Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

It's exactly twelve o'clock.

Li Chen closed the calculus book, which had been turned upside down, and felt as if half of his soul had left his body.

While the calculus symbols in my head were still dancing in the square, my stomach let out a loud rumble, completely out of place.

"Gurgle—"

In the quiet reading room, the sound was almost like an air raid siren.

Yan Xi, who was packing her schoolbag, paused.

She looked up, her gaze sweeping over Li Chen's flat stomach, and raised an eyebrow slightly: "It seems that mental work really does take a lot of energy."

Li Chen awkwardly covered his stomach, trying to block out any further noise with his hand: "I ate breakfast too early."

"Let's go."

Yan Xi stuffed the book into her bag, slung it over one shoulder, and said, "Let's go eat."

Li Chen quickly followed, but was secretly making plans in his mind.

Yan Xi bought the sandwiches and soy milk this morning. He had just done her such a big favor in the break room, so he had to treat her to lunch this time.

Although living expenses are running out, a man's dignity cannot be lost.

We must never allow the label of "living off a woman" to be permanently attached to us.

The campus was noisy and bustling at noon.

The two walked side by side on the sycamore-lined avenue, attracting a lot of attention.

Yan Xi seemed to be used to this kind of staring, walking ahead without looking to the side, while Li Chen could only grit his teeth and endure the searchlight-like gazes from all around.

"Go to the third canteen."

Yan Xi suddenly spoke.

Li Chen was taken aback: "The third canteen?"

"There are a lot of people over there, and..."

Moreover, the Third Canteen is known as the "people's canteen." Although the food is good, the environment is noisy, which is seriously inconsistent with Yan Xi's aloof and elegant temperament.

He originally planned to take her to that quiet Western restaurant outside the school, even if it meant eating dirt for the next two weeks.

"It's lively with lots of people."

Yan Xi didn't give him a chance to refute and turned around directly.

As soon as you enter the cafeteria, a wave of heat mixed with the aroma of food hits you.

It was lunchtime, and long queues formed in front of every window.

Li Chen subconsciously wanted to reach out and protect Yan Xi, afraid that she would be squeezed, but he found that he was overthinking it - as soon as Yan Xi stood there, a vacuum zone with a diameter of half a meter automatically formed around her.

The originally crowded people made way for the Buddha statue, and some even stopped queuing altogether, pretending to admire the scenery with empty plates.

"What do you want to eat?"

Yan Xi stood at the window and turned to ask him.

"Either is fine, it's up to you."

Li Chen was still figuring out how to insist on paying the bill, his hands still in his pockets, gripping his phone tightly.

Yan Xi glanced at the window and pointed to the stir-fry area at the very back: "Two servings of sweet and sour pork ribs, one serving of stir-fried vegetables, and two braised pork meatballs."

The auntie serving the food trembled slightly with her spoon. After recognizing Yan Xi, she gave her an extra generous portion of meat, piling it up like a small mountain.

"Forty-eight in total."

The aunt pushed the two plates onto the table.

"I'll do it!"

Li Chen reacted extremely quickly, and at this moment he had to show off his hand speed.

He stepped forward, took out his phone, and was about to scan the QR code.

"Auntie, sweep here."

However, before the screen could light up, a hand slid in and pressed down on his wrist.

Li Chen was taken aback and turned to look at Yan Xi: "What's wrong?"

"This time it has to be my treat, you even..."

"Enough with the nonsense."

Yan Xi ignored his protest and didn't take out her phone.

She took a half-step forward, and the distance between them instantly shortened to almost touching.

Li Chen instinctively tried to back away, but was blocked by the railing behind him.

Yan Xi lowered her head slightly, her gaze falling on the right pocket of his jeans.

There's a small bulge there, shaped like a campus card.

The next second, to Li Chen's horrified gaze, she reached directly into his pocket.

Through a thin layer of fabric, cool fingertips brushed against the skin on the outside of my thigh.

Li Chen froze, his scalp tingled, and he stopped breathing.

This is in public!

Hundreds of eyes in the entire cafeteria are watching!

Yan Xi's movements were extremely natural; she pinched the campus card between two fingers and gently pulled it out.

"drop."

"drop."

The card reader beeped twice.

Li Chen's brain was still processing the tingling, electric-like sensation he had just experienced, and he was completely unaware of what had happened.

Yan Xi waved the card in front of him, not intending to return it, but instead casually stuffed it into the pocket of her cardigan.

"alright."

She picked up the plate full of meat, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Li Chen finally found his voice and lowered it, "No... why did you swipe my card?"

This is different from the script!

He wanted to treat everyone to show his sincerity and prove that he wasn't a gigolo.

She then directly grabbed the card. What's going on here?

Isn't he still the one paying?

No, the key point is that reaching into his pocket... that's so unfair!

Yan Xi turned around with the plate in her hand, and paused slightly as she passed by him.

She reached out and helped Li Chen straighten his collar, which had rolled up a bit from his excitement.

Her fingertips lightly traced his collarbone, her eyes carrying a hint of nonchalant amusement.

"Why bother distinguishing them so clearly?"

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was just enough for the onlookers around her to hear clearly.

"Isn't a boyfriend's meal card for his girlfriend to use?"

boom--

The cafeteria seemed to have been put on a huge pause button.

The ladle in the vegetable serving lady's hand fell into the vegetable basin with a "clatter," splashing a few drops of soup.

The chopsticks in the mouth of the boy at the back of the line fell to the ground.

Li Chen felt like a shrimp that had been thrown into boiling water, turning red from head to toe.

My boyfriend's meal card.

