Chapter 49: Student Shi, Mind Sharing a Table?

After slipping out of the classroom, Gao Cheng had video-called Shi Kezhen the entire way back to his dormitory.

Checking the time now, it was time for Jiang Zhexi and the others to finish class, so they should be arriving at the dorm soon.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the door was pushed open, and Jiang Zhexi and Jiang Chengshuo walked in one after the other.

The student dormitories at Jingda were typically four-person rooms, but Gao Cheng had pulled some strings, so only the three of them were assigned to this room.

Walking into the dorm, Jiang Chengshuo couldn’t help teasing Gao Cheng the moment he saw him.

“You really are something; skipping Professor Lin’s class at the drop of a hat, and doing it right in the middle of the lecture, no less.”

Jiang Zhexi had brought back Gao Cheng’s bag, placing it onto his desk as he casually asked:

“What was that about? Running off halfway through class—was it that urgent?”

Rising from his lounge chair, Gao Cheng didn’t answer their questions, merely casting a glance at the two of them.

“Let’s go to the canteen.”

A mask of agony instantly spread across Jiang Chengshuo’s face.

“Canteen food again? Now that we’ve found her, can’t we eat something decent?”

Gao Cheng darted a glance at him.

“Then I’ll go by myself.”

With that, he headed out alone.

Shaking his head and sighing, Jiang Zhexi patted Jiang Chengshuo’s shoulder.

“Stop struggling. Hurry up.”

Resigning himself to his fate, Jiang Chengshuo followed.

The two caught up to Gao Cheng’s steps, slinging their arms over his shoulders from either side.

Three tall men formed a line down the dormitory hallway.

Gao Cheng shrugged his shoulders to the left and right in disdain.

“I say, could you two stop clinging to me?”

“No can do,” Jiang Chengshuo said with righteous indignation.

“We’re accompanying you to eat canteen food; what’s wrong with resting an arm on your shoulder?”

“Exactly,” Jiang Zhexi chimed in.

“The two of us would take a bullet for you, and yet you look down on us?”

Gao Cheng shook his shoulders twice but failed to dislodge them; the two clung to him like sticky candy.

He cast an annoyed glance at them.

“Don’t you feel hot?”

Jiang Chengshuo said:

“Xizi, are you hot? I’m not.”

Jiang Zhexi said:

“I’m not hot either.”

Helpless and unable to shake them off, Gao Cheng had no choice but to let them be.

Three great male gods walking arm-in-arm across the Jingda campus was quite an unusual spectacle.

All along the way, female students passing by turned their heads in astonishment.

Some pulled out their phones to sneak photos, while others covered their mouths to whisper to their companions.

Upon entering the canteen, the three of them—whose motives lay far beyond food—didn’t care what was on the menu, casually picking the window with the shortest line to queue up.

Standing in line, Gao Cheng discreetly scanned the dining hall and quickly spotted his target.

Shi Kezhen had only arrived a few minutes earlier than they had.

Right now, she was queuing in front of a window, and it was almost her turn.

Gao Cheng’s gaze followed her quietly, watching her collect her food and pick an empty table with no one around to sit down.

Before long, the three of them had each collected a meager portion of food.

Jiang Zhexi asked:

“Where are we sitting?”

Without a word, Gao Cheng walked straight toward Shi Kezhen’s table.

Jiang Zhexi and Jiang Chengshuo followed without another word.

Shi Kezhen was dining quietly by herself as usual when she suddenly heard a loud clatter.

Beside her tray, another tray appeared.

Immediately after came two more clatters, and two more trays appeared opposite her.

Instinctively, she looked up.

Gao Cheng stood beside her, while Jiang Chengshuo and Jiang Zhexi stood opposite her.

She was momentarily dazed.

What was going on?

How had she suddenly ended up surrounded by Jingda’s three great male gods?

Before she could react, Gao Cheng had already sat down beside her.

Then, Jiang Chengshuo and Jiang Zhexi took their seats across from her.

A long four-person table was instantly packed full.

Gao Cheng turned his head to look at her, a hint of a smile in his eyes.

“Student Shi, mind sharing a table?”

Shi Kezhen halted her chopsticks, slowly swallowed the food she was chewing, and then looked at Gao Cheng, offering a tactful reminder:

“There should still be empty seats over there.”

