Chapter 7
There are many cafeterias at school. After searching for a long time, I finally found Lu Yici at the Willow Garden Restaurant.
This cafeteria serves mostly basic dishes-the taste is pretty average, but the prices are cheap, so it’s usually very crowded.
In the dining area on the first floor, he was sitting with a few boys, eating, chatting, and laughing together, making for a lively scene.
I walked over with my tray.
“Hey, Sister Yan is here, come and sit!”
Xie Yang was the first to notice me, and the boys beside him greeted me too.
“Why are you suddenly eating over here?”
“Ah, it’s all because Brother Ci said he was tired of the food over there and wanted to come here for a change.”
Xie Yang made room for me, right across from Lu Yici.
The person opposite me slowly looked up and glanced at me, neither warmly nor coldly. “Is that so? I wonder who it was that really wanted a change.”
Xie Yang touched his nose awkwardly and smiled.
Lu Yici put down his chopsticks, laced his fingers over his stomach, and leaned lazily back on the bench. “Miss Yan, you’ve honored me by coming all this way to find me-what’s the matter?”
“Something important.”
Just as I was about to speak, there was a commotion at the serving window on the first floor. From afar, it looked like a boy had knocked a girl to the ground, hot soup spilled everywhere, and the boy stood up cursing while rubbing his knee.
The surrounding students crowded over, blocking most of the scene.
“That girl looks a bit familiar,” Xie Yang craned his neck to look. “Brother Ci, I think she’s from our class.”
He turned and asked Lu Yici, “Want to go take a look?”
Lu Yici answered indifferently, “I’m not as free as you, always sticking your nose into everything.”
One of the boys teased, “If Brother Yang wants to go, let him. This is the perfect chance for our Brother Yang to play the hero and save the beauty.”
A burst of laughter.
Xie Yang laughed as well and kicked that boy.
Then he got up, grabbed a milk pouch and bit it, strolling unhurriedly in that direction.
A cafeteria worker came out to maintain order, and the brief commotion quickly subsided.
I lowered my head and ate my food one bite at a time, thinking about how to best organize my words.
Lu Yici wasn’t in a hurry either, playing absently with his phone, just sitting there waiting for me.
When only Lu Yici and I were left at the table, I began to speak, my tone even: “This morning I saw a girl from our class being bullied by students from another class.”
“I just happened to be passing by, so I pulled her away. Then that group threatened to beat me up, and said they’d make trouble for me during the math test this afternoon.”
“Oh?” Lu Yici raised his eyebrows with interest, the corners of his mouth lifting in a gloating smile. “Didn’t expect the mighty Miss Yan to run into something she can’t handle. Tsk, turns out you’re not all that.”
I went along with it, “Mm, so I immediately gave them your impressive name.”
“But after they heard it, they burst out laughing and said Lu Yici was nothing, that even he would have to avoid them if he saw them.”
Before he could respond, I continued, “The great Lu Yici, afraid of them? I said you’d be waiting for them at one o’clock today, under the sixth peach tree north of the grove, if they had the guts to show up.”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “And then?”
“Then they said fine, whoever doesn’t show up is a dog.” I calmly pulled a napkin over and wiped my mouth.
“…”
The air went silent for two seconds.
“Seriously, Yan Qingyue, what were you thinking?” Lu Yici looked completely incredulous.
“Didn’t you realize they were just mouthing off? Usually you seem pretty smart-was your brain full of mush then? Hmm?”
I replied naturally, “No, it was full of shit.”
“I issued the challenge on my own. You don’t have to go.”
Picking up my tray and taking half a step away, I turned back to add, “Don’t take what they said to heart either.”
“…”
Ignoring his face, black as the bottom of a pot, I curled my lips in a smile and turned to leave.