This guy had an incredibly loud voice, which drew mocking glances from the students rushing past.
Amidst these gloating glances, Zhao Yuan clicked his tongue, rummaged in his pocket for a moment, and pulled out a piece of paper with a number and date printed on it.
"I was well-prepared and wisely booked a seat before going to school this morning."
Wang Peng immediately stopped shouting and wished he could hug Zhao Yuan's leg and call him "Dad": "Brother, you're really my brother! This time I can finally stand in line and watch others eat!"
The sports committee member, who had been laughing and running over, overheard a misunderstanding and immediately ran back backwards.
He dared not touch Qin Chu, so he could only very tactfully put his arm around Zhao Yuan's shoulder.
Unfortunately, Zhao Yuan was completely clinging to Qin Chu, and no matter what the sports committee did, the three of them were now like conjoined twins.
"Brother Yuan, tell me, aren't we brothers? Would a brother watch his brother go hungry?"
Zhao Yuan replied indifferently, "Yes, the more you do that, the more delicious I'll eat."
Sports Committee: "..."
In any case, Qin Chu originally had four people, but in the end, the group grew to ten.
Luckily, the restaurant only has round tables, otherwise there really wouldn't be enough room to sit.
The sports committee member ordered another pitcher of beer. When he brought it back, he glanced at Qin Chu cautiously and said, "You're really an adult now, aren't you?"
Qin Chu gave him a look as if he were an idiot, and Zhao Yuan retorted directly: "Come on, last time at the dinner party you were drinking, my tablemate didn't twist your head off, did he?"
Sports Committee: "..."
Is this some kind of comfort or a threat?
This was a complete contrast to the awkwardness that began at the last dinner party.
As soon as it was served, people practically started grabbing it with their claws. While they were grabbing it, they were also showing off to the people queuing outside, which looked incredibly annoying.
The girls at the table were equally formidable; when they got fierce, no one dared to snatch the dishes they wanted.
Zhao Yuan was worried that his deskmate wouldn't be comfortable with the atmosphere, so he added a piece of braised pork and was about to put it in Qin Chu's bowl when he saw that his deskmate had no expression on his face, but he was moving his chopsticks faster than anyone else.
Before long, the food in the bowl was piled up higher than Zhao Yuan's.
So Zhao Yuan unceremoniously abandoned the battle and began his life of living off a woman.
After they had basically filled their stomachs, they finally had a little time to talk.
The class representative wasn't very tall, but he spoke with a bureaucratic air, starting with, "The college entrance exam is just around the corner..."
Upon hearing this, everyone at the table turned pale.
The sports committee member sitting next to him immediately shoved a chicken bone down the academic committee member's neck: "Why did you bring up exams! Why did you bring up exams!"
Then came another burst of laughter and commotion, after which the table gradually quieted down.
One of the girls couldn't help but ask the person next to her, "After the college entrance exam, will we still have the chance to get together like this?"
This sentence seemed to have flipped a switch, and a different kind of emotion gently enveloped the messy dining table.
Zhao Yuan is a prodigy. He wiped his mouth and said, "With our college entrance rate, we might see each other again in the repeat class next semester."
All students: "..."
Is this supposed to be comforting?
After a moment of silence, the students, who were about to enter the examination hall, couldn't help but dream about the future and whispered to each other about the cities they wanted to go to.
Qin Chu heard Zhou Sisi say somewhat shyly, "I've never been outside to play since I was little. This time, I want to try applying to a school in the capital. If possible, I really want to go out and see the world..."
Qin Chu also thought of what Wang Peng had said to him and Zhao Yuan a few days ago.
He said it didn't matter that Zhou Sisi didn't like him now. After the college entrance exam, they would go to the same school, or at the very least, the same city. His feelings could withstand the test of time.
The same longing was reflected in the eyes of everyone at the table.
Although their memories consist only of this small town and this street, they still imagine the days when they can fly freely.
Qin Chu remained silent, listening as the people at the table discussed their future.
Noah watched all this through Qin Chu's eyes, knowing that the dreams each of them spoke of were things with little hope. Noah suddenly felt a faint sadness; he quickly realized that he himself was incapable of emotion, so he was sensing Qin Chu's emotions.
When he first came into this world, Qin Chu would often ask him a question.
When I saw the breakfast stall owner, I asked her if she might have a real human consciousness.
When you see the three mission targets, ask them if any of them might be humans who were pulled in by the mainframe.
But now, Qin Chu no longer asks that question.
They stayed outside for a long time in the afternoon, until it got slightly dark, before Qin Chu and the others took Zhou Sisi and several other girls home.
Along the way, the students gradually separated, until only Qin Chu and Zhao Yuan remained.
