Xia Yunuo didn't know why she had agreed to Song Yunshen's invitation to eat together.
She had clearly had no intention of agreeing during morning self-study.
But when the bell rang and everyone went off to find their friends and leave together, Xia Yunuo felt a sudden, inexplicable trace of loneliness.
More than half a month ago, she would never have had such a thought. She could even have enjoyed the solitude in peace, rather than feeling the way she did now.
And it was all because of the boy in front of her.
If not for the inner voice that had inexplicably appeared in her head, she would never have had much to do with Song Yunshen.
In fact, after transferring from Class 16 to Class 5 this semester because of the three subjects she had chosen from the seven electives, Xia Yunuo had never even spoken to Song Yunshen.
It was only after the inner voice appeared that she tentatively approached him, driven by curiosity and a desire to find out more.
Who would have thought things would gradually turn out like this?
Having someone to eat with does seem a little better than eating alone.
Although Song Yunshen occasionally said things that left her speechless, and the thoughts she heard from him every now and then were very rude, Xia Yunuo couldn't bring herself to dislike him.
After all, he didn't know she could hear his thoughts. As the saying went, judge a gentleman by his deeds, not his heart. Xia Yunuo wouldn't actually get angry with Song Yunshen just because he was thinking something offensive.
Still, Song Yunshen treating her this time had caught Xia Yunuo somewhat off guard.
Honestly... I never even said I wanted him to treat me.
She really didn't feel she deserved to accept it.
I'll just have to be twice as attentive when I go over his English test paper with him later.
But... if he was planning to treat me, he might as well have said so earlier... If only I could have swapped the stir-fried eggs and onions for honey-glazed chicken wings.
Carrying his tray down the cafeteria aisle, Song Yunshen looked for an empty seat as he listened to the intermittent thoughts coming from Xia Yunuo, trying hard to suppress a smile.
Well, well, she says she doesn't want it, but her heart is honest enough.
Song Yunshen was quite pleased with Xia Yunuo's thoughts and felt his treat hadn't been in vain.
After finding an empty table by the cafeteria window and sitting down, he picked up his unused chopsticks, took a honey-glazed chicken wing, and placed it on Xia Yunuo's tray.
"W-what are you doing?" Xia Yunuo froze for a moment and said quietly, "That's too much. I can't finish it."
"Hold on." Song Yunshen spooned some more stir-fried edamame and meat onto her tray, then took two pieces of egg and two ribs from it. "There, now we both have four meat dishes. We've made a killing, okay?"
"Mm..."
"Oh, right, do you want the fried tofu? I really don't like that spinach of yours."
"N-no, thanks."
"Then let's eat."
With that, Song Yunshen bent over his food and dug in.
Xia Yunuo watched him eat with relish, then looked down at her own packed tray, her feelings too complicated to put into words.
The school's trays had six compartments in total. Apart from one for chopsticks and a small round one in the upper left corner for eggs and the like, only four remained.
The largest held rice, while the other three were for dishes.
Most of the time, Xia Yunuo left two of those compartments empty when she ate.
But whenever Song Yunshen treated her, none of the compartments on her tray had ever been empty.
Today, he had filled it to the brim, even spooning stir-fried edamame and meat into the small round compartment in the upper left corner.
Xia Yunuo lowered her head and began to eat. Tasting meat again after several days made her taste buds blossom in an instant, and she felt as though her whole body were breathing with pleasure.
"Come to think of it, aren't these chicken wings a little salty?" Song Yunshen suddenly asked halfway through the meal.
"Are they?" Xia Yunuo was taken aback. She thought the wings were delicious-how were they salty?
"Don't you think they're salty?"
"Not really."
"Then help me eat this one." Song Yunshen flipped the chopsticks in his hand around and used the clean ends to place his remaining chicken wing on Xia Yunuo's tray. Then he took another rib from her. "You don't mind if I have another rib, right?"
"Oh..." Xia Yunuo stared blankly at the extra chicken wing, feeling a little happy deep down, because she really did like them.
To her, the ribs in the radish and rib stew were a little too bland.
But after she finished another chicken wing, she realized it wasn't salty at all... They were both from Linhang, so their tastes shouldn't be that different, should they?
