Zhou Chuanting rolled his eyes. “Are you stupid? Look at who’s standing next to Brother Che.”
Hearing this, Jiang Li immediately craned his neck and said seriously, “It’s a girl.”
Zhou Chuanting: “…”
He couldn’t take it anymore and smacked Jiang Li on the head, saying with frustration, “It’s our sister-in-law!”
Jiang Li was stunned for a moment, then quickly caught on.
The explosive gossip took over his brain, so much so that he didn’t even notice Zhou Chuanting had just smacked his head.
“We finally found her!” Jiang Li said excitedly.
The girl Pei Xingche had a secret crush on—their long-lost sister-in-law!
Jiang Li shot up from his seat, eyes gleaming as he stared at Yun Xiang’s back, clicking his tongue in admiration. “As expected of our Brother Che—he’s got good taste. Just from the back, you can tell she’s a real beauty.”
Yun Xiang’s back suddenly stiffened.
Why did it feel like the gazes fixed on her were growing more and more intense?
“What do you want to eat?”
Pei Xingche’s voice pulled her back to her thoughts. The boy stood beside her, eyes lowered, the corners of his eyes slightly upturned.
Yun Xiang pointed at the two-yuan greens and the three-yuan tofu, then added in a small voice, “One liang of rice.”
Pei Xingche: “…”
He looked at the girl’s slender, fair fingers and her delicate, fragile frame, his brow furrowing slightly.
[She eats even less than my cat.]
[Eating only this much will definitely cause malnutrition. How do I get her to eat more?]
[Do I need to feed her with my own hands before she’ll eat more?]
[Mm, using my hands is still too distant. I’ll just feed her with my mouth directly! (Can’t wait) (slurp slurp)]
Yun Xiang: “!”
The girl’s fingertips trembled as she pointed at the kung pao chicken in front of her, her soft trailing voice carrying a slight quiver: “Add one more…”
As if she were being threatened by something.
“Mm.”
[That’s more like it.]
The boy lifted his eyelids, his long, slender eyes tilting upward at the corners. He unhurriedly pulled his meal card from his pants pocket and stepped forward to swipe it.
Yun Xiang stood one step behind him on his right, her gaze involuntarily drawn to and captured by him.
His bent arm, his broad shoulders, and those long legs standing casually—even wearing the same black-and-white school uniform as the other boys, there was an indescribable aura about him.
Yun Xiang’s eyelashes trembled slightly. She suddenly understood why Pei Xingche was their school’s heartthrob.
“Beep—”
“Insufficient balance. Please recharge.”
The clear mechanical voice sounded without warning.
Pei Xingche’s hand froze.
Damn.
He forgot.
His meal card had been taken by Jiang Li and the others to swipe before, and they’d also helped him buy his meals, so naturally he didn’t know how much balance was left on the card.
[It’s over, it’s over—why does it fail at the critical moment! This damn card! I clearly have money! (embarrassed and angry)]
[Wuwuwu, my cool act failed. I finally had a chance to show off in front of my wife—waaaah! My image in Little Snail’s heart has already plummeted into the Mariana Trench, wuwuwuwuwu.]
[I’m broken! I’m broken on the spot!]
[Let everything be destroyed. I don’t want to live anymore. This must be heaven’s punishment for handsome men.]
Yun Xiang found it amusing.
She glanced at the balance on the card—0.66 yuan.
Mm. Hahaha.
If it were her, she might have been extremely embarrassed and mortified, but standing next to Pei Xingche, watching him make a fool of himself while cursing internally, was just hilarious.
“Xiangxiang, haven’t you gotten your meal yet?”
A gentle voice suddenly sounded. Shen Zhe appeared out of nowhere.
The moment Yun Xiang saw him, the corners of her lips that had been secretly curling up dropped.
[What the hell, why is this dumbass here again?]
Pei Xingche turned sideways, long fingers gripping his meal card, gaze lowered. When it swept over Shen Zhe, there was a sharp edge to it.
Shen Zhe met his gaze, a half-smile on his face, dark mockery in his eyes: “Insufficient balance, huh? I’ll swipe for you both.”
With that, without waiting for either of them to respond, he pulled out his own meal card and pressed it against the machine.
“Swipe successful.”
The cafeteria auntie rolled her eyes, feeling like the scene before her had appeared in some morning soap opera she’d once watched. It took her a while before she remembered to push the tray forward, placing it in “female lead” Yun Xiang’s hands.
Yun Xiang looked down at the food in her hands, then glanced sideways at Pei Xingche. She curled her fingers, not knowing what to do.
She held her breath, trying hard to listen to Pei Xingche’s inner voice.
But she found that, at moments like this, she couldn’t hear anything at all.
“Big heartthrob Pei, how about I buy a meal for you too?”
Shen Zhe dangled the card between his fingers, squinting at Pei Xingche with a smile that was clearly ill-intentioned. “There’s over a thousand on here. Order whatever you want.”
“Heh.”
Pei Xingche let out a cold laugh, his features sharp and handsome, looking completely unbothered by Shen Zhe’s provocation.
He put his meal card back into his pocket.
[OK, hands in pockets, I own the world. Gotta have presence, gotta look cool!]
The boy’s thin lips parted, about to say something, when an arm draped over his left shoulder.
“What meal needs our Brother Che to get it himself?”
A sloppy, carefree tone with a familiar voice. Pei Xingche glanced sideways—sure enough, it was Zhou Chuanting and Jiang Li.
He shifted his left shoulder and unceremoniously shook Zhou Chuanting’s arm off.
【You two might have some sense, but don’t think you can touch me. I only let my wife touch me.】
Zhou Chuanting withdrew his hand, pretending it was only natural. He knew his brother’s ridiculously finicky habit all too well, and silently grumbled to himself: Serves you right for pining after her for years.
Jiang Li didn’t notice the little exchange between the two. He chimed in from the side, “We already got Brother Che’s meal for him. Yeah, using the allowance Brother Che gave me last week—it was a few thousand bucks.”
Pei Xingche: “…”
【Alright, so they might have some sense, but they don’t seem to have much brains.】
【Kid, seriously, I’m not your dad. Why would I give you allowance?】
Hearing the boy’s lighthearted inner voice, Yun Xiang quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
They had been standing at this window for a while now, and gazes from all directions were converging on them, everyone waiting to catch some gossip and watch the drama unfold.
Yun Xiang lowered her eyes, wanting to leave. In a calm tone, she said to Shen Zhe, “I’ll pay you back for the meal tomorrow.”
“No need to pay me back,” Shen Zhe said with a smile tugging at his lips. “Xiangxiang, how about having lunch with me today after all?”
“No.” Yun Xiang refused outright.
But Shen Zhe wouldn’t let it go. “Why not? Weren’t things fine between us before?”
【Fine my ass!】
【Stop haunting my wife like a clingy ghost! (angry dog noises)】
“Because she already agreed to have lunch with me.”
Pei Xingche stepped over to Yun Xiang’s side and took the tray from her hands. His cool, clear voice sounded inexplicably gentle: “Let’s go.”
The sudden disappearance of the weight in her hands made Yun Xiang pause for a moment. Once she snapped back to reality, she immediately lowered her head and followed Pei Xingche’s pace.
Zhou Chuanting and Jiang Li exchanged a glance, then with perfect coordination, “accidentally” bumped into Shen Zhe’s shoulder before leaving.
They weren’t stupid.
They knew this bespectacled kid in front of them was definitely their Brother Che’s love rival!
When the two of them returned to the dining area, they saw Pei Xingche and Yun Xiang sitting right next to each other.
They exchanged another glance—this was looking promising!