It wasn’t until the group of girls had run off that He Qing felt a wave of panic. What if they told the teacher? Wouldn’t she be in big trouble?
Still, she reassured herself that even if she got scolded, she had done the right thing. Surely even Lin Zhengran wouldn’t criticize her for it.
Turning to Han Wenwen, who still had blood trickling down her face, she asked, “Are you okay? Did I show up too late?”
Han Wenwen snapped out of her shock and smiled. “No, you were a big help. If they call in the parents, I’ll testify for you.”
He Qing breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn’t help noticing how beautiful Han Wenwen was. Her smile gave her a foxy charm, with her delicate oval face and petite features exuding an indescribable elegance.
“There’s no need to thank . Should I take you to the infirmary? Your face is scratched.”
“It’s fine.” Han Wenwen pulled a small mirror from her pocket and checked the wound. “It’s just a small scratch;
it doesn’t even hurt. I’ll take care of it myself. You should head to the cafeteria and get so lunch.”
With that, Han Wenwen walked off into the rain without an umbrella. He Qing, worried by her appearance, hurried to catch up.
“You don’t have an umbrella? How about I go with you? You’ll catch a cold like this!”
Han Wenwen looked at He Qing with curiosity, surprised by her kindness. “Why are you so nice? If you co with , you’ll miss lunch.”
He Qing gave a helpless smile. If Lin Zhengran were here, he’d instantly recognize that she was mimicking his expression. “Skipping one al won’t hurt. The teacher always says helping classmates is the most important thing, right? We’re in the sa class, after all.”
Han Wenwen was astonished. She never imagined soone would say such words in earnest. Smiling, she nodded and walked alongside He Qing.
However, instead of heading to the infirmary, they ended up in the school’s small garden, which had pavilions and fish ponds.
He Qing was puzzled. “Why are we here? If you’re not going to the infirmary, there’s still ti to grab lunch at the cafeteria.”
“I’m waiting for soone to bring us lunch,” Han Wenwen replied.
“Bring us lunch? Who? Are your parents staff at the school or sothing? Do they deliver lunch at noon?”
Han Wenwen blinked her pretty fox-like eyes. “No, you’ll see soon enough. By the way, do you like chicken cutlet rice? I heard they’re serving it at the cafeteria today.”
He Qing nodded eagerly. “I do, but chicken cutlet rice is really hard to get. If you don’t line up early, it’s impossible.”
Han Wenwen smiled mysteriously and patted the seat beside her. “Sit and wait. Since you helped , I can’t let you go hungry.”
Still confused, He Qing sat down. Soon enough, a group of boys approached, each holding an umbrella and a lunchbox.
“Han Wenwen, what do you feel like eating today? We brought you everything you might like!”
Under He Qing’s astonished gaze, Han Wenwen walked up and selected two chicken cutlet rice boxes from the boys. Smiling sweetly, she said, “Thank you! As a reward for bringing lunch, here, take my hair clip.”
The two boys she chose blushed furiously and accepted the hair clip with giddy smiles.
As for the other three boys who weren’t chosen, Han Wenwen didn’t even glance at them. She returned to He Qing and handed her one of the lunchboxes, smiling brightly. “See? I told you soone would bring us lunch. This one’s for you.”
He Qing, as if possessed, accepted the box, staring in disbelief as Han Wenwen began eating with a spoon. The boys, anwhile, left one by one, though one called out persistently, “Han Wenwen! Tomorrow, I’ll figure out what you want to eat! You have to give a gift!”
Han Wenwen ignored him, eating her lunch happily.
When the boys were gone, she finally explained. “I know you have a lot of questions, so here’s the short version: All those boys like and have confessed to . I don’t like any of them, so I don’t bother paying attention to them.”
Licking a grain of rice off her lip, she continued, “But so boys are stubborn. They think that if they keep chasing , I’ll eventually like them. So they bring gifts and food every day. At first, I found it really annoying.”
She turned to He Qing and said, “Then I realized, why not just let them bring lunch? I treat it as them running errands for . In return, I give them a hair clip or a hair tie as a token of thanks. Everyone’s happy.”
He Qing was stunned. “I… think I understand what you’re saying, but also… don’t? Is this what kids’ lives are like now?”
“Don’t understand? That’s strange. You’re so pretty, too. Haven’t any boys confessed to you?”
Blushing, He Qing waved her hands. “N-no… well, actually, yes. One last year, and another this year. But I turned them down, of course. I an, we’re still so young, and besides, I—”
She stopped herself from saying her heart already belonged to soone.
Han Wenwen blinked her enchanting eyes. “Maybe you just haven’t had enough boys chase you. Let’s see…” She bit her spoon, counting. “This sester alone, at least seven or eight boys have confessed to .”
“Seven or eight? That’s so many! I an, I know you’re pretty, but… isn’t that a bit much?”
Han Wenwen’s eyes curved into crescent moons. “Maybe it’s because I look like a foxy girl. I might not be the prettiest, but apparently, my looks are exactly what boys like. They all seem to want .”
She noticed He Qing hadn’t started eating and urged, “Go on, eat! This chicken cutlet rice cost a hair clip. That clip wasn’t cheap, you know.”
Opening the box, He Qing found the elusive chicken cutlet rice. It was delicious, the kind that was almost impossible to snag during lunch rush. She took a bite and marveled at how good it was before rembering the earlier incident.
“What about those girls from before? You were wrongly accused, right? I an, it seems like you don’t even like boys.”
Han Wenwen’s fox-like eyes sparkled. “Of course. How could I have been flirting with their childhood friends or brothers? I can’t stand boys.”
Relieved, He Qing smiled, only for Han Wenwen to add, “Though, to be fair, their childhood friends and brothers do keep pestering . Actually, two of the boys who just brought lunch were from that group. If I wanted to, I could tell them their sisters attacked . They’d probably avenge .”
He Qing: “…”
Han Wenwen’s tone softened. “It’s not like I want to break anyone up. That doesn’t benefit at all.”
Taking another blissful bite of rice, she said, “I’m telling you this because you saved . I won’t forget it. Even with those boys, I’ve never taken anything for free. I always give them sothing in return. I don’t take advantage of people.”
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