Rebirth at the Start: This Fate is Too Explosive!

Chapter 485 Teasing Su Luming!

He maintained a calm and collected demeanor, casually offering a seemingly perfectly legitimate reason:

"Hey! There's something urgent at work that needs to be done. I need to go to the library to look up some information and also put together a project proposal. Time is tight and the task is demanding, so I might not have time this afternoon!"

He deliberately emphasized the word "company".

This reason is not unreasonable—when he ran for class monitor, he semi-publicly mentioned that he had started a company outside of school, although no one knew the specific scale and business.

Therefore, by using "company affairs" as a convenient excuse, even if Su Luming had doubts, he could no longer investigate further.

"I see!!!" Su Luming responded with some doubt. Although she felt that skipping her major courses for company matters was a bit inappropriate, Ye Fan's confident "it's settled" expression made her unable to say anything more.

She sighed helplessly, her gaze involuntarily drifting to the silent, almost nonexistent, spirit of the ancestors beside her.

The ancestral spirits are so kind; they never ask so many questions, just follow along as instructed, so much less trouble...

At that moment, Ye Fan also felt the same way. Compared to Su Luming's "probing questions", Xian Zuling's almost complete trust and obedience seemed particularly comforting and reassuring.

"Alright, stop worrying about it!"

Ye Fan patted Su Luming on the shoulder, then started walking again, heading straight for the stall wafting with enticing aromas: "If we don't go now, the crab roe soup dumplings will be all gone! Nothing's more important than eating!"

His urging successfully diverted Su Luming's attention.

......

A steaming hot breakfast was served quickly.

Su Luming and Xian Zuling each carried a small, exquisite bamboo steamer basket that exuded an enticing aroma. Inside each basket lay four crab roe soup dumplings with skins as thin as paper and a hint of golden broth seeping through.

Eight soup dumplings were placed on the table, their aroma filling the air. Each person could get at least two.

Immediately afterwards, three bowls of shrimp roe wontons, with pink shrimp roe floating on top and plump wontons bobbing in the clear broth, were also served.

Looking at the mouthwatering scene before him, Ye Fan smiled and said to Su Luming:

"Lu Ming, you locals from Nanjing, you must have been eating crab roe soup dumplings since you were little, right? It's practically a staple in your diet, isn't it?"

Su Luming elegantly held the spoon between his fingertips, scooped up a crystal-clear wonton, blew on it, and then put it in his mouth.

The delicious flavor melted on her tongue, and she squinted her eyes contentedly before nodding noncommittally:

"Yes, I've eaten quite a few. But the best ones have to be the old-established shop at the entrance of the alley where my grandparents lived. Thin skin, flavorful soup, and plenty of crab meat. When I was little, every holiday I would only go to my grandparents' house for those soup dumplings!"

When she talked about childhood delicacies, her tone was filled with nostalgia and a touch of pride.

After swallowing the wonton, her eyes lit up, and she said:

"Ye Fan, Zu Ling, next time I have the chance, I'll definitely take you to try it! I promise, that's the absolute best crab roe soup dumplings in my heart!"

Xian Zuling listened quietly, nodded gently, and a hint of expectation appeared in her eyes.

Ye Fan, however, smirked mischievously and deliberately dragged out the sound:

"Oh? You're taking me to your grandma's house? What if she mistakes me for your boyfriend?"

"Pfft—!" Su Luming almost spat out the mouthful of wonton soup she had just drunk, choking and coughing, her cheeks instantly turning red.

Ye Fan's joke was like a pebble thrown into a still lake, uncontrollably conjuring up images in her mind: her grandparents smilingly surrounding Ye Fan, asking him all sorts of questions, enthusiastically pulling him to try various snacks, their eyes full of loving affection for their grandson-in-law...

This scene inexplicably stirred a secret sweetness and panic within her.

Ye Fan saw that her face was red from coughing and her eyes were glazed over, so he smiled and waved his hand:

"Alright, alright, I was just kidding! Look how excited you are! Hurry up and eat, or the soup dumplings will get cold and ruin their delicious flavor!"

"Oh...oh! Okay!" Su Luming snapped out of his daze, quickly lowered his head, and hurriedly shoveled down a few mouthfuls of wontons to cover up his embarrassment, only to feel his face burning even more.

Seriously, what a joke... Yet, deep down, a bolder, even slightly rebellious voice cried out: Humph! What's wrong with treating him like a boyfriend? I'll win him over openly and honestly sooner or later! If Grandpa and Grandma really misunderstand... that's just what I want!

On the other side, the ancestral spirit seemed to have automatically ignored this little interlude, and was already fully engaged in the "battle" with the food.

She carefully picked up a trembling soup dumpling with her chopsticks, placed it in a spoon, then picked up the thin straw provided on the table, held her breath, and with extreme precision, gently poked a small hole in the paper-thin dumpling skin.

The warm, fragrant, and golden-yellow broth was immediately sucked into the mouth, instantly exploding with ultimate deliciousness on the taste buds.

It was indeed delicious.

She squinted her eyes contentedly before slowly enjoying the rich crab roe and crab meat filling inside.

The movements were quiet, yet incredibly efficient.

Ye Fan had a great appetite and devoured two soup dumplings and a whole bowl of shrimp roe wontons in no time, wiping his mouth contentedly.

"We're full! The two ladies can finish the remaining soup dumplings!"

Su Luming patted her slightly protruding belly; two soup dumplings and a bowl of wontons were already her limit.

"I can't eat anymore. Ancestral spirit, if you can finish it, it's all yours!"

Upon hearing this, Xian Zuling raised his eyes, glanced at the two still tempting soup dumplings remaining on the table, and nodded silently.

Without any formalities, she picked up her chopsticks, focused intently, and began the second round of "stormy inhalation."

The focused and enjoyable posture, as if performing some kind of sacred ritual, and the astonishing speed at which they devoured the food left Ye Fan and Su Luming somewhat dumbfounded.

......

After finishing breakfast, I left the cafeteria.

Under the shade of the sycamore trees, at the intersection where the three had briefly walked together, Su Luming, with a hint of worry about being called out by the teacher and subtle feelings about Ye Fan's "meeting the parents" joke, waved and quickly joined the flow of people heading towards the teaching building.

With the quiet companionship of the ancestral spirit, Ye Fan, leaning on his cane, turned towards a direction completely different from the noisy classroom—the solemn and dignified library of Nanjing University, a building that holds countless intellectual treasures.

As Ye Fan stepped into the spacious, bright hall filled with the fragrance of books and ink, a sense of disbelief and shame swept over him: Two months into the semester, and this was the first time I'd ever set foot here? It really... didn't seem like something a student would do.

His trip had a clear and exceptionally important purpose—to develop a systematic and standardized "Company Management Model Manual" for the company he had built and which was expanding at an unprecedented rate.