Xu Xiuwen typed a reply: "I just woke up from an afternoon nap, my phone was out of battery and shut down, just turned it on. Have you eaten?"
Cheng Lu's message: "Dummy, what are you doing? ... Why aren't you replying to me? ... Are you sleeping? ... Seems like you really are sleeping, remember to reply when you wake up."
Looking at Cheng Lu's message, Xu Xiuwen smiled faintly.
Although Cheng Lu hasn't known him as long as Xiao Youran, she clearly knows him well.
She even knows he's taking an afternoon nap.
Xu Xiuwen replied: "Yes, just woke up. Have you had dinner?"
An Shishi's message: "Honey, are you home? Can I come and keep you company tonight?"
Xu Xiuwen replied: "Don't mess around. What if Cheng Lu also comes over?"
After sending the message, Xiao Youran and Cheng Lu quickly responded.
Xiao Youran's message: "That's good, I thought you were ignoring me. I haven't had dinner yet, was hoping to eat with you."
Xu Xiuwen: "Don't wait for me, go eat now. I have something to do tonight."
Xiao Youran: "You have something to do on your day off? Are you avoiding having dinner with me? Did I do something wrong to make you mad?"
Xu Xiuwen, half laughing and half crying: "Don't overthink, I really have something to do tonight."
Xiao Youran: "Alright then, I guess I'll have to eat alone. No one to accompany me."
Xu Xiuwen: "Isn't Song Siyu your good friend? Ask her to keep you company."
Xiao Youran: "Her office is having a dinner party tonight, she's attending that, not in the dorm."
Xu Xiuwen: "Then there's nothing I can do. I have things to do, so let's not talk now."
Xiao Youran: "Okay, remember to contact me when you have time."
Xu Xiuwen wasn't lying to Xiao Youran.
He really did have something to do tonight.
He found out about it when he was checking his N90 phone just now.
Jiang Yin, the head of the Literature and Art Department, sent a message inviting him to her birthday dinner.
When Xu Xiuwen first saw the message, he thought he was seeing things.
After confirming several times, he realized he wasn't mistaken.
It was indeed a message from Jiang Yin.
The message also told him the time and place of the birthday dinner.
The time was 6 PM tonight, and the place was a restaurant on East Street of Jiaotong University.
Coincidentally, it was the same Chinese restaurant with a piano where Xu Xiuwen had dinner with Cheng Lu last time.
In the message, Jiang Yin didn't insist on his attendance, she just said that he could come if he had time.
Xu Xiuwen thought, since he had nothing else to do and Jiang Yin had helped him a lot, he might as well go to show some support.
...
Cheng Lu's message.
Cheng Lu: "Haven't gone yet, I was planning to go to the cafeteria for dinner with Shishi when you replied."
Xu Xiuwen was stunned.
Why was Cheng Lu planning to eat at the cafeteria?
Wasn't she going to Jiang Yin's birthday dinner?
After all, she's also the vice head of the Literature and Art Department.
Could it be that Jiang Yin didn't invite her?
Xu Xiuwen didn't think so.
Jiang Yin wouldn't do that.
It must be that Cheng Lu refused.
With her "ice queen" personality, it was possible she declined the invitation.
Xu Xiuwen initially wanted to mention the birthday dinner but decided against it since Cheng Lu had already refused.
Xu Xiuwen: "Alright then, enjoy your meal. I have something to do tonight."
An Shishi's message came a few minutes later: "So, hubby is a scaredy-cat."
Xu Xiuwen saw the message, smiled, and didn't pay much attention to it.
He put down the 7610 phone and continued checking the messages on the N90.
He sent a message back to Jiang Yin: "I'll be there later."
Jiang Yin quickly replied with a simple message: "Okay."
Putting down his phone, Xu Xiuwen went into the bathroom, took a shower, changed into clean and appropriate clothes, and dried his hair.
He glanced at the time, realized it was getting late, and headed out towards East Street of Jiaotong University.
Xu Xiuwen arrived at East Street, parked his car, and saw that it was already 5:40 PM.
He got out of the car and, instead of heading straight to the restaurant, detoured to a nearby jewelry store.
Inside a private room at the Chinese restaurant.
There were currently seven or eight girls and three boys in the private room.
If Xu Xiuwen were here, he would recognize several of the girls.
Jiang Yin, Qian Yan, and Zhong Zhu, three members of the Literature and Art Department.
There was also another girl Xu Xiuwen knew.
Xu Mingxue!
Xu Mingxue was also here.
She sat in the main seat, chatting with those around her.
Everyone around was laughing.
Xu Mingxue also had a slight smile on her face.
At this moment, the door of the private room suddenly opened from the outside.
When the door opened, Xu Xiuwen stood outside.
The girls in the private room did not recognize Xu Xiuwen immediately.
