After Tang Shuxuan distributed the homework to the others, she asked: “Did he reply to you?”
Lin Zhexia put away her phone, looked up, and said: “I think we’d better not invite him. This person might not be worthy of eating food.”
Although she said this, when school ended, she still dutifully went to Class 1’s door to wait for Chi Yao.
Class 1 was running overtime today.
Lin Zhexia waited outside for nearly ten minutes, until their math teacher called out: “Alright, class dismissed.”
As soon as the words fell, the entire classroom seemed like someone had pressed a start button. Many had already packed their things and immediately rushed out of the classroom with their backpacks—
Lin Zhexia stood at the corridor corner with her certificate rolled into a tube, waiting until Chi Yao and Xu Ting walked out of the back door of the classroom side by side, unhurried.
She wanted to scare Chi Yao, suddenly jumping out from the corner: “Chi Yao.”
But Chi Yao wasn’t scared at all, just slightly raised his eyes and glanced at her.
She deliberately unfolded the certificate in her hand, wanting to show off, but too embarrassed to say it directly, so she took a roundabout approach: “There’s too much homework today, my backpack is completely full, ah, I can only carry this in my hand.”
Chi Yao knew her intention and didn’t even spare her a glance.
Lin Zhexia: “It’s such a hassle to have to carry it. Winning a prize is just an empty honor. They don’t necessarily need to specially issue this kind of certificate.”
Chi Yao: “Find it troublesome?”
Lin Zhexia nodded.
Chi Yao pointed to the nearby trash can: “Then throw it away.”
“…”
Lin Zhexia was silent for a moment, then said: “Aren’t you surprised?”
Chi Yao: “What should I be surprised about?”
Lin Zhexia: “When I went on stage, I didn’t recite the draft we rehearsed over the weekend. I made last-minute changes overnight, so you should be surprised by my talent.”
Chi Yao casually took out his phone, then turned the screen toward her, pressed the side switch, and the phone screen suddenly lit up—
“Do you see the time up there?”
The screen displayed 6:18.
Chi Yao held the phone and said, “It’s been over half an hour, and you’re still not awake.”
Lin Zhexia: “……”
Lin Zhexia turned to Xu Ting: “It must be very tiring to be friends with this kind of person.”
Xu Ting was trying to hold back his laughter on the side. He coughed and said: “Ah, yes, very tiring.”
Lin Zhexia: “I understand you. Being friends with this kind of person probably makes you want to claim compensation for mental damage every day.”
Xu Ting tried to salvage the situation and give Lin Zhexia a bit of face, saying as they walked: “Lin, that certificate in your hand is so dazzling, the brilliance almost hurt my eyes. Let me appreciate it carefully. You actually got first prize—you’re too amazing.”
Lin Zhexia’s vanity was satisfied: “Low-key, low-key.”
As she spoke, she noticed Chi Yao was looking at her.
Chi Yao shifted his gaze: “You two, whose combined IQ might not even reach a hundred, stay away from me while walking.”
Because Xu Ting’s flattery was on point.
So Lin Zhexia also invited him to dinner: “Tang Shuxuan has already ordered dishes. Why don’t you come along too?”
There were many restaurants outside of school.
Although No.2 Middle School strictly prohibited leaving campus during school hours, many people still chose to eat near the school after classes, so there was a row of restaurants across the street.
When Lin Zhexia brought Chi Yao and the others in, several cold dishes had already been served on the table.
Tang Shuxuan: “I was afraid the dishes would be served too slowly, so I ordered a few first. I haven’t ordered the rest yet. Perfect timing, now that you’re here, look at the menu and add some dishes.”
The menu was passed to Chi Yao first.
He took the pen, lowered his head to scan a few lines, casually marked a few items, then handed the menu to her.
Lin Zhexia took it, and then she discovered that as she scanned the menu, every dish she wanted to check already had a somewhat carelessly drawn check mark in front of it.
It was so accurate, as if.
These check marks were made by her.
But she knew they were completely different, because the handwriting on the paper in her hand was distinctly different from hers.
“Why aren’t you ordering?” Chen Lin asked beside her.
Because everything she wanted to eat had already been ordered.
This realization, for some unknown reason, stirred some inexplicable emotions in her.
She, somewhat flustered, handed the paper and pen to Chen Lin: “You look first, I don’t have anything to add.”
Chen Lin took them without thinking much: “Oh, then let me see.”
Their seats were by the window, and outside the large glass window, many students passed by carrying backpacks.
During the meal, Chen Lin said softly, “Is this the treatment of dining out with someone who dominated an entire page of the forum since the beginning of the semester?”