Order French fries at Shuchiin

The bento culture is naturally a blow to the canteen. Losing the boarding system means losing the mainstay of breakfast and dinner, and the bento also corrodes the last pillar of lunch. Naturally, there is no need for the canteen to exist.

So, are there families where parents don't prepare lunch boxes for their children as they grow older? Of course there are, but Japanese schools finish school very early in the afternoon, and the most direct impact of early school is the shortening of lunch breaks.

The general lunch break is one hour, during which students need to eat, rest and deal with possible emergencies.

Instead of having warm meals in the cafeteria, it is better to make do with bread and milk from the canteen. School will be over in three hours anyway, so the lunch break in Japanese universities often causes a bloody storm at the bread sales counter.

However, Shuchiin still has a cafeteria. After all, it is an aristocratic school. It is its duty to have what others do not have, and it is its original sin if it does not have what others have. Otherwise, where would the high tuition fees and sponsorship from the powerful go?

Xing Yuanhui and Fujiwara Chika were among the group that arrived at the cafeteria relatively late. There were already quite a few people queuing up next to the popular baked goods cabinet, and they were orderly rushing to buy the most popular bread from the cafeteria auntie.

I just don't know whether the reason they maintain order is due to their own upbringing or the teachers who are watching them closely.

"What would you like to eat, Xingyuan?" Senior Fujiwara pointed at the signs in the cafeteria. "Ramen or rice? Cooked food or cold food?"

She attached so much importance to Xing Yuanhui's ideas. In addition to Xing Yuanhui's new identity, there was another reason...

In fact, she was also a member of the bread army. She had no idea what else was in the cafeteria besides bread, desserts and snacks.

But she couldn't eat bread today. She had just promised Dean Sato to take care of Xing Yuanhui. On top of that, she had to bear the reputation of the Fujiwara family and apologize to Xing Yuanhui on behalf of her inappropriate sister. Now she couldn't even bring herself to eat bread!

So Fujiwara Chika wanted Xingyuan Hui to choose, so that she wouldn't have to worry about what to eat for lunch today, since she would be paying for it anyway.

Xing Yuanhui did not read this meaning. He was observing with great interest to see if there were any good things around him, such as the Michelin dinner which in a sense symbolized the decadence of capitalism and had a very low cost-performance ratio.

He looked around but didn't see any unique or favorite food. The line for bread, which was the fastest way to solve the stomach problem, was blocked again. Xing Yuanhui, who always advocated minimalism, had no choice but to wave his hand casually and said:

"Whatever it is, Senior Sister, instead of asking me to choose, why not show me what the senior students are good at in the cafeteria? Let your taste save us!"

Xing Yuanhui was looking forward to it with joy, as devout as a believer finding his bishop, hoping that the other party could give him some guidance for his lunch.

This is very important. The question of what to eat has remained a difficult problem for humans since ancient times, and people who know how to eat often have a high status in their circle of friends.

It’s a pity that although Fujiwara Chika is very good at ramen, it doesn’t mean she is a gourmet.

"...Actually, I usually come to the cafeteria to eat bread."

After a long silence, Fujiwara Chika lowered her head and nodded her fingers, looking at Xing Yuanhui with tears in her eyes, as if she was ashamed of her incompetence.

But in order to respond to the expectations of her junior and to restore her own thin dignity as a senior, Senior Sister Butterfly turned around with a sad face and stared at the many choices in the cafeteria, quickly recalling whether any classmates had told her which ones were delicious.

But after thinking about it, she desperately found that there was none! Everyone was like her, either buying bread to get by, or bringing lunch boxes. When it came to hot cooked food, Fujiwara Chika and Xing Yuanhui were grasshoppers at the same starting line.

There is no other way. The board game club has snacks to eat! They are reimbursed by the club funds. Snacks that are inconvenient to eat at home can be eaten in the club. Who would be interested in these serious foods in the cafeteria!

Fujiwara Chika roared in her heart. Even so, she still kept her face straight and managed to maintain the appearance of a senior.

"Then I am quite lucky. To some extent, I am on the same starting line as senior sister in the cafeteria." Xing Yuanhui couldn't bear to see the enthusiastic senior sister's good mood disturbed by such a trivial matter, and comforted her, "I wonder if senior sister is interested in walking around the streets of a strange city to find food and fun. Isn't now a good time? Maybe there will be treasures that will make senior sister come to the cafeteria frequently in the future."

Senior Sister Butterfly's depression came and went quickly, but after hearing what Xing Yuanhui said, she became cheerful again.

