Would even a gala be this strict? Zhang Chenxi was puzzled, but he decided to listen to Ji Mingyue anyway. After all, he was only there to help out.
"All right, Senior, I'll study hard for it."
"Good. Tomorrow at three in the afternoon, then. I'll compile a summary of signal selection and fill-in-the-blank essentials, and you'll have no trouble after looking them over."
"Thank you, Senior. I definitely won't fail."
"Fail? If you don't score at least 90, don't even bother showing up to the gala. People will still say you were taught by me."
"..."
Speechless, Zhang Chenxi sent a string of dots to end the conversation.
...
...
Since it was already finals week and most classes had finished, Zhang Chenxi had slept in until eleven in the morning.
The previous night, after learning from Ji Mingyue that he could bring a piano accompanist, he had contacted Jiang Wan.
Yet once Ji Mingyue decided to assign him helpers, his reason for asking Jiang Wan out shifted from playing the piano to having a meal together.
After washing up, Zhang Chenxi arrived at the entrance of the First Cafeteria as agreed and waited patiently.
Before long, he spotted a petite figure skipping toward him, her ponytail swinging back and forth.
Jiang Wan came up to Zhang Chenxi, stuck out her tongue, and wiped away the fine sweat on her temples.
Jiang Wan was petite with soft, delicate features, and a pair of lively eyes that curved like crescent moons when she smiled.
Most unforgettable were the permanent smile at the corners of her lips and her two shallow dimples, innocent, warm, and bright.
"Xiaoliuzi, running fast won't help you. I don't have time to treat you to a proper meal right now. How about tonight?" Zhang Chenxi teased.
"No way. The cafeteria is fine, it's not like we can't eat here. And besides..."
"Stop calling me Xiaoliuzi!" Jiang Wan glared at Zhang Chenxi, pretending to be angry as she vented her dissatisfaction.
"What? Are you over 1.6 meters now? Grew a few centimeters? Or did you shrink even more, down to 1.5 meters?"
In front of people he knew well, Zhang Chenxi could never resist poking fun.
Jiang Wan raised her hand and punched Zhang Chenxi right in the shoulder.
"Do you still think I look 1.6 meters?"
Jiang Wan spun around in place. Today she was wearing high-waisted, wide-leg sky-blue jeans with a pure white T-shirt tucked into the waistband, which did indeed make her look taller.
Of course, Zhang Chenxi would never admit it.
"Watch your step when you walk, don't want your height-increasing insoles to fall out later."
"Get lost."
Laughing and chatting, the two of them reached the third floor, only to find it unusually crowded today.
"Oh right, they seem to have opened a new braised noodles stall on the third floor. It just opened today, want to try it?" Zhang Chenxi looked down at Jiang Wan.
"Mm, the poster makes it look pretty good." Jiang Wan nodded in agreement.
"Then don't move from this spot, I'll go buy two portions of braised noodles." Smiling, Zhang Chenxi flashed over to pay.
Jiang Wan kicked out a foot, but her legs were simply too short to reach anything, so she could only sit back down in her seat, pouting while she waited for Zhang Chenxi to return.
Walking over to the ordering counter, Zhang Chenxi discovered there were at least thirty people waiting in line ahead of him, with only a single chef working the burners.
Good grief, how long was this going to take? Zhang Chenxi felt like crying.
Still, since he had promised Jiang Wan, he would just have to wait a bit longer—he only hoped she wouldn't starve.
After standing in line for nearly twenty minutes, there were finally only three people left in front of him. Just as he was feeling pleased, he received a message from his senior.
[Sending Sorrow to the Bright Moon]: "Junior, I want to eat braised noodles too."
Zhang Chenxi looked back and saw Ji Mingyue watching him with a smiling expression.
[Puyue Cat]: "Which kind would you like, Senior? I'll order it for you."
[Sending Sorrow to the Bright Moon]: "The first one, please. Thanks, Junior."
[Puyue Cat]: "Not at all, not at all. Helping me review is much harder than this."
Zhang Chenxi quickly finished placing the order. After handing the number tag to Ji Mingyue, he figured he would go sit down for a bit since it would still be quite a while before the food was ready.
