He sat to her left-hand side, and Tang Nuo was opposite from her. Tang Nuo was talking to him, and due to the noise in the room, his body was leaning toward Tang Nuo to hear him more clearly.
Tang Nuo's was half-shrouded behind the haze of cigarette smoke. However, it did not detract from his presence; it was as clean, sharp, elegant, and attractive as she remembered.
Tang Nuo was chuckling to himself like he had spotted something funny.
However, Su Zhinian maintained his cold demeanor, even when Tang Nuo reached the climax of his story. He merely moved his head slightly, a paragon of the stability, reticence, and maturity that he was known for.
The Student Council President sat on Song Qingchun's other side. He was on the phone, and based on the words like "baby", "pumpkin", and other babyish words tumbling out of his mouth, Song Qingchun knew he was talking to his little prince who was celebrating his hundredth day on Earth.
The Student Council President glanced at her and noticed she was in a state, so he knocked her corner of the table and rushed, "Qingchun, why are you blanking out? Throw the dice, it's your turn!"
Song Qingchun was pulled back to reality. She smiled apologetically at the Student Council President. Tang Nuo turned his head her way, attracted by the commotion. He took a deep inhalation of the smoke and flicked the cigarette end at the nearby ashtray before greeting Song Qingchun with a smile. "Hello, little junior."
Tang Nuo had been in the same class as Qin Yinan and Song Cheng. They had also been basketball buddies when they were in high-school. Every time he saw her, he would call her "little junior." Even though later he was forced to stay back a grade due to horrible results like Su Zhinian, his nickname for her hadn't changed.
After that, Su Zhinian also turned to glance at her.
He was in quite a good mood, perhaps entertained by Tang Nuo's story; the iciness normally in his eyes had disappeared. Due to the lighting in the mah-jongg room, he looked like a gentle and suave young master from one of those wuxia 1 stories.
However, when Song Qingchun met his gaze, her chest could not help but tightened. The hand that was ready to toss the dice turned into a fist. She tried her best to suppress her internal anxiety and forced out a smile at Tang Nuo. "Senior Tang, nice to meet you."
She tossed the dice after a pause.
Su Zhinian pulled his gaze away. Even though she was trying her best to hide it, he could discern the fear and anxiety on her.
Tang Nuo had always been a chatterbox, and the Student President Council had consumed a bit too much alcohol due to the celebration. Throughout the game, the two of them were able to fill up the conservation around the table.
Song Qingchun sat with her spine straight. To ensure that she did not lose her mind, she forced herself to focus completely on the game.
However, the unique, elegant, and faint scent of Su Zhinian seemed to drift into her nose whenever he moved to take a tile or surrender a tile. It made it extremely difficult for her to calm down.
The only thing going for her was her good luck. Other than the two rounds won by the Student Council President and Tang Nuo, she won the rest of the rounds. She did not realize that Su Zhinian had been feeding her wins.
"Little junior, please show us some kindness, you've won eighteen rounds already. If this continues, both the President and myself are going to lose everything!" When the new round started, Tang Nuo could not help but jokingly mock Song Qingchun. However, as he said so, out of the corner of his eye, he stared at Su Zhinian.
For those of you unfamiliar with this genre, it's a genre of Chinese fiction featuring warriors of ancient China, often depicted as capable of superhuman feats of martial arts.