Noon, school cafeteria.
The cafeteria was located on the first floor of the dormitory building, with a small convenience store next to it, where prices were fifty cents higher than outside.
An Yuan carried two trays back to the long table. After placing the lunches down, he sat across from the girl.
"Food this year is pretty cheap—two meat dishes and a vegetable dish for only thirteen yuan. That's a better deal than my company cafeteria."
Casually, he picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork from the girl's tray. "The taste isn't great, and the hygiene is just so-so. Let's see if luck is on our side today."
"..."
Chen Cheng sat there, head down, looking utterly dejected.
"Come on, what's wrong?" An Yuan found it amusing and waved a hand in front of her face. "It's just a confession, right? And you didn't even take the chocolate. You could've at least kept it as a snack."
He had already heard about Chen Cheng being confessed to. Apparently, she had been so scared that she turned pale and slumped over her desk, unable to recover even when class started.
"Back when Chen Shuting confessed to you, she also gave you chocolates. Didn't you share them with us?"
"Too bad I wasn't there this time. How did the guy confess? Was it romantic?"
Chen Cheng finally couldn't hold it in anymore. "Are you an idiot?!"
"Then hit me a couple of times?" Seeing that she was reacting, An Yuan felt reassured. He patted his biceps. "Come on?"
"As if! It wouldn't even hurt you!"
Her sharp, high-pitched voice drew the attention of the nearby students. Chen Cheng blushed and quickly lowered her head to eat, muttering under her breath, "This food is terrible. I should've just eaten at a Sha County diner outside. What if I get food poisoning?"
She only acted extroverted around friends, but in reality, she was extremely socially anxious.
After graduating from university, she had practically locked herself in a rented apartment for six or seven years, only interacting with delivery drivers by saying a simple "thank you"—and that counted as socializing.
Being with her classmates was still manageable since they were familiar, but the cafeteria was full of strangers.
An Yuan finally started comforting her. "If you're upset, why not report it to the class teacher?"
Of course, the school didn't allow "puppy love," though it wasn't exactly early for high school seniors at seventeen or eighteen.
"We're not kids anymore. Why run to the teacher for everything..."
"Then I'll take care of it for you! Want me to go beat him up?"
"People would think you're jealous and fighting over me."
"I don't care. You're just too concerned about what others think, that's why you have social anxiety."
Chen Cheng pursed her lips without responding.
She pulled a stray hair from her mouth, then fished out a piece of metal wire from her tomato and egg dish and dropped it on the table.
Suddenly, she lost her appetite...
Today just seemed like an unlucky day.
First, her period came, then she got confessed to by a guy, and now she found a foreign object in her food.
Ever since she had transmigrated and become a girl, nothing had gone smoothly.
Putting down her chopsticks, she propped her chin up with one hand and finally couldn't help but vent to An Yuan: "Why the hell did a guy confess to me? He's got to be brain-dead! What a dumbass!"
"It's because you're good-looking."
Chen Cheng was well aware of her looks.
Even with glasses and a school uniform suppressing her natural aura and figure, she was still attractive.
But she had never imagined that one day she would be confessed to by a guy.
She never even considered that possibility.
"Men! Straight men! Ugh! Disgusting! How come when I was a guy, no girls ever confessed to me?"
Honestly, even when she was swearing, her voice still sounded cute—soft and not at all intimidating.
"Maybe I should adopt a tomboy persona from now on. Not that I have any interest in girls anymore either."
"If your mom hears that, your butt is doomed."
"Yeah..."
Chen Cheng rested her chin on one hand, using her chopsticks to poke at her food, searching for more foreign objects.
After venting her frustration, she felt a little better. Looking up, she asked, "Back then, you led the entire senior class to trash the cafeteria. It even made the news. Now that we're back, should we do it again?"
"Forget it."
An Yuan had long lost that youthful recklessness. Without hesitation, he shook his head. "It's not like the food will actually kill us."
"Oh."
Chen Cheng wasn't sure if she felt disappointed or just regretful. She responded with a dull murmur.
That was when she realized—at some point, An Yuan had changed. Unlike her, who had never truly stepped into society and was still a student at heart.
"We're time travelers, though. Shouldn't we stir things up a little?"
For some reason, Chen Cheng tried to egg him on.
"What if the school leaders make my life difficult afterward?" An Yuan smiled and stole two more pieces of meat from her tray. "In a couple of years, regulations will catch up anyway."
"Fine, whatever."
Chen Cheng had to admit he had a point. She fiddled with her chopsticks, feeling even more down.
She ended up pushing her tray over. After knowing each other for so long, they didn't mind sharing food.
"Hey..." Chen Cheng brought the conversation back. "What if someone else confesses to me? Ugh, it's disgusting. It ruins my whole appetite."
"Just reject them outright?"
"You know how I am..."
She was never good at rejecting people, especially when their requests weren't ill-intentioned.
"Then use me as a shield?"
"Li Wanyi would misunderstand," Chen Cheng said, her tone laced with sarcasm.
"Her?" An Yuan's expression stiffened slightly. He lowered his head and focused on his food, mumbling, "A misunderstanding might not be so bad."
By this time, Li Wanyi already had ambiguous feelings toward An Yuan.
He was well aware she was trouble, but after nearly ten years of emotional entanglement, he couldn't completely cut her off. In relationships, he had always been passive and indecisive.
"Oh, I see..."
So An Yuan wasn't the key factor?
Chen Cheng suddenly had an idea on how to help him break free from Li Wanyi.
If that woman misunderstood and decided to back off on her own, the problem was solved!
After all, plenty of classmates were already gossiping about her and An Yuan. It was only a matter of time before Li Wanyi exploded.
"Chengcheng~ wanna go buy some snacks?"
Just as she was lost in thought, Hu Wei came bouncing over, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "What were you two talking about? Why didn't you eat lunch with us today?"
Chen Cheng glanced in the direction Hu Wei had come from.
Chen Shuting, two girls whose names she couldn't remember, and Hu Wei—four people in total. They were probably the ones she was closer to.
Even if they weren't particularly close, they were at least familiar enough to eat together.
"Nothing much." Chen Cheng wasn't fond of hanging out with girls unless she had no other choice, so she turned down the offer. "I'll pass on the snacks. I'm heading back to the classroom for a nap."
"Oh~ okay then! I won't disturb you two!"
Chen Cheng caught the implication in Hu Wei's tone and shot her an annoyed glare before turning to An Yuan.
"Did you switch seats?"
An Yuan shook his head and made up an excuse. "No homeroom teacher's class today."
"You could just go to her office and ask." Chen Cheng scoffed. "I'll go with you and help you talk to her."
"This..." An Yuan rubbed the bridge of his nose, clearly torn. After a long sigh, he relented. "Fine. You sure are enthusiastic about my problems."
"We're bros! Your problems are my problems!"
<+>
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/1362427?view=condensed
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[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/128679946?collection=1362427
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