Chapter 5: The Shura Field of Three

“Class… Class Monitor? What a coincidence…”
Su Cheng forcibly suppressed her cough, her voice still a little hoarse.
She quickly glanced at Yin Xuelian across from her; the surprise on the other girl’s face had receded, replaced by a calm, slightly scrutinizing gaze.

“What a coincidence, you’re also here at Cafeteria One to eat.”
Lin Shiyue didn’t notice the subtle stagnation in the air, nor did she care about Yin Xuelian’s gaze, and slowly sat down.
She turned her head to look at Su Cheng, then glanced at the half-eaten chicken leg in Su Cheng’s hand, a faint curve forming at the corner of her lips.
“Oh, good food, huh.”
Su Cheng didn’t reply, just offered an awkward smile, unsure what to say.
Slightly lowering her head, she sneaked a glance at Yin Xuelian across from her, who still maintained a quietly observant demeanor, as if she wasn’t even there.
“This person looks familiar; isn’t she the upperclassman who hosted on stage this morning?”
Lin Shiyue finally turned her gaze to Yin Xuelian, who responded only with a smile.
“Bingo, you guessed right! Hello, junior, my name is Yin Xuelian.”
“Hello, upperclassman, I’m Lin Shiyue.”
The smile reappeared on Yin Xuelian’s face, but the mirth seemed not to fully reach her eyes, mixed with just the right amount of gentleness and distance.
“How did you two end up eating together?”
As Lin Shiyue asked, her eyes remained fixed on Su Cheng’s fair profile, as if trying to read her mind.
Su Cheng was utterly guilty, cold sweat constantly breaking out on her back.
But at this moment, she had to remain calm in the face of danger, not letting herself panic.
“She happened to help me with a small favor, so I’m treating her to a meal as a reward.”
Yin Xuelian said it offhandedly, then popped a mouthful of food into her mouth, watching Su Cheng eat with interest.
“Little Orange, eat quickly! The chicken leg I added for you is getting cold.”
“Cough, cough, cough!”
Su Cheng’s scalp tingled; Yin Xuelian’s endearment just now had awakened her memories.
In her previous life, only Yin Xuelian would call her that.
That sense of familiarity frightened her.
Suddenly, an inexplicable chill swept over her.
She could feel Lin Shiyue’s subtle gaze, coldly fixed on the chicken leg in her hand.
As if to freeze that chicken leg, preventing her from eating it.
“Upperclassman, it’s not good to just give me nicknames like that.”
Yin Xuelian smiled as she picked up a piece of meat, holding it suspended in mid-air.
“Don’t you like it? But I think ‘Little Orange’ suits you very well.”
After speaking, she swallowed the entire slice of meat in front of her, then looked at Su Cheng with crescent eyes.
Su Cheng swallowed, as if she herself had just been eaten.
In the current situation, she couldn’t keep following Yin Xuelian’s rhythm, so she just buried her head and furiously ate her meal.
Listening to their conversation, Lin Shiyue’s face was as calm as still water.
But Su Cheng understood that the calmer she appeared, the more she cared internally.
Just like the calm before a storm.
Su Cheng felt as if she was sitting on pins and needles, caught between the two; to her right was Lin Shiyue, whose seeming calmness made her heart race, and across from her was Yin Xuelian, with her gentle smile that concealed profound depths.
The air was filled with the aroma of food, and invisible electric sparks crackled between Yin Xuelian and Lin Shiyue.
“Upperclassman is really good to you, huh.”
Lin Shiyue suddenly spoke, her tone seemingly indifferent, but Su Cheng detected a hint of displeasure.
“She just met you and she’s already treating you to a meal and giving you extra chicken legs. Good luck, huh.”
“Haha…”
‘Lin Shiyue, why are you making trouble now! Damn it!’
Su Cheng gave her two dry laughs, then continued to eat diligently, just wanting to get this meal over with quickly.
Yin Xuelian pretended not to hear the underlying meaning in Lin Shiyue’s words, maintaining her graceful posture, eating slowly and deliberately, occasionally glancing up at Su Cheng.
Seeing that Su Cheng wasn’t saying much, Lin Shiyue also remained silent, occasionally looking at Yin Xuelian across from her.
The three of them had an unspoken understanding, eating in silence.
Yin Xuelian ate the fastest, putting down her chopsticks first.