Xu Xiuwen walked into the private room and smiled, asking, "Why are you all looking at me like that? Don't you recognize me?"
"Xu Xiuwen?" Jiang Yin asked tentatively.
Xu Xiuwen pulled down his mask, took off his hat, and said with a smile, "Senior Jiang Yin, long time no see."
"Wow! It really is Junior Xu!"
Qian Yan and Zhong Zhu, upon recognizing Xu Xiuwen's face, exclaimed in surprise.
Xu Xiuwen looked around the room and greeted each one, "Senior Qian Yan, Senior Zhong Zhu, Senior Xu Mingxue, long time no see."
Qian Yan and Zhong Zhu excitedly got up from their seats and pulled Xu Xiuwen to sit down.
Jiang Yin, smiling, said, "Qian Yan, Zhong Zhu, don't act like fangirls, you might scare him away."
Qian Yan stuck out her tongue and said, "I'm not acting like a fangirl."
Jiang Yin looked at Xu Xiuwen and said, "I didn't expect you would actually come."
Xu Xiuwen chuckled, "How could I not come for Senior Jiang Yin's birthday?"
Xu Xiuwen noticed that after he spoke, everyone was staring at him.
The girls were all trying to suppress their laughter.
"Did I say something wrong?"
Xu Xiuwen didn't understand what was going on.
At this moment, Jiang Yin explained, "Junior Xu, you might have misunderstood. Today is not my birthday."
"Then why did you invite me to a birthday dinner?"
"Hehe, I said today isn't my birthday. The birthday person is Xu Mingxue."
"What?" Xu Xiuwen was stunned, "It's Senior Mingxue's birthday?"
Xu Mingxue was looking at him at this moment.
Xu Xiuwen felt a bit embarrassed and chuckled awkwardly, "Senior Jiang Yin, you didn't make it clear and caused my misunderstanding."
He looked at Xu Mingxue and said, "Senior Mingxue, I'm sorry. Senior Jiang Yin didn't make it clear."
"No worries," Xu Mingxue responded calmly.
Xu Xiuwen, trying to make up for it, took out the birthday gift he had prepared from his pocket and handed it over, "Happy birthday, Senior Mingxue. This is a gift for you."
Qian Yan exclaimed in surprise, "Junior Xu, you even prepared a gift for Mingxue?"
Zhong Zhu couldn't help but say, "This makes me want to have a birthday too."
Xu Mingxue accepted the gift and thanked him, "Thank you, Xu Xiuwen."
Xu Xiuwen waved it off and said, "I should be thanking you, Senior. If it weren't for your help at the New Year's party, I wouldn't have found a suitable host in time."
Xu Mingxue shook her head, seeming not to care about the matter.
Jiang Yin reminded, "Mingxue, open the gift quickly."
Xu Mingxue hesitated but eventually unwrapped the gift.
Seeing the jewelry box under the wrapping paper, the girls in the room immediately showed envious looks, and when they saw the bracelet inside the jewelry box, they were even more envious.
Xu Mingxue looked at the bracelet lying quietly in the jewelry box, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
The bracelet was very beautiful, with a pure color and an innovative design.
She liked the bracelet at first sight.
Xu Mingxue looked at Xu Xiuwen and said, "Junior Xu, I can't accept this gift, it's too valuable."
Xu Xiuwen waved his hand and said, "It's just a simple gift. Don't overthink it, it's okay."
"But..."
Jiang Yin, standing by, urged, "Junior Xu has already given the gift, you can't just ask him to take it back. You should accept it."
Xu Mingxue hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "Alright, I'll accept it. Thank you, Junior Xu."
She intended to put the jewelry box away.
Jiang Yin continued to urge, "You should put it on and see how it looks."
Xu Mingxue was quite tempted by her words.
Finally, she followed Jiang Yin's suggestion, took the bracelet out of the box, and put it on her wrist.
The orange bracelet complemented Xu Mingxue's slender, fair wrist.
Though not a perfect match, it was at least quite fitting.
The girls around cast envious glances once again.
Xu Mingxue really liked the bracelet that Xu Xiuwen gave her, and her mood improved a lot.
At this moment, one of the girls suddenly asked, "This Junior Xu looks so familiar, I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."
Hearing her words, Jiang Yin, Qian Yan, and Zhong Zhu exchanged glances and smiled.
Several of the girls around also found Xu Xiuwen familiar but couldn't quite place where they had seen him.
Then Qian Yan said, "Tao Fen, you always go on about Dao Ming Si, and now he's right in front of you, yet you can't recognize him. How amusing."
"What? Dao Ming Si?"
Zhong Zhu interjected, "Take a closer look at Junior Xu's face."
The girl named Tao Fen scrutinized Xu Xiuwen's face carefully, her eyes widening more and more.
"It's really Dao Ming Si!"
