There are few truly world-class universities. As one of the top three most prestigious schools in the Lighthouse Country, Yale University made a name for itself across the globe long ago.

For most people, it’s hopelessly out of reach, something they might never encounter in their entire lives.

At least, that was the case for the girl with the baby-fat cheeks.

She struggled to swallow the food in her mouth, her face a picture of utter disbelief. She looked at Jiang Yao and asked, “Which Yale? The one in the Ivy League? The one from all the rankings?”

“Uh…” Jiang Yao hadn’t expected such a strong reaction. When she’d first heard her sister planned to go abroad to Yale University for her graduate studies, she’d been too preoccupied with her sadness to think much of it. She only later learned how prestigious the school was, which she felt was only natural.

After all, her sister had always been exceptional. Her grades consistently outshone everyone else her age.

‘Though, that only applied to subjects that weren’t too obscure or complex.’

She didn’t really want to pass her sister’s credentials off as her own, but Chen Yuan had already let it slip. She had no choice but to respond with a polite smile.

“Yes.”

“Whoa!!! This is the first time I’ve met a real, live master’s student from a world-class university! Quick, let me bask in some of that high-IQ aura!”

The girl grew incredibly excited. She grabbed a napkin, wiped her hands, and went to shake Jiang Yao’s hand.

Chi Yu’s eyes also lit up with admiration. She had been a terrible student ever since she was young, and as she got older, she grew to admire high-achievers more and more—especially since Yale University wasn’t a place just anyone could get into.

‘Just as I thought.’

‘This Miss Jiang isn’t from some ordinary family. She must be from a rich or influential background.’

When Miss Jiang and Chen Yuan had first walked into the shop, they had already drawn many stares as a picture-perfect couple. ‘It seems only an outstanding man can find an even more outstanding girlfriend,’ she thought.

Chi Yu had been constantly pestered to go on blind dates in recent years, but she was surrounded by men she found completely beneath her.

Looking at the romance right in front of her, she was filled with a mix of emotions and deeply regretted not having worked harder to get into a better university back in the day.

Compared to the other two women, Ke Bing’s feelings were far more complex. A sour feeling welled up inside her, and she suddenly felt as though she were a head shorter than Jiang Yao, somehow inferior for no reason.

Her best friend beside her was fawning all over her, and Yuan’s eyes were crinkled in a smile, his face full of pride. It seemed he was happier hearing his girlfriend praised than he would be receiving praise himself.

Jiang Yao had stolen the entire table’s spotlight.

She put on a relaxed expression, but her fingers unconsciously tightened around her chopsticks. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and all she could do was chime in with a few forced laughs.

“So how did you two meet? Is it one of those super-sweet stories? Like, you met on a street corner in a foreign land, and you suddenly turned around and found him standing in a coffee shop doorway… Or maybe you returned from overseas, jaded by the world and convinced you’d never be moved by anyone, only to be instantly captivated the moment you saw him?”

The baby-faced girl had clearly read one too many novels, her head already filled with countless romantic scenarios. Her eyes shone with a thirst for gossip.

“It wasn’t nearly that dramatic. We met playing a game, and after talking for a while, we started dating online,” Jiang Yao replied gently, finding she had a surprisingly good impression of the girl.

“What?! How come you get to have an online romance with someone so great from a game, but everyone I meet just flames me?”

The girl’s face fell. “Yesterday in *Honor of Kings*, some guy yelled at me, ‘If you’re gonna play like a bot, stick to casual matches! Don’t come to ranked and disgust people!’ I was furious,” she whined.

“Me too! Every day I play *Honor*, I don’t just get killed, I get cussed out!” Chi Yu deeply sympathized.

“Actually… he flamed me back then, too,” Jiang Yao said, pointing at Chen Yuan with an awkward smile.

“So you started dating him online just to get revenge?”

“Huh?”

Chen Yuan and Jiang Yao both froze, completely baffled by the girl’s logic.

…

Halfway through the meal, the women were already more or less full, but their appetite for conversation was stronger than ever, and they chattered on without end.

Only Ke Bing remained silent for a long time.

Suddenly, Ke Bing realized a very serious problem!

‘Wait a minute! If this Yaoyao has a master’s degree, she must be over twenty-four! Doesn’t that put her in the same age group as Chi?!’

‘But Yuan is only eighteen! Isn’t this a case of robbing the cradle?’

Her brow furrowed at once. She looked thoughtfully at Chen Yuan, trying to catch his eye and get an explanation for what was going on.

