Shijia High’s cafeteria was famous throughout the city, not only providing meals throughout the day but also late-night snacks after evening study. Its reputation was such that many graduates missed the food more than their teachers or classmates.
Xie Ruan had guessed right—perhaps because they got out early, the cafeteria was packed. Students were eating and chatting in groups, filling the room like it was rush hour.
As soon as they walked in, they spotted Sun Haoxiang standing in the back, tall and broad like an iron tower, hard to miss.
“Oh, here they come!” Sun Haoxiang whistled at them with a playful grin.
He Mingjie, sitting nearby, drummed on the table with his chopsticks, teasing them. “What took you guys so long? A little nighttime stroll, huh? Such a romantic evening…”
Pan Yu didn’t say anything, but his face clearly showed he was itching for gossip.
Bo Jin was sitting down, grabbing a handful of boiled peanuts, and laughed, “I won’t say. You can ask Xie Ruan.”
“Aha,” Sun Haoxiang said, with a mischievous grin as if discovering a new world, his eyes darting back and forth between Xie Ruan and Bo Jin, “So strict with family values, huh, God Bo?”
“What family values?” He Mingjie, always eager for drama, chimed in, “Brother Bo, when did you two become family? Why wasn’t I informed? Old Pan, did you know?”
Pan Yu held back laughter and shook his head.
After all of Bo Jin’s usual teasing remarks, Xie Ruan was long immune. He merely glanced at Bo Jin, his tone flat, and said, “Class 1 is my family—classmates are just relatives without blood relations.”
The group froze, then burst into laughter.
Bo Jin laughed too, casually handing Xie Ruan a freshly peeled peanut.
Not one to pass up free food, Xie Ruan ignored them, knowing they meant no harm, and happily alternated between bites of peanuts and his sweet rice dumpling soup.
He Mingjie, who’d always thought Xie Ruan was difficult to approach, recalled seeing some of Xie Ruan’s “glorious deeds” on the school forum—fights and all. He’d never dared to talk to him much. Hearing that remark, though, he felt the distance between them close a little.
Being the extrovert he was, he immediately brightened and said to Bo Jin, “Hey Brother Bo, swap seats with me. I want to chat with Xie Ruan.”
Bo Jin didn’t respond.
Thinking he hadn’t heard him due to the noisy cafeteria, He Mingjie gave him a little push and repeated, “Hey, Brother Bo, let’s swap.”
Bo Jin brushed off the peanut shell on his hand and looked up, “Sit down.”
“Huh? Why?” He Mingjie looked puzzled; didn’t he need to stand to switch seats?
Bo Jin smiled, “Sit down and get ready for a beating.”
He Mingjie: “???”
Why would he suddenly want to beat me up?!
Before he could protest, Sun Haoxiang covered his mouth from behind, “It’s fine, it’s fine; I’ll deal with him. You guys don’t have to mind.”
He Mingjie: “Mmm…”
Sun Haoxiang slapped him on the back, “Behave yourself!”
They had ordered a table full of food—grilled skewers, oden, and fried noodles. For drinks, they all had plum juice.
After half a plate of fried noodles, He Mingjie couldn’t resist asking, “So, what happened with you two just now?”
Bo Jin smirked, “Nothing much, just…”
Worried he might say something “indescribable,” Xie Ruan cut him off and quickly said, “I just tripped.”
He Mingjie, disappointed, muttered, “Oh, just slipped, huh? I thought there was more to it,” and went back to his food.
Xie Ruan’s bowl of sweet rice dumpling soup was almost finished after a bit of chatting. Bo Jin glanced at it and slid a plate of pan-fried radish cake and some char siu buns toward him.
“Try these? I think these two dishes are pretty good.”
Guessing that Xie Ruan might have a sweet tooth, Bo Jin had chosen these specifically.
Xie Ruan hadn’t had much of an appetite, but the delicious aroma of the fried radish cake was hard to resist. He grabbed a piece, took a bite, and said, “Thanks, I’ll transfer the money to you later.”
After Bo Jin had already treated him to breakfast, he couldn’t take the dinner too.
Bo Jin chuckled, picking up a skewer of oden, “No rush.”
Across the table, Sun Haoxiang watched their interactions with great interest. He couldn’t resist pulling out his phone, activating the camera.
Bo Jin wouldn’t admit his feelings for Xie Ruan? He had to capture this scene, showing just how obvious Bo Jin’s fondness was!
