The baked rice and baked noodles at Canteen No. 4 had been ranked by the System’s statistics as the No.10 most beloved meal among students of The Federation University.
That was about the only useful thing it could do.
Mu Jing ordered a seafood baked rice. After sitting down, she took a bite and confirmed that the System’s statistics were not wrong. It was indeed delicious, and the portion size was generous.
Xu Ge ordered the same baked rice. He poked at the cheese on top with his chopsticks, wearing the hesitant expression of someone trying it for the first time.
Mu Jing ate while watching him and suddenly became curious. “By the way, weren’t you a big shot in your previous life? You’ve never even eaten baked rice?”
“No.”
“Then what did you eat in your previous life?”
“That depends on the occasion. If it was a crowded social event, I drank alcohol. If it was a smaller one, I ate steak. But I hate meat with blood in it.”
Xu Ge finally stuffed a bite into his mouth. “When I didn’t have money, I ate things like fried dough sticks and steamed buns.”
Mu Jing rested her chin in her hand and looked at him. “That’s miserable.”
“Your mouth is also quite… sharp-tongued.”
“I learned it from you.” Mu Jing rolled her eyes at him without caring about her image at all. “Is it good?”
“It’s okay.”
That meant it was actually pretty good. Mu Jing felt happy that something she liked had received such a positive evaluation from Xu Ge.
After eating half of it, she leaned back against the chair. “I never asked before. You should be a student in the Elemental Type program now, right? Which class?”
“Class 3.” Xu Ge pulled her remaining half of baked rice toward himself and said briefly, “Wasteful.”
“…If they sold half portions, I would definitely buy half.” Mu Jing looked down, aimed at the leg across the table, and kicked out.
Xu Ge dodged quickly. He didn’t even look down, yet he still avoided Mu Jing’s frustrated kick.
She couldn’t beat him in a fight, and she couldn’t win in words either. Mu Jing felt that transmigrating into this book had truly wasted a spot.
Xu Ge looked confused. Even though he was used to keeping a blank expression, he looked particularly bewildered now.
“Why do you always want to hit me? I’ve clearly saved you so many times.”
“Hitting you doesn’t need a reason, just like how you insulting me doesn’t need a reason.”
“…I’ve never insulted you.”
“You’re doing it right now.”
Xu Ge fell silent. After stuffing the last bite of rice into his mouth, he finally found a reason to defend himself.
“I was just reasoning with you.”
“Never try to reason with a woman.” Mu Jing had finally won one round in her exchanges with Xu Ge. At this moment, it was a celebration of victory.
The System cooperatively set off a fireworks sound effect.
At the same time, the brother value dropped from –10 to –15.
Did Mu Jing care?
Mu Jing no longer cared at all.
Who cared about the brother value? Even if it dropped to –100, she wouldn’t mind anymore.
Xu Ge’s gloominess lasted until the end of Frenzy Operation. In the middle of the event, he deliberately walked into someone else’s gunfire, letting the device on his arm turn red.
When he said he was lying flat, he meant it seriously.
After returning to the dormitory, his roommates—who had played to their hearts’ content—began discussing what rank they had achieved and how many people they had eliminated.
Xu Ge, silent and gloomy, also reported his rank. The former first place had now fallen to 333rd place.
His result naturally attracted mockery and sighs from the other three in the dormitory. In certain situations, people often unconsciously develop resistance toward those who are good-looking.
Xu Ge was only handsome and good at studying. That might be useful among ordinary people, but they were Ability Users. Among Ability Users, strength was what mattered.
“It’s okay, Xu Ge. Everyone has things they’re not good at.”
One person patted Xu Ge on the shoulder, forcing a comforting expression onto his face. But with a single glance, Xu Ge could tell the guy was about to burst out laughing.
“Your college entrance exam score was pretty good, right? Even though your ability was barely E-Rank when you got in. Unlike me—if it weren’t for my D-level ability, with my barely passing score I would’ve been at the bottom even if I got in.”
The other two burst into laughter again.
The one who had squeezed into the top ten tossed the badge he had received into the air proudly.
“If those two who teamed up hadn’t ambushed me at the end, I definitely would’ve made it into the top five.”
“Yeah, Sun Ge. Your ability is already C-level. If it’s pure strength, you’re definitely stronger.”
In every dormitory, there was always one person who became the outsider. After the initial introductions, everyone would silently decide who seemed the easiest to bully.
Xu Ge was quiet, his ability was only E-Rank, and he had no family background. Naturally, he became the easiest target for teasing.
On top of that, on the first day of school he had left the three of them behind to find Mu Jing. After that, Mu Jing became his girlfriend. To outsiders, it might not mean much.
But to the three roommates, Xu Ge had only managed to latch onto the Mu Family’s young lady because he had played the hero that day.
Of course they regretted not doing it themselves. But since they couldn’t say it openly, the resentment accumulated and fermented, eventually forming a conflict.
Xu Ge didn’t care about their thoughts at all.
In his eyes, these people were just immature kids who hadn’t even grown their feathers yet. Their little schemes and sarcastic remarks were like things exposed under sunlight—nowhere to hide.
Actually, Mu Jing was also just a kid in his eyes.
Just a slightly more adorable kid than the others.
After his rebirth, only Mu Jing had changed.
His ability had awakened when he was unconscious in the Hospital, and all his memories had surged back.
It was like a zipper being pulled together. His eighteen years of past memories had completely fused together without any difference.
But from a certain day after the broken engagement, the memories no longer aligned.
He remembered waking up on the floor of his home, his body weak and powerless. In the silent room, he had sat there for a long time without thinking about anything.
But this time he had woken up in the Hospital.
He knew very clearly that something was wrong with Mu Jing.
At first he thought she had also been reborn. But with that Young Lady’s temper, even if she had been reborn, she would never have treated him with such concern.
So Xu Ge was very curious about who she actually was.
He was quite bored anyway, so he didn’t mind spending some time observing and examining her.
And the result of his observation…
Xu Ge had realized something.
Although he had never been in a relationship before, Mu Jing definitely liked him.
In his previous life, he had always been popular. Wherever he went, women would appear, looking deeply in love with him.
But Xu Ge didn’t want to fall in love.
Even Mu Jing…
He subconsciously rubbed his forehead and quickly dismissed the figure that had appeared in his mind.
That’s right.
Even Mu Jing wouldn’t work.
Xu Ge sent a message.
Xu Ge: Reminder!
Xu Ge: Don’t fall in love with me, because I don’t want to date.
A few seconds later, Mu Jing replied.
Mu Jing: Did someone hack your account?
Xu Ge: No. Just kindly reminding you.
Mu Jing: …Don’t worry. I don’t like you.
Xu Ge frowned as he stared at Mu Jing’s latest message. Although he had received the answer he wanted, why did he not feel relieved?
Mu Jing was also frowning at this strange conversation.
What kind of nerve had Xu Ge suddenly lost to say something like that?
Her goal had always been the brother value, okay?
“After Xu Ge was reborn, why is his train of thought so strange? Are you sure he didn’t suffer some mental damage from being reborn?”
【Impossible, Sister. Even if he was reborn, he’s still the world’s favored son. There’s no way he would be harmed.】