Chapter 22: Lunch break

Lunch break.

Luter Academy’s cafeteria was a three-story independent building. The first floor was the main hall for regular students, the second floor was the high-grade dining area, and the third floor was reserved for private rooms that required advance reservations.

Ye Fengxue usually ate at a fixed window-side table on the second floor. The view was good, there weren’t many people, and it was convenient for maintaining the “distance a young lady should keep.”

But today, Ling Ling grabbed her wrist and pulled her through the crowd on the first floor, heading straight for a small, inconspicuous table in the corner.

“Why does this young lady have to sit in a place like this!” Ye Fengxue was pushed into a chair, her blue-green eyes scanning the surroundings in disbelief—the noisy chatter, the occasional curious glances thrown their way, and the smell of fried chicken and curry hanging in the air.

“There are clearly seats on the second floor!”

“Fried chicken.”

“…What?”

“The first floor has limited-edition fried chicken. The second floor doesn’t.”

Ye Fengxue looked at Ling Ling’s expressionless face, opened her mouth to say something, thought about it, then opened it again: “You dragged this young lady here just for fried chicken?”

“Yeah.”

“You—” Ye Fengxue took a deep breath. “You really are a—”

“Big sis.”

A gentle voice came from behind.

Lin Jiu walked over carrying two trays. Her black hair was loosely tied back with a white ribbon, and her blue-green eyes curved into two crescent moons.

She placed one tray in front of Ling Ling and the other in front of Ye Fengxue, her movements natural and practiced.

“Sister Ye, this is yours.”

“…Thanks.”

Ye Fengxue looked at the carefully arranged meal on the tray—completely different from what she usually ate on the second floor, but it surprisingly looked delicious. “Did you get food for your sister again?”

“Yeah. Big sis hates waiting in line.”

Lin Jiu sat down beside Ling Ling, pulled another pudding out of her lunch bag, and placed it next to Ling Ling’s tray. “This pudding has extra caramel today. Try it, sis.”

Ling Ling glanced at the pudding, scooped up a spoonful, and put it in her mouth.

“…It’s good.”

Lin Jiu’s smile lit up instantly.

She rested her chin on her hands, tilted her head to look at Ling Ling, and her blue-green eyes were filled with undisguised affection.

That gaze—it was gentle like spring lake water, but if you looked closely, you could see something deeper hidden beneath the surface—like she was guarding a treasure that belonged only to her, not allowing anyone to come within half a step.

Ye Fengxue watched this scene from beside them, her chopsticks pausing mid-air.

It wasn’t her first time eating at Ling Ling’s place. She and Senior Chiyo often went over for meals too.

The four of them gathered around that small coffee table for dinner had practically become a fixed routine.

Logically, she should have gotten used to the way Lin Jiu looked at Ling Ling by now.

But every time she saw it, she still felt a little… hard to describe.

‘Isn’t this kid’s feelings for her sister a bit too intense?’

And Lin Jiu was clever.

Her possessiveness never showed on the surface. She never said things like “Big sis is mine” or stopped others from getting close to Ling Ling.

On the contrary, she was very polite to Ye Fengxue and Chiyotsuki, sweetly calling them “Sister Ye” and “Sister Chiyotsuki,” and she would proactively pour tea, serve rice, and make small talk.

But that was only because she knew her sister didn’t like a “too clingy little sister.”

So she pressed all her possessiveness beneath that gentle smile, hiding it perfectly watertight.

Only occasionally, when her sister wasn’t paying attention, a little bit would leak out from the depths of those blue-green eyes—that look of a victor’s composure that said, “You can come close, but my big sister will always be mine alone.”

Ye Fengxue shivered and decided not to think about it anymore.

“Oh, right.” She changed the subject. “You two can’t get those rings off at all?”

“Yeah.” Ling Ling raised her left hand. The pitch-black ring on her ring finger gave off a faint cold light under the cafeteria’s lights, mingling with the sunlight coming through the window, making it look especially mysterious.

