Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 34

“Let’s eat some lemon-flavored Little Ye.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Ningyu’s face turned visibly red.

She knew Xia Tian was teasing her—after all, “Lemon-Flavored Little Ye” was the new QQ nickname she had just set!

Seeing her shy reaction, Xia Tian chuckled.

“I’m just messing with you… come on, let’s go. Yesterday on my way to school, I saw a new restaurant open on Hongqi Road. It’s not far from here.”

“Okay~”

—

Meanwhile, back in Class 6 of the third-year building, Xu Yuan was getting ready to head to the cafeteria for dinner.

However, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ma Dongguai, the “Left Protector” of the class, sitting at his desk eating.

At first, she didn’t think much of it, but then she noticed the familiar plastic bag he was using.

Her face suddenly dropped, a bad feeling creeping up inside her.

Quickly, she rushed over to Ma Dongguai.

“Ma Dongguai, what are you eating?” she asked.

“Bread and milk… Hey, class monitor, just because you’re pretty doesn’t mean you’re going to get me to share!” Ma Dongguai replied, eyeing her suspiciously.

Xu Yuan was speechless for a moment. But his response made her heart sink even more.

Bread and milk?

Isn’t that exactly what I bought for Xia Tian this morning? And that plastic bag… it can’t be a coincidence, right?

Xu Yuan questioned him urgently, “I’m not asking to share! I’m asking if you bought it yourself?”

“Of course not! I don’t have money to splurge on fancy stuff like this. I mean, this bread alone costs five yuan, right?”

Hearing that, Xu Yuan’s face turned even paler.

“So where did you get it from?” she asked, her voice growing tense.

“Someone gave it to me.”

“Who?”

“Xia Tian, of course.”

Xu Yuan couldn’t believe her ears. She instinctively asked again, “Who did you say gave it to you? Say it again!”

“My godfather, Xia Tian!” Ma Dongguai answered casually, taking another satisfied bite of his bread.

But that bite seemed to pierce Xu Yuan’s heart like a dagger.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

She couldn’t believe it—Xia Tian hadn’t eaten the breakfast she had gone out of her way to buy for him. He had given it away to someone else!

Didn’t he realize she had woken up before dawn just to buy it for him? She had almost been late because of it!

“Xia Tian, you jerk!”

“If you didn’t want to eat it, fine… but to give it away to someone else? You’re nothing but a scumbag!”

Tears streamed down Xu Yuan’s face as she stormed out of the classroom.

Ma Dongguai, left bewildered, blinked in confusion as he watched her leave.

“Geez, Xu Yuan’s family doesn’t look like they’re struggling, so why would she cry over me eating a piece of bread? Poor girl, she must be starving.”

Feeling a bit sorry for her, the Left Protector tried to offer her the other piece of bread from the bag.

“Hey, don’t cry! Fine, I’ll share. Here, have a piece. I really can’t handle it when girls cry…”

But his words only made Xu Yuan explode in anger.

She grabbed the bag, threw it into the trash can, and yelled, “Eat, eat, eat! Who told you to eat it? I bought that for Xia Tian, you can’t have it!”

With that, she ran out of the classroom, crying.

Ma Dongguai, completely innocent, sat there feeling wronged.

“What the heck? When did Xu Yuan ever start bringing food for Xia Tian? It’s always been Xia Tian giving her stuff!”

With a sigh, he muttered to himself, “I guess Zhang Wuji’s mom was right—pretty women really know how to play mind games…”

—

Meanwhile, Xia Tian and Ye Ningyu had arrived at the restaurant Xia Tian had mentioned.

It was called the “Eighth Day” Western Restaurant. The place wasn’t large, but it was elegantly decorated.

One look at the interior, and it was clear that the prices here wouldn’t be cheap.

“They serve steak here. The food should be decent. Let’s give it a try.”

“O-Okay.”

Xia Tian pushed open the door and walked inside.

Ye Ningyu, who had been trailing behind him, paused for a moment, staring at the fancy decor with a slightly dazed expression.

“Do I have enough money to pay for Xia Tian’s steak?”

Already seated inside, Xia Tian noticed Ye Ningyu still standing at the entrance and waved her in. “What are you standing there for? Come in!”

“O-Okay, I’m coming!”

Ye Ningyu quickly followed him inside, her hands instinctively slipping into her pockets to tightly grip the money she had brought with her.

The restaurant was filled with well-dressed patrons, making Xia Tian and Ye Ningyu stand out in their school uniforms.

Immediately, they attracted a few curious and judgmental glances.

But Xia Tian didn’t care about the attention at all. He led Ye Ningyu to a table by the window, where they sat down.

Soon, a waiter approached with the menu.

“Sir, Miss, here’s the menu for ‘Eighth Day.’”

“Thank you.”

Xia Tian took the menu and handed it to Ye Ningyu. “Little Ye, pick something you’d like to eat.”

Ye Ningyu hesitantly accepted the menu, carefully turning the pages.

But as soon as she saw the prices, her face turned pale.

Oh my god!

