Chapter 98: A Strange Lunchtime
After convincing Leng Qing Qiu to accompany her to find Qin An’s follower, Lu Zhiyin’s entire morning became boring.
Leng Qing Qiu didn’t talk much to her, instead focusing on her book.
Long Qinxin, who was in front of her, would occasionally turn her head to look at her, trying to find common topics. However, because they hadn’t known each other for too long, Long Qinxin couldn’t find anything to talk about, and their conversations were often awkward.
Due to boredom, Lu Zhiyin had started writing a self-criticism in class. Anyway, these teachers didn’t like her, so she naturally didn’t need to give them corresponding respect.
Ignoring the teacher’s ravenous gaze, Lu Zhiyin focused on her own business.
Leng Qing Qiu, sitting beside her, saw all of this and couldn’t help but compare the somewhat rebellious girl in front of her to her childhood friend who never disobeyed teachers in her memory.
In her impression, although her childhood friend’s grades weren’t too good, her attitude towards learning was extremely serious.
Were they the same person? The answer was naturally yes.
Leng Qing Qiu shook her head.
If the person in front of her wasn’t her childhood friend, who else could it be?
As she was thinking, the class bell rang on time, and it was lunchtime.
After the teacher left the classroom with the textbook, Leng Qing Qiu stood up, stretching to relieve her numb body from sitting for a long time.
Then, she placed a hand on Lu Zhiyin’s shoulder.
“Zhiyin, want to go eat together? Hmm, I’ll treat you as usual.”
As soon as she spoke, Leng Qing Qiu, as always, didn’t leave Lu Zhiyin any room to refuse. Without waiting for Lu Zhiyin to answer, she had already pushed Lu Zhiyin’s wheelchair away from her seat.
“…”
In front of Lu Zhiyin’s seat, Long Qinxin also packed up her textbook and left her seat. She didn’t say a word, just followed silently behind Lu Zhiyin and Leng Qing Qiu.
“Okay.”
Smiling and nodding, Lu Zhiyin saw no issue with just having lunch together.
She recalled the first time she had lunch with Leng Qing Qiu and how Leng Qing Qiu had teased her. But it was harmless, as the food still ended up in her stomach.
Her finances were already a bit tight, so it was great that someone was treating her to a meal.
At some point, Lu Zhiyin began to slowly adapt to her current life, without the initial panic of arriving as a stranger.
Pushed by Leng Qing Qiu through the crowded corridor and taking the elevator to the first floor, Leng Qing Qiu pushed Lu Zhiyin all the way to the cafeteria.
After bringing Lu Zhiyin to a deserted corner of the cafeteria, Leng Qing Qiu went to queue up for food.
Lu Zhiyin rested her head on the cafeteria table, daydreaming. After a short while, her shoulder was gently patted.
“Classmate Zhiyin.”
Sitting beside Lu Zhiyin, Long Qinxin looked at the somewhat long queue not too far away.
“Yes, classmate Qinxin, aren’t you going to get food?”
Turning around, Lu Zhiyin smiled at Long Qinxin.
“…”
Long Qinxin did not reply, just sat there like a mute. After a while, she poked Lu Zhiyin’s shoulder.
“Can classmate Zhiyin eat with me?”
The girl’s voice was very soft. As soon as she finished speaking, Long Qinxin looked at Lu Zhiyin with expectation.
Those green eyes seemed to shimmer with starlight, and Lu Zhiyin hesitated, unsure whether to agree to Long Qinxin’s request.
She had already agreed to have lunch with Leng Qing Qiu, and she knew that Leng Qing Qiu disliked Long Qinxin.
Logically, she should refuse Long Qinxin, otherwise, no one would be happy.
But looking at Long Qinxin’s beautiful eyes, Lu Zhiyin couldn’t bear to refuse her.
She already felt a sense of guilt towards Long Qinxin and couldn’t bear to make her unhappy again.
“Okay.”
After much hesitation, Lu Zhiyin agreed to Long Qinxin’s request.
As for what would happen next, she could only take it one step at a time.
Thinking this, Lu Zhiyin watched Long Qinxin go to get food.
Waiting anxiously in the wheelchair for a long time, time tickled by. It wasn’t until the cafeteria was crowded with people and all the surrounding tables were occupied that Leng Qing Qiu finally returned with two meals.
“Here.”
Placing the tray with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish beside Lu Zhiyin, Leng Qing Qiu picked up her chopsticks.
“Thank you.”
After thanking her, Lu Zhiyin also picked up her chopsticks. She didn’t start eating immediately but cast her gaze towards the noticeably shorter queue in the distance.
Feeling a bit troubled, she began to regret agreeing to Long Qinxin’s request.
“What are you looking at?”
From the seat to Lu Zhiyin’s left, Leng Qing Qiu swallowed the food in her mouth and patted Lu Zhiyin’s shoulder.
“Ah… nothing.”
Shaking her head, Lu Zhiyin was startled by Leng Qing Qiu’s sudden action.
“Eat. After you finish, tell me why you wanted to find Qin An’s follower.”
“Okay.”
Nodding, Lu Zhiyin began to slowly stuff food into her mouth.
Leng Qing Qiu naturally noticed that something was wrong with Lu Zhiyin, but she didn’t say much.
This calm demeanor continued until Long Qinxin arrived with two trays of food.
Sitting to Lu Zhiyin’s right, Long Qinxin placed a lunchbox containing two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and one soup in front of Lu Zhiyin.
She naturally noticed the other tray in front of Lu Zhiyin, and her gaze shifted, landing on Leng Qing Qiu.
“…”
Although she felt a bit displeased inside, Long Qinxin didn’t intend to blame Lu Zhiyin.
She had seen Leng Qing Qiu push Lu Zhiyin out, so she naturally knew they would be together.
Leng Qing Qiu, however, looked unhappy. Her originally calm face fell, and her expression clearly showed her displeasure.
“…”
Lu Zhiyin’s hand, which was scooping rice, stopped.
She looked up slightly, and what greeted her eyes was Leng Qing Qiu staring intently at Long Qinxin.
“Classmate Zhiyin.”
Long Qinxin ignored Leng Qing Qiu and used her chopsticks to pick out all the meat from the lunchbox she brought and placed it on Lu Zhiyin’s tray.
“…Thank, thank you…”
Lu Zhiyin’s hands trembled. She didn’t refuse Long Qinxin’s kindness.
Picking up the chicken that Long Qinxin had placed on her tray, Lu Zhiyin chewed silently.
The food actually tasted good, but Lu Zhiyin couldn’t bring herself to be happy.
“Zhiyin, you and your friend are very close.”
Smiling, Leng Qing Qiu placed a hand on Lu Zhiyin’s shoulder.
Her fingers pressed slightly, sinking into the school uniform. The somewhat thin autumn school uniform couldn’t shield Lu Zhiyin from Leng Qing Qiu’s displeasure.
Lu Zhiyin could feel an unspeakable pain from her shoulder.
She instinctively wanted to cry out in pain, but remembering that they were in a public place, she forcefully suppressed it.
Without answering Leng Qing Qiu’s words, Lu Zhiyin quietly glanced at Long Qinxin, then endured the pain and pretended to be nonchalant, continuing to scoop the food on her plate.
Leng Qing Qiu’s clumsy acting, which usually fooled Long Qinxin, didn’t work this time. Long Qinxin saw that Lu Zhiyin was uncomfortable. She stood up and used her chopsticks to tap Leng Qing Qiu’s hand.
