Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 213 Classmates

Ai Liang's way of speaking is still the same—sharp and infuriating.

It makes it very, very difficult to continue the conversation.

Fortunately, Ye Qing had already gotten used to it.

"Hey, let's go for a walk. The class meeting doesn't start until the afternoon. Are you planning to stay here and study all day?"

Ye Qing pursed her lips.

"Schools are places for learning, so what's wrong with me reading here?"

Ai Liang countered with a question.

Ye Qing couldn't help but complain, "If you could replace the novel in your hand with a textbook, this statement would be more convincing."

Ai Liang stared intently at the novel: "Since a novel can be published, it proves that it has its own unique function. Compared to repeatedly learning knowledge that I have already fully mastered, what's wrong with me learning something new?"

"Alright, alright, I give up, I can't argue with you anymore."

Ye Qing waved her hand dismissively: "What I want to say is that it's almost eleven o'clock. The second and third year students will be dismissed after one more class. If we don't go to the cafeteria for lunch now, we'll have to wait in line with students from both grades."

"...You're just a glutton, aren't you?"

Ai Liang saw through Ye Qing's thoughts at a glance.

I was at a bubble tea shop, and I just finished a cup of bubble tea. It hasn't been long since then, but I'm hungry again.

As for why it was eaten instead of drunk... Ai Liang couldn't help but recall the appearance of that cup of milk tea.

Pearls, coconut jelly, double-skin milk foam, grass jelly, agar jelly, red beans, sandwich cookies, chocolate bars, cream... Ye Qingchao added a whole bunch of desserts.

With this huge cup full of random stuff added, can it still be called milk tea?
Ai Liang felt she couldn't understand girls' thought processes.

Why bother with all those fancy things when you're just drinking milk tea?
If you want dessert, just go to the supermarket or dessert shop and buy some snacks.

"You figured it out?"

Ye Qing said with a grin, "I can't help it, I have a big appetite. Those two bowls of beef noodles this morning weren't enough to fill me up."

As she spoke, she began to touch her belly.

Most beautiful women have legs that start below their necks, but what about you? Is your body all stomach and no legs?
"It's not lunchtime yet, is it?"

Ai Liang looked up at the digital clock on the classroom wall: "I'm not hungry right now."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ye Qing patted Ai Liang on the shoulder: "Hey, it doesn't matter whether you eat early or late. Eat more if you're hungry, and less if you're not. Come on, let's go eat."

Ai Liang couldn't persuade her otherwise, so she closed the novel and got up.

As she passed the podium, Ye Qing greeted her homeroom teacher, Yu Xin, asking, "Teacher Yu, aren't you going to eat?"

“We have a faculty cafeteria, so it’s not as crowded as it is here, and it’s not even lunchtime yet.”

Yu Xin smiled and said, "Besides, today is the day for new students to register, and I can't leave before noon."

"Thank you for your hard work, teacher."

After saying a few polite words, Ye Qing pushed open the door and left.

After Ai Liang followed her out, she found her standing by the window looking at the classroom.

Ai Liang followed Ye Qing's gaze... Well, Fang Xinlei was the only student left in the classroom. Even without following her gaze, she knew who Ye Qing was looking at.

"If she lives at school, how will she eat?"

Ai Liang's gaze fell across the table onto Fang Xinlei's legs.

Ai Liang had noticed this in the office before; without crutches, she had difficulty even standing normally.

Based on Ai Liang's medical knowledge, Fang Xinlei's illness is likely neurogenic muscular atrophy.

Roughly speaking, the entire leg is essentially unusable; it has no sensation and cannot exert any strength.

It's completely different from a fracture or a sprained ankle.

"What other way is there to avoid the crowded staircases besides waiting until most people have left?" Ai Liang replied, turning her gaze away.

"Of course I know that, but by then, we'll still have to queue at the cafeteria, and we're the last to leave school. By the time she gets there, a lot of the food will probably be gone."

Ye Qing said with some distress, "Doesn't this mean she has to eat leftovers for three years?"

Ai Liang casually remarked, "Don't you usually eat my leftovers too?"

Ye Qing's eyes widened instantly as she stared intently at Ai Liang: "So all the food you gave me was leftovers?!"

So, have you always had some kind of misunderstanding about your own identity?

Ai Liang rolled her eyes at her: "If we're talking about the standard that any food that can't be finished or that's left over is considered leftover, then it is indeed leftover."

Leftovers are leftovers, it's just a noun anyway. They're all fresh out of the pot, so there's no difference.

After thinking for a moment, Ye Qing decided not to dwell on the topic any further.

