Chapter 12

Mi Zhao abruptly lowered his head.

He had already put his phone away, so he busied himself by picking at his fingers for no reason.

As he absentmindedly did so, his ears picked up the sound of footsteps approaching through the noisy crowd.

Finally, the footsteps stopped right across from his table.

A sense of foreboding rose in Mi Zhao’s heart. He looked up—only to come face-to-face with two all-too-familiar faces.

Mi Zhao: “…”

Standing across from him were Li Yan and Lin Qiuzu.

Lin Qiuzu was tugging on Li Yan’s arm, seemingly having dragged him over. Compared to Li Yan’s numb expression, Lin Qiuzu was all smiles—though his smile was clearly fake.

“Is this seat taken? Can we sit here?” Lin Qiuzu asked politely. However, his upturned eyes were locked onto Mi Zhao, as if trying to read something from his face.

Mi Zhao felt uncomfortable under his gaze. After a long pause, he finally said, “Yes, someone’s sitting here. You should find another spot.”

Lin Qiuzu refused to give up. “How many people?”

Mi Zhao remained expressionless and didn’t answer. He knew all too well that Lin Qiuzu was thick-skinned—like a cockroach, scurrying everywhere, impossible to squash yet incredibly annoying.

“If it’s just one person, then adding the two of us shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Lin Qiuzu said with a smile.

The two of them had been standing there for a while without sitting down, drawing curious glances from passersby. Seeing how tense both Mi Zhao and Li Yan looked, some onlookers probably assumed they were arguing.

Leaning back in his chair, Mi Zhao crossed his arms. Though his face remained indifferent, his impatience was obvious in his eyes.

After a long silence, he finally said in a cold voice, “Do whatever you want.”

Lin Qiuzu’s smile widened, as if he had won some invisible battle. Beaming, he tugged Li Yan down to sit beside him.

Li Yan looked complicated, his heavy gaze never leaving Mi Zhao.

But Mi Zhao took out his phone and started scrolling, showing no intention of acknowledging him.

It felt like swallowing a mouthful of bitter herbs—so bitter his eyes stung.

But then, recalling Mi Zhao’s ruthless attitude over the past few weeks, all his pain and reluctance turned into overwhelming resentment.

Mi Zhao had even claimed he was his first love, yet he was this heartless, not even giving him a chance.

Just as these thoughts swirled in his mind, a sharp slap landed on his arm.

Li Yan hissed in pain and turned to meet Lin Qiuzu’s smirking expression, his brows furrowing even deeper.

“You go get the food. I’ll wait here,” Lin Qiuzu said matter-of-factly. “I want salt-and-pepper shrimp and sweet-and-sour pork. Any vegetable is fine, and just half a portion of rice.”

Back when he used to eat with Mi Zhao, it was always Mi Zhao who found a seat while he ran around getting their meals. Now, with Lin Qiuzu as his dining companion, the roles were reversed.

The mere thought of it annoyed him to no end.

He and Mi Zhao had eaten together so many times, but Mi Zhao had never bossed him around like this.

Yet… thinking of that sports car, he endured it. Annoyed, he muttered, “Aren’t you supposed to be watching your figure? And you’re still eating such greasy food?”

“One meal won’t make a difference.” Lin Qiuzu’s voice paused before he deliberately slowed down, speaking with a meaningful undertone, “Besides… why are you so concerned about my figure?”

“…”

Li Yan instantly fell silent.

Realizing the underlying meaning in Lin Qiuzu’s words, his eyes darted to Mi Zhao in panic.

But Mi Zhao acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing, his gaze fixed on his phone screen as his thumb absentmindedly scrolled.

Grinding his teeth, Li Yan stood there for a moment, then turned and left.

Mi Zhao still didn’t look up.

In truth, he wasn’t busy at all.

He couldn’t browse Weibo here, nor could he contact his sponsor to discuss work. His Weibo account was only known to Yan Qinting, and to avoid exposure, he always claimed he didn’t use it much.

No one was messaging him on QQ or WeChat either.

All he could do was repeatedly open and close QQ, then open and close WeChat.

Out of nowhere, a soft chuckle came from across the table.

Lin Qiuzu saw right through him. “If you’re tired, just take a break. No need to act like you’re busy in front of me. You don’t want to talk to me, and honestly, I couldn’t care less about talking to you either.”

Mi Zhao ignored him, but his grip on his phone tightened slightly.

Lin Qiuzu might have said he didn’t care, but his actions said otherwise. His irritating voice continued to prattle on.

“If we hadn’t searched everywhere and found no empty seats, we wouldn’t have come here at all.”

Mi Zhao locked his phone and finally lifted his gaze. “Can you shut up?”

Lin Qiuzu paused for a moment, then, surprisingly, didn’t get mad. Instead, he grinned shamelessly.

Mimicking Mi Zhao’s crossed-arm posture, he leaned forward, closing the distance between them.

Then he spoke.

“You and Li Yan have broken up, haven’t you?”

Mi Zhao’s cold gaze landed on him, as if watching a clown perform.

“Guess how I know?”

Lin Qiuzu’s face was brimming with victorious smugness.

Even though he was seated at the same height as Mi Zhao, he still carried himself like a winner, looking down at Mi Zhao as if he were the defeated party.

