Translator: Ryn
As students, they didn’t have a lot of holidays, hence they could only travel during the weekends. After some discussion, the group planned to go to an ancient town in Jiangnan, near the city.
The town was a well-known tourist attraction and also a most suitable place for university students and young backpackers to travel and take a short trip to.
In order to conduct in-depth interviews as well as to better experience budget travelling, the group members agreed in advance to limit each person’s travel expenses to ¥80 per day, a total of ¥160 for a two-day return trip, an amount which includes all expenses such as travel fares, accommodation and so on.
For youths who grew up in big cities, this amount may only be enough to pay for a meal in a restaurant, especially for a “rich young master” like Qi Feng, who had led an extravagant life since young. Hearing this condition, he was flabbergasted. “¥160, is it even enough to cover our lodgings for a night in a hotel?”
In their group, there was a girl named Yao Jing, who then said: “Handsome guy Qi, what in the world are you thinking? We’re going there to experience ‘budget traveling’, yet you wanna stay in a hotel? Why not just ask to eat meat instead?”
Hearing this, everyone laughed. Zhang Wenqin took out a few printouts and tried placating Qi Feng. “We have a basis for setting this budget. According to online information, the travel budget of poor youth travellers is generally lower than that of ordinary tourists. For approximately 50% of backpackers, their average expenditure each day is only about ¥100. Also, based on my research, the ancient town isn’t too far from our city, so if we choose the cheapest means of transport, in addition to the subway and the bus, our travel fare should not exceed ¥50. Hence ¥160 for two days should be sufficient.”
As expected from the class secretary. Qi Feng felt convinced after hearing these strings of data.
Although this was a group assignment, Qi Feng and Ling Ke realised that the four girls had already done most of the planning and preparation work without them. Hence the only thing they could do was to accept their organised arrangements obediently after the girls had made the decision.
At their final group meeting, Ling Ke couldn’t help asking, “Are there any tasks for us to do?”
The four girls looked at each other, finally realising that Qi Feng and Ling Ke hadn’t contributed anything to their assignment.
Perhaps they had been too excited after being allocated to the same group as these two handsome men. They directly treated them as treasures for safekeeping and had unexpectedly overlooked the fact that although these two men were extremely good-looking, they were also extremely talented. One of them was even the top student who was invited to give a speech during induction day as their freshmen representative. Setting them aside in this manner was simply a waste of resources.
“For the time being, there’s none…” Again, it was the girl named Yao Jing who joked with them. “How about, you guys just become our group’s flower vases.”
The girls laughed, while Qi Feng and Ling Ke couldn’t help but want to facepalm.
“Don’t be like this ah, how can Ling Ke and I endure this kind of arrangement?” Although it was easy for them to be idle, but as part of a group that especially had girls as the majority, Qi Feng couldn’t stand having to “eat soft rice”.
Ling Ke thought so too, and actively contended, “Since it’s a group assignment, then each one of us should contribute.”
In the end, it was Zhang Wenqin who saw the bigger picture, and said, “I apologise, the four of us dorm mates are so used to working together that we forgot to include you guys… We’ve already completed most of the preliminary work, and as for the follow-up interviews, photography, observation and recording tasks, we had initially assigned them to Yao Jing, Dai Yiwei, myself and Cen Tong. When the time comes, Qi Feng and Yao Jing can do the interview together. As for Ling Ke… I heard that you’re part of the University’s Network Editorial Department. You’re probably more experienced in this area, so how about you be in charge of writing and editing the final draft of our interview manuscript?”
Although they hadn’t interacted much, Zhang Wenqin was able to accurately discern Qi Feng’s and Ling Ke’s temperament and personal strengths, immediately assigning suitable tasks to them.
Qi Feng and Ling Ke readily agreed, no longer having to worry about this matter before they departed for their trip.
In contrast with the relaxed duo, the other members of Dorm Room 412 suffered a more tragic fate.
Gao Junfei was someone who loved taking the lead in decision making, yet he just so happened to have been grouped with a girl of similar mind. It took his group a week just to agree on a topic for their interview.
Gao Junfei later found that out of his six-member group, three were idlers and other two were heavily involved in all sorts of societal activities, not having much time to focus on their professional major. The six of them couldn’t even agree on a time to gather to conduct the interviews together. As a result, things kept being delayed, and remained inconclusive till now.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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In order to save on their expenses, they were forced to get up at 5am on a Saturday morning to catch the hard-seat K train at the Southern Railway Station.
Due to having to transit on a subway after taking the bus, it took an hour before they reached the train station. They hurriedly retrieved their train tickets and rushed towards the platforms without stopping to rest, much less having the time to buy breakfast. After all the bustle, the group finally settled down on the train.
Looking at the time, it was already past 7am, and it was the time for breakfast.
After rushing around, all of them felt their stomachs rumbling from hunger.
However, the food sold on the train were very expensive, and as ‘budget travellers’, they were certainly unwilling to buy anything here.
After catching their breaths and chatting a little, one of the girls couldn’t help opening her backpack and pulling out her bagful of snacks…
Seeing this, Yao Jing was shocked: “Wow, Tongtong, why did you bring so much food?!”
