Tang Wulin lowered his head and quietly hid the bun in his hand behind his back.
There was no anger on his honest face, only a slight tightening of his lips.
Xie Xie's expression shifted. He lowered his voice and muttered:
"What's wrong with that woman... She's eaten Grade C meals plenty of times before."
Tang Wulin didn't reply.
He lowered his head and took a bite of the bun. Its cheap, coarse flour taste mingled with some unknown vegetable filling.
It wasn't that bad, really.
Once you got used to it, you stopped noticing.
It was just—
He watched Gu Yue walk toward the Grade A Meal Window, watched her slender yet haughty, utterly imperious figure, and felt something indescribable well up inside him.
Mom.
You never told me how to pursue a girl when I had no money.
And... why did girls have to compete with me, too?
He swallowed the last bite of the bun and made a vow to himself.
Once he had money, he would treat Lin An to the very best.
He'd buy out the entire Grade A Meal Window.
Gu Yue paid no attention to the eyes watching her.
She held her head high and strode straight toward the Grade A Meal Window.
Today, she was going to show the Dragon Queen just how wealthy she was.
The Grade A Meal Window's menu hung overhead, its gilded lettering gleaming.
Crystal Demon Kernel Porridge—twenty thousand Federal Credits.
Nine-Leaf Lingzhi Stewed Black Phoenix Wings—thirty thousand Federal Credits.
Ba Serpent Bone Soup—twenty-five thousand Federal Credits.
Gu Yue glanced at the prices without batting an eye and raised her hand to place her order—
"Beep—insufficient balance."
The card reader's cold prompt rang out.
Gu Yue froze, then swiped her card again.
"Beep—insufficient balance."
Her fingers stiffened in midair.
Whispers came from the students lining up behind her.
"No way. She was so cocky just now, but she's broke?"
"That's hilarious. She called Grade C meals dog food, but she can't even afford what a dog eats."
"What a big shot she turned out to be..."
Gu Yue's face went from pale to red, then from red to ashen.
She looked down at her communicator.
Its screen lit up with a notification—
[Federal Security Bureau · Payment Reminder]
"Dear user, all assets under your account have been frozen due to your failure to pay your fine on time. Please settle your outstanding debt of 750,000 Federal Credits, plus late fees, as soon as possible. Otherwise, further action will be taken in accordance with the law."
Her account had been frozen.
Gu Yue gripped her communicator, her knuckles turning white.
That useless Di Tian!
He couldn't even pay a fine. How was she supposed to enjoy a shamelessly cozy life with her wife now?
She took a deep breath and stiffly turned around.
And then—
Lin An saw her walking back empty-handed.
A thin sheen of tears clouded her violet eyes. Her chin dipped slightly, and her lips pressed into a pitiful pout.
The silver-haired girl who had just been so imperious now looked like a cat caught in the rain.
"...What's wrong?"
Lin An asked.
Tang Wulin and Xie Xie looked over, too.
Gu Yue bit her lip and said nothing.
She seized Lin An's hand and pulled him into a corner, away from everyone's eyes.
And then—
"Waaah... Wifey... I got fined into bankruptcy again."
Gu Yue gazed at Lin An with tearful eyes, her voice thick with a nasal whine.
Her woebegone expression was the polar opposite of the swaggering girl who had just mocked everyone.
Lin An looked down at her fingers wrapped around his wrist, then raised his gaze to her damp violet eyes.
He sighed.
"Let go of me first."
He knew almost instantly what had happened.
But he wasn't going to pay Gu Yue's fine again.
He couldn't keep doing it.
The words "know when to stop" weren't in that woman's dictionary. Help her once, and she'd come back for a second time.
She needed to learn that actions had consequences.
But... he couldn't exactly let her go hungry.
Lin An turned and walked toward the Grade A Meal Window.
Gu Yue followed in a daze, watching as he stood before the window and casually swiped through the menu with his finger.
"This one, this one, and this one... One of everything."
He swiped his card. Payment received.
The woman serving food behind the window gaped.
"E-everything?"
"Everything."
Lin An's tone was as casual as if he were ordering a glass of water.
Every item at the Grade A Meal Window, packed up and ready to go.
Crystal Demon Kernel Porridge.
Nine-Leaf Lingzhi Stewed Black Phoenix Wings.
Ba Serpent Bone Soup.
Purple Jade Ginseng Stewed Snow Frog.
Crimson Flame Python Steak.
Ice Crystal Lotus Seed Soup.
One dish after another came out of the window, piling up into a small mountain.
A number flashed on the checkout screen.
One hundred and ninety thousand Federal Credits.
The whole cafeteria fell silent.
Pairs of eyes stared at the plates of top-tier medicinal dishes shimmering with light, and the sound of people swallowing echoed all around.
One hundred and ninety thousand.
For one meal.
It was more than many people could earn in a lifetime.
A Ten-Year Soul Ring cost only seventy thousand Federal Credits.
A hundred-year Soul Spirit could easily cost over a million.
The entry fee for the Spirit Ascension Platform, the cost of a mecha, the forging of Battle Armor—every single one was a bottomless pit.
"You bought so much... Can you even finish it?"
Gu Yue stared dumbly at the plates of delicacies, her mouth hanging open. She swallowed without realizing it.
"If we can't finish it, we'll give it away."
Lin An answered offhandedly.
As soon as he said it, the mood in the cafeteria changed.
At first, they had only felt envy, jealousy, and resentment they had to swallow—
Now, pairs of eyes blazed with excitement.
Give it away?
All these top-tier medicinal dishes, just give them away?
The students clutching their Grade C meal buns began breathing faster.
Someone was just about to step forward—
Gu Yue whipped around, her silver hair sweeping through the air in a sharp arc.
Her violet eyes brimmed with killing intent.
Everyone she looked at felt as if a hand had closed around their throat.
One by one, those stepping forward shrank back.
She gave a cold snort and, together with Tang Wulin and Xie Xie, carried the dishes to the table.
Gu Yue sat down, grabbed her chopsticks, and started stuffing food into her mouth.
Her cheeks puffed out like a hamster's. A trace of moisture still clung to the corners of her eyes, but she hadn't lost an ounce of her ferocity.
She wasn't letting these ordinary people have any.
Even if she burst, she'd finish it all.
Tang Wulin and Xie Xie stared in stunned silence, then sat down too, their chopsticks flying.
Any one of these dishes was something they normally avoided after so much as glancing at the price.
Tang Wulin picked up a piece of Crimson Flame Python Steak and took a bite.
Scalding juices burst in his mouth. Rich fire-elemental energy surged down his throat and through his limbs, warmth rushing straight to his head.
His eyes went wide.
So this was what Grade A food tasted like.
So this was what the world of the rich was like.
He stole a glance at Lin An.
Lin An simply held his bowl and prodded a Black Phoenix Wing with his chopsticks, not taking a bite for a long while.
His exquisitely handsome face looked as if it belonged in a painting, but it showed no emotion.
It was as though this meal, worth one hundred and ninety thousand Federal Credits, was no different from a Grade C meal bun.
Suddenly, Tang Wulin found the steak in his mouth didn't taste quite as good.
Just then—
A bowl of cold, greasy soup flew toward Lin An.
Lin An didn't move.
He didn't even lift an eyelid.
His long fingers still rested on the rim of the porcelain-white soup bowl, his posture calm.
The soup bowl struck something like an invisible wall in midair and bounced away.
Soup splattered everywhere, spilling across the floor tiles and leaving a wide, wet stain.
Drops of oil bounced onto the trouser legs of several nearby students. They leaped aside in a panic, their faces full of shock.
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