After Saving My Possessive Best Friend, I Couldn't Escape (GL) - Chapter 10
Alarm bells rang in Fang Zhile’s mind. In the original work, Sun Li was Zhou Meize’s mistress number five, deeply hidden in the early stages and only truly exploding into the conflict in university.
Ye Yu had previous grudges with the other ‘numbers,’ but for number five, the book didn’t specify the reason.
It looked like a completely baseless vendetta, carried out with ruthless cruelty that almost cost the fifth mistress her life.
Why is Ye Yu staring at her? Stop staring at her, stare at me!
Fang Zhile didn’t have time to keep pretending to be pathetic and tear off Zhou Meize’s mask. She let out a choked sob and whispered, her voice tearful, “Ye Yu, class is about to start. Can we talk about this at noon, okay?”
Ye Yu’s gaze was pulled back to her. She looked at Fang Zhile quietly and nodded.
Back in the classroom, just as Fang Zhile sat down, her deskmate handed her a cup of soy milk.
The soy milk was placed in a soup bowl filled with hot water. Her deskmate had even used this makeshift setup to keep it warm, fearing it would cool down.
“Thank you,” Fang Zhile took the soy milk, inserted the straw, and slowly drank it. “What’s your name?”
“Zhou Yunyi.” The deskmate’s voice was very soft. She wrote her name on a scrap piece of paper nearby.
Fang Zhile nodded, memorizing it.
After the rearrangement into new classes for the second year of high school, everyone was unfamiliar with each other.
They had only been together for about a month, since the start of the semester after summer vacation, so no one really knew anyone else. This worked out perfectly for Fang Zhile, saving her the trouble of having to get to know people.
“If they bully you again,” Zhou Yunyi said in a thin voice, “you should tell the teacher.”
Fang Zhile smiled. “Don’t worry, they won’t.”
Zhou Yunyi was extremely surprised. “They won’t?”
Fang Zhile nodded.
No, of course they will.
Those people wouldn’t just stop after a simple warning. That would turn them into good little babies.
Li Zi, Sun Li, and Liu Mei—Zhou Meize’s three high school cronies—were granted the right to be named in the original novel.
They were infamous for half the book before their story arc concluded. Otherwise, Fang Zhile wouldn’t have deliberately antagonized them the moment she met them in the dorm.
She would have to offend people like them sooner or later.
Just the fact that they bullied Ye Yu meant Fang Zhile couldn’t possibly maintain a good relationship with them.
Class time passed quickly. Fang Zhile’s college entrance exam scores had been stellar, but she had forgotten a lot of the second-year high school material, so she listened very attentively.
After class at noon, Fang Zhile went straight to the cafeteria. Ye Yu had said she would handle the rest, so Fang Zhile naturally wouldn’t crowd in again. She had only eaten corn and soy milk that morning, and her stomach was hungry.
She ordered two servings of rice and ate directly in the cafeteria before returning to the dorm.
The dorm was empty, and Fang Zhile enjoyed the solitude. She dropped her backpack, climbed into bed, wrapped herself in her blanket, and slept deeply.
When the bell marking the end of the lunch break rang, Fang Zhile got out of bed and was met by the three girls.
Their expressions were all poor. They stood three steps away from Fang Zhile, watching her with the wary, disgusted, and cautious eyes of a vicious dog eyeing food.
It seemed Ye Yu had already warned them.
Fang Zhile thought for a moment, put on her backpack, and said to them, “I’ve already spoken with Zhou Meize personally. Don’t bother me anymore.”
The moment she said this, the girls’ suppressed arrogance instantly flared up. So, Fang Zhile was still the same cowardly, timid person as before.
“Do you think Ye Yu believes you? I already told you, this has nothing to do with Sister Meize,” Sun Li said.
Fang Zhile tilted her head and looked at them. She knew Ye Yu didn’t believe Zhou Meize was behind it. Or perhaps, she didn’t believe it yet. But people are prone to suspicion. If she didn’t believe it once, what about a second or third time? Fang Zhile didn’t want a seemingly peaceful coexistence with them; the atmosphere was too strange and not conducive to plot development.
Fang Zhile lifted her chin and addressed Sun Li directly, “So that’s how it is. I thought so. Zhou Meize still listens to Ye Yu the most.”
“Even though Zhou Meize’s art grades aren’t great, since she’s so thoughtful, that’s fine.”
