First Military Academy, cafeteria.
In a corner of the cafeteria sat a tall young man with handsome features. However, completely contradicting his good looks was a rather sleazy smile plastered across his face. The people around him all wore expressions that showed they were well accustomed to this sight.
While eating, Lu Ziyu liked to browse the campus forum to read gossip and enjoy the drama, just to find some amusement. As soon as he opened the forum, he saw his buddy, Gao Haiyang, right on the front page.
He casually clicked on the post and burst out laughing when he saw a picture of Gao Haiyang squatting in the garden, tears streaming down his face as he ate a meat skewer.
He instantly saved the image and sent it to their captain with a caption attached: "Captain, your team member needs some love and care!"
Without waiting to see if Yan Yifei would reply, he got up with a gloating smirk and headed toward the location mentioned on the forum, ready to show some teammate concern for Gao Haiyang.
Lu Ziyu had just arrived at the location and was about to go over and give Gao Haiyang a friendly greeting when a spicy, pungent aroma hit his nose, causing him to sneeze violently.
He thought, "This is probably food from the culinary department next door again. The smell is truly overpowering. Just a whiff of it is unforgettable. It smells so good! I kind of want to eat it..."
The culinary department next door had grown even more skilled. He immediately put his guard up, vowing that he would not end up in the infirmary again!
Back when he was young and impulsive, he had climbed over the wall into the neighboring Food Street with a heart full of anticipation and excitement.
He remembered thinking back then, "Ah, the street is full of food aromas! Look at those colorful glutinous rice balls, giving off a sweet floral scent; they must be delicious! And those colorful Banlan pastries radiating a fruity aroma, and even those soy-sauce-red chicken wings exuding an enchanting smell."
The result was a pale, green face. He had barely been able to climb back over the wall into the academy before making a beeline for the infirmary.
Recalling his tragic history of being scammed and tricked, Lu Ziyu never dared to carelessly step foot across the threshold of the neighboring comprehensive university again.
Hearing a noise, Gao Haiyang looked up. Upon realizing it was Lu Ziyu, he ignored him and went right back to immersing himself in the delicious world of super spicy roasted meat.
Lu Ziyu squatted down beside him, his eyes wide as he quietly watched Gao Haiyang demolish a skewer in two or three bites, occasionally letting out gasps of "HSS... HAH... so spicy, so spicy."
He admired Gao Haiyang’s courage. Back in the day, he had been a brave warrior just like that! Unfortunately... he was no longer that naive, hot-blooded, and ignorant youth. He had grown up!
Smelling the aroma of the meat skewers, combined with Gao Haiyang’s somewhat messy eating appearance, Lu Ziyu felt his previously full stomach getting a bit hungry again.
He thought, "But who am I, Lu Ziyu? Would I be fooled by appearances? This might just be Gao Haiyang’s scheme! I merely broke his Mecha manufacturing materials by accident. He wouldn’t go as far as abandoning his image just to set a trap for me... right?"
Staring at the meat skewer in Gao Haiyang’s hand, Lu Ziyu’s mouth began to water. Two little people were currently arguing in his mind.
One said, "No! This is all the enemy’s scheme. Hold back! Turn around and leave immediately!"
The other little person retorted, "You don’t even have the courage to eat the culinary department’s food!? Are you that terrified just because you were scammed a few times? Compared to a weakling like Gao Haiyang, you’re pathetic!"
Would he, Lu Ziyu, be afraid? He inched closer.
"Brother Lan, give me a skewer to try, why don’t you? Let me see what kind of charm this food has to make our Brother Lan burst into tears. Your little bro is way too curious!"
Hearing Goofy Lu say this, Gao Haiyang’s grip on the mutton skewer tightened.
But he watched Lu Ziyu pretend that nothing was going on, looking left and right, yet completely avoiding eye contact with... the meat skewer in his hand.
Gao Haiyang thought, "Hmm... looking so guilty, he must be scared, right? Tsk, tsk. The last time his face turned green, he had just come back from next door. Did he really think I didn’t know?"
He sneered inwardly, "Heh, he’s actually this cowardly, and it’s already been two years. Since he finally mustered up the courage, am I, Gao Haiyang, such a stingy person?"
He reluctantly picked out the smallest skewer and handed it over. "Just one skewer! No more!"
If it weren’t for wanting to see Lu Ziyu’s tear-stained face begging for another skewer after he finished, he would never have given it to him! Being short even a single skewer was a massive loss! He wanted to save them to eat slowly. If he could just make it through today, he could climb the wall tomorrow and camp out at the Food Street next door.
Lu Ziyu looked at Gao Haiyang, who was acting unwilling and completely reluctant to part with his food. This acting skill was entirely on par with the acting department next door.
