Even as a "normie," I'm completely oblivious to it.

"Speaking of which, Xiaomeng must have arranged the dinner location, choosing her own bakery. She's really something, managing to boost her family's business revenue in the process."

"Hey, isn't this perfect?" Qin Ruoke agreed. "She's the class monitor, after all. At class reunions, she can easily..."

Eating at a restaurant owned by the Chang family creates a sense of familiarity and warmth, right?

"That's true. Oh right, wait a minute, I almost forgot, I need to send a message to Xiaomeng before we get there."

"Send a message?"

“Yeah.” Yu Zhe opened the chat box with Xiao Meng. “I have to tell her classmates in advance not to let them make a fuss when we get there. It’s not that I’m being overly worried… They always like to make a fuss when they see me, right? I just want to enjoy this dinner quietly, but I don’t want to be pushed onto the stage to speak.”

"Then you don't need to message her."

"Why?" Yu Zhe stopped typing.

Qin Ruoke explained, "Luo Xiaomeng and I agreed on this at noon. We'll be arriving there a little later, so Luo Xiaomeng told them in advance not to cause any trouble when you get there. After all, you don't like to make a fuss, and everyone will understand. I guess Luo Xiaomeng is talking to everyone there right now."

"Huh? When did you guys become so good at understanding me?"

Yu Zhe put down his phone and smiled: "Okay, I didn't realize you two cared about me so much. You even paved the way for me."

"You really can't tell..." Qin Ruoke murmured to herself.

"What did you say, Ruoke?"

"nothing."

The two arrived at the apartment entrance, and Yu Zhe checked the distance to their destination.

Hmm... This place isn't very long, but it's not very short either, less than three kilometers. Taking a taxi isn't really an option, but walking there would take at least half an hour.

What should Yu Zhe choose at this point?

Isn't that obvious?!

Having this opportunity to exercise...

Of course I'd take a taxi! Who the hell wants to walk that way in the dead of winter!

Lu Ling and Lu Yao hadn't returned yet, so Yu Zhe opened the ride-hailing app without hesitation and entered his destination.

But before he could press confirm, Qin Ruoke interrupted him with a single sentence.

"Um... Yuzhe, how about we... walk there?"

"Why?!"

Goodness, there are actually people who want to walk there in the dead of winter.

Qin Ruoke looked at him, her face slightly flushed, whether from the cold weather or something else, it was hard to tell.

She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Because you see... that bakery isn't very far, right? And taking a taxi... is so expensive. I think it's a completely unnecessary expense..."

Then she realized she hadn't said it well, and quickly added, "Oh, of course I just meant it's a waste of money for me! If you're tired, Yuzhe... then take a taxi..."

"Hmm? No need, let's not take a taxi, let's just walk there."

"Huh?"

"Don't just stand there, we'd better hurry up and get over there, or we'll keep them waiting."

Yu Zhe started first, and Qin Ruoke immediately followed in his footsteps.

She glanced sideways at the figure beside her, walking happily forward, like a gentle, silvery sprite in winter.

For a moment, Qin Ruoke couldn't take her eyes off him.

Hmm... Yu Zhe knows that even if she takes a taxi, she won't have to pay, so there's no reason to be afraid of wasting money.

Qin Ruoke knew... she didn't want to take a taxi, simply because she wanted to walk with you a little longer on the way.

That's it.

66. A get-together!

A half-hour walk doesn't really feel long if you're chatting along the way.

It was quite cold when I went out, but it warmed up when I got close to the bakery near Xiaomeng.

When Yu Zhe got there, he realized that this was the same shop where he had helped make the Christmas cake last time. It's true what they say, he and this shop really do have a connection.

When I arrived at the door, Aunt Liu, who was in charge of the store and also worked as a waitress, was waiting for me there.

It seems that Xiaomeng arranged for them to wait.

As for who they're waiting for, that's quite obvious.

After Yu Zhe and Qin Ruoke arrived, she immediately led them to a private room inside the shop.

"Oh dear, I didn't even remember to thank you for making the cake for Christmas last time. I really owe you a lot!"

"Haha, Aunt Liu, don't be so polite. Xiaomeng and I are classmates. It's only natural for us to help each other out when we're in trouble."

"Xiao Meng told me that she is indeed a child from a wealthy family, and she is very well-mannered! Okay, alright, Auntie will take you here for now. Your classmates are waiting in the single room 103 up ahead. Go in quickly, I still need to go and get the staff to prepare the dishes."

"Okay, Aunt Liu, you can go ahead and get busy."

Yu Zhe noticed that after entering the store, there was not a single customer in the usually busy store. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of chatting and laughing coming from the private room number 103.

