The girl also smiled at him, her dimples sweet.
Wei Jingzhou's presence was strong; both his appearance and demeanor were difficult to ignore. Yet, the two people opposite him were both overlooking him.
This was the first time Wei Jingzhou felt treated like air.
He resentfully poked at the rice in his bowl, a lingering gloom and malice swirling in his chest.
He wondered if Bai Bo would still be so amiable, eating with Shen Yue, if he knew Shen Yue had once courted him.
Shen Yue appeared to be listening intently to Bai Bo beside her, but she was actually using her peripheral vision to secretly observe the arch-villain.
She could clearly sense the arch-villain's exceptionally bad mood, his brows furrowed as if he could crush a fly, looking like he was about to explode at any moment.
Gently tightening her grip on her chopsticks, Shen Yue fell into thought. She hadn't expected the arch-villain to dislike her so much that he ate with her as if enduring nausea.
His lips, tightly pursed from beginning to end, revealed the extent of his volatility.
Looking at the mangled rice, Shen Yue's scalp tingled, feeling as though it foreshadowed her own eventual fate.
Both of them found the meal difficult to swallow, while only Bai Bo was happily anticipating getting closer to his goddess.
Bai Bo excused himself to the restroom midway through the meal.
The previously somewhat harmonious atmosphere instantly became extremely awkward.
Shen Yue lowered her head and ate silently, her cheeks puffed out like a cute hamster.
Her shoe tip was suddenly bumped. Shen Yue quietly looked up; the man's expression was normal as he picked up a piece of greens. It must have been an accidental touch.
She quietly withdrew her foot slightly, only for it to be bumped again five seconds later. Shen Yue retreated again, until…
[System, the arch-villain is stepping on my foot.]
Shen Yue felt like crying but had no tears. She knew the arch-villain disliked her intensely, but to secretly step on her under the table, so openly, without even retracting his foot, all while appearing so calm on the surface – if Shen Yue hadn't been the one being stepped on, she wouldn't have believed the arch-villain capable of such behavior.
Her shoes were a new pair, costing several thousand, and they were limited edition, pure white and incredibly beautiful.
The system paused: [Perhaps… he is retaliating against you?]
The system's words lacked certainty; it had never encountered such a form of bullying – stepping on someone's shoes without causing pain.
The men's sneakers were cool and streamlined in appearance. He gently stepped on the white shoe, not with force.
Shen Yue endured it, remaining silent for fear of awkwardness for both of them.
Bai Bo returned as well. He hadn't noticed the undercurrents beneath the table. Seeing the girl staring blankly at her bowl, he became a little nervous.
"Is the food not to your liking?"
Shen Yue snapped back to attention, "No, it's quite delicious."
"Then please eat more."
Bai Bo used serving chopsticks to put some meat dishes on her plate and asked if she was thirsty. Only after she said she wasn't did he calm down.
Wei Jingzhou watched with cold eyes. Shen Yue's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her fair, delicate face was utterly captivating.
Bai Bo, watching from the side, liked her more and more. However, he was afraid of scaring her and didn't dare to push too hard.
Shen Yue's hand holding the chopsticks stiffened, her pale pink lips pressing together.
Under the table, the man's sneakers were no longer content with simply stepping; he slowly moved upwards. Shen Yue was wearing very loose pants, but she had on thermal leggings underneath, yet it still felt peculiar.
Shen Yue said nothing, merely shifting her leg to subtly remind the man to restrain himself.
However, Shen Yue hadn't expected the man's reaction to be so strong. He abruptly withdrew his leg, looking at Shen Yue with disbelief.
This left Shen Yue utterly bewildered.
Wei Jingzhou slightly dodged, lowering his gaze and touching his reddening earlobes.
He had always assumed it was the table leg; he never would have imagined…
Wei Jingzhou could no longer eat this meal. He grabbed his jacket and left in a hurry.
Bai Bo merely glanced, then turned his solicitous gaze back to Shen Yue.
"Let's just eat. Brother Wei is just like that."
Shen Yue asked casually, "He seems to be in a bad mood today."
Bai Bo thought for a moment. He hadn't paid much attention but had sensed something.
"Don't worry too much. Brother Wei is rarely in a good mood; he always has a scowl on his face, we're used to it."
As Bai Bo spoke, he poured Shen Yue a glass of fruit tea, clearly wishing to steer away from the previous topic.
With the arch-villain gone, Shen Yue also ate a couple of bites perfunctorily and left.
—
According to the original host's personality, she would never have actively sought out the arch-villain. The words he had spoken had truly embarrassed her, and under such circumstances, the original host's personality would never have allowed her to pretend nothing had happened and approach him again.
Given the arch-villain's personality, it was even less likely he would take the initiative.
She couldn't break character, and the villain wasn't making a move.
Later, she did grow a little closer to Bai Bo, but the arch-villain was rarely present, and even when he was, they didn't interact.
Shen Yue pondered for several days but couldn't figure it out.
Moreover, she and Wei Jingzhou were not in the same major, and the university was very large, making it highly unlikely for them to bump into each other.
After class, Shen Yue went to the supermarket to browse. She bought some snacks and several buckets of instant noodles, having discovered how delicious they were – simple, tasty, and utterly addictive.
The system watched and shook its head: [You can't just eat out every day. You could learn to cook yourself.]
Shen Yue picked up a bucket of Sichuan pepper beef and a braised beef flavor and headed for the checkout.
[My cooking isn't good.]
The little system, filled with disappointment, lamented: [Then you can learn! As the saying goes, to capture a man's heart, you must first capture his stomach. Having good cooking skills will be beneficial in the future.]
Shen Yue took two grape lollipops from the counter, paid, and carried her plastic bag, eating a lollipop.
[I can't learn.]
The system huffed: [How can you not learn? There is nothing in this world that cannot be learned.]
Her mouth filled with the sweet and sour grape flavor, Shen Yue closed her eyes in contentment.
She didn't bite but placed it in her mouth, slowly licking it. She strongly disagreed with the system's words.
[There are too many things I can't learn. Because humans are created by God, and each natural person is merely a limb on the body of humanity. Therefore, no one is perfect. Each person can only learn what is destined for them from birth. What is not destined, you cannot learn no matter how hard you try. Although humans are learning machines, what one person can learn is truly not their own decision.]
The system hadn't expected such a complex discussion to arise from the simple topic of cooking. Shen Yue's words left it stunned, as if it understood, yet also as if it didn't.
Finally, it said indignantly: [These are all excuses!]