A Group Meal

The friendly match drew to a close amid everyone's enthusiastic cheers.

All the players lined up in two rows to shake hands after the match, smiles on the Pluto players' faces.

Although Vast Sea regretted losing by a single point, the exhilarating match had left them smiling in relaxation too.

"You got the better of us this time. We'll definitely beat you next time."

Chen Dan shook Li Fei's hand, still looking thoroughly unconvinced.

"This is the twenty-second time you've said that."

Li Fei sighed helplessly. Chen Dan wasn't tired of saying it, but he was getting tired of giving the same reply.

He had a feeling this ill-fated rivalry would drag on for a long time.

After shaking hands with Tan Xuguang, Feng Xing hesitated for a moment before asking, "Are you close with Jiang Nian?"

Tan Xuguang had been about to turn away, but his expression immediately turned wary. "So what if I am?"

Was he really trying to steal their precious girl?

Feng Xing folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like some kind of bad guy?"

Why was he looking at him like that?

Tan Xuguang was utterly cold. "You certainly don't look like a good one."

What decent guy went to a rival school to hit on someone?

Feng Xing huffed, ignored Tan Xuguang's snide remarks, and headed straight toward Jiang Nian in the stands.

Jiang Nian was packing up with Tong Chuhe and looked a little puzzled when she saw Feng Xing approach.

"Is something wrong?"

Although Feng Xing had asked for her contact information last time, they hadn't talked much. His sudden appearance still surprised her a little.

"Can we have lunch together?"

He had left in a hurry last time without finding out much.

This was a rare opportunity, and he still wanted to see whether he could learn more about his future from Jiang Nian.

Before Jiang Nian could answer, Tan Xuguang, who had followed Feng Xing over, spoke up.

"Come eat with us in a bit, Jiang Nian. Chuhe, you should come too."

"I booked that private restaurant you said you wanted to try last time. My brother, Ji Ci, and the others will be there too."

Tong Chuhe didn't mind who she ate with, and Jiang Nian had wanted to try that restaurant for ages.

She had been about to accept Tan Xuguang's invitation outright, but seeing Feng Xing made her hesitate.

[In the original novel, Pluto Academy was on the back foot early on, and Fu Zhenzhen stepped up to encourage everyone. Not only did she give Pluto a huge morale boost, she also caught Feng Xing's attention, making him transfer to Pluto and become one of her backups.]

[But Fu Zhenzhen didn't even come to this match, and the cheerleading scene got butterflied out of existence too. Feng Xing probably won't transfer for Fu Zhenzhen now, right? Then I don't need to go out of my way to talk him out of transferring?]

Deciding that Feng Xing no longer needed her help, Jiang Nian resolutely chose Tan Xuguang.

She gave Feng Xing an apologetic look. "How about we eat together next time? It's really hard to get a reservation there, and I want to try it. Sorry."

Having heard Jiang Nian's thoughts and caught a glimpse of the truth, how could Feng Xing give up so easily?

When Jiang Nian turned him down, he turned straight to Tan Xuguang with a beaming smile. "Now that you've said all that, I'm getting curious too. You wouldn't mind adding one more, would you?"

Tan Xuguang's face was expressionless.

No, he minded very much.

But he couldn't lash out at someone smiling at him, so he could only try to discourage Feng Xing. "Their menu is fixed each day. It might not suit your tastes."

Feng Xing spread his hands. "That's fine. I'm not picky."

Tan Xuguang shot him a vicious glare, then angrily went off to call the owner and ask for another seat.

By the time Jiang Nian and the others had changed and arrived at the restaurant, it was already noon.

Their group entered the private room and found seats. Only while waiting for the food did Jiang Nian realize how many people had come to this meal.

Besides the four male leads and two supporting female characters, even Tan Zhuishi and Feng Xing, who had fairly substantial roles, were there.

[Four male leads, two supporting male characters, two supporting female characters... I was in such a rush to get here that I didn't notice, but now that I look closely, it seems like all the major characters except the female lead are here.]

