Chapter 117: Lines
After the morning classes ended, Gu Qinghuan finally had time to properly reply to Xia He’s messages.
Based on her observations over this period, Xia He should have been abroad, in a country at least several hours ahead in time.
Normally, at this time, Xia He wouldn’t message her—it would be his sleeping hours.
But now he was replying so promptly… Could it be that he had returned to the country? Had he finished his matters?
Thinking this, Gu Qinghuan quickly replied on her phone: [No keychain, only apple slices and apple-flavored candy.]
Xia He responded almost immediately: [Then I want them too.]
Gu Qinghuan: [How should I give them to you?]
Xia He: [I’ll be back at school this afternoon, I’ll come get them after class~]
So he really had returned. Since Xia He said so, Gu Qinghuan went along, packing the remaining apple slices and candy in her bag to give all of them to him.
At lunch today, Gu Qinghuan went with Jiang Chuchu and Yu Xin. As a return gesture for the Christmas Eve gift, Jiang Chuchu and Yu Xin decided to treat her and brought her to eat on the second floor of the cafeteria.
As soon as they entered the cafeteria, they saw people filming on the first floor. A tall, slender young man stood in front of the camera holding a tray, speaking with a bespectacled man who seemed to be an assistant.
The distance was a bit far, so the three of them couldn’t hear clearly.
Gu Qinghuan patted her chest: “Good thing we’re eating upstairs today.”
Seeing the students around, they knew how slow it would be to get food downstairs.
Jiang Chuchu tried to recognize who the celebrity was but failed—she simply didn’t follow the entertainment circle much.
Yu Xin paid even less attention; although she had signed an informed consent form with Cui Wan Ning, it wasn’t really her focus, and she didn’t want to get close to the camera herself.
The three of them held hands and ran up to the second floor, ready to enjoy a proper meal.
Perhaps because many people were downstairs, the second floor was less crowded than usual.
More importantly for Gu Qinghuan—the limited-quantity dishes hadn’t been ordered yet!
“Butter honey Orleans roasted chicken!”
“Spanish seafood paella!”
“Chocolate tree stump cake!”
“Also one salad!”
Gu Qinghuan felt satisfied: “After this meal, I probably won’t need to eat dinner tonight.”
Jiang Chuchu was still looking at the menu: “Should we order chicken skewers or steak pasta too?”
“Let’s eat first. If it’s not enough, we can order more,” Yu Xin said. For just the three of them, this was already plenty.
The tree stump cake was pre-made. Once ordered, it was served first, decorated with a small dog made from fruit and cream sitting on the cake.
“Who wants the dog? I don’t.” Gu Qinghuan said quickly.
“I don’t want it either,” Jiang Chuchu waved her hand. “I like the chocolate crust on the outside of the cake.”
“I want it!” Yu Xin raised her hand slightly. She liked decorations on cakes, like cream flowers, little figures, or animals.
“Okay, then it’s yours.” Gu Qinghuan carefully transferred the little dog and the cake beneath it to Yu Xin’s plate, making sure it wouldn’t tilt or fall.
Yu Xin cautiously took the plate and put it in front of her, taking out her phone to take pictures of the little dog.
Gu Qinghuan then took similarly sized pieces of cake for herself and Jiang Chuchu, sat down, and took a bite.
The crisp chocolate shell melted quickly in her mouth, blending with the fluffy cream and soft sponge cake, sweet enough to lift her mood.
Gu Qinghuan cupped her face: “So delicious!” Cake, if eaten in excess, can be cloying, but occasionally, it felt utterly blissful.
Soon the seafood paella and roasted chicken arrived. Gu Qinghuan put on disposable gloves and started tearing the chicken into pieces. Suddenly, a stranger’s voice came from beside the table:
“Hello, may we interview you?”
Focused on eating, Gu Qinghuan didn’t catch what was said. She looked up, holding the large chicken drumstick she had just torn off: “What did you say?”
“He said he wants to interview you,” Jiang Chuchu repeated.
The man beside their table was the celebrity they had seen filming downstairs. No one else was filming here, just curiously looking at the students.
Yu Xin, sitting further inside, moved a little cautiously.
Gu Qinghuan said, “Oh, hello. The interview can wait a moment; can I finish tearing the chicken first?”
The male celebrity laughed immediately, waving: “Go ahead, tear it first.”
Gu Qinghuan quickly continued tearing the roasted chicken. She had eaten roasted chicken from various fast-food chains before, and Orleans-style chicken was common, so her tearing was fast and precise.
Within minutes, the whole roasted chicken was shredded into pieces, only the drumsticks and wings left intact.
Gu Qinghuan tossed the cleaned bones into the trash, placed one drumstick each in Jiang Chuchu and Yu Xin’s bowls, and kept the two wings for herself: “Okay, so, what’s the interview about?”
The celebrity glanced at the trash bin: “Young lady, your hand skills are impressive.”
“You flatter me, it’s just practice,” Gu Qinghuan humbly replied.
“Why give the drumsticks to your friends? Aren’t you eating them?” the celebrity asked.
“Because I like wings,” Gu Qinghuan said. “This meal is a treat from my friends, so of course I’ll eat the part I like.”
The celebrity then looked at Jiang Chuchu and Yu Xin, eating drumsticks and watching: “Do you like wings?”
Jiang Chuchu swallowed her bite, wiped her mouth, and replied calmly: “I like drumsticks and wings about the same. This meal is for her. If I want wings, I can have the kitchen make them at home.”
Yu Xin also said: “I prefer drumsticks. When we ordered, we discussed it—she wanted wings, I wanted drumsticks, it balances out.”
The celebrity looked back at Gu Qinghuan: “Then the remaining chicken… uh, what are you doing with it?”
Still wearing gloves, Gu Qinghuan was taking large lettuce leaves from the salad, putting chicken and salad inside, adding some seafood paella, and wrapping them into three large rice bundles—one for each of them.
“Making Northeastern-style rice bundles!” she said. “So hearty to eat.”
The male celebrity: How do you turn a table full of Western food into Northeastern rice bundles?
Jiang Chuchu and Yu Xin didn’t care; they were enjoying themselves.
It wasn’t that the original way of eating was bad or that the dishes weren’t delicious—this just felt more satisfying, giving a sense of “meal tension.”
The celebrity felt tempted, silently chanting at least ten times: “Gain one kilo today, gain ten kilos on camera tomorrow,” before restraining himself.
Then he remembered he was here for an interview—everything he asked so far had been spontaneous questions after being distracted, not the original interview questions.
He quickly regained his professional demeanor: “Do you know me?”
The three shook their heads in unison.
The celebrity’s heart took a triple 100×3 damage blow.
He inhaled deeply: “Do you know that Mingde is filming a show next?”
Gu Qinghuan nodded. The celebrity, pleased, was about to start promotion mode when Gu Qinghuan continued:
“From December 27 to 31, a reality variety show jointly produced by multiple entertainment companies such as Jin Ding Entertainment and Wuyin Entertainment, together with local government departments, the security bureau, and the education bureau, will be held at Mingde High School.”
“The show invited four guests from the entertainment industry, who will form teams with students. After five days of planning and rehearsal, they will perform at the Mingde New Year’s Eve gala on January 1, while also launching online live voting.”
After finishing this long explanation, she looked at the male celebrity: “Am I right?”
Celebrity: “Right… exactly right…”
Celebrity (thinking): But my lines got stolen!
