Chapter 8

The cafeteria was packed with people, bustling and noisy. With one sweep of the eye, rows of blue stools and white tables stretched across the room, all fully occupied.

“It’s all your fault.” Xiao Xiaoli held the food she had just gotten and complained, “Can you fix that dawdling habit of yours? You kept dragging things out in the dorm, and now look. Great. There are no seats. Let’s eat standing up.”

Mu Cheng craned her neck and looked around for a seat. When she spotted one, her eyes lit up. “It’s fine. There are still seats over there.”

As she spoke, Mu Cheng led Xiao Xiaoli toward a spot by the cafeteria window.

Every other place was packed, yet only that spot actually had three seats empty.

There was a reason those seats were empty. The main reason was that Zhong Yingzhi was sitting in the seat by the window.

Everyone in the entire school knew Zhong Yingzhi did not like others getting too close to her, and the cafeteria seats were designed rather narrowly. Sitting together inevitably meant they would touch.

The family power behind Zhong Yingzhi was so great that most people did not dare act recklessly in front of her. Since she did not stolen content like others sitting beside her, everyone tacitly and tactfully avoided provoking her, lest they invite trouble.

Because of that, wherever Zhong Yingzhi sat, the seats beside her would basically always be left empty.

“No way. You want to sit beside Yingzhi?” Xiao Xiaoli started to back down.

Mu Cheng did not take it seriously. “What are you afraid of? It’s not like she can eat people. I don’t want to eat standing up, so I’ll sit beside her. We’re in the same dorm. She won’t say much.”

Xuanfeng University could not be considered an especially good university, but it was not bad either. For ordinary families, getting into this university could barely be considered promising. But for a rich family’s child like Zhong Yingzhi to study here seemed far too abnormal.

Mu Cheng had once been very curious about this. Why had Zhong Yingzhi come here to study?

Children from wealthy families had far too many choices. On top of that, Zhong Yingzhi had entered the school with the score of a top scorer on the college entrance exam. She had good grades, a good family background, and a lot of money. It was impossible that she did not have better choices.

With her conditions, wouldn’t famous universities across the country, even across the world, be hers to choose from? For her to study here always seemed far too out of place. Even when she ate, no one dared sit beside her.

Mu Cheng carried her food and stood in front of Zhong Yingzhi. She gave her a flattering grin and asked, [read the original at bailiantales.com]“There are no seats left. Can Pear and I sit beside you?”

Zhong Yingzhi chewed the greens in her mouth and did not even lift her head, ignoring her.

If she ignored her, then that meant she silently agreed they could sit. That was how Mu Cheng thought of it.

In the past two years, in the cafeteria, aside from a few tactless people who wanted to go up and strike up a conversation or get close to Zhong Yingzhi and had sat beside her before, no one had ever taken the initiative to sit next to her.

Because whenever someone sat beside her, she would immediately get up and leave. The repulsion and disgust would be written plainly across her face, not hidden at all, making the other person extremely embarrassed.

But this time, after Mu Cheng sat beside her, she did not get up and leave. Instead, she continued eating, as if she did not reject it.

The students nearby found it novel and all cast appraising glances over.

Being stared at made Mu Cheng somewhat uncomfortable. She suddenly regretted sitting beside Zhong Yingzhi a little, but on second thought, being looked at was still better than eating while standing.

Let them look. It did not matter.

Mu Cheng and Xiao Xiaoli ate while chattering and laughing nonstop. The two chatterboxes chirped endlessly.

Zhong Yingzhi listened until her brows furrowed several times.

The topic suddenly turned to Zhong Yingzhi. Xiao Xiaoli said, “I think from now on, we don’t need to be in such a hurry when we come to the cafeteria. We can just sit beside Yingzhi. It’s pretty convenient. Yingzhi, you probably don’t mind us sitting beside you, right?”

Zhong Yingzhi lifted her head and looked at them. “Don’t talk while eating. You two are too noisy.”

The implication was that she disliked it.

The atmosphere became inexplicably awkward.

Mu Cheng patted Xiao Xiaoli on the shoulder. “I won’t dawdle in the dorm from now on. When it’s mealtime, we should honestly come earlier and grab a seat.”

Otherwise, for the sake of a [stolen content]seat, Zhong Yingzhi’s few words would block her until she got indigestion.

Zhong Yingzhi glanced at Mu Cheng. “You can.” Then she swept a glance over Xiao Xiaoli. “You can’t.”

Mu Cheng: “???”

Xiao Xiaoli was unhappy and pouted. “Why? Yingzhi, how can you treat us differently? Why can she sit beside you, but I can’t?”

Zhong Yingzhi did not explain anything. She picked up her metal tray, stood up, and left.

Mu Cheng blinked, staring at the person walking away. Only after a long while did she react. “What’s going on? Was I just treated specially?”

Xiao Xiaoli lowered her head and poked at the rice in her lunchbox, saying aggrievedly, “We’re all roommates. Why does only one person get special treatment?”

Mu Cheng leaned over with a wicked grin. “Look how wronged you are. This is my personal charm. You can’t envy it. Come, come, come. I’ll reward you with my chicken drumstick. Don’t be sad anymore.”

