At noon, Jiang Shuyi arrived at the cafeteria.

After ordering her food, she lifted her tray and immediately spotted Wen Yao, who was already seated.

However, before she could walk over, a hand grabbed her.

Jiang Shuyi paused and looked to her side, realizing it was Yan Jingshu.

Yan Jingshu looked at Jiang Shuyi, her expression a bit confused. "Shuyi, I just got back to school and forgot that I need a meal card to eat here."

"Oh." Jiang Shuyi nodded, not saying much, and intended to continue walking towards Wen Yao.

Yan Jingshu hesitated for a moment but didn't show it. She still wore her bright smile. "Can you lend me your meal card, Jiang Shuyi?"

Wen Yao looked up and noticed Jiang Shuyi and Yan Jingshu standing together at the cafeteria window.

Yan Jingshu was holding Jiang Shuyi's wrist, looking cute as she said something.

Wen Yao's chopsticks paused in mid-air. After a while, she lowered her gaze and slowly began to eat her noodles.

---

"Beep."

Jiang Shuyi tapped her meal card at the cafeteria counter.

"Thank you." Yan Jingshu smiled like a doll as she took the tray.

"It's nothing," Jiang Shuyi said, putting her meal card into her coat pocket, her tone very casual. "You can give me cash or transfer it later."

Upon hearing Jiang Shuyi's words, Yan Jingshu was taken aback.

She slowly raised her head, seemingly casually smiling, "Jiang Shuyi, it hasn't been long since we last saw each other, and you're already being so petty with me?"

Although Yan Jingshu's family was not as wealthy as Jiang Shuyi's, she had never cared about money matters.

This was the first time she felt Jiang Shuyi was being so clearly straightforward about it.

Jiang Shuyi was also taken aback.

Yan Jingshu had only asked to borrow the meal card, she hadn't said anything about treating her.

Jiang Shuyi didn't care about the cost of a meal, but she wasn't a naive person either.

Her mother had told her from a young age that some things needed to be clearly clarified, otherwise, people would take advantage of you.

If she always treated others, some people would take it for granted, which could lead to unpleasant situations.

That way, she wouldn't be seen as straightforward but rather as someone easy to bully.

Of course, she certainly wasn't someone who could be easily bullied.

Although the original owner had liked Yan Jingshu and never cared about these things, in Jiang Shuyi's mind, Yan Jingshu was no different from other classmates.

So, Jiang Shuyi fell silent for a moment, intending to clarify, "Yan Jingshu, I'm not being petty. The reason I treated you well before was that I liked you."

"But now I don't like you anymore, so you can't expect me to treat you the same way as before."

Jiang Shuyi articulated each word carefully.

Upon hearing this, Yan Jingshu's usual smile became much colder, but she still pressed her lips together and smiled, saying: "Jiang Shuyi, are you angry about me going abroad to study?"

"You know how much I love the violin and how important music is to me. Please don't say things that hurt our feelings, okay?"

Yan Jingshu's smile remained exquisite.

"..." But Jiang Shuyi felt she didn't seem to understand her meaning. "I'm not angry, Yan Jingshu."

"Then why did you say you don't like me anymore? Aren't you just sulking?"

Although Yan Jingshu was smiling, her gaze had grown much colder.

She believed she understood Jiang Shuyi better than anyone else, so she didn't believe Jiang Shuyi truly didn't like her anymore.

She was more convinced that Jiang Shuyi was still angry.

But Jiang Shuyi firmly denied it. "Yan Jingshu, I'm not angry, and I don't like you anymore. I'm serious."

Looking at Jiang Shuyi's serious expression, Yan Jingshu seemed to casually smile, "...Is that so? Is that really how you feel?"

Jiang Shuyi nodded.

For a moment, Yan Jingshu was unsure of her feelings and smiled slightly.

"Is that so? Then you can leave."

Jiang Shuyi nodded again and truly turned to leave.

Hearing the sound of footsteps leaving, Yan Jingshu looked back and saw that Jiang Shuyi had already walked far away.

She hadn't expected Jiang Shuyi to actually leave, and it took her a while to come back to her senses.

She remained silent for a moment, seemingly casually carrying her tray to the exit to dump it.

So what if someone who liked her no longer liked her? Why should she care?

She thought to herself.

