After leaving the community, the two took a taxi back to school.
When going through the procedures for parking on campus, Qin Tian had already become familiar with the doorman. After a greeting, the taxi drove directly into the campus and arrived at the girls' dormitory building.
"Brother, you don't need to come down with me, let the driver take you directly to your dorm."
Xia Nuannuan said to Qin Tian.
"Alright!"
Qin Tian smiled and nodded.
"Then I'm going, bye-bye!"
Xia Nuannuan said goodbye and opened the car door.
"Wait a moment!"
Qin Tian suddenly called out. Before Xia Nuannuan could react, he leaned in and kissed her on the lips.
"Remember to message Auntie and then take a bath and go to bed early."
"Mhm, mhm!"
Xia Nuannuan blushed and nodded obediently, then got out of the car.
After turning around and closing the car door, she stood there waving with a sweet smile.
"Uncle, just go straight, turn left at the intersection ahead!"
Qin Tian smiled and gave directions to the driver.
"Alright!"
The uncle happily responded and skillfully shifted gears to start.
As they reached the intersection, Qin Tian turned his head and saw Xia Nuannuan still standing there.
He quickly took out his phone and sent her a message.
"Don't stand there anymore, go inside quickly, it's a bit cold at night!"
"Okay!"
The message came back quickly, followed by a grinning emoji.
In the car, the driver also saw this scene through the rearview mirror, a gentle smile of someone who has experienced life appearing on his weathered face.
"She's such a good girlfriend. Young man, you must treat her well!"
"Of course!"
Qin Tian nodded with a light smile.
...
...
Walking into the dormitory, Qin Tian found the bicycle already placed there.
Hearing the commotion, Chen Zhuang turned his head and glanced at him, saying, "Brother Tian, you're back. I've moved the bike to your spot."
"Okay, thanks!"
Qin Tian said gratefully.
After receiving the call from the shop that afternoon at Xia Nuannuan's house, he had called Chen Zhuang to help receive the bicycle.
"Brother Tian, I've never seen a mountain bike with a rear rack before."
Cao Mingliang, who was sitting there playing on his new alien laptop, also chimed in.
"Isn't that normal?"
Qin Tian smiled dismissively.
"It's not normal at all, it looks very strange. You did this to carry Xia Nuannuan, right? Why didn't you just buy two bikes? You're not short of money."
Cao Mingliang asked with some confusion.
"Isn't riding a bicycle with your girlfriend to class a normal thing in college? What's the point of two bikes?"
"It seems... to make sense. Learned something new, learned something new. I'll get one with a rear rack too someday."
"Cao Thief, can you stop learning everything from Brother Tian? You bought the same computer, and now you're copying his bicycle?"
Chen Zhuang pouted.
"I was already planning to buy a bicycle. Since it's a good thing, is there a problem with learning from it?"
Cao Mingliang glared at him defiantly.
"Are you stupid? Brother Tian is preparing to pick up Xia Nuannuan to go to class every day. Are you sure you can do it?"
Chen Zhuang asked with disbelief.
Cao Mingliang was slightly stunned.
"Brother Zhuang is right. Old Cao, it's hard for you to get up early even once. You shouldn't copy me on this, or you'll have a headache if Lü Yanran complains that you're not picking her up."
Qin Tian advised him kindly.
Cao Mingliang nodded in agreement, saying, "You're right, then I'll forget about it!"
"See? Don't copy everything."
Chen Zhuang grinned.
"At least I have a girlfriend to sit on the back seat. What are you complaining about?"
"Get lost, I'll have one soon too."
"You must be kidding. Shen Siqi just had a meal with you. Where are you getting your confidence from? It's not even begun yet!"
"Damn, come on, let's have a solo match, and I'll show you who's the boss."
"I've only been playing for a few days! I've only played a few casual matches, and you want to solo me? Have some shame!"
"Noob!"
"Idiot, wait for me to train for two months, and then I'll show you. Back in the day, in CS, no one in our class could beat me."
"Heh, keep bragging."
...
Qin Tian ignored the two lively guys, greeted Zhuang Zhe who was leaning on his bed reading, found a clean set of clothes in the wardrobe, and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
After showering, he climbed into bed and checked his phone.
There was a message from Xia Nuannuan asking if he had arrived at the dormitory.
"I'm here, I've already showered."
Qin Tian quickly typed a reply.
"So fast? Then I'll go take a shower too."
The other side replied immediately.
"Go ahead, I'm going to call my mom to talk about buying a house."
"Mhm, mhm, say hello to Auntie for me!"
"Okay!"
After finishing their small talk, Qin Tian dialed his mother's number.
"Hello, you brat!"
The call was answered quickly, and his mother's voice came through.
Qin Tian, being her son and having depended on each other for over ten years, knew Tang Xiuxia better than anyone in the world.
Although her voice sounded cheerful, he could detect a hint of fatigue.
Moreover, there were sounds of cars passing by on the phone, indicating she was still out.
"Mom, did you just get off work?"
Qin Tian frowned slightly.
"Mhm, the mall just closed. There weren't many customers tonight, so I sat there for a few hours."
"Don't lie to me. Didn't you hire employees? Let them take turns closing the shop. Why do you have to do everything yourself? I told you not to work so hard!"
In the dormitory, Chen Zhuang and Cao Mingliang had stopped their friendly banter, and the sound of their computer games was turned down low.
"Alright, alright, you've only been in college for less than a month, and you've already become more naggy than me. What's the matter with your call?"
Tang Xiuxia changed the subject directly.
"First, promise me you won't do this anymore, then I'll talk about business. Aunt Su also told me today that you've been a workaholic lately."
Qin Tian said earnestly.
"Okay, okay, I got it. I'll arrange for them to take turns closing the shop tomorrow, and I'll go home early to rest. Okay?"
"Mhm!"
"You brat, your wings are really strong now, you're even bossing your mom around. Can you talk about business now?"
Tang Xiuxia complained verbally, but she was actually very pleased in her heart.
"It's like this..."
Qin Tian briefly explained the matter of buying a house.
Not only Tang Xiuxia on the other end of the phone, but all three of them in the dormitory were stunned, looking at him with incredulous eyes.
"I have no objections to buying a house, it's great to buy one with Nuannuan, but do you have enough money? Your mom has earned a lot recently, and there's your college entrance examination scholarship. I'll transfer it to you together tomorrow?"
Tang Xiuxia said hurriedly after recovering from her shock.
"No need, actually I've made a lot of money trading stocks, and it's more than enough to buy a house."
"Are you sure it's enough?"
"Absolutely enough. Don't worry, I'll give you the details when I go back during the National Day holiday, so you don't have to worry about making money all the time. With me as your son, you just need to enjoy life."
"Tsk... alright, then I won't say anything else. You're grown up now. You and Nuannuan can discuss and decide on the house. Mom supports you unconditionally."
"Mhm, Uncle Xia and Auntie will probably go to see the houses tomorrow. If it can be finalized before the National Day, see if you have time to come and take a look."
"We'll see. It doesn't matter if I see it or not. Nuannuan's parents will choose a good house, so it won't be bad."
"No, why do I feel like your acceptance ability is so strong?"
"Heh, think about it, how many things have happened in the past six months? I've long been trained to have a strong heart!"
Qin Tian: "..."