Xiao Xiaoli rolled her eyes at her and reached out to hit her.

Mu Cheng dodged slightly to the side. Unexpectedly, someone happened to pass by. With this bump, the person’s hand slipped, and boiling hot soup splashed onto Mu Cheng’s arm with a swish.

Mu Cheng stood up from the pain, sucking in a cold breath. A large patch of her arm had been burned red, and blisters instantly rose.

A girl with green-dyed hair, heavy smoky makeup, and Martin boots clicked her tongue. “What’s wrong with you, moving around while eating? Do you have eyes or not? You made me spill my soup.”

Mu Cheng blew lightly on the burned skin, still too pained to recover.

The green-haired girl refused to let it go. She shoved Mu Cheng. “I’m talking to you. Did you hear me? Don’t you know how to apologize? Are you deaf or mute?”

Moving around while eating might have been wrong, but Mu Cheng was the one who had been burned. She had not even said anything, yet this girl was already acting overbearing and shoving people first.

Mu Cheng’s brows shot up, and her temper flared. “Why are you pushing me? If it spilled, then it spilled. At worst, I’ll pay you back for a bowl.”

Behind her, Xiao Xiaoli tugged at the hem of read the original at bailiantales.comMu Cheng’s clothes and whispered, “Don’t argue with her.”

Mu Cheng turned her head to look at her, baffled. “Whose side are you on? Is this me arguing with her? She was the one who pushed me first.”

Xiao Xiaoli winked and made faces, hinting to her. “This girl’s name is Liu Sihui. She’s a famous gang leader at our school. Be careful, or you’ll get beaten. Forget it. Don’t provoke her. We’d better leave quickly.”

Behind Liu Sihui stood three or four women, each with hair dyed in all sorts of colors. Standing together, they looked like a grand, intimidating lineup.

They lifted their chins arrogantly and stared straight at Mu Cheng, looking ready to rush forward and beat someone at any moment. It was very frightening.

Mu Cheng had never seen this kind of scene before, so she immediately chickened out. A wise person did not fight when the odds were against them. Of the thirty-six stratagems, retreat was best. She planned to slink away.

Liu Sihui was used to throwing her weight around. How could she let her go so easily? She blocked Mu Cheng’s path. “Where do you think you’re going? Weren’t you just aggressively saying you’d pay me back for a bowl of soup? Pay me, then. Go on, pay me. I’d like to see what kind of trick you can come up with.”

As she spoke, Liu Sihui raised her hand again and shoved Mu Cheng’s shoulder, saying fiercely, “Do you know who I am? You dare talk so wildly? You’re asking for a beating, aren’t you?”

Xiao Xiaoli quickly stood in front of ​stolen content​Mu Cheng, pressed her palms together, and apologized. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. She was ignorant just now and accidentally offended you.”

Liu Sihui swept a glance over Xiao Xiaoli and mocked, “And what thing are you?”

Liu Sihui slapped Xiao Xiaoli’s head with her hand. One slap was not enough, so she slapped her again, using quite a lot of force.

The students nearby watched the show and whispered among themselves. No one dared go forward to help. After all, not many people dared provoke this kind of campus bully.

Mu Cheng’s hands clenched into fists at her sides. Gritting her teeth, she pulled Xiao Xiaoli behind her and summoned her courage to shout, “What are you trying to do? You want to hit someone, is that it? Fine. If you want to fight, then fight. You think I’m afraid of you?”

Liu Sihui let out a sneer. The lackeys behind her followed along and laughed, full of ridicule.

Liu Sihui said, “Oh? You’ve got quite some guts. Looks to me like you’re courting death.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Sihui lifted her hand high and was about to slap Mu Cheng across the face. Mu Cheng resigned herself to fate and closed her eyes.

After waiting for a long time, the hand still did not fall. Mu Cheng opened her eyes in confusion.

It turned out Liu Sihui’s wrist had suddenly been clamped down by someone.

“Who is it? Who dares meddle in my business?” Liu Sihui looked over impatiently. Before she could finish speaking, once she saw the person clearly, the rest of her words blocked in her throat, and she no longer dared say them.

Zhong Yingzhi stood in front of them. She was half a head taller than they were, looking down at them. Her face was cold and stern, her eyes dark. “I’m meddling. What do you want to do about it?”

Zhong Yingzhi used a little force in her hand and shoved Liu Sihui to the floor.

Liu Sihui fell, and the little lackeys behind her hurried to help her. “Boss, are you okay?”

Liu Sihui climbed up from the ground, looking disheveled. She glanced at Zhong Yingzhi, fear in her eyes, and asked, “Eldest Miss Zhong, do you know these two?”

“I don’t.” Zhong Yingzhi’s voice was cold and hard. “But I just want to meddle. What about it?”

Liu Sihui gave two dry laughs, all her previous arrogance swept away. Bowing and scraping, she said, “Nothing. As long as you’re happy.”

Zhong Yingzhi sneered.

“We’re leaving.” Liu Sihui led her little lackeys away in a swarm.