There was a sign hanging at the store entrance saying it was closed for the day.

Did Xiaomeng book the whole store today?!

It's so convenient to have your own shop!

Before going inside, Qin Ruoke noticed a detail from earlier: "Christmas? Cake?"

She remembered that Yu Zhe had given her a cake on Christmas Day.

"That cake from that day...you didn't make it yourself, did you?"

"Huh? Yeah, didn't I tell you?"

"You didn't say that!"

Ah, Qin Ruoke regretted it; why did she eat that cake?

If I had known that Yu Zhe made it himself, I should have treasured it! What a mistake!

"Why do you suddenly seem so lost? Didn't you say everyone was waiting? Let's go in quickly."

Yu Zhe walked in front, and Qin Ruoke followed behind, the two of them pushing open the door to the private room one after the other.

With a loud bang, colorful ribbons fluttered in front of them.

These are small props placed at the entrance in advance to welcome guests.

"The first and second place in the grade have been determined! Everyone, give them a round of applause!"

I don't know who said that, and then...

All I could hear was applause and cheers filling the room.

Oh, didn't we say we didn't need such a grand welcome?

Yu Zhe and Qin Ruoke smiled and nodded to everyone, then quickly moved inside and closed the door.

This private room is really big. There are fifty people in the class, so it seems like they've all come. There are five large round tables from east to west, which is just enough for everyone to sit down without feeling crowded at all. Each round table can comfortably seat fifteen people!

After the two entered, before they could even find a place to sit, their homeroom teacher, Fang Lan, stood up.

She walked over to the two of them and nodded to them with satisfaction. Yu Zhe and Qin Ruoke quickly smiled back at her.

No matter what, even outside of school, teachers still have the authority of teachers.

Fang Lan then turned around, picked up a small microphone, and began to speak.

"We were just talking about you two, and here you are."

The microphone volume wasn't too loud, just enough for everyone in the room to hear: "As I just said, the purpose of this end-of-term dinner is definitely to relax, but the college entrance exam is just around the corner. After the holiday, it will be the final sprint of the semester, so you all need role models!"

Oh, I understand now. This isn't what Xiaomeng told us beforehand—"Don't make a fuss." This is serious business, because he and Qin Ruoke did so well on their final exams.

Fang Lan pushed up her glasses, her eyes filled with satisfaction as she spoke: "You all did a great job. Our class actually made up forty-five of the top fifty in the grade. That's a truly glorious achievement. If you maintain this mindset and persevere until the college entrance exam, what's a problem with the exam? Are you all confident?"

"No problem!"

"I feel like I'm back to normal!"

"Isn't this more exciting than Boruto?!"

Hey! You guys are confident, but why does it seem like something weird snuck in at the end?!

Seeing everyone's confidence, Fang Lan felt that tonight's dinner party was very meaningful.

She turned her head and looked at Yu Zhe and Qin Ruoke with satisfaction, then turned back to pick up the microphone: "As you all can see on the report card, Su Yu Zhe got 699 points and Qin Ruoke got 671 points. You all know what that means."

"Qin Ruoke goes without saying; you have all witnessed her hard work over the past three years."

"Take Su Yuzhe for example. To be honest, you all say he's a genius, but if you ask me, I don't think he could get a score of 699 simply by being smart. Only he knows how much effort he put in behind the scenes."

Ah this...

What could Yu Zhe say? He had to ask himself honestly, and it seemed that he hadn't been studying very hard, at least not even opening his textbooks.

However, what the teacher said was not wrong. He really worked very hard to learn these knowledge points when he was seven years old. Even if he learned them very quickly, didn't he still have to try to think about them when he first came into contact with them?

Therefore, Yu Zhe did not refute Fang Lan's statement, because he knew that Teacher Fang was setting an example for everyone and giving them new motivation in the final sprint.

Fang Lan spoke for a while longer.

Seeing that she seemed to have finished speaking, Xiao Zhang, who had been waiting below, quickly stood up and said with a smile, "Teacher! The food is getting cold. Is this a dinner party or an awards ceremony?"

This joke drew laughter from those around. Normally, talking to the teacher like that would mean you wanted to go to the office after class.

But what can you do when it's a dinner party?

Fang Lan smiled and placed the microphone on the table.

He turned around and said, "You two should find a place to sit down too. You're the stars of the night. I may have said something earlier, but I'm really very satisfied with your final grades."

"Thank you, teacher."

"Okay, Teacher Fang, you should go back and sit down too."

After the teacher returned to her seat, everyone resumed eating, and the room became noisy again.

Yu Zhe led Qin Ruoke around to look, and finally found a little arm waving vigorously at the very edge.