A Lunch Break That Quietly Changed Everything

Tuesday · Activity Room

“Classmate Pei, didn’t Classmate Zhao come?”
“He went out to eat. What about your classmate?”
“Zhuyue said she wants to review in the classroom.”

Pei Du and He Chengxi took advantage of lunch break to slack off in the activity room.

In the past, Pei Du wouldn’t have done something like this. But after gaining overpowered memory, a bit of extra indulgence didn’t affect anything at all. Relaxing felt completely justified.

People were like that—if you didn’t need to struggle, why make things hard for yourself?

Even those who vowed not to betray their hardworking selves couldn’t escape this mindset.

The TV in the activity room was playing the latest disposable seasonal anime. Pei Du ate his casserole rice from the cafeteria leisurely.

He Chengxi was also eating cafeteria food. After being stared at by everyone for bringing home-cooked lunches in her first year, she’d stopped doing so.

Today, she was eating the exact same casserole rice as Pei Du.

—Because of a last-minute speech assignment, she hadn’t been able to buy food on time. She’d asked Pei Du to help pick it up, conveniently meeting in the activity room to slack off together.

At first, she’d felt embarrassed asking him. But Pei Du guessed she was inconvenienced and proactively offered.

After several polite refusals, the girl finally accepted his kindness.

Pei Du considered this repayment for the high favorability she’d contributed during Friday’s study session in exchange for rewards.

Of course, she didn’t know that.

He Chengxi simply thought Pei Du was a very kind, gentle friend—someone who understood her difficulties and was considerate to an almost excessive degree.

A very suitable friend to associate with.

“Classmate Pei, the beef in this casserole rice smells so good.”
“Right? The onions are stir-fried perfectly too.”

Hearing this, He Chengxi immediately tried a slice of onion.

“It really is delicious—sweet and slightly spicy.”

Dongzhong’s cafeteria must have received some serious investment. Not only was there a wide variety of dishes, the taste was unusually good.

Today’s onion beef casserole rice was the stall’s signature dish.

Thin onion slices were pale yellow and translucent. Beneath them, beef coated in teriyaki sauce glistened. Stir-fried with olive oil, the dish wasn’t greasy at all—instead, it carried a rich aroma.

The refreshing onions and the intense beef fragrance seized Pei Du’s appetite through both smell and sight.

It probably captured the stomach of anyone who saw it—the kind of dish you’d lose sleep over if you didn’t get to try it.

Premium rice paired with beef and onions; one bite was enough to feel satisfied.

“No wonder so many students crowd that stall. You usually can’t even buy it.”

He Chengxi felt a bit regretful she hadn’t tried it earlier.

She didn’t like squeezing through crowds in the cafeteria—more precisely, she disliked physical contact with strangers, especially boys. Even with acquaintances, there were layers. Close girlfriends like Hu Zhuyue could link arms; ordinary friends couldn’t.

Usually, she and Hu Zhuyue went to the snack street or quieter cafeteria counters to avoid crowds.

He Chengxi knew she disliked physical contact, so she always kept her distance. If not for that accident, she wouldn’t have “fallen” onto Pei Du.

But thinking back, she realized she hadn’t resisted leaning against his back.

Not only did she not resist—it had actually felt strangely safe.

Come to think of it, how quickly her relationship warmed with Pei Du also had something to do with her own “first-time” mentality.

Because it was her first time having close contact with a boy, she valued this first relationship deeply—caring about it the way people cared about a first love. All those special emotions stemmed from “the first.”

“Last period today was English,” Pei Du said after taking a big spoonful of rice and beef. “The English teacher’s pretty open-minded—let us out a few minutes early.”
“Teacher Lanlan, right?”
“You know her?”
“She taught me in first year. She’s a great teacher—she even bought us candy.” He Chengxi ate in small bites, her thoughts drifting back. “Other classes in the grade envied us. Not only were her lessons lively, she never dragged class. When you mentioned getting out early, I immediately thought of her.”
“She teaches well.”

Pei Du also began reminiscing.

“During second-year summer break, she was the only teacher who didn’t assign homework. She said holidays were meant to be enjoyed.”
“Mhm, same in first year.”
“But now in third year she does,” Pei Du said, a little thirsty, taking a sip of the black tea the girl had brewed for him. “Daily memorization tasks, copying vocabulary every day.”

He thought He Chengxi must have formally studied tea preparation. The flavor was brought out perfectly.

It was different from the bitter tea at her house during the study session. This black tea was noticeably sweeter, refreshing, and appetite-clearing.

He couldn’t help taking a few more sips.

“That can’t be helped. Third year is a very tense time.”
“A tense time?”

Pei Du raised an eyebrow at He Chengxi, his tone tinged with teasing.

The two of them didn’t look like they were living tensely at all.

Watching anime and eating at noon, exercising at home, reading novels, watching anime, chatting and slacking off occasionally—

There wasn’t the slightest sense of urgency.

“Well… Classmate Pei, we’re just enjoying life while studying.”

He Chengxi also realized what she’d said. That kind of “standing and talking without back pain” remark really shouldn’t come from her. Only students like Hu Zhuyue—who reviewed even while eating lunch to avoid being randomly quizzed—were qualified to say third year was stressful.

She subconsciously straightened up, a blush rising on both cheeks.

Would Classmate Pei think I’m being pretentious?

The worry surfaced unexpectedly.

“You’re right.”

Pei Du occasionally liked teasing his friends.

He Chengxi’s absurdly low defense—turning into a steaming tomato from the slightest teasing—made it impossible not to poke at her a little.

He finally understood why some people were so “evil,” deliberately teasing others into blushing just for fun.

Because it really was cute—and entertaining.

As long as he kept the balance and didn’t make it annoying, he felt he could tease her more.

After eating and resting a bit, He Chengxi lay down on the sofa to take a nap.

With the first time accepted, the second came more easily. Pei Du also leaned against the sofa, napping alongside her.

Before falling asleep, the same thought crossed both their minds.

Did this count as sleeping on the same bed…?

That thought was quickly washed away by drowsiness, eventually blurred into something normal.

If you followed that logic, the entire class slept in one room every day anyway. They were just normal friends sleeping on the same sofa—nothing special.

…

Perhaps because of the Body attribute point, Pei Du woke up after only about ten minutes.

He stood up and stretched; a comfortable sensation spread through his organs.

Turning his head, he looked at the girl’s peaceful sleeping face. For some reason, a faint itch stirred in his heart.

He had always thought that skinny, petite He Chengxi would never hit his preferences. That childlike body was basically a joke in terms of male desire.

But today, waking up, he was startled to find he had an impulse to pick up her soft body.

Too bizarre.

“System, are you messing with me?”
“Host, this has nothing to do with the system. This system is merely an auxiliary tool.”
“Then that’s really strange.”

Pei Du stared at the small bundle curled on the sofa. Could it be that his preferences were broken?

He took out his phone and looked through the vulgar videos and images Zhao Yu had shared, which diluted the strange feeling in his heart.

Looking at He Chengxi—no reaction.

Looking at curvy, sexy figures—very inappropriate reactions.

As expected, he was normal.

He just hadn’t fully woken up earlier.