21. Is she bent?

Qin Zhaoyi stared at the word princess on the screen, not sure how to respond.

She just couldn’t eat the food here. It was bland and lacked nutrition, and she couldn’t understand how the children here could eat it with such happy smiles.

She simply had a selective palate, that’s all. Why did it turn into her being a princess when she was with Luo Yue? She wasn’t that delicate.

After a moment, seeing that Qin Zhaoyi didn’t respond, Luo Yue reached for her phone, but Qin Zhaoyi suddenly pressed down on her hand.

Luo Yue raised an eyebrow, her playful expression evident in her eyes.

Qin Zhaoyi used a bit more force to prevent Luo Yue from pulling her hand away.

Luo Yue still wore a smile on her face, watching the scene play out.

Provoked by Luo Yue’s challenging gaze, Qin Zhaoyi took Luo Yue’s phone, deleted her message, and typed a new one:

[Can’t ordinary people be picky eaters?]

Must it be a princess?

Luo Yue retrieved her phone and remained silent, focusing on checking that the children didn’t leave any food behind.

Qin Zhaoyi who was still waiting for a reply, “…?”

This person really had no sense of reciprocation, leaving others in a state of uncertainty. It was hard to figure out their true feelings.

Before Qin Zhaoyi could vent her frustration, she heard Luo Yue calling out, “Xu Zhichun, what did the teacher tell you?”

The named child looked wronged and pursed his lips, taking a piece of fresh spinach and bringing it to his mouth. His voice was childish, but his tone was mature and condescending: “Children aren’t allowed to be picky eaters, or they won’t grow tall.”

After this explanation, he ate the spinach with a scrunched-up expression, as if he were swallowing a bitter pill.

Qin Zhaoyi: “…?”

She stared straight at Luo Yue, who kept her gaze locked, refusing to look away or engage in an exchange.

A child seated beside her asked, “Pretty lady, why aren’t you eating?”

Qin Zhaoyi hesitated for a moment and replied, “I’m not hungry.”

Though she was slightly hungry, she had her mind set on coffee, which she hadn’t been able to enjoy due to the physical activity and her time spent at the police station. However, the food just didn’t appeal to her.

The child responded wisely, “You should eat a little anyway, or the granny who serves food will get upset.”

Qin Zhaoyi asked, “Why?”

The child quickly glanced towards the serving window, then lowered her head and took two large bites of rice. “Well, she doesn’t like people who leave food. If she sees someone leaving food behind, she’ll be grumpy when she serves them next time.”

Qin Zhaoyi: “…?”

Qin Zhaoyi followed the child’s gaze and indeed saw an older lady sternly observing her.

After some contemplation, Qin Zhaoyi picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.

Luo Yue, who had been listening to the exchange, finally averted her gaze and stared at Qin Zhaoyi, her smile evident.

Her smile was quite clear – that’s the way.

Qin Zhaoyi didn’t like the way she looked at her with that “affectionate” gaze, like she was a student in the class. So she deliberately avoided Luo Yue’s gaze.

Fortunately, Luo Yue didn’t keep watching her either.

Being a class teacher involved many responsibilities, especially for a group of elementary school students.

Even though the students were well-behaved, there were always a few clever little troublemakers who would secretly pour their uneaten food into the trash can, and give all their vegetables to their classmates when the teacher wasn’t looking. Luo Yue had to check each one to ensure they weren’t being picky eaters.

Luo Yue was busy throughout the entire meal, and Qin Zhaoyi was hardly on her mind.

Qin Zhaoyi’s gaze drifted to Luo Yue from time to time, but it received almost no response.

After observing for some time, her eyes began to feel a bit sore.

The children finished their meals, put down their bowls and chopsticks, and left the cafeteria contentedly.

After lunch, they had time to play and an hour of naptime. During this period, a life teacher would usually take care of them. When Qin Zhaoyi and her friends were in school, different teachers were in charge of different activities. Specifically, one teacher supervised their lunch, another one supervised playtime, yet another teacher oversaw naptime, and the class teacher focused solely on their studies.

However, here, the same teacher supervised all these activities.

Luo Yue was one of the responsible ones, taking care of the students after their meal, leading them in playtime, and supervising their naptime.

When naptime was over, they returned to their classes if they had lessons, or they could head back to the office to grade assignments or prepare lessons.

The schedule was packed from morning to evening.