Everyone present could hear Jiang Nian's thoughts. Hearing her observation, they merely glanced discreetly at the others.

Song Jici sat in his seat, his eyes lowered in thought.

He, Shen Hui, and the other two were the male leads Jiang Nian often mentioned. That was probably why they could hear her thoughts.

If everyone present was a major character in the story, did that mean Tong Chuhe, Tan Zhuishi, and Feng Xing could hear Jiang Nian's thoughts just like they could?

Song Jici lowered his head and sent Wen Jincheng a message. After receiving a nod from him, he addressed Jiang Nian.

"This restaurant has a set menu each day. Nian, take a look and see if there's anything you can't eat."

With that, he handed Jiang Nian the day's menu.

Jiang Nian took the menu and read it, her mouth beginning to water as she went.

[Eight-treasure duck, sticky rice chicken, butterfly shrimp, pearl meatballs... Whoa, it all looks so delicious.]

Closing the menu, she shook her head at Song Jici. "It's all stuff I love. Hehehe."

Seeing how happy she was, Wen Jincheng asked, "Which of those dishes do you like best?"

Jiang Nian furrowed her brows in thought. "Hmm... I can't choose."

She loved all food equally.

Song Jici naturally turned toward the contemplative Feng Xing. "What about you? Which dish do you prefer?"

Feng Xing had still been thinking about the major characters Jiang Nian had revealed. Caught off guard by Song Jici's sudden question, he paused, then randomly picked one of the dishes Jiang Nian had just mentioned.

"Eight-treasure duck, I guess. I like it quite a bit."

The others paused and gave him meaningful looks.

Feng Xing was puzzled. Had he said something wrong?

Jiang Nian asked him in surprise, "Wow, you knew they had eight-treasure duck today without even looking at the menu?"

Only then did Feng Xing realize that what he had just heard was Jiang Nian's inner voice.

Looking at the others' expressions, he began to suspect something and ventured, "I just guessed. What about you? What do you like?"

Picking up on the signal, Wen Jincheng adjusted his glasses. "I like butterfly shrimp."

Tong Chuhe also propped her chin on her hand and said with a smile, "I like pearl meatballs."

Jiang Nian looked at them in amazement. "Everything you like is on today's menu. What a coincidence!"

Only she and Song Jici had seen the menu. None of the others knew what was being served today, yet they had each named a dish on it. How incredible!

Jiang Nian was astonished, but everyone else present understood perfectly.

Tan Zhuishi and Tong Chuhe had already picked up on some clues in their everyday lives, so they weren't particularly surprised.

Feng Xing, however, widened his eyes slightly as he looked around at everyone else.

They could all hear Jiang Nian's thoughts?

It looked like he'd missed out on quite a lot of information.

The servers brought out the dishes one by one. As Feng Xing ate, he pondered what this gathering had revealed.

According to Jiang Nian, he was supposed to be drawn to the female lead, Fu Zhenzhen, today, then transfer to Pluto and become her convenient backup, always at her beck and call.

But apparently, something unexpected had happened, and Fu Zhenzhen hadn't come to watch the performance today. The plot had been altered by the butterfly effect, leaving him with no reason to transfer.

However...

He glanced up at Jiang Nian, who was happily eating, and curled his lips into a smile.

Not only could Jiang Nian foresee the plot, but the main characters could all hear her thoughts. Something this interesting was going on, and staying out of it simply wasn't his style.

Besides, he was growing increasingly curious about the female lead Jiang Nian had mentioned. Making exceptional people like them play supporting roles to her was no ordinary feat.

Jiang Nian didn't notice the looks passing between the others. Having eaten and drunk her fill, she simply lounged in her seat, waiting for her family's driver to pick her up.

All day, she had felt that something was off, as though she had forgotten something.

But even after she got into the car and said goodbye to everyone, she still couldn't remember what it was.

So she put the matter out of her mind.

It wasn't until class the next day, when she saw Feng Xing casually introducing himself at the front of their classroom, that Jiang Nian was utterly dumbfounded.

Huh???