The First Time We Ate Together

Before long, Luo Ye groggily opened his eyes.

Seeing this, Su Baizhou said flatly, "Awake?"

Hearing that, Luo Ye rubbed his eyes, still not quite awake.

Then he focused his gaze and found Fairy Senior Sister sitting in front of him.

He immediately grew nervous again and stammered, "Ah... sorry, Senior Sister, I... I fell asleep."

"It's fine."

Su Baizhou stood up and said, "Come on. I'll treat you to a meal."

"Mm, okay."

Luo Ye shyly followed behind Su Baizhou, like a younger brother.

They returned to Senior Sister's pink Chopped Chili Fish Head, and Luo Ye started the engine.

It was his second time driving this car, and he was clearly much more familiar with it than the first time.

After driving through several streets, the car stopped outside a barbecue restaurant.

As everyone knew, when college students went out to eat, it was either hotpot or barbecue.

Luo Ye had already eaten hotpot with his roommates last time, and this time Senior Sister had brought him for barbecue.

Though the place looked small from the outside, its interior was beautifully decorated. The atmosphere was quiet, and there were not many customers.

It was a hidden gem of a barbecue restaurant, and especially suited for a girl like Su Baizhou, who disliked being disturbed.

The owner was a chubby auntie. When she saw Su Baizhou, she warmly came over with a smile. "Zhouzhou, you haven't been here in ages."

"The semester just started. I've been busy dealing with the freshmen lately."

Su Baizhou was not cold toward this auntie, and it was easy to see that she was a regular here.

This barbecue restaurant was called Sister Zhou's BBQ.

When Sister Zhou spotted Luo Ye, her eyes lit up. She asked in surprise, "Is this young man here with Zhouzhou?"

"I... yes."

Luo Ye nodded somewhat awkwardly.

Sister Zhou smiled. "Zhouzhou used to come here alone. Sometimes she'd bring another girl, but this is the first time she's brought a boy here."

Luo Ye's face reddened at those words, and he smiled shyly.

Seeing how innocent and adorable Luo Ye looked, Sister Zhou's fondness for him grew even stronger.

Luo Ye sat across from Su Baizhou, feeling somewhat constrained.

He was genuinely afraid that some action of his might make Senior Sister dislike him.

But Su Baizhou had clearly never gone out to eat with a boy either, and she had no idea how they were supposed to get along.

After Sister Zhou brought over Su Baizhou's favorite foods, Su Baizhou quietly began grilling them.

Watching Senior Sister's movements, Luo Ye also began grilling in imitation of her.

Noticing his clumsy movements—he had not even brushed on any oil—Su Baizhou asked flatly, "You've never had barbecue before?"

"I have..."

Luo Ye answered weakly.

But whenever he had eaten barbecue before, the servers had helped grill it. He rarely did it himself.

Still, it was not difficult. If he watched Senior Sister a little longer, he could learn most of it.

"Do you want something to drink?"

Remembering how drunk Luo Ye had been the last time they met, Su Baizhou could not help asking.

"No..."

Luo Ye refused.

It was their first time eating together, so how could he possibly dare drink? Besides, if he drank, Senior Sister would have to drive.

He really did not dare.

"Then I'll have some."

Su Baizhou asked Sister Zhou for a bottle of Plum Wine.

Sister Zhou explained, "Zhouzhou always drinks a little whenever she comes. We brew this ourselves, and it's delicious."

"Really? Then I'll buy a bottle too."

Hearing that, Su Baizhou frowned. "Who's driving?"

Luo Ye hurriedly shook his head. "I'm not drinking it. I'll take it back to the dorm to drink."

He simply wanted to know what the wine Senior Sister liked tasted like.

He truly had not drunk much Plum Wine before.

Su Baizhou ate very slowly, chewing each bite carefully.

But when she saw Luo Ye burn a slice of pork belly, Su Baizhou could not help grilling for him.

From beginning to end, Luo Ye had not grilled a single slice of meat properly.

Seeing Senior Sister grill for him, Luo Ye wore a shy expression.

He was usually capable at almost anything, but whenever it involved cooking, he became utterly useless.

Whether it was the simplest egg fried rice or barbecue at this very moment, it seemed as though he could never learn.

Still, barbecue was simpler than instant noodles. Maybe after grilling a few more times, he would get the hang of it.

Soon, Su Baizhou placed several slices of pork belly into Luo Ye's bowl.

Luo Ye ate one, and his eyes immediately lit up.

The meat Senior Sister grilled was no different from what the servers at those high-end Japanese barbecue restaurants could make.

It was rich without being greasy, and evenly cooked.

Most importantly, this restaurant's dipping sauce was delicious too. No wonder Senior Sister liked coming here.

Luo Ye began eating eagerly.

In the face of food, he temporarily forgot even about Senior Sister.

Because he could not conquer cooking, he had absolutely no resistance to delicious food.

It was something he wanted but could not obtain.

Su Baizhou watched the grown boy in front of her quickly clear the meat from his plate, a trace of surprise appearing on her face.

What was this feeling?

Why did she feel such a sense of fulfillment from feeding him?

Su Baizhou grilled another batch. She did not eat any herself and put it all onto Luo Ye's plate.

Watching Luo Ye accept everything she gave him and happily finish all the food she grilled, a faint hint of satisfaction actually appeared on her cool face.

She even found herself thinking that, if she got the chance, she could cook for Luo Ye.

Something was off. Why had she thought that?

But he really looked like a little kid when he ate. All his attention was on the food, and there was even oil on the corner of his mouth.

Seeing Luo Ye like this, Su Baizhou discreetly took another photo of him and sent it to her teacher.

Gu Mingxuan replied almost instantly.

:???

:Xiao Ye is actually having a meal with you?

Seeing this, Su Baizhou's expression turned cold as she replied.

:What do you mean?

She was the Cool and Aloof Campus Belle. Wasn't he saying that backward?

Shouldn't he be surprised that she was actually eating with Luo Ye?

Then Gu Mingxuan replied.

:You don't really want to pursue my little brother, do you?

:Then you're in trouble. If you want to pursue my little brother, you'll have to overcome an obstacle.

:Xiao Ye had a goddess he had a Secret Crush on for three years in high school, but for some reason, they didn't end up together in college.

Su Baizhou's expression cooled a little further.

She looked at Luo Ye across from her. For some reason, she was in a bad mood, and she said coldly, "We're leaving."

"Huh?"

With food stuffed in his mouth, Luo Ye stared blankly at Su Baizhou like a hamster.

At that sight, the anger in Su Baizhou's heart vanished.

With that expression, how could she stay angry?

And why was she angry in the first place?

Just then, another message from Gu Mingxuan came through on her phone.

:But since Xiao Ye was willing to come out and eat with you, it means he's drawn a clear line with that girl he had a Secret Crush on. Unless something unexpected happened, it should be over between them. I can vouch for Xiao Ye's character on that point.

After reading the message, Su Baizhou suddenly raised her head and looked at Luo Ye, who had already stood up and was preparing to leave. She asked softly, "Where are you going?"

Luo Ye asked in confusion, "Senior Sister, weren't we leaving...?"

"Sit down and eat."

"Huh?"

"Sit down."

"Oh."

Luo Ye obediently sat back down, but he was already almost full.

Su Baizhou grilled another batch.

Seeing his bowl filled up again by Senior Sister, Luo Ye sighed inwardly.

Eat. I can only eat.