Bai Chen stared at the mess in front of him and nearly fell to his knees.

“My sausages, my meatballs… Who could’ve been so heartless as to stomp them all to pieces?”

“This morning, I could still see your smiling faces. We were supposed to walk the path of cultivation together, but you left me behind first.”

Bai Chen clenched his fists. Whether you looked at it from the standpoint of personal feelings or basic frugality, whoever had done this was no human being.

Bai Chen glanced around. It was lunchtime, and most of the students were still in the cafeteria. He was the only one in the classroom.

His eyes settled on the footprints. Bai Chen could practically picture the culprit’s smug expression. Even if someone accidentally stepped on them once, no ordinary person would keep stomping them several more times.

“Rest easy up in heaven. I’ll find the culprit and avenge you.”

After saying that, Bai Chen sniffed. It smelled amazing.

He went back to the office. Thankfully, a few teachers were still there, including their homeroom teacher, Zheng Yuxin—a beautiful teacher who’d been on the job for just three years and was popular even among the students.

She had a gorgeous figure and a pretty face, and always dressed neatly and properly. With looks like hers, it was hard not to make a bunch of hot-blooded boys’ hearts race.

More importantly, she was young herself, full of drive at work, and responsible toward her students.

“What? Someone spilled your lunch?”

After hearing Bai Chen out, Zheng Yuxin couldn’t help frowning.

“This has happened again…”

Again?

Bai Chen froze. So this sort of thing had happened plenty of times before. Who had that much time on their hands?

“Are you sure you were the only one in the classroom?”

“Yes.”

At least, I was the only one there before I arrived.

“How about this: I’ll check the security footage. You go clean up the classroom, then head to the cafeteria.”

“Okay.”

With such a responsible homeroom teacher, even if Zheng Yuxin wasn’t Bai Chen’s type, it was hard not to feel a warm glow in his heart.

After saying goodbye to the teacher, Bai Chen turned to leave the office—and happened to lock eyes with someone nearby.

It was Mo Qiu, the only girl in class whose eyes had no highlights.

Their eyes met for only a moment, and Bai Chen didn’t think much of it. Mo Qiu, on the other hand, kept her gaze fixed on the back of his head, the corner of her mouth lifting almost imperceptibly.

By the time Bai Chen finished cleaning the classroom floor, his stomach was growling with hunger. And the cafeteria was quite a distance from the school building.

A few classmates had already returned after a filling meal, while his stomach was still completely empty.

“I need to catch the culprit soon.”

Bai Chen muttered to himself, bracing for the hungry walk ahead.

“Bai Chen.”

A familiar voice called after him. Bai Chen turned around, and Mo Qiu’s expressionless face came into view. She held out a pink, heart-shaped lunchbox.

“Here. Take this for now.”

“No, no, I told you I don’t want it.” Bai Chen waved his hands and backed away. “How did you know I needed this?”

His many questions turned into a suspicious stare that swept over the girl’s face. Anyone else would’ve panicked by now, but Mo Qiu didn’t react at all. His sharp gaze met her unlit eyes and sank straight to the bottom of the sea.

“I heard you talking with Ms. Zheng in the office.”

Bai Chen remembered catching a glimpse of her in the office, so he temporarily pushed his suspicions aside.

“Keep it for yourself. I can go find Lao Zhu.”

“You mean the guy who sits in front of you?” Mo Qiu glanced at Lao Zhu’s seat. “You’d better not bother him.”

“Why?”

“He went to the little grove on campus with a girl. I think she’s from the class next door.”

“Y-you know all that how?” Bai Chen’s mouth twitched.

“Because I saw them.” Mo Qiu’s expression didn’t change, and her tone stayed cool.

That expression, those words… Bai Chen actually got a chill down his spine. She was like an owl at night: nothing could escape those lifeless eyes of hers.

Bai Chen knew Lao Zhu wouldn’t be able to help him anyway. He’d only made up an excuse to get Mo Qiu to leave.

“Take it. You can’t just skip a meal.”

“I really don’t need it.”

“Take it.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Take it even if you’re not hungry.”

“…Are you a bandit?” Bai Chen pressed a hand to his forehead.

“Would anyone turn down a good deal handed to them?” Mo Qiu shot back, not the least bit embarrassed.

I only helped her out once. Is that really enough to make her do this for me? Or… does she have some other motive?

At that thought, Bai Chen suddenly calmed down. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to test her a little. Every time he saw Mo Qiu, those doubts came back to him. It’d be nice to put them to rest.

“Since you insist, I’ll take it.”

Bai Chen reached for the lunchbox, but Mo Qiu didn’t let go.

Mo Qiu said something startling again:

“Let’s eat together.”

“Huh?!”

Bai Chen nearly blurted out a refusal, but after a moment’s thought, he nodded firmly.

At last, they sat down. While Mo Qiu went to get her chair and lunchbox, Bai Chen slowly opened the heart-shaped lunchbox.

A strong aroma immediately filled the air—so intense it was almost pungent.

What is this?

Bai Chen stared at the food in the lunchbox, thinking he must be seeing things. He rubbed his eyes, looked again, and sucked in a sharp breath.

The yellowish-brown mush was mixed with meat and vegetables, and even rice that had swollen from soaking. One little sniff was enough for its harsh aroma to assault his nose.

