"Being watched"

After Wei Liang dragged him away, Lin Yi slipped into the queue.

"Lao Lin, let me tell you, the food in this cafeteria is really good. There are a few dishes you absolutely have to order. Come on, let me recommend some..." Wei Liang's voice drifted over.

Once he joined the crowd, Lin Yi found that the discomfort that had enveloped him earlier eased a little.

Even so, he still felt as though he was struggling through a swamp, always feeling something clutching at the soles of his feet.

He followed Wei Liang toward the Meal Window, but when he looked at Wei Liang, he actually sensed something... uncomfortable coming from him.

The sensation was as faint as a gossamer thread, yet exceptionally distinct, like a trace of egg white in clear water-a change from nothing to something.

Lin Yi froze briefly, but immediately realized something. A chill rose in his heart. Liangzi... something's wrong with him!

He watched Wei Liang, who was still recommending the cafeteria's specialty dishes to him.

He said there were a few dishes he had been unable to forget since eating them last time, and that he had to have more of them this time, no matter what.

He looks fine... Lin Yi stared at Wei Liang's back, his brows drawing tighter. But there's definitely something wrong!

He examined Wei Liang from head to toe and suddenly spotted an inconspicuous, dark red, sticky stain on his shoe.

Huh? Is that... tomato sauce?!

Lin Yi's eyes lit up, only for his scalp to prickle immediately afterward. The chill in his heart instantly turned into a rush of air that surged out through the top of his head, nearly throwing his blood pressure out of balance!

But when did Liangzi get tomato sauce on him?

As he puzzled over it, inspiration struck, and he immediately understood-

It was that stomp!

Liangzi stomped on that guy in the green apron!

So it rubbed off that guy's face?

But that guy's face was covered in white foundation. Where did the tomato sauce come from?

The Green Apron Chef's appearance slowly surfaced in Lin Yi's mind, but he immediately shook his head, breaking off the recollection and scattering the emerging image like a hand churning water.

A wave of terror swept over him-he could not think about such things anywhere without sunlight!

So he looked at Wei Liang's heels, finally confirming that only the shoe Wei Liang had used to stomp on the Green Apron Chef had a little tomato sauce on it. His other shoe was still clean.

Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. Now that I've found the problem, it'll be easy to deal with.

There was no time to lose. He intended to tell Wei Liang immediately, but just then, the student ahead of Wei Liang finished ordering, and it was Wei Liang's turn.

Wei Liang stepped forward and extended a hand, pointing through the glass at the serving trays. "Ma'am, could I please have this, this, this... and this? Thank you!"

The Cafeteria Auntie answered and deftly scooped up the food, then, right before Wei Liang's eyes, activated the guaranteed-hit skill every Cafeteria Auntie possessed: Soul Triple Toss. She shook a heaping spoonful of meat down to three pieces of cartilage and tipped them into a compartment on his tray.

Wei Liang's eyes twitched at the maneuver, but considering that a meal without a shaken spoon lacked a certain soul, he gritted his teeth and summoned a smile, took his tray, and carried it to the card reader.

"Oh, right..." Just as Wei Liang was about to swipe his card, he suddenly glanced back in a roguishly handsome pose, presenting his profile. Eyeing Lin Yi sidelong, he said coolly, "Almost forgot. There's a trick to swiping your card in the cafeteria."

At that, Wei Liang stumbled, because he discovered that Lin Yi was not even looking at him.

"Hey, damn it! Lao Lin, Lao Lin, Lao Lin..."

"Huh?" Lin Yi, who had been examining today's dishes, was taken aback. "What? What?"

Wei Liang repeated what he had just said, then continued, "Since the cafeteria rules say not to let your Student ID enter public view, I invented this card-swiping technique-"

"Watch closely, Lao Lin. I'll only teach you this move once!"

As he chatted and laughed, Wei Liang reached into his crotch... or rather, the pocket near it. With an outrageously flashy flourish, he drew his Student ID and skimmed it over the card reader like a dragonfly touching water.

It was as though a legendary wandering swordsman had torn through the night sky with his blade, a cry of "hasaki" echoing through the air.

By the time Wei Liang sheathed his blade, everyone around him was looking at him.

