"Please... please spare me, I... I won't hold a grudge anymore, okay...?" Qin Wanwan bit her lip and whispered, trying to negotiate with Wang Mingyu.
"How can that do? What if you go around telling people that I'm someone who just eats other people's food for free?" Wang Mingyu said.
"I... I wouldn't do that, and besides, I don't even have any friends..."
"Is that so? I don't believe it. Anyway, I'll stick to what I said: not eating with me means you're not giving me face. If you don't give me face, you're done for."
Qin Wanwan said nothing more, helplessly giving in.
She only hoped that Wang Mingyu would let her go after lunch.
Lunch break.
"Wang Mingyu, Wang Mingyu, let's go eat." Lin Linyu greeted him with her usual enthusiasm.
Wang Mingyu waved his hand in refusal. "Maybe next time, I've got things to do today."
"Oh, okay."
Wang Mingyu nodded and stayed right by Qin Wanwan's side. "Let's go, time to eat."
"D... do we really have to?" Qin Wanwan asked timidly.
"We really have to!"
Wang Mingyu's tone allowed for no objection, and Qin Wanwan abandoned any thought of trying to persuade him further.
The cafeteria.
"Auntie, pack this up to go, this one, that one, and this too."
Wang Mingyu ordered a huge pile, the side dishes overflowing the lunchbox.
Qin Wanwan stood right beside him, the crowded cafeteria making her feel completely uneasy.
"Look, look at that, this person is so tacky."
"Yeah, dressed in rags."
"Harious, is she a scavenger or something?"
Qin Wanwan heard these remarks clearly, and she felt deeply ashamed.
Now she understood—Wang Mingyu must have wanted to humiliate her by bringing her to the cafeteria.
He really was terrifying!
After getting the food, Wang Mingyu grabbed her hand and glanced back at the people who had just insulted Qin Wanwan. "Who's barking like a stray dog? If you aren't going to use that mouth of yours, I can help throw it in the trash."
"Hah, all dressed up like a human, what, you want to play the hero?" the person sneered disdainfully.
"Oh? A hero? I suppose I can play the part."
With that, Wang Mingyu raised his foot and stepped hard on the person's foot.
"Ah!"
The person shrieked, and just as they wanted to settle the score with Wang Mingyu, they found that Wang Mingyu had already grabbed Qin Wanwan and run off.
As he ran, he didn't forget to look back and make a funny face. "Losers!"
Qin Wanwan was stunned. She hadn't expected Wang Mingyu to stand up for her.
Could it be that all her earlier guesses were wrong?
Wang Mingyu hadn't wanted to humiliate her at all.
Panting, the two of them escaped the cafeteria, and Wang Mingyu burst out laughing. "Hahahaha, that felt so good."
"You... isn't this a bit much?" Qin Wanwan said.
"What's wrong with it? She was saying awful things about you! You might be able to swallow that, but I sure can't!"
Seeing Wang Mingyu stand up for her, a blush crept onto Qin Wanwan's cheeks.
In all these years, no one had ever treated her this good.
Only then did she realize her hand was still being held by Wang Mingyu, and she quickly pulled it away. "T... then where are we going to eat?"
"Just find a bench somewhere. Follow me." Wang Mingyu smiled slightly.
The two of them sat down on a bench, and when Wang Mingyu handed her the lunchbox piled high with meat, she was shocked once more.
"This... this is too expensive."
"Huh? It's fine, I eat like this all the time. It's just two chicken drumsticks and a bunch of side dishes anyway. Come on, no wasting food allowed." Wang Mingyu said.
"But..." Qin Wanwan was still hesitant.
Her family was very poor; she rarely saw this much meat even in an entire year.
It had to be expensive!
She had only eaten two steamed buns of his, yet...
Seeing that she wouldn't eat, Wang Mingyu picked up a chicken drumstick and pressed it right against her lips. "Hey, your mouth already touched it. If you don't eat it, I'll just have to throw it away."
"You... how can you be like this..." Hesitating, Qin Wanwan finally took the drumstick and began to nibble on it.
At worst, she'd eat one and save the other for tonight.
No, wait—save it for tomorrow!
It... probably wouldn't spoil by then, right?
"By the way, no leaving leftovers. If you don't finish it, you're not giving me face." Wang Mingyu said.
"Ah... can I, can I eat it tomorrow instead?" Qin Wanwan asked.
"What do you think?"
Wang Mingyu smiled slightly, but in Qin Wanwan's eyes, it looked like a devil's grin.
It seemed to carry an unquestionable command: No! You! Can! Not!
Qin Wanwan's body trembled, her eyes stinging with unshed tears.
Why was he like this?
What was she supposed to eat tomorrow, then?
"Right, I also bought two cartons of milk. Here, drink it to build up your strength." Wang Mingyu pulled out two cartons of milk and handed them to Qin Wanwan. "Don't choke."
"Oh, oh..." Qin Wanwan nodded, looked at the two cartons in her hand, and handed one back to him. "You... you drink one too."
"Oh? Thanks." Wang Mingyu smiled faintly.
Under Wang Mingyu's watchful eye, Qin Wanwan chewed slowly and finally managed to finish everything in the lunchbox.
She even let out a very quiet little burp.
Wang Mingyu saw the whole thing, and to keep Qin Wanwan from feeling awkward, he forced out a loud burp of his own: "Burp~"
The sound was so loud that Qin Wanwan couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Pfft, haha."
"What? Isn't it completely normal to burp after you're full?"
"Ah, r... right, normal."
"That's right." Wang Mingyu nodded with satisfaction. "By the way, I ate two days' worth of your food, so your meals for the next two days are my responsibility."
"Ah... no, no need, this... this one meal is enough." Qin Wanwan hurriedly waved her hands in refusal.
She didn't want to owe Wang Mingyu any favors.
Being able to eat this single meal was already more than enough for her.
"How can that do? No way, you just have to listen to me! Otherwise I'll... hehehe." Wang Mingyu cracked his knuckles with a smile.
This startled Qin Wanwan, but she still mustered up her courage. "R... really, it's already enough. Those two steamed buns of mine weren't as expensive as this meal..."
"So you're that kind of shallow person? Since I'm the one who made the mistake first, naturally I have to compensate you with something that exceeds the value of the original item, understand?"
Qin Wanwan shook her head. "I... I don't understand."
"Dummy." Wang Mingyu tapped her on the head. "It means for the next two days, you aren't escaping this. Get it?"
"Ah, h... how can you do this?"
"Hmph hmph, we're classmates. Look how skinny you are, don't try to bargain with me anymore. I hate it when people try to bargain with me."
Qin Wanwan fell silent. As long as she hid from Wang Mingyu over the next couple of days, surely he would forget about it, right?
Hehe, she really was a little genius!
Anyway...
Nobody cared about her in the first place.
She just needed to be a quiet little nobody.