"I didn't expect Xingyuan to like this. I rarely have this opportunity. Usually when we go out to play, I will make plans with my friends to ensure that everyone can have fun and enjoy themselves, and basically nothing will go wrong. After all, when you are exposed to completely unfamiliar things, there will be a situation where you eat bad food, right? Instead of experimenting on your own, it is better to go to a place with a good reputation."

She talked about her travel philosophy. When Xing Yuanhui heard what Fujiwara Chika said, he couldn't wait to share the travel experience he had just realized with her, trying to scratch the itch in his heart.

"Eating bad food together can be considered a beautiful memory of youth." Xing Yuanhui recalled some past events and shook his head with a smile, "But places with great reputations are bound to have no shortage of tourists, right? The experience of following the crowd and going with the flow will inevitably give people a sense of déjà vu. Rather than reminiscing about the past touching moments in a new place, it is better to go to a new place, so new that everyone can have their own insights, and find some scenery that only they understand besides having fun."

Xing Yuanhui patted his head and said with a brighter smile: "I remembered an interesting thing. When I came to Tokyo, there was an old man who was fishing on the river. He had nothing to do, so he caught me and chatted with me when I stopped on the bridge to look at the distant view.

"He started by asking me if I had ever been to the beach to see the endless ocean. I said I grew up by the sea, and the old man fell silent.

"He asked me if I had ever tried to catch a big fish and show it off to others. I told him that I had fished for tuna at sea and made my first fortune. I was a primary school student at that time, and the old man was silent again.

"Finally, the old man asked me if I had ever been in a relationship and if I had someone I liked. This time I said no, and the old man slapped his thigh and laughed, saying, 'Okay! Let's talk about this.' Maybe this is why I am obsessed with new things? When I am looking for topics to talk about with my friends, I can tempt them with these things they have never seen before."

After hearing this, the senior student's eyes curved into crescents, she covered her mouth and smirked, "Ah, I didn't expect Xingyuan to be so mean. The scenery that only you understand can only be seen by yourself? When being dragged to the place where you used to be by your friends, you can still pretend to be profound and say, 'Ah, time changes, things are unpredictable~'."

Xing Yuanhui was infected by the girl's smile and said with a sly smile: "You really understand."

After laughing together, the boys and girls were a little tired of talking and laughing. This mainly refers to Fujiwara Chika, and Xing Yuanhui can only be considered half a person.

They have to focus on more realistic aspects, such as the ultimate question from the bottom of their hearts - what to eat for lunch?

Like an ordinary canteen, the chefs are in charge of their own windows. Under a row of glass are dishes from all over the world, but whether the chefs are from all over the world is debatable.

Fujiwara Chika thought that we couldn't both give in now, so she suggested that we go queue up to buy bread.

This is my first day in high school! It's my first time eating in the school cafeteria! Am I, Fujiwara Chika, an incompetent senior? Impossible!

Fortunately, Shuzhiyuan did not use the food budget to fill his own pockets. They still found something suitable to fill their stomachs, ramen——

A relative of udon noodles.

It’s not that Xing Yuanhui doesn’t want to eat ramen, but the ramen master Fujiwara Chika slowly shook her head at the ramen master and said something like “I can’t feel the willpower in him” and “He’s just an ordinary person living in Shuchiin who has no other ramen master.”

However, this is the only noodle window, and I hope that the "ordinary people" who are both ramen chefs and udon chefs have not heard this bad review.

"Wow, this is the first time I see you express your disagreement so clearly. You are so sure, have you eaten it?" Xing Yuanhui asked casually.

"Of course I have. When I'm in class and my mind is wandering and all my thoughts are focused on 'what to eat', I'll naturally want to eat what I imagined at noon, right? Since the cafeteria has the ramen I want, of course I'll try it~, but..." Fujiwara Chika hesitated, as if she was thinking of a suitable way to express herself.

Xing Yuanhui followed the words of the senior sister in front of him, deliberately lengthened his voice, leaving her time to think, and said: "But~?"

"It's not that it doesn't taste good. The canteen chefs are paid very well, and their work is well worth their pay." Fujiwara Chika shook her head. "But it's like eating barbecue. Of course, you can make the barbecue delicious without cumin, but it's just missing something, isn't it?"

The ramen expert found an outlet for his expression and continued, "So the ramen in the cafeteria is different from the ramen outside. For me, it lacks something necessary."

Xing Yuanhui nodded, agreeing with the words of the ramen "gourmet" in front of him. Everyone has his own pursuits. He himself doesn't even add garlic when eating noodles.

"Then don't eat ramen. It's not like there are other noodles besides ramen."

There is no need to eat together if you want to have fun. He is not a die-hard ramen fan who insists on dragging the "master" in front of him to taste the school ramen.