What if, as they were talking, Ai Liang realized that it wasn't good to keep having others help her with leftovers? Wouldn't that mean she wouldn't even have leftovers to eat in the future?
"Alright, alright, we've gone off on a tangent again. Given her physical condition, why does she insist on living at school?"

Ai Liang did not answer the question directly: "Since she insists on living at school, it proves that she must have already considered this point, and there is no need for outsiders to worry about it."

"Tsk, you're really cold-hearted. This is a major event that could boost a beautiful girl's favorability!"

Ye Qing argued confidently, "Girls are very sensitive. Even if they seem strong on the outside, what if they secretly long for someone to help them?"

Ai Liang remained unmoved: "So why should I increase her favorability towards me? If you want to help her, just go and talk to her."

Ye Qing was speechless.

After a long pause, he said, "It is very irresponsible to interfere with other people's life choices, unless... you can take on that responsibility."

"And then you want me to interfere in other people's affairs?"

Ai Liang, with a look of disdain, walked past Ye Qing's back and said to her, "If you're going to the cafeteria, hurry up and go. Don't dawdle at the door."

Ye Qing watched Ai Liang's retreating figure and gave a bitter smile, but the smile was fleeting and quickly disappeared without a trace.

………………

This time, instead of choosing the Zhiweixuan canteen they went to last time, they went to the Tianyuan canteen near their dormitory.

According to Ye Qing, this was an on-site investigation.

If the food at Zhiweixuan is sold out, or the line is too long, you can eat here.

Although Zhiweixuan Cafeteria is close to the teaching building, most of the students who eat there are boarding students, while the vast majority of day students choose to eat at home.

The lunch break at Qianhua Experimental Middle School is very long. Almost all students go back to their dormitories for a while after lunch.

Tianyuan Canteen, which is close to the dormitory, has become the first choice for many people, but many others choose Zhiweixuan for quick meals.

There is only a slight difference between the two.

At noon, Zhiweixuan was quite crowded, while Tianyuan was more crowded around 5 PM when school let out.

However, that's not the case today.

The second and third year high school students hadn't finished school yet, but there were already quite a few people in the cafeteria. Almost all of them were parents who had just finished making their children's beds.

At first glance, the two thought they had come to the faculty cafeteria.

This time, Ye Qing did not have Ai Liang accompany her to observe the dishes.

With Zhiweixuan as a comparison, Tianyuan's food shouldn't be too bad.

"I'll go get the food first, and we'll meet here in a bit!" Ye Qing suddenly waved to Ai Liang, then turned and disappeared around the corner.

I don't know why she left in such a hurry.

Ai Liang withdrew her gaze and turned her attention to the dishes in the cafeteria.

He mainly wanted to find dishes he hadn't tried before.

Simple home-style dishes like scrambled eggs with tomatoes, which you can easily make yourself, are not within the scope of consideration.

With her sense of taste restored, Ai Liang is eager to try some new dishes she hasn't eaten before.

Ai Liang circled around each window.

The canteen structure of Tianyuan is completely different from that of Zhiweixuan.

Zhiweixuan is a straight line that leads to the end, with all the windows in a straight line.

The windows at Tianyuan are rectangular, with the three sides representing the three main categories of staple foods.

Ye Qing went to the pasta section, while Ai Liang continued to wander around the longest staple food section.

He quickly chose the food he wanted to eat.

A serving of sweet and sour meatballs and a serving of braised eggplant, plus a small serving of deep-fried mushrooms.

Ai Liang placed her plate at the agreed-upon spot and ate mushrooms while waiting for Ye Qing to arrive.

However, instead of waiting, Ye Qing was greeted by an uninvited guest.

"Ai Liang? You've finished your report too?"

A somewhat silly-sounding exclamation rang out.

Ai Liang's initially good mood immediately turned cloudy and gloomy, taking a sharp downturn.

He looked up and saw Jin Ping'an's silly grinning face, while Cheng Lejia stood behind him holding a plate.

Ai Liang subconsciously looked away.

But then he thought about how he would be in the same class as this guy for the next three years, and he hesitated for a while.

Finally, Ai Liang gave up struggling and replied with a soft "...Mm".

"Wow, I didn't expect you to be here so early! I thought I was early enough, but the line for student cards was fifty meters long!"

Jin Pingan sat down opposite Ai Liang quite naturally.

Cheng Lejia, who was standing next to Ai Liang, smiled apologetically and then put down the plate next to Jin Ping'an: "You don't mind me being here, do you?"

"Please go ahead," Ai Liang said.

"Oh right, Le Jia, he's the one who rescued me from the kidnappers!"

