Chapter 136: Chapter 117: Student Shen Yuan, Don’t Be Angry Anymore
In the end, Yang Ze called Chen Mingyu to come along too.
When the final school bell rang, the three of them ambled out of the school.
He Zhiyu and Zhuo Peipei had already heard that Shen Yuan and Li Zhi weren’t going to the cafeteria, but they had no other choice. They would have to eat in the cafeteria first and then come back.
But just as they stepped out of the classroom, Zhuo Peipei pulled He Zhiyu aside.
"Zhiyu, what do you want to eat? I’ll bring it for you."
"Huh?" He Zhiyu was taken aback for a second, but she immediately understood Zhuo Peipei’s plan.
"Some bread, I guess. Just something to tide me over. And a carton of milk."
As she spoke, He Zhiyu handed her meal card to Zhuo Peipei.
"Peipei, you go on. I will definitely get to see something sweet!"
Zhuo Peipei pushed the meal card back to He Zhiyu.
"This one’s on me. You have to witness as much of their sweetness as possible. It’ll be a huge help for writing ’Defend and Steal’."
Zhuo Peipei said with emotion, "If you weren’t also a senior, I would definitely nominate you to be the next president of the Kissing Association!"
"Peipei..." He Zhiyu’s face was full of emotion.
Zhuo Peipei gave He Zhiyu a nod, then turned and headed for the cafeteria.
He Zhiyu clutched her meal card, standing at the classroom door for a long moment before turning back inside.
The moment He Zhiyu re-entered the classroom, she saw Shen Yuan and Li Zhi sitting at their desks.
They were hunched over, working on problems.
’Looks like I probably won’t be seeing anything sweet after all.’
Shen Yuan saw He Zhiyu return to her seat and asked curiously, "Hey, aren’t you going to eat?"
"Peipei’s bringing me something. I’m a little tired." After saying that, He Zhiyu sat down and rested her head on her desk.
Shen Yuan watched He Zhiyu’s back, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Soon, a note appeared on Li Zhi’s desk.
[Kissing Association spy ↑]
Li Zhi followed the arrow and glanced toward the front of the class. Seeing the little author’s back, Li Zhi wrote two words on the note and passed it back to Shen Yuan.
[Got it.]
Shen Yuan looked at the words on the note and licked his lips.
’That probably means she doesn’t care.’
’Well, it really doesn’t matter.’
’If He Zhiyu wants to ship us or whatever, let her.’
’Grinding through these problems is more important.’
Shen Yuan looked at the chemistry homework in front of him, his spirits lifting.
’If I do more homework now, I’ll have time to work on other problems when I get home!’
Ah Jie and the others weren’t gone for long.
The round trip took about ten minutes. Once they had the food, they hurried back to the classroom.
"Lao Yuan! Your dear father is here with your food!"
His voice arrived before he did.
Ah Jie’s voice reached Shen Yuan’s ears before his figure even appeared at the classroom door.
Soon enough, Ah Jie appeared at the classroom entrance.
Yang Ze and Chen Mingyu followed close behind him, each carrying a bag that gave off an enticing aroma. Inside those bags were mouth-watering fried chicken cutlets.
Ah Jie strode up to Shen Yuan’s desk, placed two bags of chicken cutlets in front of him, and made sure to add, "This one is yours, Lao Yuan, and this one is Young Master Li’s."
Shen Yuan saw this and thanked him.
However, Ah Jie waved his hand dismissively and said, "It’s nothing. I was bringing it for my son, after all."
Hearing this, Shen Yuan shot up from his seat and, quick as lightning, trapped Ah Jie in a headlock.
"Huh? Didn’t I give you money for the errand? Was that just a gift?" Shen Yuan demanded.
Ah Jie struggled and retorted, "Bite me! I could have just chosen not to run the errand for you, you know!"
"If I don’t want to run your errand, it doesn’t matter how much you offer to pay!"
Ah Jie’s voice held a trace of finality.
"Tsk, I guess that makes sense." Shen Yuan released Ah Jie.
"Damn it, if I’d known you were so heartless, this food, I swear I would have..." Ah Jie glared at Shen Yuan, his face a mask of anger, but his words trailed off.
He saw Shen Yuan execute a swift, crisp ninety-degree bow, his attitude utterly sincere, and mutter, "I’m sorry, Godfather!"
This sudden display caught Ah Jie completely off guard. He opened his mouth, but the harsh words he was about to say seemed to be blocked by an invisible force, and he couldn’t get a single one out.
After a few seconds of silence, Ah Jie finally came to his senses and quickly finished his sentence: "...would have brought it for you anyway. I’ll definitely bring it for you next time, no matter what."
Hearing Ah Jie’s reply, a satisfied smile spread across Shen Yuan’s face.
Shen Yuan nodded slightly, patted Ah Jie’s shoulder, and said earnestly, "As expected of the good father of Class 15. The only one who can compare to you is Brother Haojie!"
"The only one who can compare to you is Brother Haojie." In Class 15, this was practically the highest form of recognition one could receive.
Compared to this, even Young Master Li’s "Anyone with hands can score a 650" paled in comparison.
The words were like a spring breeze, brushing gently over Ah Jie’s heart and filling him with an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
Ah Jie immediately puffed out his chest, thumped it, and declared, "Okay, okay, okay! With an attitude like that, Lao Yuan, I’ll bring you food anytime you ask!"
Seeing this, Shen Yuan’s lips quirked into a faint smile. "In that case, I won’t be paying an errand fee," he said.
When Ah Jie heard this, a giant question mark seemed to appear over his head. His eyes widened in disbelief as he asked, "On what grounds? I run an errand for you, so I get an errand fee. What’s wrong with that? Isn’t that just how it works?"
