By noon, the bell rang, and the classroom instantly erupted like a hive disturbed, students shoving books into bags, voices overlapping in chatter. The clatter of chairs scraped against the floor as everyone rushed to beat the lunch crowd. Jia Lan stretched languidly, her slender arms arching above her head, long lashes fluttering as she blinked against the midday light spilling through the tall windows. She rose with that same effortless grace that seemed to make even the most ordinary motions elegant.
Lin Yu, already half-packed, hooked her arm through Jia Lan's with a grin.
"Cafeteria?"
"Mm," Jia Lan hummed, smoothing her sleeve. "Let's go before all the good food disappears."
The two wove their way through the bustling corridors, laughter and footsteps bouncing off the walls, before finally emerging into the crisp noon air. The winter chill was gentler now, softened by hints of spring, but still sharp enough to sting their cheeks. The campus paths were alive with students flowing in the same direction, everyone driven by the same urgency food.
By the time they found seats in the cafeteria, sunlight slanted through the wide windows, catching on the rising steam of rice and soups, painting everything in warm gold. Trays clattered, chopsticks clicked, and the air was filled with the mingled aroma of soy sauce, oil, and braised meats.
Jia Lan and Lin Yu settled near the window, their trays laden with fragrant rice, stir-fried greens glistening in garlic, and a generous portion of braised pork whose sauce gleamed a deep reddish-brown. Jia Lan picked up her chopsticks, finally bringing a bite to her lips. The rich flavor spread across her tongue just as a too-familiar voice rang out behind her.
"Jia Lan!"
Her hand stilled midair. With a faint frown tugging at her brows, she turned her head to see Zhao Cheng cutting through the rows of tables, his expression beaming far too brightly for the dimly lit cafeteria. He carried no tray, as though eating had been an afterthought his target was clear.
Sliding into the seat across from her, Zhao Cheng leaned forward slightly, his smile warm, his presence self-assured.
"How was your Chinese New Year?" he asked, as though the question was meant only for her, as though the room full of students didn't exist.
Jia Lan's polite mask slipped easily into place. "It was nice," she said smoothly. "Busy, but warm." She tilted her head, returning the question with equal courtesy. "What about you?"
"I went back home…" Zhao Cheng began, but trailed off when Jia Lan's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
Didn't he say before the break he wasn't going home? she thought, her lips curving faintly as if indulging a secret joke. Still, she let the matter slide, replying with calm civility, "That's good. No one should be alone during the New Year."
For a moment, Zhao Cheng's smile faltered, his expression twisting as though she had pressed against a sore spot. His hand clenched against the table, and he leaned forward, lips parting as though he wanted needed to explain himself.
But before a single word could leave his mouth, a saccharine voice cut sharply through the cafeteria's din.
"Brother Zhao Cheng! Why didn't you wait for me?"
Jia Lan's chopsticks paused mid-air. Bai Xue, dressed in her usual air of forced superiority, strode up and latched onto Zhao Cheng's side. Without even waiting for his reaction, she continued, "Brother Zhao Cheng, you know our mothers are good friends. They always said how well we match…" Her voice dropped into an exaggerated sweetness, her eyes darting toward Jia Lan as though she were making an announcement.
Zhao Cheng's jaw tightened. "Stop talking nonsense."
Bai Xue blinked innocently. "Nonsense? Didn't your mother say...."
"Even if our mothers are friends, that has nothing to do with me!" Zhao Cheng's voice rose, making several heads turn in the cafeteria. His face had gone dark, while Bai Xue's lips trembled in indignation.
Across the table, Jia Lan calmly popped another bite into her mouth. Even if you two got married tomorrow, what does that have to do with me? she thought, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. And this is exactly why I don't want anything to do with Zhao Cheng. Nice as he may seem, families like his always drag along unnecessary trouble.
What Jia Lan didn't know was that Zhao Cheng's family had already been busy stirring this pot. Over the holiday, when he returned home, his mother had proudly invited one of her "old friends" from the capital. She boasted endlessly about how important this friend's family was, painting them as people with influence and wealth.
In truth, Bai Xue's family lived in a cramped tube-shaped house, squeezed together with several children. Money was tight, and far from being influential in the capital, her family's "connections" were little more than surface-level acquaintances Bai Xue's mother loved to brag about.
But Zhao Cheng's mother, dazzled by the word capital, didn't see through any of it. "Wouldn't it be perfect?" she gushed. "The Bai family is well-off, and they have connections in the capital. It would be such a strong match for us."
Zhao Cheng had sat through those conversations with clenched fists. "I don't want anything to do with her," he told his parents firmly. "I don't like her, and I won't marry her."
But his protests had been brushed aside as if they were nothing more than a child's tantrum. His parents only heard what they wanted: Bai Xue was "rich," from the "capital," and therefore a golden opportunity.
Even when Zhao Cheng tried to soften his stance by confessing he already liked someone else, his mother had laughed it off. "Liking someone is child's play. What matters is stability. Bai Xue is the right choice."
So, as far as his family was concerned, Bai Xue was practically their future daughter-in-law. They were blissfully unaware that far from being wealthy and influential, the Bai family was just another struggling household pretending to be more than they were.
The irony, however, was that Bai Xue herself knew exactly how poor her family really was. She was fully aware that their so-called "status" was little more than bragging, that her mother puffed up their name to hide the truth of their crowded tube house and stretched meals. And that knowledge only made her cling to Zhao Cheng more fiercely.
To Bai Xue, he wasn't just a classmate he was her ticket to security, to comfort, to a life where she wouldn't have to worry about the cracks in her family's walls or the thinning rice in their pot. The more he pushed her away, the more determined she became to hold on, wrapping herself in the illusion her mother had spun.
The awkward tension stretched, until Jia Lan gently set down her chopsticks and said with a polite smile, "The food here finishes quickly. Perhaps it's better if you both have lunch before everything's gone."
Zhao Cheng exhaled, his anger softening. He nodded stiffly. "Alright. I'll go." With that, he stood and walked off, his figure rigid.
Bai Xue hurried after him, calling out, "Brother Zhao Cheng, wait!"
As their voices faded, Lin Yu leaned closer, shaking her head. "She's unbearable. How does she still have the energy to bother you every single day?"
Jia Lan finally let out a small laugh. "Some people thrive on making noise."
The two of them continued their lunch, chatting and laughing, as if the storm that had just passed was nothing more than background entertainment to brighten the meal.
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