Chapter 11: Lin Jianxia Is Very Vigilant

"RING RING RING!"

As the dismissal bell rang, the teacher at the podium reluctantly stopped mid-sentence and waved his hand. "Go eat first. We'll go over the rest of the test paper tomorrow."

Before the words even faded, the restless students surged out of the front and back doors of the classroom, as if they had just heard the crack of a starting pistol.

As a recently established high school, Lincheng Third Middle School's cafeteria wasn't exactly small, but it was by no means spacious. Although the school separated the dining periods of the three grades to divide the crowd, anyone who didn't sprint out the moment class ended would usually end up waiting in line for five or six minutes.

A hurried tide of students quickly formed in the hallway. Their footsteps went THUMP THUMP THUMP against the stairs as they rushed toward the cafeteria. Within seconds, only a handful of people remained in the classroom.

Jiang Yubai wasn't in a hurry to get up. Instead, he turned his head, his gaze landing on Lin Jianxia, who was beside him with her head lowered as she packed up her books. After a moment of thought, he asked tentatively, "Lin, aren't you going to eat?"

Hearing this, Lin Jianxia's movements visibly paused. Then, she abandoned packing her books altogether, stood up, and walked straight out of the classroom.

Jiang Yubai was left speechless.

Ever since he had handed her that draft notebook, it was as if Lin Jianxia's defense mechanisms had been triggered. For a whole day and a half, not only did she completely ignore the notebook he offered, but she wouldn't even make eye contact with him. She was avoiding him like the plague. He wondered if it was really necessary to go that far.

Jiang Yubai stroked his chin, only to hear a confused voice beside him. "Jiang, what were you just doing?"

He snapped out of his daze and saw Li Yang leaning in close, following his line of sight. When he caught sight of the retreating figure, Li Yang let out an exclamation and warned, "I'm telling you, Jiang, don't you dare pick on her."

"What do you mean, 'don't pick on her'?" Jiang Yubai asked in confusion. "By the way, Yangzi, why are you poking your nose into other people's business? Do you have a crush on her?"

Li Yang quickly waved his hands in denial. "No way. She's not my type. I like passionate, outgoing, and uninhibited older girls. Preferably someone three or four years older than me!"

"Who asked about your fetish?" Jiang Yubai gave him a deadpan look.

"Ahem, I was just mentioning it," Li Yang chuckled. "I just think it's a bit inappropriate. Jiang, you already have Zhao Yun and Li Qiuyue. If you go mess with Lin Tingwan now, it's honestly..."

"Stop, stop, stop, stop!" Jiang Yubai felt like he had just heard something absurd. "What did you just say?"

How come he didn't know anything about this?

Li Yang was stunned for a moment before complaining, "Come on, Jiang, that's not cool. Are you even keeping secrets from your own bro?"

He hadn't been keeping any secrets. Jiang Yubai rolled his eyes hard and turned to leave the classroom. "Don't listen to those groundless rumors. As an outstanding young man of the new era, I strictly uphold the school rules and am firmly against underage dating. Say one more word and I'll sue you for slander."

Li Yang hurriedly chased after him. "Hey, hey, hey, I know, I know. You want to keep a low profile."

Jiang Yubai's mouth twitched, too lazy to explain any further.

Just as he walked out the classroom door, a figure happened to emerge from the corner heading toward the restrooms, greeting him.

"Jiang Yubai, you were still in the classroom," Zhao Yun said, a pleasantly surprised smile lighting up her face. "Do you want to eat together?"

Jiang Yubai paused for a fraction of a second, politely shook his head, and then walked straight toward the staircase.

Zhao Yun was speechless. Her smile froze in place. She pursed her lips and ultimately didn't follow him.

Beside him, Li Yang blankly followed his Jiang, though he couldn't help but glance back over his shoulder. It wasn't until they reached the stairs that he leaned in and lowered his voice. "Wait, Jiang, is there... really nothing going on between you two?"

"Of course there's something going on. Doesn't being classmates count?" Jiang Yubai replied, his expression blank.

He had to admit that Lin Jianxia's method of ignoring people seemed to work quite well. If only it wasn't being used on him.

Jiang Yubai shot Li Yang a sideways glance. "Tell me, Yangzi, where exactly did you hear these rumors? How could you believe such baseless nonsense?"

"Uh..." Li Yang scratched his head awkwardly. "That's what all the girls are gossiping about. They make it sound so convincing... I just overheard it by chance."

The girls were spreading this? Jiang Yubai frowned.

Li Yang continued, "Plus, Zhao Yun is always coming over to ask you questions, and she ends up hanging around for half a class period..."

Jiang Yubai froze for a moment before realizing that it was true—every now and then, Zhao Yun would bring her exercise books over and spend ages asking him questions. Out of his sense of duty as the math representative, he had always conscientiously explained everything to her from start to finish.

It was truly bizarre. He wondered how simply helping a classmate could lead to such a misunderstanding. With that in mind, he immediately rolled his eyes. "Fine. Next time she comes over, I'll just tell her I don't know how to solve the problem."

"A brilliant move, Jiang!" Li Yang nodded in agreement. He hesitated for a moment before adding, "But Jiang, I think Zhao..."

"Stop."

"Alrighty."

By the time the two of them walked into the cafeteria together, a sizable line had already formed in front of the food counters. However, the line moved quickly, and it was their turn in just a few minutes.

As a private school, Lincheng Third Middle School's food was quite good, with the menu rarely repeating within a week. But at the end of the day, it was still mass-produced cafeteria food. No matter how tasty it was, there was a limit, and most people would get sick of it after eating it for two years.

Jiang Yubai was the exception.

"Ma'am, I'll have the braised prawns, sweet and sour pork ribs, along with the sliced poached chicken and stir-fried greens," he said, staring at the remaining dishes with longing. Eventually, he let out a regretful sigh. "...That'll be all."

He stopped ordering not because he didn't want to eat anymore, but because his tray simply couldn't hold another plate.

For a foodie who was permanently stranded in the suburbs where even takeout couldn't be delivered, the daily breakfast and lunch here were nothing short of angelic salvation. As for after school, Jiang Yubai had thought about buying food outside to pack home, but carrying soupy dishes while riding a bicycle was just too inconvenient. And their school strictly forbade electric scooters, claiming they were unsafe.

After swiping his campus card, Jiang Yubai glanced at the deducted amount and suddenly seemed to remember something. He swept his gaze around the cafeteria and soon found that sky-blue figure in a corner by the window.

"Let's go. Over there." He picked up his tray and gave a slight nod in that direction.

"Huh? Jiang, there's a seat right here!" Li Yang pointed to an empty table not far away.

Jiang Yubai acted as if he didn't hear him and walked straight toward the corner.

Lin Jianxia seemed to have just sat down as well, occupying the seat closest to the window all by herself. As he approached, his gaze involuntarily fell on the tray in front of the young woman. It held nothing but a bowl of plain congee and two steamed buns.

Jiang Yubai's movement of carrying his tray paused imperceptibly.

Because the cafeteria was outsourced, Lijiang Third Middle School's food was indeed good. At the same time, however, the prices of the various dishes were a bit more expensive than those at a regular public school. Only basic staples like plain congee and steamed buns were subsidized. Even though he already knew that Lin Jianxia was struggling to even pay her rent, he honestly hadn't expected his new desk mate's financial situation to be this tight.

Sensing someone approaching, Lin Jianxia subconsciously raised her head, her eyes meeting Jiang Yubai's gaze. The moment she saw his figure, the young woman's eyes instantly filled with vigilance.