Xinxi No. 1 High School cafeteria.
Wang Qianzi picked up a piece of chicken, placed it on Chen Zhenzhen's plate, and exclaimed with exaggerated expression, " Zhenzhen, the stir-fried chicken tastes pretty good today! It feels like the cafeteria chef has finally shown some humanity today!"
"Really?" Chen Zhenzhen put a piece in her mouth, chewed it expressionlessly, and then nodded. "It's alright."
"This cauliflower is good too, it's crunchy!" Wang Qianzi fed it again.
"Mmm, it's crunchy." Chen Zhenzhen picked up a piece, chewed, and nodded.
Wang Qianzi cautiously reminded him, "You're picking up raw ginger."
"Oh." Chen Zhenzhen spat out the chewed ginger from her mouth without changing her expression.
" Zhenzhen," Wang Qianzi of horror, "You haven't lost your sense of taste because you're too heartbroken, have you?"
"I'm not sad!" Chen Zhenzhen gripped her chopsticks tightly. "I'm angry! I'm burning with rage!"
She poked at the rice in her plate, "What does he mean?! 'Next time for sure,' and ' Duan Chan'er and I have something to do at noon.'"
When Chen Zhenzhen mentioned Duan Chan'er, she unconsciously raised her voice, imitating the smug look on Zhang Zhaomu's face that she had imagined.
"Who cares about eating with him! If you're so capable, then don't eat with me anymore! Eat with Duan Chan'er every day!"
"Don't be upset, don't be upset," Wang Qianzi quickly comforted her. "I'll eat with you from now on. I definitely can't let Zhenzhen be all alone."
"And what do you mean by 'I can order whatever I want to eat'? What kind of talk is that? Are you pitying me?" Chen Zhenzhen became increasingly angry as she spoke, "You and Duan Chan'er went out for a fancy meal, leaving me to eat in the school cafeteria, and you still have the nerve to say you'll reimburse me!"
"Indeed, that's too much," Wang Qianzi echoed. "What a scumbag! I think his name was well-deserved; 'Zhaomu'... doesn't that just mean fickle?"
Chen Zhenzhen was stunned for a moment, then stared at Wang Qianzi: " Zhang Zaowan is not a scumbag."
Wang Qianzi: "?"
Not sisters?
"I'm angry because what he did upset me; that's a behavioral issue," Chen Zhenzhen explained earnestly. "But that doesn't mean he has a character flaw, let alone being fickle or unfaithful—that's completely unrelated."
"I know you're saying this to help me get revenge, but I don't like it when people talk about him like that."
Wang Qianzi: "..."
Fine, fine, I was just being delusional. It turns out I was just a pawn in your game all along.
She was somewhat helpless; her best friend was already so angry, yet she was still protecting her own—there was no hope for her.
"Then I won't talk about him, can't we just talk about you?" Wang Qianzi placed another piece of chicken on Chen Zhenzhen's plate and asked, "So what are you planning to do?"
"I don't know! I'm just so angry!" Chen Zhenzhen chewed hard. "I was planning to ignore him all day! But after only half a day, he's already given me a huge mess!"
"Actually—" Wang Qianzi organized her thoughts, "I feel that Zhang Zhaomu and Duan Chan'er's relationship doesn't seem very close yet. Zhenzhen, if you take the initiative, you'll definitely be the winner in the end!"
Chen Zhenzhen rolled her eyes immediately. " Qianqian, you're at it again! Why do you always think about things in a romantic way? I've already said, I have no such thoughts! Zhang Zaowan and I are just best friends!"
Although there was a misunderstanding with Zhang Zhaomu yesterday, which even led me to harden my heart and consider sacrificing myself for him, it's all been cleared up in the end. Our friendship hasn't changed at all! He's just purely a womanizer, and we can still maintain our pure brotherhood!
Wang Qianzi became tense.
Girl, still being stubborn?
She posed a probing question, "Oh, if you don't like Zhang Zhaomu, then what are you jealous about?"
