Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
When people noticed that the instigators of the fight had left, the bystanders naturally dispersed too.
No one knew if anyone had gone to look for school staff. Either way, even after Qiao Lingxiang and the others reached the cafeteria, no one came to look for them.
The entire school was compiling their resources and directing them towards the gifted class. They only took special care of the gifted students. As for the others, they had to rely on their own means. If they gave up on themselves, they had no choice but to live in society’s lowest tier until they died.
In the past, the school’s cafeteria had an array of breakfast dishes to choose from. Xiang City was an ancient city in the south part of the country. It had a long history. Hence, delicacies from the north and the south could all be found here.
As for Xiang City High School, you normally could find all kinds of delicious breakfast foods from north to south.
Unfortunately, starting this year, there was gradually a shortage of resources so the restaurants started closing down one after another. Many different types of breakfast dishes disappeared from Xiang City High School.
Now, the cafeteria only had one kind of breakfast item. It was the Xiang City sugar oil Baba (a Chinese snack, something like a glutinous rice ball fried and covered with melted sugar). This clearly showed that sugar oil Baba was the bottom line for the Xiang City citizens.
Cen Yi frowned. He picked up a bamboo stick and looked at the sweet and oily snack. He was unhappy as he sat down beside Qiao Lingxiang and chewed on the sugar oil Baba as though he was chewing a candle. He pulled a long face and opened his mouth.
“It’s too sweet. Why do we eat this every morning? Isn’t there a shortage of resources in Xiang City? Where do they find so much sugar?”
Lu Zhengqing pursed his lips and ate the sugar oil Baba elegantly. He was used to eating this kind of sweet food. He glanced at Qiao Lingxiang. She was very quiet. She ate her food bite by bite and didn’t say anything.
She was quite agreeable as she didn’t say a single word along the way. When they reached the cafeteria, she agreed with everything they said. She didn’t seem to have any opinions herself.
Lu Zhengqing pointed at Qiao Lingxiang and said to Cen Yi, “Why are you complaining? It’s good enough that you have something to eat. Look at Xiangxiang—don’t eat when you talk and don’t speak when you sleep. You should stop talking too.”
Qiao Lingxiang, who was suddenly called out, immediately stopped eating and looked at Lu Zhengqing. Then she turned and glanced at Cen Yi. She didn’t understand why they suddenly brought her into the conversation.
Cen Yi looked back at her and urged her, “Hurry up and eat your food. Lu Zhengqing eats faster than us. When he finishes his food, he’ll snatch ours.”
Qiao Lingxiang really believed Cen Yi. She quickly stuffed the sugar oil Baba into her mouth.
She was fat and fat people’s faces were normally very big. When she stuffed the sugar oil Baba in her mouth, she realized it was hard to chew. Thus, her cheeks puffed up with food. She looked like an angry pufferfish.
Also, her skin was really good. She fought that morning but her face was only slightly redder than before. Now, the red patches had all disappeared and her face was as smooth and clear as a baby’s. There was no oil to be seen.
Looking like this, she was quite cute.
Lu Zhengqing tilted his head. He cupped his face with his hand and smiled at Qiao Lingxiang. There was no hint of contempt or disdain on his face.
He just said, “Xiangxiang, stop playing around with Cen Yi. He’s the one who will snatch your food. I won’t. I’m a good person.”
“Bullsh*t!”
Cen Yi had a sugar oil Baba in his mouth. Since Lu Zhengqing was slandering him, he snatched the unfinished stick of sugar oil Baba that Lu Zhengqing was holding along with the bamboo stick. He twisted his hand and passed it to Qiao Lingxiang.
He said with a muffled voice, “Hurry up and eat it. If you manage to snatch it, it’s yours.”
Qiao Lingxiang was at a loss when she was suddenly given this stick of sugar oil Baba. She looked at Lu Zhengqing in shock. It seemed inappropriate to take it but it seemed inappropriate to return it too.
On the other hand, Lu Zhengqing just winked at Qiao Lingxiang with his charismatic eyes. He shrugged as if his point was proven. Cen Yi really would snatch other people’s food.
As the young men fooled around, a few more people walked into the cafeteria. They were all on good terms with Cen Yi and Lu Zhengqing, so after walking in, one of them went to buy breakfast while the others sat down beside Lu Zhengqing and Cen Yi instantly.
They said, “When I walked past the quest center this morning, I heard that they’re removing the age limit.”
“I also heard. Many people aren’t studying anymore. It can’t be helped. The cafeteria food isn’t good and the school doesn’t care about us. It’s better to find a job on the outside. If lots of people in the city are unemployed, it would cause a big problem.”
“This is a difficult time. Bankruptcy stories are on the news every day. 350 companies out of the Fortune 500 have gone bankrupt. It’s hard to find a job everywhere. If the quest center didn’t give the free people in the city some things to do, lots of problems could pop up.”
The young men all started chatting at once. No one felt it was weird that Qiao Lingxiang was sitting between them.
No one even gave Qiao Lingxiang a strange look or a look of contempt. Everyone seemed to be engaged in easy conversation about the quest center’s new rule. They treated Qiao Lingxiang like a listener, a very ordinary listener.
She silently finished Lu Zhengqing’s sugar oil Baba. Actually, she already knew about this yesterday because she went to the quest center and even applied for a team.
However, she didn’t say anything. She sat there silently like a quiet tree. Even when she was amidst a group of noisy people, she remained silent.
After she finished eating, she politely sat back in her seat and lowered her gaze as she waited for the others to finish their food quietly. She listened to Cen Yi and Lu Zhengqing bickering without saying anything.
She waited until the group of young men finished their food and said that they wanted to play football. She finally stood up and wanted to bow down to Cen Yi.
Cen Yi reacted swiftly and stretched out his hand. He pushed his palm against her forehead and prevented her from lowering her head.
He gave her a meaningful smile as he lowered his head at her.
He asked, “Why do you like to bow to other people? What’s it about this time?”
Since Qiao Lingxiang couldn’t bow, she stepped back and shifted away from his warm palm on her forehead.
She replied, “Thank you for lending me your food coupons. Once I have some food coupons, I’ll repay you as soon as possible.”
Cen Yi was stunned. He looked as though Qiao Lingxiang had told a huge joke. He straightened up and looked down at her with his handsome face.
He laughed as he said, “That’s it? What’s the big deal? If you want, I can still lend you some more.”
He thought for a moment before continuing, “Not bad, you’ve improved this time. You didn’t use any of those strange polite expressions.”
Qiao Lingxiang lowered her head. She didn’t know how to reply. She had never interacted with someone so positive and bright. It had been a really long time since she talked to somebody like this. Thus, she didn’t know how to communicate with someone like Cen Yi.
She could only remain silent.
“Alright, I’m going to play football now. Come see me in the afternoon. I’ll lend you my food coupons.”
When he saw that she wasn’t going to reply, Cen Yi nonchalantly tossed his schoolbag behind him and turned to head to the ball court with Lu Zhengqing and his other friends.
It was very early in the morning. Other students were all going to their classrooms for morning revision. Only Cen Yi and his group of friends were going to the ball court to play ball. Well, it was bright and early in the morning and they were young. Young people were full of vitality so they needed to release their pent-up energy.