Lu Ruoxi Side Story: Thorny Rose - A Moment of Peace

The cafeteria incident was like a stone thrown into a frozen lake.

It sent ripples across the surface and cracked the ice ever so slightly.

The malicious whispers directed at Ye Ruoxi vanished.

No one dared to mock her for eating plain steamed buns or wearing her faded middle school uniform anymore.

Su Yang’s act of standing up for her that day became an invisible shield.

It made everyone realize that this isolated island wasn’t entirely unreachable.

Ye Ruoxi remained silent as ever.

But the icy aura around her seemed to thaw—just a little.

At least, when it came to Su Yang.

She felt a flicker of annoyance at that.

It meant her defenses had developed a crack.

And that was dangerous.

Zhang Cuilan really did start working in the cafeteria.

Principal Zhen’s influence worked like magic.

The cafeteria supervisor assigned her the simplest tasks—picking vegetables, washing dishes.

The cafeteria food was rich and hearty.

Steamed buns, rice—all you could eat.

Plus a daily staff meal with meat and vegetables.

For Zhang Cuilan, it was like manna from heaven.

For the first week, her mood was noticeably brighter.

Even her scowls at Ye Ruoxi softened.

No more calling her "jinx" or "waste of money."

Ye Ruoxi’s life changed dramatically too.

No more cold steamed buns or watery free soup.

Now, she could eat in the cafeteria kitchen with Zhang Cuilan.

On the first day, when a steaming bowl of rice topped with minced pork and eggplant was placed in front of her,

she froze.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a proper, hearty meal.

Beside her, Zhang Cuilan wolfed down her food,

mouth stuffed, mumbling impatiently,

"What’re you staring at? Eat! It’s no good cold!"

Ye Ruoxi picked up her chopsticks and took a bite.

It was warm.

It was fragrant.

The heat traveled down her throat and into her hollow stomach,

chasing away the familiar ache of hunger.

Her eyes stung.

She ducked her head and shoveled food into her mouth,

using the motion to hide the tremor in her hands.

The feeling of being full was unfamiliar—but good.

Energy surged through her veins.

During evening self-study, her mind was sharper than ever.

Complex formulas and theorems suddenly made more sense.

So this was what it felt like to eat until satisfied.

This fragile peace was like thin ice.

Ye Ruoxi treaded carefully, afraid to enjoy it.

Instead, she poured every saved ounce of energy into studying.

Su Yang noticed the change in her.

She was still quiet, still solitary.

But the lifeless pallor of her face had faded,

replaced by the faintest flush of color.

At lunch, she no longer nibbled on steamed buns.

Though she still vanished, Su Yang knew she must be eating in the cafeteria now.

That was enough.

It filled him with quiet satisfaction.

The cafeteria incident had broken the ice.

Now, talking to her felt justified.

During the break before evening self-study, the classroom buzzed with noise.

Su Yang clutched a physics workbook and approached Ye Ruoxi’s desk again.

This time, he was calmer than he’d been in the library.

"Ye Ruoxi,"

he called, just loud enough for her to hear.

She was solving a math problem when his voice made her pen pause.

She looked up.

Su Yang stood there—lean but somehow towering in her eyes.

His cheeks were tinged pink with nervousness,

but his gaze was clear and earnest.

Her eyes flicked to the workbook in his hands.

This time, she didn’t immediately grab scrap paper.

She just waited in silence.

"I’m stuck on this one,"

Su Yang said, flipping to a page and sliding it toward her.

His voice was still rough around the edges.

Ye Ruoxi scanned the electromagnetic field problem.

Another competition-level question.

Even harder than the last.

Within seconds, she pinpointed the issue.

When she didn’t speak, Su Yang’s stomach twisted.

Had he overstepped?

He was about to mutter, "Never mind, I’ll ask the teacher," and flee—

Then she spoke.

"Which part don’t you understand?"

Her voice was soft, cool,

like a breeze skimming a lake.

Su Yang’s first thought: Her voice is beautiful.

His second: She’s asking me questions now.

For a moment, he was too stunned to react.

It was like stumbling upon an oasis after days in the desert.

"Uh—oh,"

he fumbled, face burning.

He pointed to a complex diagram.

"Here. The direction of the magnetic field lines.

Using the right-hand rule, it should go this way, but the Lorentz force formula gives the opposite result."

His finger trembled slightly—

not from the problem’s difficulty,

but because this was the closest he’d ever been to her.

He could even catch her faint, clean scent.

Ye Ruoxi followed his finger, then picked up her pen.

Instead of scribbling on scrap paper,

she tapped the diagram lightly.

"Your model’s wrong,"

she murmured, voice dropping lower,

as if this were their private secret.

"You treated it as a 2D plane. But the magnetic field here is a composite 3D space."

"Look here."

Her pen sketched a coordinate system over the diagram,

then dissected the problem step by step.

Her explanation was razor-sharp,

each word slicing to the core.

Su Yang was mesmerized.

He’d never seen a physics model unraveled like this.

Her voice, her logic, her mind—

they pulled him in like a magnetic field.

He forgot where he was.

Forgot the noise around them.

Until—

A group of passing girls noticed them.

They huddled, giggling like mosquitoes.

"Look, the genius and her knight in shining armor,"

one said in a stage whisper.

Another chimed in,

"Perfect match—rank one and rank two in the grade."

"Wasn’t he the one who defended her in the cafeteria? Straight out of a novel."

"You think they’re dating?"