By midday, Su Mengke walked into the cafeteria like a walking corpse, avoiding others and quietly getting a bowl of plain rice with a scoop of free soup. She sat down in a corner. Though the food was bland and tasteless, she was already used to it. For her, filling her stomach was already a luxury.
As she watched Su Yao walk past with a tray of rich meat dishes, Su Mengke instinctively swallowed.
“What are you looking at?” Su Yao snapped with a cold glance, scaring Su Mengke into lowering her head.
Seeing her reaction, Su Yao glanced at the plain white rice in front of her and sneered mockingly. The other girls around her also began laughing at her.
Even though she had experienced this many times, Su Mengke still felt hurt.
“What, you think that’s funny?” Qin Xiao walked over and sat across from Su Mengke, placing his tray on the table. He looked at Su Yao and the others and said, “Why are you standing here instead of eating? Did you lose your brains?”
The group’s faces stiffened. Su Yao forced a laugh and said, “Brother Qin, you’re joking, right? We were just angry that she tried to steal from you, so we thought we’d teach her a lesson!”
Qin Xiao chuckled, “You really think I don’t know anything? I just couldn’t be bothered to deal with you yet. Now get lost.”
Su Yao and the others froze for a second, exchanging a panicked look. Did Qin Xiao actually know they were the ones who broke his pen?
They quickly left without daring to say more.
Once they were gone, Su Mengke quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She was grateful to Qin Xiao but said nothing and continued eating her rice in silence.
But when her eyes caught a glimpse of the delicate meat dishes on Qin Xiao’s tray, she couldn’t help but swallow again. She quickly looked away, not daring to stare.
Qin Xiao chuckled, “No wonder you look so malnourished—you eat like this every day!”
He picked up some meat from his tray and placed it on hers.
Su Mengke froze, staring blankly at him.
Qin Xiao looked at her and said, “What are you staring at? Take it.”
“B-but…”
She didn’t know what to say, stumbling over her words.
Qin Xiao raised an eyebrow, “What, you’re too good for it?”
Su Mengke quickly shook her head. How could she dare reject it? She just wasn’t used to this kind of treatment.
Seeing Qin Xiao’s expression darken, she hurriedly lowered her head and started eating.
At first, she didn’t plan to touch the meat he gave her. But the aroma was too tempting. She took a bite, and then couldn’t stop. She ate carefully, chewing every piece like she hadn’t eaten in days—even gnawing the bones clean.
Qin Xiao smiled as he watched her.
When she almost choked, he opened his drink and handed it to her.
Su Mengke instinctively took it and took a sip before realizing it was from Qin Xiao. She froze on the spot.
Qin Xiao said, “Why are you staring at me? Keep eating. You look pretty cute when you eat.”
His words made her blush deeply. She quickly lowered her head, pretending she hadn’t heard.
“I… I’m full now,” she whispered.
Qin Xiao laughed, “I’d believe you if you weren’t still swallowing your saliva.”
Her face turned even redder.
Qin Xiao didn’t say anything else. He picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and held it to her mouth. “Stop talking nonsense and open up.”
Su Mengke wanted to protest, but seeing the firm look in his eyes, she had no choice but to open her mouth and accept the food.
After a while, she said softly, “President, I can eat by myself. You don’t need to feed me.”
By now, several students were already looking over, and Su Mengke felt utterly embarrassed.
Every time someone looked at her, her heart would race. She was terrified of attention.
Qin Xiao knew that about her and didn’t push further.
For other female leads, he might’ve needed to strategize or use force. But for someone like Su Mengke—a sweet, simple girl—all it took was a little kindness, and she’d become loyal and obedient.
No threats, no pressure. She’d think only of you, even if she was being mistreated. Qin Xiao remembered feeling sorry for her when he read the novel, which was why he didn’t treat her like he did Xia Shiya.
Qin Xiao spoke gently, “Mengke, don’t be afraid. As long as you stay with me, no one will dare hurt you again. Just stay close to me.”
Su Mengke felt something stir in her chest. She nodded, “Mm. Okay, President. I’ll listen to you until I pay off the debt.”
Qin Xiao shook his head and said, “You’re overthinking it. It’s just a pen. Besides, you didn’t even break it.”
Su Mengke looked up, shocked. “President, you believe me?”
Qin Xiao nodded, “Of course. I only helped you because I saw you being bullied. Keeping you close means no one will dare lay a hand on you.”
Hearing that, Su Mengke was overwhelmed with emotion. She felt like crying. She never imagined that Qin Xiao not only believed her, but had signed that employment contract publicly just to protect her.
For the first time, she felt what it was like to be trusted and protected.
[Ding! Su Mengke’s affection +20. Current affection: 47.]
Qin Xiao chuckled inwardly at the system prompt. He reached out to wipe the tears at the corner of her eyes and comforted her, “Don’t worry. Everyone in class now knows you’re mine. If anyone tries to mess with you again, just say my name. No one will dare bully you.”
“Mm!” Su Mengke nodded.
Even though Qin Xiao knew she was innocent, she had no objection to the contract she signed. Because he had said it was to protect her.
She didn’t question it. After all, why else would Qin Xiao do this for her?
It wasn’t like she had anything worth scheming for.
Qin Xiao saw her agree so easily and felt even more pleased. This silly girl actually believed him completely. He felt a little guilty. Just earlier, he had even been wondering if her small mouth would struggle later on.
“Come on, Mengke, eat some more.” Qin Xiao pushed the rest of his tray toward her.
Su Mengke blinked. “President, aren’t you eating?”
Qin Xiao smiled, “Me? I’ll grab something else later. You don’t need to worry.”
“Oh… okay!” Su Mengke nodded and didn’t say anything more. She really thought Qin Xiao had something better to eat.
Watching her naïve expression, Qin Xiao’s smile brightened even more.
Su Mengke blushed again and quickly lowered her head, pretending not to notice, quietly eating her food.