Luo Yue was constantly occupied, while Qin Zhaoyi had nothing to do. She decided to take a walk on the playground.

Coincidentally, Zhou Xi called her, saying that a publishing house was interested in her new book and was willing to sign a deal, allowing her to finish it at her own pace.

Most likely, it was due to industry insiders catching wind of Qin Zhaoyi’s current situation. Recognizing her stubborn character, they might use “Sicily” as a promotional gimmick.

Qin Zhaoyi didn’t think twice before rejecting the offer, and she wondered, “Why even bother asking about this?”

Anyone could see that it was an impossible matter.

In the past, Zhou Xi would never have asked her and would have directly declined such offers.

Zhou Xi hesitated for a moment and said, “I just wanted to find an excuse to talk to you.”

Qin Zhaoyi replied, “I’m fine.”

Zhou Xi fell silent on the other end of the line.

Qin Zhaoyi didn’t know how to describe her current state but understood what Zhou Xi was concerned about. After some thought, she said, “I won’t make decisions lightly.”

“What?” Zhou Xi paused for a moment, then realized what Qin Zhaoyi meant and said, “I didn’t mean it that way.”

Qin Zhaoyi was curious and asked, “So, what do you mean?”

Zhou Xi cleared her throat and lowered her voice, “Have you followed my advice and kissed again?”

Qin Zhaoyi, “…?”

Qin Zhaoyi initially thought Zhou Xi was inquiring about her work, but it turned out Zhou Xi was just gossiping about her love life.

She hung up the phone but later remembered that their studio had been involved in charity work. Every year, Qin Zhaoyi donated 8% of her royalties to the Red Cross. Furthermore, she had donated almost half of the royalties from her first book to Hope Primary School.

Looking at the somewhat run-down playground in front of her, Qin Zhaoyi sent a message to Zhou Xi: [Let’s allocate some money to donate to this school this year.]

She also sent the location of Moon Island Elementary School.

Qin Zhaoyi made sure to request repairs for the children’s playground and improvements in their meals.

Zhou Xi agreed and later couldn’t resist and sent a voice message inquiring, “Is your significant other there?”

Qin Zhaoyi: [Can’t I just be doing a good deed?]

Zhou Xi: [I’ve known you for a long time.]

Qin Zhaoyi: [ So?]

Zhou Xi: [You’re a little kind.]

Qin Zhaoyi: [ guess.]

Zhou Xi: [But not too much.]

Qin Zhaoyi: […]

Qin Zhaoyi solemnly declared, “I’m just lazy.”

Zhou Xi replied half-heartedly, and even through the screen, her reluctance was apparent. But Qin Zhaoyi didn’t have the time or energy to argue.

Her computer was still at Yan Ci’s coffee shop, and after a day of chaos, she had lost all motivation to write. When she arrived at Yan Ci’s coffee shop, it was mostly empty.

Running a stylish coffee shop on such a small island seemed like a loss-making business. But Yan Ci enjoyed it. When Qin Zhaoyi arrived, Yan Ci was standing at the bar, selecting coffee beans.

The entire café was filled with the rich aroma of coffee, tantalizing the taste buds. Qin Zhaoyi had missed her morning coffee, and now the enticing aroma of coffee was making her crave it. She went to the bar to order a latte but was stopped by Yan Ci.

“You haven’t had any coffee this morning,” Yan Ci said. “This cup is on the house.”

Yan Ci exuded a certain charm, with her long hair pulled up with a wooden hairpin, and she was dressed entirely in ink-white, which was a stark contrast to the locals. She looked more like she came from the south of the Yangtze River, with an air of gentleness.

Qin Zhaoyi silently observed her and eventually accepted the complimentary coffee. However, she looked around but didn’t see the dog. She asked, “Where is the dog?”

“You mean Zao Zao?” Yan Ci said while preparing the coffee. “She’s on the second floor.”

Qin Zhaoyi glanced upstairs but didn’t see the dog’s figure. “Luo Yue will take her back home in the evening,” Yan Ci said as she handed the coffee to Qin Zhaoyi. She had fair, delicate hands that looked pampered. She casually asked, “Are you Teacher Luo’s girlfriend?”

Qin Zhaoyi took the coffee, but as she sipped it, her tongue was immediately scalded, causing a tingling sensation. However, the surprising question she heard made her forget about the pain as she asked, “Is she bent?”

Yan Ci looked puzzled. “Aren’t you?”

Qin Zhaoyi, “…”