“Going to eat?” Seeing Gu Lai’s absent-minded expression, Cang Wei lightly tapped the desktop twice.
“Not eating,” Gu Lai seemed unsatisfied and added a sarcastic remark, “No money to eat.”
Thinking of someone’s generous invitation to treat earlier that morning, a premonition rose from the bottom of her heart, and Cang Wei slowly spoke, “I’ll treat you.”
“Is it just treating me alone, or treating everyone?” Gu Lai retorted without a moment’s hesitation.
“What did you hear?” Cang Wei frowned, her expression revealing exhaustion.
“I heard that classmate Cang Wei is generously scattering her money.” Gu Lai didn’t like to hide things; what were mouths for? Naturally, to say whatever is on one’s mind, and if something feels uncomfortable, it should be voiced out.
Even though these words sounded a bit sour.
Gu Lai thought that everything was for the sake of the mission. She had come here to save Cang Wei, so the male lead was a bad person; making Cang Wei stay away from him had a hundred benefits and not a single harm.
Cang Wei fell silent, offering no explanation. Naturally, Cang Wei wasn’t foolish; she had her own reasons for doing things, unrelated to anyone else.
Seeing the other person remain silent, Gu Lai couldn’t help feeling even more dissatisfied. But when all was said and done, she and Cang Wei had only just met, and it wasn’t appropriate to be overly aggressive right now. She decided to take a step back to advance, “Shall we go eat first?”
Things having reached this point, let’s eat first.
The same time, the same place. The two of them walked down that Yulan path once again.
Yet the atmosphere today compared to yesterday was quite different.
Gu Lai had anger in her heart and said not a word. Although Cang Wei had a somewhat cold temperament, she usually wouldn’t remain this silent, but right now she acted as if she had taken a mute pill, not uttering a single half-word.
Both of them were holding in their breath, and simply increased their pace slightly.
[Cafeteria]
Today’s food was even worse than yesterday’s. Gu Lai took one look and lost all appetite. Seeing Gu Lai frown and hesitate in her choice, Cang Wei made the decision for her, “Auntie, these three dishes, two portions please.”
While speaking, Cang Wei took her meal card, preparing to pay.
Slap!
A fair hand pushed Cang Wei’s hand away, and Gu Lai’s own meal card was pressed against the machine by its owner as if venting her frustration, “We’ll pay for both together; I have money.”
After arriving at the class this morning, Teacher An Xin had placed the meal card, already loaded with money, right on Gu Lai’s desk, gentle and considerate.
Cang Wei curved her fingertips, remaining outwardly silent.
After the two of them found a seat and sat down, Gu Lai buried her head in her food, refusing to look at the person across from her at all.
Making the best of a bad lot, Gu Lai scoffed inwardly. Although the three dishes Cang Wei chose were reasonably good, she didn’t feel a shred of comfort.
“Gu Lai, why are you unhappy?” Cang Wei wasn’t eating, resting her chin on one hand as she looked at her.
Seeing that Cang Wei had finally spoken, Gu Lai felt that this matter needed a thorough discussion, incidentally probing Cang Wei’s obsession with Huo Heya. If her obsession was too deep, there would be no way to distance her from that person for a while.
Yet without leaving Huo Heya, Cang Wei wouldn’t find happiness. Huo Heya was the male lead; he wouldn’t fall in love with Cang Wei, a supporting female character, but would only fall in love with the female protagonist.
To save Cang Wei—once Cang Wei found happiness, her mission would probably be completed as well.
“I heard from people that you gave a lot of money to a male student surnamed Huo.” Gu Lai had just arrived at No. 7 High School and was unfamiliar with the place, so she didn’t directly utter Huo Heya’s name.
“Yes.” This was a fact, and Cang Wei admitted it directly.
“What about you then? What will you do for this month? Do you still have living expenses?” Gu Lai poked her rice with her chopsticks, her voice muffled.
[System Prompt: Mission Progress 4%]
Gu Lai ignored the system, waiting for Cang Wei’s reply.
Cang Wei fell silent.
Actually, this sort of thing wasn’t the first time. Cang Wei had only transferred to No. 7 High School last year, and running into Huo Heya here could be considered karmic retribution, destined by fate.
Huo Heya started asking her for money, and as the frequency increased, people inevitably found out. Some individuals gossiped behind her back, though they didn’t dare make a scene in front of the parties involved.
Cang Wei couldn’t be bothered to care. As long as they didn’t nag right in front of her, she wouldn’t react.
Besides, Cang Wei didn’t attend school very diligently, spending very little time on campus.
An Xin and Cang Wei were from the same hometown and knew about her special situation. Furthermore, attending school or not didn’t affect her grades, so An Xin simply let Cang Wei be.
Pulling back her thoughts, Cang Wei told the truth, “I still have five hundred left.”
“Why… why are you so good to that person surnamed Huo?” Gu Lai asked, carefully weighing her words.
“Because of some reasons,” Cang Wei replied.
“Do you like him?” Gu Lai asked straight to the point.
Cang Wei twitched the corner of her lips, “No.” She didn’t talk much at school, and no one had ever asked her so directly.
“Oh,” Gu Lai saw that her expression didn’t look like she was lying, which only deepened her confusion. If Cang Wei didn’t like Huo Heya, then why treat him so well?
“I’ll have a chance to tell you later.” Cang Wei felt that she was acting a bit strangely, but looking at Gu Lai’s furrowed brows from deep thought, Cang Wei still offered words of comfort.
Gu Lai’s eyes lit up immediately, locking gazes with Cang Wei, “Really? Don’t trick me.”
Cang Wei nodded.
Gu Lai’s mood improved. She felt that Cang Wei wouldn’t lie to her. Moreover, learning that Cang Wei didn’t like Huo Heya made her even happier.
When people are happy, they tend to talk more. Looking at the greens on her plate, Gu Lai muttered, “I want to eat meat…”
“I,” having uttered just a single word, Cang Wei suddenly experienced some buzzing in her brain, her forehead stinging as if pricked by needles, and everything in front of her turned ethereal.
Gu Lai didn’t wait for her to continue. When she looked up, she saw Cang Wei with tightly knitted brows, her whole body shivering slightly, and she immediately stood up.
“Cang Wei, Cang Wei?” Gu Lai gripped Cang Wei’s hand, calling out anxiously.
Cang Wei took a deep breath, easing herself for a moment. The buzzing gradually faded away, and the headache subsided.
“I’m fine,” Cang Wei said in a very soft voice, though fortunately Gu Lai was leaning in close.
With a pale complexion and bloodless lips, how could anyone look at this and call it fine? Gu Lai’s worry was written all over her face.
After resting for a few minutes, Cang Wei recovered almost entirely. Seeing Gu Lai’s worried expression, she offered an explanation, “Hypoglycemia, it’s nothing.”
Calculated carefully, Cang Wei hadn’t eaten properly for three or four days.
Seeing that Cang Wei had regained some color in her face, Gu Lai felt somewhat reassured. Looking down and realizing that her hand was still tightly grasping Cang Wei’s, her ear tips grew hot and she moved to pull back.
Yet Cang Wei was one step faster, wrapping her fingers around Gu Lai’s wrist so that their fingers intertwined, “Still a bit dizzy.”
Cang Wei’s voice was weak, but her grip carried some strength, preventing Gu Lai from pulling away.
“What should we do then? Shall I help you to the infirmary?” Hearing her say this, Gu Lai grew anxious all over again, completely forgetting about whether their hands were holding or not.
“No need. Just going back to the classroom to rest for a bit will be fine.” As Cang Wei spoke, she coughed twice.
“Then I’ll help you back.” Gu Lai supported Cang Wei as she stood up. Seeing how severely weak she was, she didn’t dare pull her hand back anymore and focused entirely on supporting her.
[Class Seven]
Today they had returned early, and there was nobody else in the classroom. After helping Cang Wei to her seat, Gu Lai pulled a chair over and sat right beside her.
“How do you feel?”
“Much better.”
Two or three female voices echoed in the corridor, “Hello, Teacher.” An Xin responded politely. Passing by Class Seven, An Xin glanced inside, stopped walking, and said, “Cang Wei, come outside for a moment.”
Gu Lai watched Cang Wei, whose name had been called. The other girl signaled that she was fine, then walked out and left with An Xin.
Once she had left, Gu Lai sat quietly back in her original seat.
The sound of messy footsteps drew closer, and a sharp, shrill voice rang out right beside Gu Lai.