Canteen Food

"Thank you for tonight. If it weren't for you swiping your meal card for me, I wouldn’t have been able to try the school cafeteria’s dinner," Nangong Ye said earnestly to Shangguan Yurou at the cafeteria entrance.

Shangguan Yurou looked at him, slightly flustered. "It’s just swiping a meal card. You don’t have to thank me so seriously, do you?"

"Was it that serious?" Nangong Ye scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly. "Maybe because this is a whole new experience for me."

Shangguan Yurou asked curiously, "You’ve never eaten this kind of food before?"

"Actually… no, I haven’t," Nangong Ye shook his head. "Since I was born, there’s always been someone preparing a custom menu for me. The food I could eat was limited to just a few types."

Liu Muye had originally emphasized this unreasonable setting in the novel to highlight the high-class aura of a domineering CEO—even when traveling, Nangong Ye would have a personal chef because he only ate food prepared by his own cooks. This ridiculous rule had made life difficult for Nangong Ye.

"What?" Shangguan Yurou covered her mouth in surprise. "So you’ve never eaten anything made by anyone other than your own chef?"

"Pretty much," Nangong Ye nodded. "As far as I can remember, every aspect of my life—clothes, food, living arrangements—has been meticulously planned. Every day was the same."

Hearing this, Shangguan Yurou muttered under her breath, "I never thought there’d be someone as unfortunate as me. What a surprise."

Nangong Ye asked, "What did you say?"

"Ah, nothing! You must’ve misheard me," Shangguan Yurou waved her hands dismissively. "So, tonight’s cafeteria meal counts as your first time eating food made by someone outside your household?"

Nangong Ye thought back to the instant noodles he’d eaten at noon—those probably only counted as a snack…

So, he nodded. "Yes, this is my first proper meal made by someone other than my personal chef."

Shangguan Yurou couldn’t help but laugh. "You should’ve told me earlier. If I’d known, I would’ve taken you somewhere nicer."

"The food tonight was already great. More importantly…"

Having you eat with me.

He didn’t dare say the last part out loud.

Shangguan Yurou noticed his hesitation. "More importantly, what?"

"Nothing, never mind," Nangong Ye waved it off. "How much was dinner? I’ll transfer you on WeChat."

Shangguan Yurou shook her head. "Don’t worry about it. It’s just one meal, and it wasn’t expensive. Consider it my treat."

"Well… alright then."

Nangong Ye didn’t insist. If Shangguan Yurou treated him this time, he could treat her next time—that way, he’d have a perfect excuse to invite her out again. Perfect.

With that thought, he said, "Then let me treat you to lunch tomorrow."

"Lunch?" Shangguan Yurou smiled. "You don’t even have a meal card. How are you going to treat me?"

"Pfft, a meal card? I could get a hundred of them in minutes!" Nangong Ye flashed the signature smirk of a domineering CEO. "Besides, I never said we’d be eating at the cafeteria."

Shangguan Yurou pressed her lips together, amused, and tilted her head. "Then where are you planning to take me?"

The question caught Nangong Ye off guard. After a pause, he said, "I’ll tell you tomorrow."

"You haven’t actually thought of a place yet, have you?" Shangguan Yurou teased, though her tone was light enough not to embarrass him.

"Of course I have!"

Nangong Ye spoke with absolute certainty, though he couldn’t quite meet her eyes.

"Alright then," Shangguan Yurou nodded.

Seeing her agreement, Nangong Ye said, "It’s settled then. Tomorrow at noon, I’m treating you to lunch."

With that, he waved goodbye and headed toward the boys’ dormitory.

Shangguan Yurou watched his retreating figure and suddenly sighed.

In truth, her life wasn’t so different from Nangong Ye’s. As the young heiress of the Shangguan family, she had always been the center of attention.

Like a top celebrity under the spotlight, every word, every gesture had to be dignified and flawless—because she wasn’t just Shangguan Yurou. Every action reflected on her family’s reputation.

So, from childhood, she had lived under immense pressure.

Only after escaping an arranged marriage and hiding her identity to study at Siliya Academy did she finally taste something she had long been deprived of—freedom.

Behind the glamorous facades of these young men and women lay childhoods far from happy.

---

No sooner had Nangong Ye returned to the dorm than Liu Muye followed.

Seeing Nangong Ye sitting on the couch grinning to himself, Liu Muye sidled up and asked in a sly tone, "Dinner was good, huh?"

"Ahh!" Startled out of his thoughts, Nangong Ye jumped and whipped his head around. "When did you get back? You scared me!"

"Just now. My footsteps were loud—you didn’t hear me?" Liu Muye shoved his hands in his pockets and smirked. "Or were you too busy daydreaming?"

"I—I wasn’t thinking about Shangguan Yurou! Don’t talk nonsense!"

"Oh? I didn’t even say what you were thinking about, and you just confessed?" Liu Muye plopped down beside him, grinning. "Classic guilty conscience."

"I wasn’t!" Nangong Ye denied vehemently before turning the tables. "How did you even know I had dinner with Shangguan Yurou?"

Liu Muye shrugged. "Because I saw you, obviously."

"You saw us eating together?"

"Yep," Liu Muye nodded, his expression turning gossipy. "You two are moving fast, huh? Already sharing meals?"

"I—ugh!" Nangong Ye stood up, waving a hand. "It’s not what you think. I just borrowed her meal card!"

"No need to explain. I get it!" Liu Muye made an "OK" gesture. "Classic move when chasing a girl."

"That’s not—ugh, whatever. No point arguing with you!"

With a dismissive wave, Nangong Ye turned and stomped into his room, slamming the door behind him.

"Tch, getting all defensive when called out," Liu Muye muttered before heading to his own room.

After lying in bed scrolling through his phone for a while, bored, Liu Muye instinctively opened his messaging app.

Han Juyou hadn’t sent anything. Figuring she must be deep in writing her novel, he got up and walked over to his desk.

Liu Muye pulled out a notebook and a pen, preparing to write down some writing tips for Han Juyou. Though he was just a struggling online novelist himself, he had at least churned out quite a few books by now—enough to pass on a bit of practical advice to her.

…