"Youjie...count me in if we're eating together," I glanced at He Yuqing, who was standing next to me, when I received a message from Wen Xiaojing saying we'd be having lunch together at Joy Society. He then made a hasty decision,

"The message mentioned Zhiye, not you."

"What's the big deal about having a meal together?"

"It's a big deal. You're not a member of our club, and they don't even know you."

"I really want to get to know the freshmen too, so please?"

He Yuqing pleaded with his hands together, making it hard to refuse.

"Let me ask if they're okay with you joining us. If they're not, don't blame me." He Yuqing nodded, and I sent a message to Wen Xiaojing, adding He Yuqing's request to join us for the meal.

"Is that so? No problem, senior," the reply came quickly.

"It seems fine," I relayed the message to He Yuqing honestly.

"That's great! I really want to meet the freshmen!" What's with He Yuqing's excited expression? Did he suddenly change his mind and fall for someone else? He was just talking about the tea ceremony club's senior, and now he's talking about a freshman?

This is without a doubt a typical scumbag move.

"Let's go then." I stood up from my seat and spoke.

"What about Zhiye?," He Yuqing glanced at Zhiye's desk and asked me in confusion when he didn't see her.

"Zhiye wants to cook for me since I always eat bread and she thinks it's unhealthy. She borrowed the cooking room and planned to cook herself. At this time, she should be done since she even got half a class period off with the teacher's permission."

"No wonder Zhiye left during the fourth period. I thought she went to the restroom, but it turns out she was doing this." He Yuqing suddenly understood.

"Youjie is so lucky! Zhiye personally cooking for you," He Yuqing said with envy.

"It's alright, but she took half a class period off and went through so much trouble to cook. It would have been easier to eat at the school cafeteria or buy a bread from the convenience store."

"Youjie, you just don't get it. When a girl cooks for a guy, it means she either likes him or has a crush on him."

"They seem pretty similar."

"Don't worry about the details. The bottom line is that when a girl is willing to endure hardship for a guy, it means she has feelings for him." Hearing He Yuqing's confident words, I didn't plan on taking it seriously at first. But now, considering all that Zhiye has done for me and her constant declaration of liking me, I'm willing to believe it. Of course, I won't mention this to He Yuqing, lest he can't keep a secret and start spreading rumors like what happened in Shenyu Middle School. It's terrifying to think of the fff group that appeared to punish heretics.

"Why do you, as a guy, care so much about girls?" To stop him from going on and on, I had to forcefully end the topic.

"It's one of the secrets to picking up girls. Youjie should experience it too. Girls are actually quite easy to pursue." He Yuqing didn't intend to drop the subject.

Instead, he continued to talk incessantly, "Let's go, don't make them wait too long." I took a step forward and walked out of the classroom.

"I haven't finished yet, there are many techniques for picking up girls. If you don't handle them well, you won't be able to get a girl," He Yuqing caught up with me and whispered in my ear.

"I know, but do you have a girl you like?" I was actually curious if He Yuqing had a crush on anyone.

"A girl I like," He Yuqing touched his chin and fell into deep thought, but after just a few seconds, he gave his answer.

"I like the senior girl from the Tea Ceremony Club, and I'm also interested in the freshman girls."

"What? That's just typical jerk talk," suddenly my head started to ache.

"People always say you can't put all your eggs in one basket, it's the same with liking someone. You can't only focus on one person," He Yuqing defended himself.

"You have a lot of twisted reasoning, but I suggest you tone down this jerk behavior," I advised him.

"Well, we haven't officially started dating, right?" I wanted He Yuqing to realize that his behavior was unacceptable, but I could only rely on society's punishment.

"You're right," I decided to go along with his words. After all, you reap what you sow. I could only silently pray you wouldn't get stabbed in the back by some girl.

"That's right, so Youjie is too boring. That's why he still doesn't have a girlfriend, right? You can't waste your youth like this. How can you not have multiple girlfriends?" He Yuqing continued.

"Girlfriend, huh..." Suddenly, I remembered when I pursued Su Yuqian, that girl who wasn't gentle at all and considered me a failure in life.

"Thinking of someone? Your first love?" He Yuqing suddenly became interested in the unfinished sentence he had said to me.

"No... not really. I'm just saying, instead of trying to persuade me to date more girls, how about you find a girlfriend first before discussing my love life?"

"Don't worry, I will definitely get the senior girl," with an unwavering determination in his eyes, he seemed quite confident.

"Then I'll wait for your good news," although I didn't know how likely he would succeed, I silently wished him well in my heart. After all, his courage reminded me of myself back then.

"When I succeed, Youjie should find someone too."

"Let's talk about that when you're successful. For now, let's solve the lunch problem," I could clearly feel my stomach protesting.

"You're right, I'm getting hungry too."

That's how I and He Yuqing went to Joy Society's activity room together. When we arrived at the door, I knocked.

"Come in..." I heard Wen Xiaojing's voice from inside the activity room, and only then did I push the door open in relief. As for why I was so cautious, it was because a few days ago, Wen Xiaojing complained that I didn't knock when I entered, so I wanted to be a bit smarter this time to avoid being scolded again.

"You're a bit slow, senior... Oh, who's this?" as soon as I entered, I heard Wen Xiaojing's complaints and questioning, it seemed like they had been waiting here for quite some time.

"This is... the person I mentioned in the message to you earlier," I said.

"He Yuqing, he's Youjie's classmate," He Yuqing interrupted before I could finish.

"That is... He Yuqing, the senior student, right? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wen Xiaojing, and this person next to me is Shi Taoxiang. We are both first-year high school students." Wen Xiaojing paused for a moment, probably because it was difficult to determine the gender of the person in front of them and they hesitated to speak.

"Yes, nice to meet you. I'm Wen Xiaojing, the junior student, and this is Shi Taoxiang, also a junior student." He Yuqing smiled and reached out his hand.

"Nice to meet you too."

"Hello, senior. Nice to meet you."

He Yuqing shook hands with Wen Xiaojing and Shi Taoxiang one by one.