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His two long afternoon lectures ended after five, and the library was a fair distance from the academic building. So, by the time Ye Ling arrived at the library, it was already about half-past five.

Even at five-thirty, however, the library was brightly lit, filled with students studying on their own.

As one of the country’s top-tier schools, Modu University naturally had excellent resources. Without exception, all of its students had once been top academic achievers.

This was an era where the more outstanding you were, the more diligent you became. The students hadn’t relaxed their efforts just because they’d gotten into Modu University. On the contrary, they were working even harder, striving for higher degrees.

Seeing this, Ye Ling couldn’t help but feel a little reflective.

While these students, already attending a prestigious university and ahead of their peers, were working so hard, plenty of graduates from diploma mills were still online, spouting the theory that "studying is useless"...

True, attending a prestigious university didn’t guarantee you would soar to success, but for students without connections, getting an education was indeed an excellent path.

If you navigated it well, it could save you years of struggle and effort. When you have the chance at a better platform, why not seize it early on?

People always think they can just start working hard after they enter the workforce... but by then, it might take many times more sweat and tears.

"What are you thinking about?"

Just as Ye Ling was watching the students, lost in his thoughts, Ning Ruoxi suddenly appeared before him, a slight smile on her lips as she asked the question.

"Sigh. Seeing them all studying so hard makes me feel like such a slacker."

Ye Ling sighed and shook his head. "All I do all day is focus on my love life."

PFFT.

Hearing Ye Ling’s words, Ning Ruoxi couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

’This rascal, he’s so shameless...’

She knew his computer skills were extremely advanced. Even if he didn’t study, getting through his undergraduate courses would be absolutely no problem for him.

"Don’t laugh, I’m serious."

But Ye Ling just pursed his lips, paused for a moment, and said again:

"From now on, I’m going to study hard too!"

"Okay, okay."

Ning Ruoxi nodded and took Ye Ling’s arm. "But before we hit the books, we have to fill our stomachs, right? My tummy is hungry~"

’My tummy is hungry!?’

Ye Ling looked at Ning Ruoxi pouting beside him, his eyes widening in disbelief.

’Holy crap!’ 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

’What’s gotten into my girl?’

If it were any other girl, Ye Ling might have found it contrived and pretentious, but coming from Ning Ruoxi now, it didn’t feel that way at all. It seemed completely natural.

’And she’s just so adorable!’

A classic case of a double standard.

"I’ll take you to eat right now!"

Ye Ling declared immediately.

"You’re the best~"

Ning Ruoxi blinked at Ye Ling again, putting on a cute act.

Ye Ling immediately clutched his heart.

He thought, ’This is what it feels like to have your heart skip a beat!’

Arriving at the cafeteria, Ye Ling led Ning Ruoxi to a less crowded counter to order. He noticed that the evening’s selection of dishes seemed even more abundant than at lunch.

"What do you want to eat?"

Ye Ling asked with a soft chuckle, looking at Ning Ruoxi, who was peering at the food like a hungry little kitten.

"This one, this one, and this one..."

Ning Ruoxi mostly pointed to vegetable dishes, probably because she was afraid of gaining weight from eating too much at night. After picking a few, she stopped.

"Alright, we’ll take those... and this one, this one... Thanks, ma’am."

Seeing this, Ye Ling added several meat dishes to her order.

"Hey, why did you order so much? We won’t be able to finish it all."

Ning Ruoxi immediately tugged on Ye Ling’s sleeve.

"Have a little more faith in yourself. You can finish it."

Ye Ling turned and gave Ning Ruoxi a long, meaningful look.

He had witnessed Ning Ruoxi’s appetite before. He was just ordering her usual amount.

"Hmph! What are you talking about!"

Hearing this, Ning Ruoxi’s pretty face immediately flushed a little.

"Young lady, listen to your boyfriend. Eat up. At your age, you’re still growing. I’ll give you two a little extra."

The woman behind the counter said with a chuckle, watching the two of them flirt.

"Then thank you very much, ma’am."

Ye Ling said, giving the woman a grateful look.

After all, many cafeteria ladies these days seemed to be in poor health, suffering from a severe case of ’shaky hand syndrome.’ A healthy one like this was a rare find.

"This is all your fault."

Ning Ruoxi wrinkled her cute little nose and surreptitiously pinched Ye Ling’s waist.

"Hiss..."

Ye Ling secretly sucked in a sharp breath, but to avoid being noticed, he kept the smile on his face. He took the tray from the woman, tilted his head slightly, and whispered:

"Honey, go easy on me."

"Hmph!"

Ning Ruoxi lifted her chin, a smile playing on her lips. "Next time for sure."

With that, Ning Ruoxi ignored Ye Ling’s reaction and walked ahead on her own.

Watching her walk away, Ye Ling was so vexed he could only grind his teeth.

Sitting at the table, Ning Ruoxi blissfully enjoyed her meal, while Ye Ling looked rather glum.

He was starting to regret not nipping this bad habit of hers in the bud. He felt that... if this continued, he wouldn’t even have to wait until he was old for his back to give out.

’Sigh. It’s a long, sad story.’

"Hey, silly, this is pretty good. Want a bite?"

Ning Ruoxi, of course, knew what he was feeling, but she pretended not to notice, grinning as she offered him some food.

"Mm, pretty good."

Ye Ling was currently pondering some of life’s great questions, so without even looking, he swallowed the food Ning Ruoxi fed him in one gulp.

The next moment.

A fiery sensation exploded in his throat, and Ye Ling’s eyes nearly watered.

"Cough, cough... Water... Water..."

Ye Ling couldn’t care about anything else. The spice was so intense he could barely open his eyes as he frantically looked around for water.

"Are you okay? Here, there’s water here."

Ning Ruoxi hadn’t expected Ye Ling to actually swallow the ’delicacy’ she offered him in one go. Startled, she quickly twisted open a bottle of water and handed it to him.

Ye Ling gulped down two large mouthfuls before he finally recovered a little, letting out a long sigh of relief.

"Are you okay?"

Ning Ruoxi stuck out her tongue, looking a little embarrassed.

At first, she had only wanted to prank Ye Ling a little. She never actually thought he would fall for it, let alone that it would have such a dramatic effect.

"What do you think?"

Ye Ling glanced at Ning Ruoxi, a helpless look on his face.

This girl... she had actually fed him a huge mouthful of chili pepper—the bright red kind!

"I didn’t think you’d actually swallow it all in one bite."

Ning Ruoxi pouted, looking aggrieved.