“Little Yu, what does Zhang Chen mean by this?” The girl walking with her had also seen this scene. As Su Yu’s close friends, they naturally stood on Su Yu’s side.
Just yesterday, Zhang Chen had been scrambling to eat with their Su Yu, and today he was suddenly indifferent. Not only that, but he was eating with another girl. Then the love he had professed before seemed a bit too cheap.
“Did you two have a fight?”
“You even had low blood sugar in the infirmary just now, and he didn’t even show a hint of concern.”
“And why did he have to end up with Bai Xiruo? Doesn’t he know that Bai Xiruo doesn’t get along with us?”
Su Yu actually didn’t know what Zhang Chen’s sudden change meant either. She wanted to ask.
But under her friends’ questioning, she could only say with a calm face, “It’s nothing. He and I have nothing to do with each other. He can eat with whoever he wants.”
After saying that, she turned and took the tray from Jiang Minghua’s hands.
Jiang Minghua seized the opportunity to ask, “Then Su Yu, where should we sit?”
“Let’s sit over there.” Su Yu pointed to a spot in front of Zhang Chen’s group, somewhere he absolutely couldn’t miss.
She refused to believe that Zhang Chen would let it slide after seeing Jiang Minghua take her to the infirmary. There was no way he could still pretend not to see her eating with Jiang Minghua!
But hearing this, Jiang Minghua froze for a moment, and a hint of retreat sprouted in his heart…
This practically counted as a direct provocation.
Zhang Chen wouldn’t do anything to Su Yu, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do anything to him!
He didn’t believe for a second that what Zhang Chen said at the infirmary doorway earlier was serious. After all, this guy had gone back on his word more than once or twice…
He had even stood before the entire school to make self-criticisms and admit his mistakes, saying he would turn over a new leaf!
Did he change? Wasn’t he still the same?
But after all, this was a golden opportunity given to him by Su Yu. Even at the risk of getting beaten up by Zhang Chen, he didn’t want to give it up!
So the group carried their trays and walked toward Zhang Chen.
Duan Chenxu, who was shoveling rice into his mouth, was facing the cafeteria window. When Su Yu’s group walked in this direction, he was the first to spot them.
He immediately poked Li Junhao sitting next to him.
After Li Junhao looked up and saw Su Yu approaching, he immediately kicked Zhang Chen under the table.
Zhang Chen, gnawing on a chicken drumstick he had swiped from Bai Xiruo’s tray, was confused. “What?”
Li Junhao leaned his head toward Zhang Chen, covering his mouth with his hand, and whispered, “Sister-in-law.”
“Huh?” Zhang Chen frowned and glanced at Bai Xiruo beside him.
Bai Xiruo was eating in small bites, quiet and refined. Her table manners were particularly nice to watch.
The one remaining chicken drumstick on her tray hadn’t been touched at all.
This thing was too precious to her. She couldn’t bring herself to eat it.
Living under her uncle’s roof, even drinking chicken soup was a luxury, let alone a chicken drumstick as thick as her arm…
And Zhang Chen taking one from her tray was simply to lighten her burden.
So that the psychological pressure on her wouldn’t be so heavy.
Besides, she couldn’t finish two drumsticks anyway.
Seeing that Bai Xiruo didn’t react, probably because she hadn’t noticed what they were saying, Zhang Chen frowned again and asked, “Sister-in-law what sister-in-law?”
Duan Chenxu, sitting diagonally across, spelled it out directly: “Su Yu.”
Upon hearing that, Zhang Chen immediately understood and turned to look behind him.
He happened to catch sight of Su Yu’s group walking toward them with their trays.
When Su Yu saw Zhang Chen look over, her gaze swept right past him, and she looked ahead with a calm face.
She thought to herself: since you won’t eat with me, then I’ll eat with another boy.
Jiang Minghua’s reaction was the exact opposite. He was already imagining the scenario of being dragged into the alley by the school gate by Zhang Chen and his group to get slapped…
He wanted to hide behind the girls, but because of his height, he couldn’t. In the end, he could only meet Zhang Chen’s gaze with trepidation…
But Zhang Chen just glanced at the group, then turned his head back, and gave Li Junhao across from him a kick for good measure:
“Sister-in-law what sister-in-law, I don’t know her! Don’t say that kind of thing anymore!”
“Ow, huh?” Li Junhao was kicked and grimaced in pain.
“Not anymore, huh?” Duan Chenxu raised an eyebrow, smelling gossip.
“You talk too much too, huh?”
Hearing that, Duan Chenxu sensibly shut his mouth and quickly slid his tray further into the corner, preemptively dodging Zhang Chen’s under-the-table kick.
“Hey…” Zhang Chen widened his eyes.
Duan Chenxu winked and made a gesture pinching his thumb and index finger together, putting on a mocking expression as if trying to hold back laughter…
“Alright, alright, alright…” Zhang Chen looked at Li Junhao. “Brother Hao, get him!”
Li Junhao’s word was law: “Ah-da~”
Duan Chenxu took a liver punch from Li Junhao!
“Hiss! He tells you to get me and you just do it!?”
