Just Classmates

Wuling froze, then suddenly remembered that he had promised to have lunch with them. He had forgotten all about it, and judging by their tone, they had probably seen the whole thing.

"Um, would you believe me if I said this really was a misunderstanding?"

Calcharo raised an eyebrow and spoke at a leisurely pace, his tone full of teasing.

"A misunderstanding? We saw you from a distance. You asked a girl to eat alone with you, and never mind how close you were sitting, you were even sharing the same dish. And you're telling me it was a misunderstanding?"

"No, I didn't, don't talk nonsense. It's not what you think. Cartethyia and I are classmates. Her lunch was too simple, and I happened to have an extra dish, so I just shared some with her."

"Oh? Just classmates?" Calcharo drew out his words, clearly not entirely convinced.

"Just classmates, and you had to sit alone together in a corner and share a dish? The three of us agreed to eat together, and someone went and forgot all about us."

Lingyang chimed in at just the right moment. "We were supposed to meet on time, but Calcharo and I got lost taking a shortcut and were delayed for a while. We didn't expect to see that when we arrived."

Wuling sighed helplessly.

"It was my mistake. I forgot to send you a message. But you really did misunderstand."

With that, he stopped holding back and told them everything that had happened on the first day of school, along with some of his own guesses.

Hearing this, the teasing expressions on Calcharo's and Lingyang's faces softened slightly.

"So she's a student from a poor family?"

"More than likely."

Wuling nodded gently, his tone calm.

"Only the three of us know about this. You have to keep it secret, understood?"

"Don't worry, Rover. Can't you trust us? There definitely won't be a problem."

Calcharo patted his chest and gave a confident assurance. Beside him, Lingyang nodded as well.

Wuling nodded gently. Although Calcharo was unreliable when it came to little things, he had never dropped the ball on anything important.

Calcharo lowered his arm, then remembered something else.

"What are you planning to do after this? You can't deliberately get an extra dish every time you eat."

"Just let things take their course," Wuling said.

"If there's a suitable opportunity later, I'll lend her a hand. When Cartethyia and I were talking at lunch, I found out she'd found a part-time job on the commercial street outside school. Things should get a little better when she gets paid next month."

Lingyang and Calcharo nodded slightly in agreement.

"All right, enough about me. How was your morning?"

"How was it? Hmm, I thought it was pretty good."

Calcharo lowered his head and rested his chin on his hand, giving it a little thought before answering.

"My instructor is called Yu Xiaogang. He's almost fifty, but he's still a handsome older guy with white hair. Apparently he used to be a student at Shrek Academy, and I heard he has a doctorate too. He's been doing this job for quite a few years. He's a little strict, but I think he's pretty good."

Lingyang also thought for a moment before answering.

"Mine was pretty much the same. My instructor is called Taoqi. She's quite young and has a great personality. She didn't graduate that long ago, so we're roughly the second batch of freshmen she's instructed."

For a short while, the atmosphere in the dorm was warm and relaxed, but soon it was time for afternoon classes.

Before leaving this time, Wuling made a point of checking whether he was carrying anything he shouldn't have. Only after finding nothing amiss did he leave, reassured.

He reached the teaching building and pushed open the classroom door. Since it was still relatively early, only a handful of people had arrived.

Wuling went to his seat, pulled out the chair with practiced ease, and sat down.

Cartethyia had already arrived and was quietly reading with her head lowered.

When she saw who had sat down beside her, a faint trace of nervousness flashed through Cartethyia's blue eyes. She greeted him softly, then quickly returned her gaze to her textbook.

Wuling noticed her nervousness, so he simply returned the greeting and didn't bring up anything else.

Students trickled into the classroom. Footsteps and the scraping of desks and chairs gradually grew more frequent, and the empty seats filled up one by one.

The two afternoon classes were programming and introduction to computer science, both required courses.

Before long, the class bell rang.

The classroom fell silent at once. A lecturer with short blue hair walked up to the lectern with his teaching materials in his arms and calmly surveyed the students.

He then turned, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote the name Yuanwu on the blackboard.

Setting down the chalk, he turned to face everyone and introduced himself in a deep, rich voice.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Yuanwu, and I'll be your teacher for programming and programming from now on. I hope we'll get along well over the next few years."

Teacher Yuanwu spoke in a modest, courteous tone, often wearing a faint smile. Unhurried and composed, he had the air of someone who had seen much of the world, and it was easy to take a liking to him.

There wasn't much to say about the rest of the class. Wuling felt he could still keep up, although that was partly because the school year had only just begun.

The teacher for the second class was surnamed Wang. Although he wasn't as distinctive as the previous two teachers, his teaching style was fairly interesting.

The two afternoon classes passed quickly. As the clock's hands reached four in the afternoon, the dismissal bell rang on time.

The scraping of chairs mingled with the sound of students talking to one another. Many quickly gathered their books, intending to leave the classroom as soon as possible.

Wuling lowered his head and tucked his notebook and textbook into his desk drawer one by one, securing the pen tip between the pages to keep his notes from getting scattered.

Cartethyia's movements beside him were still gentle and slow. The zipper on her old schoolbag caught a little, and she frowned slightly, tugging at it twice before it closed.

"I have a part-time job outside school to familiarize myself with in advance today, so I'll be going first."

"Huh? Oh, oh, okay. Um, stay safe on your way."

Cartethyia answered softly, then lowered her head to tidy her desk without saying anything else.

Wuling followed the flow of people out of the classroom.

The evening sun slanted across the teaching building's corridor, spreading warm gold over the floor.

Many students crossed the campus in groups of two or three, some heading toward the cafeteria and others returning to their dorms.

Wuling didn't turn toward the dorms. Instead, he went straight across the main campus toward the school gate.

The evening breeze swept away the heat of the day, and the branches and leaves of the roadside trees swayed gently. The shops on the commercial street outside school were beginning to glow with warm lights. The sweet scent of baking bread mingled with the aromas from milk tea shops, and the number of pedestrians gradually increased.

After a walk of a little over ten minutes, Bozai Cafe came into view, green vines climbing its walls. Its glass windows were clean and clear, warm yellow light spilling out from inside. Even through the glass, he could smell the rich aroma of coffee beans.

Wuling raised a hand and pushed open the glass door, setting the wind chime ringing brightly.

Cool air washed over him. Auntie Bo was standing behind the counter, wiping a glass. Hearing the chime, she looked up at him with a kindly smile.

"You're right on time, Wuling."

"Yeah. I did promise, after all."

Wuling put his schoolbag in a corner by the door, against the wall, and looked around the cafe.

Because the teaching building was fairly close to the school gate, there were still hardly any customers when Wuling arrived, though there would probably be more in another ten minutes or so.

Wuling suddenly spotted the slender figure of a girl sitting in a booth by the window.

Her long, straight black hair hung smooth and glossy to her waist, with thick, neatly cut bangs covering her forehead. A lock of hair at her right temple was tied with a thin vermilion cord, a delicate tassel dangling from its end.

She held a printed copy of the employee guidelines, reading quietly with her eyes lowered. It was as though a thin barrier separated her from the noise outside; she sat perfectly still and quiet.

Hearing the wind chime at the door, her shoulders trembled ever so slightly. She slowly raised her head, her clear, tranquil eyes looking straight at Wuling, who had just entered.

And just like that, the two met each other's gaze for the first time.