Chapter 23: Secret Crushes, Yogurt, and a Man’s Mission

Gu Qiumian walked in through the door. Du Kang froze at the sight; he had meant to say something, but Ruoping had already turned her head away abruptly, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop. He opened his mouth, decided it was better to pretend he hadn't seen anything, and went back to his milk.

Gu Qiumian remained her usual self, looking down on everyone. While the young lady herself was icy, her lackeys were incredibly arrogant. The boy from her group caught Du Kang’s reaction and clearly mistook it for cowardice. He raised his eyebrows at Du Kang in a provocative manner, as if to say, "See that? My boss is even more impressive, isn't she? What’s there to be so cocky about just for giving a speech under the flag-raising platform?"

Du Kang felt his teeth itch with frustration. He wanted to rush over and shout, "Are you blind? Take a good look at who the four of us are! We’re your boss’s own classmates!"

It wouldn't matter if they didn't show respect as classmates, but the guy had miscalculated something else—the person sitting across from me was the real deal. He was Gu Qiumian’s actual desk-mate, a guy who had gone head-to-head with her back in the day and never lost his footing. She was the one who got annoyed by him; when would it ever be your turn to come over here and provoke us?

It was like a case of the local deity’s temple being flooded by his own river—no, that wasn't right. Or perhaps, "If you don't respect the monk, respect the Buddha"... that didn't fit either. In any case, it was impossible to explain. Explaining it would make them look like social climbers. It would be best if Miss Gu took the initiative to greet them; better yet, a warm smile would be the perfect script for a "playing the pig to eat the tiger" scenario, which would surely slap that boy’s face hard.

However, Gu Qiumian didn't offer a greeting, nor did she smile. Instead, she acted as if she hadn't seen them at all. She didn't speak, either, just stood with her arms crossed behind a cluster of her underlings, watching them order food.

"Should we get pork ribs or red-braised pork?"
"Obviously both. Don't forget the sweet and sour pork tenderloin; Qiumian loves that..."
"Do you want a cold dish?"
"It’s so cold out, let’s skip it..."
"Should we get two fish, one steamed and one red-braised?"
"Let's just get one big fish and have it prepared four ways. We can't finish two..."

As they spoke, one hearty dish after another was called out, highlighting the disparity between the two tables. For them, it had taken a special celebration to dare to come here; for Gu Qiumian’s group, the restaurant was practically their cafeteria.

But soon, Du Kang felt a sense of satisfaction. A girl stepped out from the crowd, patted the boy on the head, and whispered something to him. She seemed to hold some authority among them, and the boy clicked his tongue in annoyance before falling silent.

Du Kang, feeling refreshed, poured himself another cup of Nutri-Express and downed it in one gulp. Qingyi asked curiously, "What’s wrong with you?"

"Nothing. A junior recognized me just now and helped me get some payback," Du Kang said calmly.

"You can get drunk on Nutri-Express?" Ruoping didn't look back, but she clearly didn't believe him.

"Who’s bragging? If you don't believe me, I’ll point her out to you!"

Neither Qingyi nor Ruoping cared to indulge him, but Zhang Shutong turned around with great interest, wanting to see who Du Kang’s "fan" was. He followed Du Kang’s finger and realized the girl looked familiar. After a moment, he remembered: she was the one he’d seen biting her lip next to Gu Qiumian that morning.

"Is she really his fan?" Ruoping actually wanted to see too, but felt that turning around would mean losing her composure in front of Gu Qiumian.

"It’s a done deal," Zhang Shutong confirmed, though he thought to himself, *I wouldn't be so sure.*

The other three acted as if they hadn't seen Gu Qiumian’s group, but he had no such reservations. He was just curious why Gu Qiumian was even in the mood to go out for a meal. Was she gathering her lackeys to help her search for someone? He couldn't tell. She was at the very back of the crowd, and he could only see her profile. Zhang Shutong thought this fit the rules of a Pokémon battle perfectly—you can't have the trainer standing in the front line.

The girl who had been biting her lip seemed to be Gu Qiumian’s deputy, or perhaps her secretary. She was lecturing the boy again: "Don't mess around. That table is full of Qiumian’s classmates. Read the room."

The boy rubbed his nose. "Sister Gu didn't say anything, did she? They must not be close. Besides, she isn't close with anyone in her class. It doesn't matter..."

"Who cares if they’re close or not? Let me tell you, do you see the boy sitting on the outside? Actually..." The little secretary hesitated, but ultimately didn't finish. "Forget it. Just remember not to cause trouble."

"Oh, I remember now. Could that be the guy you told me about before... the desk-mate who has a crush on Sister Gu? Hey, don't say that, he doesn't look as ragged as you described."

"That’s not the same person. He just changed. I saw him this morning."

For some reason, after she said that, the boy suddenly became energized. Originally, he and Du Kang were just locked in a typical adolescent display of posturing—the kind where you might get annoyed just by someone standing too close to you in the restroom. But now, the boy looked as if he’d been injected with adrenaline, sneering, "Then I should definitely help get some payback. Everyone in her class is so dense; they’re just asking for a lesson."

"Enough. Do you think I don't know what’s going on in your head? 'Help get payback'—I think you just want to be Sister Gu’s desk-mate. You guys are all like roosters. Don't forget what happened to Zhao Yang. If you still want to hang out here, keep those thoughts to yourself."

"Alright, alright, I know, I know."

"You’d better know."

With that, the girl signaled everyone to sit down, wondering why they were all crowding in the lobby. The surrounding people seemed accustomed to following the little secretary’s lead, taking off their coats and obediently heading toward the private room.