However, ever since they’d met up that afternoon, she could clearly sense that Chen Yuan was not as enthusiastic as she was. He seemed to be deliberately avoiding eye contact, and whenever she brought up amusing stories from their childhood, he would only give vague, noncommittal grunts in response.

And sure enough, even though she kept shooting him looks, Chen Yuan just kept his head down, gnawing on a fragrant stewed rib.

‘Seriously, are those things *that* delicious?’

Ke Bing grew indignant, more determined than ever to figure out what was going on.

And so, with eye contact proving useless, she decided to use a physical gesture to get his attention. Under the wooden table, the toe of Ke Bing’s sneaker lifted.

She first pretended to cross her legs, then gently nudged Chen Yuan’s side with the tip of her foot.

TAP, TAP—

The faint, shuffling sound was completely drowned out by the chatter.

Chen Yuan felt it immediately. He glanced up at Rourou, a little confused, only to see her wiggling her eyebrows and making faces… while repeatedly shooting glances in another direction.

‘It’s not like I’m an idiot.’

He spat out the bone in his mouth, fished another rib out of the white porcelain bowl, and went right back to gnawing on it.

Ke Bing let out a quiet hiss of frustration. She kicked his ankle again, biting her plump, moist lip as the expression on her fair face flickered.

After a few more kicks, Chen Yuan simply pulled his foot back and tucked it under his stool.

Ke Bing frowned and glared at him, then stretched her leg out again and kept poking at his foot.

No one else could see what was happening under the table. If they could, their imaginations would surely run wild. The gesture was far too intimate—it was practically a deliberate seduction!

Luckily, she was wearing sneakers. If she had been wearing high heels, the scene would have been even more suggestive and mortifying.

At the table, the women chatted cheerfully. The conversation flowed from academic credentials to life at home and abroad, from romance to marriage and children, from lipstick shades to skincare brands. The atmosphere was pleasant and harmonious, punctuated by the sound of silvery laughter.

Chen Yuan was suffering in silence, cursing internally. ‘What the hell, Rourou, are you sick in the head? You’re doing this right in front of my girlfriend! Get your damn foot off me!’

Under the table, he dodged, she nudged.

He dodged again, and she nudged again.

She seemed dead set on getting her message across.

Suddenly!

No one could have predicted it, but suddenly—BANG!

The loud noise made everyone jump.

The entire table shuddered. A full bowl of rib soup sloshed over its sides, several colorful side dishes were tossed into the air before landing again, and a cooked crab was jolted up before falling back onto its plate.

“Ah—!” A cry of pain, suppressed to its absolute limit, rang out.

Ke Bing’s brow was knitted tightly, and she bit down hard on her lip as she scrambled to feel her own shin.

Just a moment ago, Jiang Yao had stomped on her shin, kicking her wandering foot back without a shred of mercy!

She was sitting right next to Chen Yuan, practically on top of him. How could she not have noticed what this “Rourou” was up to?

She had tolerated it for quite a while, but she hadn’t expected the other woman to not only refuse to back down, but to actually grow bolder.

Faced with someone like that, a sharp glint had flashed in Jiang Yao’s eyes. She’d raised her leg high and kicked out!

With full force.

“What happened? Rourou, are you okay? What was that?” her best friend asked, snapping out of her daze and rushing to look at the spot Ke Bing was clutching.

Chi Yu, an unshelled peanut clutched in her hand and a few crumbs still at the corner of her mouth, looked completely lost.

“What was that about?”

“It’s nothing. I just bumped… my toe,” Ke Bing explained, her face flushing red as she bit back her anger.

Her panicked eyes darted toward Jiang Yao’s face.

“Oh, you should be more careful! Are you hurt?”

Jiang Yao blinked her big, sparkling eyes and asked with a look of pure concern. She propped her chin on her hand, gazing earnestly at Ke Bing, with not a single trace of malice to be seen.

Her full, rosy lips parted and closed, her tone gentle and soft. Paired with her delicate features, she didn’t look fierce in the slightest. On the contrary, she was devastatingly beautiful.

Chen Yuan’s mouth was stuffed full. He didn’t dare speak, his face nearly buried in his bowl.

“I’m… I’m not hurt.”

Ke Bing was clearly on the verge of tears, but she held them back as she answered.

She never imagined the other woman would be so vicious, daring to kick her like that under the table in front of so many people!

‘The girl is an absolute psycho!’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep