The last class of the morning.
The Chinese teacher walked in and handed the test papers from yesterday’s exam to Lu Si, the Chinese class representative, to distribute.
“The scores for yesterday’s Chinese test are out. The difficulty level was moderate, and our class did quite well. Three students scored above 130 points.”
The class atmosphere was lively for a few minutes, but then the teacher’s tone and expression both turned cold: “However, some students (I won’t name names), I don’t even know what they’re learning, sitting in the classroom day after day. Homework isn’t submitted, test papers aren’t written, and the scores they get are just unbearable to look at. Twenty-five points. If you had studied seriously, no, even if you had written the test paper a bit more seriously, it wouldn’t be this number.”
The classroom immediately became noisy, with students discussing the score of 25 points.
“If you don’t want to study, apply to drop out early. Don’t disrupt the other students’ studying in the classroom, okay?” By the end, the Chinese teacher slapped the podium hard a few times, clearly angry.
The students, who had been lively and discussing who the teacher was scolding, fell into a deathly silence.
As the class ended, Song Mufang slowly folded the answer sheet and test paper they had finished going over, placing them into his folder.
Li Buyan, sitting behind him, tapped Song Mufang’s shoulder: “Song Mufang, are we having lunch together again today?”
For the past few days, the original Song Mufang had been having lunch with Li Buyan and Lu Si in the cafeteria.
Recalling this, Song Mufang nodded without much hesitation: “I’ll join you guys.”
The cafeteria food was good, and every time it was mealtime, the cafeteria would be packed with people. If you were even a few minutes late, it would be jammed.
They hurried, but by the time they reached the cafeteria, long lines had already formed at the food counters.
After reserving seats with their water cups, they chose a counter and started queuing.
When it was Song Mufang’s turn, he looked around and quickly pointed at three or four dishes: “Auntie, I’ll have the braised pork, sweet and sour ribs, and this, this…”
Song Mufang’s appearance in this world was somewhat similar to his real-life looks: fair and bright skin, clear and moist eyes, rosy and soft lips, and a slightly thin build, making him look both obedient and gentle. In short, he had a very endearing appearance that easily triggered maternal instincts.
Seeing such an obedient child come to get food, the cafeteria auntie’s motherly warmth overflowed, generously giving Song Mufang a heaping spoonful of food. Her hand didn’t tremble, and when she was done, she smiled and asked, “Do you want anything else, young man?”
Song Mufang glanced at his full tray and shook his head: “No, that’s enough for me. Thank you, Auntie.”
“Alright!” The auntie watched Song Mufang leave with a smile. When the boy behind him stepped up and asked for food, her smile faded significantly. She scooped half a ladle, shook it until only a few pieces of meat were left, and then dumped it into his bowl.
Boy: Auntie, I saw that.
Even getting food depends on looks now. Oh well, oh well.
The boy left with his tray, feeling dejected.
Unaware of the small commotion he left behind, Song Mufang found the seat he and Lu Si had reserved. He placed his tray on the table and was about to sit down to start his lunch when the System’s automatic alert sounded in his mind: [Beep, the male lead has entered within 20 meters of the host!]
[Host, the male lead is in the cafeteria! Want to mess with him?] The System was quite excited about the idea of humiliating the male lead.
Song Mufang glanced at the sea of people around him and shook his head internally: [Let’s not. There are too many people right now.]
Two seconds later.
[Beep, the male lead has entered within 5 meters of the host!]
System 1111 reminded again: [Host, are you sure you don’t want to mess with Jing Zhao?]
Five meters was quite close.
He continued eating in small bites and asked the System in his mind: [1111, where is Jing Zhao now?]
[He’s sitting at the table diagonally in front of you, with his back to you.] 1111 quickly provided Song Mufang with the answer.
Knowing they were so close, Song Mufang felt a stir of curiosity. He glanced casually in the direction of the diagonal table while picking up some food.
At the table diagonally opposite, Jing Zhao sat alone.
He seemed to have come to the cafeteria by himself, with no one around him, looking somewhat lonely.
The food in front of Jing Zhao was meager. From his angle, Song Mufang could clearly see that Jing Zhao had only taken some greens and shredded potatoes, with no meat at all.
At their age, sixteen or seventeen, boys were in their growth phase and typically needed to eat quite a bit.
Afraid that Lu Si might notice something strange, Song Mufang didn’t dare look for too long and quickly shifted his gaze.
Li Buyan also arrived with his tray.
He sat down next to Song Mufang and remarked sincerely, “The cafeteria is great, but there are just too many people at mealtime.”
Li Buyan’s parents named him Buyan, inspired by the saying “Peach and plum don’t speak, yet a path is formed beneath them,” hoping he would talk a little less.
However, it was clear that Li Buyan had not lived up to his parents’ expectations. His mouth never stopped during meals.
“Academic rep Wang Ying was confessed to yesterday. I don’t know what she said, but I heard the guy went back crying.”
“And did you know, Jiang Ke was caught kissing a girl from the next class in the hallway by the director? They were going to be publicly criticized, but when Jiang Ke’s mom showed up, the matter disappeared, and the girl was suspended instead.”
