Chapter 13: A Not-So-Great Lunchtime
Back at the table Leng Qing Qiu had chosen, Lu Zhiyin sat quietly on the side. She lowered her head and brushed the dust off her school uniform. The footprints Qin An had left were still obvious, causing embarrassment.
After school today, perhaps she should wash her school uniform. Well, Lu Zhiyin considered herself capable of doing small chores like washing clothes.
Wiping the table in front of her, Lu Zhiyin rested her head down, quietly waiting for Leng Qing Qiu to return with food. She used her hair to cover her face, praying this would prevent her from attracting attention.
After resting like this for a while, her shoulder was poked.
“…”
Without a word, she raised her head, swept her hair aside, and turned around. Lu Zhiyin instinctively thought Leng Qing Qiu had returned.
However, the person standing in her line of sight was not Leng Qing Qiu.
A girl with twin tails and green eyes stood quietly in front of Lu Zhiyin, holding a new meal tray filled with food.
“Can I sit here?”
Long Qinxin asked softly. Perhaps due to long-term isolation, Long Qinxin spoke weakly to most people. She only became agitated when people called her and her parents monsters.
“Mm, yes. You can.”
Nodding, Lu Zhiyin didn’t feel it mattered. After all, the girl was just sitting next to her, not on her lap. She wasn’t worried about Leng Qing Qiu having any objections. In the game, there were scenes where the female leads ate together. Although Lu Zhiyin understood not to blindly believe the plot, she thought Leng Qing Qiu wouldn’t have feelings like jealousy? After all, that girl had threatened her last night, so her favorability towards her probably wasn’t very high…
Lying back down on the table, Lu Zhiyin tapped her knuckles rhythmically on the tabletop. She didn’t really know why she was doing it; perhaps it was just pure boredom.
“Thank you.”
Thanking her again, Long Qinxin slowly walked to the seat on Lu Zhiyin’s left, placed her meal tray down, picked up her chopsticks, and began to eat silently.
Glancing sideways at the girl as she ate, Lu Zhiyin saw Long Qinxin taking small bites of the white rice. In the compartments surrounding the rice were two meat dishes and one vegetable dish. In the game, although this girl was isolated, she was quite wealthy, at least much wealthier than Lu Zhiyin.
Watching, Lu Zhiyin became hungrier. Fortunately, her stomach didn’t growl, and she didn’t drool at the corners of her mouth, so it wasn’t too embarrassing.
“Aren’t you eating?”
Prodding Lu Zhiyin with the end of her chopsticks, Long Qinxin asked with some curiosity. Perhaps, in her opinion, lying alone at a cafeteria table was too strange.
“Ah… I’m not hungry.”
Sitting up, Lu Zhiyin felt more awkward. She couldn’t exactly say she had no money for food and was waiting for her friend to bring her a meal, could she?
“Oh? Really not hungry? Then it seems you don’t need this meal either, Zhiyin?”
Just then, Leng Qing Qiu had finished queuing and walked to the table with two meal trays. She naturally sat to Lu Zhiyin’s right, looking at Lu Zhiyin with a half-smile. For some reason, Leng Qing Qiu was starting to enjoy teasing her childhood friend. Her reactions now were much more interesting than before.
“I… I…”
Looking at Leng Qing Qiu’s half-smile, Lu Zhiyin’s face flushed red. She stammered for a long time, finally unable to say anything. It was the first time she felt so embarrassed, yet she couldn’t say anything at all. If only she had money… With money, she wouldn’t be teased…
Lowering her head, Lu Zhiyin looked at the empty tabletop in front of her.
“Forget it, I won’t tease you anymore. Eat.”
Seeing Lu Zhiyin about to cry, Leng Qing Qiu pushed the meal tray in front of her and placed a pair of chopsticks in front of Lu Zhiyin as well.
“Thank you…”
Thanking her weakly, Lu Zhiyin picked up her chopsticks. Looking at the food in front of her, she hesitated for a moment before choosing a more civilized way of eating. She was truly starving. If she weren’t being watched, she probably would have buried her face in the meal tray.
“Hmph~”
Letting out a light laugh, Leng Qing Qiu started eating her own meal while watching the white-haired girl eat with her head down. She didn’t care that there was another person beside her childhood friend. After all, in the end, she and Lu Zhiyin were just friends… Oh, no, now they were accomplices, more reliable than friends. Leng Qing Qiu narrowed her eyes, enjoying the brief moment of peace.
At this moment, all three ate their lunch independently, and the atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious. This harmonious atmosphere continued until Long Qinxin finished the food on her tray. She took a tissue from her school uniform pocket and wiped the oil stains from the corner of her mouth.
“Are you a friend of Lu Zhiyin?”
She pointed her finger at Leng Qing Qiu. As she spoke, Lu Zhiyin’s body stiffened, and her hand paused while digging into her rice. However, Leng Qing Qiu continued to eat unhurriedly.
“Why don’t you ask Zhiyin that question?”
Swallowing the food in her mouth, Leng Qing Qiu smiled faintly.
“Eh…”
Her chopsticks slipped from her hand. Faced with the question Leng Qing Qiu threw at her, Lu Zhiyin was somewhat flustered. Were they really friends? What would happen if she answered incorrectly? Carefully observing Leng Qing Qiu’s face, Lu Zhiyin didn’t notice anything unusual, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Yes, we are friends.”
Nodding, Lu Zhiyin gave an affirmative reply. But then, she was made to sweat profusely by another question from Long Qinxin.
“If you are friends, then why haven’t you ever helped Lu Zhiyin when she was being bullied?”
As soon as the girl’s voice fell, Leng Qing Qiu was no longer calm. Her expression gradually turned cold, while Lu Zhiyin became increasingly anxious. She tried to defend Leng Qing Qiu with her clumsy speech. She actually knew that Leng Qing Qiu didn’t help her because their relationship wasn’t close enough, but should she say that directly now? Although Lu Zhiyin was an idiot in social situations, she wasn’t so foolish as to not realize this.
“That’s because Leng Qing Qiu couldn’t beat Qin An either. Rather than one more person getting beaten, it’s better… for me to bear it alone… that’s all…”
As she spoke towards the end, Lu Zhiyin’s voice grew softer and her head bowed lower. Fortunately, Long Qinxin didn’t press further. She picked up her empty tray, stood up, and left on her own.
“Goodbye, Lu Zhiyin.”
Before leaving, Long Qinxin didn’t forget to say goodbye.
“Mm, goodbye…”
Waving goodbye to Long Qinxin, Lu Zhiyin watched the girl’s retreating figure disappear from sight before finally relaxing completely. Today’s lunch break was really not very pleasant…
Thinking this, Lu Zhiyin picked up her chopsticks again. Looking at the remaining half-filled rice compartment and the considerable amount of dishes, she prepared to continue eating, but Leng Qing Qiu grabbed the hand holding the chopsticks.
