Chapter 16: Cafeteria Encounter

As they entered the cafeteria, the bustling crowd carried with it the mouthwatering aromas of food.

Shuffling forward slowly with the line, Lin Yumo was still debating in her mind what to have for dinner.

Up ahead, Song Xingran suddenly turned around, her eyes sparkling.
“Little Jasmine, what are you going to eat tonight? I can’t decide… I’m craving spare ribs but also want a drumstick.”

Lin Yumo smiled helplessly, just as conflicted.
“Why don’t you have both?”

Song Xingran quickly shook her head, grimacing.
“No, no, I’ve already gained three jin this month. And even though I wore sunscreen after training, I still got tanned.”

She leaned in to scrutinize Lin Yumo’s face, speaking with open envy.
“But you’re fine—you’re as white as if you’ve just been scooped out of milk. Did you secretly drink fairy water without me?”

The cafeteria’s overhead lights reflected off the tiles, sliding over the jasmine tattoo on Lin Yumo’s wrist, which gave off the faintest warmth.

Looking at Song Xingran’s face—still slim, but flushed from worry—she blurted out, almost without thinking:
“Want me to teach you a way to slim down quickly?”

Song Xingran’s eyes lit up instantly.
“Little Jasmine, quick! Tell me, I can’t wait another second!”

Drawing out her tone on purpose, Lin Yumo waggled her finger mysteriously in the air.
“Put your heart right here, with me.”

“Cough! Cough, cough!” Completely caught off guard, Song Xingran almost choked on her own saliva.

In that awkward silence, a low, suppressed chuckle suddenly sounded from behind them.

Lin Yumo froze, turning slowly—only to meet a pair of peach blossom eyes brimming with amusement.

Jiang Bozhou had one hand casually stuffed in his pocket, the top two buttons of his school uniform undone to reveal a glint of silver chain. The curve at the corner of his mouth was just like a cat that had gotten away with stealing fish.

It seemed he hadn’t expected to run into her either. He gave two dry laughs to break the silence, then, without making it obvious, turned his head toward the person behind him.
“Chi Ling, it’s your fault—you just had to tell me that joke.”

The deliberately aggrieved tone faltered slightly when his gaze met Lin Yumo’s faintly embarrassed eyes.

At his words, Chi Ling frowned slightly, a look of pure bafflement in his eyes, as if wondering what nonsense Jiang was up to this time.

He stared at Jiang Bozhou’s barely contained grin, Adam’s apple bobbing once. Just as he was about to speak, Jiang quickly leaned toward his ear, making him instinctively tilt his head back.

“Bro, I’m putting my trust in you. Just don’t say anything, okay?”

Jiang’s voice was pitched extremely low, the end tinged with laughter.

Chi Ling studied him for a few seconds, then pressed his lips together slightly—as if silently agreeing to this inexplicable “arrangement”—and looked away.

Only then did Lin Yumo notice the boy in the shadow.

He was standing right at the border of light and dark, the collar of his blue-and-white uniform buttoned with perfect precision. Every button was fastened, exuding an almost severe self-discipline.

A sudden, inexplicable panic welled up inside her. Worried that Chi Ling might have overheard her earlier teasing remark, her heart began pounding uncontrollably.

She instinctively raised her head—and met Chi Ling’s gaze head-on, just as it shifted from Jiang Bozhou to her.

In that instant, it was as if the noisy cafeteria had been muted.

The shouts of the lunch ladies, the clinking of plates, the chatter and laughter of students—all of it disappeared.

Time itself seemed to freeze. Lin Yumo could hear nothing but the pounding of her own heart, her blood surging through her veins.

His deep, lake-like eyes seemed to pull her whole being into them, and she even forgot to breathe.

“Little Jasmine!”

Song Xingran’s excited voice suddenly broke the spell, her hand closing tightly around Lin Yumo’s.

Snapping back to herself, Lin Yumo turned away first, trying to act as if nothing had happened. But the sweat in her palm and the rapid thudding of her heart betrayed the ripples in her calm facade.