He adjusted the angle and pressed the button.
A loud click echoed, drawing everyone’s gaze.
“Uh-haha,” Sun Haoxiang laughed awkwardly, putting his phone down, “I just… wanted to snap a pic for, uh… my… Moments… feed…”
Under Xie Ruan’s cold gaze, his voice trailed off.
D*mn, he forgot to turn off the sound! Was Xie Ruan mad? Understandable, though; he’d be annoyed too if someone took a photo without asking.
He’d heard Xie Ruan had a short temper, prone to outbursts. Would he get punched?
He wasn’t exactly scared—he was solidly built and had a move he called “Mount Tai Press.” But he wanted to stay on Xie Ruan’s good side, so a fight was out of the question.
Clearing his throat, he carefully prepared an apology. But before he could speak, Xie Ruan said, “Delete that picture and take another one.”
Sun Haoxiang was stunned. “What?”
Xie Ruan wiped his mouth with a tissue, looking a bit pleased as he said, “Cough, my right side looks better.”
Sun Haoxiang: “…”
Like an obedient assistant, he raised his phone and dutifully took another shot.
Xie Ruan leaned over to check, nodding approvingly, “Not bad. Did you delete the first one? Make sure you remove it from Recently Deleted too.”
Still in shock, Sun Haoxiang stammered, “D-Deleted, yeah… all gone.”
Satisfied, Xie Ruan picked up his chopsticks and continued eating.
Beside him, Bo Jin watched, a smile spreading wider across his face.
He hadn’t expected Xie Ruan to care so much about his image.
Confident that his right side looked better… he couldn’t help but find it charming.
Amused, Bo Jin took out his phone, opened Xie Ruan’s profile, and added a new note: “Little Pretty.”
That night, Xie Ruan returned to the dorm stuffed. They’d ordered too much food, and nobody could bear to waste it, so they split the remainder. Even Bo Jin couldn’t escape the binge, and they all waddled back with bursting stomachs.
Xie Ruan lowered his head, sniffed the oily scent on his clothes, hung his backpack on the bed, and prepared to take a shower.
“I grabbed your package and put it on the table,” Song Xinghe said, looking up from his game.
“Thanks.” Xie Ruan didn’t rush to open it. After washing up and settling down, he found a pair of scissors and began unboxing.
“What’d you get?” Song Xinghe came over, rubbing his hands excitedly. “Is it food?”
Being a hardcore gamer, Song Xinghe spent most of his monthly allowance on games, rarely having money for snacks. Sometimes, if he couldn’t resist, he’d come to Xie Ruan for a bite.
“Sort of.” Xie Ruan took out the black wolfberries, showing him. “Here, wolfberries.”
Song Xinghe stared at the bag, speechless for a moment. “Why did you buy that?”
“To soak with water. What else?” Xie Ruan flattened the box and threw it into the trash.
“You…” Song Xinghe looked at him, a mix of emotions on his face. “So young and already into health maintenance?”
Xie Ruan thought about it; using them to help with his insomnia could be a type of health maintenance. He nodded, “Yeah.”
Song Xinghe shrugged. “…Fine, whatever makes you happy.”
Xie Ruan, worried he’d forget in the morning rush, put the wolfberries in his backpack, then focused on reviewing the notes Bo Jin had written for him.
Meanwhile, a post on the forum suddenly went viral:
“Ahhh, I ran into God Bo at the cafeteria today!! He’s still as handsome as ever! [Photo][Photo]”
“Before I opened this, I thought I was over Bo Jin’s photos. But then, ahhhhhhhh, my husband is smiling so softly! ahhhhhhhh I’m dead!”
“So, question — who’s the guy next to God Bo, and why is God Bo smiling at him?”
“Oh my god, the guy next to him is really handsome too! Since when did our school have so many good-looking guys?”
“He looks kind of familiar, doesn’t he?”
“Familiar +1.”
“That’s Xie Ruan, right? The same guy who chased Shen Xingyun. You guys don’t recognize him? But wow, he’s looking even better lately.”
“???????? Xie Ruan???”
“Xie Ruan?? Why would he know God Bo??”
“Have you guys been on the forum lately? Someone posted that Xie Ruan transferred into Class 1.”
“What? Class 1? With his grades? [Photo] Isn’t this his score? Ranked dead last in the science class, with 19 points in math.”
“Rumor has it, and this is just a rumor, that he transferred to chase Bo Jin.”
