Chapter 34: The Enviable Lunch

“What are you doing?” 

An Ling stared at Li Yang’s action, her face turning slightly red. 

“Are you a pervert?” 

“How is sniffing my own clothes perverted?” 

Li Yang declared righteously. 

“It’s my own uniform. What’s wrong with smelling it? What if you didn’t wash it properly?” 

“So what did you smell?” 

“Mm…” 

Li Yang sniffed again and said seriously, 

“It smells like laundry detergent. It actually smells pretty good. What brand do you use?” 

“I’m not telling you.” 

The two of them walked side by side along the early-morning street. 

The air was a little cool. 

An Ling took a bite of her steamed bun. 

It was filled with fresh pork, still warm, and the juicy broth burst in her mouth. 

It tasted great. 

“By the way, what were you doing this morning?” 

Li Yang asked. 

“You came out late and seemed in a hurry.” 

“Was I?” 

An Ling answered vaguely. 

“Maybe I just overslept.” 

She definitely wasn’t going to tell Li Yang she had woken up early to make lunchboxes. 

She would surprise him at noon. 

Well, not exactly a surprise. 

It was just her way of returning the favor for all the breakfasts he had brought her lately. 

Yes, that was it. 

An Ling convinced herself in her mind. 

Her tail unconsciously swayed gently a couple of times. 

“You seem to be in a pretty good mood today.” 

Li Yang noticed her tail. 

“Your tail’s even wagging.” 

“It’s not!” 

An Ling quickly stilled her tail. 

“There was just a bit of wind this morning.” 

“Oh, the wind, huh.” 

Li Yang gave a meaningful smile but didn’t call her out. 

The two of them chatted casually like that and soon reached the school. 

In the classroom, Zhou Meng was already there, sipping from a carton of milk. 

When she saw the two of them come in, she waved. 

“Morning, you two!” 

“Morning.” 

An Ling walked over and sat down. 

“Morning, Class President.” 

Li Yang greeted her too, tossed his bag onto the desk, and slumped into his chair. 

Zhou Meng leaned over and asked An Ling in a low voice, 

“You’re not wearing Li Yang’s uniform today?” 

“No, I changed back.” 

An Ling said. 

“I washed it last night and gave it back to him this morning.” 

“Oh~” 

Zhou Meng drew out the sound, her eyes sparkling with gossip. 

“So when you went home wearing his uniform yesterday, did anything happen?” 

“What could possibly happen between two guys?” 

An Ling looked utterly speechless. 

What was going on in this class president’s head every day? 

“That’s it?” 

Zhou Meng sounded disappointed. 

“Aren’t you two childhood friends? Shouldn’t there be some interesting development in a situation like that?” 

An Ling’s ears twitched. 

“Class President, have you been reading too many novels?” 

“Hehe.” 

Zhou Meng smiled. 

“I was just asking.” 

The first class was Chinese. 

An Ling took out her textbook and listened attentively. 

Li Yang lay on his desk sleeping as usual, but An Ling noticed he wasn’t sleeping as deeply as normal. 

He would occasionally lift his head to glance at the blackboard before lying back down. 

This guy… has he finally grown a conscience? 

The morning classes went on as usual. 

Li Yang slept as usual. 

An Ling listened and took notes as usual, occasionally poking him when the teacher was about to notice. 

The only difference was that An Ling poked him far fewer times today, because Li Yang woke up on his own more often. 

By the last period, he even sat up and listened to the lecture. 

An Ling couldn’t help poking him. 

Li Yang turned around and looked at her. 

“Not sleeping anymore?” 

An Ling asked. 

“I don’t feel that tired. I slept really well last night.” 

Li Yang said. 

“So you’re finally earning back all that tuition you’ve been wasting?” 

An Ling teased him. 

After all, this guy slept through class way too often. 

“Hey, what kind of thing is that to say? I sleep in class to save energy for the final exams.” 

An Ling didn’t keep teasing him. 

It was good for him if he could pay attention in class, and it saved her the trouble too. 

If possible, she even wanted to find a way to make Li Yang go to bed earlier at night so he could listen properly during the day. 

When the bell rang for the end of fourth period, An Ling’s heart lifted. 

“Let’s go eat.” 

Li Yang turned around right on time. 

“We’re not going to the cafeteria today.” 

An Ling said. 

“Huh? Then where?” 

An Ling pulled two insulated lunchboxes out of her bag and waved them in front of him. 

“I brought my own.” 

Li Yang paused, then his eyes lit up. 

“You made this?” 

“Mm.” 

An Ling nodded. 

“I don’t feel like eating in the cafeteria anymore. From now on I’ll just bring my own lunch.” 

“Wow~ That’s so nice, An Ling~” 

Zhou Meng hadn’t left yet and leaned in. 

“And homemade lunchboxes too.” 

She looked full of gossip. 

“Is there one for me?” 

“If you want one, I’ll make you a portion tomorrow.” 

An Ling said. 

“No need.” 

Zhou Meng scratched her head. 

“I’ll head back to eat first. I won’t disturb you two.” 

“Hehe. Mine’s guaranteed every day, right?” 

Li Yang pointed at himself. 

An Ling glanced at him, then handed him one of the lunchboxes. 

“This one’s yours.” 

Li Yang took the lunchbox, opened it, and looked inside. 

The food was still warm. 

The scrambled eggs with tomatoes were bright red and yellow. 

The fish-fragrant shredded pork looked appetizing. 

“When did you make this?” 

“This morning.” 

An Ling said. 

“I got up a bit early to make it.” 

“I can’t let you keep bringing me breakfast every day. This is just returning the favor.” 

Li Yang smiled and closed the lunchbox lid. 

“So where should we eat?” 

“Somewhere quiet.” 

An Ling said. 

“The classroom’s too noisy.” 

“Alright, I know a spot.” 

Li Yang stood up. 

“Follow me.” 

They reached the stairs. 

Li Yang led An Ling all the way up until they stopped in front of a closed door. 

“The rooftop? Isn’t this place locked?” 

An Ling asked, puzzled. 

“It is for other people. For me it’s different.” 

Li Yang pointed at a small window a bit higher up. 

“It can’t be opened from outside, but it’s easy from inside.” 

“We’re going in through the window?” 

“Mm.” 

Li Yang took off his jacket and handed it to An Ling along with his lunchbox. 

“Wait for me a second.” 

“Is this okay?” 

“No problem. I come up here all the time. I’ll just close the door behind me when we leave.” 

With that, Li Yang took a short run-up, jumped, and grabbed the window frame. 

An Ling watched him. 

He reached such a high window in one leap. 

This guy really puts all his strength into stuff like this. 

By the time An Ling snapped out of it, the door was already open. 

“What are you staring at? Come in.” 

“Oh, right.” 

An Ling carried everything inside. 

“Is this really okay? We won’t get caught?” 

“Definitely not. No teachers come up here at lunch. They’re all eating right now, so we can eat too.” 

Li Yang took back his jacket and lunchbox. 

An Ling was visiting the rooftop for the first time and looked around. 

“There are so many chairs up here.” 

“They’re all old ones that got replaced. But if you push them together they make a great bed for lying down and catching the breeze. They work as a dining table too.” 

Li Yang dragged out four desks and pushed them together, then brought over two chairs. 

“It’s actually pretty cool up here. This is nice.”