Chapter 85: Meeting the Wrong Person at the Wrong Time

"What?"
Zhang Shen was still unaware of the state of his face at that moment.
"Quick, look at your eyes!"
Zhang Shen thought to himself, "Could that fat guy have done something sneaky to me last night? But he shouldn’t have messed with my face, right?"
He went to the washroom and, facing the mirror, finally discovered that his eyes were swollen, ringed with dark circles.
"Hey, Zhang, what's going on?"
Meng Ran slapped Zhang Shen's shoulder as he asked.
Seeing his own disheveled appearance, Zhang Shen replied irritably, "What do you think? It's all because I was thinking about your situation last night."
Upon hearing that Zhang Shen had ended up like this for the sake of his happiness, Meng Ran was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt. He hurriedly grabbed Zhang Shen’s hand and said with heartfelt emotion, "Zhang, you truly are my lucky star. I must repay you well in the future. Please give me that chance."
Zhang Shen only wished to escape from Meng Ran as soon as possible.
Seeing Meng Ran’s shameless display, Zhang Shen wondered why the fat guy hadn’t shown this boldness earlier—why wait until today, and why pour his heart out to another man? If he didn’t know Meng Ran liked a girl, with all the fat guy’s antics since last night, Zhang Shen would have already reported to the school administration, choosing to sleep on the field rather than share a room with Meng Ran.
After washing up, Zhang Shen and Meng Ran went downstairs together, heading for the classroom.
Unexpectedly, on the way, they ran into Lu Ming and Hao Lei walking towards them.
Zhang Shen silently prayed, "Don’t see me, don’t see me…"
But as soon as the familiar voices approached, Zhang Shen realized he couldn’t escape this time.
"Zhang Shen, what happened to your eyes?"
Lu Ming’s words were filled with concern. After all, Zhang Shen was a benefactor to Lu Ming. Hao Lei, standing beside him, burst out laughing when she saw Zhang Shen's "panda eyes."
Zhang Shen knew he had embarrassed himself.
Meng Ran quickly explained, "Teachers, Zhang Shen stayed up late studying last night. He only noticed it this morning."
Hao Lei nodded at Meng Ran’s words without saying anything, for she knew Zhang Shen’s abilities hardly required extra studying. But as Meng Ran was present, she found it easier to let the explanation stand, smoothing over the lie for him.

"It’s getting late, hurry to class!"
Hao Lei knew that with Zhang Shen’s remarkable medical skill, such a minor issue was nothing.
After parting from Lu Ming and Hao Lei, Zhang Shen and Meng Ran went to the classroom. As they approached, Meng Ran reminded Zhang Shen yet again to pay special attention to his affairs.
Zhang Shen could only agree helplessly, as Meng Ran had already repeated it countless times, and now his mind was filled with thoughts of Meng Ran and Wang Ying.
Taking his seat, Zhang Shen exchanged a glance with Wang Ying. She asked, "Zhang Shen, what happened to your eyes?"
It was then that Zhang Shen realized he looked quite different from usual, but since Wang Ying had asked, he couldn’t hide it any longer. He replied, "Well… I didn’t sleep well after finishing everything, so I’m a bit uncomfortable."
"It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t insisted you all come to my house for dumplings yesterday, you wouldn’t have encountered that trouble."
Zhang Shen hadn’t expected Wang Ying to take responsibility for his "panda eyes." It made him both annoyed and amused at her excessive guilt.
"You can’t say that. If we hadn’t gone for dumplings last night, we wouldn’t have met Teacher Lu, and then none of what followed would’ve happened, right?"
"But…"
Before Wang Ying could finish, Zhang Shen interrupted, "No ‘but.’ Anyway, it’s just because I didn’t sleep well—it’s got nothing to do with you."
"Alright then."
Seeing that Zhang Shen wasn’t blaming her, Wang Ying felt relieved.
At that moment, Zhang Shen noticed Meng Ran beside him winking repeatedly. Zhang Shen understood—Meng Ran was urging him to take action.
"Can I ask you something?"
Wang Ying was happy at Zhang Shen’s initiative. In her eyes, Zhang Shen was just her type, so whatever he asked, she’d answer honestly.
"Yes?"
"What do you think of Meng Ran?"
As soon as he spoke, Zhang Shen realized he’d been too blunt. Such a direct question was hard for Wang Ying to respond to.
"What’s the matter?"

Clearly, Wang Ying wasn’t very interested in such topics and asked with a hint of doubt.
Sensing her caution, Zhang Shen changed tack, "Just asking casually, don’t read too much into it."
"Him? Well, he can really eat, and that’s about it!"
Hearing Wang Ying’s reply, Zhang Shen didn’t know how to continue. She was quite right, after all.
"To eat well… well, that’s a blessing!"
Zhang Shen could only follow along with the topic, though Wang Ying seemed uninterested in talking about Meng Ran.
Wang Ying said to Zhang Shen, "By the way, my parents were really grateful for what you did last night. They want to invite you to dinner at our house. Do you have time?"
Zhang Shen was truly in turmoil. His roommate wanted him to play matchmaker, and now the very girl Meng Ran liked had invited him to dinner. It was fate’s cruel joke—no matter how skilled Zhang Shen was, he couldn’t untangle this web.
Just as he was struggling to respond, a new idea popped into his mind.
"Sure! But is it alright if I bring someone along?"
"Who?"
Wang Ying was curious. Would Zhang Shen bring Ye Qiong? But in the end, it didn’t matter who he brought, as long as Zhang Shen came.
"Him, Meng Ran."
Hearing this, Wang Ying was taken aback, not understanding why Zhang Shen would want to bring Meng Ran to her house—it seemed like trouble.
Seeing Wang Ying’s silence, Zhang Shen realized that Meng Ran’s chances with Wang Ying seemed very slim. Perhaps it was time to let Meng Ran give up.
But then Wang Ying’s response caught Zhang Shen off guard.
"Alright, since you’re bringing him, of course he can come."
Zhang Shen could hardly believe those words had come from Wang Ying. At least, Meng Ran still had some hope left.