The girl “Tongtong” was named Cen Tong. She was slightly chubby and had a shy personality. Embarrassedly, she replied, “I bought them… to share with everyone…”
Yao Jing pointed to Cen Tong’s backpack and reported to Zhang Wenqin, “Group leader, is this considered cheating? Didn’t we agree on a ¥160 budget? This was obviously bought in advance ah!”
Zhang Wenqin didn’t reply. With Cen Tong as precedence, shortly after, another girl named Dai Yiwei also opened her own backpack and honestly confessed to the group. “Actually, I also…brought…”
Yao Jing clamored, “Wah, do you have to go this far? To actually bring along some compressed biscuits, it’s not as if we’re gonna be starving to death!”
But soon, she was rendered speechless after noticing a large bag of White Rabbit milk candies in Zhang Wenqin’s backpack… No wonder she didn’t say anything earlier.
Looking at the side, she saw Ling Ke taking out a loaf of bread and tearing open its outer packaging, about to eat it.
Noticing Yao Jing staring at him, Ling Ke calmly said, “I only bought today’s breakfast. This shouldn’t be considered as breaking the rules ba?”
Yao Jing was depressed. “Am I the only one in this group who strictly followed the rules, and didn’t buy anything?”
At this, Qi Feng, who was sitting next to Ling Ke, remained silent. Seems like she was the only one.
But Qi Feng then whispered to Ling Ke: “When did you buy the bread? How come I didn’t know?”
“Didn’t we go to a convenience store together yesterday night?” Ling Ke glanced at Qi Feng’s backpack, knowing that Qi Feng had also packed some things. He himself was quick to leave the store after buying the things he wanted yesterday night. Conversely, Qi Feng took a long time choosing and picking out the things he wanted, hence he really had no idea what Qi Feng bought.
Ling Ke wondered, “You didn’t buy anything?”
Qi Feng secretly opened his backpack a little, allowing Ling Ke to sneak a peek at what’s inside.
Ling Ke saw three bottles of sports drinks and a bottle of mineral water lying inside the backpack. Apart from these, there was no other food or drink in it.
Ling Ke was speechless. “You spent such a long time in the convenience store yesterday night, and all you bought was two litres of drinks?”
Qi Feng felt extremely dejected and looked at Ling Ke pitifully. Although he didn’t say anything, the grievances revealed in his eyes were still pretty obvious.
Ling Ke’s head was filled with black lines. He helplessly tore his bread in half and offered one half to the “Young Master Feng” who was completely lacking in foresight.
Qi Feng took the bread gratefully, but still he couldn’t help worrying. “Splitting this between us, what if we both get hungry later?”
Ling Ke whispered, “It’s okay, I also brought a few bars of dark chocolate.”
Qi Feng munched on his bread while looking up towards the roof of the train, with a complicated mood.
… Didn’t he previously say that he “only brought today’s breakfast”?
However, Qi Feng’s worries were completely unnecessary. Because Cen Tong had brought a lot of food and generously shared her snacks, not only did they not go hungry, they even got to eat a lot of peculiar snacks that they wouldn’t normally buy, such as chocolate beans, strangely-flavoured peanuts and the like.
The group chattered and laughed, bustling with enjoyment. Although they had to wake up very early today, they were still youths who were easily excited when they got together, hence there weren’t any signs of weariness on their faces.
Besides, this was the first time they had organised a small-scale outing since the beginning of their university year. Although their main objective was to complete their assignment, this still wasn’t much different from a leisure trip.
After an hour’s train journey, they soon arrived at their destination.
When the six of them alighted the train, they were instantly assaulted by a burst of enticing aroma.
There was a stall selling steamed buns near the station, with a signboard identifying those delicacies as one of the town’s local specialties, arousing everyone’s appetite.
Indeed, no matter how many snacks they’d eaten, they still didn’t feel full and satisfied. Moreover, now that they’d come for “leisure”, everyone instinctively wanted to eat all the way. Even the food that they usually didn’t crave for would seem particularly delicious, as long as they were placed in areas with tourist attractions.
As a result, in a blink of an eye, they threw the idea of wanting to ‘’save money” to the back of their heads, and lined up to buy steamed buns.
For better or for worse, the four girls from Dorm Room 207 had previously joined them in their movie outing after military training, and had also enjoyed Qi Feng’s generosity when treating everyone to milk tea.
Hence, in such a similar situation, the girls once again placed Qi Feng in the forefront of their group, expecting him to pay the bills generously after everyone had ordered, just like the previous time.
Unexpectedly, when it was Qi Feng’s turn, he only asked Ling Ke who had queued behind him, “What do you want to eat?”
Ling Ke glanced at the signboard above his head and said, “The meat bun with dried plums.”
Subsequently, Qi Feng pulled out ¥2 from the wallet and said to the boss, “One meatbun with dried plums.”
After receiving the hot steamed bun, Qi Feng pushed Ling Ke towards the side of the stall.