After leaving the cafeteria, a yellow-haired girl leaned over, unwilling. “Boss, are we just going to let it go like this? That’s too embarrassing.”

Liu Sihui spat, malice in her eyes. “Of course we can’t just let it go. I can’t afford to provoke Zhong Yingzhi, but can’t I deal with that girl beside her? Damn it, I can’t swallow this anger. Just wait. I’m going to make that woman pay.”

When squeezing persimmons, one had to pick the soft ones. Mu Cheng was obviously the soft persimmon on the chopping board.

Watching the female delinquents walk away, Mu Cheng let out a long breath of relief. She had almost thought she was going to get beaten. Thank goodness.

Mu Cheng looked at Zhong Yingzhi and said gratefully, “Thank you for just now.”

Zhong Yingzhi pressed her lips together. Her gaze landed on Mu Cheng’s burned, blistered arm.

Mu Cheng smiled. “This is fine. I’m thick-skinned and tough. It’ll be better in a while.”

Zhong Yingzhi withdrew her gaze and said coldly, “Whether you’re fine or not, what does that have to do with me?”

After saying that, Zhong Yingzhi lifted her feet and left.

Once she had walked out of Mu Cheng’s line of sight, Zhong Yingzhi took out her phone and called Lin Zhuo.

“Burn ointment. Send it to my dorm.” Concise and to the point. After saying that, she immediately hung up.

Lin Zhuo did not even have time to ask a single question before he heard the call-disconnected tone. Worried that Zhong Yingzhi might have burned herself, he hurriedly picked up his medical kit and ran toward the dorm.

When he arrived at the dorm, he discovered that the burned person was not Zhong Yingzhi at all.

“Who is this burn ointment for? Don’t tell me it’s for that little roommate of yours again?” [stolen content]Lin Zhuo raised a brow and hit the mark in one sentence.

Zhong Yingzhi took the burn ointment, cool and indifferent as she drove him away. “The burn ointment is here. The person can leave now.”

Lin Zhuo shrugged, tactfully shut his mouth, turned around, and left.

Zhong Yingzhi looked at the burn ointment in her hand and hesitated for a while before tossing it onto Mu Cheng’s desk.

The burn on her arm was not serious, but it still ached faintly. Mu Cheng was just about to go buy some burn ointment when, before she even had the chance to leave, she discovered that an ointment had appeared on her desk out of nowhere.

Mu Cheng picked up the ointment and asked in confusion, “Pear, did you buy this for me?”

Xiao Xiaoli shook her head. “No.”

Mu Cheng frowned and looked toward Zhong Yingzhi, who was reading, a guess forming in her heart.

“You bought the ointment?” Mu Cheng walked to Zhong Yingzhi’s side and asked.

“No.” Zhong Yingzhi turned a page, her gaze remaining on the book the entire time.

Mu Cheng raised her brows, understanding in her heart. “Fine. Anyway, no matter who bought it, I’m very grateful to her. If you know who bought it, help me pass on a thank-you to her.”

Zhong Yingzhi lifted her head and looked at her. “Don’t talk to me. You’re affecting my reading.”

Mu Cheng: “…”

A sullen gourd. She did not like talking and loved keeping that stinking face on. But…

“Fine, fine, fine. I won’t talk to you.” Mu Cheng shook her head and smiled. This person was really awkward.

Just now in the cafeteria, Zhong Yingzhi had helped her out of trouble, and afterward, she had even bought burn ointment for her. After several things like this, Mu Cheng’s negative impression of her completely disappeared.

Actually, even if these things had not happened, Mu Cheng did not truly hate her. After all, if Zhong Yingzhi were really as annoying as she appeared on the surface, then why would she be bailiantales.com guarding her sickbed and taking care of her nine years later?

Someone who could take care of her so patiently must surely be a very good person. At the very least, she was a friend worth getting close to.

Mu Cheng placed her hand on Zhong Yingzhi’s shoulder. “About what happened in the cafeteria just now, and this ointment—I’ll remember this kindness. Although I probably won’t be able to repay you, and you don’t need me to repay you either, I’ll still remember this kindness.”

Zhong Yingzhi’s brows furrowed, and she silently stared at the hand resting on her shoulder.

Mu Cheng curled her lip and withdrew her hand. “I know, I know. You don’t like other people touching you. My mistake. I’ll definitely pay attention next time.”

Zhong Yingzhi gave a cold snort and disdainfully patted the shoulder Mu Cheng had touched.

Mu Cheng’s eyes turned, as if planning a prank. She stretched out one finger and deliberately, quickly poked Zhong Yingzhi’s shoulder again.

Before Zhong Yingzhi could react, Mu Cheng ran away first. While she was at it, she even stuck out her tongue. “Bleh, bleh, bleh. I’m touching you anyway. I’ll keep touching you in the future too.”

Zhong Yingzhi: “Lunatic.”

After saying that, Zhong Yingzhi turned back around and lowered her head to continue reading. Yet the corners of her lips curved up without a trace. The expression of that slight smile lasted only an instant before vanishing, as though it had never happened at all.