After Saving My Possessive Best Friend, I Couldn't Escape (GL) - Chapter 20

As she spoke, Fang Zhile closed her Chinese textbook, pulled out her strong subject, Mathematics, and sat opposite Ye Yu at the table.

They began scribbling answers with a rapid shua-shua sound, almost like a race.

Ye Yu’s English had been taught by a native speaker since childhood, making her conversational skills indistinguishable from a native speaker.

Fang Zhile’s family hadn’t gone bankrupt when she was in kindergarten, so she attended a bilingual kindergarten. Her foundation was good, and her English scores were also decent later on.

After finishing the English paper, Ye Yu put down her pen.

Fang Zhile was tackling the last major math problem and suggested without lifting her head, “Want to try a math test paper?”

“No.” The answer was quick and clean.

“How about a set of math problems?” Fang Zhile asked again.

“…No.” The refusal was now hesitant.

Fang Zhile finished her paper, flicked the test sheet, and looked up at the person across from her, who was full of resistance. “How about just one math problem?”

“…Fine.”

For most people, math problems are divided into tiers: the basic beginner village, the intermediate checkpoint, and the ultimate hell-level boss monster.

But for Ye Yu, the word “Mathematics” itself was a hell-level difficulty. All her talent points were allocated to the liberal arts; not a single one was spared for the sciences.

Fang Zhile patiently started gathering the simplest problems for her.

She scraped together more than a dozen questions and spread them out in front of Ye Yu. “Start with these. I figure you’ll be done by the time it’s time for lunch.”

Ye Yu’s nose wrinkled. Reluctantly, she picked up her pen and began to calculate slowly.

“I don’t know how,” Ye Yu stated directly three minutes later.

“The answers and solution process are in the back,” Fang Zhile offered helpfully.

Ye Yu frowned for a moment, then said bitterly, “I still don’t understand.”

Fang Zhile dragged her stool over and sat next to her, resigned. “Where? Let me see.”

The dripping water from the eaves fell onto the cement floor of the courtyard, forming a puddle that evaporated completely. The two—one teaching and one learning—occasionally exchanged laughter, creating a harmonious and warm scene.

Someone’s stomach started rumbling first. They looked up and saw that it was already past noon.

Ye Yu shook her hands. In just one morning, she had managed to grasp mathematical concepts that she hadn’t understood for decades. This feeling of sudden enlightenment was as satisfying as watching Xiaohua devour cat food.

Her spirits high, she enthusiastically asked Fang Zhile what she wanted to eat.

“Lunch is on me,” Ye Yu said. “You pick the place.”

Fang Zhile didn’t hold back. “There’s a place I want to take you. They have super delicious food.”

Ye Yu held great expectations for the “super delicious” food Fang Zhile spoke of.

The two took their keys and umbrella and headed out.

Fang Zhile rolled a bicycle out of the bike shed. “The restaurant is a bit far. I’ll take you on the bike.”

Ye Yu swallowed the sentence, “I can call a taxi,” the moment she saw the anticipation in Fang Zhile’s eyes.

“Okay,” Ye Yu smiled. “I’ve never ridden on a bicycle before.”

Fang Zhile patted the bike seat, ensuring there was no dust or anything uncomfortable on it. Once Ye Yu was seated securely, she pushed off.

The gentle breeze blew across their faces. The dark clouds gradually scattered, and the warm afternoon sun shone down on the two girls, leaving behind a picture of warmth and harmony.

The restaurant wasn’t far from Fang Zhile’s house; it only took fifteen minutes by bike.

Two kilometers behind the city center’s villa district was an urban village area, where many migrant workers rented rooms. It also had many small, simple-looking restaurants with decent food.

“It’s this one,” Fang Zhile pointed the way to Ye Yu as she parked the bike.

Following Fang Zhile’s finger, Ye Yu saw a very small storefront with a half-meter long, twenty-centimeter wide wooden sign hanging outside. The words “Xie Ji Braised Rice” were written crookedly on it in brushstrokes.

Fang Zhile pushed open the plastic curtain and entered first. “You probably haven’t been to a place like this, but don’t let the small size fool you; the food tastes great.”

Ye Yu followed Fang Zhile inside and was met with a rush of cool air. The restaurant was larger inside than it looked from the outside and appeared clean. Five small wooden tables were placed along the sides, clearly having been wiped many times.

The owner was a middle-aged woman. Fang Zhile was a regular customer. The owner greeted her warmly immediately. “Xiaole, you haven’t been here in ages!”

“I’ve been boarding at high school. It’s been over a month,” Fang Zhile replied and called out, “Boss, one bowl of mutton soup and two servings of braised rice with sausage.”

“You eat mutton, right?” Fang Zhile finished ordering and then remembered to ask. The Ye Yu before the transmigration liked mutton soup. She didn’t know if the Ye Yu here had changed her taste. “The braised rice with sausage here is the best.”

Ye Yu’s eyes lit up when she heard “mutton soup.” “Yes, I love mutton.”

The mutton soup was ready in the back kitchen and was brought out in a large bowl in half a minute. The owner used a bowl the size of a washbasin to serve them, and finally presented them with a plate of pickled cucumbers. “Eat more. You’ve gotten thinner since I last saw you.”

Fang Zhile smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Boss!”

When she turned around, Ye Yu had already served herself a bowl of mutton soup. The rich aroma of the soup stimulated her senses, making her eyes narrow in delight as she took a sip.

The familiarity of that micro-expression of happiness struck Fang Zhile like a loud bell.

She was no longer Miss Fang or Boss Fang now. If it had been before, taking Ye Yu to a small shop for a common bowl of mutton soup would be called trying something new or experiencing life. But she was the poor version of Fang Zhile now!

Fang Zhile suddenly felt embarrassed.

The cramped storefront, the steaming hot mutton, and the strong cold air from the air conditioner overhead. Everything seemed so simple. If she hadn’t brought her, Ye Yu probably would never have come to a place like this to eat in her entire life.

Fang Zhile was stunned for a few seconds, then was drawn to the way Ye Yu was eating. Ye Yu picked up her spoon with steady grace, like a textbook example of etiquette. The sound of her drinking the soup was almost nonexistent. Even dressed in a simple school uniform, her every movement, gaze, and small, ingrained habit delineated two distinct social classes from the environment around her.

“I’m sorry,” Fang Zhile suddenly said. “You shouldn’t have come to a place like this.”

The act of drinking soup paused. Hearing the sudden change in Fang Zhile’s tone, Ye Yu put down her spoon and carefully considered her words. “I haven’t been to a place like this before, that’s true.”

Fang Zhile lowered her gaze. Sure enough, just as she suspected, Ye Yu hadn’t been to this type of place before or after transmigrating.

“I should have taken you somewhere further away, to a restaurant you usually frequent.”

The Fang Zhile in the book had a similar experience to her own past. After her family went bankrupt and before they became wealthy, these types of restaurants were where Fang Zhile often ate.

They weren’t dirty or messy, but they certainly weren’t refined. Simple, honest, delicious, and filling—that was the best food she aspired to during her teenage years.

Later, when her family made money and she reunited with Ye Yu, she kept silent about the hard times she had gone through and never took Ye Yu to a place like this. She had been rash. Why had she brought Ye Yu here?

The momentary impulse cooled down, and Fang Zhile felt a pang of regret.

“How about we just…”

A fair hand reached out and pressed down on the back of her hand. The pressure was light, the touch real. Ye Yu didn’t understand Fang Zhile’s sudden shift in mood, but she instinctively interrupted her, insisting, “No, right here is fine.”