Jin Ping'an then realized that the two of them didn't seem to know each other, so he quickly introduced them: "Ai Liang, this is my best friend Cheng Lejia, we're in the same class."

Cheng Lejia spoke up at the opportune moment: "Hello."

"Hello."

While greeting everyone, Ai Liang glanced around the food serving window but didn't see Ye Qing. She had no idea where Ye Qing had gone.

He subtly withdrew his gaze and looked at Jin Ping'an, asking, "Aren't you going to eat?"

As soon as Ai Liang finished speaking, Jin Ping'an put on a stern face.

He rested his chin on his right hand, a look of utter despair on his face: "Don't even mention it. I had some stomach problems not long ago, and now I can only eat liquids."

As he spoke, he pulled a vacuum-sealed bag out of his pocket, twisted open the lid, and took a breath.

It smells like rice porridge.

"Yeah."

Ai Liang's indifferent words silently conveyed her attitude.

He was just asking casually and didn't really care about it.

But Jin Ping'an completely ignored Ai Liang's subtext and started complaining to himself.

"You have no idea how uncomfortable I am right now. Rice porridge, milk, and fish soup aren't filling enough, and I can't drink too much of them. I'm starving every day, I don't even have the energy to walk, and I have to take antacids..."

Halfway through the conversation, Ai Liang silently erected a mental barrier around her ear and began eating lunch.

Cheng Lejia, standing to the side, hesitated, but in the end, he could only give Ai Liang an apologetic smile, letting Jin Ping'an continue his rambling.

After a while, Jin Pingan seemed to have a dry throat, so he picked up a vacuum bag and gulped down some rice paste.

Seeing this, Ai Liang removed the psychic barrier.

Jin Ping'an put down the vacuum bag: "These past few days have been really tough."

"Thanks for your hard work."

In response to Jin Ping'an's lengthy statement, Ai Liang used a versatile phrase.

Anyway, Jin Ping'an had no idea that he hadn't been listening to him at all.

"That means you must not vomit too forcefully, otherwise you might tear your esophageal sphincter and not be able to eat for one or two months."

Jin Ping'an summarized all the censored nonsense in one sentence.

This seamless conversation further solidified Ai Liang's resolve to block out Jin Ping'an's voice.

At this moment, Cheng Lejia, who had been playing a background role, suddenly spoke up: "That crystal orchid, was it the one you gave to Zhou Yinlian, Ai Liang?"

Ok?
Ai Liang said seriously, "I was just helping someone deliver something."

"Oh right, I almost forgot, you put the crystal orchid in the corner back then, you knew it couldn't be exposed to the sun, right?"
Why didn't you tell me? If Le Jia hadn't discovered it in time, that crystal orchid would have died!

Jin Ping'an couldn't help but complain.

"Who gave you the nerve to be so self-righteous and put the flowers in the sun?"

Ai Liang's words successfully shut Jin Ping'an up.

Jin Ping'an recalled what the messenger had asked Ai Liang to relay.

Warm kindness sometimes turns into deeper despair.

Ai Liang had barely finished speaking when she placed the crystal orchid by the window, a truly ironic move.

However, Jin Ping'an is no normal person, and this kind of thing can't affect him.

Instead of falling into self-doubt, he quickly set a new goal.

That's what makes them so enviable—a hot-blooded idiot.

After finishing her main course, Ai Liang started eating the remaining fried mushrooms.

Ye Qing has not appeared yet.

Is it because they saw me eating with other people and were too embarrassed to come over?
Ai Liang felt it was unlikely.

Given Ye Qing's personality and social skills, everyone became friends in just a few words.

There's nothing to be embarrassed about.

While eating fried mushrooms, Ai Liang glanced at the cafeteria out of the corner of her eye.

After a moment of silence, Jin Pingan suddenly spoke up: "I've already made arrangements for Zhou Yinlian. Once she recovers, I'll find her a job as a caregiver at the orphanage."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Ai Liang asked.

Cheng Lejia put down her chopsticks: "Ping An actually wants you to help her relay these words to the messenger."

Ai Liang's expression instantly turned cold.

His gaze gradually darkened and deepened: "Didn't I tell you not to tell others about the messenger?"

Jin Ping'an had told Tian Hao about this before, and now he told his best friend.

Gao Bin is also in Qianhua City at this time. What if he also finds out about this and uses his super-sensory abilities on me...?

Although Ai Liang had previously hinted to Gao Bin to ignore her existence, this hint had a major flaw.

That is, if Gao Bin has superhuman senses, he will inevitably ignore certain details, which will lead to many things not matching the known information.

It's no problem to fool the average person, but Gao Bin's partner is no pushover.

.

(End of this chapter)