Chapter 58: A Temporary Failure
The freshmen had started their military training.
In past years, the training took place in September, but maybe because the September sun was too hot, this year it was moved to after the National Day holiday.
When the class bell rang, An Han and his roommates walked together toward the cafeteria, but the moment they arrived, they saw the serving windows completely surrounded by excited freshmen. The cafeteria, which was usually spacious, was now packed shoulder to shoulder. Compared to normal days, the number of students had at least doubled. It was truly crowded like a sea of people.
But An Han didn’t rush at all. He and Chen Junjie silently moved behind Long Xing, who had been chatting happily with them just a moment ago. Seeing them line up behind him, Long Xing immediately straightened his back, tightened his expression, and confidently walked toward the serving window.
Long Xing had a spiky buzz cut, and his tight black T-shirt clung to his muscles, making him look very strong.
He lifted his sleeve slightly, revealing the scary tattoo he got when he was young and stupid. Combined with his serious face and tall, well-built body of nearly 1.9 meters, he looked like a dangerous criminal on a wanted poster.
And An Han and Chen Junjie followed behind him like loyal little followers, making their group look even more intimidating.
The freshmen quickly moved aside in panic. Even though they knew a criminal wouldn’t just show up in a school cafeteria, Long Xing really looked like someone you couldn’t afford to mess with.
The three roommates walked straight to the window without being stopped once. Once he stood in front of the lady serving the food, Long Xing immediately put on a smile and said, “Auntie, sweet-and-sour pork, water spinach, and an extra fried egg, please.”
Even smiling, he still looked a bit scary. But the cafeteria auntie was experienced. She glanced at him and complained, “Why is it you again every time?”
Long Xing’s smile turned a bit awkward, and he shot a glare at An Han.
This whole trick had been An Han’s idea from the start, but it did work.
After getting their food, they found a seat in a corner and sat down.
An Han was busy thinking about how to make Long Xing dislike him. He kept peeking around, and before eating even one bite of his own food, he stretched his chopsticks into Long Xing’s bowl and picked up a piece of meat.
Will he get angry?
He happily chewed the meat. Food from someone else’s bowl always tasted better.
He narrowed his eyes and carefully observed Long Xing across from him. But Long Xing didn’t react at all and kept eating calmly.
So An Han picked up another piece.
Will he get angry now?!
There were only about seven or eight pieces of sweet-and-sour pork in Long Xing’s bowl, but even after losing two pieces, Long Xing still didn’t get mad. He only looked up at An Han in mild surprise and asked, “You like this?”
“Mm.”
“Then eat more.”
There was a hint of affection in his eyes, which made An Han shiver instantly.
“......”
Chen Junjie couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Why do you two look like a gay couple?”
As he said that, he also grabbed a piece of meat from Long Xing’s bowl with great interest.
Feeling defeated, An Han let out a long sigh. He stopped pushing his luck and obediently ate his own lunch.
This was too hard.
Why was it so difficult to lower Long Xing’s affection level?
His temper was way too good!
If it were him, he could tolerate a friend stealing one bite of the only meat dish, but several bites? He would definitely get annoyed.
Chen Junjie looked at An Han, nudged Long Xing with his elbow, and whispered, “Why has An Han been acting like a girl lately? His change is too big. Did he actually get plastic surgery during the holiday?”
“He doesn’t have that kind of money.”
“His height also seems smaller.”
“Maybe he just got thinner again?”
Chen Junjie took out his phone, searched for a long time, and finally found a group photo from last year, taken when the roommates went to a tourist spot on the weekend.
He pointed at An Han, who was clearly shorter than the other three in the photo. “Look, compared to now, he didn’t look girly back then.”
Long Xing followed his finger, then looked up at An Han sitting across from them.
The change was indeed unbelievably big.
“What are you two whispering about?” An Han suddenly interrupted them.
Long Xing shook his head without hesitation. “Nothing.”
They were obviously talking about me!
An Han complained in his heart, but could only pretend he didn’t know anything. He stood up and said, “I’m done eating. Why are you two so slow?”
“Brother Long, give me the key. I’m going back first.”
He reached out his hand, took the dorm key, and carried his tray to the return area.
The whole place was full of freshmen wearing military training uniforms. Thinking back to his own first year, An Han remembered there was a teaching assistant who always liked sitting under an umbrella drinking soda and eating watermelon while watching them suffer. Even now, remembering it made him angry.
How is that something a human would do?
Maybe he would do the same in a few days when he had no class!
After handing his tray to the recycling auntie, he looked back at the corner where Long Xing and Chen Junjie were still talking, and felt a bit uneasy.
He had changed so much recently. It was impossible for his friends not to notice, yet he couldn’t think of a reasonable explanation.
So the only thing he could do was avoid them.
They would never imagine the answer was “a system,” anyway.
The October sun was clearly much gentler than September’s, making the jacket he wore feel more comfortable. Walking toward the dorm building, he had already started ordering fake cockroaches online.
The fake cockroach toys were not expensive, less than 20 yuan for a box of fifty.
Judging by the pictures, even though they were plastic, they looked pretty close to the real thing. With how scared Su Peng was of cockroaches, he’d probably be terrified at first sight.
“First, I’ll scare him. Then I’ll jump out and admit it was a prank…”
“If I want to go further, I can stuff a fake cockroach in his mouth while he’s taking a nap, so he can relive the fear of having a cockroach crawl into his mouth~”
“His favorability will definitely drop super fast!”
Su Peng’s temper was nowhere near as good as Long Xing’s! And this was the thing he was most afraid of!
Even if he weren't afraid, seeing a classmate put cockroaches on his bed or in his closet would absolutely make him angry!
Thinking about how Su Peng would blow up in anger, An Han grinned with wicked delight.
“Sorry, man~ but your favorability is almost over ninety.”
But he also had to prepare for getting hit… so he would bring Long Xing along at that time.
He planned everything perfectly, placed the order, chose express shipping, and the package would arrive the next day at noon.
Ever since getting the system, this was the first time he felt so confident, everything was in his control!
“After pulling this off, I’m going to treat myself to something good!”
He reached the dorm room door and was about to take out the key, but suddenly turned and pushed open the door of the room next door.
Su Peng was sitting in the seat closest to the door. Hearing the sound, he immediately turned around.
“Ah, An Han? What’s up?”
“I’m just stopping by.” An Han looked around and didn’t see the others in this room. “Where are Dongming and the others?”
“Probably eating at the cafeteria.”
Seeing that Su Peng happened to be eating takeout, An Han rushed closer with shining eyes. “Give me a piece of meat to try!”
As he spoke, he reached out to grab one.
Long Xing didn’t mind people sharing his food, but Su Peng might feel differently.
Sure enough, Su Peng pushed his hand away, and An Han felt happy inside, ready to try something even more annoying.
“Open your mouth.”
“Huh?”
Su Peng picked up a rib and stuffed it into An Han’s mouth. He even smiled at him. “Good, right?”
“Not bad. Give me another piece.”
“Sure.”
Wait—what?! How is this making him angry?!
Just as An Han opened his mouth to take the second rib, he suddenly realized something was very wrong.
This wasn’t getting Su Peng mad at all.
This was flirting!