Chapter 24 — An Awkward Incident

The student council officer wrote out receipts for the four of them, then instructed, "Meet at the school gate tomorrow at ten in the morning. A coach will take us all together. This trip is a fair distance, so here's a map and a list of things to keep in mind—study them when you get home."

"Got it." Yang Ce took the map and the notes and nodded.

"Don't be late," the student council officer warned.

"No problem." Yang Ce was mid-sentence when he spotted a familiar face coming toward them. The man clearly hadn't noticed Yang Ce and walked straight up to the student council officer, clapping him on the shoulder. "Hey, buddy, thanks for today. Come on, dinner's on me."

"Ah, it was nothing," the student council officer said. "Zhang Weihan, since when do you stand on ceremony with me? Keep your voice down—I've got guests here."

"Huh—Yang Ce?" Zhang Weihan looked up and froze. "What are you doing here?"

"Brother Zhang, my friend and I came to sign up for the winter camp. He's the one I asked you to help out." Yang Ce gestured toward Zhang Bin.

"Ha, so we're all headed to the same place!" Zhang Weihan laughed. "Zhang Bin, is it? You should be thanking him—he's the one who got it all sorted." He jerked his chin toward the student council officer.

"Ha, thanks, man. Come on, let's go eat—my treat," Zhang Bin said.

"Let's go, let's go, all together." Zhang Weihan was eager to get closer to Yan, after all—he was working under the man's godfather.

"All right." This time the student council officer didn't decline either. He nodded and introduced himself. "My name is Li Guangkun. I'm a member of the publicity department of the school student council."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Yang Ce, and this is my girlfriend, Chen Shutang." Yang Hengye shook hands with Li Guangkun and then introduced Chen Shutang.

"Heh, your girl is really something. You're a lucky man, brother." Li Guangkun had heard from Zhang Weihan before that Yang Ce was Liu Yan's godson. He was planning to apply for Liu Yan's graduate program next year, so naturally he wanted to cultivate a connection with Yan as well.

"Zhang Bin—you ought to know who I am by now." Zhang Bin chuckled. "This is my wife, Zhao Sisi."

"Ha, how could I not know you? You're a sly one—you even knew to leave the questions you couldn't answer blank on the exam paper, which made it easy for me to work with. Find someone with similar handwriting, add a couple of strokes, and it's done." Li Guangkun slipped in a word of praise without missing a beat. "I like doing favors for smart people. Some people think they're clever—they don't know the material but scribble whatever comes to mind, and then it's a nightmare to fix."

Zhang Bin glanced at Yang Puqi, a little embarrassed, thinking to himself that Yang Minlan was quite experienced in this sort of thing.

People who have pulled off some wrongdoing together form an alliance of interests easily enough, so thanks to Zhang Bin's little affair, it took only a few words before the group's relations began to warm.

Over dinner, Yang Ce learned from Li Guangkun that tomorrow's winter camp was entirely organized by the student council, with no teachers attending, so everyone could let loose and have fun. That was the surface meaning. The meaning beneath the surface was that couples needn't be discreet about anything—they could simply sleep together at night. This delighted Zhang Bin no end, while Chen Shutang lowered her head shyly.

After the six of them finished eating, they went their separate ways. Though Zhang Bin insisted on paying the bill, in the end it was Zhang Weihan who paid. Yang Ce tugged at Zhang Bin and didn't let him press the matter—after all, Zhang Weihan genuinely wanted to treat them.

Zhang Bin drove the car, carrying Yang Ce and the other two to a supermarket near the school to buy some necessities for tomorrow. Although the two hundred yuan they'd paid covered meals, lodging, and equipment rental, girls like Zhao Sisi and Chen Shutang couldn't resist bringing along some snacks.

After parking the car, the four of them entered the supermarket. Zhang Bin pushed a cart; Yang Jiyan carried nothing. Zhang Bin protested that it was unfair, but there was nothing to be done.

The moment Chen Shutang and Zhao Sisi stepped inside, they made a beeline for the snack aisle. Each grabbed a little basket and went on a frenzied shopping spree. Yang Ce and Zhang Bin, being more practical, bought some canned goods and vacuum-sealed food.

As the two of them passed the daily necessities, Zhang Bin suddenly glanced left and right, then said, "Zhao Sisi and the others didn't follow us, did they?"

"No, they're far away." Yang Ce casually took a look with his clairvoyant sight—Chen Shutang and Zhao Sisi were still in the snack aisle, debating which brand of preserved plums tasted better.

"Good." Zhang Bin grinned and pulled a box of condoms off the shelf, then said to Yang Yan, "Want one?"

"Uh—" Yang Puqi broke into a sweat. At this point in his life, he probably had no use for such a thing. Come to think of it, Yang Ce had never actually spent money on one of these.

Lan Ling said she had her own methods. Yang Ce hadn't asked for details, but he figured it had something to do with her gu sorcery. And Xiao Qing couldn't get pregnant, so Yang Ce simply had no use for the things.

"Ha, you're shy with me?" Zhang Bin looked at Yang Ce with a sly grin.

"Ahem, you know as well as I do—since Lan Ling left, Chen Shutang and I haven't gotten to that point yet. What would I even do with it if I bought one?" Yang Ce had no choice but to explain it that way. The matter with Xiao Qing absolutely could not be mentioned to Zhang Bin.

"Ha, so that's how it is. I was wondering why you were making that face. No worries—this winter camp is the perfect opportunity. Play your cards right and things with Chen Shutang will be settled for sure." Zhang Bin laughed. "Yang Ce, you and Chen Shutang are clearly sweet on each other. You've been together for quite a while now—how come there's been no real progress?"

"Damn it, you know as well as I do—last time, because of that business with Lan Ling, Mengyan gave me the cold shoulder for so long. Even if I wanted to, I'd need the chance." Yang Xu shrugged helplessly.

"Then buy a box—better safe than sorry." As he spoke, Zhang Bin pulled another box off the shelf. "Jissbon, ultra-thin. Feels amazing."

"..." Yang Puqi was speechless. He glanced at the little box in Zhang Bin's hand and said, "Keep it at your place for now. Chen Shutang and I aren't there yet. If she saw I had something like this, who knows what she'd suspect about me and other women."

"No problem." Zhang Bin paid for it right there at the supermarket checkout counter and tucked it into the inner pocket of his coat.

Yang Ce and Zhang Bin bought a few more things—disposable gloves, disposable tablecloths, napkins, and the like—before going to meet up with Chen Shutang and the others. Seeing that the baskets in Chen Shutang's and Zhao Sisi's hands were both piled to overflowing, he couldn't help but smile wryly. "It's a two-day winter camp—can you even eat all this?"

Even as he said it, Yang Ce and Zhang Bin took the baskets and dumped everything into the cart. The four of them pushed the cart to the checkout and paid, and then, as they stepped out through the magnetic security gate by the registers, the alarm suddenly let out a shrill, piercing scream.

A security guard immediately walked over and stopped Zhang Bin, who had gone through first. "Sir, please wait a moment."

"What's the matter?" Zhang Bin asked, startled.

"I suspect you're carrying merchandise from the supermarket. Please open your coat and let me check whether there's anything inside," the guard said.

"Hell, I paid for all this stuff. Why would I steal from you?" Zhang Bin frowned and pointed at the several large plastic bags in the cart. "Do I look like someone who can't afford to pay?"