The air suddenly fell silent, the atmosphere freezing for a moment.

Even the king of show-offs, Wei Liang, sensed a trace of awkwardness. He put away his Student ID and tugged at the brim of his baseball cap.

"Beep-"

The card reader gave a crisp chime, breaking the awkward silence. A row of small text immediately appeared on its screen:

"Name: Wei＊..."

"Student number: X023＊＊＊＊＊96."

Wei Liang cleared his throat, tapped confirm, then grabbed a carton of free milk from the basket beside the reader. "Lao Lin, I'll go find us seats! Take your time getting your food!"

With that, he tried to squeeze out of the crowd and escape the awkward atmosphere.

But the thought of the tomato sauce prompted Lin Yi to call him back immediately. "Wait, Liangzi! Wait for me. I have something to tell you!"

"What could be so damn important? Tell me later!" Wei Liang raised his tray, wishing he could bury his face in it, and slipped through a gap in the crowd to flee the scene.

But just as he took a step, a sinister, chilly current suddenly climbed up from the sole of his foot like a venomous snake, bringing his stride to an abrupt halt.

"?!"

As though he had sensed something, Wei Liang's pupils contracted for the first time since he had entered the campus.

He slowly withdrew the foot he had stepped forward with, then held his tray in one hand and scratched the back of his head. Looking at Lin Yi, he said, "All right, I'll wait for you. But hurry up. I'm worried there won't be any seats left."

As he spoke, Wei Liang pursed his lips and gestured with his eyes toward the few empty seats in the Student Dining Hall.

But as his gaze swept over those seats, he saw a chef sitting perfectly upright in one of them, silently watching him and Lin Yi.

One corner of the apron showed from behind the table, as ghastly green as a green lantern in a tomb.

Fuck... Wei Liang cursed inwardly.

Just then, Lin Yi's voice reached his ears.

"Almost done, almost done!"

While Wei Liang and the students ahead of him had been ordering, Lin Yi had already examined the interior of the Meal Window.

First, each Meal Window occupied a separate space. The Meal Windows were not connected to one another, and each had only one entrance and exit.

Inside the Meal Window stood a long row of food held in alloy serving racks. There really was a rich variety of dishes, with plenty of choices.

Second, there were three staff members in chef uniforms with blue aprons inside the window. One was the Cafeteria Auntie, responsible for serving the students, while the other two seemed to be organizing trays and other utensils.

The three employees each did their own work without interfering with one another. Even when passing trays and utensils, they did not communicate at all.

From the moment he had been able to observe the Meal Window until now, everyone inside seemed to have devoted their entire attention to what they were doing.

Worried about Wei Liang, Lin Yi simply ordered one meat dish and two vegetable dishes.

Once his food had been served, Lin Yi took the tray from the Cafeteria Auntie, walked to the card reader, and reached into his trouser pocket for his Student ID.

But the instant his hand touched his Student ID, an icy presence he had not felt in some time suddenly enveloped him.

His movements stiffened slightly.

He slowly drew out his Student ID, keeping his head slightly lowered throughout and scanning his surroundings from the corners of his eyes.

At that moment, he abruptly discovered that some of the students who had been eating in the Student Dining Hall had suddenly sat bolt upright. One after another, they turned their eyes toward him, focusing on the hand he had slipped into his trouser pocket and placed on his Student ID.

Countless gazes intersected like venomous snakes flicking their tongues, weaving together and sending an unprecedented chill through Lin Yi.

For a moment, he could even sense the emotions contained in those gazes.

Coldness, greed, malice, desire, obsession... and bloodlust!

Lin Yi felt as though he was holding a packet of explosives that would detonate as soon as he took it out, and that this was why the students were staring at him.

He also felt as though he held a delicious delicacy that would drive those students into a frenzied scramble the moment he revealed it.

A powerful premonition of danger arose in his subconscious. No matter what he did, it seemed that exposing his Student ID would trigger an enormous disturbance.

At that very moment, Lin Yi truly understood that line in the cafeteria rules:

[Do not let your Student ID enter public view.]

For some inexplicable reason, Wei Liang's movements a moment earlier surfaced in his mind again...

Lin Yi's eyes lit up. In that instant, he seemed to have comprehended the supreme art of swordsmanship.

