Duan Chan'er and I rushed to the classroom; it was already very close to the afternoon classes.
I had just sat down Xiang Qing next to me nudged me.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Zhaomu turned to look at her.
" Zhang Zhaomu, I'm sorry..." Xiang Qing said softly.
Zhang Zhaomu was a little confused. "Why are you suddenly apologizing to me like this?"
"I..." Xiang Qing bit her lip lightly, "I didn't bring you any food today."
Before Zhang Zhaomu could react, she quickly explained, "Today's dish is braised fish, which isn't easy to pack..."
Zhang Zhaomu chuckled and said, "Why would you apologize for something like this?"
"You had no obligation to bring me food in the first place."
He had actually wanted to talk to the other person about this for a while, and took this opportunity to say, "It's quite a hassle for you to pack, so you don't need to bring me any more in the future. I actually eat a pretty full lunch every day."
Xiang Qing said earnestly, "But this is the only thing I can do to repay you."
Zhang Zhaomu: "Huh?"
He was momentarily stunned. "Repay me?"
Why?
Xiang Qing said, "You did my hair before..."
"I already told you not to worry about it," Zhang Zhaomu interrupted her somewhat helplessly. "Besides, it happened last week. Even if you wanted to express your gratitude, bringing me these few delicious meals already evens things out, right?"
"Not only that," Xiang Qing whispered, "There's also... there's also repayment for what you're willing to..."
She paused, looking a little shy, and said, "I'd like to be your friend."
Zhang Zhaomu stared at Xiang Qing until her gaze wandered and she became uneasy, then raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you actually pay a friend's fee?"
Xiang Qing completely missed the teasing tone in Zhang Zhaomu's voice. Instead, she nodded and cautiously asked, "Is... is it okay?"
"Of course not!" Zhang Zhaomu rolled his eyes. "The line of girls in the whole school who want to be my friend could stretch from the teaching building to the school gate."
"If she's going to charge a 'friendship fee,' I won't even look at her without paying at least a thousand or eight hundred."
"Huh?" Xiang Qing panicked a little. "I... I don't have that much money!"
"Can I pay you back now?"
She said pitifully, "Or how can I pay?"
Zhang Zhaomu: "..."
No, do you really believe that?
He really wanted to ask how the other party planned to pay, to test this simpleton's limits.
But if I keep bullying them like this, I'll cross my own bottom line.
I was obviously joking with you!
He said irritably, "What kind of 'friendship fee' is that?!"
"But—" Xiang Qing actually argued, "What you said does make a valid point!"
"There are genuinely a lot of people willing to pay a 'friendship fee' just to be friends with you! I overheard girls from the next class talking in the bathroom the other day, saying that if they wanted to get a makeover from you, a single spot in the queue costs over a thousand yuan!"
"These are two different things. Business is business, and friends are friends." Zhang Zhaomu sighed and could only explain earnestly, "Friendship is mutual. If you need to pay me a 'friendship fee,' then wouldn't I have to pay you one too?"
"I... I'm worthless," Xiang Qing quickly said.
Zhang Zhaomu: "... You seem to have little self-awareness."
If the boys in the school knew that they could befriend Xiang Qing by paying a "friendship fee," the line of people would probably be longer than the line of people who wanted to be friends with them.
"I'm friends with you simply because of who you are," Zhang Zhaomu said earnestly. "It has nothing to do with all that nonsense about friendship."
Xiang Qing tilted her head.
"Because... me?"
"Yes." Zhang Zhaomu nodded very firmly. "So don't dwell on jokes like 'friendship fee'."
"Okay." Xiang Qing nodded as well.
Zhang Zhaomu then looked away and glanced at the timetable on the blackboard. The first two periods in the afternoon were both Old Chen's Chinese classes.
So I pulled out my Chinese textbook.
Just as he was about to get into a focused state of studying, Xiang Qing nudged him from the side.
Zhang Zhaomu turned and glared at her.
Keep poking! If you poke me again, I'll poke you back!
Xiang Qing was startled by his gaze and quickly shrank back, but couldn't help herself and asked in a low voice, "Because of what exactly is the reason?"
Zhang Zhaomu: "... Because you're good-looking, okay?"
Xiang Qing raised her eyes slightly, glanced at Zhang Zhaomu's expression, then quickly lowered them again, pursed her lips, and said, " Zhang Zhaomu, are you getting impatient?"
"No." Zhang Zhaomu took a breath.
Holy crap, that little expression!
Even if they were a little impatient just now, that has completely disappeared.
He said gently, "Don't overthink it. Making friends is just about following your feelings, isn't it? As long as you get along, that's all that matters."
"Okay." Xiang Qing nodded. "Then I understand."
She paused, her pretty face slightly flushed, and whispered, "Also, Zhang Zhaomu, you're handsome too."
Zhang Zhaomu felt a sudden itch in his heart.
Although he had received many compliments from the girls in his class after acquiring the " Refined " persona, the girl's soft words made him feel a little embarrassed.
He quickly laughed it off, saying:
Generally speaking, when praising a boy, use words like handsome, dashing, or strong.
"Okay." Xiang Qing obediently repeated, " Zhang Zhaomu, you're handsome and dashing."
"Strong and powerful?" Zhang Zhaomu raised an eyebrow. "Am I not worthy?"
Xiang Qing blinked. "But... Zhang Zhaomu, you're very thin."
Zhang Zhaomu: "?"
"I think our conversation ends here."
He admitted that he was indeed a bit thin; after all, it's hard to expect someone who would rather eat instant noodles every day than spend their living expenses on internet access to be very healthy.
But is it really necessary to be so blunt?
Damn, honesty isn't always such a friendly quality!
At this moment, Zhang Zhaomu even hoped that he would create a "muscle king" persona next week and slap the girl in front of him in the face.
"Ah?" Xiang Qing panicked immediately. "I... I'm sorry!"
I shouldn't have said that!
She gently tugged at Zhang Zhaomu's sleeve, her animal-like eyes pleadingly fixed on him. "I know, you're strong and powerful, incredibly strong and powerful!"
Zhang Zhaomu's lips twitched slightly.
Where does this strange feeling of shame come from?
He suddenly realized that Xiang Qing's dull personality was very good at restraining his own lazy, talkative nature.
If it were Chen Zhenzhen, hearing such words would definitely make her roll her eyes to the sky and then launch into a frenzy of complaints.
But Xiang Qing is different; she genuinely takes what she says seriously, and she'll respond to her own nonsense with a straight face.
In this situation, it's clearly not her who's embarrassed, but herself!