Xiao Ye and Huang Li looked toward the source of the sound to see He Yi wearing a faint smile as he asked 'kindly'.
"No, no, no! Absolutely not! We couldn't possibly!" Xiao Ye hurriedly waved her hands to stop him. "How could we let you go to all that trouble?"
"Well, should I do it then?" Su Jue couldn't help chiming in.
Huang Li immediately jumped in: "No, no! We certainly can't let an elder like you do such rough work!"
"Mhm, mhm, mhm!" Xiao Ye nodded for dear life beside her, shoveling rice into her mouth as fast as she could. With her cheeks puffed out and those obsidian-like eyes of hers, she looked exactly like a little hamster eating.
Sitting across from her, He Yi's gaze flickered slightly: *So cute! I really want to poke her cheek!*
Only, the girl opposite him was entirely focused on devouring the white rice in her bowl and didn't notice him at all.
Meanwhile, Yao Na'er, who had been sitting idly by and simply fangirling, sharply caught the change in her male god. Following his gaze, she looked at Xiao Ye, who was hard at work stuffing her face. A mischievous smile spread uncontrollably across Yao Na'er's face: *Something's～ going～ on～ here!*
Xiao Ye suddenly felt a chill down her spine while shoveling her rice. She cautiously and slowly raised her head, looked at Yao Na'er's beaming expression, and managed to swallow her food with some difficulty: "What are you doing? Smiling like a lovesick kitten—have you taken a fancy to me?"
"Pfft... cough, cough, cough, cough!" Su Jue, who was drinking water, was predictably choked. "Sorry, sorry! Cough, cough, cough! You guys are really... cough! Mind-blowing! Cough, cough, cough!"
Even He Yi, usually so composed, was startled by Xiao Ye's remark.
"Stay calm, stay calm, you'll get used to it." As the only non-involved party at the table who wasn't shocked, Huang Li swallowed her food and calmly consoled the two opposite her.
Yao Na'er propped her chin in her hand and said teasingly, "Our Lord Xiao is good-looking, gets great grades, has a wonderful personality, and is well-liked by everyone. Who wouldn't fall for her?" With that, she even blinked at Xiao Ye.
What on earth?
"You didn't actually fall for me, did you?" Xiao Ye asked, utterly baffled.
Yao Na'er didn't speak; she just smiled and stared at Xiao Ye with an ambiguous look in her eyes.
Xiao Ye frowned in disgust, and a slightly domineering phrase slipped out before she could think: "Cut it out, wipe that look off your face. You're giving Lord Xiao the creeps!"
Lord Xiao?
Hearing this title, He Yi and Su Jue wore very different expressions.
Su Jue's mouth twitched: *Well, aren't we... radiating dominance!*
As for He Yi, the corners of his mouth curved upward just a fraction higher, almost imperceptibly: *I get to see another side of her again!*
"I can't wipe it off!" Yao Na'er shook her head with a beaming smile.
Huang Li swallowed her mouthful of food with some difficulty: "What on earth is wrong with you? You're acting so weird."
"Nothing's wrong!" Yao Na'er maintained her incomprehensible demeanor. At least the four tablemates had no idea what was up with her.
Huang Li sized her up for a few seconds and declared, "Let's make this clear first: Yezi is mine! Don't you dare get any ideas about her!"
Hearing this, He Yi furrowed his brow slightly: *This little one is quite popular!*
Yao Na'er smacked her lips and said with a sarcastic tone, "Whose Lord Xiao she actually is—well, that's anyone's guess!"
The more they listened, the stranger it got.
Huang Li leaned in close and asked quietly in Xiao Ye's ear, "What's wrong with her?"
Xiao Ye replied softly, "I don't know, probably forgot to take her meds."
Sitting opposite them, Su Jue suddenly caught onto Yao Na'er's drift: "She's got a point there. Who knows what the future holds!"
As if she had finally found a kindred spirit, Yao Na'er picked up her water cup and made a toast gesture: "Right?" A strange smile remained plastered across her face.
"Right!" Su Jue picked up her cup and clinked it against Yao Na'er's, a similarly strange smile blooming on her face.
The two of them each took a sip of plain water, leaving the other three utterly bewildered.
"Hey! Wasn't that my cup?" Huang Li suddenly realized as Yao Na'er set the cup back down on the table.
Yao Na'er glanced at the water cup she had just placed down: "Oh! I forgot! I didn't pour myself any water!" She waved a hand dismissively, "It's fine, I don't mind you!"
"Ha! I mind you!"
"It's fine, I don't care!"
Furious, Huang Li kicked out under the table: "Get lost!"
Watching Huang Li's exasperated reaction and recalling her slightly provocative attitude just moments before, Su Jue smiled even more brightly.
In the corner, He Yi looked at Xiao Ye, who was quietly shoveling rice, and spoke softly: "You seem quite popular."
And popular with girls, at that.
"Hm?" Xiao Ye looked up at him with a mouth full of white rice, confusion flashing in her eyes. It was obvious she hadn't heard what he said clearly.
He Yi locked eyes with her for a few seconds, then lowered his gaze slightly: "It's nothing, eat up."
"Oh." She plunged her head back into her "battle" with the rice.
Only, when she wasn't looking, He Yi raised a hand to lightly cover his cherry-pink lips, a suppressed look flashing in his eyes: *I really, really want to poke her!*