“I’m done eating. Take your time. I have something to do and need to go back to the office.”
“Okay, upperclassman, take care.”
“If you ever want to join the student union, feel free to contact me on WeChat anytime.”
Yin Xuelian again bloomed into a brilliant smile, staring meaningfully at Su Cheng, then waved goodbye to both of them.
Su Cheng smiled without speaking, only feeling Lin Shiyue beside her looking at her with an eerie gaze.
Yin Xuelian hadn’t forgotten Lin Shiyue, bidding her farewell with a polite smile.
“Student Lin, see you next time.”
“Goodbye, upperclassman.”
Lin Shiyue looked up, returning a smile that held little warmth.
Yin Xuelian’s graceful figure disappeared into the crowd, and Su Cheng’s tense nerves immediately relaxed by more than half.
But then, the intensely palpable low pressure from Lin Shiyue beside her enveloped her again.
Su Cheng felt uneasy; her stiff neck slowly turned, ignoring Lin Shiyue, and finished the last two mouthfuls of rice.
Lin Shiyue concealed her expression as she finished her remaining food.
“I’m done eating.”
“Let’s go, I’m done eating too.”
The two finished almost simultaneously, leaving together with their empty trays.
Strolling along the sun-drenched campus path at noon, Su Cheng, feeling a bit stuffed, was listless and only wanted to return to her dorm to sleep.
“By the way, Su Cheng, how do you have Upperclassman Yin’s WeChat?”
Lin Shiyue’s sudden question made Su Cheng’s not-yet-fully-relaxed nerves tighten a bit more.
“Well, Upperclassman Yin wanted to pull me into the student union.”
Lin Shiyue frowned slightly, staring at Su Cheng with a somewhat surprised expression.
“You were picked by the upperclassman so quickly?”
Su Cheng shook her head, quickly clarifying.
“But I didn’t agree. Then she just told me to add her on WeChat first, saying that if I changed my mind, I could look for her then.”
Lin Shiyue nodded, somewhat satisfied with her decision, but still had doubts.
“So, will you still join the student union later?”
Su Cheng shook her head firmly.
“No, I don’t even have enough time just playing games, how would I have time for the student union?”
“Haha, it seems you really love playing games.”
Lin Shiyue’s hearty laughter untwisted the knot in Su Cheng’s heart, and Su Cheng’s tense facial muscles finally relaxed.
“Well, what can I say, I’m a gaming otaku.”
This was the persona Su Cheng needed to build for herself in this life. Of course, she also liked playing games in her previous life, but compared to chasing girls, games had to take a backseat.
Now that chasing girls wasn’t an option, she just wanted to graduate smoothly first.
For now, using the identity of a gaming otaku was the best disguise to conceal herself.
“Oh right, this morning I heard you talking about something called Goddess of Victory. I downloaded it too, but I’m not very good at playing it yet. Why don’t you teach me?”
“Huh?!”
Su Cheng was dumbfounded, her steps halting.
‘She heard that too?! Are you an audio hawk?!’
Lin Shiyue thought she didn’t know which game it was, so she pulled out her phone and showed Su Cheng the game she had just downloaded.
“It’s this one! Isn’t this the game you guys are playing?”
The icon Lin Shiyue’s fair, slender finger pointed to was indeed that of XX Goddess of Victory. Su Cheng knew it was the game she played just by seeing the app icon.
“It’s… it’s indeed this game. Why would you download it to play? Aren’t you…”
‘Not a gamer?!’
“Well… I just saw Dorothy’s character art and really liked it, so I downloaded it to try it out.”
“How about I add you on WeChat? If I have any questions later, I’ll just ask you.”
Su Cheng’s mouth twitched incessantly, looking utterly incredulous.
After that, Su Cheng shook her head helplessly again.
“Alright, alright, alright…”
Lin Shiyue broke into a wide smile. Without another word, she immediately opened WeChat, found Su Cheng’s name in the group chat, and clicked to add her.
“Hehe, alright, remember to accept. The teacher needs to see a few of us class cadres this afternoon, so I’m off.”
“Okay, you go ahead and be busy.”
After the two girls waved goodbye, Su Cheng stood frozen for a few seconds, staring blankly at the new friend notification on her screen, sighing.
“Yuetsu has been added as a new friend.”