Shen Heng is a man of his word; he didn't cause much trouble last night.

When I woke up this morning, I felt even more energetic than yesterday, and my face wasn't as dark as it had been before.

After washing up, the two of them sweetly rode their bikes to the school cafeteria for breakfast. Then, Shen Heng dropped Bai Jiaojiao off at her classroom door before going to class himself.

Shen Heng's possessiveness was blatant and extremely strong. A month into the semester, even the teachers of all subjects knew that Bai Jiaojiao was taken.

Bai Jiaojiao also thought this was a good idea. She was aware of her own appearance. If she accidentally offended any male classmate, it would cause them heartache. By making them give up on the idea early, they wouldn't set their sights on her.

Although Bai Jiaojiao thought this way, she didn't know that the male classmates in her class had already experienced a round of heartbreak. Thankfully, people are still reserved about relationships these days, and rogues like Shen Heng are rare.

"Classmates, we'd like to organize a class outing on a nice day. There's a small hill about four or five kilometers south of our school, and our class committee has decided that it would be the best place for a picnic. We're tentatively planning for Saturday. If anyone has other commitments, please try to make the best of it so we don't miss our class's first group activity."

After the last class in the afternoon, Chen Meizhen announced the event.

Upon hearing this, everyone was very excited and began a lively discussion.

Xu Yue, in particular, said: "Jiaojiao, could you make a boxed lunch at home and include mine? I'll pay you for the groceries!"

"It's just a small favor. You can give me the lunchbox a day in advance. I can't cook for just one person anyway."

Bai Jiaojiao said "you all," and Shu Manling asked in surprise, "Is there any left for me?"

"Of course, the three of us only eat a few spoonfuls of vegetables together."

Shu Manling knew that Bai Jiaojiao was rich, but she still said shyly, "Thank you. Since you don't come back to the dormitory often, I'll help you clean your bed and the closet."

"Okay, then I have to thank you too." Bai Jiaojiao knew that Shu Manling was not one to take advantage of others, and although she was poor, she was still proud. Moreover, she was more mature than Xu Yue in some matters, so she liked to associate with her.

Xu Yue immediately said, "No, you can't clean it up by yourself, I have to help you clean it up! I can't just eat her food for free."

"You think I bought you both off with just one meal?"

"Then you'd better cook something delicious tomorrow! It has to be a hundred times better than what you get in the cafeteria!" Xu Yue exclaimed dramatically.

As a southerner coming to the north, there were many things she couldn't get used to eating. Plus, she used to be a pampered young girl, so the canteen wasn't very friendly to her. Every week she had to go to a state-run restaurant to eat out and order a dish, which would satisfy her cravings, but it still didn't suit her taste.

Bai Jiaojiao had heard Xu Yue complain about this more than once, so this time she specially made some shrimp dumplings.

This was a recipe she learned from Ding's mother when she was at Ding's house. Ding's mother's hometown wasn't far from Zhuzhou, and Bai Jiaojiao thought that Xu Yue might like to eat it too.

However, the seafood in Yancheng is not as good as that in Shili Village. Not only is it more expensive, but it is also limited in quantity every day.

Bai Jiaojiao got up very early to snag a pound of shrimp, but they weren't exactly fresh and lively. She immediately peeled the shrimp; they weren't very big, so she could wrap the whole shrimp in a shrimp dumpling.

Bai Jiaojiao made more than fifty shrimp dumplings in the evening, set aside eighteen to steam the next morning, and steamed the rest for dinner to eat with Shen Heng.

Shen Heng: "Let's just make some dumplings. I don't know what Southerners eat. It's all about looking nice."

The shrimp dumplings have a translucent skin, but Shen Heng still prefers the large dumplings with a three-delicacy filling.

Bai Jiaojiao pinched Shen Heng's mouth shut: "One region's water and soil nurtures its people, and I think it tastes pretty good."

"Then don't feed me." Shen Heng had a dull tongue and liked to eat grains and vegetables in big bites, unable to appreciate any delicate flavors.

"If you don't want to eat, then don't eat."

The next morning, Bai Jiaojiao stir-fried the vegetables she had prepared the night before, and steamed shrimp dumplings on the other side, so she didn't waste much time.

They agreed to start from the school, walk four kilometers to the foot of the mountain, and then climb to the top for a picnic.

Bai Jiaojiao's legs went weak just hearing that, but the rest of her class were as excited as wild monkeys, singing loudly and excitedly all the way.

Xu Yue held the lunchbox that Bai Jiaojiao had brought her this morning like a precious treasure.

"Jiaojiao, how good is your cooking? What delicious food did you bring us today?"

"I brought it..."

"No, don't tell! I'll open it myself when we get to the top of the mountain!"

The mysterious aluminum box containing the food was very attractive to Xu Yue. Bai Jiaojiao was glad that her cooking skills were decent, otherwise Xu Yue would have been disappointed after opening the lunchbox when she reached the top of the mountain.

Shu Manling was also quite looking forward to it, but she wasn't as overtly expressive as Xu Yue.

Bai Jiaojiao could barely walk after reaching the foot of the mountain.

Although the hill wasn't very high, Bai Jiaojiao had already started to predict its demise.

What if I can't climb up?

Bai Jiaojiao was just muttering to Xu Yue when Hou Zhilin suddenly said, "Give me your bag, I'll carry it for you."

Hou Zhilin was invited to participate in this spring outing. In the first month of school, he had indeed helped everyone a lot. After all, they were the same age, so when the class secretary made the suggestion, everyone agreed.

"No need, senior, I can still carry it."

"If you get tired later, I'll carry you. Don't be shy, it's only right for us guys to take care of you girls."

“Yeah, yeah,” a male student immediately chimed in, “If you girls can’t carry your bags, then let me carry them! We can carry them!”

Although many students in the class, like Bai Jiaojiao, are already married, most are still single.

Now when they look for partners, they think it's best to find someone from their class—they have the same education, will pursue the same careers in the future, it's a match made in heaven.

There were only six girls in the class, so Bai Jiaojiao and the others definitely had no chance. At Shu Manling's age, she would probably already be married. And no one dared to pursue the professor's eldest daughter. The choices left for them were really few.

Besides, they didn't even know if the other three girls had boyfriends!

The male students' enthusiasm did win the favor of many female students. Although only Chen Meizhen handed her bag to the vice class monitor, while the others carried their own bags, everyone appreciated it.

In this way, Hou Zhilin wasn't too embarrassed.

They had only reached halfway up the mountain when Xu Yue and her classmates started asking for help from the male classmates who lived nearby.

Xu Yue, panting heavily, said, "No, Chen Meizhen, you call this a small hill? The stairs in the second teaching building aren't even this steep!"

Hou Zhilin glanced at Bai Jiaojiao: "Give me your bag."

"Really, it's not necessary. It's not a problem with the bag; it's a problem with my leg."

"Are you worried that your husband will be angry if he finds out?" Hou Zhilin asked.