Chapter 16: Seafood Rice
After Gu Qinghuan finished filling out the form and handed it to Bai Hanshan, she also added his WeChat for future contact.
It was already getting late, and she was thinking about lunch. But as soon as she stepped out of the office, she realized that Xia He had followed her out.
Today, Gu Qinghuan was wearing platform sneakers, which made her a bit taller. Standing beside her, Xia He looked even more like a younger brother.
She glanced at him, silently asking what he was doing.
“I haven’t had lunch yet. I want to go with you, sister,” Xia He answered obediently.
Gu Qinghuan told herself that this was technically the first “task” assigned to her by the elusive student council president, so she should handle it well to earn approval.
Although she was used to extending goodwill to others, she was not used to being on the receiving end — especially when Xia He’s attitude could only be described as attentive to the point of doting.
As an only child, she had once imagined having an older brother or sister, but when it came to younger siblings — sister or brother — she honestly didn’t know how to deal with them.
She quietly took a breath. “Alright, let’s go together.”
Xia He happily followed her toward the cafeteria.
He was truly delicate and pretty, his figure slender and fragile like a BJD doll — the only thing marring the image were the frightening scars on his arm.
She noticed that even when walking, he kept his arm hidden behind his back. It looked a bit affected, almost coquettish, but it was probably just to hide the scars.
Thinking for a moment, she stopped and moved to his right side.
“Just walk normally. If I’m on your right, I can block other people’s view — they won’t notice your arm,” she said, then sighed. “Of course, the best solution is to stop injuring yourself altogether!”
Xia He nodded quickly. Gu Qinghuan moved slightly ahead so her left arm overlapped with his right. Unless someone looked from a very specific angle, they wouldn’t see his scars.
He looked at her swinging left arm and wondered whether suddenly holding it would make her angry.
She’d probably be surprised and find it strange — not angry — but she’d definitely pull her hand away and keep her distance afterward.
Xia He pursed his lips and decided to wait until they were more familiar.
By this time, most students had already eaten, so people were heading back while she was going toward the cafeteria — making her stand out a bit.
Especially since she had Xia He, whose looks alone were enough to grab attention, walking beside her.
“Uh, Gu Qinghuan, is this your little brother?” Xie Xiangxue, who had just finished lunch, asked in surprise.
“No, this is a Year 2 senior — Xia He,” Gu Qinghuan replied solemnly.
“I don’t mind being sister’s younger brother!” Xia He was far more enthusiastic about the title.
Xie Xiangxue decided to go with Gu Qinghuan’s words. “Hello, Senior Xia.”
“Is there still food left in the cafeteria?” Gu Qinghuan asked.
Mingde’s cafeteria offered three free meals a day — or rather, the meal cost was already included in the expensive tuition. It worked like a buffet: take as much as you want, no waste allowed, and if you wasted food too many times, you’d be publicly criticized and made to work in the cafeteria for a week.
This only applied to the first floor. The second and third floors charged money.
The second floor was a fusion restaurant with better, tastier dishes. The menu changed depending on ingredient supply, but it was still rich and varied.
The third floor was even fancier — all private rooms, reservation-only, where you could order from a chef roster. It was mostly used for hosting guests, though occasionally some wealthy students invited people there.
From the first floor, you could go straight to the second, but to reach the third, you had to take the elevator from a separate reception hall on the other side of the building. You didn’t even pass the first-floor cafeteria doors — it was practically a separate business.
When she first learned the cafeteria had this level of luxury, Gu Qinghuan had been stunned at how Mingde kept redefining her idea of “school.”
“There’s food, but at this hour the popular dishes are probably gone,” Xie Xiangxue replied.
“That’s fine — as long as there’s something to eat,” Gu Qinghuan said.
After saying goodbye to Xie Xiangxue, she continued walking.
“Sister, let’s eat on the second floor,” Xia He suggested.
“If you want to eat there, go ahead. I’m fine here,” she refused without hesitation.
“But I want to eat with sister!” Xia He looked ready to make a fuss.
She thought about it. “…Fine.”
Ten minutes later, Gu Qinghuan was sitting on the second floor with Xia He — eating the food she had gotten from the first floor.
When she brought her tray up, she drew quite a bit of attention. Students and teachers alike stared — both from the first and second floors — but she didn’t care and just started eating.
Xia He, meanwhile, had ordered seafood rice and was puffing his cheeks. “I wanted to treat you!”
She had glanced at the menu: the seafood rice cost 158 yuan — about the same as a midrange Japanese restaurant outside.
“Next time,” she said. “And the time after that, I’ll treat you. If you want to eat here, fine, but I can also take you out to eat.”
When she said “I’ll treat you,” Xia He looked a little disappointed — but the second half of her sentence instantly lit him up.
“You mean food you recommend?” he asked, eyes locked on her.
“Yes,” she replied, popping a piece of potato into her mouth. “Just tell me if you have anything you can’t eat.”
He had assumed that when she offered to treat, it was to avoid owing him. But their spending habits were completely different — forget the second floor, even the third was a place he could easily take her.
If she had meant “you spent X amount, so I’ll spend the same,” Xia He would have just thought she was pretending to be noble.
But her follow-up clearly wasn’t that.
If he wanted to eat on the second floor, she’d take him here; if he wanted to eat out, she’d recommend what she thought was delicious.
She was simply sharing meals with a friend — the price didn’t matter.
“I can eat anything!” Xia He said cheerfully.
“Alright, then we’ll decide later,” Gu Qinghuan said, returning to her food.
When Xia He’s seafood rice arrived, before using his spoon, he scooped a big spoonful into her plate. “Try mine.”
Gu Qinghuan sighed. “Senior Xia, please realize how close that action is — we’ve known each other less than 24 hours.”
That said, she couldn’t exactly put it back, let alone throw it away. And in that scoop, there was barely any rice — just a single sweet shrimp.
No way she was wasting that! She popped the shrimp into her mouth with a scowl.
Damn — soft, sweet, absolutely delicious.
“If you don’t want people to misunderstand, I can explain it to everyone!” Xia He said happily when she ate it.
Explain? Probably by warning every single person in Mingde except her…
“Forget it,” Gu Qinghuan said, not knowing what was going through his head. “No one will misunderstand — you call me sister, after all.”
Xia He’s smile froze. True or not, why did it sound so unpleasant?