“Get away from my male god, Xie Ruan!! I forbid it!!”
“Didn’t he like Shen Xingyun? Please keep chasing him and leave God Bo alone!”
“Relax, God Bo wouldn’t go for him. And it seems like he only transferred classes after a fight with Shen Xingyun. Do you really think he’d just switch targets?”
“True, probably just a way to get attention. Classic Xie Ruan move.”
“Please, Xie Ruan, stick with Shen Xingyun and leave God Bo alone!”
Song Xinghe finished his game and was browsing the forum for entertainment when he stumbled across this post. Reading through a few pages, he was instantly fuming.
Everyone assumed Xie Ruan hadn’t really broken up with Shen Xingyun, but Song Xinghe knew he was serious about it.
Xie Ruan had been working harder than ever, and there were several times Song Xinghe thought he’d give up after throwing down his pen in frustration, but he didn’t.
After seeing Xie Ruan’s effort, Song Xinghe couldn’t hold back and replied to the post, though he knew Xie Ruan wouldn’t see it:
“Don’t talk nonsense if you don’t know the truth. Xie Ruan transferred not because of Shen Xingyun or God Bo but because he genuinely wants to study.”
Up until then, the post had mostly been about Bo Jin and Xie Ruan, but Song Xinghe’s comment quickly shifted the conversation, leading to an outpour of mockery.
“Is this him?”
“Guys, Xie Ruan’s in the thread! Come on over!”
“Hahaha, Xie Ruan wants to study? I’m dying here!”
“How does someone who got 19 in math dare to say that?”
“Sorry, the school will witness my downfall before I believe Xie Ruan studies!”
……….
Song Xinghe intended to defend Xie Ruan, but his comment only drew more ridicule, and the post blew up. Frustrated and a bit guilty, he decided not to mention it to Xie Ruan, assuming he’d just ignore it.
So, the next morning, when Xie Ruan noticed people looking at him oddly, he didn’t think much of it.
Used to being stared at, he simply headed to the classroom, filled a cup of warm water, and started soaking his wolfberries.
When Bo Jin arrived, the berries had just begun to steep.
“Here, drink this,” Xie Ruan said, pushing the cup toward him.
Seeing the contents, Bo Jin looked somewhat bewildered. “You’re giving me this?”
“What?” Xie Ruan raised his brows with an attitude. “You got something against my health water?”
“How could I?” Bo Jin laughed at him, although he didn’t understand why he was inexplicably given wolfberry water. But the essence of this cup of water wasn’t in the wolfberries; it was in the fact that it was brewed by Xie Ruan himself.
Bo Jin picked up the cup and took a sip. Surprisingly, a warm drink in the morning felt pretty good.
Seeing him drink, Xie Ruan’s lips curved slightly, then quickly returned to a straight line as he instructed Bo Jin, “Finish it all, no pouring it out.”
This stuff cost him quite a bit.
“Alright,” Bo Jin nodded with a small laugh, his previously irritable, sleepless mood lifted. “I’ll do whatever you say.”
“Smart choice,” Xie Ruan muttered, glancing at the clock on the board. He picked up the broom and headed out.
Today was his turn for cleaning duty; if he hadn’t been waiting for Bo Jin, he’d have been done by now.
Watching him walk away, Bo Jin’s gaze lingered, and an uncontrollable smile appeared on his lips. As he thought, Xie Ruan’s usual arrogance was just a front—deep down, he really did care about him.
He even went out of his way to brew wolfberry water for him…
Bo Jin couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Sun Haoxiang returned with his water, saw Bo Jin’s expression, and sidled up with a teasing “What’s up, class leader? Daydreaming already? Smiling so…”
Before he finished, he caught sight of the wolfberry water in Bo Jin’s hand and was startled. “Whoa, what’s this? Black wolfberries? Why are you drinking this stuff?”
“You wouldn’t get it.” Bo Jin smirked, planning to enlighten Sun Haoxiang on the pure, reciprocal nature of their deskmate bond, but before he could begin, Sun Haoxiang burst into laughter, “Hahaha! My dad drinks that too! My mom says it’s for his kidney deficiency! She buys it to help his kidneys, hahaha!”
Bo Jin: “…”
The black wolfberries floated mockingly on the water’s surface.
Bo Jin looked down, gazing expressionlessly at the floating berries, as if he could hear them taunting him silently and arrogantly.
