CH 4

North Zone Cafeteria.

Lin Yuxing carried his tray, slowly moving his feet. In the long queue, he and Gu Zhongyi stood in the middle, attracting the attention of many people.

His roommate, Su Li, had slipped away early because he had plans with someone else.

Leaving Lin Yuxing with a tingling scalp, he anxiously counted the time, feeling unusually tormented.

He had intended to ask Gu Zhongyi about his intentions on the way. But for some reason, when he realized it, they were already in the cafeteria.

Gu Zhongyi stood behind him, earnestly studying the menu hanging above.

Lin Yuxing called out to him, “Senior, I…”

Gu Zhongyi leaned slightly closer to Lin Yuxing, making their proximity a bit closer. “Do you have any recommendations?”

Lin Yuxing’s ears tingled, making his heart itch as well.

He tightened his grip on the tray, took a step forward, retracted his original words, and answered, “Braised spare ribs.”

“What else?”

Someone passed by with a tray, and Gu Zhongyi leaned sideways to shield Lin Yuxing.

Lin Yuxing looked up at the menu and had to make some recommendations: “Crispy pork and braised pork ribs are good options, and the pickled fish is also nice. These few dishes are the best-selling meat dishes. The vegetable options aren’t much different though, they’re all decent.”

“Is there anything you don’t eat?”

“No.” Lin Yuxing was never picky with food ever since he was young. “Why do you ask?”

Gu Zhongyi answered a different question, his voice deep and charming, “Do you often come here to eat?”

Lin Yuxing didn’t deliberately hide his financial struggles and said straightforwardly, “Yeah, the vegetarian dishes here are cheaper and taste good compared to other cafeterias.” As for the meat dishes, he only knew which ones were popular after running errands for others several times.

“Ding—”

Lin Yuxing’s phone received a few messages, all of them were delivery orders for lunch. He stared at the screen for a while, roughly calculated the time, and reluctantly declined.

Because of Gu Zhongyi, he lost a considerable income.

When they reached the counter, Lin Yuxing, as usual, ordered a vegetarian dish and a bowl of rice.

The total cost was 3 yuan.

The cafeteria auntie had already recognized him, knowing he was thrifty, and kindly added an extra scoop of meat soup to his rice.

Lin Yuxing didn’t have time to say thank you before he was called by Gu Zhongyi from behind, “There are a lot of people, go find a seat first.”

“Okay.” Lin Yuxing carried his tray, walked back and forth, and found a relatively secluded spot. Several classmates kept looking at him, making him uncomfortable to the point of forgetting to take the free seaweed soup.

He sat there awkwardly, with a complicated mood, completely unable to guess what Gu Zhongyi would say.

A few minutes later, Gu Zhongyi came over with a generous plate of food and a large bowl of pickled fish.

Instantly, the tender and juicy braised spare ribs and braised pork ribs directly caught Lin Yuxing’s sight, and the freshness of the pickled fish also unabashedly entered his sense of smell.

For Lin Yuxing, it was like torture.

He couldn’t help but envy them, his hungry stomach making him swallow his saliva. In order not to affect Gu Zhongyi’s meal, he quickly averted his gaze, lowered his head, and took a bite of white rice.

Gu Zhongyi put down the tray and turned to the counter to get another bowl of rice and a bowl of soup.

Lin Yuxing didn’t expect  the Alpha’s appetite to be so big and exclaimed, “You have a big appetite, why did you order so much?”

As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He and Gu Zhongyi were not familiar at all, not even acquaintances. It seemed like it wasn’t the level where he could casually strike up such a conversation.

Gu Zhongyi directly pushed the bowls to the center and invited Lin Yuxing to eat together, “It’s for two people, it should be just right.”

Lin Yuxing was puzzled. Why did Gu Zhongyi order food for him too?

Slowly, he glanced at his own meager lunch and suspected that Gu Zhongyi was just being polite. So, he quickly declined the gesture, “I’ve ordered enough for myself. Thank you, but you don’t have to treat me.”

Gu Zhongyi said, “I want to treat you to a meal.”

“Thank you, but you don’t have to. I have a small appetite, and I really have enough to eat.” Lin Yuxing, in a sense of deserving rewards, didn’t even touch those meat dishes and focused on finishing the vegetarian dish on his tray.

After a few bites of rice, Lin Yuxing began to adjust to the gazes around him and straightened his posture.

Gu Zhongyi took another pair of chopsticks as shared chopsticks and proactively picked up a piece of braised pork and several pieces of braised ribs onto Lin Yuxing’s tray. The dark and thick gravy moistened the rice, making it look delicious.