Just then, the landlady apologetically blocked their path, her smile stiff. "I’m so sorry, I forgot the private room was already booked. I’m really sorry. How about I push some tables together for you in the lobby?"

"Are you kidding? I’ve almost finished ordering and you tell me the private room is gone? Are you playing with us?" It was the same boy from earlier, asking in an exaggerated tone.

People around him began to grumble as well, filling the lobby with noise. The little secretary, however, only watched Gu Qiumian’s expression. Seeing the girl indifferently say, "That’s fine," she waved a hand at the crowd and told the landlady that pushing tables together was acceptable, as long as the food was served quickly.

The fish restaurant finally quieted down. Some boys ran out to buy drinks, asking Gu Qiumian what she wanted. She replied, "Yogurt." The boys promised to complete the mission, but just as they were about to run off, the little secretary pulled them back to give them further instructions.

Zhang Shutong observed the magical ecosystem of this small circle. He remembered that in the past, Gu Qiumian was the one who arranged these things. Although she never said much, just a lift of her chin was enough. But since she was in a bad mood today, the "secretary" had taken over the duties.

Qingyi suddenly lowered his voice. "Shutong, I’ll bet you, something is about to happen."

"How so?"

"Did you notice that the Nutri-Express we’re drinking is the last four bottles?" He rested his chin on his hands, adding mysteriously, "Didn't Gu Qiumian just say she wanted yogurt? Based on my experience, those guys will come back and say they couldn't find any yogurt. But since Gu Qiumian insists on having it, her table will start looking around, see the Nutri-Express on our table, and then..."

"Interrupting you here—where exactly did you get this 'experience'?"

"Novels."

"...And I suppose her lackeys will say, 'If you know what’s good for you, hand over the Nutri-Express'?"

"Of course! But we’ll refuse, and then Gu Qiumian will suddenly stand up—ow!"

Qingyi clutched his head; he had just received a flick on the forehead from Ruoping.

"Can you boys be any less childish?" Ruoping was truly speechless.

No sooner had she said that than she saw the three boys tacitly hiding their Nutri-Express under the table legs. The girl was stunned. "Are you guys serious?"

Zhang Shutong laughed; he just found it amusing. Qingyi and Du Kang found it fun too—otherwise, what else was there to talk about? As it turned out, the yogurt didn't go as the boys had predicted; it was actually bought back.

Before long, the boys ran back into the shop carrying large bottles of drinks: big jugs of cola, orange juice, mango juice... The three of them sheepishly brought their Nutri-Express back up.

The layout of the fish restaurant’s lobby was roughly like this: Zhang Shutong and his three best friends were sitting in a corner at a small table, while Gu Qiumian and her lackeys had pushed four square tables together, with her occupying one side all to herself. Zhang Shutong’s group had ordered four dishes; Gu Qiumian’s group had ordered over a dozen.

Their cups held only half a drink, which they had to sip sparingly, otherwise, it would be gone before the food arrived. Over there, however, boys were crowded around the table pouring drinks, with colorful glasses covering the surface. Only when it came to Gu Qiumian did they not have the chance to curry favor—the young lady had a liter of yogurt placed in front of her, the carton so tall it almost blocked half her face, looking incredibly domineering.

Gu Qiumian poured the yogurt into her cup herself, took a shallow sip, and then let those around her divide the rest, saying she couldn't finish it alone and that this was enough. She had the air of someone who would only take one scoop from a thousand gallons of water. Zhang Shutong thought she really should be happier than she was. With all the yogurt she could drink, all the food she could eat, surrounded by friends, a group of lackeys, a wealthy father, and her own beauty... thinking about it, he realized he’d never really seen her laugh, except when she was alone making faces at the glass, and she’d only laugh at herself because she made them look too ugly.

Zhang Shutong looked away, only to find Du Kang and Qingyi winking at him. "How about we drag Shutong over to toast her later and say he’s been ignorant, and thank the young lady for her cultivation?"

"What are you three whispering about behind my back?" Ruoping asked suspiciously.

"It’s just men’s..."

*Apologize to the man!* Zhang Shutong couldn't take it anymore and kicked Qingyi under the table.

Fortunately, the first dish arrived—the red-braised pork ribs he had ordered. Such meat dishes were usually stewed in advance; when guests wanted them, they just needed to be heated in the pot and sprinkled with some cilantro before being served. He quickly urged everyone to eat the ribs. Regardless of how extravagant Gu Qiumian’s side was, for them, pooling their pocket money together and each ordering a dish they liked was a unique kind of happiness.

When money is tight, you eat simply; when you’re better off, you eat well. In the future, this would be called "going Dutch," which sounded a bit calculated, but in reality, people who could pool money to eat like this were either not close at all or incredibly close. It was the semi-acquaintances who would worry about saving face, economic status, and social standing, leading to one person footing the bill—which was far less simple than this.

Zhang Shutong quite liked this casual feeling.

The dishes came one after another, all with the familiar taste. He had thought it might just be the filter of memory, but after tasting a few bites, he realized the flavor was genuinely good. He didn't pay attention to whether this restaurant would still be here in eight years... but even if it were, he couldn't actually go back and eat it again.

Just then, a small interlude occurred. When the landlady brought out the final dish, the "Wagyu" fish strips, the boy who had clashed with Du Kang earlier suddenly pointed a finger and shouted: "Don't just favor them! They only ordered a few dishes. How long have we been sitting here?"