Lin Jing: "..."
The signature was something Sheng Zhuang casually scribbled on a piece of paper when YLs was choosing a captain and he voted for himself. She had even asked him at the time if he didn't want it.
Yet, what everyone thought was thrown into the trash was now hidden between her phone and its case.
Lin Jing looked at the slip of paper with Sheng Zhuang's name on it, feeling the same awkwardness as saying "I'm not hungry" just moments before her stomach rumbled loudly.
The paper being exposed was far more unexpected than she could have imagined, and Lin Jing truly didn't know how to respond.
Sheng Zhuang clearly had no intention of letting this slide. He leaned his head closer to her, as if whispering a secret, but his voice was loud enough for everyone at the table to hear, "Go on, what's your ulterior motive with me?"
Lin Jing didn't quite grasp his meaning and instinctively followed his lead, asking, "What ulterior motive?"
Sheng Zhuang raised an eyebrow, stared at her for a few seconds, and then asked with a half-smile, "What do you think?"
Lin Jing blinked in confusion.
Seeing her slightly dazed expression, Sheng Zhuang chuckled lightly, "No ulterior motive, then why hide my signature?"
Lin Jing opened her mouth, finally understanding what he meant.
When she collected the signature, she genuinely had no ulterior motive. But after so long, with the paper hidden in her phone case, for some reason, even she wasn't entirely convinced of the real reason anymore.
But that was indeed the reason.
Lin Jing didn't dwell on why she felt guilty. Her intuition told her she couldn't falter.
Besides, facts were facts; what was there to be guilty about?
Yes, she should be more confident.
Lin Jing secretly encouraged herself, then looked up. To appear completely truthful, she cleared her throat and deliberately met Sheng Zhuang's eyes, speaking slowly, "There's really no ulterior motive. It's simply a manifestation of a mother's deep love for her son."
Sheng Zhuang was clearly taken aback by her response.
After about four or five seconds, he raised his eyebrows, leaned his head back slightly, and stared at Lin Jing for two seconds, "Are you sure?"
Lin Jing nodded calmly, "Otherwise?"
Sheng Zhuang said nothing more, his gaze on her unreadable.
Lin Jing felt a flutter of unease under his stare. Just as she was about to change the subject, he suddenly let out a laugh, "Alright then."
Then, as if he believed her, he removed the phone case he had just put on his phone, carefully refolded the paper, and placed it against the back of her phone. He then put the phone case he had removed from his phone onto her phone.
He naturally handed the phone to her, and Lin Jing naturally said thank you as she took it.
However, just as she gripped the phone and was about to take it away, Sheng Zhuang suddenly increased the pressure with his fingertips, pulling the phone slightly towards him. The movement was abrupt, and caught off guard, she stumbled forward with the pull, her head bumping against his shoulder.
Sheng Zhuang let out a low laugh.
Lin Jing hastily turned her head away, snatched her phone back, and sat up straight.
Sheng Zhuang turned to look at her profile and chuckled again.
Lin Jing suppressed the urge to yell at him to stop laughing, maintaining a pretense of composure as she picked up her spoon and took a sip of soup.
Seeing her feigned calmness, Sheng Zhuang couldn't help but laugh a couple more times.
Lin Jing finally couldn't stand it anymore, slammed down her spoon, and said, "Can you stop laughing?"
As she spoke, she prepared to turn her head.
Her head had barely moved when his hand landed beside her ear. Her back stiffened, and then she felt his fingertips gently tuck her hair behind her ear.
She opened her mouth, frozen as if under a spell, completely still.
His fingertips lingered for two seconds behind her ear before settling on her earlobe. His fingertips were a little cool, lightly brushing the skin of her earlobe, again and again, making her heart pound uncontrollably.
Lin Jing couldn't take it anymore. She abruptly turned her head to glare at Sheng Zhuang. Before she could even see his face, his finger landed on her earlobe and gently pinched it, "It's red."
Lin Jing froze.
"Little CP, I didn't realize you had such a hobby," Sheng Zhuang tutted, released her earlobe, and leaned back into his chair. "Your profound love… it's a little bit twisted, wouldn't you say?"
"..."
Lin Jing, truly something else.
She claimed to be a fan-mom, but her body reacted like a girlfriend.
Lin Jing was at a loss for words and simply fell silent.
Yu Zhou, often treated as a tool by Sheng Zhuang, was unfazed by the scene, having seen worse. He calmly watched the exchange while munching on a chicken wing.
In contrast, He Lin, sitting next to him, had a rather complicated expression.
He looked at Sheng Zhuang, who was lowering his eyelids and eating greens, then at Lin Jing, sitting beside him with flushed ears, silently drinking soup. He couldn't help but clench his chopsticks.
His gaze flickered between the two of them for several rounds before he placed his chopsticks horizontally on his bowl and said, "Lin Jing."
Lin Jing looked up, "Ah?"
He Lin continued, "The exchange student application form, have you finished filling it out?"
Lin Jing's heart skipped a beat for no reason, and she instinctively glanced at Sheng Zhuang beside her.
He Lin looked directly at Lin Jing and continued, "The application form needs to reach me by tomorrow at the latest."