I'm in Senior Year, and the System Says I'm Going on a Blind Date with My Childhood Sweetheart

Chapter 268: Chapter 165: Can’t You Be a Little More Mature Like Me?

Shaking her head, Zhuo Peipei grabbed He Zhiyu at the back door of the classroom.

The two of them then followed the main group.

Shen Yuan and Li Zhi might not have any sweet moments later, but their shippers would find their own fluff to feast on.

Shen Yuan and Li Zhi walked side by side on the way to the cafeteria.

"What do you want to eat?"

Li Zhi shook her head. "I don’t know. Beef over rice?"

Hearing her choice, Shen Yuan rolled his eyes. "Can’t you think of anything new? Let’s switch it up."

"You decide, then."

Shen Yuan didn’t have to think for long. "Let’s get a few different dishes. If we order separately, we can eat a lot more variety."

"Sounds good."

Li Bao wasn’t picky about food; as long as it tasted good, she was happy.

She’d been eating cafeteria food for ages, so of course it suited her palate.

Of course, that was assuming you weren’t looking for an exotic culinary adventure.

Shen Yuan’s eyes widened in astonishment as he stared at the bizarre dish on Yang Ze’s plate: orange-stewed ribs. His stomach churned, and for a moment, he was utterly at a loss for how to express what he was feeling.

In stark contrast to Shen Yuan, Yang Ze seemed full of confidence and enthusiasm for the dish.

When he noticed everyone’s eyes fixed on his plate, he wasn’t the least bit embarrassed. Instead, he enthusiastically invited them all to have a taste.

"Come on, try it!" Yang Ze’s voice was filled with excitement, as if the orange-stewed ribs were his own personal masterpiece.

At Yang Ze’s words, Li Zhi instinctively leaned back, an unconcealable look of revulsion on her face.

Clearly, she couldn’t bring herself to be interested in such a bizarre combination.

’There’s no need. There’s really no need.’

The pretty girl’s standards for food were quite low, but not so low that she didn’t have a bottom line.

But, as they say, curiosity is human nature.

Although Li Zhi was internally against it, at Yang Ze’s enthusiastic invitation, Shen Yuan was the first to pick up his chopsticks.

"I’ll just try an orange piece..." Shen Yuan hesitated, ultimately deciding to just take a small taste.

However, Yang Ze clearly had no intention of letting him off that easily. The moment Shen Yuan picked up the orange slice, Yang Ze swiftly grabbed a rib with his chopsticks and dropped it into Shen Yuan’s bowl without a second thought.

"Hey! A real man faces life’s hardships head-on!" Yang Ze’s tone was resolute, as if he were encouraging Shen Yuan to bravely sample this unique culinary creation.

"That’s not..." Shen Yuan looked at the rib in his bowl, feeling a bit put on the spot.

Just then, Ah Jie also picked up a rib, his expression filled with righteous valor, as if to say, ’Don’t be afraid, I’m with you!’

"Come on, down this rib!" Ah Jie yelled heroically, as if it weren’t an ordinary rib, but a shot of strong liquor that had to be downed in one go.

"Here we go! Down this orange!" At Chen Mingyu’s rallying cry, he and Yang Ze both shot their chopsticks out in unison, snatching up the ribs and oranges from their bowls.

The sight made Shen Yuan’s hesitation vanish. He grabbed a rib without a second thought and yelled, "Alright! Down the rib!"

Before his voice had even faded, the four of them, as if on the same wavelength, simultaneously popped the ribs and oranges into their mouths.

But in the next second, their eyes darted like lightning, locking onto one another’s faces.

Everyone’s eyes were wide, staring intently at each other’s mouths, as if trying to see through tightly sealed lips to check if anyone was actually chewing.

"Chew!" Ah Jie’s voice suddenly broke the brief silence.

Then, he took the lead and began to chew.

Following Ah Jie’s lead, Shen Yuan and the other two began chewing simultaneously.

And then, expressions of pure agony appeared on all four of their faces.

"Fuck! This fucking cafeteria!" Chen Mingyu couldn’t help but curse.

"Ugh—what is this stuff—" Yang Ze’s voice was filled with disbelief and pain.

"I feel like my taste buds have been violated," Ah Jie mumbled, his face a mask of agony.

The flavor was truly beyond description.

Oranges can be eaten slightly warmed, but that absolutely does not mean they should be boiled.

When the fruit is stewed for a long time, it releases an unbearable bitterness, which then mixes with the sweet and sour gravy and the taste of the meat itself...

It was enough to make you wish for death.

"BLECH~"

Shen Yuan struggled to chew and swallow, then offered his own assessment.

"Yang Ze, you’re the king of finding shit."

Chen Mingyu covered his eyes in pain. "The fucking cafeteria lady’s hand didn’t even shake! A scoop that big, and you didn’t think something was fishy?"

Yang Ze gave a miserable smile. "I thought the cafeteria lady loved me~"

"You finish it. You can’t waste food. If you do, I will condemn you."

Yang Ze looked to Ah Jie, hoping for some comfort, only to see him leaning back against his chair, face to the ceiling. It looked like his soul had left his body a while ago.

In the end, Yang Ze couldn’t muster the courage to face the rest of the orange-stewed ribs and had no choice but to waste it.

Normally, the student council members on inspection duty would have nabbed Yang Ze for throwing out that much food and docked him points.

The problem was, when a plate of orange-stewed ribs was presented to you, trying to stop someone from throwing it out was an extremely risky endeavor.

About two years ago, a student council member tried to intervene in a similar situation and ended up with a mouthful of a "fruit dish" for their troubles.

It was a truly suffocating experience.

Jiyang Middle School may have been the best high school in all of Jiyang, but who ever said good grades meant a good temper?