He walked back to Jiang Wan's table and found her resting her head on one arm while scrolling through her phone.
Seeing that familiar posture, Zhang Chenxi couldn't help sighing, "She really hasn't changed at all."
Jiang Wan had been his classmate in their first year of high school. They had gotten acquainted because Zhang Chenxi always talked during evening self-study, causing the head teacher to place him in the very last row and leave him there through every seat rearrangement.
Meanwhile, all the other classmates shifted one grid to the right every two weeks.
Whenever he watched this petite girl sitting right in front of him, straining to peer up at the blackboard, he always found it rather amusing.
The two of them quickly grew close and unexpectedly discovered a shared passion for journalism, leading them to participate in numerous street interviews together.
Later, when they chose their tracks in high school, Jiang Wan picked humanities while Zhang Chenxi chose science, the reason being that science degrees made finding a job after the college entrance exams much easier.
Being in different classes didn't distance them from each other. They frequently ran into each other again during school interviews for outstanding students or at sports meetings.
They didn't chat constantly, and sometimes went quite a long time without any word, yet whenever they reconnected, there wasn't the slightest bit of awkwardness—they always talked happily for hours.
When filling out their college applications, Jiang Wan chose journalism, truly stepping onto the path of becoming a reporter.
Zhang Chenxi applied for an engineering major because those jobs were easier to secure after graduation.
Zhang Chenxi looked at Jiang Wan with deep admiration, envying her ability to pursue what she loved entirely as she pleased.
Yet Zhang Chenxi had never regretted the path he chose, for along the way he had reaped a great deal of growth and experience.
Zhang Chenxi sat down across from Jiang Wan.
"I'm so hungry, ahhh. Zhang Chenxi, where is my food?"
With a deadpan expression, Zhang Chenxi slapped the order tag down in front of her.
"25? What's that supposed to mean? You didn't get me food, and now you're cursing at me?" Jiang Wan joked with a smile.
"Just wait, kid. We probably won't be eating for at least another twenty minutes."
Resigned, Zhang Chenxi twirled the number tag in his hand.
"Hehe, you're the one who picked it, my idol."
Jiang Wan opened her phone, then closed it again. When she was with Zhang Chenxi, she didn't want to look at her phone.
The two of them hadn't had a proper chat in nearly a year. Back in their freshman year, both Zhang Chenxi and Jiang Wan had been members of the school broadcasting station and often had chances to go out on street interviews together.
By their sophomore year, because of his heavy academic workload and his desire to devote his time to the debate team, Zhang Chenxi had quit the broadcasting station.
And in the blink of an eye, they were already at the end of the second semester of their sophomore year.
Finally, as the two of them were talking about what had happened in their lives over the past year, the cafeteria worker called out their number.
"I'll go get the food."
Before long, Zhang Chenxi returned carrying two bowls of braised noodles.
"Here, this one has no spicy sauce or cilantro."
Zhang Chenxi handed one of the bowls to Jiang Wan and started mixing his own noodles.
Jiang Wan blinked in surprise.
"What are you staring at? Hurry up and eat, aren't you hungry?" Zhang Chenxi asked curiously when he saw Jiang Wan not touching her chopsticks.
"Oh, oh, I was just smelling how it tastes, hehe." Jiang Wan snapped back to reality.
"Wow, there are two chicken drumsticks in here! This place is too generous."
Jiang Wan exclaimed as she looked at the two drumsticks in her bowl.
"Generous? If you were a kid and gave the owner a kick in the pants, maybe they'd give you two drumsticks."
Zhang Chenxi said speechlessly.
"What, aren't you?"
Jiang Wan looked into Zhang Chenxi's bowl, which only had a single drumstick, and wore a gloating expression.
But a moment later, it dawned on her.
"Zhang Chenxi, did you add this drumstick to my bowl?" Jiang Wan asked softly.
"Just eat already, so much talk. If eating a single drumstick could make you grow by a millimeter, I'd definitely add ten to yours."
Zhang Chenxi teased Jiang Wan while keeping his head down to eat his noodles.