"Jealous?!" Chen Zhenzhen reacted as if her hair had been blown off, quickly retorting, "I'm not jealous at all!"
"Then why are you so angry?" Wang Qianzi pressed.
"Didn't I already explain the reason?" Chen Zhenzhen insisted, "It's because Zhang Zaowan went to eat with someone else without saying a word! That's betrayal! A betrayal of our friendship!"
She emphasized the words "brotherly friendship".
Wang Qianzi covered her face, speechless.
She wasn't worried that Chen Zhenzhen was lying to her; what she was worried about was that Chen Zhenzhen was lying to her too. The key point was that it seemed to be true, and this girl didn't seem to realize that she liked Zhang Zhaomu at all.
Even though it's obvious on their faces that "I really like him," they stubbornly believe it's just buddy friendship.
"Hesitatingly speaking--"
Wang Qianzi drawled, "Let's just assume you two are truly just friends. But you still have to deal with the fact that your best buddy suddenly has a new love interest... I mean, a new best friend, right?"
Her tone was slightly provocative. "Or do you think that since it's just pure friendship, you have no right to interfere with other people's friendships, so you might as well just get along peacefully? What's that saying again? The most important thing is for the three of you to live a good life together."
"It's his freedom to make friends with other people, what right do I have to interfere?" Chen Zhenzhen muttered insincerely, "I only care about the things between him and me! He can't ignore me because of other people!"
"As for his stance... I'm not his father, but I'm more like one than his father. Isn't that enough?"
"Enough, enough." Wang Qianzi revealed her true intentions. "So, whether it's love or pure friendship, you can't just stand by and watch Zhang Zhaomu be taken away by someone else, can you? Girl, being passive won't work; you have to take the initiative."
Chen Zhenzhen thought for a moment and nodded, "That makes sense."
"I have a lot of tricks for you to use!" Wang Qianzi felt she had finally reached a point where she could talk about her strengths, and she immediately launched into a long explanation. "For example, isn't he making new friends to annoy you? You can pretend you've made a new friend too, and then he'll realize how important you are to him!"
Chen Zhenzhen looked incredulous. "How could I do something so stupid? If he gets really angry, wouldn't the misunderstanding just get worse?"
"Then let's try another approach. You can confront Duan Chan'er alone and declare your status as Zhang Zhaomu's only lover... best friend, and tell her to stay away from Zhang Zhaomu!" Wang Qianzi lit up with excitement at the thought of that scene.
Chen Zhenzhen couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Stop watching those brainless Korean dramas. Are you trying to make me think of the villainous second female lead?"
"If that doesn't work, I have my ultimate weapon!" Wang Qianzi declared confidently, "As the saying goes, 'The rice is cooked—'"
"Stop!" Chen Zhenzhen quickly covered her mouth. "No need to say anything, I have my own methods!"
"What trick?" Wang Qianzi asked vaguely, her mouth covered.
Chen Zhenzhen said, "Let's go find him and explain things clearly!"
"Explain... explain what?"
"Absolutely," Chen Zhenzhen said matter-of-factly. "Whether it's a conflict or a misunderstanding, isn't it the best way to resolve it face-to-face?"
"... Zhenzhen, weren't you planning to ignore him all day?" Wang Qianzi asked cautiously. "You've already given him the cold shoulder, and now you're suddenly going to see him again? Isn't that just showing weakness?"
"Do you think I wanted this?" Chen Zhenzhen snorted unhappily. "But there are priorities. Leaving him hanging for a day was to teach him a small lesson. Now the situation has changed, and it's obviously more important to talk to him and clarify things. I can't put the cart before the horse."
"I'll just have to save the rest of the half-day for now and air it out later!"
After a long pause to process it, Wang Qianzi finally slowly raised a thumbs up.
" Zhenzhen, perhaps you are the true embodiment of profound wisdom appearing as foolishness. I don't understand, but I am deeply impressed."