Vegetable salad… 20 yuan!

Creamy mushroom soup… 15 yuan!

And the cheapest steak… 70 yuan!

Ye Ningyu clutched the money in her pocket, feeling overwhelmed by the prices.

Hurriedly, she handed the menu back to Xia Tian.

“X-Xia Tian, I… I’m not really that hungry. You go ahead and order…”

“That’s nonsense. We’re already here… Waiter, we’ll have two medium-rare sirloin steaks with two bowls of creamy mushroom soup. That’ll be all for now.”

“Very well, sir. Please wait a moment.”

The waiter smiled politely before taking the menu and leaving.

Ye Ningyu felt a pang in her chest.

The items Xia Tian had ordered totaled 180 yuan!

Even if she combined the money Xia Tian and her mother had given her, she only had 150 yuan, plus another 50 for her meal allowance this week.

After paying for this meal, she’d only have 20 yuan left…

It’s fine! It’s worth it to treat Xia Tian to a meal. He’s been so kind to me—I can’t be stingy now!

I’ll just have to eat less for the rest of the week, that’s all.

Ye Ningyu tried to convince herself, but still, it hurt a little. She had never treated herself to such an expensive meal before.

After all, just one steak cost more than her entire week’s food budget.

But if it made Xia Tian happy, it would be worth it.

Seeing Ye Ningyu lower her head in thought, Xia Tian sighed inwardly.

“Little Ye, don’t blame me. I’m doing this to help you grow stronger.”

In reality, Xia Tian had intentionally brought her to this Western restaurant. He knew she’d feel uncomfortable with the prices.

But he wanted her to experience things beyond her normal comfort zone, to push her out of her shell.

Xia Tian couldn’t guarantee that he’d never face any mishaps in this second life. So he wanted to help Ye Ningyu become more independent.

Even if something were to happen to him one day, he wanted her to be able to stand on her own two feet.

Exposing her to new experiences would ensure that, in the future, she wouldn’t feel out of place in situations like this.

“X-Xia Tian… do you come here often?”

Ye Ningyu glanced nervously at the formally dressed adults seated around them. Compared to them, she felt out of place.

But when she looked up at Xia Tian, she saw that he was completely at ease.

“Nope, this is my first time here too.”

“Oh… You seem so relaxed, though!”

Xia Tian lowered his voice and reassured her, “There’s no need to be nervous. This isn’t some super high-class place… Those people may look fancy, but we have no idea what their lives are like behind the scenes. For all we know, they’re scraping by on low salaries and crammed into tiny apartments.”

Ye Ningyu blinked in confusion. “Then why do they still come here to eat? Wouldn’t it be better to save their hard-earned money?”

Xia Tian chuckled, casting a glance at the well-dressed patrons around them.

Little Ye was still too innocent to understand how superficial and vain adults could be.

“You’ll understand one day.”

“Oh… Okay.”

Ye Ningyu nodded obediently.

At that moment, the waiter returned with their steaks.

“Sir, Miss, here are your medium-rare sirloin steaks. Please enjoy.”

“Thank you…”

“You’re welcome, Miss.”

Knowing that Ye Ningyu had never eaten steak before, Xia Tian began demonstrating how to use the knife and fork.

“Little Ye, hold the fork in your left hand and the knife in your right. Tilt the knife slightly, then cut through the steak like this, see?”

He showed her how to slice the steak properly.

“Okay, I’ll give it a try.”

Ye Ningyu clumsily tried to cut through the steak, but her hands didn’t have enough strength, and she struggled with the knife.

Seeing this, Xia Tian called the waiter over.

“Excuse me, could we get two pairs of chopsticks, please?”

“Of course, sir.”

Once the waiter returned with the chopsticks, Xia Tian handed a pair to Ye Ningyu.

“Let’s forget the knife and fork. They’re too much of a hassle. We’ll just use chopsticks.”

“C-Can we really use chopsticks? Everyone around us is using knives and forks… Won’t it be strange?”

Ye Ningyu glanced worriedly at the other diners, her face filled with uncertainty.

But Xia Tian shook his head, assuring her that it was fine as he picked up his chopsticks and began eating.

Seeing him so relaxed, Ye Ningyu felt reassured and started using her chopsticks to eat as well.

After taking a bite, a smile blossomed on her face.

Xia Tian smiled and asked, “How is it? Tastes good, right? If you don’t like it medium-rare, we can get it well-done next time.”

“N-No, it’s fine, Xia Tian. I think medium-rare is good. But maybe next time we can try eight-tenths cooked. That would be perfect.”

As soon as she said that, the man sitting at the table next to them let out a mocking laugh.

He spoke in a condescending tone.

“Excuse me, but I couldn’t help overhearing.”

“If you’ve never had steak before, don’t steal your parents’ money to come here and pretend to be adults. This place is beyond your means.”

“I’ve already seen enough when you two tried to eat steak with chopsticks. But hearing you talk about an ‘eight-tenths cooked’ steak—that’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard. In all my life, I’ve never seen an eight-tenths cooked steak.”