Qiao Nian reacted quickly and grabbed the glass in time, so it was not knocked over. However, some water splashed on her hand. The warm water did not scald her, but it wet a part of her sleeve.

The waitress's heart started racing and she almost burst into tears. She quickly got a paper towel to wipe her sleeve and began apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Customers who patronized the Imperial Mansion were usually rich, powerful, or both. Small fries like them could not afford to offend them. The pay here was good, but the dismissal rate of employees was high as well.

A few days ago, her colleague had accidentally splashed some gravy on one of the customer's clothes. Not only was she made to pay a hundred thousand yuan, but she had also lost her job.

She was afraid that she would end up like that, too.

While she was apologizing, a slightly cool hand took the paper towel off her own. A casual voice sounded, "No worries, it's just a little wet. It'll dry soon."

The waitress looked up with red eyes.

Qiao Nian looked at her red eyes and her nose scrunched up. She couldn't help but think of Shen Qingqing. She wondered how she and the rest were doing in class back in Rao City. Without her around, would Chen Yuan return to hanging out with those little hooligans?

As she thought of the people back in Rao City, her expression softened, and so did her voice. She comforted the waitress. "It's really alright. Don't cry, your manager will see you."

How gentle.

She was so cool before, but she was so gentle now.

The waitress's heart raced. She had no idea why, she just knew that her heart rate increased. She dared not even look Qiao Nian in the eye.

Gosh, how did she get so swooned by a girl?

"Just get me a new glass of water," said Qiao Nian as she casually wiped her sleeve.

The waitress looked at her pretty eyes again, and even her neck went red this time. She said without missing a beat, "Right away."

Soon enough, she returned with another glass of water. This time, there was some ice and two lemon slices in the glass.

Qiao Nian looked at the glass of sparkling water before her and was slightly stunned.

She remembered ordering plain water, why was there lemon sparkling water now?

The waitress still seemed a little shy. She looked away slightly and said in embarrassment, "Uh… I'm sorry about before. This lemon sparkling water is my treat. I'm sorry, and thank you."

With that, she hurried off as if she was being chased.

Qiao Nian looked at the carbonated drink on the table and her head began to ache. Could she say that she was too full from her meal and couldn't down a carbonated drink at this point?

Meanwhile, Nie Mi, who had just witnessed the girl run away while blushing, said to her with a strange expression, "In future… don't look at other girls anyhow."

Qiao Nian was confused.

When did she look at them 'anyhow'?

As if reading her mind, Nie Mi said with a complex expression, "Young girls are impressionable, don't… give them the wrong impression and inclination."

He didn't make things clear as day, but what he meant to say was that not every girl was as attractive and cool as her.

If the waitress got the wrong idea and thought that everyone was like her, it would cause trouble for the waitress in the future.

Qiao Nian did not really understand what he meant but did not want to think so much about it. She hadn't even seen the waitress flush with excitement as she left. She took it as a minor happening and instead said, "Are you free tonight? Want to have a meal together? My treat."

Nie Mi glared at her and said a little unpleasantly. "How can I not be free if you're the one inviting me? I'll be free even if I'm not!"

With that, he recalled something important. "Oh right, I've been wanting to ask you, but I haven't found the chance to. Have you decided which faculty you're going for in Qing University?"