It's for my use.

So that's... how it's been determined?

Before he could even process the sheer volume of information in that sentence, Yan Xi had already carried her plate to an empty seat not far away, leaving him with a dashing silhouette.

"Aren't you coming? Do you want your auntie to treat you to the leftovers?"

Li Chen snapped back to his senses, quickly picked up another plate, and followed along clumsily under the complex gazes of everyone present.

Take your seat.

The surrounding gazes became even more concentrated, and one could even hear people secretly taking pictures.

Li Chen lowered his head and ate his rice, wishing he could bury his face in the lion's head meatball.

"that……"

He chewed on a rib and mumbled, "The card is still with you."

Yan Xi slowly picked up a piece of green vegetable with her chopsticks, without even looking up: "Hmm, put it here for me first."

"what?"

Li Chen looked up. "Then what am I going to do for dinner tonight?"

"Let's eat together tonight."

Yan Xi's answer was perfectly logical, "Or you can come to me to get it, and you can take me to evening self-study while you're at it."

Li Chen: "..."

This is a perfect closed loop.

If he gets stuck with her, he'll have to go find her.

If you contact her, you have to have a meal together.

After eating, I have to take her home.

Does this woman take one step while calculating ten?

"What, you're not happy about it?"

Yan Xi put down her chopsticks, her cat-like eyes narrowing slightly, revealing a hint of danger.

"No... I'm not unhappy."

Li Chen immediately backed down, "I just feel... isn't this a bit too high-profile?"

That comment about "boyfriend's meal card" has probably spread throughout the entire school by now.

"High-profile?"

Yan Xi chuckled, picked up the only chicken leg from the plate, and put it in Li Chen's bowl. "So you know how to be high-profile now?"

"When you were shouting so loudly at the food stall yesterday, didn't you think it was too conspicuous?"

Li Chen choked, looking at the extra chicken leg in his bowl, feeling a mix of emotions.

Is this considered...feeding?

"Eat it."

Yan Xi commanded, "He's too thin, it'll be uncomfortable to hold him."

"Cough cough cough!"

Li Chen choked on a mouthful of rice, coughing violently.

Pick me up?

When did you hug her?

Aside from that one fake hand-holding, the most intimate contact they had was that rummaging through each other's pockets just now, right?

Why is this woman talking so aggressively?

Yan Xi looked at his disheveled appearance, a mischievous glint in her eyes, and handed him a tissue: "Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

Li Chen took the tissue and wiped the rice grains from the corner of his mouth, his heart pounding so fast it was almost out of control.

He looked at Yan Xi, who was eating quietly across from him.

She ate very elegantly, taking small bites, a stark contrast to her earlier domineering manner of reaching into her pocket and making startling remarks.

This feeling of being forcefully invaded in my life, yet being carefully taken care of, is surprisingly... not unpleasant.

It's even a little addictive.

Just then, the phone on the table started vibrating wildly.

Li Chen glanced at the screen; it was that damned group 302 again.

[Wang Qiang]: Image.jpg

The photo is very clear.

The background is a cafeteria window, and Yan Xi's hand is reaching into Li Chen's pocket. The two are very close, their posture so ambiguous that it looks like they're about to kiss.

[Wang Qiang]: @Brother Li Chen, I'm speechless. This isn't just eating, it's a declaration of dominance! A classic example of a woman spoiling her man!

[Zhao Zixuan]: I've already recorded that line, "A boyfriend's meal card is for his girlfriend to use." I'm going to set it as my alarm and listen to it every morning to motivate myself to find a rich woman.

[Chen Mo]: Breaking news, the campus network is in an uproar. The post titled "Shocking! Cold Campus Beauty Uses Freshman Meal Card in Public, Suspected Confirmation!" is currently the most popular. Lao Li, you're now the enemy of all the boys in the school. Remember to wear a helmet when you go out.

As Li Chen looked at the text on the screen, he felt a throbbing pain in his temples.

He looked up at Yan Xi.

She seemed completely oblivious to her surroundings, not even looking at her phone, focusing solely on the food on her plate.

Noticing Li Chen's gaze, she looked up, a little sauce on the corner of her mouth.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"without……"

Li Chen subconsciously pointed to the corner of his mouth, "There's something on it."

Yan Xi paused for a moment, but did not take a tissue to wipe it.

She leaned forward slightly, bringing her face closer, and stared into Li Chen's eyes: "Then you wipe it for me."

Li Chen's hand holding the chopsticks trembled.

The surrounding air seemed to freeze again.

What is this? Is this pushing your luck?

Looking at that face so close to his, and the glaring sauce on the corner of his mouth, Li Chen felt his rationality crumbling little by little.

To wipe or not to wipe?

This is a potentially disastrous question.

He took a deep breath, and with trembling hands, he reached out, his fingertips holding the tissue from before, and carefully brought it closer.

Just as the tissue was about to touch the corner of her mouth, Yan Xi suddenly stuck out her tongue and gently swiped away the bit of sauce.

Li Chen's hand froze in mid-air.

Yan Xi sat back down, looking at his dazed expression, and smiled like a cat that had successfully stolen some fish.

Just kidding.

"Eat quickly, and then take me back to my dorm."

Li Chen withdrew his hand, feeling as if his fingertips had been burned.

He lowered his head and took a big bite of the chicken leg.

This relationship is giving me a heart attack.

But he didn't see that when Yan Xi lowered her head to continue eating, her ears turned slightly red.

She gripped the chopsticks slightly, concealing a turbulent state of mind.

This kid's reaction was much more interesting than I expected.