A Sudden Meal and a Troubled Heart

“Ah, no, it’s nothing.” Bai Qiao gently shook her head. “So, where should we eat tonight?”

“Ah?” Black Sha clearly froze.

“I, I mean, neither of us can cook, so we still need to figure out dinner, right…?” Bai Qiao quickly shook her head, her face flushing slightly.

“Ah, oh, oh-oh.” Black Sha took a long moment to process her words.

When the realization finally hit him, an almost irrepressible joy surged through his heart. How many years had it been since he’d experienced a feeling like this?

Ever since his descent into the underworld, emotions had vanished from his life, as if they had simply ceased to exist the moment he embraced the darkness.

Joy? Fear? Sorrow? All had long since become obsolete.

And those bonds—friendship, love, family—every last one had been stripped away amidst the bloodshed.

What was this, then? His body, emptied of feeling so many years ago, now suddenly felt full again.

Joy? This emotion was truly a stranger after all this time.

“Then let’s go to that restaurant on Jiutai Road. I hear it’s quite popular among students these days.”

“Okay.”

****

The school bell finally rang, a welcome sound. Bai Chen had wrestled with himself for a long time, finally resolving to find Bai Qiao and invite her home.

However, when his gaze fell upon her empty desk and chair, he involuntarily froze. ‘Bai Qiao… he remembered her always being one of the last to leave the classroom.’

“Hey, hey, A-Chen, where are we eating tonight?” Miko asked, clinging to Bai Chen’s arm with a soft, sweet voice.

“……” Without a word, Bai Chen shook off Miko’s arm.

Ignoring her crestfallen and displeased expression, he turned and walked out of the classroom.

He followed the familiar path, yet this was the first time he walked home from school without Bai Qiao by his side. A faint sense of loneliness surprised him.

Standing at the crossroads, he looked at the streetlamp where he had gotten angry with Bai Qiao before. For the first time, Bai Chen consciously avoided something, taking a different route instead.

This road was truly… bustling. Bai Chen found himself amidst a throng of people, as many students were still making their way home after school.

However, no one seemed to truly jostle him. Wherever Bai Chen passed, a path would spontaneously open up.

While the boys nearby dared not utter a sound, the girls enthusiastically chattered amongst themselves. ‘To think they’d run into the campus heartthrob here! Their luck must be extraordinary!’

“Tch!” He strode forward, clearly displeased, while inwardly mocking these ‘boring humans’.

His gaze flickered to the side, and his steps involuntarily halted. That… that figure was too familiar.

Across the way, it was… ‘Why were Bai Qiao and Black Sha together here?!’

“Speaking of this restaurant, the squid balls are definitely the best, aren’t they?” Black Sha said, placing a squid ball from his plate onto Bai Qiao’s.

Meanwhile, standing outside, Bai Chen radiated an intense aura of malice. People nearby instinctively recoiled several steps.

Bai Chen let out a cold snort, then turned and walked away.

“Oh, who would’ve thought the famous King Bai would have a moment like this, lurking by the entrance like a stray dog?”

A hand suddenly clapped his shoulder, and a familiar voice sounded in his ear.

****