The commotion during P.E. class was just an awkward little accident that Xu Xing chose to forget selectively, yet he always remembered what Kedi said: Jiang Jize probably doesn’t have a girlfriend.

After school, Xu Xing and Wang Zicong lined up together at the cafeteria to buy food. It was peak time after class, and the line was quite long. Wang Zicong, who had burned off some calories playing badminton, grumbled with a growling stomach, “Why doesn’t the school build another cafeteria or at least add two more floors?”

Xu Xing was also hungry. He opened his sports drink and took a couple of sips to stave off his hunger, shooting Wang Zicong an eye roll, “You can ask your dad to tell the principal.”

Wang Zicong nodded thoughtfully, “Yeah, I’ll mention it to my dad when I go home this weekend. He’s always worried that I’m not getting enough to eat at school.”

Wang Zicong was easy to satisfy, so what Wang Dad primarily worried about wasn’t whether Wang Zicong was eating well, but whether he was getting enough to eat.

Xu Xing: “…”

Wang Zicong’s dad was the chairman of the parent committee this year. Even casually bringing up a suggestion might lead to a special meeting just to discuss his proposal.

Xu Xing had seen Wang Zicong’s dad at the parent meeting twice. He had a beer belly that looked like he was eight months pregnant, and in both shape and appearance, he closely resembled the XXL-sized Wang Zicong. Wang Dad’s eyes always twinkled with a smile, but when he smiled with his squinted eyes, he looked shrewdly intelligent, while Wang Zicong’s squinting smile just made him look silly.

Xu Xing stood in line until his legs went numb, holding the bottle of sports drink with his long index and middle fingers, his arms hanging naturally, shaking the bottle occasionally and absentmindedly tapping his thigh.

With one hand resting on Wang Zicong’s shoulder, Xu Xing’s gaze drifted aimlessly until he spotted Xiao Shun walking in through the side door of the cafeteria.

“Hey, Xiao Shun~”

Xu Xing waved at him.

Xiao Shun looked over in response, smiling as he nodded at Xu Xing, then shifted his gaze to the large sign at Xu Xing’s food stall: Hong Kong-style barbecue.

After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Shun stepped forward and joined the line behind Xu Xing.

While Wang Zicong was busy playing on his phone, Xu Xing leaned over him to chat with Xiao Shun.

The stall’s signature dish was honey-glazed barbecue chicken rice, but Xu Xing didn’t like sweet and greasy barbecue, so he ordered roast duck rice and additionally got a honey-glazed chicken leg. He moved from the waiting line to grab utensils on the side. He picked up three bowls of the cafeteria auntie’s pre-prepared soup, and when Wang Zicong and Xiao Shun came over, he handed each of them a bowl, saying, “Today’s soup is tea tree mushroom and rib soup, still warm.”

Xiao Shun replied to Xu Xing, “Thank you.”

Wang Zicong peeked into the soup bowl, his eyes lighting up as he squinted into a crescent shape. He happily exclaimed, “I’ve got two pieces of rib in my bowl!”

The soup was free, and the meat in it was chopped into small pieces, no bigger than a fingernail.

Xu Xing loved that Wang Zicong was so easily satisfied. As long as he was given some food, he would wag his tail like a happy puppy, and the person feeding him would feel very fulfilled.

Xiao Shun stood in place, holding his tray, staring blankly at the bustling cafeteria, when he heard Xu Xing call out to him, “Xiao Shun, let’s go find a seat over there.”

Xiao Shun nodded in response.

Xiao Shun had no defenses against Xu Xing and was completely unaware that Xu Xing was plotting something in his mind.

Xu Xing walked ahead, looking around as if searching for a needle in a haystack, but in reality, he was simply following the red thread connected to Xiao Shun.

After walking for a while, Xu Xing found the other end of the red thread—Jiang Jize was sitting with his back to Xu Xing. His tray was almost empty, with only a few scraps and some soup left. Jiang Jize was chatting with someone next to him, holding the edge of the tray with his right hand, his long legs already stepping out of the aisle, clearly preparing to leave.

