The Canteen's First Meal (Part 1)

The owner of the voice was Alun, whom Xilin had met on the transport plane. Alun had originally come down from the adjacent passage to pick someone up, but unexpectedly saw Xilin preparing to choose his food.

"What a coincidence, Alun," Xilin greeted Alun, raising the tray in his hand.

Seeing Xilin's empty tray, Alun quickly said, "Xilin, since you haven't chosen your food yet, let's go upstairs. I'm treating today. I've wanted to tell you for a while, but I didn't have your Comms ID. It's fate that I ran into you here." As he spoke, Alun grabbed Xilin's arm and dragged him upstairs, as if afraid Xilin would refuse.

Ever since he saw Xilin talking with Kangman on the transport plane and the complex formulas on the writing tablet, Alun had greatly admired this peer. Alun was always enthusiastic towards those with real talent and knowledge. His father had instilled in him the idea of respecting the young and not bullying the old.

"Don't rush, I came with my roommates. I can't just leave without saying anything," Xilin said, putting down his tray.

"Ah? Roommates? Xilin, what kind of dorm are you in?" Alun had always thought that given Xilin's circumstances, he would choose a Single Villa, but he hadn't expected otherwise.

"I just registered today, so only Quad Dorms were left."

"Oh, I see. I registered three days early to grab a Single Villa, but I still didn't make it and had to choose a Double Villa," Alun said with a look of regret. "I'm treating today to get acquainted with my roommates and people from the surrounding dorms, as well as a few people I've met since coming here. Oh, hehe, I've even invited Pride. As for Kangman, he seems to be busy and can't make it."

Alun had gone to great lengths to invite Pride, saying countless flattering words. At the same time, Alun regretted that he had originally planned to invite the Twin Stars of Qiyao from this year for a group photo, but Kangman had refused the invitation, citing lack of time.

"Xilin, contact your other three roommates. I'm treating, let's all go together. More people means more fun. We're all New Students this year, so let's mingle and build relationships. Also, I should mention that there are a few beauties here today, hehe, you definitely don't want to miss out."

Earlier, on Long's flying car, the four of them had exchanged Comms IDs. So, Xilin directly found the numbers of the three and dialed them simultaneously. After explaining Alun's invitation, Long readily agreed, while Ci Jincheng and Knight were a bit reluctant but eventually consented.

Ci Jincheng and Knight agreed mainly out of respect for Xilin. Otherwise, given Ci Jincheng's personality, he wouldn't enjoy such a chaotic atmosphere, and Knight disdained interacting with those who acted pretentious and knew nothing. He would have been content to just punch them.

While Xilin was communicating with the three, Alun went to the main entrance and looked around, as if waiting for someone. Soon, he returned with three beautiful girls. He said something that made the three beauties burst into laughter, their eyes sparkling and adding a touch of allure. Several students nearby, holding their trays, stared blankly, not even noticing their food being taken away.

"Three beautiful ladies, let me introduce my friend Xilin. Xilin, these three are..."

"Alun, didn't you say everyone has been waiting for a long time?" Before Alun could finish introducing them, one of the girls cut him off.

"Yeah, Alun, hurry up and take us up," another girl said, flipping her hair and giving Alun a sidelong glance.

Although Xilin had good looks and a good temperament, were such people rare at Qiyao? Therefore, they weren't particularly interested in Xilin. Besides, weren't the more prominent figures usually eating in private rooms upstairs?

Seeing Alun hesitate, Xilin smiled, "It's okay, Alun. You take them up first."

"Then... Xilin, you wait for your roommates to arrive and go up together. The 'Carefree Hall' on the second floor is the place. I'll come back to pick you up after I've seen them settled."

Upon hearing that Xilin had roommates, and more than one at that, the three girls lost all interest in Xilin. People living in Quad Dorms weren't qualified to enter their eyes.

Xilin paid no attention to the girls' judgment and leaned against the passage, waiting for the three. If not for what Knight had said today, they might not have personally chosen their food but ordered it for the robots to deliver. Thinking of the expressions on Ci Jincheng and Long's faces when they heard Knight's words made Xilin want to laugh.

On the way to the canteen, Knight had shared an experience. Before attending the intermediate educational school, he had also ordered food for robots to deliver. But once, he accidentally saw a few pranksters putting dandruff into already portioned dishes. When the robot came to pick up the tray, it would only scan the dish name, check for other living organisms, and detect poisonous substances...

Since then, Knight always went to order and pick up his food himself. Clearly, Ci Jincheng and Long had always relied on robots. At that time, both Ci Jincheng and Long felt a wave of nausea. When they arrived at the canteen and saw that many people were indeed carrying their own trays, they felt even more certain—it seemed many people had similar experiences. Thus, they pondered trying to carry their own food trays in the future, or else getting a dedicated tray-carrying robot with additional scanning programs, which must include dandruff scanning.

Not long after Alun went upstairs, Ci Jincheng and the other two arrived one after another, looking as if the experience of carrying their own trays wasn't that great.

"Xilin, where's your friend?" Long looked around, not seeing anyone else.

"He went up with three beauties." Xilin pointed upstairs.

"Oh~~ Beauties! But, Xilin, first tell me, how deep is your friendship with that friend of yours?"

Xilin briefly recounted the events on the transport plane.

"So you two aren't that close. But why is that kid so enthusiastic? Cheff Alun? Cheff... Oh, I remember now, the family that founded Star of Tomorrow and Outlook. They're quite decent, both those electronic publications are worth over sixty contribution points." Long clearly knew more about these things, but judging by his tone, the Cheff family was merely "decent" to him.

Speaking of Star of Tomorrow, Ci Jincheng and Knight both knew about it, as they had both appeared in that publication.

"So, all three of you have been featured in that electronic publication?" Xilin asked.

To appear in an electronic publication with sixty contribution points wasn't something just money and background could achieve; true talent was the key. Just like Kangman, who came from an ordinary background, he possessed the same "Twin Stars" title as Pride purely through his personal strength and talent.

Hearing Xilin's words, Knight snorted, "If you want to appear in those publications, you can too. Don't think you can hide your abilities and avoid others' notice. We'll spar tomorrow."

"Indeed, a Flying Skateboard Kid who can keep up with two flying cars on an ordinary flying skateboard without being left behind. We're looking forward to seeing what you can do." Long winked playfully.

Seeing Ci Jincheng's calm expression, it was clear he also knew that "Flying Skateboard Kid" was Xilin.

"You all know." Xilin scratched his head.

"Hmph, I know more than just that. Being able to take down two flying cars with just a broken flying skateboard isn't something anyone can do. So, before school starts, let's have a good practice. It's really not easy to find good opponents in Seven Radiance." Mentioning this, Knight became eager again, a fighting spirit instantly rising in his eyes.

"Alright, let's find a place to spar tomorrow." Xilin certainly wouldn't refuse a chance to spar.

"Huh? Is there more to the Flying Skateboard Kid story? Knight, tell us quickly!" Long immediately leaned in.

While going upstairs, Knight summarized the situation at the time in a few simple, clear sentences. Then, Long looked astonished, his eyes shining.

"Xilin, come endorse the flying skateboards my family sells! The treatment will be excellent!"

The Andrela Family did indeed have a factory that manufactured flying skateboards, and their brand was quite well-known, with prices starting at ten thousand Star Coins.

Xilin smiled without a word. After stating "Carefree Hall," a Flying Robot led the four of them away.

They hadn't walked a few steps when they saw Alun coming around the corner.

"Hey, Xilin, I was just about to come down to meet you..." Alun's words stopped abruptly. He stared, his jaw hanging wide open, because he had clearly seen the three people beside Xilin.