So they ignored the array of ramen noodles from all over the world in front of the counter and chose the simple and quick udon.

The "ordinary man" did not listen carefully to the whispers among the students, nor did he hear the female students' comments. He responded to the two people's orders very readily.

"Ah, Master, you can just calculate it together, no need to separate." Fujiwara Chika said first.

There is a card payment machine at the window where the chef serves the food. Students can pay by card by entering the specific amount.

Originally, the chef entered the number of Xing Yuanhui first. Before Xing Yuanhui stepped forward to ask if he could pay with paper money without the chef giving him change, Fujiwara Chika naturally asked the chef to calculate the price of the two bowls of noodles together.

The cook did as Fujiwara Chika asked without any hesitation, leaving Xing Yuanhui beating his chest in his heart.

"No, your movements are too fast." Xing Yuanhui exclaimed with a twitching mouth.

At this point, he silently put the banknotes in his hand back into his pocket. The card was still too fast, and he couldn't knock the card out of the kind-hearted senior sister's hand and force them to pay.

"Excuse me, you two should not have any dietary restrictions, right?" asked the master.

"No," they both answered in unison.

After that, Fujiwara Chika continued to say to Xing Yuanhui: "Today is the first day of school. As a senior, of course I have to take the initiative to treat you. And you also promised Mr. Sato that he would take good care of you in school."

The pink-haired senior girl was a little confused about Xing Yuanhui’s reaction. Wasn’t he happy even though he took the initiative to treat her?

Xing Yuanhui caught the key words. Wait, what did you say just now? Sato?

Without waiting for the drooping boy to ask, Fujiwara Chika pointed to an exit of the school cafeteria and said, "Let's not talk about this for now. The counter over there is the cafeteria's office. If you want to apply for a card like I did, you can apply for it and top up the money there."

She then pointed to a machine in the cafeteria that looked a bit like a vending machine and continued to explain: "If you think your card is easy to lose, you can also pay for the receipt on such a machine, or give the receipt to the chefs at each window. But the competition in the cafeteria is very cruel! Some delicious foods are sold in limited quantities, I don't know if it's because of the school or the cafeteria's malice! If you want to grab these limited desserts, it's better to get a card."

"That's true. I can't snatch it from you with the banknotes in my hand, senior sister." Xing Yuanhui pinched his temple and rubbed it gently. It felt weird to be treated by others.

There's no other way. I'll buy two people drinks as a return gift when I pass by the vending machine. Based on the value of this bowl of noodles, five drinks will probably settle the bill, right?

But now what matters most is what the dean did. Xing Yuanhui asked, "So what did the dean - Mr. Sato, as you call him - say to you? Did he ask you to take care of me?"

But would the dean do such a thing?

"Guhei!" Fujiwara Chika made a strange cry as if her neck was grabbed, and then she muttered softly, "Do I have to tell you?"

"Uh, is it something embarrassing?" Xing Yuanhui asked tentatively.

But I should be the one who feels bad, right? I am the one who is being taken care of, right?

Xing Yuanhui looked at Fujiwara Chika, and saw her take a few deep breaths, pinch her earlobe, and said awkwardly: "Actually, I took the initiative to say it. Mr. Sato seemed very worried about you..."

"Gurgle!" The young man let out a muffled groan.

This kind of posture of forcing the other party to tell the truth always makes me feel like I have done something very beastly. Is this an illusion?

There was a moment of silence, and the eyes of Xing Yuanhui and Fujiwara Chika accidentally met as they hesitated.

Although they were still friends who were not very familiar with each other, at the moment their eyes met, they both tacitly decided not to talk about this anymore.

Chapter 25: Actually, I prefer barbecue or sushi

In silence, they could only stare at the chef's hand movements in the window, praying that he would bring out the udon noodles quickly to end the awkward atmosphere.

The udon chef was not affected by the people outside at all. He gracefully tapped the screen of his mobile phone a few times, and Hannibal's little song echoed in the kitchen as the stove started to burn.

He picked up the kitchen knife and cut the fish cake with ease, and even had enough time to add oil and eggs to the pot with one hand.

When the chef saw that the people outside the window were not looking at their phones but were watching his cooking process with great interest, he nodded approvingly and adjusted his position so that the two students outside the window could better observe the details.

Although this is like flirting with a blind man, it is completely a waste of time. Fujiwara Chika still maintained an awkward but polite smile, but Xing Yuanhui was different. He was carefully looking at the cook's face.

