Chapter Forty-Five: The Canteen Commotion

At this moment, everyone felt as if they had been admiring two beautiful flowers, only for an annoying fly to suddenly buzz out from some corner, circling around the blossoms and utterly ruining the scene. They wished nothing more than to swat that fly dead with a single slap.

Feeling the countless eyes wishing to squash him, Luo Chen suddenly realized he had made a grave mistake. He really should not have agreed to Joanna’s invitation just for the sake of a free meal. Even if he’d had to sneak away after the combat class, he ought to have refused.

Lowering his voice, Luo Chen suggested, “Joanna, how about this: you just buy me a meal ticket, that’s enough.”

Joanna hadn’t been too keen on inviting Luo Chen in the first place, but seeing his awkward expression gave her immense satisfaction. She thought to herself that Ellycia’s suggestion was indeed a good one—let him taste the embarrassment she’d felt that day.

“No way. How would that count as treating you? I, Joanna, always keep my word!” With that, instead of letting Luo Chen leave, she moved even closer, positioning herself on one side of him, with Ellycia on the other, sandwiching him between them to prevent any chance of escape. Thus, with two campus beauties at his side, Luo Chen now cut quite the figure, embraced on both left and right.

If seeing Luo Chen earlier had merely surprised everyone, their expressions now were as if they’d just seen a pig flying through the sky. The dining hall erupted in disbelief—it seemed Luo Chen was actually dining with Ellycia and Joanna! What did that guy do to deserve the honor of inviting not just one, but both of the school’s most admired girls?

Although it was common knowledge that Ellycia and Joanna were Luo Chen’s tutors outside of class, no one had imagined their relationship could be so close.

One male student grumbled indignantly, “Damn, did that guy feed Ellycia and Joanna some kind of magic potion? Even Kevin couldn’t get Ellycia to dine with him, let alone Joanna!”

Another chimed in, “Ellycia and Joanna must be under some evil spell from Luo Chen, or maybe they’re being forced into this. There’s no way they’d agree willingly—otherwise, I absolutely refuse to believe it!”

A third speculated, “I’ve got it—it must be another of ‘Mr. Harmony’ Mentor Andrew’s arrangements. He loves playing peacemaker. Ellycia has always been obedient and never wants to go against her teacher’s wishes, so that must be why!”

…

While the crowd speculated, the trio had already reached the ticket counter in the cafeteria. Joanna pulled out money and bought three meal tickets, shoving one into Luo Chen’s hand. “Take it!”

The male students could hardly stay on their feet at this. It was already outrageous for Luo Chen to be dining with a campus beauty, but to have her pay for the meal as well—shameless! Absolutely shameless, a beast if ever there was one! Even the stingiest person wouldn’t go this far. No wonder all the fish in Flying Dragon Pond behind the academy had been caught and sold by him. His greed was truly unparalleled!

Catching sight of the long queue at the boys’ food window, Joanna frowned, snatched back the meal ticket from Luo Chen, and pointed to an empty table. “Go sit over there. I’ll get the food for you.”

At Weston, the male students would queue endlessly just to catch a glimpse of the beauties, while the female students, put off by the competition, were less enthusiastic and came at different times, so the women’s queue was much shorter.

Joanna’s act left the whole male crowd in utter despair. Not only did Luo Chen get the beauty to pay for his meal, now she was fetching his food as well!

Many were seized by the urge to rush forward and beat Luo Chen to a pulp, then serve him up as braised pork in the kitchen. Their anger was simply beyond endurance.

Luo Chen could blatantly feel the hostility from the male students; he was like a pincushion, every second dragging on interminably.

With few girls queuing, Joanna and Ellycia soon returned. Ellycia was amused to see Luo Chen’s discomfort, while Joanna was quite pleased.

Joanna pushed a lunchbox in front of Luo Chen, her face stern. “This is yours!”

The box was packed full, but more than half of it was glistening, greasy pork—enough to upset anyone’s appetite. Clearly, Joanna had done it on purpose. But Luo Chen didn’t care; he was never picky about food. During hard times, he’d even eaten bark and grass roots, let alone fatty pork.

Still, being watched by so many people was awkward, and Luo Chen was about to make an excuse to leave when an idea struck him.

Right—this was another perfect opportunity to practice the art of reverse thinking. What was the opposite attitude to his current mood?

The answer: to sit calm as a mountain.

Very well, since he was here, he might as well make himself comfortable. If they wanted to watch, let them. He would eat as he pleased and treat them all as if they were invisible.

With that, Luo Chen relaxed, picked up his knife and fork, and began devouring his food without the slightest reservation.

By now, the tables nearby had filled up with male students, all eager to get as close as possible to the beauties. Even if they didn’t know them, being so near, listening to their voices, breathing in their fragrance—what greater pleasure in life was there?

The Weston dining hall had four-person tables, two to a side. Ellycia and Joanna sat together on one side, making the seats opposite them the most coveted of all. But their current occupant seemed utterly oblivious to the golden opportunity. Luo Chen ignored Ellycia and Joanna across from him, devoting himself entirely to the contents of his lunchbox. It seemed the unappetizing pile of greasy pork held greater allure for him than the two campus beauties. He ate noisily, the sounds reaching even the surrounding tables.

The other students were incensed—was Luo Chen a pig? No sense of decorum at all, even in front of the prettiest girls!

Joanna and Ellycia were left dumbfounded by Luo Chen’s devouring speed. In the end, Joanna coughed pointedly, hoping to get his attention, but Luo Chen just kept his head down, focused solely on his heap of fatty pork.

Now Joanna was genuinely puzzled. Was that greasy pork really so irresistible? Or had the cafeteria chef today achieved a culinary miracle, making pork taste like bear’s paw or shark’s fin?