“Because Li Yan is pursuing me now.”

He let the words sink in before adding, “Though I haven’t agreed to date him yet.”

Mi Zhao: “…”

Interesting.

He almost wanted to applaud Lin Qiuzu’s performance.

So he had dragged Li Yan across half the cafeteria just to flaunt this ridiculous little “achievement”?

But Mi Zhao had zero interest in playing this game of “two fighting over one”—especially when the prize was a scumbag like Li Yan. He wouldn’t take him even if he were given for free.

Placing his phone on the table, Mi Zhao raised an eyebrow and looked at Lin Qiuzu with a mocking expression. “You should be clear about one thing—I was the one who dumped Li Yan, not the other way around. So no matter how much you try to show off, you won’t get the reaction you want from me.”

Lin Qiuzu’s expression stiffened.

“By the way, I sincerely wish you two the best,” Mi Zhao added. “And I hope you keep a tight leash on Li Yan. I’m really sick of him pestering me.”

The smile on Lin Qiuzu’s face slowly faded. He stared at Mi Zhao with a dark expression, just about to retort—

But before he could, a sudden ringtone interrupted.

The phone on the table lit up. The screen clearly displayed the name “Xiao Li.”

The phone was unobstructed, and with just one glance, Lin Qiuzu, sitting across from him, could see the name clearly.

“Li Yan?” Lin Qiuzu’s face instantly darkened. “Why is he calling you?”

Mi Zhao completely ignored him.

For a second, he blanked—then sluggishly remembered that “Xiao Li” was actually Li Sipei.

A look of disbelief crossed his face.

Li Sipei is calling me…?

That was rare.

He had actually been wondering if Li Sipei was the passive type.

Scanning the cafeteria and noting that Yan Qinting hadn’t returned yet, Mi Zhao had no choice but to take the call.

“Hello?”

Compared to the noisy cafeteria, the background on the other end was much quieter. Only faint breathing could be heard.

After a long silence, Li Sipei let out a single syllable: “Mm.”

Mi Zhao: “…”

What kind of conversation was this?

Then came another stretch of familiar silence.

Mi Zhao sighed softly, rubbing his temples, and took the initiative. “Have you eaten?”

Li Sipei replied, “Yes.”

“Oh, I just got to the cafeteria. Waiting for my roommate to bring the food.”

A pause.

“Why’d you suddenly call me?”

Li Sipei was silent for two seconds before calmly stating a fact: “You haven’t messaged me all day.”

“…”

Mi Zhao thought back carefully.

Today, he had been busy working on a commission for his sponsor, glued to his tablet all day. Even lunch had been delivered to the dorm. He really hadn’t had time to contact Li Sipei.

Besides, wasn’t Li Sipei supposed to be returning to A City today?

He didn’t want to disturb him with messages.

“Sorry, I was too busy today.” Since he was in public, Mi Zhao kept his explanation brief. “Did you make it back to A City?”

“I’m at my friend’s place.”

“That’s good.”

“I’ll send you the address later.”

“Alright.” Mi Zhao mentally counted the days. “I’ll come find you this weekend when I have a break.”

“Mm.”

Another pause.

Having nothing more to say, Mi Zhao quickly wrapped up the call.

The moment he put his phone down, Yan Qinting arrived with his tray of food.

Without hesitation, he asked, “Who were you on the phone with?”

Mi Zhao didn’t answer. Instead, his gaze flicked briefly toward Lin Qiuzu.

Yan Qinting followed his line of sight—and his face immediately darkened.

“Lin Qiuzu, you really don’t know when to quit,” he sneered. “I’m warning you—get lost before I lose my temper, or don’t blame me if I mess up that ugly face of yours!”

Lin Qiuzu furrowed his brows but kept his eyes locked on Mi Zhao.

Then, as if realizing something, he suddenly let out a dry laugh.

“Got yourself a new boyfriend?” His tone was taunting. “And his surname is also Li? I thought it was Li Yan calling you just now.”

Before Mi Zhao could reply, Yan Qinting slammed his tray onto the table and shot back sarcastically, “What, you think Li Yan is some kind of treasure? That everyone wants him? If he’s so precious, then lock him up and stop letting him wander around like an eyesore.”

Lin Qiuzu’s face turned green. He glared at Yan Qinting, his expression dark. “Did I talk to you?”

“And did Mi Zhao say a word to you?” Yan Qinting countered, sharp-tongued as ever. “Can’t you tell he doesn’t want to deal with you? Are you that desperate for attention? Have some shame, will you?”

His voice wasn’t particularly loud, but it was enough for nearby students to overhear.

Several people glanced over, curious or amused.

Lin Qiuzu’s expression twisted in fury. He shot to his feet. “You—!”

But before he could do anything, Mi Zhao’s gaze turned icy as he stood up and stepped between them.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

For a moment, Lin Qiuzu was stunned.

The cold aura radiating from Mi Zhao was enough to make him hesitate. His eyes flicked between Mi Zhao and Yan Qinting, weighing his options.

Then, silently, he sat back down.

At this point, Mi Zhao had completely lost interest in staying at this table.

Shoving his phone into his pocket, he picked up his tray and called out, “Come on, let’s find another seat.”

Without hesitation, Yan Qinting grabbed his food and followed.