Li Buyan, nicknamed the know-it-all, was well-versed in all the gossip at school. His smiling eyes were filled with a thirst for gossip, and he wasn’t ashamed of it at all.
He continued talking while eating, not minding that Lu Si and the others didn’t respond, entertaining himself: “The student the Chinese teacher scolded today for scoring 25 points, it was Jing Zhao again, right? I don’t know if the rumors about him are true, but his attitude toward studying is really not great…”
Song Mufang was startled to hear Jing Zhao’s name.
So the 25 points the teacher mentioned in class were actually Jing Zhao’s.
He felt that talking behind someone’s back like this wasn’t right, especially when the person in question was sitting not far away. Seeing that Li Buyan seemed ready to continue his rant, Song Mufang quickly interrupted him: “Li Buyan, hurry up and eat. Lu Si and I are almost done.”
“Yeah, if you’re too slow, Song Mufang and I will leave without you,” Lu Si added, twisting the knife.
Li Buyan glanced at the nearly empty trays of Song Mufang and Lu Si and wailed, “Lu Si! We can’t be friends anymore. I declare our friendship over, for at least two minutes this time!”
After saying that, Li Buyan really did bury his head and eat in earnest, no longer sharing gossip with Song Mufang.
Song Mufang: “…”
Song Mufang opened his mouth to say something, but Lu Si stopped him: “Don’t mind him.”
This was their usual way of interacting, so Song Mufang quietly agreed and sneaked another glance in Jing Zhao’s direction.
Jing Zhao was still eating and seemed not to have noticed the commotion on their side.
Song Mufang let out a long sigh of relief.
After finishing lunch, Song Mufang, Lu Si, and Li Buyan didn’t immediately return to the classroom.
The three of them walked side by side on the track field, taking a stroll to digest their food.
After a few laps, Li Buyan patted his stomach, feeling he had digested enough: “When should we head back to the classroom?”
Lu Si replied, “Let’s finish this lap first.”
Li Buyan turned to Song Mufang: “When do you plan to head back, Song Mufang?”
Just as Song Mufang was about to say he’d go with Lu Si, the System’s alert sounded in his mind.
[Beep, the plot to insult the male lead Jing Zhao has been triggered]
Song Mufang: “?”
“Song Mufang!” Seeing that Song Mufang seemed to be in a daze and didn’t respond, Li Buyan raised his voice and called his name again.
Song Mufang snapped back to reality: “You guys go ahead. I want to walk a bit more.”
“Alright, then we’ll go first.” Both of them had things left to do, so they didn’t wait for Song Mufang.
“Okay,” Song Mufang replied, waving to Lu Si and Li Buyan.
The next moment, he called out to the System in his mind.
[1111, what’s going on? Why did you suddenly alert me about triggering a plot? And it’s a plot to insult the male lead?]
System 1111 appeared: [In a moment, you’ll have a scene where you insult the male lead over his score. This scene will later be briefly mentioned in the male lead’s memories.]
The System shared the information it had with Song Mufang.
[How do I insult him?] Song Mufang was still a bit confused.
1111’s voice was very excited: [From mocking Jing Zhao’s test score to insulting his character! Trample on his dignity!]
Hearing the System’s words, Song Mufang knew this task wouldn’t be simple. He negotiated with the System in his mind: [1111, can I not do it?]
[You can.]
Song Mufang’s eyes lit up.
The System’s voice turned serious: [You have a three-day time limit. If you don’t complete it within three days, you’ll be electrocuted. If you fail to complete it twice, you’ll exit the stage early as this malicious cannon fodder.]
Song Mufang’s eyes dimmed instantly.
Being cannon fodder is really tough.
[Go for it! Host, Eleven believes in you!]
Coincidentally, Jing Zhao was also on the track field. Song Mufang had noticed him sitting under a tree, basking in the sun during their walk.
Jing Zhao had deep-set eyes, a high nose bridge, a sharp jawline, and lips that were often tightly pressed, giving him a fierce and unapproachable appearance.
But now, sitting under the tree, the orange-yellow sunlight filtering through the deep green leaves softened his cold features considerably.
There was no denying that as the male lead of a novel, Jing Zhao’s looks were indeed impressive.
With fewer people around, it was the perfect time to complete the task. If he waited until there were more people, the difficulty would surely increase.
After mentally preparing himself, Song Mufang slowly made his way toward Jing Zhao.
The short distance of a few dozen meters felt like a march to his doom.
Finally reaching Jing Zhao, Song Mufang mustered his courage and spoke: “Hey.”
Jing Zhao looked up, seeing Song Mufang standing in the sunlight, backlit. He frowned slightly: “I have a name. I’m Jing Zhao.”
“Oh, oh, Jing Zhao, I heard you scored, hiccup.”
A hiccup interrupted him at the worst moment.
Song Mufang’s face turned beet red, but due to the task, he had to continue with the insult: “Twenty-five points, you’re really useless, hiccup.”
Another hiccup sounded.
Crisp, loud, and with a hint of braised pork flavor.
Song Mufang: “…”