Lin Yuxing hurriedly tried to stop him.

Gu Zhongyi pointed to a sign on the wall behind Lin Yuxing, which said “No waste.” He then quickly picked up some slices of sour fish and added them to Lin Yuxing’s tray, saying, “I can’t finish all of this by myself.”

And wasting food is shameful.

Lin Yuxing hesitated for a while, but in the end, he couldn’t resist Gu Zhongyi, who kept putting food on his tray. With a determined mindset, he reluctantly started eating the ribs. After one bite, Lin Yuxing’s eyes lit up. Afraid that Gu Zhongyi would notice, he immediately lowered his head, blushed, and lied, “It’s a bit salty. I actually prefer vegetarian dishes.”

Gu Zhongyi saw through his lie but didn’t expose it. He placed a bowl of clam soup in front of Lin Yuxing and said, “Drink it while it’s hot.”

Lin Yuxing slowly finished the meat dishes Gu Zhongyi had picked for him. There was little rice left in his tray, but he was only about seventy percent full. Usually, due to the physical exertion from his delivery job, he had a decent appetite and would usually eat two bowls of rice per meal.

That day, in Gu Zhongyi’s presence, he felt embarrassed to go for seconds and reluctantly put down his chopsticks, feeling unsatisfied.

In fact, since the incident at home, Lin Yuxing had been living a frugal life at school, and it had been a long time since he had eaten such a satisfying meal.

But as he looked at the bone remains on the table, a sense of shame gradually rose in his heart. No matter what, he wouldn’t ask for a second bowl of rice in front of Gu Zhongyi.

Gu Zhongyi reminded him, “There’s still a lot of food left, don’t waste it.”

“Thank you, senior, but I’m already full.”

Even though Gu Zhongyi gave him an out, Lin Yuxing didn’t take it. He got up, bought two fifty-cent takeout boxes at the counter, and placed them next to Gu Zhongyi, saying politely, “If you can’t finish it, you can take it with you.”

Gu Zhongyi paused with his chopsticks, realizing that he might have pushed too hard. He nodded silently and accepted the takeout boxes, unexpectedly smiling, “Okay, got it.”

Lin Yuxing was taken aback by his smile and awkwardly cleared his throat.

Seeing fewer people around, Lin Yuxing didn’t want to linger any longer and asked again, “Senior, did you look for me because of what happened yesterday?”

‘Yes,’ Gu Zhongyi didn’t deny it as if it was a matter of course. The smile on his face remained, and his voice was magnetic. ‘The flowers yesterday were beautiful, and I accepted them. Thank you.’

However, there was more to his words, and Lin Yuxing didn’t understand at all. After all, the bouquet of flowers wasn’t sent by Lin Yuxing, so expressing gratitude seemed unnecessary.

Seeing Lin Yuxing’s lack of reaction, Gu Zhongyi put down his chopsticks. ‘Do you have time in the afternoon?’

Lin Yuxing, not sure if he was overthinking, noticed that throughout their interaction, Gu Zhongyi mostly asked him questions, as if he wanted to gradually know more about him.

Lin Yuxing truthfully explained his busy afternoon schedule to Gu Zhongyi.

Gu Zhongyi then asked, ‘What about tonight? What time do you finish class?’

‘Half-past five,’ Lin Yuxing answered without thinking, before his brain had time to process it.

Gu Zhongyi was clearly making an effort to get closer to Lin Yuxing. He asked politely, ‘I will come to pick you up at half-past five. Is that convenient? I know a nice restaurant. At least for today, I would like to formally treat you to a nice meal.’

Lin Yuxing didn’t understand why Gu Zhongyi insisted on treating him to a meal.

Gu Zhongyi felt it was inappropriate and added, ‘Sorry, it’s my first time… accepting someone’s flowers. Maybe I was a bit hasty in my behavior.’

‘Senior, why do you keep mentioning the bouquet of flowers?’ Before Gu Zhongyi could answer, Lin Yuxing said, ‘We still have plenty of lunchtime. If you have something to say, just say it now, no need to wait until tonight.’

Lin Yuxing was concerned about his delivery orders, and even though Gu Zhongyi’s charisma was captivating, he didn’t want to waste too much time on this.

Gu Zhongyi was taken aback. He thought he had made himself clear.

In reality, both of them were talking past each other, off-topic.

Time is money, and Lin Yuxing was not an idle person.

