Pursuing Her Best Friend after Confession Failed-Chapter 67 - 66: Zhijin, be good, open your mouth (Please follow)
"I was waiting to have dinner with you, so how could I leave?" Li Yuan replied matter-of-factly, without a hint of shame.
Just as Xia Zhijin was about to decline, she heard Li Yuan plead pitifully, "Classmate Xia Zhijin, you’ve already rejected me once. You don’t plan to reject me again, do you?"
Seeing Li Yuan’s pitiful expression, Xia Zhijin chuckled. Her bright smile was like the morning sun in spring, leaving Li Yuan stunned.
Realizing her reaction was improper, Xia Zhijin quickly lowered her head, her face flushing red.
Li Yuan came to his senses, savoring the memory. Xia Zhijin is so incredibly innocent. She’s just too adorable, especially when she laughs.
"Zhijin, you’re from Shancheng, so you must be able to handle spicy food, right?"
Xia Zhijin hadn’t noticed that Li Yuan was gradually and subtly closing the distance between them.
"Yes, I can... I can handle spicy food."
Li Yuan said excitedly, "That’s great! I love spicy food, too. Sichuan cuisine is my favorite. Let’s have a competition today and see who can handle more spice."
Xia Zhijin wanted to refuse but didn’t know how to say it, especially since Li Yuan had already been waiting for her at the entrance for over an hour. She could only accept Li Yuan’s arrangement in silence.
Li Yuan led the way, and Xia Zhijin followed closely with a nervous stride. They soon arrived at the Second Cafeteria. This was the same cafeteria where Li Yuan had dined a few days ago with Zhong Tingyue, Xu Tingrou, and Ding Shanshan.
The Second Cafeteria had longer business hours and primarily offered various regional stir-fry dishes. On campus, it was considered a "high-end" restaurant.
"Boss, one order of twice-cooked pork, one spicy boiled pork, and one mapo tofu—make them extra spicy. Also, a West Lake beef soup, two bowls of rice, and a bottle of juice."
Seeing Li Yuan order so much, Xia Zhijin panicked and quickly interjected, "Li Yuan, we can’t eat that much."
Li Yuan chuckled. "Zhijin, um, I have a big appetite. This isn’t too much."
"Let’s sit down. Do you want to sit next to me or across from me?"
Xia Zhijin’s body tensed. Frightened that Li Yuan might pull her down to sit beside him, she scurried into the seat across from him.
Seeing her frightened deer-like demeanor, Li Yuan knew better than to press his luck; it would only be counterproductive.
"Zhijin, I was also hoping to ask you for a favor, if you’re willing."
When Xia Zhijin heard Li Yuan asking for help, her thoughts immediately went to the freshman class meeting that morning, where he had asked her to hold on to his lighter.
She pulled the silver Zippo lighter from her pocket and held it out to him. "Li... Li Yuan, your lighter."
Li Yuan feigned displeasure. "Classmate Xia Zhijin, you just agreed to help me quit smoking. You can’t go back on your word, can you?"
"I... I didn’t... I just wanted to return it to you," Xia Zhijin stammered, her cheeks turning bright red.
Li Yuan countered, "But if you give it back to me, I’ll be able to smoke. How am I supposed to quit then?"
Xia Zhijin felt that something wasn’t quite right, but in her nervousness, she couldn’t think of a rebuttal.
Li Yuan pressed his advantage. "So, please, Zhijin, just keep it safe for me, will you? I really want to quit. Smoking causes cancer, and you wouldn’t want me to die young, right?"
"Oh... alright then!" Xia Zhijin still felt like she was forgetting something important. "You... you wanted to ask me... for what kind of help?"
Li Yuan already had a plan. It was related to his startup, and it would also be a way to help Xia Zhijin.
"It’s like this. I recently established a company, and I’d like to offer you a part-time job there. Are you interested?"
Xia Zhijin stared blankly at Li Yuan. They’re both freshmen, yet he’s already founded a company? And here I am, still worrying about my three meals a day.
"What, you’re not interested?" Li Yuan asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Ah, no, that’s not it," Xia Zhijin hurriedly clarified. "I just... I don’t know what your company does. I’m not very bright. Other than studying, I’m not good at anything, so I’m afraid I wouldn’t be much help."
Li Yuan breathed an inward sigh of relief. He smiled and explained, "It’s a technology company. It hasn’t officially launched yet; the office is still being renovated. It should be up and running after the military training period ends."
