Li Xingya stood outside the cafeteria of Starseeing Academy. It was huge—too huge, honestly.
‘Is the food here… expensive?’
She was already starting to regret her offer to treat Meng Yiqiao to lunch.
Li Xingya didn’t even want to buy her own meal.
‘Maybe… I’ll just bring an extra sandwich tomorrow when I come out?’
‘And hide on the rooftop at noon to eat it alone.’
Beside her, Meng Yiqiao suddenly asked, “By the way, you haven’t gotten your meal card yet, have you?”
“No.”
“Although you can pay with your phone in the cafeteria, it’s pretty troublesome. So I’ll treat you to today’s meal.”
“No… Sister, I can’t accept that.”
Li Xingya instinctively refused.
But she immediately regretted it.
‘Meng Yiqiao = long-term meal ticket.’
‘Please, I beg you, treat me to meals.’
‘Every day from now on, if possible, please keep treating me to meals.’
“It’s just one meal today. It’s fine.”
Meng Yiqiao said calmly.
Probably out of a senior’s sense of care, Meng Yiqiao was really looking out for Li Xingya.
Meng Yiqiao pointed upward with her finger toward the second floor. “Let’s hurry. This afternoon’s dance class is going to be physically demanding.”
“Okay.”
Li Xingya replied.
Starseeing Academy’s cafeteria was divided into three floors.
The first floor was for General Studies Department students, the second floor opened to the Arts and Entertainment Department.
As for the third floor…
“The third floor is special.”
Meng Yiqiao added as they went upstairs.
“In Starseeing Academy, there’s a Starlight Ranking specifically for Arts and Entertainment Department students. The third floor is a VIP room only accessible to the top seven students.”
She paused, then said, “It’s called the Seven Seats Chamber. Sounds pretty chuunibyou, right?”
Li Xingya nodded.
‘Honestly, the whole Starseeing Academy seems pretty chuunibyou.’
When they reached the second floor, the food on display made Li Xingya’s eyes widen.
Cooked food section, cold drink section, dessert section—each dish was precisely labeled with calorie counts, protein, carbs, and fat content. There was even a dedicated low-calorie zone.
“If you want to become an idol, managing your figure is very important.”
Meng Yiqiao pointed to the low-calorie area.
“There’s an old saying at Starseeing Academy: ‘If you can’t control your mouth, you can’t control your future.’”
“Sister, do I… have to eat boiled chicken breast too?”
Li Xingya’s expression turned desperate.
She had hoped to eat something at the school cafeteria far from her “fast-food sandwiches.”
Eating delicious food was one of Li Xingya’s few remaining pleasures.
Meng Yiqiao looked Li Xingya up and down, then shook her head.
“You’re too thin. Your height isn’t great either. Right now, more than controlling your weight, you need adequate nutrition to improve your body.”
‘Yes!’
Li Xingya smiled unconsciously.
“Also—”
Meng Yiqiao averted her gaze.
“You need to learn to control your smile.”
This time she spoke very quietly.
Li Xingya didn’t understand what she meant.
“Sister, is there something wrong with my smile?”
When she brushed her teeth in the morning, Li Xingya had looked in the mirror and smiled. To her, it was an overly “adult,” insincere, fake smile.
But to Meng Yiqiao, it looked different.
“It’s nothing.”
Meng Yiqiao answered vaguely.
‘It’s like she’s deliberately seducing someone…’
Meng Yiqiao stole a glance at Li Xingya’s rosy lips.
‘They look really soft…’
‘…No, what am I thinking?’
“Come on, let’s see what you want to eat.”
Meng Yiqiao quickly changed the subject.
The school food was delicious.
For someone like Li Xingya, who had been eating fast-food sandwiches for two days, the school food was extremely delicious.
‘With such a delicate appearance…’
‘Her eating manner is quite bold.’
Meng Yiqiao watched Li Xingya sitting beside her.
Unlike most people who sat face-to-face, Li Xingya had chosen to sit next to Meng Yiqiao.
