Lunch was provided by the gardens, much like a large cafeteria.
Everyone sat with their own classmates.
Wei Fang, Tang Zhao, and He Zhen were in different classes, but He Zhen almost never ate alone.
Yao Tao had a rare second chance to sit with He Zhen for a meal. There was no way she would let it slip.
[Round it up, and that's a date! Beep beep!]
[Who knew I'd get a chance like this!]
Yao Tao happily sat across from He Zhen. When she saw the fruit on his tray, she reminded him, "Don't eat too much kiwi."
[Kiwi is good for you, but it's cooling and can upset your digestion.]
[To be safe, he can only eat one!]
[Lunch here is way too generous. They give you three kiwis!]
Yao Tao had chosen fresh jujubes. They came in small handfuls, and she had gotten greedy.
If she had known, she wouldn't have taken the jujubes. She would have chosen some fruit that was gentler on the stomach.
While Yao Tao was regretting her choice, she heard He Zhen say, "I'm only eating one. Do you want the other two?"
"Sure." Yao Tao happily took them.
[Round it up, and this is his first gift to me!]
[Holy crap, my fictional crush has come to life!]
[This feels amazing!]
[Nobody's taking these kiwis from me!]
[They're mine!-]
He Zhen chuckled.
Smack- A tray landed loudly on the table.
[Which stu...]
Yao Tao glanced sideways. It was Zeng Rou!
[My heroine!]
[Bold as ever!]
He Zhen was speechless. Such a refreshingly shameless double standard. That was Yao Tao for you.
"A Rou!" Han Qinglu said helplessly.
Whenever she faced He Zhen, Zeng Rou was like a firecracker.
"We haven't talked in ages, and now you've gotten picky about food?" Zeng Rou had never seen He Zhen listen to any girl other than Fu Xin.
Yao Tao was interesting.
[These are mine!]
[Even my parents couldn't take them!]
With that thought, Yao Tao quietly tucked the kiwis into her bag.
"Look at you. So easily pleased!" The atmosphere instantly grew livelier when Zeng Rou and the others sat down. "Still, you're better than Fu Xin!"
[Obviously!]
[But, my warrior lady, you mention Fu Xin every other sentence. You're going to give me the wrong idea.]
He Zhen burst out laughing.
Five pairs of eyes turned toward him. Zeng Rou asked oddly, "You laughed the second I mentioned Fu Xin?"
After saying it, she felt something was off, but she couldn't figure out what.
[Oh no, he's leveled up. Has he become a deviant in silence already?!]
[No, please! You can explode!]
[But you can't become a deviant!]
[There are already plenty of those in this novel!]
[Baby, stay strong!]
"No," He Zhen explained. "I just thought of something funny."
"It is pretty funny," Zeng Rou agreed. "You're actually sitting alone with a girl for lunch."
"You're Yao Tao, right?" Zeng Rou turned away from He Zhen. "How did you manage it?"
[He's madly in love with me, obviously. Do you really have to make me say it?]
He Zhen nearly spat out the mouthful of soup he had just taken.
"Are you okay?" Yao Tao's attention immediately shifted. "Is the soup too salty? Shall I get you another bowl of something milder?"
[Oh, my baby, you need to take good care of that stomach!]
[You're making me nervous!]
[Weak kidneys and a bad stomach!]
[My poor baby.]
"You've gotten this delicate?" Zeng Rou asked in shock.
"Stop talking nonsense." After chiding Zeng Rou, Han Qinglu turned helplessly to He Zhen. "You haven't been eating regularly, have you? I really hoped you wouldn't need the medicine I left for you."
[What's going on?!]
[Is there something about my goddess that I don't know?!]
[Come on, come on!]
[Details, please!!!]
Yao Tao's ears pricked up!
"..." He Zhen considered it briefly. "That medicine... you put it in my locker?"
