Chapter 11: She Seems to be Angry
Because most students were still standing and looking at us, there were still many empty seats. After I casually found a place to sit, Ji Lianbing also sat opposite me.
Then, the students sitting near our dining table immediately devoured their food and left, or simply took their plates and squeezed to another table.
They artificially created a mysterious space in the shape of the Chinese character “回”.
“…”
What’s going on… Are they isolating us?
“Everyone is so kind, leaving so much space for just the two of us when there are so many people, heh heh heh~” Ji Lianbing said with a chuckle, placing her bento on the table, unwrapping the cloth around the lunch box, and then opening it.
It was all very ordinary dishes, like stir-fried diced bamboo shoots and braised shrimp balls, but they looked particularly appetizing. How should I put it, like dishes appearing on a food show, with a special effect feeling to them.
She made them really well, did she make them herself? “Did you make this yourself?” I accidentally blurted it out. “My home’s maid made it.” “Maid? You have a maid at home?” Hearing the word “maid,” I immediately became interested and looked up at Ji Lianbing.
Well, how should I put it, I only have a tiny bit of interest in maids… Really, just a tiny bit! I don’t think maids are cute at all! I’m not interested in the modified maid outfit with garters at all! I didn’t even deliberately buy an external hard drive to store the game “Custom Maid 3D”!
Ji Lianbing smiled slightly and tilted her head, saying, “Oh? Juncheng, you haven’t heard of the Ji Family?” “…No.” Forgive my ignorance, but I really haven’t heard of any Ji Family. “Heh heh, it’s okay if you haven’t heard of it, you don’t need to worry about it, it’s not something worth worrying about. Juncheng, you just need to know that my family can afford to hire maids.”
…You say that, and I care even more. Although I haven’t heard of the Ji Family, it should be a very powerful wealthy family… She’s as beautiful as a celestial being, and she’s top-notch in both academics and sports. That’s already very impressive, and now she has the attribute of a young lady of high society? …What a terrifying woman. This must be the legendary top-tier version of a rich and beautiful woman.
I stopped talking and silently ate my meal, not daring to look at Ji Lianbing, so I shifted my gaze to the onlookers, looking at their titles. These guys’ titles are much more normal, similar to what I saw on my way to school. But among these people, some of their titles are gray… Besides white, green, and pink, there’s suddenly gray… How many colors are there anyway?
If I concentrated, I could also hear people around me discussing in low voices. “Ji Lianbing is actually in the cafeteria! Isn’t she a wealthy young lady? She’s actually coming to a place where commoners come?” “Idiot! Didn’t you see she came with a bento? It’s obvious that Ji Lianbing is accompanying that boy to the cafeteria! Who is that boy? Which class is he in?” “I don’t know… But this guy is really amazing, he actually got Ji Lianbing!” “Oh my god! The goddess has been conquered!”
I’m so sorry, I didn’t get Ji Lianbing, nor do I have any intention of conquering her. If possible, I even hope she never talks to me again. But this hope might not be realized for the time being… “Juncheng-kun.” “…Huh? You calling me?” What the heck is Juncheng-kun? Don’t call my name using that kind of palindromic structure!
“Do you want to try the bento made by my ‘maid’?” She deliberately emphasized the word “maid,” did she notice my interest in maids? This, this person’s insight is too terrifying! Although I really want to try maid cuisine… I won’t fall for your trap! If I say I want to eat it, Ji Lianbing might directly feed me, making me open my mouth. At that time, whether I eat it or not, it will become a very tricky situation! So at this time, I must firmly refuse to avoid further complications. “No thanks, I’ll eat my own.”
“Hmm~ Is that so? Then can I try the dishes you picked, Cheng-kun?” Don’t casually call my name the other way around! Slightly annoyed, I said glumly, “You pick it yourself!” Then, Ji Lianbing, she actually… did something that made everyone’s jaws drop!
“Nooo~ I want you to feed me, Cheng-kun~”
“Pfft!” It wasn’t just me, in this cafeteria, more than half of the people who coughed at the same time as me might have done so! This person actually acted spoiled and cute! Does she not care about her image at all? Although she is indeed very cute and endearing, isn’t your character setting gone wrong somewhere? Which foolish writer wrote you into this appearance! Fix it immediately!
Although I squeezed my eyes at her, Ji Lianbing showed no signs of stopping. She leaned her head towards me, opened her mouth slightly, and made a pretense of feeding, the kind only foolish couples would do. “Ah~~~” She wants to push me into the spotlight!
Immediately afterwards, I saw that the titles of the onlookers had turned gray again! Some have even turned black! Is this the so-called “envy, jealousy, and hatred” electromagnetic wave? Terrible, if this continues, tomorrow when I go to school, I might encounter an incident where someone puts a hood over my head and beats me up in an alley.
What to do… Should I feed her or not… Just as I was hesitating, I suddenly felt a chill down my spine. Killing intent! It came from across from me! Ji Lianbing narrowed her eyes, as if telling me that if I don’t feed her something soon, she’ll gouge out my eyeballs and eat them! (Purely personal speculation). Under this invisible pressure, I had no choice but to quickly pick up a piece of Mapo Tofu and feed it to Ji Lianbing… However, something unexpected happened.
Perhaps affected by multiple emotions like nervousness, anxiety, and fear, my nerve center transmitted signals incorrectly, causing my hand to shake unnaturally, a phenomenon called “shaking” or “trembling.” And then… the tofu that was supposed to go into Ji Lianbing’s mouth ended up poking her cheek.
Me: “…”
Ji Lianbing: “…”
Onlookers: “…”
Pat.
The tofu fell onto Ji Lianbing’s lunch box.
Gaaahhhhhhhhh! I’m going to be killed! I’m going to be killed! Help me!
I covered my head with both hands, adopting a defensive posture, fearing that Ji Lianbing would poke my eyes out with her chopsticks the next second, but… the voice that reached my ears was Ji Lianbing’s gentle voice.
“Are you alright? Cheng-kun? Is something wrong with your body? Your movements are very stiff? Do you want me to accompany you to the infirmary?” Her tone was full of concern, with no hint of blame, as if she really didn’t care about what just happened and was wholeheartedly thinking of me. Everyone was moved by her gentle actions, and honestly, I was a little moved too. While thinking that my previous judgment of Ji Lianbing as a dangerous person might have been a misconception, I released my hands and looked ahead again…
Misconception, my foot! Red, blood red, crimson, the color of danger! Ji Lianbing’s title changed from green to red! For some reason, I felt Ji Lianbing’s overwhelming killing intent from this crimson color. No matter how worried she looked, I could only feel her desire to kill me!
“I-I’m fine! I’m fine!”
“Is that so… That’s good.” Ji Lianbing took out a handkerchief and wiped her cheek before continuing to eat. The shocking blood red lasted for about three minutes before returning to green, but this green was a lighter shade than the previous one… Does this mean she’s slightly less angry? Or is she just pretending not to care for now?
I don’t know Ji Lianbing’s true thoughts, but she didn’t talk to me again until the end of lunch. And because I was constantly worried, I couldn’t eat my meal properly either. The lunch break ended in an awkward atmosphere. And I vaguely felt that Ji Lianbing seemed to be genuinely angry.