Lin Jiu also naturally extended her left hand. The silver-white ring on her ring finger emitted a soft glow. The two hands placed together—one black, one white—looked like some carefully designed matching rings.

Ye Fengxue couldn’t help but look again.

“…It really does look like matching rings.”

“Coincidence.”

“You always say it’s a coincidence, but too many coincidences stop being coincidences!” Ye Fengxue pointed her chopsticks at Ling Ling’s left hand.

Just then, a few girls at the next table huddled together, whispering about something, occasionally glancing over.

Ye Fengxue’s ears twitched. Even though the first floor was noisy, those girls’ voices weren’t low enough.

“Look, look, that’s the white-haired, red-eyed one from Class 2C, Lin Xuetong.”

“She’s really beautiful in person… Like a doll.”

“And she’s sitting with Lady Ye. They must be really close.”

“The forums say they’re dating. Could it be true?”

“Ehh—but what about her little sister? Doesn’t her sister make her lunch every day?”

“That’s different from a sibling relationship… And the way her sister looks at her definitely isn’t just sibling love.”

Ye Fengxue’s chopsticks slammed onto the table with a crack. The girls jumped, immediately shut their mouths, and pretended to eat.

Ling Ling expressionlessly bit into a piece of fried chicken, completely immune to this level of gossip.

She even noticed the phone camera that had captured her biting the fried chicken and was now being secretly posted to the forum.

‘Whatever, the angle’s fine—biting down hides most of my expression. Keeps up the “Three-No Beautiful Girl” vibe.’

This level of exposure was way more useful than those purely baseless forum threads.

“You can still eat?” Ye Fengxue lowered her voice.

“Why wouldn’t I be able to eat?”

“They’re talking about you!”

“I’m used to it.”

“…Just what have you been through to get used to this kind of thing?”

Lin Jiu watched the two bicker from the side, smiling. She scooped up a small piece of pudding with her spoon, then—extremely naturally—brought the spoon to Ling Ling’s lips.

“Sis, have another bite.”

Ling Ling looked at the pudding by her mouth, then at her sister, and expressionlessly opened her mouth to eat it.

Lin Jiu pulled back the spoon, looked at the spot her sister had just bitten, and narrowed her blue-green eyes slightly.

She gently licked the edge of the spoon—the movement so fast it took only a moment—then continued eating her own lunch with a smile.

Ye Fengxue saw this, and her chopsticks stopped again.

‘Obviously, this kid did that on purpose. That seemingly obedient little sister is using the most elegant way to announce to everyone: Big sis will always belong to me alone.’

“Xiao Jiu.” Ye Fengxue couldn’t help but speak. “Are you—”

“Hmm?” Lin Jiu tilted her head, her expression innocent.

“…Nothing.”

‘Forget it. Calling her out wouldn’t be fun anyway. And if I did, I’d be the one losing out in the end. This kid is way harder to deal with than Ling Ling.’

“There you are.”

A gentle voice came from the crowd.

Chiyotsuki walked over carrying a tray. Her blue hair glowed softly under the cafeteria lights, her golden eyes curved into crescent moons, and the white sash exclusive to the Student Council President hung over her uniform, swaying slightly with her steps.

She reached the table, saw that there was still a seat next to Ye Fengxue, and sat down naturally.

“Senior Chiyo.” Ye Fengxue was a little surprised. “Didn’t you have a meeting at noon?”

“It ended early.” Chiyotsuki smiled. “I thought you’d be eating on the first floor, so I came to check.”

“How did you know?” Ling Ling asked.

“Someone posted a photo on the forums.” Chiyotsuki took out her phone. The screen showed a clear picture of Ling Ling biting into fried chicken. The caption read, “’White Snow Princess’ Today’s Lunch Real-Time Update.”

“…White Snow Princess?”

“A nickname the forums gave you. Because of your signature white hair and red eyes, plus you rarely talk and have a cold aura. ‘White Snow Princess’ fits pretty well.”

Ling Ling was silent for a second, as if thinking about something.

‘Honestly, this name sounds better than the Countermeasures Section’s “White Night.”‘