Gao Haiyang came from a manufacturing family that was one of the top five great families in the Federation. He was incredibly generous and had eaten every delicacy imaginable. Yet now, he was painstakingly selecting the absolute smallest skewer. This stinginess was a first! Lu Ziyu wondered if he was getting too into character.
He cautiously accepted the skewer Gao Haiyang handed him.
He carefully inspected the skewer. He thought, "It doesn’t look like there’s any major problem, right!? Actually, looking like there’s no problem is an even bigger problem! Wasn’t I fooled by appearances back then?"
Seeing the look of disdain in Gao Haiyang’s eyes, Lu Ziyu got angry. He decided to risk it all! He closed his eyes and shoved it into his mouth.
Gao Haiyang watched as Lu Ziyu chewed. His eyes reddened, he widened his eyes, and tears couldn’t help but fall.
Seeing this vivid expression, he nodded and smiled in satisfaction! Not bad, this was exactly the reaction he had been waiting for. Then, he ignored Goofy Lu and continued eating his mutton skewers.
Lu Ziyu finally experienced the feeling of his tears flowing uncontrollably, but he couldn’t bear to spit the food out. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, it grew more fragrant and spicier with every chew, and his tears dripped endlessly.
Lu Ziyu finished the meat skewer in two or three bites. He then squatted next to Gao Haiyang and nudged him with his shoulder. Seeing Gao Haiyang turn away to put some distance between them, he whispered:
"Dear Gao Haiyang, can you give me a few more meat skewers!? Otherwise, I’ll buy them from you. Don’t be so stingy! Worst case scenario, I’ll pay you Credit Points!" Lu Ziyu stared eagerly at... the meat skewers in Gao Haiyang’s hand.
Gao Haiyang rolled his eyes at Lu Ziyu. "I had to beg a classmate from the neighboring school to buy these for me! It’s not impossible for you to eat them. I’ll tell you the location, and tomorrow you can climb the wall and camp out at the Food Street next door! How about it?" After speaking, he even waved the mutton skewers in front of Lu Ziyu’s eyes.
Lu Ziyu nodded frantically. "No problem, absolutely no problem! Tomorrow, right after class, you’ll definitely be able to eat fresh meat skewers!"
When Yan Yifei and Ling Fei arrived at the garden, what they saw were two members of their own team squatting there, eating and wiping their tears while continuously hissing "HSS... HAH..."
They watched as Lu Ziyu, taking advantage of Gao Haiyang’s distraction, whipped out the hand speed of a Mecha Warrior to snatch Gao Haiyang’s temperature-controlled box. He grabbed a handful of meat skewers from inside and ran!
As he ran, he shouted, "Anyway, I’ll buy you fresh ones tomorrow, so I’ll help you get rid of these stale ones right now!"
Upon realizing what happened, Gao Haiyang charged forward, intending to fight Lu Ziyu to the death! However, Yan Yifei and Ling Fei each grabbed one of them to hold them back!
Ling Fei grabbed onto the relentlessly struggling Gao Haiyang with both hands. "What are you two doing?"
"Ling Fei, let go of me! I’m going to kill him today! I’m so mad, I’m so mad! Goofy Lu, give me back my meat! I’m going to explode!"
"Come on then, come and kill me! I love seeing you furious but unable to beat me. If you don’t come over soon, I’ll finish eating them all!" Even while provoking Gao Haiyang, Lu Ziyu didn’t forget to keep eating.
Yan Yifei couldn’t help but rub his forehead. These two pulled a stunt like this every few days. He had initially planned to ignore them, but seeing Gao Haiyang in such a state for the first time, he had come over out of concern for his teammate.
Now he somewhat regretted it. Was today’s scene a tragedy sparked by meat skewers? Yan Yifei shook his head, finding it rather amusing. These two were truly...
"What kind of play are you two putting on today? You’re regressing the older you get. In the past, you used to fight over materials, but now you’re fighting over a few meat skewers? Pathetic!" Yan Yifei kept his hands in his pockets, casting a sidelong glance at the two of them.
"Captain! Goofy Lu stole my lifeline! You have to stand up for me! BOO-HOO-HOO! These skewers are my motivation to keep living! BOO-HOO-HOO~" Gao Haiyang sat right down on the ground, wailing and screaming to the heavens, looking exactly like a shrew throwing a tantrum.
"Didn’t I say I’d buy them tomorrow? Just consider these the interest for me climbing the wall tomorrow!"
He continued shoving skewer after skewer into his mouth. Lu Ziyu was afraid that if the captain came over, snatched them away, and returned them to Gao Haiyang, he’d be left with nothing. His only option was to devour them first out of respect!
Yan Yifei kicked the two idiots into the Flying Car and drove off.