At these words, a look of utter disgust instantly appeared on Shen Yuan’s face, as if Ah Jie had done something utterly shameful.
He said in a tone of disbelief, "You’re the good father of Class 15, and a good father wants to collect an errand fee? A father’s love is supposed to be as steady as a mountain, Zhou Shaojie! Is your fatherly love built on a foundation of money?"
As he spoke, Shen Yuan shook Ah Jie’s shoulders forcefully, as if trying to jolt him to his senses.
He continued to interrogate Ah Jie, "Acting like this, do you ever expect to advance? Do you still want to become the number one father of Class 15?"
This barrage of questions left Ah Jie stunned. He stared blankly at Shen Yuan, his gaze trembling, as if Shen Yuan’s words had thoroughly woken him up.
After a long moment, he finally came to and muttered to himself, "I was wrong! I shouldn’t take an errand fee! As an outstanding father of Class 15, how could I possibly take an errand fee?"
Ah Jie’s voice grew quieter and quieter, eventually becoming a mumble.
He hung his head, his tone solemn and heavy, as if engaged in deep self-reflection.
"From now on, for the sake of my children, I will never accept an errand fee again."
"Well said! A round of applause!"
Just then, Shen Yuan suddenly started clapping. His applause was crisp and loud, and Yang Ze and Chen Mingyu quickly joined in, offering their own enthusiastic applause.
Amidst the waves of applause, Ah Jie felt as if his character had been elevated to a higher plane.
He raised his head, a gratified smile on his face.
After the applause died down, Chen Mingyu tentatively asked, "So, our outstanding father, could you bring me a rice cake wrap tomorrow? I haven’t had one in so long."
Ah Jie: ?
Jiyang Middle School was in the city center. The rice cake wraps were on Cao Tower Old Street. From Jiyang Middle School, it was at least a 20-minute bus ride to Cao Tower.
From the station to the rice cake wrap shop on Old Street was a 5-minute walk.
The round trip would take at least 50 minutes.
Of course, that wasn’t the main point.
The main point was that during summer hours, Jiyang Middle School’s morning self-study started at 6:30, but the first bus of the day didn’t run until 5:50.
"What, you think I’m your fucking grunt or something?"
Amid the laughter, Shen Yuan suddenly heard the rustling of a paper bag.
He instinctively turned his head and saw Li Zhi, her right hand still holding a pen and calculating a sequence on scratch paper, while her left hand, with extreme naturalness, was reaching a skewer into Shen Yuan’s bag of chicken cutlets. A small, crispy piece of chicken was speared on the skewer as she pulled it back.
"Hey, are you fucking eating my food? You thief!"
Shen Yuan’s eyes went wide, staring at Li Zhi in utter disbelief.
Before he could finish his sentence, Li Zhi quickly retracted the skewer and, quick as lightning, stuffed the piece of chicken into her mouth.
The beautiful girl’s cheeks puffed out, and she mumbled, "Isn’t this mine?"
Shen Yuan’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. "Yours has plum powder on it," he said helplessly. "Mine is spicy. Can’t you taste the difference?"
Li Zhi blinked her large, watery eyes and put on an innocent expression, as if she had no idea what Shen Yuan was talking about.
Seeing this, Shen Yuan’s sense of helplessness grew.
’So you’re playing cute for me, huh!’
’You think I’ll fall for that, do you?’
"You didn’t eat it all, did you?"
Shen Yuan lifted the paper bag and shook it. The grease stains at the bottom glistened suspiciously under the fluorescent lights. The amount of chicken was visibly much smaller.
A helpless look crossed Shen Yuan’s face. "You eat pretty fast."
Li Zhi gave him a well-behaved smile.
"It’s fine, I still have the grilled sausage."
As Shen Yuan said this, he took what he thought was the sausage out of the bag, only to find a bare skewer.
"That’s going too far."
Hearing this, Li Zhi put on a very innocent expression and said, "Didn’t we each get one?"
"You didn’t say you wanted it!" Shen Yuan retorted irritably.
"I just figured you were treating," Li Zhi said, full of confidence.
Shen Yuan pursed his lips. "Then you’re buying supper."
The moment Li Zhi heard that, she nodded without hesitation. "Mhm, no problem. Leave it to me."
’Hehe, mission to steal chicken: successful.’
Meanwhile, Shen Yuan looked at his few remaining pieces of chicken and the bare skewer where his sausage used to be. His mouth formed a pout. He felt like he would never be happy again.
Just then, a chicken cutlet bag was offered to him.
"Here. It’s not like I said I wouldn’t share mine."
Shen Yuan glanced at Li Zhi and said resentfully, "You think this is enough to soothe my wounded soul?"
"Plus a White Rabbit candy." Li Zhi took a milk candy from her desk.
Shen Yuan turned his head away. "Not enough."
Seeing that Shen Yuan was unmoved, Li Zhi tilted her head thoughtfully, then fished out another White Rabbit candy from her desk. She placed both candies side-by-side in her palm and offered them to him.
"Then... two? Any more and you’ll get cavities."
Shen Yuan kept his head turned, still unmoved.
But soon, he felt a tug on his school uniform.
Shen Yuan turned his head and was met with Li Zhi’s slightly upturned face.
The beautiful girl’s eyelashes fluttered, and her amber pupils shimmered under the fluorescent lights.
Her slender, pale fingertips were still pinching a small fold on Shen Yuan’s uniform cuff. As she tilted her head, the ends of her hair traced delicate arcs on her shoulder.
As Shen Yuan’s pupils suddenly dilated, Li Zhi’s face, dimples blooming, filled his vision:
"Shen Yuan, don’t be mad anymore, okay?"