"As for the work, Zhijin, you’re a top student at a Project 985 university. I’m sure you’ll pick it up in no time. The tasks are very simple. After dinner, I can take you to our company for a look... You’re so kind, you wouldn’t refuse this little request too, would you? I’m really hoping you can help me."
Xia Zhijin’s clear, limpid eyes glanced at Li Yuan, and she gave a small nod.
Seeing Xia Zhijin’s naive expression, Li Yuan found her incredibly amusing. "Aren’t you going to ask about the salary, benefits, or anything? Aren’t you afraid I might be tricking you?"
Xia Zhijin answered obediently, "I... I trust you!"
"Trust me?" A smile played on Li Yuan’s lips as he asked curiously, "Aren’t you afraid I’m a liar?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Xia Zhijin didn’t answer right away. She thought for a moment before replying, "You’re a good person!"
Li Yuan was stunned. Did she just hand me a "good person card"? Should I thank her for that, or... should I thank her for that?
How strange. In my previous life, I was never given a "good person card." Now, in this life, after reincarnating and becoming a multi-millionaire, I’ve barely set foot on campus before two peerlessly beautiful women have handed me one. First Zhong Tingyue, and now Xia Zhijin. Am I fated to have a connection with "good person cards" in this life?
Li Yuan stared directly at Xia Zhijin. "You know, Zhijin, I might not be such a good person. Maybe I approached you with ulterior motives."
Xia Zhijin’s face turned scarlet. She lowered her head, her body trembling as if frightened by his words. In truth, she wasn’t foolish, just inexperienced with people—especially boys.
Seeing this, Li Yuan chuckled wryly. "Look how scared you are. It’s not like I’m going to eat you."
"The food’s here, let’s eat. I’m so hungry my stomach is grumbling."
Xia Zhijin still kept her head down, not daring to look at Li Yuan again.
"Here are your chopsticks and spoon. Don’t keep your head down. At this hour, there’s no one else in the cafeteria. Only I get to admire how beautiful you are."
Still shy, Xia Zhijin took the disposable chopsticks he handed her but remained motionless.
This precious girl is just too timid and shy, Li Yuan thought.
He used his own chopsticks to pick up a piece of twice-cooked pork and brought it to her lips. "Heh, I get it now. You were waiting for me to feed you. Here, Zhijin, try this and see if the cafeteria’s Sichuan cuisine is authentic enough."
Mortified by his intimate gesture, Xia Zhijin’s face turned beet red. Her wide eyes stared at him in disbelief, a look of pure shock on her face.
"Zhijin, be a good girl and open your mouth."
As if under a Freeze Spell, Xia Zhijin simply stared at Li Yuan, her mouth clamped shut.
Li Yuan coughed lightly. "Ahem... Zhijin, hurry and open up. My arm is getting numb..."
Xia Zhijin seemed to snap out of it, her eyes glistening with tears—whether from happy surprise or fright, it was hard to tell.
Under Li Yuan’s ’coercive’ gaze, Xia Zhijin slowly parted her lips...
"There we go. That’s a good girl," Li Yuan said, extremely satisfied. "Do you want me to keep feeding you?"
Terrified, Xia Zhijin shook her head frantically, snatched up her own chopsticks, and began shoveling rice into her mouth with her head bowed low.
Li Yuan didn’t continue to tease her. She was already on the verge of tears, and being a girl from the Chuanyu region, it certainly wasn’t because the food was too spicy.
Li Yuan was also very hungry. Since his rebirth, his appetite had grown considerably. While Xia Zhijin chewed slowly and carefully, Li Yuan was wolfing down his food.
He noticed Xia Zhijin was just eating her plain rice, keeping her head down.
"Zhijin, why are you only eating rice and not the other dishes? Do you not like them? I think they taste great. The spice is really hitting the spot."
"I... I don’t... like the other dishes," Xia Zhijin said, her voice barely a whisper.
Without another word, Li Yuan started using his own chopsticks to pile food into her bowl.
"Spicy boiled pork. It’s a Sichuan specialty, very spicy. I think it’s quite authentic. Try some."
"The mapo tofu only has a spicy kick; I feel like it’s missing the numbing quality. Not authentic enough. It could use some more scallions."
"The twice-cooked pork is pretty good, though. The flavor from the broad bean paste is really satisfying."
Xia Zhijin stared at her bowl, now piled high with food. She lowered her head, and tears began to fall, drop by drop...