However, recalling Jiang Shuyi's words earlier, Yan Jingshu still lost her smile.

---

Jiang Shuyi sat down across from Wen Yao with her tray.

Wen Yao showed little reaction, as always eating elegantly.

Jiang Shuyi glanced at the plain noodles Wen Yao was eating and placed the lemon-fried chicken from her tray into Wen Yao's bowl.

In the past, even though Wen Yao wouldn't speak, she would still eat the dishes Jiang Shuyi offered her.

But today, Wen Yao didn't acknowledge it.

Jiang Shuyi watched her, noticing her hesitation to pick up her chopsticks, her expression stiffening.

After a while, Jiang Shuyi thought that maybe Wen Yao didn't want to eat meat today.

After all, there were times when she herself only wanted to eat light vegetables.

So, Jiang Shuyi looked at the dishes in her bowl and offered Wen Yao some refreshing cucumber salad, which was not greasy at all.

Wen Yao still didn't touch the food Jiang Shuyi had offered.

She even neatly placed her chopsticks aside, as if she intended to leave.

Jiang Shuyi was taken aback.

"Are you not going to eat this?" Jiang Shuyi asked her.

"Mm."

Wen Yao replied calmly with a single word.

Jiang Shuyi felt this was the beginning of their conversation today, but it seemed to be subtly heading towards an end.

"..." Jiang Shuyi glanced at her full tray and quickly stuffed food into her mouth. "Then I'll go with you..."

"No need." Wen Yao stood up coldly, ignoring Jiang Shuyi as she walked away indifferently.

With her mouth full of food, Jiang Shuyi watched Wen Yao's retreating figure, feeling as if she had returned to the starting point in that moment.

---

After leaving the cafeteria, Wen Yao returned to the classroom.

She opened her practice book and did a few problems, but images of Yan Jingshu and Jiang Shuyi standing together kept flashing in her mind.

The sight of the two chatting and Zhou Jingtang's words repeatedly appeared in her thoughts.

Wen Yao tightly gripped the pen in her hand, feeling a bit irritated.

---

Evening self-study.

Jiang Shuyi felt a chill in her fingertips and instinctively looked out the window.

It seemed to be drizzling outside.

When she looked closely, she realized it wasn't rain, it was snow, or more accurately, sleet.

Huan City didn't often experience snow.

This snow wouldn't accumulate, Jiang Shuyi thought.

However, that didn't stop the classmates from gathering by the window to watch the snow during class.

Wen Yao seemed uninterested in these natural phenomena, as she continued studying at her desk.

"..." Jiang Shuyi left the classroom.

When she returned, her classmates were still watching the snow outside.

"Will the snow pile up?"

"Probably not, right?"

"But the grade director's car is all white now."

"Oh no, my bicycle is parked outside."

"... Anyway, you can't ride back now. Wait until the weather clears up to ride back."

"..."

Jiang Shuyi took a bottle of hot lemon tea and sat down in the empty seat in front of Wen Yao.

"I just bought this, you can hold it to warm your hands." She placed the lemon tea in front of Wen Yao.

Wen Yao seemed not to have heard and kept her head down.

"I thought your hands must be cold..." Jiang Shuyi looked at her cold demeanor, unsure of what to say to add.

Wen Yao still didn't respond.

"...Lemon tea is good for preventing colds."

Jiang Shuyi looked at Wen Yao with hopeful eyes.

"..."

"Did I upset you somehow, Wen Yao?" Jiang Shuyi asked, her head lowered.

Hearing this, Wen Yao finally seemed to show some willingness to communicate and looked up.

Her tone was indifferent: "I'm not angry."

Jiang Shuyi looked at her with disbelief. "Then why aren't you responding to me?"

The class bell rang.

"Class is starting, Jiang Shuyi," Wen Yao said coldly, dismissing her without answering her question.

"..." Jiang Shuyi glanced at Li Roujia, who had just walked in, placed the lemon tea beside her, and reluctantly returned to her seat.

After the evening self-study ended, Wen Yao left early.

Jiang Shuyi looked over at her seat, the lemon tea was still there, showing no signs of having been touched.

In fact, it hadn't even been opened.

Jiang Shuyi walked over and picked up the bottle of lemon tea.

It had already turned cold.

---

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆Charvinovel ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