"That little fatty..."
"Here to eat again?"
Tang Luochuan's gaze fell upon Xu Lizhi before him, a pensive expression crossing his face. For a moment, he even forgot about Lan Fozi, unable to help but think to himself.
The reason was simple—so far in this lifetime, there were truly very few people he found utterly absurd, and this Xu Lizhi before him happened to be one of them.
Inviting someone to eat, only to devour most of the meal himself and then make the other person pay...
Of course, his attention toward Xu Lizhi ended there. After all, a child who had been rotten from a young age—if not for being part of the protagonist's group in the original story—would have had little chance of achieving anything significant.
"Xu Lizhi?"
Meanwhile, Ye Xinglan also stared at the lifeless-looking Xu Lizhi at the counter, a flicker of contemplation flashing across her face. She hadn't expected to run into him here—or at this moment.
Earlier, perhaps because their batch was overflowing with geniuses—so many that Shrek Academy had too many candidates guaranteed admission to the Inner Court—the academy had abolished the enrollment standards for Inner Court students.
As a result, Xu Lizhi had returned to the Outer Court, becoming a student in their class. But whether due to his appearance or his gluttonous habits, few classmates were willing to befriend him.
Especially her. Just the sight of him reminded her of the foolish things he had done in the past, reigniting her anger.
This moment—originally such a happy occasion, shopping with Luo Chuan—had now been soured by the appearance of this person.
"This is... Sister Xing Lan!"
Noticing Ye Xinglan's figure, Xu Lizhi seemed to sense something and looked over, freezing momentarily. He thought his embarrassing situation had once again been witnessed by her.
But soon, his small but nimble brain had a sudden epiphany, and an answer surfaced in his heart, nearly bringing him to tears. Could it be...
Teacher Shen had actually sent Sister Xing Lan to bail him out!
Yes, that had to be it.
Otherwise, there was no way Sister Xing Lan would come here to eat—she didn't even like fish.
At this thought, he could no longer contain his emotions and immediately rushed toward her like a charging bull.
"What kind of lump of meat is this?"
Ye Xinglan's eyes narrowed, her hand already raised to slap him away, but Tang Luochuan beside her had already acted. His overwhelming aura sent Xu Lizhi tumbling to the ground like a meatball.
"Luo Chuan..."
Looking at the boy beside her who radiated an endless sense of security, Ye Xinglan couldn't help but smile. Indeed, with Luo Chuan by her side, no bad guy could get close to her.
Especially someone like Xu Lizhi, who had been rotten since childhood.
But Luo Chuan's actions just now...
Was he instinctively protecting her?
Ye Xinglan subtly retracted her originally aggressive hand, feeling a surge of satisfaction.
"Tang... Luo... Chuan..."
Unlike Ye Xinglan, whose mood had greatly improved, Xu Lizhi was now utterly enraged by Tang Luochuan's actions.
What did those words just now mean?
"What kind of lump of meat..."—did Tang Luochuan think that his current, near-perfect weight of 233 kilograms was only worth mentioning in the most superficial way?
"Huff..."
"Xinglan, I do have a little problem right now. Could you pay for me first? We can talk about the rest later," Xu Lizhi said after finally calming down. He withdrew his gaze from Tang Luochuan and turned to Ye Xinglan, his chubby face scrunching up into a smile.
"Can you not smile like that...?"
"Huh?"
Ye Xinglan looked at his peculiar grin with annoyance, but before she could finish speaking, she froze in shock.
Xu Lizhi wanted... her to pay for him? Her?
"Customers, you two..."
"Do you really know this chubby kid?" The owner, who had been silently observing, couldn't help but speak up. At first, he thought these two were people the kid had called, but anyone could see...
Their demeanor was extraordinary—how could they possibly be friends with this kid whose weight surpassed his height?
"Not familiar," Tang Luochuan said slowly, glancing at Ye Xinglan.
As his eyes swept over her, his attention lingered for a moment on Lan Fozi in the distance—the one he had wanted to meet earlier.
"Right," Ye Xinglan agreed, not noticing Tang Luochuan's expression as she looked at the owner.
"You little fatty!"
"Eating without paying, and now you're asking others to foot the bill? You've got some nerve!" The owner couldn't hold back his anger.
"Eating without paying..."
"He's not paying again?" Ye Xinglan was stunned.
"Yeah, he just called someone else. They haven't arrived yet..." The owner nodded and explained.
"Called someone else?"
"Could it be...?"
Hearing this, Tang Luochuan and Ye Xinglan instinctively exchanged glances, the same answer flashing in their minds.
"Owner, two grilled goldfish first."
"Xinglan, I'll wait a bit," Tang Luochuan said leisurely, pulling out a card and pointing at the fish on the menu with a smile.
"Got it, just a moment..." The owner replied cheerfully. Customers who paid upfront were always the most pleasant.
"So, Luo Chuan, you know who it is too?" Ye Xinglan sat down beside Tang Luochuan with a smile, speaking softly.
"Same as you," Tang Luochuan replied with a chuckle.
"How about... I guess if we're thinking of the same person?" Ye Xinglan playfully extended a hand toward him.
"Hmm?" Tang Luochuan smiled without answering, tracing two characters lightly on her palm.
"..."
Nearby, Xu Lizhi watched the scene, barely holding back tears. What on earth was going on?!
"Xinglan, Luo Chuan, you're here too?" Before long, Shen Yi rushed into the grilled fish shop. Before she could even locate Xu Lizhi, she spotted the two sitting together.
"That line..."
"Should be ours to say to you, Teacher Shen," Tang Luochuan laughed.
Meanwhile, Ye Xinglan, who was standing nearby, shyly withdrew her hand that had been holding the other's. Whew, she almost got caught by the teacher!
"Hmm, that's true..."
Shen Yi didn't pay much attention to the two of them and soon turned her gaze silently toward Xu Lizhi, who looked rather embarrassed. At this moment, she vaguely sensed something ominous.
Eating fish again, doing it herself again - this moment was all too similar to that moment many years ago.
"Don't tell me you..."
"Forgot to bring money for the meal again?"
Shen Yi couldn't help but say.
"Teacher..."
"That's exactly it."
Xu Lizhi lowered his head and said bitterly.
"..."
"You've completely embarrassed our Shrek Academy!" *2