Li Junhao blew on his fist and looked at Duan Chenxu with deep affection. “Fatty, the main thing is I wanted to get you too.”
“You bastard!”
As they passed by Zhang Chen’s group, Su Yu also cast a sidelong glance at Bai Xiruo eating.
But Bai Xiruo just kept her head down, focused on eating. She turned a deaf ear to what Zhang Chen’s group was saying, and so she didn’t see Su Yu.
But Su Yu didn’t think so. She believed Bai Xiruo must have seen her but just didn’t dare meet her gaze.
Their group passed Zhang Chen’s seat and sat at a spot two tables away.
Only then did Bai Xiruo look up and notice Su Yu in front of her, and her heart immediately grew uneasy again.
Li Junhao, who was beside them, stared at Jiang Minghua for a long time before turning to Zhang Chen and saying, “Brother Chen, should we deal with him!”
“Deal with who?” Zhang Chen looked confused. He had just noticed that Bai Xiruo still hadn’t eaten her drumstick, and didn’t forget to urge her to hurry up and eat.
“Jiang Minghua! Isn’t he challenging your authority?” Li Junhao pointed backward with his thumb and said indignantly.
“Deal with your head!” Zhang Chen snapped irritably.
“I already told you she has nothing to do with me from now on. Your job is just to keep an eye on Bai Xiruo!”
“Ah…”
“Ooh, oh… a n-new sister-in-law?” Li Junhao’s rusted brain seemed to turn a corner, and he had a somewhat uncertain realization.
Bai Xiruo immediately froze in alarm, and the sides of her ears instantly turned red.
Zhang Chen was speechless. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, saying, “Sister-in-law your head!”
…
Evening self-study ended.
Zhang Chen packed his school bag and walked out of the school gate, thinking that he could finally see Nan Xingwan again.
He then took out his phone and called Nan Xingwan, asking where she was.
At this time, Nan Xingwan had just packed her school bag. Her desk-mate and good friend Liang Jingna invited her, “Xingxing, wait for me, let’s walk together.”
Nan Xingwan shook her head. “I have something to do today. Next time.”
After saying that, she received a pouting, teary emoji from Liang Jingna.
Lu Yicheng, who saw Nan Xingwan walk out of the classroom alone, seized the opportunity to quickly grab his school bag and follow her.
“Nan Xingwan, let’s walk together. There was a problem from class today I wanted to ask you about. Can you see if my alternative approach is correct?”
Nan Xingwan was in a difficult position. She was the class monitor. In the past, this would have been no problem, but today, she was in a hurry to tutor Zhang Chen.
So she could only apologetically decline. “Not today. I have something to do today.”
“Ah… I see…” Lu Yicheng held his book, feeling a bit awkward. He had always communicated with Nan Xingwan this way before, and he had rarely been turned down.
“It’s fine, I’ll walk and talk with you. It won’t delay you.”
“Mm…” Nan Xingwan frowned, still feeling torn.
But for the sake of being classmates, her naturally kind-hearted self could only nod very reluctantly. “Alright…”
The two walked on the road after school.
Lu Yicheng noticed that today Nan Xingwan was walking in the direction of the bus station, not her usual direction home.
“Are you not going home today?” He talked through the problem-solving approach, and while Nan Xingwan was thinking, he asked aloud.
“Mm…” Nan Xingwan did not reveal much, only repeating, “I have something to do.”
“Oh… don’t tell me you’re going to No. 1 Middle School again?”
Quite a few people in the class knew about Nan Xingwan occasionally taking leave to go to No. 1 Middle School and act as a parent or guardian for a boy.
After all, Nan Xingwan had been in middle school with Zhang Chen in the same class. Even though Nan Xingwan was now in the honors class at No. 7 Middle School, there were still classmates from the original middle school in her class, just like Zhang Chen and Jiang Minghua.
So the news naturally spread through a series of channels.
It was not strange that Lu Yicheng knew.
Nan Xingwan pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Seeing this, Lu Yicheng guessed that he had probably hit the mark, so he continued:
“I heard his grades seem pretty bad? How did he and you end up in the same class at middle school?”
“His middle school grades were pretty good.” Thinking of the old Zhang Chen, Nan Xingwan’s eyes brightened. “I just don’t know why he turned into a different person once he got to high school…”
“If his middle school grades were so good, shouldn’t he have gone to No. 7 Middle School like you?” Lu Yicheng raised an eyebrow, not really believing what Nan Xingwan said.
At that, Nan Xingwan’s eyes dimmed again…
Just then, her phone rang at the right time.
Incoming call: Zhang Chen.
“I have to go first. Let’s talk tomorrow.”
Nan Xingwan returned the book to Lu Yicheng, then answered the phone and hurried off.
Faintly, Lu Yicheng could hear a male voice coming from the other end of the call.
Standing there and watching Nan Xingwan’s back, he saw her speaking gently into the phone: “I’m almost at the bus station. Okay, mm, see you in a bit.”
He couldn’t help frowning…
A girl like Nan Xingwan, why did a guy who couldn’t even get into No. 7 Middle School deserve so much of her concern?!