It wasn’t because she wanted to be closer—it was a more subconscious choice.
She could pretend to be youthful and energetic, but deep down, Li Xingya still found it hard to interact with others.
If they sat face-to-face, they would inevitably make eye contact during the meal. Li Xingya hated that. She considered eyes the windows to the soul—being peered into was terrible, wasn’t it?
“Sister, how’s your boiled chicken breast?”
“Tastes terrible.”
Meng Yiqiao pushed her tray toward Li Xingya.
“Want a taste?”
“Then I won’t be polite.”
As the white chicken breast, held by chopsticks, entered her mouth, Li Xingya’s expression turned complicated.
Terrible texture, bland taste, and the smell itself was equally unappealing.
‘So this is an idol’s daily diet?’
Li Xingya stuck out her tongue.
Even a nuclear-powered donkey stuck at a desk all year couldn’t put up with this.
Watching Meng Yiqiao eat without changing her expression, Li Xingya couldn’t understand how the other woman managed it.
“By the way, Li Xingya.”
Li Xingya stopped eating. “Yes?”
‘What a funny reaction.’
Meng Yiqiao felt a little amused.
At that moment, she suddenly realized that as soon as she said “Li Xingya,” Li Xingya responded in a very fixed way.
“Li Xingya.”
Meng Yiqiao tried again.
“Yes.”
“Remember to go to the school website and download an app called ‘XingYue.’ You’ll need it to get your meal card, water card, check your course schedule, and so on. Also, the academy’s Starlight Ranking can only be viewed through XingYue.”
Li Xingya blinked.
‘Sounds troublesome.’
‘First find the website, then download something…’
‘And probably register in the end?’
Li Xingya wasn’t good with phones.
In her previous life, she had used communication tools similar to PHS phones.
It wasn’t until she was twenty-three that she bought her first smartphone with her salary.
Seeing Li Xingya silent, Meng Yiqiao held out her hand. “Give me your phone. I’ll set it up for you.”
“Sorry to trouble you, Sister.”
Li Xingya handed over her phone.
A moment later.
Meng Yiqiao raised the phone and aimed it at Li Xingya. “Smile.”
“Huh?”
Li Xingya, chewing on rice, clearly didn’t react in time.
“Just facial recognition login. The school cloud has your data, so we can skip the account step.”
Meng Yiqiao handed the phone back.
The first thing Li Xingya saw on the XingYue homepage was a post.
[Sudden mysterious new student. Cute face, nearly perfect smile—could she be the next Lin Jin’an?]
The series of photos in the post were of none other than Li Xingya.
Judging by the background of Xingjian Avenue, the poster was the group who had taken her photos this morning.
As for the comments below…
[She really does look pretty when she smiles.]
[Really? I think she’s pretty ordinary. Far from Lady Lin Jin’an!]
[Does anyone know her name?]
[I saw her in this morning’s Physical Training Class. I think her name is… Li Xingya?]
[I was there too. Pfft, her physical fitness is terrible.]
[She’s a freshman after all.]
[Wait, did you notice? Isn’t that Meng Yiqiao next to her?]
[Meng Yiqiao?!]
[Meng Yiqiao?]
***
“How does it feel to be a little famous?”
Meng Yiqiao ate a broccoli floret from her tray.
“Every like on that post becomes a Starlight Point for you.”
Upon hearing that,
Li Xingya tapped the Starlight Ranking at the bottom of the app.
Her current rank was… 1,299. The total number of people on the Starlight Ranking was 1,352.
‘Almost at the very bottom.’
‘By the way… where’s Meng Yiqiao?’
With that question in mind, Li Xingya gently swiped upward with her finger.
‘Not in the top 1,000.’
‘Not in the top 500 either.’
‘Still not in the top 200.’
‘Top 100… still not there?’
As Li Xingya’s finger moved faster and faster, she finally found Meng Yiqiao at rank 41—
‘You…’
‘You’re really popular in this academy, aren’t you?’
Li Xingya swallowed hard.
‘It’s okay. I’ll hold on tight to you.’