Chapter 394 : Wow, Society Is Truly Dangerous
“Ling… Ling Ning, is that you?”
As Ling Ning and Luo Xiaoyu finished their lunch and rested on the cafeteria chairs, a very familiar voice called out from nearby. Instinctively, Ling Ning turned her head and found Lin Xi standing next to them.
It had been a while since Ling Ning last saw Lin Xi after comforting her over a breakup. Of course, they still kept in touch via phone, and Ling Ning would call her whenever she had time.
Ling Ning had wanted to meet up with Lin Xi several times, but to her surprise, Lin Xi had gone traveling instead, which had caught her off guard.
“Well, if it isn’t Miss Lin Xi! Weren’t you off traveling? Why are you here?”
“It is you!”
Lin Xi squinted at Ling Ning. Being severely nearsighted and having forgotten her contact lenses today, she couldn’t clearly make out the person at first. But once Ling Ning spoke, she was sure—the tone, the teasing attitude, and the faintly annoying way of talking—it could only be Ling Ning!
“Do you know her, Ling Ning?”
Luo Xiaoyu asked curiously. The sudden appearance of this beautiful girl gave her a strange sense of familiarity. If her memory served her right, this was one of her peers, a student from the Chinese Literature department.
Luo Xiaoyu had seen her host several events on campus, which left a strong impression.
Hearing Luo Xiaoyu’s question, Lin Xi squinted at her, carefully studying the girl sitting opposite Ling Ning. After a moment, her expression brightened with realization. “Oh, isn’t this the legendary ‘Legal Loli’ of the Administrative Management Department, Miss Luo Xiaoyu? I didn’t recognize you earlier. My apologies.”
“What’s with that nickname?!”
At the mention of “Legal Loli,” veins bulged on Luo Xiaoyu’s forehead. She despised being called that more than anything. She wasn’t a loli! Sure, she looked youthful and petite, but that didn’t mean she had anything to do with being a loli... probably.
“Pfft~”
Ling Ning couldn’t help herself. Though she tried to maintain her composure out of respect for Luo Xiaoyu, seeing her puffed-up, angry expression was too much to handle.
“You’re laughing!”
Luo Xiaoyu glared with an “I’m super fierce” look. If not for being in the cafeteria and considering herself a civilized person, she would have already taught Ling Ning a lesson.
“My bad.”
Ling Ning’s lips twitched as she spoke, clearly struggling to suppress her laughter. But even with this apology, her face betrayed her lack of sincerity.
“I’m full!”
Luo Xiaoyu stood up abruptly and picked up her tray, intending to dispose of it.
“Take mine too, would you?”
Hearing Ling Ning’s request, Luo Xiaoyu instinctively wanted to refuse. But seeing the spiced-up tray of food, she let out a resigned sigh, grabbed it, and walked off without another word.
Watching Luo Xiaoyu’s retreating figure, Ling Ning blinked. Her apology had been incredibly sincere, after all. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have held in her laughter for so long while saying it.
“I didn’t expect to run into you here~” Lin Xi said as she plopped into the seat next to Ling Ning. “By the way, are you a teacher here? I don’t think I’ve seen you on campus before. Or are you a student? That wouldn’t make sense either—someone with your looks should definitely be on the campus beauty ranking.”
“I didn’t tell you? I’m a new freshman at S University. I came here today for registration.”
“What?!”
Lin Xi froze, genuinely shocked. Ling Ning had never mentioned this before. Given Ling Ning’s mature and composed demeanor—whether in appearance or speech—Lin Xi had always assumed she was already part of the workforce. Who would’ve thought Ling Ning was actually a year below her? This was... awkward.
“Wait, do I look old?”
Ling Ning’s face fell into a deadpan expression. This wasn’t the first time someone had mistaken her for a working adult. She was just a young college freshman!
Lin Xi quickly waved her hands. “N-No, that’s not it. It’s just... I don’t even know how to explain it.” She sighed, feeling conflicted.
“You two seem to be getting along well.”
Returning to the table, Luo Xiaoyu glanced at Lin Xi sitting beside Ling Ning and frowned slightly. She’d been the one sitting there first, so why... cough! Why did she even care about something like that? Sitting alone had its perks, after all.
Even so, an inexplicable annoyance stirred within her.
“By the way, give me your phone.”
“What for?”
“I said I’d teach you how to use something fun last time~”
Taking Luo Xiaoyu’s phone, Ling Ning’s first move was to connect to the cafeteria Wi-Fi. How did she know the password? Simple—the sign on the wall displayed it prominently. If she couldn’t see that, she really would need glasses.
The cafeteria’s Wi-Fi turned out to be surprisingly strong, and the app she wanted to download was relatively small. Within moments, she’d downloaded, registered, and logged in.
Watching Ling Ning fiddle with her phone, Luo Xiaoyu’s curiosity grew. However, her original seat had been taken, and she didn’t want to move closer. For now, she just sat there, quietly observing.
After a while, unable to contain herself, she finally asked, “What are you doing?”
“Installing a hookup app, of course!” Ling Ning replied matter-of-factly.
“You—you—you—what?!”
Seeing Luo Xiaoyu’s reaction, Ling Ning chuckled. “Relax. It’s a chat app. The last time we messaged each other, it took you ages to reply. I suspected you weren’t used to typing on your phone, and now I see I was right. But with this app, you can use voice messages or even video chat. Isn’t that convenient?”
When she first got Luo Xiaoyu’s phone, Ling Ning had been surprised to find it lacked any chat apps. It was almost unbelievable.
Lin Xi glanced at Luo Xiaoyu with astonishment. Was she some otherworldly being to not even know how to use such basic tools?
Deciding to take matters into her own hands, Ling Ning moved to sit beside Luo Xiaoyu and began patiently explaining how to use the app.
The faint scent of Ling Ning’s perfume wafted over, causing Luo Xiaoyu’s cheeks to flush slightly. But she focused intently on Ling Ning’s explanation. She didn’t have much choice—she’d only gotten her phone after starting college and had little experience using one. In the past, her sister would occasionally let her play with hers, but that was it.
As Lin Xi idly watched the pair, a very familiar figure suddenly entered her field of vision.