Chapter 129: Chapter 84: Asking Out Fang Youqing
If that was her goal, it made more sense.
’As I recall, her nephew does play with girls more often, but that isn’t a huge problem. It’s something that can be corrected with some intentional guidance down the line.’
’But growing up without a father figure in the house really isn’t good, especially for a boy.’
"Basketball’s out. Let’s start with a soccer ball he can just kick around for fun. But the kid’s too young, so don’t enroll him in any classes. Just find a place to kick it around yourselves."
"Mhm, I’ll let her know."
Fang Youning texted Fang Youqing back on her phone, then asked:
"Are you free this weekend? We could take my nephew out. But don’t worry, I won’t make you babysit him this time. My older sister will be there too."
"Let me think."
Chen Yuan mentally reviewed his weekend schedule.
Today was Wednesday. On Friday night, he had to go to Jiang Wanyi’s place to help with her postpartum recovery. On Saturday, he had his driving skills test, and after it was over in the morning, he was supposed to take Song Jianye to do some manual labor. On Sunday, he had a check-up scheduled, followed by a photoshoot. His schedule was definitely tight.
So he didn’t have much free time on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
"The weekend is no good. I’m only free tomorrow. I can take your nephew out for a bit then."
"Oh, that’s too bad. I have a full day of classes tomorrow, and then I have something for my student department in the evening. I don’t think I can make it."
Fang Youning’s slight disappointment was written all over her face.
"I’ll ask my sister first and see if she’s free tomorrow."
Fang Youning pulled out her phone and video-called her sister.
As soon as the call connected, she could hear her nephew crying.
"What’s wrong?"
"Don’t get me started. I’m furious."
On the video call, Fang Youqing’s hair was casually pulled into a bun. She wore a gray camisole, revealing a large expanse of her fair-skinned chest and a deep line of cleavage.
Although Fang Youqing had been dressed casually when he’d had dinner with them, this was different. This level of casualness was something only her sister, Fang Youning, would normally get to see, because it was just so unguarded.
’Chen Yuan even suspected she might not be wearing anything underneath.’
But what truly caught Chen Yuan’s attention was Fang Youqing’s beauty. Even at home without any makeup, she looked nearly the same as when she was all done up. She was a true natural beauty.
"What happened? What’s got you so mad?"
"He just got out of the bath. I told him to go to sleep, but he keeps insisting he wants to go play with Chen Yuan. He’s driving me nuts."
"I’m with Chen Yuan right now. He said he has time tomorrow to take my nephew out, but I’m not free, so I can’t go with them."
"I can’t tomorrow morning, but I should have some time in the afternoon."
Fang Youning looked at Chen Yuan, her eyes asking the question.
"I only have one class in the afternoon. I’m free after that."
She looked back at the camera. "He’s free after three o’clock."
"Then just have him come over. The park downstairs is pretty big. He can have dinner here too. Anyway, I gotta go. I need to get the little one to sleep."
"Okay."
After ending the call, Fang Youning looked at Chen Yuan apologetically. "Sorry to trouble you with this tomorrow."
’No need to be so formal,’ he thought. ’I’m getting paid for this, after all.’
"It’s nothing."
Chen Yuan looked at the time on his phone. "It’s almost lights-out. We should head back too."
"Mhm."
Out of courtesy, Chen Yuan walked Fang Youning to the entrance of her dorm, Building 11.
"Wait for me for a sec. I’ll be right back down."
Once at the entrance to her dorm building, Fang Youning scampered back inside.
When she reemerged, she had two packs of preserved plums and a yogurt drink in her hands.
"Here, take these back with you."
"Next time, make it yellow peach flavor."
"Got it."
Slurping his yogurt drink, Chen Yuan headed back to his dorm.
’After my class tomorrow afternoon, I’ll have to go to Fang Youning’s sister’s place. That means I’ll have to deal with the sponsorship thing around noon.’
...
Thursday’s first class was Engineering Graphics, and the second was Computer Science.
For Chen Yuan, both were subjects he could easily master; there was no way he would fail the final exams.
Just before class let out, Jiang Shuyi texted Chen Yuan, asking to meet at the university gate.
Jiang Shuyi wore a pair of loose, wide-leg pants and an off-the-shoulder top, a style that set her apart from the typical freshman.
"Let’s take care of business first, then we can get something to eat. Lunch is on me."
"Lunch is the least of our worries. How much are you planning to ask for?"
"Let’s test the waters first. How about 1,000?" Jiang Shuyi said.
"Ten thousand dedicated followers, and we’re only charging 1,000 yuan per video. That’s more than a fair price. If he’s willing to sponsor us, we can even hang a banner for him at the next event."
Chen Yuan didn’t understand the pricing side of things; she and her team had already made the decision.
Chen Yuan knew the way well, and he led Jiang Shuyi straight to the pet cafe.
As soon as they walked in, they saw the owner behind the counter, playing with a snake.
He glanced around the cafe; it was empty. Being a Thursday around noon, it was pretty quiet.
"Yo, you’re here."
The owner noticed Chen Yuan was with a different girl this time and couldn’t help but give him a thumbs-up.
"What can I get for you?"
"I’ll have a caramel latte." Chen Yuan looked at Jiang Shuyi. "What about you?"
"I’ll have the sea salt one."
"One moment."
The owner put the corn snake into a small box and started making coffee for Chen Yuan and Jiang Shuyi.
"If we can’t make a deal, we’ll be out 68 yuan," Jiang Shuyi whispered.
"If it doesn’t work out, we can just treat it as a trip to see the animals."
Hearing Chen Yuan say that, Jiang Shuyi no longer felt it was such a loss. The animals here were quite fun, after all.
Still, the cheapest coffee here was 28 yuan, which was indeed a bit steep for a university student, especially since chains like Luckin Coffee sold theirs for a little over 10 yuan a cup.
It wasn’t long before the owner finished making the coffees and served them.
"Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. A while back, I stumbled upon a video of the Polytechnic University campus singer competition. There was a guy who sang ’Butter-Fly,’ and he looked a dead ringer for you. Was that you?"