He mistakenly believed that Gu Zhongyi was still unaware that the issue had been resolved and proactively said, ‘You don’t need to worry about yesterday’s post. I’ve already privately messaged the original poster to delete it. Unless something unexpected happens, I don’t think it will continue to escalate. But if…’

‘…’

Lin Yuxing lowered his voice, his eyes fixed on Gu Zhongyi’s perfect face. He whispered, ‘If you still come to find me, the misunderstanding will only grow.’

Precious time paused in the lingering sound of Lin Yuxing’s words.

With the sudden explanation from the other side, Gu Zhongyi’s expression gradually stiffened. There wasn’t much brightness on his face; he naturally had a cold and distant look.

Perplexed, he tightened his eyebrows and asked, ‘huh?’

Lin Yuxing considered himself an outsider to the whole situation and innocently asked, ‘You came to find me today because of last night’s post, right?’

Indeed, Gu Zhongyi saw the post last night, but he wasn’t the kind of person who would wait under the teaching building for half an hour and then accompany Lin Yuxing for a walk to a remote cafeteria just because of a post, only to have an ordinary meal.

Gu Zhongyi was a smart person, and with Lin Yuxing’s explanation, he quickly understood.

Yesterday’s flowers might have been a prank targeting either himself or Lin Yuxing.

When Lin Yuxing received the folded card from Gu Zhongyi, he couldn’t believe it and slammed the table in disbelief. Fortunately, it was already past the lunch rush hour, and there were not many people around.

Lin Yuxing hurriedly sat back down, his face and ears turned red.

‘Senior, it wasn’t me who wrote that!’ Realizing what kind of joke he had made, Lin Yuxing’s tongue tied, and he kept explaining, ‘I just accepted a delivery order yesterday, and the flowers were not from me!’

Not to mention anything else, just the price of that bouquet of roses was over a hundred yuan. Lin Yuxing couldn’t afford it!

He took out his phone, ready to contact the florist to prove his innocence. ‘I can take you to the flower shop to verify. That way, we can find out who played this joke…’

Lin Yuxing’s repeated denials and attempts to clear his name caused Gu Zhongyi’s initially enthusiastic mood to plummet.

However, the strict upbringing Gu Zhongyi received prevented him from showing disappointment on his face. He maintained an unwavering tone when speaking to Lin Yuxing, afraid to make him feel uncomfortable.

After a while, Gu Zhongyi looked at Lin Yuxing, who had tightly clenched hands with white knuckles. As the warmth on Gu Zhongyi’s face faded, he apologized, ‘It was my misunderstanding.’

After the atmosphere cooled down, silence was the only thing left.

Lin Yuxing couldn’t sit still, and he looked at Gu Zhongyi, who appeared completely different from the rumors. Suddenly, he had a feeling of having done something wrong.

Not knowing what to do, he used the excuse of having a class and left the cafeteria first.

But after walking a few steps, Lin Yuxing turned back. ‘Can you wait for me for a moment? I’ll be back soon.’

With that, Lin Yuxing rushed out and quickly bought a popular milk tea recommended by the store clerk at a dessert shop. He ran back to the cafeteria and placed it in front of Gu Zhongyi, saying again, ‘Thank you for treating me to a meal.’

Even if he only had a little, it still counted as having eaten.

Gu Zhongyi didn’t expect Lin Yuxing to make a sudden decision and completely distance himself. His expression turned solemn, and as he watched Lin Yuxing’s receding figure, he didn’t discard the milk tea.

Despite it being midday with the sun shining, there was a biting cold wind on the street.

Lin Yuxing’s heart was restless, and he couldn’t quite describe his emotions. All he remembered was that when he left, Gu Zhongyi seemed somewhat disappointed, quietly grieving.

Lin Yuxing stopped in his tracks, his mind suddenly becoming clear. Only now did he understand Gu Zhongyi’s words from yesterday, ‘The flowers yesterday were beautiful, and I accepted them. Thank you.’

Lin Yuxing’s feet felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, and he couldn’t move.

If Gu Zhongyi also misunderstood, then did he… accept this prank confession? So, Gu Zhongyi came to pick him up after class and went to the cafeteria together for lunch. Was it to fulfill the responsibilities of a boyfriend?

Lin Yuxing was filled with confusion.

The winter wind howled by, and Lin Yuxing’s muttering was swallowed up by the cold wind.

He uttered a perplexing sentence, “Gu Zhongyi, do you like me?”

In an instant, it felt as if two missiles had exploded in Lin Yuxing’s head.

This was even more shocking than the previous day’s post.