With the three spots up for grabs, Su Qingjiao once again became the center of attention, and those sycophants who had been fawning over her were squeezed out by her enthusiastic classmates.

They angrily tried to squeeze in, only to find that students from other classrooms were also coming over to curry favor with them.

This time, it's not just a competition within the class; in about ten minutes, the news will sweep across the entire school like a tornado, and then it will become a competition across the whole school.

Xu Ping ate his meal in silence. Everyone on the chairs around him had left, and Su Qingjiao's place was a spectacular sight, with people packed up ten layers deep.

If it were like before, Xu Ping might have joined in as well.

I held onto a sliver of hope, thinking, "What if..."

Now, seeing everyone surrounding Su Qingjiao, Xu Ping felt completely calm.

He and Su Qingjiao were only classmates. There were only three precious spots, and even if Su Qingjiao closed her eyes, she would never throw them at him. Why should he join in the fun?

Instead of trying to please Su Qingjiao, it would be better to bring some food to Zhou Yi.

He wasn't familiar with Zhou Yi before and only regarded Zhou Yi as a rival in his studies. But now that they are familiar with each other, Xu Ping really treats Zhou Yi as a friend, which is why he told Zhou Yi about his family situation last time.

He admired Zhou Yi in some ways. Zhou Yi never engaged in internal strife and knew that bringing his own food from home to school would make him a laughingstock for being poor.

But Zhou Yi always brought his own lunch and never ate a single meal at the school cafeteria.

Such unwavering willpower, unaffected by others, is what I should learn from.

As Xu Ping thought to himself, holding the food he had packed for Zhou Yi in the cafeteria, his steps upstairs became much lighter.

He specially ordered braised pork from the cafeteria for Zhou Yi today, wanting to give Zhou Yi a good meal to nourish him. He was still thinking about what excuse he could come up with to get Zhou Yi to accept his kindness.

Seeing that Zhou Yi was the only one sitting alone in the classroom, Xu Ping couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy and quickly walked over with the packed food.

"Zhou Yi, the cafeteria is having a buy-one-get-one-free promotion today."

"The price of meat is only half of what it usually is, so I brought you some—"

Xu Ping's voice abruptly stopped!

Holy crap!

This...this...!

After seeing the dishes on Zhou Yi's table, including hairy crabs, salmon, and steak.

Like a frog in a well who accidentally discovers a bigger sky, he was like a sculpture that had been dried up in an instant, his stunned expression frozen on his face, and it lingered for a long time.

Zhou Yi elegantly wiped his mouth with a wet tissue and looked up.

What did you bring me?

Xu Ping's eyes were fixed on the hairy crabs on the table, completely unable to look away.

He didn't even hear Zhou Yi talking to him.

It wasn't until Zhou Yi called him several times that Xu Ping hurriedly came to his senses, pointing in shock at the food on Zhou Yi's table: "No, Zhou Yi, you, this, you?"

"...You're eating so well?"

"These hairy crabs are so big, they must weigh six or seven ounces each, right? And they're females, they must be very expensive. Is this real steak or processed steak?"

"My God!?!"

Compared to Xu Ping's shock, Zhou Yi remained calm, without a trace of pride in having eaten well.

He simply asked a very plain and unpretentious question.

"Would you like some?"

Xu Ping shook his head repeatedly and quickly hid the food he had packed behind his back.

However, his attempt to deceive himself did not escape Zhou Yi's notice. Zhou Yi quickly guessed why Xu Ping had hidden the food he had brought for him.

Zhou Yi naturally wouldn't expose Xu Ping's little scheme, so he pretended not to see it.

Instead, Xu Ping's face went from shock to flushed red. He suddenly felt as if he had discovered a new continent, and even his questions to Zhou Yi became stammering.

"Zhou, Zhou Yi, do you usually eat this well?"

Upon seeing Zhou Yi nod, Xu Ping's eyes widened again, almost popping out of their sockets.

She looked at the food on the table, then at Zhou Yi, her voice rising eight octaves in surprise and excitement: "No way! What happened to being poor?!"

"Zhou Yi, no, Young Master Zhou."

"So you weren't poor after all! You were hiding your true abilities!!!"

"We all thought you were so poor you couldn't afford to eat!"

"So you were eating so well while hiding in the classroom."

Zhou Yi chuckled and rubbed his forehead, looking at the big, goofy guy: "I have never admitted to these things, let alone said that my family is poor. And I have explained it many times."

"These are all things you think you know."

After the initial excitement, Xu Ping felt a mix of emotions, but also a growing sense of distance and unease towards Zhou Yi.

He originally thought that Zhou Yi came from the same family as him, which was why the two became friends.

But now, Zhou Yi's family used to be very wealthy...

In the quiet classroom, Xu Ping's mind was racing. Suddenly, he didn't dare to say anything to Zhou Yi and just lowered his head sadly.

Zhou Yi's eyes were dark and deep, and he immediately saw through Xu Ping's inferiority and unease: "I remember you often told me, 'Don't underestimate a poor young man. No one can be poor forever. Believe that you will rise to prominence one day.'"

"What? You feel like we're from different worlds? Are you so insecure about your own identity that you only dare to befriend poor people?"

Zhou Yi's words were like a blow to the head, jolting Xu Ping awake.

Yes, if he feels inferior even when facing his classmates, then when he faces all sorts of people in society, he'll feel utterly inferior.

"You're right!"

"Although your family background is much better than I imagined, I am not bad myself. As long as I work hard, I might be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with you in society in the future."

Zhou Yi fell silent.

He decided not to undermine Xu Ping's confidence for the time being.

The Zhou Group cannot be surpassed by the accumulation of one generation alone.

Xu Ping ultimately didn't take out the food he had packed for Zhou Yi, as it was simply too embarrassing to present. Just before class started, Xu Ping hid the food in his desk, thinking he could reheat it at home and eat it again.

The school's teachers' dormitory building is located behind the students' dormitory building. It was lunchtime, and most of the teachers were still taking their lunch break.

Su Qingjiao shook off the people who were trying to curry favor with her, and using the excuse of looking for a teacher, went to the restroom in the teachers' dormitory building.

Upon entering the women's restroom, there were only two stalls. After confirming that neither stall was occupied, Su Qingjiao went into the inner stall, took out iodine and gauze from her bag, and changed the dressing on her chest.

She dared not go to the public restroom used by students to change her dressing, for fear that people would smell the medicine.

Only when there are usually few people around in the teachers' building do she dare to change her dressing once during the day.

After enduring the pain and applying iodine, Su Qingjiao came out of the bathroom to wash her hands. Looking at herself in the mirror, her face was pale and her cheeks were sunken. She suddenly felt that her life was really miserable.

After washing my hands, I passed by the first floor.

Su Qingjiao saw a girl who wasn't wearing a school uniform, but just a simple black shirt, yet she exuded a model-like aura. Even though she only saw her from behind, Su Qingjiao recognized her at a glance.

It's Shen Bingyan again!