"You're like the Beggars' Sect Leader..."
The two of them traded jabs for quite a while until the students around them started leaving the classroom, and they realized it was time for dinner.
"I bought two months of 'Big Cannon Nepal' in CF, and it's going to expire if I don't play," Qiu Mengze said, still wanting to go to the internet cafe to play games.
At home, he had no excuse to stay up all night online, but at school, it was different.
As soon as the teachers left, the world was his oyster. The dog hole in the corner of the school wasn't just a dog hole; it was a passage to the Biochemical Pyramid.
"If you dare to go, I'll tell the Class Teacher, so you consider it yourself," Xue Rui threatened.
Qiu Mengze was severely addicted to the internet, although Xue Rui was partly responsible for it...
"You can't sell me out like that!" Qiu Mengze said indignantly, though he didn't take it too seriously. Xue Rui just liked to joke around.
"Lin Ruoxi!" Xue Rui stood up and called out, tossing the meal card he found in his drawer towards her. He walked out of the classroom, smiling, "Go get food for me."
Lin Ruoxi silently picked up the meal card from the floor and walked behind Xue Rui with her head down.
Xue Rui glanced back. Just as he expected, Lin Ruoxi didn't know how to refuse.
"Isn't it bad to bully her like this? I think she's quite pitiful," Qiu Mengze whispered.
"If she wants to run errands, let her run them. Giving her some 'errand money' can't be called bullying, can it?" Xue Rui turned back to Lin Ruoxi and smiled, "Tell me, am I bullying you?"
Xue Rui thought that this kind of girl must have lived in some kind of environment for a long time, having long lost the ability to resist; yet, she still had extremely strong self-esteem. There weren't many methods he could think of, so for now, he would use this method to make sure she ate enough.
Lin Ruoxi kept her head down, her lips tightly pressed together.
Bullying? Xue Rui hadn't hit her, though he had thrown away her steamed bun...
She was very afraid of Xue Rui, but she always felt that Xue Rui was a little different from others.
The way Xue Rui looked at her was different from others; there was no pity or disgust, but rather a sense of helplessness, and a faint, almost imperceptible hint of hatred.
Lin Ruoxi bit her lower lip, thinking, "Perhaps... I really offended Xue Rui unintentionally. Just running errands for him should be enough..."
"You're a silent one, can't even get a word out for ages." Xue Rui was a bit annoyed. He raised his hand, intending to gently tap Lin Ruoxi on the head.
But just as he raised his hand, Lin Ruoxi suddenly, in terror, hugged her head with both hands and squatted on the ground, her fingertips turning white from clenching.
"What the hell has this girl been through! Would a normal person react like this?" Xue Rui's mind was in a mess.
His expression darkened, and he scolded, "Get up! If someone sees you, they'll really think I did something to you."
Just then, Qiu Mengze, unaware of the situation, suddenly stepped forward and said righteously, "Xue Rui, this is going too far!"
He subconsciously wanted to play the hero in front of the girl, especially since there was no danger this time, he wanted to make a stand even more.
"What the hell does it have to do with you!" Xue Rui was so annoyed he laughed. Relying on his slightly stronger physique, he forcibly pushed Qiu Mengze all the way to the cafeteria entrance.
"My image! My image! If girls who don't know me see this, they'll think I'm your lackey!" Qiu Mengze was furious, feeling that his image, cultivated for many years, had collapsed.
"Then tell me, what do you want to do?" Xue Rui said indifferently. What image did Qiu Mengze have? Just a pervert at the men's restroom door, so what if it collapsed?
The two of them often bickered like this, so Qiu Mengze was only angry for a few minutes. He then put on a smiling face again, unable to stay angry with Xue Rui, his childhood friend. He said leisurely, "Just come online with me today, and share a pack of the Chunghwa cigarettes from under your pillow."
"Take the cigarettes, but no going online."
Xue Rui casually found a seat in the cafeteria. Because these rows of tables and chairs were welded together, he couldn't get comfortable no matter how he sat, and couldn't adjust the chair's angle. He simply put his feet on the bar, like an old man, leaning sideways and watching Lin Ruoxi dutifully wait in line for food.
Qiu Mengze walked to the very back of the line and said to Lin Ruoxi, "Don't wait. Come cut in line with me; I know someone up front."
