He Yi placed the food in front of the three of them and sat down.
Before long, Su Jue walked over carrying two bowls of rice.
Everyone took their seats and began to eat.
The moment Xiao Ye and Huang Li saw the table full of delicious dishes, their eyes lit up. At that moment, everything else in the world became utterly insignificant to them. However, out of awareness of the two people sitting opposite them, they reined in their excitement just a little bit.
"Why aren't you eating anymore?" Xiao Ye asked in confusion, looking at Yao Na'er, who had already put down her chopsticks. "Is it not good?"
"Ah! I'm just... full, you know!" Yao Na'er puffed out her chest and replied.
"Full?" Xiao Ye looked at Yao Na'er's barely touched bowl, then glanced at her own nearly empty bowl, looking skeptical.
Su Jue glanced at Yao Na'er's bowl and sighed, "You girls eat so little!"
No sooner had his voice trailed off than Huang Li pushed her bowl toward Yao Na'er and said, "Get me another bowl!" There was a faint hint of provocation in her tone.
"Ah? Oh, sure!" Yao Na'er picked up the bowl and stood up.
"Can you really still eat?" Xiao Ye tilted her head and asked in a low voice.
Huang Li tilted her head back and replied, "I can't, but you can help me out with it later."
"Are you out of your mind?! If you can't eat, why order more?"
"Even if we lose, we can't lose face!"
"Nobody was even provoking you!"
"Well, the words were already out of my mouth, what else could I do?"
Xiao Ye took a sip of the mushroom soup she had been longing for day and night, the corners of her rosy lips curving slightly into a detached, carefree smile. "Well~ that's your problem then!"
Hearing this, Huang Li instantly turned her head, her lips puckered into a slight pout as she stared at Xiao Ye with a pitiful expression. "Ye~ zi~"
That single utterance was truly dripping with lingering grievance!
The moment the sound came out, Xiao Ye instantly wiped the smile from her face and capitulated on the spot. "Fine! I must have owed you in my past life!"
Hearing the whispered conversation of the two people opposite them who foolishly thought they were being sneaky, He Yi and Su Jue simultaneously curved the corners of their mouths.
As soon as the two girls finished their "negotiation," they resumed their polite and aloof demeanors. Little did they know, their entire exchange just moments ago had been perceived with crystal clarity by the two people across the table.
They didn't stop to think about what those two did for a living—they were music majors! Naturally, their hearing was much sharper. Plus, the long table wasn't very wide, leaving a distance of only thirty to forty centimeters between them. Even if they weren't speaking very loudly, the others could still hear every single word clearly.
"Here you go, Sister Li!" Yao Na'er placed a bowl piled high with rice in front of Huang Li.
When the two of them saw such a huge bowl of rice, they instantly shot Yao Na'er a look of exasperation: *What a hopeless child!* Unfortunately, her attention was not on them at all.
Huang Li picked up the overflowing bowl of rice and unceremoniously shoveled a large portion into Xiao Ye's bowl. "Here! Don't be polite! Eat more! Look at you, you've lost weight recently! Come, come, come!"
"Hey! Don't just focus on me! You eat more too! You've been getting up early and staying up late lately! It breaks my heart! Eat up and nourish yourself properly!" Xiao Ye quickly retaliated, shoveling some of the rice right back.
Watching the two of them "courteously yielding" to each other, Yao Na'er kindly offered, "Lord Xiao needs some too, right? Let me get you another bowl!" With that, she swiftly snatched the bowl belonging to Huang Li, who was sitting closer, intending to go scoop some more rice.
"Sit down!" The two girls who had been politely yielding a second ago suddenly barked with feigned fierceness. It startled Yao Na'er, who had just left her stool, making her drop right back down into her seat, completely dumbfounded.
Huang Li snatched the bowl back, cradled it protectively, and said righteously, "How could we let you go do that!"
Xiao Ye immediately chimed in, "Exactly! Can we let you do such rough, exhausting labor? We'd rather starve than let you go do that!"
Yao Na'er was left a bit dazed by this whole performance, and timidly said, "Well... it's not like I can't..."
"No! Absolutely not! No matter how bitter or tiring things get, we can't tire you out!" Huang Li held tightly onto the bowl to protect it.
Xiao Ye nodded with a deadpan expression.
"Then how about... I help you scoop some?" A clear, pleasant voice came over.