Xing Yuanhui always felt that he had seen this master before, especially the Greek statue-like facial lines and distinctive features, which were very impressive. It was not until he heard the little song about life that he caught the figure of the old man in his mind. The person in his mind seemed to have merged with this master in his eyes.

Therefore, in order to express his respect for his master and old friend, he nodded from time to time to prove that he was enjoying the process of cooking.

Girls always have an advantage in pretending to be interested in this kind of competition. She saw the boy nodding his encouragement and began to feel playful. Like a little girl in a cartoon who saw something amazing, she put her hands together in front of her chest and clapped her hands quickly and vigorously, with stars in her eyes as she admired the master.

If Xing Yuanhui is 10, then with this cute action, Fujiwara Chika's fighting power is at least 10 times his. Although this is not surprising, after all, it is the emotional value of the action details that only high school girls can bring.

If he learns it, if he's unlucky, he might be seen by his classmates and his first impression of the new school might be ruined.

Although it seems not far from being useless now, compared with the ignored zero points and the strange unknown number, the latter may be a positive number in a sense.

Xing Yuanhui lost his temper and whispered to Fujiwara Chika: "You are working too hard, aren't you? Doesn't this make me seem too perfunctory?"

“Hehe.” Senior Sister Butterfly scratched her head, “It just happened naturally.”

However, the master who was good at dealing with people was not affected by the two people at all. After seeing their actions, he smiled and nodded at them, then threw himself back into the spatula in his hand.

"How about you give me a set of etiquette moves? You can't just hold your chest and raise your thumbs, right? That's a bit tacky. I want a signature move."

“Then you can raise your thumb high, then slowly lower your body and make a tough guy exit!” Fujiwara Chika has completely gotten over the influence of the awkward atmosphere just now.

"It's iconic, but I have to come back to get noodles later, and I have to wonder if this makes me look like I have a mental problem."

The two watched this little-known cooking show from beginning to end. With the chef's confident smile showing his satisfaction with his skills and respect for his customers, he skillfully stirred the various condiments for the udon noodles, poured the delicious soup in the pot over them, and two bowls of udon noodles were officially served.

To be honest, wouldn't it be better for this ramen chef to go to a Western restaurant? Whether it's your appearance or your cooking skills, Western food is more suitable for you, right? Especially the gesture of sprinkling green onions at the end, it's the same as the Salt Sprinkler, right? !

The dignified senior schoolmate, who was unaware of the inner complaints of the people around her, also responded to this wonderful cooking performance with a smile and a nod. She took the tray with noodle soup and some side dishes in small plates and bowls and moved it forward along the counter. There were many small condiments for students to choose from, including chili peppers, chopped green onions, etc.

Xing Yuanhui also took his udon noodles and followed Fujiwara Chika to go through the process.

So I am taking too much care of myself, right? Xing Yuanhui thought with half his eyes half closed.

Sitting down at the table, she took a deep breath, and the fresh aroma of the soup sank into her body, tempting her to eat. It was obvious that Fujiwara Chika had already been whetted by the bowl of noodles in front of her.

The two looked at each other, and there was no need to waste any more time on their appetite for delicious food that had been passed down from millions of years ago. They clapped their hands and said in unison, "Let me eat~."

As the hot steam rose from the soup, Xing Yuanhui tasted the soup first, imitating the way Fujiwara Chika tasted it.

Well, it's fresh and sweet, without any abrupt taste. The whole bowl of soup seems natural and closely integrated.

"Hey, are you imitating me?" Fujiwara Chika suddenly asked, and found that the junior in front of her seemed to be imitating her way of eating.

"Yes, for an expert like you, the order and method of tasting must have some profound meaning. In order to better enjoy the food in front of me, of course I have to learn from you." Xing Yuanhui said seriously.

“Hehe, it’s not that great~.” The pink-haired senior was very embarrassed. She kept shaking her body, and the black bow on her head swayed along with it. “Besides, I’m not used to Xingyuan-san suddenly speaking in such a respectful tone.”

"Indeed, I'm not used to it myself." Xing Yuanhui coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment.

Sister Nanami commented on her brother: Brother Xingyuan, you always say weird things seriously. Do you do it on purpose or by accident?

Fujiwara Chika is not yet mature enough to make such an evaluation. She smiled and said, "If you are not used to it, don't force it. I feel embarrassed because you are so serious. I want to explain that I don't have any unique secrets."

"About ramen?"

"About ramen." The ramen master nodded, "I just think it's more interesting to eat it this way. Didn't you realize that this way of eating is from a comic book?"

“But comics are based on reality.”

After hearing what Xing Yuanhui said, Fujiwara Chika was stunned, and then she also stroked her chin and wondered, "Hiss... Am I really a ramen master?"