"She really didn't eat..." Watching An Lisi cover her stomach while showing a shy expression, my suspicions were also dispelled.

"Mmm..." An Lisi nodded slightly, perhaps still immersed in her shyness, she didn't even want to look at me.

"Why didn't you have lunch? Are you on a diet?" I couldn't help but think of yesterday when Su Yuqian refused to eat meat or other foods because she gained a couple of pounds. But I couldn't afford to do the same. After all, I am still in the developmental stage and I shouldn't deprive myself of food.

In any case, I don't advocate for dieting. "If that's the case... please stop doing something that's not good for your health," I said sincerely.

"No... it's not that," An Lisi shook her head.

"It's not?" I was surprised to hear An Lisi's answer, but what exactly was the reason?

"Mmm..." An Lisi nodded, her face still flushed.

"Then can you tell me why you didn't have lunch?" I suddenly felt like I was about to delve into a discussion.

"Because there's nothing I can exchange it with..."

Something to exchange it with?

"Money?"

"Mmm~" An Lisi's expression seemed reluctant yet helpless, and finally, she admitted the fact in a small voice.

"Well, let me lend it to you..." Since the last time my wallet was stolen, I haven't had much money. After all, I am just a high school student and I don't have any source of income. I think there's still a few hundred yuan in that bank card... I didn't expect myself to be so miserable. But no matter what, if An Lisi needs help, I can lend her some.

"No... Youshi has helped me so much lately, and he even paid the rent," An Lisi said firmly.

"Oh... it's not worth mentioning," I pretended to smile casually. In fact, one thousand... one thousand yuan. How long did it take me to save up that much money?

"So... I don't want to trouble Youshi anymore," An Lisi said with determination, then lowered her head, "I will... figure it out myself."

In fact, she doesn't have a way to figure it out herself, does she?

"What do you plan to do?"

"Umm..." An Lisi struggled for a long time.

"No way?"

"...."

"Then let me lend it to you..."

"No, absolutely not," An Lisi was quite stubborn about this aspect. So I changed direction and asked, "So, what is An Lisi's source of income?"

"Ah... um~~~ my father," she was surprised to hear me ask, then softly uttered these two words.

"You mean to say, your father has been providing financial support for your living expenses?"

"Yes, the court gave custody to my father, so... he has always been providing me with living expenses," An Lisi nodded and said slowly.

"But now he's not providing you with living expenses for the past one or two months?"

"He hasn't given me living expenses for the past one or two months..."

"That's a bit too much..." I couldn't help but feel angry.

"Then go and find him... ask him for living expenses..."

"No... let's not do that."

"An Lisi, how can you live without any financial security? And as a father, he lets his daughter live alone outside and pay for her own rent. That's too irresponsible,"

"Youshi..."

"I will meet him..."

"But I don't know where he lives. Does An Lisi have your father's contact information?"

"Brother You... I think it's better not to disturb him."

"But I can't trust An Lisi like this. He's still recovering, and now he has to go hungry while the person involved doesn't seem to care. How can this be?"

Anger ignited in my heart.

"Brother You... I'm worried about me," An Lisi whispered something.

"Did you say something?"

"No... no, I didn't," An Lisi's expression was rather stiff, it seemed like there was something that worried her. Could it be that she was afraid to see her father?

"I'll accompany you... I'll definitely convince your father to let you come back home, even if we can't achieve that, we should at least provide you with living expenses," I said.

"...." An Lisi still hesitated.

"Do you not trust me?"

"No... it's not that. I trust Brother You a lot, and I'm very grateful for your help," An Lisi said.

"Then, do you have your father's contact information?"

"Well, his phone number is in my phone."

"Okay, let's give him a call."

"Now?" An Lisi was surprised.

"I have some time now, so we can have a good talk with him. Have you found his number?" I looked at An Lisi as she slid her finger across the screen, but she kept swiping left and right. The phone icon was clearly right below, could it be that An Lisi didn't know how to use a smartphone?

"Let me help you..." I took An Lisi's phone and pressed the green phone icon, looking at the recent calls, they all seemed to be from last year.

"You haven't called your father?" I asked, puzzled.

"... Maybe he was busy, so I didn't call him," An Lisi's expression was somewhat gloomy.

"Then I'll call him..." There was only one contact, 'Father', so I pressed it without hesitation. The call went through... After about ten seconds, a calm voice came from the other end.

"Hello... Is this An Lisi?"

"No... no, it's not her..."

"Then who are you? Why are you calling me with my daughter's phone?" The tone of the other person became alert, it was bad, for some reason I suddenly got nervous and couldn't speak properly. I took a deep breath and slowly said, "Um, hello... I'm An Lisi's classmate..."