Song Xingran turned back as well, her hand still swinging slightly on Lin Yumo’s, as if she was still excited from the brief encounter just now.

The line inched forward like a slow-moving dragon, and in no time, it was Lin Yumo’s turn.

The flutter in her chest from making eye contact with Chi Ling just moments ago had yet to fade. The tingling sensation in her fingertips still lingered, and even the rich aroma wafting from the food counter seemed blurred.

Her gaze swept over the glossy sweet-and-sour ribs and the golden, crispy fried chicken drumsticks, but she didn’t have the mind to deliberate. She casually pointed to two vegetable dishes instead.

After getting her food, she and Song Xingran found a seat in a corner. The metal chair carried a faint chill.

As soon as Song Xingran set her tray down, her eyes lit up. She lowered her voice but couldn’t hide her excitement.

“Ahhh, I just saw God Ling!”

Lin Yumo lowered her gaze, pulled out a napkin, and handed it over in her usual calm tone.
“Mm, I saw him too. Here—wipe your utensils.”

Taking the napkin, Song Xingran was still caught up in the brief encounter.
“It’s been so long since I last saw him. Our class doesn’t have PE with theirs… sigh.”

She let out a light sigh, her tone full of regret, while her chopsticks idly poked at her plate.

Lin Yumo glanced up at her friend’s regretful expression and couldn’t help but smile.
“Come on, eat up. The monthly exam is tomorrow, and you still haven’t figured out that math problem.”

She tapped Song Xingran’s tray with her chopsticks, making a crisp sound.

Song Xingran scrunched her brows, her whole face almost wrinkling into a ball.
“Little Jasmine, I’d just forgotten about that, and now you’re reminding me of something so depressing.”

Muttering under her breath, she finally stopped talking about Chi Ling and switched to grumbling non-stop—about the math teacher’s harsh homework load, about the complicated and baffling problems—poking at her rice as she complained.

Lin Yumo listened quietly, occasionally giving a small response.

In the warm, mellow light of the cafeteria’s corner, the stainless steel table reflected the shadows of Chi Ling and his two friends.

Jiang Bozhou set his tray down.
“That was close just now—almost gave myself away!”

The boy beside him deliberately adjusted his open collar. The silver chain at his collarbone caught the light in tiny glints.
“This carefully arranged casual look of mine—our little fairy definitely noticed.”

Wen Yannian pulled out a chair behind him, the legs scraping against the floor with a sound.
“Noticed you almost tripping over yourself, maybe.”

He tapped his chopsticks against Jiang Bozhou’s tray, splattering sweet-and-sour sauce onto his hand.
“Last time you said you were chasing the Class Three beauty, and now it’s Class Seven’s ‘little fairy.’ Keep this up, and you’ll end up on a wanted list someday.”

Chi Ling hadn’t spoken the whole time, quietly cutting his tofu into neat little cubes with his spoon.

When Jiang Bozhou said, “She looks amazing in her uniform,” Chi Ling’s fingers suddenly tightened around the spoon. The rim of his porcelain bowl gave a faint, brittle sound.

A flash of memory came unbidden—
The girl’s ponytail swaying, the blue-and-white uniform collar resting against her fair neck, a few loose strands curled slightly from the cafeteria steam.

When she turned, the ends of her hair caught the warm glow from the serving counter, like the flutter of a white bird’s wings.

“Hey, God Ling, what are you thinking about?” Jiang Bozhou’s chopsticks suddenly jabbed into his bowl. “You think she’s beautiful too, right?”

Chi Ling snapped back to reality, crushing the tofu in his spoon into small crumbs.

He didn’t answer, only scooped up the crumbled tofu and ate it, prompting Wen Yannian to raise an eyebrow.

By the time Lin Yumo and Song Xingran disappeared through the cafeteria doors, Chi Ling was just finishing the last sip of his soup.

“Hurry up, hurry up! We’re gonna be late for evening self-study!”

Jiang Bozhou’s urging came in bursts, and Chi Ling stood, leaving with them.