Chapter 63: Got Smart

The next day at noon, the school cafeteria.

Pei Muyin stared blankly at her tray in front of her, which was quickly being piled up into a 'little hill'.

"... Could it be, a little too much?"

"Not much, not at all."

Shu Lingchen brought another serving of braised pork, his eyes scanning Pei Muyin's tray for any empty spot to place it, but everything was already packed full, leaving no room.

"I'll go get you an empty plate."

As he spoke, Shu Lingchen turned to go, but Pei Muyin hurriedly stopped him: "No, no, really not needed, I can't eat this much, this is already enough." Enough enough.

"Oh, then that's fine."

Shu Lingchen had to sit down, unable to keep serving Pei Muyin dishes; he looked a bit disappointed.

Shu Lingchen didn't eat lunch with Bo Luo Zai and the others today; right after class, he eagerly followed behind Shu Shu and Pei Muyin.

He said, an apology can't be just words, so what he just did was his actual action.

But this actual action is so "much"!!!

Pei Muyin didn't want to waste food, so she turned to Shu Shu beside her for help: "Sis, can you, help me eat a bit?"

"Sure~"

Shu Shu seemed to have anticipated Shu Lingchen's behavior, taking only a little rice and vegetables, just enough to share Pei Muyin's burden.

Watching the 'little hill' diminish by more than half, the girl blinked and let out a quiet breath.

…

However, Shu Lingchen's "actual action" wasn't over yet.

After eating, he didn't go back to the classroom with them, only saying he had something to do, then slipped off in another direction.

Shu Shu and Pei Muyin didn't think much of it, assuming he was going to find Bo Luo Zai to play.

But as the afternoon break class time approached, Bo Luo Zai and his group trickled back to the classroom sparsely, and Shu Lingchen's seat remained empty.

Until——

"Holy shit, Brother Chen! Where'd you go to rob?" Bo Luo Zai exclaimed.

Only see Shu Lingchen walking into the classroom with a green snakeskin bag slung over his back, the bag looking not light.

Bo Luo Zai immediately ran over curiously, pried it open to look, and exclaimed again.

"Lots of good stuff! Brother Chen, did you strike it rich?"

Bo Luo Zai's eyes lit up, about to reach out with his evil hand to grab, but Shu Lingchen coldly slapped it away: "Don't move, it's not for you!"

Then he walked to Pei Muyin's desk, opened the bag's mouth and tipped it upside down.

Chocolate, chips, biscuits, and so on… delicious things piled up on the two desks like rain.

Pei Muyin, who had been doing exercises, jumped in surprise, instinctively opened her arms to catch, and ended up holding a full embrace of snacks.

She lifted her head, met Shu Lingchen's smug gaze, the boy wearing a "Brother's just this handsome" expression, then announced: "To express my apology and thanks for the notebook, these are the tastiest snacks from San Zhong's tuck shop, all hand-picked by me just now."

Others' display cabinets might hold wine or ceramic artworks, but Pei Muyin loves to arrange her snacks one by one in the cabinet, and just looking at her makes one feel happy.

Shu Lingchen knows Pei Muyin likes to eat snacks, more like a hamster, liking to hoard snacks.

Since the little sister has this preference, as the older brother, he must satisfy it.

Shu Lingchen directly "raided" the tuck shop.

The extent of the raid made the tuck shop owner joke with him, saying maybe the students outside are about to face a famine.

Pei Muyin was overwhelmed with surprise, she didn't react right away, instinctively glanced at Shu Shu, as if receiving such a precious gift made her want to ask her parents whether she could accept it, like a well-behaved child.

Her reliance on Shu Shu, over these days, has seeped in from every aspect.

"You can take it." Shu Shu casually picked up a corn sausage, peeled open the wrapper, handed it to Pei Muyin's lips, and said softly: "If you don't take it, this guy will probably have two panda eyes again tomorrow morning."

Upon hearing that, Pei Muyin instantly recalled Shu Lingchen's sleep-deprived, haggard face from yesterday; the girl promptly nodded solemnly, leaned in, and gently bit into the corn sausage.

The sweetness of the corn and the soft, chewy texture of the sausage transmitted to her taste buds, very delicious.

One side of her fair cheek puffed slightly, she held the full embrace of snacks, turned her head, and whispered thanks to Shu Lingchen.

…

Time whooshed to the afternoon.

Originally the third period was English class, but the English teacher temporarily had an urgent matter needing leave, so he swapped a period with tomorrow's PE teacher.

Thus, English class became PE class.

The bell rang, and the students all walked to the plastic track behind the teaching building to gather.

When everyone had arrived, they only saw another wave of students from other classes on the track.

This was a PE class collision with other classes.

It was also a coincidence; the class they collided with was also a sophomore class—Grade 10 Class 1.

The traditional PE class procedure: first gather, then roll call, finally boys and girls run an 800 meters to disperse and do their own activities.

Speed isn't required, but the teacher supervises to prevent slacking off.

Shu Shu and Pei Muyin jogged slowly at the back.

Shu Lingchen had already finished running and waited for them at the finish line.

Bo Luo Zai, panting, greeted Shu Lingchen: "Brother Chen, let's go play some table tennis."

Shu Lingchen waved his hand in refusal: "No, go play by yourselves."

So Bo Luo Zai and his group left; waiting for the gap between his mom and sister, Shu Lingchen, bored, grabbed a basketball and started shooting hoops on the empty court nearby.

The boy's long legs clearly showed good athletic genes; he leapt up handsomely, raised his hand, and the basketball went "thunk" cleanly into the hoop.

Nice!

Shu Lingchen muttered to himself, then suddenly caught sight of someone behind him in his peripheral vision.

It's Mom and the younger sister.

Shu Lingchen immediately grabbed the ball, ran over, and proudly asked them: "Want to play? I can teach you."

Shu Shu raised an eyebrow, saying: "I don't need you to teach me."

Shu Lingchen stared at Mom in surprise: "You, you can?"

"You're doubting me?"

Shu Lingchen rubbed his eyebrows, answering matter-of-factly: "No, it's just that I don't really believe it." He had never seen Mom touch a basketball when he was little, let alone basketball—he had never seen Mom touch any other sport either.

Shu Shu suddenly curled the corner of her mouth: "Oh? Want to bet?"

As soon as those three words were spoken, Shu Lingchen instantly recalled that monthly exam, when he had likewise doubted Mom couldn't place first in the grade.

At that time, Mom used the same tone.

How confident he was back then, and how badly he was slapped in the face afterward.

Shu Lingchen had already developed a bit of PTSD over those three words; he immediately stepped back warily two steps: "No bet, I'm not betting!"

Oh dear, he didn't take the bait—this brat's gotten clever.

Shu Shu chuckled, took the basketball from Shu Lingchen's hand, bounced it on the ground; after a few neat left‑right dribbles, even though the hoop was still far away, she jumped straight up, simultaneously bending her slender wrist.

Only saw the ball trace a beautiful arc in the air, perfectly swish through the hoop—