He drew a deep breath, pressed his palm against his Student ID, gripped its edges tightly with his thumb and four fingers, then whipped it out with lightning speed...

At that moment, possessed by a sword saint, Lin Yi wielded his Student ID in a sword move through empty air, flashing it across the card reader before reversing course and returning it to his trouser pocket!

"Whew-"

Lin Yi slowly exhaled a stale breath and loosened his five fingers from around his Student ID.

As his palm separated from his Student ID, the sinister, snakelike gazes receded like the tide.

Lin Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, slowly letting the weight lift from his heart.

Even so, he had already broken out in a cold sweat.

Just then, the card reader gave a crisp "beep," as though responding to his supreme card-swiping swordsmanship.

Immediately afterward, a row of small text appeared on its screen:

"Name: Lin*."

"Student number: X023*****98."

Seeing that both his name and student number were correct, Lin Yi let out a long sigh of relief and tapped confirm. He then took a carton of free milk, preparing to pick up his tray and leave.

But just as he grasped the milk, he suddenly felt the square carton lose its edges and become round in his hand.

He froze slightly, his eyes shifting as he turned his gaze toward his hand with extreme stiffness.

*?!* Lin Yi's heart jolted.

He was not holding milk at all. It was clearly a ripe, red tomato!

He released his grip as though electrocuted, and the tomato slipped down, falling back toward the milk basket.

But the instant the tomato fell, another hand reached over and caught it.

A chef in a blue apron had appeared beside the card reader at some point. Holding the tomato in one hand, he looked at Lin Yi.

"Be careful, young man. The tomato will split if you drop it." The chef in the blue apron gave an impression utterly unlike the Green Apron Chef. There was none of that indescribable terror; instead, he seemed rather friendly.

Lin Yi was just about to respond when a rule suddenly came to mind:

[All cafeteria employees remain in the Staff Activity Area and inside the Meal Windows. They will not appear in the Student Dining Hall area. If you discover an employee in the dining hall area, please ignore him.]

Ignore him!

Ignore him again!!

Lin Yi's heart lurched. To think he had nearly been fooled by the chef in the blue apron and fallen into his trap!

So he silently picked up his tray and walked straight toward Wei Liang without taking another carton of milk.

"Hey, young man, you haven't taken your milk! The cafeteria provides milk free of charge. Don't miss out!" the chef in the blue apron continued reminding him kindly.

But Lin Yi only walked faster.

"Lao Lin?" Seeing Lin Yi approach, Wei Liang hurriedly called out to him.

Lin Yi ignored Wei Liang's call. He lowered his head, keeping his gaze as low as possible, and said in a hushed voice as he brushed past him, "Liangzi, go! Follow me! Don't pay attention to anything!"

Wei Liang was startled. Although he did not quite understand, he immediately chose to comply.

Just then, the voice of the chef in the blue apron sounded behind him. "Young man, are you two together? Your friend dropped a carton of milk. Take it to him!"

As he spoke, a hand entered Wei Liang's field of vision, slowly offering him a carton of milk.

There was no way Wei Liang would take that milk. He was still shaken by what had just happened, and now, seeing a hand offering him milk, his scalp prickled. The chill pouring out through the top of his head could practically knock off his baseball cap.

Fuck you, don't do this!!!

Inwardly, Wei Liang wanted to cry but had no tears. He took to his heels, following Lin Yi as fast as he could.

Watching Lin Yi and Wei Liang flee in panic, the chef in the blue apron stood silently in place, holding the milk in one hand and the tomato in the other.

"Won't drink the milk... won't eat... the tomato either?"

He muttered to himself, his voice dry and stiff.

Suddenly, he brought the tomato to his mouth, opened wide, and took a bite.

"Squelch-"

Tomato juice spurted across his face, but he did not so much as blink.

"Croak! Croak! Croak..."

He watched Lin Yi and Wei Liang's retreating figures, chewing the tomato bite by bite as its juice slowly trickled from the corners of his mouth...

Scarlet, sticky...

Like blood.

Thanks to reader "Passing years like a black moon*??*?fluttering" (sorry, I don't know whether those are symbols or something else, but I couldn't type them, leaving only *?) for the tip!!