Xu Xing initially wanted to find a place to sit near Jiang Jize to provide an opportunity for them to share a table, but there was no chance.

Xu Xing walked past Jiang Jize, taking several steps and looking around for an empty seat, but finding none. He then stopped, thinking that Jiang Jize was about to leave anyway, so sitting close or far didn’t matter. He pointed to a table with three empty seats diagonally behind him and said to Xiao Shun and Wang Zicong, “There are seats over there; let’s go back and sit together.”

Wang Zicong completely followed Xu Xing’s lead, immediately turning around. Xiao Shun, who stood between Xu Xing and Wang Zicong, couldn’t help but take a step back, fearing he would get in Wang Zicong’s way as he turned around in a rather difficult 180°.

In that moment, Xu Xing saw the red thread behind Xiao Shun glow faintly. The originally dragging red thread floated in mid-air, swaying like seaweed in the water, as if beckoning him like a ghost.

Xu Xing dazedly reached out and grabbed it.

Just as Wang Zicong completed his turn and took a step forward, the red thread in Xu Xing’s hand suddenly tightened—

Xu Xing even felt that pulling force.

In the instant the red thread tensed, Jiang Jize naturally stood up with his tray.

The narrow aisle couldn’t accommodate two people walking side by side. Xiao Shun, following behind Wang Zicong, had just lifted his right foot to step out when he was startled by Jiang Jize, who stood up right in front of him.

Xiao Shun nearly bumped into Jiang Jize’s arms, his heart racing almost out of his throat. Thankfully, it was just a false alarm; he managed to steady himself while protecting the soup and rice in his tray.

However!

With less than half an arm’s distance between Xu Xing and Xiao Shun, the red thread resting in Xu Xing’s hand emitted a faint flash of red light. Before Xu Xing’s brain could react and issue a command, the red thread pulled him forward a step and gently pushed Xiao Shun’s back—directly shoving him into Jiang Jize’s arms.

Xiao Shun’s mind went blank as he heard gasps and the sharp, piercing sound of metal spoons and chopsticks clattering. Then there was that low, haunting voice, cursing, “What the hell!!!”

The soup bowl and spoon from the tray fell to the ground.

As the “behind-the-scenes instigator,” Xu Xing was just as bewildered, staring with wide eyes at the surprised faces around him—his shock doubled—just then, as Xiao Shun collided with Jiang Jize, the red thread connecting the two of them flashed a deep crimson before vanishing into thin air.

The red thread acted like a mischievous child who made trouble and ran away, leaving Xu Xing to deal with the aftermath.

Xu Xing: “…”

Xiao Shun stood pale-faced across from Jiang Jize.

Jiang Jize stood beside Xiao Shun, his expression dark.

The soup mixed with the sticky char siu sauce splashed all over Jiang Jize, now trickling down his clothes and pooling on his shoes—an utterly dreadful sight.

“I-I’m sorry…”

Xiao Shun spoke with a tone of helplessness, sounding as if he might cry.

Jiang Jize’s friends hurriedly handed him napkins. Jiang Jize frowned tightly, pulling his school uniform open slightly to prevent the sticky fabric from sticking to his body. He wiped away the gooey substance with a napkin, his mouth continuously cursing, “Damn it! This is really bad luck!”

Xiao Shun lowered his head, staring at the mess on the floor, unsure of what to do.

Jiang Jize looked up, glaring at the culprit with a stormy expression and irritably asked, “What grade are you in?”

After asking that gruff question, Jiang Jize noticed Xu Xing behind Xiao Shun. Though he had no direct interaction with Xu Xing, he had seen him several times in the past few days, so he remembered him and frowned, asking, “You’re in the senior year, right?”

The small figure in front of him buried his head, almost hiding his face in his chest, revealing only a small portion of his fair neck. His ears were also very red.

