Seeing Lin Zhuo, Fu Baizhou strode toward him with his long legs.
Walking up to Lin Zhuo, he smiled and said, “I passed my interview and can start working tomorrow.”
Lin Zhuo had already anticipated that Fu Baizhou’s interview would go smoothly, so it came as no surprise. “Have you been waiting for me long?”
Fu Baizhou pulled out his phone, checked the time, and replied with a smile, “From half past ten until now.”
Which meant he had been waiting downstairs for over an hour.
Standing here talking was clearly not a wise move, so Lin Zhuo pointed toward the direction of the cafeteria. “Let’s go eat first.”
The two walked side by side, chatting casually about unimportant topics.
Fu Baizhou was quite talkative with Lin Zhuo, able to pull out a couple of sentences on anything, and the atmosphere looked very harmonious.
Arriving at the cafeteria, Lin Zhuo grabbed a meal tray and handed another one to Fu Baizhou. “The food in the cafeteria might not taste very good, so only take as much as you can finish. Don’t waste anything.”
Fu Baizhou responded with an affirmative hum.
Lin Zhuo couldn’t get used to the meat dishes in the cafeteria, always feeling like the meat wasn’t cleaned properly, so he only ordered two vegetarian dishes: shredded potatoes in vinegar sauce and mashed eggplant with garlic.
After scanning his meal card, he didn’t rush off. Once Fu Baizhou finished getting his food and scanned his card, the two found a window seat and sat down.
The moment they sat down, the empty seats beside them were quickly occupied by several guys and girls, and before long, all the spots around them were filled.
Everyone’s gazes swept over from time to time. Lin Zhuo kept his head down and ate, feeling very much like an exhibit in a zoo where people looked at the animals and threw a few extra glances his way.
Lin Zhuo took a few bites of rice, and though he couldn’t hear the whispering by his ear clearly, he could guess with his toes that they were talking about Fu Baizhou.
Fu Baizhou was handsome. Back then, he too had been bewitched by this face, but wasn’t it a bit exaggerated? Looking at it a few more times, it was just alright.
Lin Zhuo lifted his gaze, his drooping eyelids making him look somewhat gloomy.
Fu Baizhou ate with a submissive and obedient expression. His hands were full of well-defined bones, holding a fork as he ate leisurely and unhurriedly, making it a pleasing sight.
“What the heck.” The words popped out of his mouth, filled with astonishment yet feeling rather eerie.
Lin Zhuo rarely paid attention to how Fu Baizhou ate, after all, who has the free time to watch that?
Fu Baizhou immediately raised his head. “Old… A-Zhuo, what’s wrong?”
Hearing that character slip out, Lin Zhuo’s three souls and seven spirits almost scared themselves right out of his body, though fortunately, he caught himself in time to save his dog life.
Even so, he was still startled, coughing violently from a mouthful of water that went down the wrong pipe.
Seeing this, Fu Baizhou handed over a bottle of mineral water.
Without paying attention to any potential issues with the water, Lin Zhuo took a large gulp, only to realize something was wrong when he felt Fu Baizhou’s burning gaze on him.
Lin Zhuo picked up the water bottle and saw that most of the water was gone. There was no way he could have drunk that much in a single gulp, which meant…
“Fu! Bai! Zhou!”
“A-Zhuo, you won’t blame me, right?” Fu Baizhou smiled like a cunning fox.
When on earth had he learned this kind of passive-aggressive speech style? Paired with that heaven-defying face of his, who could possibly stay angry?
Ignoring the surrounding noises, Lin Zhuo finished the remaining rice in his bowl, glanced at Fu Baizhou to see that he was done too, stood up, dumped his tray into the collection bin, and walked straight out of the cafeteria doors.
It had rained a little around dawn, and the whole morning had been muggy. Now that the sun was out, heatwaves rippled through the air, and Lin Zhuo decided to head to the campus supermarket to buy a popsicle.
“Aren’t you going back yet?” Lin Zhuo’s afternoon classes ran until six, and he had evening classes after that until nine.
Fu Baizhou replied, “Then I’ll go wait for you at the cafe.”
“Do whatever you want,” Lin Zhuo said before walking toward the supermarket.