“After all, Ye Yu likes her.”
“They really are a perfect match.”
This triggered the original plot’s ‘buff’—Sun Li instantly lost control, yelling sharply, “You’re talking nonsense!”
Fang Zhile feigned surprise, “Did I say something wrong? Wasn’t Sun Yangyang the only one around Zhou Meize before? Oh, wait, she wouldn’t even help Sun Yangyang up, but she listens to Ye Yu. Ye Yu is Ye Yu, no one else can compare.”
Zhou Meize was somewhat different towards Ye Yu. That difference wasn’t closer affection or deeper love, but an elusive yet consistently faint respect—no, apprehension. She had a notorious reputation for flirting, which her family didn’t know about. As long as Ye Yu didn’t mention it to her parents, Zhou Meize could safely play the field. But the moment Ye Yu started to make trouble, she would be uneasy. That’s why Zhou Meize was wary of her.
This difference might be easily overlooked by others, but Sun Li was one of the ‘numbers’! Rivals in love are especially hostile! Fang Zhile didn’t believe Sun Li hadn’t noticed.
Sure enough, Sun Li was provoked to anger and rushed forward to attack Fang Zhile.
Fang Zhile grabbed her backpack strap, dodged backward, and slipped out the door. “I’m not fighting with you. I still have class.”
Behind her, Sun Li was restrained by the other two, who were whispering advice. Fang Zhile seized the opportunity and ran out.
That afternoon, all three girls skipped class.
Fang Zhile pretended not to notice, although Zhou Yunyi quietly glanced at her a few times, looking worried.
After class, Fang Zhile immediately left with her backpack. There was no evening self-study for second-year students. With three hours until the dorm curfew, she was heading to the milk tea shop for her part-time job.
Making milk tea was much simpler than making coffee. Relying on her memory from before transmigrating into the book, Fang Zhile quickly figured out the ratios for various milk teas. She eventually found a coffee machine in the ingredient cabinet.
“That’s a semi-automatic coffee machine. If you know how to use it, you can take it out,” the owner was a minor heiress, who looked no older than thirty. Her usual hobby was sitting behind the counter’s glass divider, observing the handsome men and beautiful women passing by. If Fang Zhile didn’t know the owner was married and strictly controlled by her wife, she would definitely think the owner was a closeted perverted voyeur.
Fang Zhile thought that she wasn’t going to look for extra trouble. Launching new products was exhausting, right? Could she make money by selling a cup of coffee? No, she was paid by the hour, so the more she sold, the less worthwhile it was.
The owner seemed to have read her mind and laughed, saying no more. “I wasn’t planning on selling coffee. There’s a bag of Australian coffee beans behind the machine. My wife says they taste good. You can make a cup for yourself to try.”
Fang Zhile couldn’t help but feel tempted. “Really?”
“Really,” the owner clasped her hands under her chin. “But, do you know how to make it?”
Fang Zhile’s expression didn’t change. Making coffee wasn’t some refined skill. In this modern commercial era, all art could be linked to consumption!
Fang Zhile smiled faintly. “Not only can I make coffee, I can do latte art, too.”
The owner said, “Ooh.”
“There’s no helping it. Children from poor families have to work several jobs,” Fang Zhile naturally spun a perfect explanation for herself. “The first job I took after my high school entrance exam was washing cups at a coffee shop. I even learned latte art. But the coffee shop closed down shortly after, so I had to move between various restaurants, serving tea and water, earning some tuition and living expenses.”
The owner looked sympathetic. “You’ve had it tough.”
Seeing that the storytelling was complete, Fang Zhile turned around to study the coffee beans. After tinkering for a while, she actually managed to press out a cup of coffee.
“Try this,” Fang Zhile knew the etiquette of social interaction. The first cup went to the boss, and then she poured the second cup for herself. “I’m best at making lattes.”
The owner was gracious. She took the cup, checked the color, smelled the aroma, took a sip, and gave a thumbs-up. “Pass.”
“It’s almost nine. I’m heading back to the dorm now.” After drinking the coffee, Fang Zhile poured another cup into a paper cup from the store and took it with her.
The owner didn’t mind her taking a cup, but she offered a reminder. “Drinking too much coffee at night might make it hard to sleep.”
“I know,” Fang Zhile pointed to the cup. “I put in mostly milk, and the coffee concentrate is from the second half of the extraction.”
Looking closely, it even had a little bunny in the latte art.
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