The sky was still pitch black, and the streetlights cast a dim yellow glow. Walking on the empty road, Zhao Yuan could still recall the question Qin Chu had asked him last time: "Isn't the college entrance exam important?"
After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Yuan asked Qin Chu, "You still haven't answered the question I asked you during the last fight."
"What?" Qin Chu turned his head to look at him.
The person who kept saying goodbye to the cram school at the dinner table leaned close to Qin Chu's ear and asked:
Which school do you want to apply to?
Qin Chu glanced at him but did not answer.
Because I really hadn't thought about that question.
After thinking it over, it seems like any answer would be a lie.
Qin Chu had no qualms about lying, but he didn't want to lie about this issue right now.
So he simply said, "We'll talk about it after the exam."
Zhao Yuan was clearly not satisfied with this answer and pressed on, asking, "Then which city should I take the exam in?"
"You're not going to tell me this either?"
"Tell me..."
After pestering Qin Chu for a long time without getting a response, Zhao Yuan finally stopped.
He wanted to lag behind Qin Chu by half a step as usual, leisurely walking behind him, his eyes always fixed on the person in front of him whose figure was like a blade.
Suddenly, Zhao Yuan called out, "Classmate."
"Um?"
Qin Chu stopped under the streetlight and turned her head slightly to look at him. The dim light of the streetlight cast a halo around Qin Chu's profile, giving this sharp-edged man an unexpected moment of gentleness.
Zhao Yuan felt a surge of indescribable emotion.
He thought, "It can't be that bad, can it? It's not that hard to control, is it?"
But it seemed that was the truth; he couldn't resist leaning in and gently brushing his lips against Qin Chu's cheek...
-
The college entrance examination did not have any impact on Zhao Yuan's mentality.
He got up a little early that day and, as usual, made one delivery for the store. When he returned, the store was already filled with people having breakfast.
Zhao Yuan picked up his schoolbag from the table next to him, didn't check it, said hello, and went to the nearby bus stop to take the bus to the examination center.
The bus was moving very slowly and was a bit bumpy.
Zhao Yuan sat in his seat, gazing out the window in a daze.
Even though it was early morning, his mind was filled with the dim light of the streetlights from that night.
The touch was unexpectedly soft, but the expected beating did not occur.
Zhao Yuan felt his heart beating a little fast.
He stepped back to look at Qin Chu, only to find that the man didn't show any particular expression or seem angry; he simply looked at him and asked, "What are you doing?"
Zhao Yuan: "..."
He knew his deskmate was a bit oblivious in some ways. If this happened to someone else, he'd be happy to see it, even find it a little funny, but when it happened to him…
"What do you think I'm doing?" Zhao Yuan asked Qin Chu, a little annoyed.
Then he saw Qin Chu casually wipe his face and reply, "Who knows?"
Then the person continued walking forward.
He must be pretending to be calm.
Zhao Yuan initially thought that way, but after two seconds he couldn't hold back any longer. He took two steps to catch up and shamelessly continued to question, "Classmate, don't you think you're being extremely rude?"
Qin Chu was puzzled, then turned to look at him.
Zhao Yuan reached the pinnacle of shamelessness, brazenly spouting nonsense: "I kissed you, shouldn't you kiss me back in return?"
Seemingly taken aback by Zhao Yuan's attitude, Qin Chu stared at him speechlessly for a long time, then thought for a moment before replying, "If a dog licks you, are you going to lick it back?"
-
"Ding-dong~"
When the bus arrived at the stop, Zhao Yuan got off and happened to see Qin Chu waiting at the examination center. Qin Chu was drinking soy milk with a straw between his teeth. When he saw Zhao Yuan coming over, he raised his eyelids to look at him, as if to say hello.
Zhao Yuan sighed helplessly.
When he heard Qing say those words clearly, he couldn't help but retort indignantly, "I treated you like my deskmate, and you treated me like a dog?"
After seeing Zhao Yuan get off the bus, Qin Chu finished his soy milk and threw the paper cup into the trash can.
Unbeknownst to Zhao Yuan, Qin Chu was also speechless that night. He had only one thought in his mind: Zhao Yuan was nowhere near as cute as the exploration dogs kept on their warship.
At least they don't cause trouble all the time.
Qin Chu didn't really feel anything when Zhao Yuan pressed against him.
After all, Zhao Yuan is now half his actual age.
Two years before the mastermind's rebellion, First Legion warships returned to the capital planet. Many soldiers' relatives went to the port to welcome them. One guy went out but then came back to the ship with his three- or four-year-old chubby niece, showing her off.
The young girl wasn't interested in the other burly men. The moment she saw Qin Chu, she struggled to get down and ran to him.
Seeing her tugging at his sleeve, Qin Chu thought the girl was going to say something to him, but when he squatted down, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.