Her voice wasn’t loud and her tone was polite and courteous, but her meaning was crystal clear: she didn’t really want to sit with them.

Although it was peak dining hours for students, Jingda’s canteen was huge.

Spending a bit of time and taking a few extra steps would still turn up a few empty tables.

Acting as if he hadn’t heard her words, Gao Cheng turned his head back, casually picked up some food with his chopsticks, and popped it into his mouth.

The two sitting opposite also began eating with their chopsticks.

With a good show to watch, both of them felt that the canteen food didn’t seem quite so unpalatable today.

Shi Kezhen was accustomed to being alone; suddenly having strangers surrounding her made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

Moreover, the three of them were prominent figures at Jingda.

The moment they sat down, they drew the gazes of numerous people nearby.

She didn’t want to become the center of campus gossip.

However, they had already started eating, so asking them to switch seats was unrealistic.

It seemed her only choice was to leave.

Shi Kezhen put down her chopsticks, preparing to yield the table to them and find another seat for herself.

Sitting beside her, Gao Cheng seemed to anticipate her intention in advance, turning his head to look at her.

“Why aren’t you eating? Are the three of us ruining your appetite?”

Just as she was about to stand up, Shi Kezhen halted her movements upon hearing this.

Answering or not answering both felt awkward.

A faint smile surfaced on her face.

“No, it’s just that I prefer eating alone.”

Sitting opposite, Jiang Chengshuo chimed in immediately:

“Oh, Student Shi, eating alone is so lonely; it’s much livelier with more people.”

Shi Kezhen glanced at Jiang Chengshuo, the smile on her face still faint.

“I prefer the quiet of being alone.”

Jiang Chengshuo was choked by her words.

Gao Cheng glanced at Jiang Zhexi.

“Xizi, has the partnership between the Jiang family and the Shi family been suspended? Why does Student Shi dislike you so much that she wants to run away the moment she sees you?”

Catching the hint instantly, Jiang Zhexi pulled out his phone in seamless coordination and spoke unhurriedly:

“Is that so? Let me make a call home to ask.”

Shi Kezhen’s expression shifted slightly, and she hurriedly spoke to stop him, her voice laced with helplessness.

“I’m just used to being alone; I didn’t mean anything else.”

What kind of joke was this?

A single phone call from Jiang Zhexi could stir up significant turmoil for the Shi family.

Such a massive blame was not something a dispensable adopted daughter like her could carry.

Jiang Zhexi glanced at her, placed his phone on the table, and said casually:

“Oh, I see. That’s a bad habit; you should change it.”

Shi Kezhen felt a headache coming on.

She said nothing more, lowering her head, picking up her chopsticks again, and continuing to eat her food quietly in small bites.

Gao Cheng swept a glance over her tray: bok choy, steamed pumpkin, stir-fried winter melon, cold cucumber salad, and half a bowl of rice.

He couldn’t help frowning.

What kind of dishes were these?

Not a speck of meat in sight—no wonder she was so skinny.

He looked at her profile again; her complexion was still poor, looking sickly.

With such frail health, she still didn’t eat anything nutritious; she truly had no idea how to take care of herself.

Shi Kezhen deliberately ignored the gazes resting upon her, doing her best to treat the three of them as thin air.

Yet they refused to be content just acting as air.

Gao Cheng said:

“Are you a rabbit? Why aren’t you eating any meat at all?”

Shi Kezhen did not respond to his words, acting as though she couldn’t hear.

Opposite them, Jiang Chengshuo added with a grin:

“Student Shi is quite cool and aloof, isn’t she?”

Jiang Zhexi added fuel to the fire:

“I can tell as well. Student Shi genuinely dislikes us.”

He paused, his tone turning serious:

“Presumably, the Jiang family must have accidentally offended the Shi family.”

As he spoke, his right hand picked up food with chopsticks while his left hand reached for his phone on the table, seemingly intending to call the Jiang family right in front of Shi Kezhen to inquire.

Shi Kezhen couldn’t afford to provoke them, and she didn’t dare continue ignoring them.

Putting down her chopsticks, she looked up at them, that faint smile appearing on her face once more as she explained softly:

“No, it’s just that I don’t like talking while eating.”

Jiang Chengshuo had a sudden epiphany:

“Oh, so that’s how it is! Look at the misunderstanding we had; we thought you hated us, Student Shi.”

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