Rice

Stepping out of the internet café, only half an hour had passed, but An Shiyu beside him hadn’t played anything at all, her expression even seeming a bit disinterested.

"Old man, buy me some milk tea," the girl beside him suddenly said, pointing at a milk tea shop not far away.

"Sure." Ye Shuang led her to the shop and glanced at the menu, noticing the prices were all over 20 yuan now.

He suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia. "Back when I was in school, a cup of milk tea only cost 2 yuan, and you could add tons of coconut jelly."

An Shiyu gave him a deadpan look. "What kind of fossilized talk is that?"

"You’re such a buzzkill."

"What’s so great about reminiscing about the past anyway?"

"Well," Ye Shuang thought for a moment but couldn’t quite find an answer. "Maybe it’s just regret."

"Regret?"

"Yeah, regret… It’s because nothing is ever perfect that we end up longing for the past, always thinking, ‘If only I had done this back then, things would’ve been better.’" Ye Shuang ordered two cups of milk tea, waited a bit, and took them from the cashier.

An Shiyu looked at him but didn’t say anything.

After handing one cup to the girl, Ye Shuang said, "Let’s head back to school."

"No." An Shiyu took a sip of her milk tea and found it surprisingly good. "This tastes nice."

"Why not?"

"You’re kind of interesting, old man. I want to stick around a bit longer," An Shiyu said.

Ye Shuang: "…"

He had a feeling he was being saddled with trouble.

"Why are you pretending to be a teacher?" An Shiyu suddenly asked.

Ye Shuang didn’t want to reveal the reason—if this girl found out, it might cause trouble for Bai Yuyou.

"Let’s just say I’m not doing anything bad."

"Oh."

An Shiyu stretched lazily. "Alright, let’s go back."

"Didn’t you just say you wanted to stay longer?"

"Changed my mind. Don’t you know girls are fickle, old man?" An Shiyu turned her head and smiled slightly.

That was a quick shift.

Ye Shuang couldn’t quite grasp this girl’s temperament, but if she wanted to go back to school, he had no objections.

After driving back to the academy, they climbed over the wall at the same spot as before.

Once she landed, An Shiyu waved goodbye. "See you later, pervy old man."

Ye Shuang: "…"

Let’s never meet again.

Watching An Shiyu leave, Ye Shuang checked the time on his phone and realized all this back-and-forth had taken up most of the morning—it was almost lunchtime.

"Better go check on Bai Yuyou first."

……

……

The bell for the last morning class rang.

In Class A, Bai Yuyou sat at her desk, her gaze drifting toward the window. She had originally planned to kill time on the rooftop as usual, but then she remembered the meal card Ye Shuang had given her.

Right—she didn’t have to go hungry anymore.

But she wanted to eat with Ye Shuang, to hear his voice.

Lost in thought, Bai Yuyou suddenly felt her stomach growl. She placed a hand over it, then stood up and headed toward the cafeteria.

Luo Che, noticing Bai Yuyou getting up, quickly followed.

Yinshan Academy had four cafeterias to accommodate its tens of thousands of students—one alone couldn’t handle the demand. Even so, by lunchtime, every cafeteria was packed with long lines, and the best dishes would sell out if you were even slightly late.

The moment Bai Yuyou stepped into the cafeteria, she drew countless gazes. Her waist-length black hair and strikingly beautiful face left many students stunned.

"Since when did our academy have someone this pretty?"

Unaware of her own charm, Bai Yuyou simply scanned the menu boards above each counter. She had been here before but was denied food because she didn’t have a meal card—back then, the other students had looked at her strangely.

She joined a line and soon reached the front.

"What would you like, miss?" the cafeteria lady asked.

Bai Yuyou pointed at a few dishes, and soon her tray was filled.

"21 yuan," the lady said, tapping the amount into the payment machine. Bai Yuyou swiped her card—a beep sounded, and the remaining balance flashed on the screen.

1979.

"Her card has two thousand?!" Some students who had been watching were shocked.

Most people only loaded their cards with a hundred or two at a time—having a balance in the thousands was practically unheard of.

"Something wrong?" the cafeteria lady asked when Bai Yuyou didn’t move after paying.

Bai Yuyou looked at her tray of food and softly said, "Rice."

"Rice isn’t served here," the lady replied.

Bai Yuyou stood there silently until the lady urged, "Miss, please move aside. Don’t hold up the line."

The girl quietly picked up her tray and found a seat.

Staring at the food, Bai Yuyou picked up a meatball with her chopsticks and took small bites. But her mind was still on the missing rice.

Ye Shuang had said not to be picky.

But she couldn’t find the rice.

If she couldn’t solve a problem, she was supposed to call him…

Remembering the note in her notebook, Bai Yuyou pulled out her phone—

Call him.

"Bai Yuyou, mind if I sit here?" A voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

She looked up to see a familiar face, though she still didn’t know his name.

Luo Che stood there with his tray, smiling, though under the gaze of those beautiful eyes, he couldn’t help but feel nervous. With so many people around, being rejected would be humiliating.

"The cafeteria’s pretty crowded," he added. "I can’t find a seat."

Bai Yuyou tilted her head slightly, not understanding why he was asking her—it wasn’t like she owned the table. Did people usually ask before sitting down?

"Okay."

Luo Che’s heart raced when she nodded. She hadn’t rejected him!

Yes!

He quickly sat across from her and tried to make conversation. "Bai Yuyou, did you cut your hair yesterday?"

"It looks really nice. Everyone’s been talking about your new look today."

Bai Yuyou didn’t respond to the compliment. Her attention was still on the empty space on her tray where rice should be. Then she noticed the rice on Luo Che’s plate.

"Where did you get that?" she asked softly.

Luo Che blinked. At first, he thought she was ignoring him, but what did she mean by "where"?

Then it clicked—she must be asking where he’s from.

"I’m from Baiyun District. My hometown’s in Baiyun District."

Bai Yuyou tilted her head slightly.

So… rice has to be brought from home?