Mingqiao rarely feels that his ideas are absurd, but in this case, going against common sense seems to be the most normal thing to do.

He felt that the rule about wasting food was too vague, but what if?

What if food waste doesn’t just apply to diners, but is a violation of the rules for the entire restaurant?

It seemed that they had no choice but to finish the meal.

He called Shi Xin back and told him his thoughts.

"I object." Shi Xin stared, "If we have to finish all the food here, how long will it take us to finish it?"

"But is there any other way?" Ming Qiao looked at him tiredly: "It's better to give it a try than to be trapped here forever."

Shi Xin was speechless for a moment and sat dejectedly opposite him.

Mingqiao patted his shoulder soothingly: "Perhaps I should tell you that I have encountered a similar thing once."

Shi Xin's expression suddenly changed: "Where?"

"In the office." Ming Qiao said, "I was locked in the office by my boss for no apparent reason. After encountering some things, I followed... the rules."

"The door is open?"

"Yes." Ming Qiao nodded: "But time went back, and my identity seems to have become a student. The reason for the time reversal is unknown, but the identity change is because I did not follow the rules completely."

"So, we can get out as long as we strictly follow the rules?" Shi Xin asked.

"Probably." Mingqiao took a deep breath.

Before today, they had never thought that they would encounter such a thing. Even if they had heard of it, it was only in those made-up fantasy novels or TV dramas.

However, in this ordinary school, two bizarre and incredible things happened one after another.

But Mingqiao thought, at least he was no longer alone now.

He looked at the young man in front of him. Shi Xin's hair was messy, and he looked even more unkempt and messy than when they first met. He was full of the youthful vigor and vitality that a young man should have, and somewhat charming.

"Okay, I agree." Shi Xin closed his eyes, then opened them again, as if he had made a big decision: "It's better to try than not to try."

The two of them had a difficult psychological struggle and finally stood at the window to get food again.

Looking at the lunch in front of them, neither of them had any appetite.

Not to mention that they hadn't had time to digest the meal they had just eaten, the thought of eating everything here made them feel their stomachs bloating.

"Let's start with the food," Shi Xin suggested.

"Why?" Mingqiao was puzzled.

"Teacher Ming, have you never eaten at a buffet?" Shi Xin raised his eyebrows and looked at him: "In order to eat more, staple food, which is a filling food, should be placed at the end."

“But it’s not a buffet now.”

Shi Xin paused while serving the food: "Do you want to argue with me to the end? This is meaningless."

Ming Qiao was stunned for a few seconds: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to argue on purpose."

Shi Xin didn't bother with him. He filled the plate with food and scooped a spoonful of rice from the side.

Mingqiao thought about it and thought that maybe his suggestion was not unreasonable, so he ordered the same meal.

When it was time to swipe the card, Shi Xin stuck the temporary meal card on the machine, but heard a shrill alarm from the machine.

"Overload alert! Overload alert!"

Even though Shi Xin took the card out of the card machine, the alarm still sounded.

"Swipe mine." Mingqiao took out his "employee card" without hesitation and stuck it on the machine.

The alarm suddenly stopped. Although the sharp sound lingered in the ears of the two men, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"You..." Shi Xin was stunned.

Mingqiao frowned, the card dangling between his fingers: "Yes, this is an employee card."

"The first one." Shi Xin immediately responded: "Only faculty and staff can use employee cards, and students can only use student cards."

Mingqiao looked at him and nodded: "I broke the rules."

Shi Xin was a little flustered, and even his breathing became short and rapid. It was obvious that he was not the one who should be afraid now: "Is there any punishment for breaking the rules?"

"In the office, breaking the rules can cost lives, but I'm not sure what will happen in a restaurant." Ming Qiao said, "Let's wait and see. Things have to be solved one by one. It's okay."

The two of them sat down with heavy hearts and started eating the rice in their bowls.

They ate very slowly because there was not much room in their stomachs and it was impossible for them to continue eating after just finishing a meal.

Mingqiao put down his chopsticks after eating halfway.

He had a bad feeling.

The next second, all the doors and windows of the restaurant were slammed shut, and the huge banging sound was like a huge rock hitting the two men's hearts.

"Here I am." Ming Qiao looked at the gradually darkening environment, and with the last bit of light he looked at Shi Xin: "I'm sorry, maybe I should be the only one who is unlucky, but I dragged you into this."

"Don't say that. I wanted to come in with you." Shi Xin asked worriedly, "Are you scared?"

"Yeah, a little bit."

Before he could finish his words, the surroundings were completely dark.

"Shi Xin?"

No one responded.

Mingqiao swallowed.

