Chapter 9: The Bento and the Misunderstanding

Just before the school’s main gate closed, Chen Lin finally stepped inside, slowing from a run to walk beside Jin Jie.

“What was that about?” Jin Jie asked.

“Just thinking about something. Got lost in thought,” Chen Lin explained.

If Jin Jie hadn’t reminded him to enter, he might have been late.

Jin Jie shook his head. That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. He pointed a finger at the little rabbit thermal box in Chen Lin’s hand. “I don’t care why you spaced out. What’s with this lunchbox?”

He’d noticed it earlier. The adorable little rabbit design was far too cute for someone as wooden as Chen Lin to choose.

And as Chen Lin’s best friend, this was the first time he’d seen him use something so cute.

“This? Someone gave me a bento…” Chen Lin saw no reason to hide it, so he answered honestly.

The moment he heard ‘a bento,’ Jin Jie perked up, elbowing Chen Lin in the ribs.

“Come on, come on, spill it. What’s the story?” Jin Jie pressed, looking like a gossipmonger.

Chen Lin wanted to be honest, but the words caught in his throat.

He knew Jin Jie’s loudmouth personality all too well. If he told the truth, before the morning was over, the whole class would know he was eating a bento made by a little girl.

And then he’d have to deal with embarrassing nicknames like ‘lolicon’ or ‘loli harvester’ replacing his original nickname, ‘Wood.’

With Jin Jie, he would absolutely do that—it was practically school bullying.

“Anyway, someone gave it to me. Don’t ask so much,” Chen Lin said, not wanting to elaborate, and quickened his pace.

But Jin Jie obviously wasn’t letting him off, matching his speed.

“Aren’t we friends? Years of being best buds, and you’re keeping secrets? Did some girl confess to you?” Jin Jie guessed.

“No way,” Chen Lin denied immediately without thinking.

“Since you accepted a bento, does that mean you’re giving up on Senior Meiyue?” Jin Jie reasoned on his own.

If Chen Lin accepted another girl’s kindness, he should naturally give up on Meiyue.

As his best friend, Jin Jie was the only one who knew about this besides Chen Lin.

“I’m not giving up on Senior Meiyue,” Chen Lin said firmly.

Soon they reached the classroom. The homeroom teacher was present, so they stopped talking and took their seats.

Chen Lin sighed in relief. He was sick of Jin Jie’s questioning; finally, he had a moment to breathe.

Because the little rabbit thermal box was so cute, and to avoid other classmates teasing him about it, Chen Lin stuffed it into his desk.

At lunchtime, students filed out of the classroom after the bell rang.

Just as Chen Lin was about to relax and take out the thermal box, Jin Jie sat in the seat in front of him, straddling the chair backward so he faced Chen Lin.

“You saw I have a bento. Go eat lunch by yourself,” Chen Lin told his friend.

“So heartless, leaving me to eat alone. But that’s not the point now. Open the bento box! I want to see what’s inside,” Jin Jie said eagerly.

Suspecting it was a homemade bento from a girl, he wanted a look.

Chen Lin knew his friend’s personality; if he didn’t comply, Jin Jie wouldn’t leave.

“Fine, you’re impossible,” Chen Lin grumbled, pulling out the little rabbit thermal box from his desk. From inside, he took out a cute yellow lunchbox.

“Open it up, don’t be so slow.”

Urged by Jin Jie, Chen Lin lifted the lid.

The thermal box was surprisingly good at keeping heat, so the lunchbox was still warm—no need to borrow the teacher’s microwave.

When he opened it, the inside was, how to describe it, a mess. The chicken wings were slightly burnt, the rolled omelet was falling apart, and the only decent thing was the salad, since chopping vegetables and mixing dressing was hard to mess up. Still, the cucumber cubes were uneven—some as big as a thumb, others only 2mm in diameter.

Seeing the contents, Jin Jie felt this was a failure. It was hard to imagine any girl giving such a failed bento to her crush.

Suddenly, Jin Jie understood. This bento must be a reject; Chen Lin was just handling the kitchen waste. So no girl liked Chen Lin—he had misunderstood. Chen Lin was just helping dispose of garbage.

Jin Jie patted Chen Lin’s shoulder with a sympathetic look.

Feeling underestimated, Chen Lin was slightly annoyed.

“Sorry, I misunderstood. I’ll buy you a cola, forgive me,” Jin Jie said and left the classroom before Chen Lin could explain. If he didn’t hurry to the cafeteria, all the good food would be gone.

Chen Lin had no idea what Jin Jie was thinking; otherwise, he would have corrected him. Cooking wasn’t easy. Yan had made this bento with care—how could it be considered a failure? That was rude.

Looking at the ingredients in the lunchbox, Chen Lin started eating. It might not look good, but it was edible.

“I’m full.”

Not wanting to waste food, Chen Lin finished everything, poured out the leftovers, and went to rinse the box under the tap. At least he washed off the grease; he’d clean it thoroughly with detergent at home before returning it to Yan.

After drying the lunchbox with a paper towel, Chen Lin sat on a wooden bench under a pine tree in the schoolyard, looking up at the thick canopy that shielded him from the sun.

“What should I do now? How can I get Senior Meiyue to notice me?” he muttered to himself.

Thinking about it gave him a headache.

If it were that easy to get close to her, he wouldn’t have been pining for so long.

But he’d resolved to change his situation. He couldn’t just keep standing still.

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