"A classmate?" An Lisi's father's tone revealed disbelief.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Xu Youjie, a student from Shen Yu Middle School, first year. I... can speak somewhat fluently," I introduced myself.

"Hello... What's the matter that you're finding me for?"

"I have something to discuss with you..."

"Why did you call me instead of my daughter calling me? What's your relationship with her?" Faced with An Lisi's father's questioning, even though I already had an answer, I felt a sense of interrogation that made my forehead sweat.

"We're classmates... You don't have to doubt this."

"Is that so? Then what do you want to talk to me about?" He seemed to tentatively believe me.

"It seems like you haven't given An Lisi any living expenses for a month or two..."

"An Ping... The section chief is calling you..."

"I'll go right away..."

A conversation came through the phone, indicating that An Lisi's father was at work.

"Sorry, I'm busy right now. How about we meet up? Saturday morning at 10 o'clock, at the Sunshine Cafe."

"Okay, let's meet there. Sorry for bothering you."

The call ended and I let out a sigh. To be honest, I was furious and intended to talk to An Lisi's father about it. But in the end, the conversation turned into a calm discussion. It seems that I'm not good at talking to adults. In other words, I lack experience.

"Are you okay, Yu Ge?" An Lisi asked with concern.

"I'm fine," I replied with a smile.

"So, how did it go?"

"It went relatively smoothly. Although we didn't resolve the issue, he agreed to meet and talk on Saturday. I'm quite pleased with that," I said, still feeling a bit joyful.

"Will An Lisi go?"

"If An Lisi doesn't go, then it's definitely not going to work. After all, An Lisi is the only one qualified to discuss this matter with your father..."

An Lisi seemed troubled.

"Even though I'm an outsider, I will accompany you... It was my idea to help, so it's only right for me to go with you."

"...," An Lisi had some worries, but she didn't know how to express them. I also felt hesitant to ask why she doesn't live with her father and instead rents a place alone. It seems there may be some hidden circumstances, perhaps she ran away from home? But considering that her father provides her with living expenses, it doesn't seem like the reason. What could it be? I couldn't figure it out. As I was stuck thinking about this question, An Lisi's stomach growled again.

"If you don't mind... you can have my lunchbox," I picked up the lunchbox I had placed on the bench because of the phone call.

"This..." An Lisi seemed hesitant.

"I realized I might have been a bit rude. This is my lunchbox, and I've used the chopsticks. Although I washed them, it still feels like they've been used, making it a bit off-putting. I didn't consider that. Let me go and buy you a fast food meal from the school cafeteria..." I said, preparing to turn around.

"No, it's not like that. It's just that if I eat your lunch, then you won't have anything to eat, right?" An Lisi was concerned about that.

"Don't worry, I ate too much this morning, so I don't feel hungry now."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Of course... so as long as An Lisi doesn't mind, you can eat it without worry. Although it might be a bit cold," I said, looking away.

"Is that really okay?"

I nodded, and An Lisi happily took the lunchbox. When she opened it, the fragrance of rice reached her nose.

I suddenly felt a bit hungry too.

"I think that's onion... and that should be potato, along with green bell pepper," I said, trying to divert her attention. "You should just eat it and stop talking."

"Yu Ge's lunch looks pretty abundant too," An Lisi smiled.

"Ah... yeah," I pretended not to care and looked at the lunchbox. Come to think of it, there's meat too... it looks like neatly sliced pork belly stir-fried with green bell pepper... just thinking about it made my mouth water. But why is there meat in the lunchbox today?

"Brother You... I apologize for my rudeness..."

"At this time, shouldn't you say 'I'm going to start now'?"

"Ah... um... right... then I'll start..." An Lisi's face blushed slightly, and then she whispered,

Compared to An Lisi, I eat more elegantly, perhaps because there are others around. In any case, she eats with small bites and chews slowly. But eating like this takes so long, and sitting next to her, I can't stand it anymore,

"Brother You, do you want to eat?" Sensing my unease, An Lisi asked,

"I'm not hungry..." I continue to endure,

"If you don't like to eat these meats, can you help me share?" It feels familiar somehow,

"... If you don't like it, we can throw it away later,"

"That seems like a waste... and there's a lot" What is this? Yesterday you didn't let me eat meat, and now there's a pile of it,

"That seems a bit wasteful..." It's such a waste to throw all this carefully selected and cooked pork belly into the trash can,

"So Brother You, please eat it..."

"Oh... then I'll help you eat it." After saying that, I took the lunch box from An Lisi, held the chopsticks with one hand, and started eating,

"Brother You is having the same lunch as me. Um... it's almost like dying from happiness..." While I was eating, An Lisi seemed to be saying something with a foolish look on her face. It was only then that I realized that I had been tricked! This doesn't mean I'm hungry, and... ah, at this moment, I really want to die.