"I put it there," Cheng Yu said. "Lu Lu saw you holding your stomach in discomfort several times, but she didn't know how to bring it up. She asked me to buy some medicine to help your digestion and protect your stomach, and leave it in your locker."
He Zhen had never had such a delicate condition before.
When had his mealtimes become so irregular?
*[!!!]*
Yao Tao's gaze changed. She looked at He Zhen, her eyes full of exasperation at his failure to see sense.
[There are so many pretty girls. Why do you insist on hanging yourself from that one tree?!]
[Why?!]
[Ugh, baby, I seriously want to move an eye clinic right to your doorstep.]
"Qinglu wasn't trying to meddle." Hearing Cheng Yu's cool tone, Zhao Yixiao hurried to explain. "It's just that, well, she did sort of watch you grow up for part of your life. You keep putting off meals for all kinds of reasons, and several times when we saw you in the cafeteria, you were wolfing down your food again."
"Honestly, we're really worried about your stomach." Zhao Yixiao relaxed a little when He Zhen showed no particular reaction.
"Why are you being so careful with your words?!" Zeng Rou shoveled up some rice. "Do we need to tiptoe around him? He brought it on himself! Had to wait for his fairy to eat first!"
[Girl, I seriously love that mouth of yours!]
[Exactly, exactly, exactly!]
[Waiting for his fairy to eat!]
[His fairy went off to eat ages ago!]
[She doesn't even remember him. He has to message her first and ask before she'll answer!]
[Looking at it that way, what redeeming qualities does Fu Xin have that qualify her to be the female lead?!]
[I object!!!]
[I want to be the female lead! Thank you!]
He Zhen's rather gloomy expression softened considerably at Yao Tao's thoughts.
She was right.
Whenever Fu Xin arranged to eat with him, she was either late or postponed it. Sometimes, she would rush off again just after they sat down, before the food even arrived.
But He Zhen forgave her every time.
Over time, it seemed he really hadn't had a proper meal with Fu Xin in ages.
The Fu Xin in his memories had become extraordinarily busy.
"You even have to eat angry." Han Qinglu used her soup bowl to press down on Zeng Rou's rice. "Don't eat when you're upset. It's bad for your stomach, too."
Only then did Zeng Rou calm down a little. It wasn't worth damaging her own stomach over He Zhen.
"But things seem pretty good now." Han Qinglu quite liked Yao Tao.
Of course-
Who wouldn't like a sweet, well-behaved girl who looked so quiet and refined?
She was practically the favorite of every woman with overflowing maternal affection, the model child everyone's parents praised!
[I crafted this persona especially for that!]
[Wow, I'm so happy my goddess likes me this much!]
[I'll keep up the act forever!]
[Rest assured, my goddess!]
[Throw in an Erkang reaching-hand meme!]
[Perfect!-]
He Zhen suddenly found himself looking forward to the moment Yao Tao could no longer keep up her act.
It would definitely be entertaining.
"That smile finally has some genuine emotion behind it," Zeng Rou complimented He Zhen.
He Zhen was very handsome, especially when he smiled.
There was a saying that seeing him smile made you want to smile along with him.
His smile really did have that charm.
Unfortunately, Zeng Rou hadn't seen it in quite a while. Seeing it again now felt as rare and surprising as a horse growing a horn.
[Damn it, I can't pull out my phone to take a picture.]
[My He Bao looks so good when he smiles!]
[He Bao's face is wired straight to my heart!]
[Do you hear that?!]
[My little heart is pounding away like crazy!]
Even He Zhen's ears turned red.
"Oh my God, you can't even take a compliment anymore!" Zeng Rou called Han Qinglu's attention to him. "Lu Lu, look! Even his ears are red!"
[What, what?!]
[Is He Bao really this shy?!!!]
[What an innocent He Bao!]
[Oh my God, I love him even more!]
[Rubbing my pervy little hands together!-]
For the first time, He Zhen wanted nothing more than to bury his head in his plate.
Shut up. Stop thinking!
Before you continue