Tao Fen exclaimed in shock!
At this moment, the other girls also recognized that Xu Xiuwen was the Dao Ming Si they had talked about before.
The girls became excited.
Even the three seniors who had boyfriends and were sitting next to them were thrilled.
Xu Xiuwen could only smile and greet everyone, "Hello, seniors, I'm Xu Xiuwen."
The seniors all had expressions of disbelief.
Jiang Yin chuckled and explained, "Calm down, everyone. Don't act like fangirls like Qian Yan and Zhong Zhu."
There were also three boys in the private room.
They were a bit envious that Xu Xiuwen had captured all the attention as soon as he entered.
But looking at Xu Xiuwen's handsome face, they knew it was something beyond their reach.
Xu Xiuwen changed the subject, "Have you ordered yet? Is anyone else coming? If not, let's order, I'm a bit hungry."
Jiang Yin said, "How could we dare to order without the big star here?"
Xu Xiuwen smiled wryly, "Senior Jiang Yin, please don't tease me. I'm no big star."
Jiang Yin laughed, "Don't underestimate yourself. Even my mom has watched the TV series you acted in. How are you not a big star? I guess more than half the girls in school have seen your show."
As soon as Jiang Yin finished speaking, several of the seniors chimed in, "Yes, yes, we've all watched your series."
Xu Xiuwen didn't delve into the topic and quickly said, "Thanks for the support. Let's order food now."
After ordering, everyone started chatting.
Before Xu Xiuwen arrived, the girls' conversation topics mainly revolved around their majors and school news.
Once Xu Xiuwen arrived, all the conversation topics centered around him.
The seniors were very interested in the gossip from the filming of the TV series.
Especially since everyone knew that the lead actress, Bai Yue'er, was also a student at Jiangling College.
Jiang Yin directly asked, "Junior Xu, how did you shoot the kissing scene with Bai Yue'er?"
Xu Xiuwen smiled wryly, "Can we not talk about me? It's a lot of pressure."
Everyone laughed heartily at Xu Xiuwen's comment.
Afterward, they stopped continuously questioning him.
Xu Xiuwen breathed a sigh of relief.
It's worth mentioning that Xu Xiuwen's seat was between Xu Mingxue and Jiang Yin.
He looked like the host.
No one felt anything was amiss, as if it was entirely normal.
Jiang Yin leaned over and whispered, "Do you regret coming?"
Xu Xiuwen wiped the imaginary sweat from his forehead.
He smiled wryly, "You should have told me beforehand. I thought it was your birthday."
Pausing for a moment, he continued, "I don't regret it. I'm happy to come for Senior Mingxue's birthday."
Jiang Yin smiled faintly, "You have a conscience. We helped you back then for a reason."
Xu Xiuwen said, "I've always remembered the help you seniors gave me. I never forgot it."
"Hehe."
Soon, the dishes were served.
Everyone began eating and chatting.
Jiang Yin suddenly nudged his arm and asked, "We're going to sing later. Are you coming?"
"Sing?" Xu Xiuwen hesitated, "I might not join."
At this point, Qian Yan couldn't help but ask, "Jiang Yin, what are you whispering to Junior Xu? It's not fair not to include us."
Jiang Yin promptly said, "I was asking if Junior Xu would join us for karaoke later. He seems reluctant."
Hearing this, Qian Yan became anxious.
"Xu Xiuwen, please come to the karaoke with us. I haven't heard you sing in a long time. Just this once, okay?"
Zhong Zhu laughed, "Yes, Junior Xu, make Qian Yan happy. Otherwise, she won't sleep well tonight."
Qian Yan blushed and yelled, "Zhong Zhu!"
Zhong Zhu realized she had misspoken.
She was used to joking with Qian Yan and didn't think before speaking.
Xu Xiuwen couldn't go along with their banter.
After a few seconds, he asked, "How late will you be singing?"
Jiang Yin replied, "There's no time limit. You can leave whenever you want."
Xu Xiuwen thought for a moment and nodded, "Alright, I'll sing with you for a while."
Hearing Xu Xiuwen agree to join, everyone smiled.
After a few rounds of drinks, Jiang Yin suddenly got up and left the private room.
She soon returned with a single-layer cake.
Everyone started lighting candles for Xu Mingxue, placing nineteen candles on the cake.
Xu Mingxue made a wish and blew out the candles under everyone's watchful eyes.
After dinner, Xu Xiuwen followed them to the nearby mall's karaoke on the upper floor.
This karaoke was quite popular, with a good location, nice environment, and reasonable prices, making it a favorite among local university students.
As soon as they entered, a male waiter approached them.
Jiang Yin mentioned that she had reserved a private room.
The waiter led her to the counter for confirmation.
The rest waited where they were.
After a short while, the confirmation was complete, and the waiter led everyone to the private room.