Once Mo Qiu had sat down, Bai Chen couldn’t help asking:

“Are you sure you didn’t take the wrong lunchbox?”

“I didn’t.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what dish is this?”

“Chicken-leg rice soup.”

Chicken leg? Rice soup?

Bai Chen could hardly believe his eyes. That weirdly colored meat was actually chicken leg?! He’d thought it was expired canned meat.

As Mo Qiu spoke, she opened her own lunchbox too, and Bai Chen finally accepted reality.

The familiar aroma put Mo Qiu in a much better mood. She hadn’t eaten lunch yet either, since she’d been waiting for Bai Chen.

But it wasn’t time to dig in just yet. Bai Chen had to eat first.

Turn down my lunch? Once you’ve had the first bite, you’ll be completely captivated by it.

Mo Qiu was that confident. This was a dish delicious enough to attract even monsters.

Noticing that Bai Chen was clutching his spoon without making a move, Mo Qiu asked:

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah… nothing. I was just thinking about those jerks who ruined my lunch.” A bead of sweat slid down Bai Chen’s cheek.

“Oh. Yeah, they’re jerks.”

It’s not like I did it myself. And she’s not calling me a jerk.

Mo Qiu kept staring at Bai Chen, her gaze following the spoon wherever he moved it, like a cat drawn to a laser pointer.

Soon, she noticed a problem: Why still wasn’t he eating?

“Bai Chen, do you not have much of an appetite?”

“Ah, maybe.” Bai Chen forced a smile. “I’m just mourning my lunch, that’s all. It’s definitely not because I dislike your cooking. Really.”

Mo Qiu nodded, completely convinced.

Tch, what a pain. If you won’t eat it, don’t blame me for getting ruthless.

“Bai Chen.”

“What now?” He’d finally worked up the courage to scoop up a little rice soup. Bai Chen turned his head.

“I’ll feed you.”

Mo Qiu had already held out a spoonful of rice soup toward him.

“Ahh~”

“I can eat by myself.”

“Ahh~”

“I really can…”

“Ahh~”

Staring at the terrifying, bubbling stuff on the spoon, Bai Chen finally made up his mind: If I don’t go to hell, who will?

The moment he opened his mouth, the girl shoved the spoon inside. Once he’d closed his lips, she pulled it back out.

“How is it?” Mo Qiu asked, tilting her head.

Bai Chen chewed twice, grimacing. His face quickly turned moldy, and it took a huge effort to swallow.

When she asked, he shakily raised a thumbs-up. “It’s delicious.”

That was a lie. Bai Chen felt as if a pack of hulking guys in skimpy clothes had pinned his tongue to the ground and rubbed it raw, then tossed it onto a bed and gangbanged it for days on end.

“One more. Ahh~”

Mo Qiu was very pleased with his reaction.

See? I told you my cooking was good. It’s so easy to handle a little virgin like him.

The second bite, the third… Mo Qiu even saw tears glimmering at the corners of Bai Chen’s eyes.

That’s what you get for turning me down. Now you’re completely won over by my delicious cooking. Bet you regret what you did, huh?

“Stop!” Bai Chen suddenly shouted. “I-I can eat by myself. Mo Qiu, you should hurry up and eat too.”

“Okay.” Mo Qiu was clearly reluctant to stop, but Bai Chen was eating so enthusiastically that she could barely hold back anymore.

Bai Chen narrowed his eyes and watched her scoop up the rice soup and put it in her mouth.

Her cherry-red lips glistened with oil. One second, two seconds, three… She took a second bite without changing expression.

Yikes. Is she even human?

Bai Chen’s eyes widened. That rice soup had enough seasoning to kill someone with salt, yet she ate it so quickly without even changing her expression?

“Mo Qiu, don’t you think there’s something weird about the taste?”

“There is.”

So she can’t handle it after all. Bai Chen felt a little better.

“It’s too bland.”

Bai Chen gave up. She really was enjoying this stuff.

Mo Qiu wasn’t just gobbling it down, either. She was secretly watching Bai Chen’s face.

She felt like his reactions had been a little underwhelming. She’d actually hoped Bai Chen would take the initiative a bit—praise her cooking, feed her, maybe even say he wanted more tomorrow.

Maybe it still wasn’t exciting enough? Mo Qiu had even fed him. Did that mean the next step was to feed him mouth-to-mouth?

It might be a little gross, but as long as she kept reminding herself it was all part of the plan, she could get through it. Still, that would be too much for a little virgin like Bai Chen.

Was there some middle ground?

“Darling, open wide. I’ll feed you.”

“Sure.”

Another couple sat on the other side. The boy picked up a meatball and held it out to the girl.

“Ah, you dropped it.”

The meatball hit the girl’s chest, then rolled to the floor.

The boy immediately crawled under the table. A moment later, the girl let out a scream.

“Pervert! What are you doing?”

The girl held down her skirt and kicked him out from under the table.

“Don’t be mad. I didn’t do it on purpose.” The boy grinned sheepishly.

“Hmph. Don’t let there be a next time.” The girl turned her flushed face away, sounding embarrassed and annoyed.

Mo Qiu was completely stunned by the sight. She looked at the half chicken leg in her lunchbox and pursed her rosy lips.