Then Xia Yunuo suddenly realized something. She looked up at Song Yunshen, who was still bent over his food, and silently pressed her lips together.
"Oh, I forgot to buy iced black tea." Song Yunshen took a sip of the free tomato and egg soup when he was almost finished eating. "Lao Xu usually buys it. Whenever I eat with you, I keep forgetting."
"It's not good to drink beverages while eating," Xia Yunuo said quietly.
"Mm-hmm, true." Song Yunshen nodded in agreement. Having found an opening, he went on to ask, "Speaking of which, have you asked Teacher Song about the tutoring?"
"Not yet." Xia Yunuo shook her head. "I'm planning to ask after tomorrow morning's exam."
"Oh, sure, that works." Song Yunshen said, "Then I'll go ask with you."
"Huh?" Xia Yunuo blinked, a little embarrassed. "Wouldn't that be a bit much?"
"It's fine," Song Yunshen said with a smile. "I'm close to Teacher Song, so it'll be a little easier to talk to him if I'm there."
Especially if they caught him before the results of this math exam came out. Otherwise, his relationship with his uncle would immediately take a turn for the worse.
"Okay." Faced with something she had never dealt with before, like finding tutoring work, Xia Yunuo wasn't very confident either. This time, she didn't refuse and accepted Song Yunshen's offer.
At least it made her feel a little more at ease after her earlier unease.
After all, her math grades weren't particularly good, and she always felt a little guilty about going to Teacher Song alone.
After nodding and agreeing to go to Teacher Song with Song Yunshen, Xia Yunuo bent her head and finished lunch. Then something suddenly occurred to her. She looked up at Song Yunshen and said softly, "Thank you."
She rarely had the chance to thank anyone, so much so that she had almost forgotten how to say it.
Only now that she had finished eating did she realize she should probably thank Song Yunshen.
Song Yunshen didn't mind. He smiled and waved a hand, then stood up and picked up his tray. "Let's go. Just remember to call me when you go see Teacher Song tomorrow."
"Mm."
The two left the cafeteria and headed toward the classroom building.
As they passed the basketball court, someone suddenly called out to Song Yunshen.
"Lao Song! Lao Song!" Xu Zhuoyue shouted at him from inside the basketball court's wire fence. "We're one player short! Get over here!"
Song Yunshen had been sneaking a look at Xia Yunuo's tear mole. Startled by the shout, he said irritably, "Why are you yelling so loud? I'm not going, I'm not going. Call me Dad if you've got the guts, and I'll come!"
"Dad!"
"Holy shit!?"
"Get your fucking ass over here! I already called you that. If you don't come, I'll kill you!"
"I really can't with you..." Looking utterly speechless, Song Yunshen turned to Xia Yunuo and said, "My son's calling me over. You go back to the classroom first."
"Oh." Xia Yunuo didn't mind. She nodded and watched Song Yunshen run toward the basketball court.
She watched Song Yunshen's retreating figure and saw some girls lingering at the edge of the court, watching the game. She felt tempted, but in the end she didn't take a step, silently turning and leaving instead.
After a rousing basketball battle, Song Yunshen, having led his son to crush the enemy and sweep the court, returned to the classroom covered in stinky sweat.
When he got back to his seat, he noticed something new on his desk.
"Huh?" Xu Zhuoyue looked over, puzzled. "When did you buy iced black tea?"
Song Yunshen immediately realized something and turned to look at Xia Yunuo, meeting her gaze just as she was sneaking a glance at him.
But the next second, Xia Yunuo looked away in flustered guilt, leaving him with only a view of her profile.
"I saved an adorable river snail girl." Song Yunshen gave the cold bottle of iced black tea in his hand a shake for Xu Zhuoyue to see and grinned. "She bought it for me."
"You fucking asked Fat Dragon to buy it for you, didn't you?" Xu Zhuoyue looked at him speechlessly. "Who the fuck are you trying to fool?"
"I didn't buy it, bro." Zhong Long looked wronged from the row behind them. "Just now, it was..."
"Believe it or don't." Song Yunshen glanced at Zhong Long, who immediately shut up.
Xia Yunuo's really shy. She probably doesn't want too many people to know.
Sitting at her desk, Xia Yunuo heard that thought and silently lowered her head even further.