He was indeed very scared.

He didn't know what he was going to face next, maybe the same as the monster in the office, or maybe something else, the fear of the unknown swept over him. He was usually a person with a strong sense of security, but facing such an environment, he still wanted to hold himself tightly, hoping to find a corner to hide.

“Notice on restaurant dining management:

This restaurant is the internal canteen of the No. 1 Middle School, which mainly provides dining services for the faculty and students. According to the Food Hygiene Regulations of Xingchuan City, the following notice is hereby issued:

1. Payment is by card only. Cash and other online payments are not accepted. Students use student cards, and faculty and staff use employee cards.

2. Outsiders must register first and then apply for a temporary dining card before they can dine at the restaurant counter.

3. Dining hours are 12:00-13:30 and 18:00-20:00. Please dine within the specified time.

4. Please queue up and observe discipline when ordering and picking up food.

5. Pay attention to hygiene in public areas.

6. Save food.

Note: To apply for a temporary meal card or claim lost property, please go to window 31 on the third floor of the cafeteria.

A mechanical, emotionless voice broadcast the restaurant's rules.

Mingqiao felt a chill as he faced the noises coming from all directions that he could not escape.

The rules were read out three times in total.

During this time, Mingqiao has been walking in one direction. He must find the end of this space, and then he can explore and find the exit.

After the three rules were broadcast, Mingqiao's fingers touched a smooth and cold inner wall.

He rubbed it, put his finger under his nose and sniffed.

It smells like dishwashing liquid.

The smell was very faint, so faint that he couldn't smell it unless he got close. The lemon scent eased his nervousness a little, but he was still afraid.

Mingqiao continued to touch down.

He could feel the inner wall shrinking in a uniform but not obvious arc, indicating that it was a barrel-shaped structure.

bucket.

He was clearly in the cafeteria, so how could he be trapped in the bucket?

He couldn't figure it out.

However, in the next second, a beam of strong light shone down from high above his head, and Mingqiao was dazzled and his eyes went dark. He subconsciously put his arms in front of his eyes, and it took him dozens of seconds to barely adapt and slowly opened his eyes.

He took in his situation - it was a large, red plastic barrel.

He pressed himself against the inner wall of the barrel, huddled together and watched everything in front of him.

He was so shocked that his breathing almost stopped.

In the restaurant, the waste bin used to store leftover food is a red plastic bin.

“Follow the rules or face the consequences.”

The sound came again.

Mingqiao forced himself to calm down. He gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and prepared to face whatever was coming next.

“Follow the rules or face the consequences.”

The second time.

By the third time, the tone had a hint of gloating, and then continuous laughter echoed throughout the space, with the echoes continuing endlessly.

Mingqiao's scalp tingled when he heard this.

He pressed as close to the inner wall of the barrel as possible to protect himself from being attacked from both sides.

However, before he could find a suitable safe haven, darkness enveloped his head again.

This time it was different, as if something was blocking the huge mouth of the barrel.

Mingqiao looked up.

Various kinds of food and soup mixed together and fell from the mouth of the bucket. Usually, the food that would be delicious if taken alone gave off a greasy stench that made people sick.

Mingqiao couldn't find anywhere to hide, so he could only let those things pour all over him.

The oil soaked his hair and the leftovers covered his entire body.

"..." Mingqiao vomited in disgust.

He was sure that if he didn't do something, he would die here today.

He has to go out.

As the leftovers piled up in the bucket, Mingqiao was trapped in it and had difficulty moving.

Even if he could swim, his strength would be quickly exhausted.

Before he could think about it, the next bucket of leftovers was poured down.

Mingqiao saw a white steamed bun falling down. This bun was more than a thousand times bigger than usual, comparable to an SUV.

That was the staple food with the most leftovers in the school cafeteria. Mingqiao had eaten it once because he was forced to work overtime. It was very soft and sweet, but one was not enough to fill you up. Most students would not choose to eat a steamed bun at noon, so the steamed buns were the most leftovers at noon.

Now this abandoned steamed bun always floats on the top.

Mingqiao was not far from the steamed bun. He used his hands to push away the food that was blocking his way forward, swam over with all his might, grabbed the outer skin of the steamed bun tightly, and lifted himself up.

He finally found the life-saving float after drowning. His limbs were already weak, and the smell of meat in his nose was unbearable.

Mingqiao thought of Shi Xin.

I don't know if he is still showing off the plate of food. Maybe he will be scared because of his sudden disappearance, or maybe after he broke the rules, Shi Xin will be able to escape from this weird cafeteria.

Mingqiao held the soft and tender bun and rose with the "water surface".