Chapter 9

He Xi looked around in the cafeteria with his lunch tray, wondering why Bai Shu was not in the cafeteria today.

"Hey, in front... go forward."

He Xi heard an impatient urging voice from behind, and hurriedly moved his feet, then met the amiable face of the cafeteria auntie.

Auntie smiled at He Xi and extended her hand.

He Xi smiled politely, and when he realized what was happening, the plate in his hand had already been handed over... no, it was more like it flew into the aunt's hands.

The aunt lowered her head, picked up the spoon, scooped it up, put it down, and threw it in.

The plate was already covered with a piece of rice and ran into the hands of the chef. In a few seconds, the plate full of rice was back in He Xi's hands.

He Xi: “…” He tactfully gave up his seat to the person behind him.

In the middle of the huge cafeteria, among the crowded crowds of people, He Xi was troubled by the full plate in his hands.

It's neither worth eating nor throwing away.

She became even more anxious, and beads of sweat appeared on her nose.

His anxious eyes swept across every face in the cafeteria, and suddenly stopped on the slightly thin figure of a boy.

Half of a plain profile - isn't that Lin Shenyuan?

At this moment, he was standing at the end of the line at the rice bowl window.

Without thinking, He Xi rushed to Lin Shenyuan and greeted him, "Hi~ My stomach hurts a bit, so I'll give you this meal."

Lin Shenshen was stunned.

"Oh, I haven't moved yet!"

Lin Shenyuan lowered his head to glance at He Xi's plate, originally out of curiosity, but the plate was naturally stuffed into his arms by He Xi.

When he looked up again, He Xi had already run a short distance.

“…Thank you——” he shouted at her back.

“…Please eat, don’t feel burdened!”

He Xi ran out of the cafeteria, panting.

She must find the white tree!

Thinking of the suffering she had endured for a few days half a month ago, her face immediately wrinkled into a ball of wrinkled paper.

She wanted to find Bai Shu. She didn't believe that a child who was so devout about food would treat his stomach badly for serious matters!

He must be eating now.

...He must be eating behind her back somewhere she doesn't know.

Damn... He Xi looked up and saw that the school canteen was opposite the cafeteria.

Start looking here!

The cramped little shop is always packed with people between restaurants and classes.

It is no exaggeration to say that there are as many students queuing in the cafeteria as there are students crowding in the canteen.

The grilled sausages, instant noodles and spicy strips, the three giants in the snack world, attract countless students.

Bai Shu...is no exception.

His tall figure made the already small shop seem even more crowded, and even the air seemed to become thinner.

Bai Shu and He Xi were standing together behind a long line of instant noodles, separated by several students.

The queue was too long and He Xi's mind couldn't help but wander.

When it was her turn, she didn't want to spend time choosing, so she just pointed to a bucket of non-spicy food, paid for it, put it in her arms and left.

The air inside is really stuffy.

Then go to the water dispenser outside the store to queue up for boiled water.

He Xi took a look from a distance and saw that Bai Shu had opened the instant noodle bucket, which was filled to the brim with eggs, sausages and spicy strips.

She thought it was a good thing there was no pot here, otherwise Bai Shugao would have to go to the back of the playground to pick a handful of wild vegetables, then light a fire and put these things into the pot to cook into a hot pot.

"Hey, is it raining?"

He Xi looked up while holding the soaked noodles, as if she sensed something, and a drop of rain fell on her eyelids.

He Xi heard a long, comfortable sigh and glanced sideways. Bai Shu straightened his clothes with one hand and squatted down with instant noodles in the other. He looked up at the rain lines turning into streams and finally into a dense rain curtain.

He narrowed his eyes, admired it carefully for a while, lowered his head, picked up a few noodles and sucked them into his mouth, then started eating.

After He Xi finished making the instant noodles, he simply squatted on the steps on the other side of the water dispenser, so that he and Bai Shu could occupy the two sides respectively and maintain a very clear distance.

She slurped a mouthful of instant noodles, feeling the aroma of noodles and seasonings in her mouth, and squinted her eyes in satisfaction.

Hmm... this thing is really delicious if you eat it occasionally.

Instant noodles on rainy days, this combination is absolutely amazing!

…

The bell for the last get out of class in the afternoon rang, and He Xi lay on the table with her eyes closed to rest. It was time for dinner, but she was not in a hurry to go to the cafeteria or go home.

No strength, no desire to move.

She didn't eat much at noon today, and she is still in a daze.

Appetite is like her luck, which is neither good nor bad, and always appears and disappears.