Seeing this, the four girls were stupefied. If Qi Feng had bought two steamed buns, they wouldn’t have felt it strange. Afterall, even if they had been looking forward to having Qi Feng treat them, it was only a small part of their wishful thinking. Even if Qi Feng wasn’t willing to, they really didn’t mind.
But, why had Qi Feng only bought one steamed bun? And it was even bought for Ling Ke. Did Ling Ke not know how to buy it for himself?
… This vast disparity in treatment really made the girls feel disconcerted!
Ling Ke also noticed the strange looks the girls were giving them. Hence when the two of them walked further away, while waiting for the girls, he asked Qi Feng in a low voice, “Why aren’t you buying one?”
Qi Feng shook his head and replied indifferently, “You eat, I’m not hungry.”
… Aih, with a budget of only ¥160, if he could save a little, then he should ba .
Ling Ke presumed that Qi Feng was trying to “reimburse” him for the half loaf of bread he offered him previously in the train, hence he didn’t pay it any mind. However, after a few bites, he smiled and said, “And here I thought you would treat the girls to steamed buns. They seemed to be looking forward to it…”
Puzzled, Qi Feng asked, “Why should I be the one treating them?”
Ling Ke said, “Previously when we went to the movies, didn’t you treat everyone to milk tea?”
Qi Feng: “It’s different now.”
Ling Ke smiled and teased him, “How is it different? Because we’re on a tight budget?”
“No.”
Qi Feng used his finger to gesture between Ling Ke and himself, “Now, you’re my boyfriend.”
————————
【A brief interlude】
(One)
Qi Feng stood in a convenience store while eyeing the dazzling selection of snacks, feeling at a loss as to whether he should buy some. Even if he didn’t eat any, he could always share them with Ling Ke.
But on second thought, he wasn’t going on a leisure trip with Ling Ke. This was a group assignment. Since they’d already set a budget for their trip, it wouldn’t be good for him to buy too much. Therefore, it’ll be better if he bought some necessities, just in case there is a need for it. Hence, his mind was filled with a bunch of questions like “What do people need most when they’re experiencing extreme hunger” and “What is the source of life”… Finally, he walked to the beverage aisle and solemnly grabbed two bottles of sports drinks and a bottle of water.
… En, after another round of thoughts, he turned and grabbed another bottle for Ling Ke.
In order to prevent the other from finding out, Qi Feng secretly hid the four bottles of drinks in his backpack after paying for them.
(Two)
Qi Feng shook his head. “You eat ba, I’m not hungry.”
(I still have my sports drink, to give me unlimited energy…)
————
Author’s note: In order to facilitate everyone’s understanding and ease of reading, here’s the list of [Dorm Room 207] members who have recently appeared in the last few chapters.
〖Zhang WenQin〗 (Team Leader): Department of Journalism Class 1’s secretary, has the ability to see the big picture, good at coordinating and organising
〖Yao Jing〗: A girl with double ponytails, has a lively and cheerful personality, assigned as an interviewer for their group task
〖Dai Yiwei〗 (Wei Wei): Has short hair, introverted and quiet, assigned as a photographer for their group task
〖Cen Tong〗 (Tong Tong): Slightly chubby, loves to eat snacks, happy to share, assigned to make observation records for their group tasks.
Why am I awake at these times? I love the chapter so idk?
Awwww. “Now you’re my boyfriend.” 😍😍😍
Thanks for the chapter ❤
He can flirt! with Just a sentence he K.O Ling Ke!
Thanks for the chapter!
lindo que se aga una serie bl
“Now you’re my boyfriend” I am officially deceased-
Thanks for the chapter!!
Thx for the ch (ㅅ˘ㅂ˘)
fake dating = angst and angst=dopamine for me, for whatever reasons that may be. im wildly off topic now okay. but the lifelong favor qi feng owes ling ke. i seriously get the feeling ling ke will use it to propose to qi feng. that would be the best ending in my book. bc qi feng uses fake dating as a reason to treat ling ke like he’s dating him for real. he’s a little confused abt the energy drinks, but he’s got the spirit. he spends most of his time with ling ke, he’s doting on ling ke, he’s basically trying to get ling ke (a fake straight man) to fall for him via fake dating.
the twist is ling ke’s been in love with him the whole damn time and just was too afraid of being labeled a stalker fan to say anything. when qi feng finds out abt that, i really wanna see bc i only have a vague idea of how that’s gonna go down
tldr ive been reading this seriously the whole time thank you for all the effort you’ve poured into translating and editing each chapter ^_^
Is this dropped??
I hope not ;-;
Thanks for your hard work!
He’s so sweet to his “boyfriend!”
And, I can’t believe those girls thought QF would pay for them. I mean they are all on a tight budget so why would they think he might pay? At least they didn’t get upset and fuss.
Thank you for the chapter!
What a thoughtful author’s note
Me: Coughs, FAKE, boyfriend. I wonder how he will remove himself from this pit he just dig
CRITICAL HIT 💥
Lol seriously is Qi Feng a fish? What is the source of life…🐠🐟🐬
Chapter got me smiling like crazy….