Lin Ruoxi shook her head, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xue Rui waving to her from afar, gesturing for her to move forward. She hesitated for a long time, then walked over and stood in front of Qiu Mengze.
This was her first time cutting in line. She hurriedly lowered her head, afraid that someone would scold her.
It wasn't until she reached the serving window that what she had imagined would happen didn't, and she immediately felt a sense of relief.
"I... I want tomato and egg, braised chicken leg... and a portion of pork-filled dumplings."
The cafeteria was noisy, with various machinery roaring from the kitchen. The serving auntie didn't hear Lin Ruoxi's mumbling at all. She shouted loudly, "Student, what did you say!"
"She wants two vegetable dishes, two meat dishes, and just a random portion of dumplings!" Qiu Mengze shouted loudly.
The serving auntie took the tray, her spoon shaking and shaking, a full scoop of food eventually reduced to one-third.
But when she looked up and accidentally caught sight of Lin Ruoxi's unusually slender wrist, a sudden pang of guilt struck her. She scooped several more spoonfuls, piling the tray full: "Child, eat more, look how thin you are."
Qiu Mengze watched, dumbfounded. He had never seen such a large portion of food. When it was his turn, he said with a grin, "Auntie, I'm growing too; give me a lot as well."
The serving auntie pretended not to hear, her hand holding the large spoon seemingly afflicted with Parkinson's again, shaking and shaking...
"Here." Lin Ruoxi said softly. She carefully pushed the plate in front of Xue Rui, then helped him get a bowl of seaweed soup and arranged the chopsticks.
Lin Ruoxi sat quietly beside him, waiting. She had eaten a very filling lunch, and her stomach still felt a bit bloated now.
"These aren't the dishes I ordered."
Xue Rui remembered ordering braised chicken leg, scrambled eggs with tomato, a small green vegetable, and Di San Xian. But now, apart from the scrambled eggs with tomato, nothing else on the plate was what he wanted. However, the portion size was unusually large, almost overflowing the plate.
Lin Ruoxi said weakly, "I... I'm sorry."
She felt useless, unable to even clearly state the names of the dishes.
When she ate by herself, she would at most buy one dish, only needing to point at any dish in the "cheap" section. Even if the cafeteria auntie made a mistake, she wouldn't say anything, just quietly eat it.
Xue Rui's lips curled slightly. The wrong order was actually perfect; it gave him a reason to make Lin Ruoxi eat.
He said, "People have to pay for their mistakes. The scrambled eggs with tomato are mine; as for the rest, you either eat it or throw it all away."
"I'll... return the money to you."
"Am I short on that little money from you? Don't waste it, and pick out the tomato skins while you're at it." Xue Rui commanded, pointing at the plate. The more he looked, the less appetite he had. The cafeteria's scrambled eggs with tomato never had their skins removed.
"Mm..." Lin Ruoxi didn't dare to contradict Xue Rui. She carefully used her chopsticks to pick out the tomato skins, which were curled into strips.
Xue Rui skillfully picked up a dumpling, poked it in the middle with his chopsticks, and took out the filling. Then, he dipped the dumpling skin in aged vinegar and put it in his mouth, chewing heartily.
Lin Ruoxi had been watching Xue Rui eat. She had thought Xue Rui only ate the dumpling filling, but to her surprise, he only ate the skin.
She inexplicably felt a pang of heartache, thinking about the perfectly good meat filling being wasted.
Qiu Mengze noticed Lin Ruoxi suddenly freeze and naturally knew what she was thinking, because everyone who had eaten dumplings with Xue Rui would be confused. He explained to Lin Ruoxi, "Xue Rui has always been like this, he eats dumplings without the filling."
"You take all the filling out. I'll eat the skin, and you eat the filling," Xue Rui instructed.
"Oh... okay..." Lin Ruoxi became even more curious about Xue Rui. While peeling out the dumpling filling, she would occasionally steal a glance through her bangs. It was her first time seeing someone who only ate dumpling skins.
"Eat quickly. When you're done, return the plate."
"I..." Lin Ruoxi really wanted to tell Xue Rui that she couldn't eat anymore, but Xue Rui's attitude was too firm, and she didn't dare to say it.
Finally, Xue Rui saw that Lin Ruoxi's stomach had indeed reached its limit. He pulled the plate away and went to throw out the leftovers himself.
