Chapter 53: Chang'an Street
Ruan Yu had no appetite for food.
"I'm not hungry."
"Running three kilometers deserves replenishment," he said, giving her shoulder a light nudge as he guided her forward.
From You Lexuan's perspective, it looked as though Teng Yi had his arm around Ruan Yu.
She couldn't help but wonder—when had Ruan Yu and Teng Yi crossed paths? These two were from entirely different worlds, like parallel lines that should never meet.
Teng Yi led Ruan Yu past the administration building. His car was parked beside a flower bed in the small park, a few fallen leaves fluttering against the windshield until they got caught under the wipers.
He opened the car door for her.
Ruan Yu braced her elbow against the soft top, reluctant to get in.
"What's wrong?" Teng Yi studied her.
Her complexion hadn't fully recovered, and under the sunlight, she looked like a piece of translucent jade—pale and luminous, yet devoid of color.
"You heard everything earlier, didn't you?" she asked softly.
"What if I did? Are you planning to avoid me from now on?"
She lowered her head, brows slightly furrowed, as if genuinely considering the suggestion.
Teng Yi simply pushed her into the car and shut the door. The interior was warm from the sun. When he started the engine, he rolled down the windows but kept the convertible top up.
The car drove out of Yangshan University's gates.
There were plenty of dining options around campus, but Teng Yi seemed intent on going farther. He headed north, turning onto Hongye Avenue before arriving at Chang'an Street.
Ruan Yu wasn't a local of Liaocheng, so her impression of Chang'an Street had always been shaped by the city's promotional videos—black-tiled, white-walled houses, meandering rivers, cobblestone paths, and streets steeped in antiquity.
Teng Yi parked at the entrance of Chang'an Street and led her into an inconspicuous little eatery. Perhaps because it was past peak dining hours, the place was empty except for the owner and his wife shelling fava beans by the window.
Seeing Teng Yi, the owner stood up.
"You're late today."
"Had to wait for a friend," Teng Yi replied.
The owner glanced at Ruan Yu, nodded with a smile, then disappeared into the kitchen.
The owner's wife cleared the table of bean pods, offering them the window seat and handing over the menu—placing it deliberately in front of Ruan Yu.
"Order," Teng Yi said.
Ruan Yu skimmed the menu. It was meticulously detailed, with photos, ingredients, seasonings, and even step-by-step cooking methods listed for each dish.
"You should order," she said, sliding the menu back to him.
From the moment they entered, the familiarity in Teng Yi's exchange with the owner told her he was a regular here. Leaving the ordering to a regular was never a mistake.
"Then I'll just pick randomly?"
"Mm."
Teng Yi ordered with practiced ease before returning the menu.
The owner's wife tallied his selections and chuckled. "That's hardly random—you've picked all our best dishes."
"Appreciate it," Teng Yi grinned.
The woman cheerfully retreated to the kitchen.
The dining area fell silent, save for the distant sound of oars and water from passing boats outside the window.
The atmosphere was calm, but Ruan Yu's heart was anything but.
Since entering, Teng Yi's gaze had lingered on her, yet she sat listlessly, chin propped in her hand, avoiding eye contact entirely.
She was evading something—though whether it was him or the unfortunate moment he had witnessed, she couldn't say.
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