At this hour, there weren’t many people inside the supermarket, scattered around in twos and threes.
With a strong sense of purpose, Lin Zhuo went straight to the freezer, grabbed a popsicle, checked out, and impatiently tore open the wrapper to take a bite.
The freezing solid slowly melted in his mouth. Lin Zhuo checked the time: his next class started at two in the afternoon, leaving him an hour and ten minutes before class.
Holding the popsicle in his mouth, he stretched lazily.
The sun was a bit glaring, so he quickened his pace toward the classroom.
Only two girls were sitting in the back row of the classroom, chatting about something and occasionally letting out muffled laughs.
Feeling uneasy sitting or standing, Lin Zhuo thought to himself: Should I go find Fu Baizhou instead?
Just as he was about to get up, a classmate in the back row suddenly called out to him.
“Classmate, what’s your name?” The voice echoed across the empty classroom before trailing off.
Lin Zhuo instinctively looked around, and confirming that besides those two girls no one else was left, he turned his body sideways and asked uncertainly, “Me… me?”
The girl who took the initiative to chat with him had a head of long black hair and round eyes.
She smiled and said, “Is there anyone else here?”
Hearing this, Lin Zhuo hurried to introduce himself, “My name is Lin Zhuo, the Zhuo from cleansed by ripples without being seductive.”
The long-haired girl said, “My name is He Hongdou, the Hongdou from red beans grow in the southern land.”
The girl next to her was a bit shy, so He Hongdou took the initiative to introduce her. “Her name is Liu Yutong, Yu as in rain, and Tong as in bright red.”
Faced with He Hongdou’s enthusiasm, Lin Zhuo felt slightly out of his depth, scratching his head awkwardly. “Nice to meet you.”
He Hongdou rested her chin on both hands, staring straight at Lin Zhuo’s face. Her expression inexplicably took on a hint of pampering as she exclaimed, “You look really well-behaved, like a little puppy from my house.”
Lin Zhuo tilted his head. “Thank you?”
He Hongdou explained, “Sorry, I didn’t mean it as an insult. I just think you look very obedient when you smile.”
Lin Zhuo could tell the difference between goodwill and malice. “It’s fine. But why are you guys in the classroom?”
“The classroom is quiet and has a fan, so we came here.” She shook her phone. “I added you as a friend, accept it won’t you.”
Lin Zhuo took out his phone and accepted He Hongdou’s friend request.
The other party sent a greeting sticker, and looking back at her, she was smiling right at him, looking exceptionally radiant.
Such an enthusiastic person.
He sent a sticker back, and the other person immediately sent an image, it was a photo of him and Fu Baizhou eating together in the cafeteria.
[He Hongdou: What’s your relationship?]
It seemed she was just another person who initiated contact with him to get Fu Baizhou’s contact info.
[Lin Zhuo: Friends]
[He Hongdou: You two look like a super eye-catching couple when you walk together, uwu]
Lin Zhuo read it twice. She should be praising him for looking decent, at least in her eyes, as he wasn’t overshadowed by Fu Baizhou.
Thinking this, the corners of his lips curved up as he replied: [Thanks]
Lin Zhuo proactively added Liu Yutong as a friend as well, though the two didn’t exchange a single word.
He Hongdou was talkative, and before they knew it, chatting had brought them right up to class time.
During class, Lin Zhuo didn’t play on his phone, listening attentively to the teacher’s lecture.
Mathematics truly lived up to its name as a lifelong enemy, but fortunately, his aunt had hired a tutor for him to cram intensively, preventing him from feeling like he was listening to a heavenly scripture.
After class ended, He Hongdou walked up to Lin Zhuo and asked, “Want to go eat together?”
Lin Zhuo was currently messaging Fu Baizhou to ask if he had gone back yet, knowing Fu Baizhou was still waiting for him at the cafe.
Faced with He Hongdou’s invitation, he hesitated for two seconds before asking, “I’m with a friend. Do you want to join us?”
He Hongdou’s eyes turned into stars. “Is it that super handsome friend?”
Lin Zhuo replied, “He’s the other protagonist in the photo you sent me.”