Xiao Shun was flustered and lost all composure, apologizing timidly to Jiang Jize, “Uh… sorry…”

Jiang Jize couldn’t be bothered to respond to Xiao Shun’s vague apology. With the large, wet, sticky stain on his school uniform, he felt utterly uncomfortable and wished he could take off the shirt and throw it in the trash.

Jiang Jize was boiling with anger, cursing under his breath as he turned to leave. Just as he stepped forward, he suddenly halted, turned around, and grabbed the back of Xiao Shun’s collar, saying forcefully, “Come with me back to the dorm to change clothes; you can wash them.”

Xiao Shun was taken aback: “…”

Xu Xing snapped out of his shock at the disappearance of the red thread. He couldn’t grasp whether the thread’s vanishing meant that their connection had ended or if it was for some other reason. He felt conflicted and uneasy as he told Xiao Shun, “Um… Xiao Shun, just go back to the dorm with him. You can take the clothes he changes out of, and I’ll pack the char siu rice for you to take back to the dorm later.”

Xu Xing felt a slight sense of guilt, afraid that he had disrupted someone else’s connection.

Xiao Shun felt like his brain was stuffed with glue, completely losing his ability to think. Hearing Xu Xing’s suggestion, he nodded.

As Xiao Shun bent down to pick up the fallen bowls and utensils, Jiang Jize impatiently shouted, “Forget about that, let’s go, let’s go!”

Jiang Jize was beyond irritated, as no one wanted sticky clothes on their body.

Startled by Jiang Jize’s aggression, Xiao Shun’s shoulders trembled. He timidly stood up and followed behind Jiang Jize, lowering his head as they walked away.

Xu Xing watched Xiao Shun’s retreating figure, feeling a mix of emotions as he looked down at his right palm, which had caused the trouble, praying for divine intervention. He was perplexed as to why Xiao Shun colliding with Jiang Jize caused the red thread to disappear directly. Moreover, the red thread had only exerted force when it was in his hand; he wasn’t sure if it was a mistake that he had been guiding Xiao Shun to push.

On the other side, Wang Zicong had no idea about the sudden situation with Xiao Shun. He squeezed into an empty spot on the other side, happily occupying three seats. When he turned around, he saw Xu Xing standing alone while Xiao Shun was following a tall boy towards the cafeteria’s exit.

Wang Zicong shouted in confusion, “Xing Xing, there are seats here! Come over!”

Xu Xing replied and was about to walk towards Wang Zicong when he was suddenly grabbed by someone behind him.

Turning around in surprise, he saw Lu Che’s displeased face before him, his expression dark, almost as if he had a note on his forehead saying, “I’m very unhappy,” like Xu Xing had just stolen his girlfriend and made him feel betrayed.

Xu Xing asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

Lu Che’s thin lips curled up as he revealed a glimpse of his small tiger teeth, saying ominously, “Class leader, was it fun to deliberately push that little student into Jiang Jize?”

Xu Xing: “…”

Caught red-handed by Lu Che, Xu Xing widened his eyes in surprise and momentarily forgot to rebut.

Just as Xiao Shun had completely failed to notice Xu Xing, the behind-the-scenes instigator, Xu Xing was entirely unaware that ever since he had started wandering around the cafeteria looking for an empty seat, Lu Che had been watching him the entire time.

Lu Che was very troubled: he had intentionally left two empty seats here, but how could he call Xu Xing over to sit without it seeming deliberate or overly flattering?

In the end—

While Lu Che was worried, he happened to witness Xu Xing, the true mastermind, in the act.

“……”

His mood was hard to calm.

Why did he deliberately push someone to bump into Jiang Jize?

Was it really to get Jiang Jize’s attention?

What was so good about Jiang Jize compared to him?

The more Lu Che thought about it, the angrier he became, to the point where he couldn’t even eat!

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Author’s Note: Brother Che has questioned whether he fell for a free-spirited little wildcat, unaware that Xu Xing is the most straightforward person in the entire story (I’m just kidding).

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