Chapter 34: Unexpected Encounters and Shared Meals

As dinner time approached, Shen Jing’an pulled Lin Duo along to grab a bite outside the school. Nanhui Affiliated High School had a relatively relaxed policy, allowing students to enter and exit the campus freely, provided they wore their name tags as proof. Only students and teachers were permitted inside the school grounds.

Today was an exception due to it being registration day. Under normal circumstances, even parents would need to be accompanied by a student to enter.

Since registration hours had passed and the sophomores and juniors had yet to begin classes, the campus felt remarkably quiet. A few students, seemingly Lin Duo’s age, drifted in and out of the main gate, some in casual clothes, others already sporting their new school uniforms.

Despite Nanhui Affiliated High School’s somewhat remote location, lacking large residential areas nearby, wherever there was a school, a variety of shops inevitably sprang up.

As they walked, the delightful aroma of cooked dishes wafted towards them, and Shen Jing’an’s stomach began to rumble with soft ‘grumbles’.

“Which restaurant should we choose?” Lin Duo didn’t have a strong preference.

Shen Jing’an, however, already had an idea. “I’ll eat whatever you usually eat! I want to become as thin as you!”

In truth, Lin Duo’s eating habits were always casual; she had never deliberately dieted, simply having a naturally small appetite.

Noticing a ramen shop nearby with a reasonably priced menu displayed at its entrance, she decided to walk in.

The proprietress, a slightly plump woman in her early forties, greeted them with a warm smile. “You must be new students, aren’t you? Our selection is extensive, and our prices are fair. Students have always loved our food. What can I get for you two?”

“Hello, I’d like a two-liang bowl of ramen, please. Thank you!” Having worked in the service industry herself, Lin Duo understood the hardships involved and always made an effort to be extra polite to shop owners and staff.

“The same for me!” Shen Jing’an quickly added.

The two found a clean table and sat down. Soon, their noodles were served. Lin Duo first unfolded a tissue into a square and tucked it into her collar before beginning to eat in small, delicate bites.

Shen Jing’an watched her every move, unable to resist asking, “Are you truly some rich young lady? This is far too refined!”

“It’s not about being refined,” Lin Duo simply explained. “Shirts made of this fabric are a hassle to wash, so I try my best not to stain them.”

“Oh, I see… Could you help me with one too, then?”

“Oh, you’re impossible…”

Just like that, Lin Duo folded an identical square napkin and helped her put it on. Only then did Shen Jing’an happily begin to eat her noodles.

****

About halfway through their meal, a tall figure settled into the seat opposite Lin Duo. Given the number of customers during dinner, sharing a table was not uncommon.

However, this person quickly initiated a conversation with Lin Duo. “Hey, you two are also in Class 5, right?”

Lin Duo looked up, a hint of surprise in her eyes. “How did you know?”

The boy smiled, pointing to the name tag pinned to his chest.

Every student was required to wear a name tag to enter and exit the campus. The tags contained concise information: name, gender, class, and student ID number. Rumor had it they even had built-in chips for scanning.

The boy was quite tall, dressed in a blue branded tracksuit, with remarkably fair skin. He was slender but well-built, with noticeable muscle definition. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead, suggesting he had just finished exercising.

Shen Jing’an’s eyes immediately sparkled, her gaze fixed on the name tag on his chest. “Cai Jingyao… what a wonderfully classical name!”

“Thank you,” the boy replied, offering her a slight smile before turning his attention back to Lin Duo. “Let me introduce myself. My name is Cai Jingyao, and I’m from Shinan Junior High. We’ll be classmates for the next three years, so it’s good to get acquainted.”

“Hello, I’m Lin Duo. Lin, as in ‘double wood’, and Duo, as in ‘many’.” Despite wearing her own name tag, Lin Duo courteously reiterated her introduction.

“I’m Shen Jing’an, from the Seventeenth Junior High School!” Shen Jing’an quickly interjected.

Cai Jingyao merely gave her a polite nod, his gaze promptly returning to Lin Duo. “Eating outside school at this hour, you two must be boarding students, right?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Lin Duo confirmed, continuing to eat her noodles in small bites. Ultimately, she still felt a slight aversion to boys her age, though this feeling was not as strong as it had been a year ago.

Despite her name containing the character for ‘quiet’, Shen Jing’an was anything but. She quickly struck up a conversation with Cai Jingyao, discussing topics like military training arrangements and class divisions.

Though Cai Jingyao remained consistently polite to her, his eyes kept subtly, almost inadvertently, glancing towards Lin Duo.

Before long, their conversation shifted to a rather unique class: Class 10. This class was special because its students were all examinees from other provinces, eligible to take the Nanan City college entrance examination three years later.

They had been handpicked from across the country, often holding competition awards, making their academic prowess undeniable. They frequently dominated the top ranks of the grade-level leaderboard.

Shen Jing’an, however, expressed disdain for Class 10. “They’re outsiders, coming all the way here to study and hogging our college entrance exam resources. I can’t imagine what the school administration is thinking.”

Lin Duo’s chopsticks, mid-way through a mouthful of noodles, paused. Her delicate brows furrowed. She herself was an outsider.

However, having worked at the fruit stand where many customers spoke only the local dialect, and with her close friends being locals, her accent had quickly localized. She had also mastered most of Nanan City’s dialect, so new acquaintances couldn’t tell she was from out of town by her speech.

Cai Jingyao, who had been discreetly observing Lin Duo’s reaction, now also frowned slightly. “You shouldn’t say that. The current national college entrance examination resource allocation is inherently unfair.

“Moreover, the students in Class 10 got here through even greater effort than us. We should respect them and strive not to be outdone by them in our future studies.”

These words significantly boosted Lin Duo’s favorable impression of Cai Jingyao, finally prompting her to actively join the conversation. “I agree. The existence of Class 10 can spur us to work harder.

“Besides, our city has about 60,000 college entrance exam candidates each year; an additional 40-odd people won’t prevent us from getting into our desired universities.”

“Why are you both defending outsiders?” Shen Jing’an pouted, clearly unhappy.

Cai Jingyao, unconcerned by her mood, seized the opportunity to engage Lin Duo. “Lin Duo, where did you attend junior high?”

“I went to Gutang Middle School,” Lin Duo replied with a smile, setting down her chopsticks.

“Gutang, huh… So your home isn’t too far from here? Why didn’t you choose to be a day student?”

This was precisely what had always bothered Lin Duo, so she briefly explained, “Because evening self-study ends quite late, and my parents worry about my safety.”

“As expected,” Cai Jingyao nodded slightly. “Our school is a bit desolate around here, and it certainly poses a risk for a beautiful girl like you to take the bus late at night.”

When she first arrived in Nanan City, Lin Duo would be ecstatic every time someone praised her as ‘pretty’ or ‘cute’. However, with time, and hearing such compliments repeatedly, she had grown somewhat numb, no longer reacting with any particular emotion.

Due to their continuous conversation, a meal that would typically take ten minutes stretched into twenty. After finishing, the trio paid their bills and left.

Cai Jingyao then offered another suggestion: “School is starting soon. Why don’t we go to a bookstore and buy some reference books?”

Lin Duo hesitated briefly, then shook her head. “Let’s not. Military training is just around the corner, and we won’t have the time. I’m sure the teachers will recommend books once school starts, anyway.”

Cai Jingyao sighed with a touch of regret. “Alright then, I’ll go by myself. Since we’re classmates, we’ll see each other again soon.”

Shen Jing’an seemed to have something she wanted to say, her expression eager, but ultimately she dismissed the thought and obediently followed Lin Duo back to their dormitory.