Su Qingyan glanced at Lin Ran, who had been silent for a while, and assumed he was still thinking about Shen Lingshan.
Her elegant brows furrowed immediately.
This won’t do!
The man she had painstakingly regained after being reborn shouldn’t be easily swept away by a flirtatious girl like that sea king (a term for a playboy)!
But—
Su Qingyan looked at Lin Ran, who was sitting across from her, her expression shifting slightly as a hint of worry appeared in her eyes.
Her foolish desk mate, with his simple and introverted nature, was no match for someone like Shen Lingshan, that manipulative, scheming woman.
He could easily be deceived, even to the point of losing everything, including his underwear.
No, this couldn’t go on.
Su Qingyan immediately made up her mind.
She had to teach this foolish desk mate a good lesson.
She cleared her throat lightly and waited for Lin Ran to look up at her. Once his attention was on her, she adopted a cold and aloof expression and began her “education.”
“At your age, it’s normal for boys to have some vague desires and pursuit of the opposite sex.”
“But even as a boy, you still need to learn to protect yourself when you're out in the world.”
“The world of love can be very dangerous.”
“Don’t just fall for some girl’s sweet words; by the time you regret it, it’ll be too late—”
As she spoke, Lin Ran slowly processed her words, and a giant question mark appeared above his head:
“?”
Something didn’t feel right.
Why was the school beauty suddenly giving him a lecture?
She was even advising him on matters of the heart?
This felt… off.
...
Seeing his confused expression, Su Qingyan thought he was unconvinced and smiled faintly.
“What? You don’t agree?”
“Do you think you’re too smart to be easily deceived?”
Lin Ran let out a dry laugh.
Of course not, he was a man who had lived two lives. With the body of an 18-year-old and the soul of a 34-year-old, what kinds of storms hadn’t he weathered? A little school beauty, still underage, was trying to lecture him? This was a bit much.
Before he could chuckle and explain, however, Su Qingyan spoke again, her tone calm.
“In the first semester of freshman year, when Shen Lingshan called you ‘Brother Lin Ran,’ you spent your whole month’s living allowance buying her a celebrity album.”
“Last winter break, when she said ‘our Lin Ran,’ you went all out, riding your bicycle to deliver love breakfasts for half a month.”
Lin Ran stared at her in disbelief.
How did she know all this?!
He wanted to protest, but he didn’t even know where to start.
Meanwhile, Su Qingyan continued.
“There’s a cafe near the school gate, called ‘Brewed Delights.’ They serve a variety of breakfast sandwiches and gourmet coffee.”
“The portions are generous, but the only downside is that it’s pricier than the student cafeteria. Only the students with more pocket money come here.”
Lin Ran was definitely not one of those students.
With only 200 RMB (about $30) for his weekly living allowance and 40 RMB (about $6) a day to spend, he wasn’t in the “rich student” category.
As they entered the cafe, Lin Ran immediately felt the invisible weight of spending money pressing down on him.
Being reborn in this life had made his body young again, but it had also made his wallet slim down to a fraction of what it used to be.
So—
No time for nostalgic thoughts.
What lay ahead was a financial battle that would drain his wallet dry.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Su Qingyan, on the other hand, seemed in high spirits.
Following behind Lin Ran, she walked with light steps, her gaze filled with curiosity as she took in the cozy interior of the cafe. The rustic wooden furniture and chalkboard menu reminded her of the quaint cafes she used to visit.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t even notice Lin Ran’s pained expression.
They found a table by the window and sat down.
Lin Ran glanced up at the printed menu on the wall:
Bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich for $7, avocado toast for $9, smoked salmon bagel for $11…
It was terrifying!
His scalp tingled.
At that moment, Su Qingyan had already waved to the barista and ordered a breakfast croissant with scrambled eggs and smoked ham.
$12!
Then, she turned to Lin Ran.
“What are you having?”
Lin Ran felt like his heart was bleeding.
“I’ll have the simple egg and cheese sandwich, please.”
At $6, it was the cheapest item on the menu.
Su Qingyan raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Just egg and cheese? Don’t you want something more filling?”
Internally, her mini-self was scolding him:
[At this age, boys are still growing. How can you just eat a plain sandwich?]
Lin Ran took a deep breath.
“It’s fine, I’m allergic to certain foods.”
At the same time, his inner mini-version was nearly in tears:
[Actually, I’m allergic to “expensive” food!]
“Stop making excuses.” Su Qingyan gave him a cool glance, easily seeing through his excuse, and confidently ordered him the smoked salmon bagel instead.
She also added two bottles of iced lemon iced tea, casually placing one in front of Lin Ran.
Finally, she didn’t forget to deliver a cool lecture:
“Eat better food, it’ll give you more energy to study.”
Lin Ran: “…”
If it weren’t for her paying, she wouldn’t care at all.
…
But the food was ordered, so there was no turning back.
Lin Ran took a big gulp of the iced lemon tea, savoring the refreshing taste, which helped soothe the wound to his wallet.
Meanwhile, Su Qingyan, sitting across from him, was elegantly sipping her iced coffee while watching him.
Then, as if out of nowhere, she asked coolly,
“You spend most of your weekly allowance on Shen Lingshan, don’t you?”
Cough cough cough!
Lin Ran choked violently, almost spitting out his iced tea.
“How do you know?!”
[Of course, I read your diary.]
Su Qingyan didn’t blush or break a sweat. She remained as calm as ever, her voice indifferent.
“Many people in the school know. I heard it from someone else.”
Lin Ran’s head slammed onto the table with a loud thud, speechless.
His embarrassing “simp” behavior had spread all over the school like wildfire?
“Last New Year, she said, ‘I’m thinking about holding your hand,’ and you got so excited that you handed over two months’ worth of meal money, just to hear a ‘thank you.’”
“And then…”
She continued without pause.
She listed everything in detail.
The events, the lines, the time, the places, the specifics—everything.
Lin Ran sat there, dumbfounded.
His mini-Q version was also stunned.
His mind was filled with a blur of curses, and only two words echoed in his brain:
[What the hell?!]
Seeing his dumbfounded expression, Su Qingyan’s face broke into a faint smile, the corners of her lips curving upwards.
“There’s more.”
“Would you like me to keep going?”
She casually took a sip of her iced coffee.
The school beauty remained composed, her calm demeanor unshaken.
[No big deal.]
[Just someone who’s read his entire diary.]