, Chen Zhuo very naturally reached out and straightened Lu Jia's white shirt collar, which had been bent crooked by Da Yong.

He casually plucked a broken holly leaf from Lu Jia's shoulder.

Chen Zhuo looked at Lu Jia's flushed face.

And that hand that was tightly clutching the pocket, as if afraid the receipt would fly away.

A gentle smile appeared in Chen Zhuo's eyes.

"Covering it up so tightly."

Chen Zhuo looked at him, his tone gentle, as casual as if they were just having a chat.

"A supermarket receipt for instant noodles, are you planning to take it home and frame it?"

Lu Jia was stunned for a moment.

His face turned even redder after his thoughts were exposed.

He touched the small receipt on his chest, the warmth of which he could feel even through the fabric.

The spring breeze blew again.

Lu Jia looked into Chen Zhuo's smiling eyes and nodded heavily.

"Um.

""

Chen Zhuo smiled.

He patted the dust off Lu Jia's shoulders.

"As it turns out..."

Chen Zhuo's tone carried a gentle, teasing tone.

"Traveling between two points in a straight line is indeed easier than calculating all that game theory stuff."

"Alright, stop grinning like an idiot here. Let's go back and talk about it slowly."

Da Yong grabbed Lu Jia's shoulder and half-dragged, half-pulled him toward the dormitory building.

Chu Ge kept asking about the details of how he struck up the conversation.

Lu Jia blushed and refused to say another word.

Chen Zhuo walked beside them.

A gentle breeze blew by, causing one corner of Lu Jia's disheveled hair to stick up.

The four people walked forward.

Lu Jia kept his hands tightly tucked into his pockets and never took them out.

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