Recently, Bai Shu might have been eating at home or outside the school, but not in the classroom, cafeteria, or canteen. She felt embarrassed to disturb him too much.

So I habitually endured it as before.

It's just that the word "endure" comes after "there's no need to endure", and the result is not pleasant overall - she now relies on a meal with Bai Shu to get through the day. In the past, she hardly ate anything, and she didn't know how she managed to hold on.

He Xi turned over and turned to the other side facing the window, feeling a little impressed with his former self.

"He Xi?" It sounded like Lin Shenyuan's voice.

"Um?"

Her face was still pressed on the table. She raised her eyes and saw that it was indeed Lin Shenshen.

She followed his movements and noticed that he seemed to be going to the classroom to get his forgotten meal card. Sure enough, his next question was, "Why aren't you going to eat?"

He Xi sighed and stretched, resting his face on his propped-up palms. "It's a long story..."

"Oh..." Lin Shenshen understood and paused, then took out a nut cookie from his pocket and handed it to He Xi. "I made it myself, don't be disgusted. Let's see if your stomach can handle it."

"The wrapping paper is so cute." Under Lin Shenyuan's expectant gaze, He Xi tore it open and carefully took a bite. Then his eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly, saying, "Delicious."

"Really? I made this version with less sugar and oil so it won't be too greasy."

He Xi gave a thumbs-up sincerely. "Great!"

"Really... Thank you. If you like it, I can bring you more in the future. But unfortunately it can't be eaten as a meal." Lin Shenyuan showed a small shy smile on his face when he was praised, like a bright button on a light-colored dress.

He Xi thought about this and put the remaining biscuits into his mouth and slurped them. Lin Shenyuan suddenly said, "If you can use white tree food to eat rice, I wonder if other food can have the same effect, such as-"

"Find a foodie you like from online food streaming?"

"Hey—we can give it a try!" The more He Xi thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. "I'll go back and try it tonight."

"Yeah!" Lin Shenyuan nodded vigorously. "Then I'll go eat. Bye!"

"Bye~"

The sunlight cast small patches of golden shadows in the not-so-bright classroom, on the students' faces, their upright backs, and a small area of ​​skin on their arms.

Time slowly flowed in this undisturbed tranquility. Gradually, the students in the classroom ran outside to recite, chat, and do exercises. He Xi was one of them.

However, she didn't like sitting on the steps, in the garden behind the teaching building, or on the stone benches. She preferred sparsely populated, spacious and free places, such as the playground.

Facing the wind, looking up, I saw the brilliant yellow clouds in the sky, and the sunlight that had sneaked out of the classroom, now all running to the flat and wide playground.

He Xi took the English textbook and memorized the words and phrases at the back of the textbook. He always forgot what he had memorized, and had to memorize them again and again, needing to repeat himself.

A playful breeze blew the hair on her cheek to her mouth. She reached out to push it away, raised her eyes from the vocabulary list in the textbook, and met a figure that surprised her.

Under the infinitely brilliant sunset, the boy in school uniform stood tall and straight, with his short black hair flying in the wind like undulating ears of wheat. He lowered his head and took a bite of the steamed bun in his hand, while raising his long legs to kick another boy next to him, and a refreshing and comfortable smile spread across his face.

If a photo could capture this moment, it would definitely be an excellent one. Unfortunately, He Xi forgot to bring his cell phone.

Over there, Bai Shu was eating the steamed bun in his hand in small bites. He Xi guessed that it was because the portion was small, so he was a little reluctant to eat it.

“…impressive…impressive…” He Xi suddenly couldn’t memorize the words in her hand anymore—she suddenly felt hungry.

Ever since she decided to eat well, she rarely feels hungry, so she won't be so hard on herself anymore.

It’s better to study when you’re full! She picked up the vocabulary in her hand, quickly went to the canteen, bought a filling bread, ran to the playground, and tore open the package.

Bai Shu was probably tired from playing with Wei Mo, so he sat down on a nearby platform, letting his long legs hang naturally and swinging leisurely. The boy's cheeks were bulging with food, but the smile on his face remained unchanged, and he had a sense of unrestrained and arrogant vigor.

He Xi took a big bite of bread and turned around, facing the pleasant evening breeze and the gorgeous sunset. If...

How nice it would be if I could stay at this moment of sixteen-year-old afternoon forever.

The ding-ding-ding-ding sound of the evening study bell woke He Xi, whose thoughts were drifting away. She stuffed the last bite of bread into her mouth, raised her arms, and trotted towards the classroom - it was time for class.