Even so, no matter how angry she was, the time spent eating with someone she liked should never be affected.
When the fish vermicelli was served, Ye Ziwei temporarily set aside the things that had been gnawing at her heart. She leaned closer to Pei Xingyan, picking and choosing between their bowls, redistributing the food once more.
Simply using extreme measures wouldn’t do. She knew well she had to show her best side.
“This is for you, I heard it’s good for your health… This one too, I heard it’s also good for your health…”
“There’s nothing healthy in this bowl at all…” Pei Xingyan’s mouth twitched slightly. Did she think he didn’t know how unhealthy a ten-yuan bowl of fish vermicelli could be?
Everything in this bowl was fake. Not only was the fish pre-made, but even the noodles might not be real.
If he had money to eat a fancy meal or the means to cook for himself, who would rack their brains about what to eat at a restaurant?
“That’s why I keep telling you to get a day-student pass. It’d be so much more convenient if you lived on my side~”
“It’s not really appropriate, and it’s hard to get… I don’t want to deal with the counselor…” Pei Xingyan started to brush her off.
Unless he went mad, he would never stay at Ye Ziwei’s place a second longer than necessary. Who knew if there was a basement built just for him, waiting for him to walk into the trap…
He picked up a piece of fish that was obviously pre-made and put it into Ye Ziwei’s bowl. She pursed her lips and smiled happily, eating even more cheerfully on her own. Taking advantage of this moment, Pei Xingyan shifted his attention to Lin Xiaoyu sitting nearby.
Now, this little benefactor had become his lifeline. No matter the reason, Pei Xingyan decided he had to resolve her psychological issues first, then get the final payment.
He glanced over carefully but attentively.
The other girls were chatting and eating with gusto, but Lin Xiaoyu seemed disinterested. She poked at her food with her chopsticks, showing no appetite at all. After several tries, she still hadn’t managed to eat anything, then silently sighed and set her chopsticks back on the plate with resignation.
She truly was a girl weighed down by sorrow—even her appetite for food was gone.
Pei Xingyan couldn’t help but feel a bit more sympathy for her. Although he also thought the cafeteria food was terrible, it was clear that her struggle wasn’t about the food itself.
He continued to watch and noticed a small detail.
From the moment Lin Xiaoyu put down her chopsticks, her fingers began tapping rhythmically on the table. Although her posture didn’t change, it was obvious her shoulders and neck had stiffened a lot—she was tensing her back with effort.
Pei Xingyan nodded to himself. He happened to recognize this posture. It was a little habit of pianists—not every pianist had it, but those who did were definitely piano players.
He remembered the last message Lin Xiaoyu had sent him. Her image was becoming much clearer in his mind.
He kept observing.
Lin Xiaoyu’s fingers practiced in the air, completely absorbed, dancing lightly across the tabletop.
Pei Xingyan couldn’t claim to be a musical expert, but judging from the rhythm, he could roughly guess that Lin Xiaoyu was practicing Debussy’s “Clair de Lune.” It was a truly beautiful piece—there was no such thing as an ugly piece called “Clair de Lune.”
But her brows remained tightly furrowed, her closed eyes tense, the corners wrinkling. From any angle, she didn’t look like someone enjoying the art.
Until she paused—perhaps she had hit a wrong note. Her expression shifted from sorrow to dejection.
She bit her lip hard, as if she wanted to tear off a piece of flesh.
What surprised Pei Xingyan even more was that he clearly saw Lin Xiaoyu’s fingers reflexively flinch back, as if dodging something.
That had to be muscle memory—dodging the ruler that corrected her mistakes.
In that instant, Pei Xingyan figured out a lot. Many details suddenly connected.
The girls around Lin Xiaoyu had finished eating and were noisily getting ready to leave. Lin Xiaoyu abandoned her barely touched plate of food and got up as well.
The other girls didn’t forget to show concern for their friend with no appetite, but she just smiled faintly, then lowered her head, said nothing, and disappeared into the crowd.
No wonder her psychological pressure was so great she didn’t want to live…
Pei Xingyan couldn’t help but sympathize with her situation. Even if he couldn’t pinpoint her problem yet, he had already gathered a lot of useful information just from her behavior.
Just from that instinctive flinch after making a mistake, he knew his guess was spot-on. Lin Xiaoyu’s family atmosphere must be suffocatingly oppressive. Only years of pressure and harsh education could mold someone like this.
But aside from that, there wasn’t much other useful information.
Fortunately, this was a good breakthrough point. Based on what he’d observed today, he thought of a way to quickly get closer to Lin Xiaoyu.
The easiest bond to form was the empathy of shared hardship.
Pei Xingyan had learned a few instruments as a child and was a decent performer.
The problem was… he didn’t have a single instrument left—not even a harmonica. All those valuable items had long been sold off to pay his parents’ debts.
Pei Xingyan glanced at the girl beside him. Unlike Lin Xiaoyu, the girl next to him was happily eating, not at all like someone frail and skinny.
Ye Ziwei could always sense when someone was looking at her—especially Pei Xingyan. She suddenly looked up and met his gaze.
“Is there something on my face?” Ye Ziwei asked.
“No…” Pei Xingyan shook his head.
Just for a moment, he’d thought about borrowing Ye Ziwei’s violin—the instrument he was best at, and the one that paired best with piano.
But the instant he saw the ambition burning in her eyes, he gave up completely.
It’d be better to borrow his roommate’s cheap guitar—the one that looked like a firewood stick. That guy always tried to use it to pick up girls, but who still believed you could get a meal just by singing and playing guitar nowadays?
Or maybe the bass impulsively bought by the otaku in the next dorm after watching too many band anime—that might work too. That guy couldn’t even read sheet music, so the thing was practically brand new…
*****
Escorting Ye Ziwei out of the cafeteria was a tough job. In such a crowded place, it was downright dangerous for a girl with mobility issues. Pei Xingyan had to hold her tightly by the shoulders to keep her safe.
“Xingyan-ge, you don’t need to walk me any further. This is fine~” But Ye Ziwei pushed away his protection, trying to pull away from him.
“All right then, be careful on your own…”
“Okay~”
Ye Ziwei smiled sweetly and waved. But as soon as she turned around, a twisted, almost demonic expression crawled across her face.
She desperately wanted her beloved Xingyan-ge to see her off, especially so close and intimately. But it was such a shame, such a shame… She just couldn’t hold it in anymore.
She couldn’t help but want to drag out that wretched person who had ruined her plans. There were so many people in the world short on money—why did they have to give Xingyan-ge a job?
She wished she could skin that person alive.
But she absolutely couldn’t show such a face in front of him. Even though the desire burning in her chest—to have him locked at her side—was about to scorch right through her…
That wouldn’t be what a good girl would do…
Ye Ziwei limped off into the distance. The breeze gradually grew stronger, blowing down the lush green leaves from the branches.
She had to find the one who ruined her plans.
But she had to be careful—not let him find out.
In front of him, she still had to be the good girl…