Chapter 63: Great Acting Skills from the Desk Mate?

Today was the first time I had set foot in Chen Chenyi’s territory. Unexpected events kept happening one after another. The few troublemakers who had just come over were already quite baffling, but this boss was even more so. The moment he saw Chen Chenyi, his murderous expression—as if he were about to chop someone into mincemeat, skewer them, and grill them for eating—instantly turned into a beaming smile. His attitude toward Chen Chenyi…

Xu Yannuo glanced at Chen Chenyi’s face and then recalled the boss’s appearance. There was no way he was his biological father. Not even a relative—they didn’t look the least bit alike. The boss had the vibe of a local thug turned barbecue hustler, while Chen Chenyi was clearly the type of noble, rich kid who had never done a day of hard work in his life—polished, studious, and completely unrelated to someone like the boss.

What’s going on here?

Xu Yannuo was about to ask when suddenly a bright flash of realization struck her mind. She closed her mouth just as she had opened it, because she suddenly realized something even more important—that in her excitement, she had momentarily lost her mind and fought in public without taking any precautions.

She immediately glanced around, and it seemed Chen Ciyi had seen right through her actions. She heard his laughter from across the room and frowned as she looked at him. Sure enough, he was watching her with amusement. She had been so worried about him that she’d acted without thinking—now she was about to be exposed and was freaking out, yet he had the nerve to laugh?

Chen Ciyi asked her, “Afraid of being seen? Now you’re worried?”

“It’s all because of you!” Now he’s even mocking her! Xu Yannuo looked at him with disdain.

Seeing Xu Yannuo’s nervous expression, Chen Chenyi suppressed a smile, took the unopened glass bottle of Mirinda she hadn’t had a chance to open yet, and without using a bottle opener, he knocked the cap against the edge of the table. With a soft “pop,” the cap fell to the ground, its crisp sound half-drowned by the surrounding noise. Chen Chenyi handed her the still-fizzy soda, “Thanks!”

After saying that, he smiled again, “Don’t worry, there’s no one from No. 8 High here. I’ve already checked for you.”

Xu Yannuo’s expression softened as she took a sip of the soda. Soon after, their table’s skewers started arriving one after another.

Looking at the skewers of meat sizzling with oil in front of him, the fatty parts clearly charred on the outside and tender on the inside, along with the mouthwatering aroma that hit him as soon as the waiter brought them over, Xu Yannuo immediately picked up a skewer, blew on it, and took a bite. Though it was a bit hot, the rumors didn’t lie—this was truly delicious.

After finishing that skewer, the dishes for their table had already been quickly served. Xu Yannuo was surprised by how fast everything came out, then glanced at the other tables… It was peak dining time, and they had arrived late—by the time they got there, all the other tables were already full. Yet, aside from the few tables that had ordered before them, the rest had nothing but sodas and peeled garlic prepped while waiting for their skewers.

Xu Yannuo looked again at the dishes, skewers, and fried noodles on their table. It wasn’t just that they got served first—it was very likely, no, it was outright certain that the restaurant had taken orders from other tables and given them to their table instead. When the owner had said it earlier, she thought it was just a friendly gesture due to his close relationship with Chen Ciyi, but for the sake of business and customer satisfaction, dishes should at least be served fairly.

Not only did they get served first, but they also took someone else’s order, and the key point is—after taking it, the other tables clearly saw yet didn’t utter a single complaint, just patiently waiting like this?

Xu Yannuo recalled again the look those guys had given Chen Ciyi before leaving after the fight—it clearly wasn’t a look of provocation anymore, but rather—fear!?

This indicated they were actually afraid of Chen Ciyi. But this time, seeing Chen Ciyi alone and accompanied by someone as frail and petite as her—a girl who looked weak and short—they took advantage of their numbers to pick a fight and seek revenge. However, upon realizing she wasn’t someone to be trifled with either, they immediately backed down. This also explains why they fled at the first hit, with the other two running away before even getting a chance to retaliate.

Xu Yannuo suddenly recalled the rumor about Chen Ciyi before he transferred schools—the school bully from No. 2 High School had beaten someone so badly they were hospitalized, yet before any disciplinary action could be taken, he was poached by another school! There was another detail she had overlooked earlier—when those guys came swaggering over to pick a fight, was Chen Ciyi scared at all? Not only was he completely unfazed, but he even sat there leisurely playing on his phone, as if he already knew they couldn’t lay a finger on him!

With so many coincidences piling up, they all pointed to one explanation… Xu Yannuo looked at Chen Ciyi across from her. Though his usual weakling image was hard to reconcile with the persona she was now uncovering, he must be—that very same school bully from No. 2 High School who got poached!

Noticing Xu Yannuo had stopped eating her skewers and was just staring at him, Chen Ciyi grabbed one himself, took a bite, and then—seeing her wide-eyed expression—suddenly smirked, the corners of his lips curling up. “Ask whatever you want. At first, I just wanted to see what you were up to, but later, I didn’t plan on hiding it from you anyway.”

Damn, he really guessed it right. Xu Yannuo looked at him, “What was up with those three just now?”

“We had a conflict before I transferred here!” Chen Ciyi answered her.

“So, was it because of them that you got a disciplinary record and had to transfer to No. 8 High?” Xu Yannuo immediately followed up.

This time, Chen Ciyi didn’t answer right away. He thought for a moment, recalling that night—the night he remembered Xu Yannuo’s lost school badge at home. “Not exactly. A disciplinary record doesn’t really affect me.”

“Then why did you transfer?” But maybe this question wasn’t even worth asking—people transfer schools for all sorts of reasons, and with Chen Ciyi’s top-tier academic performance, any school would be eager to take him. Maybe he just got tired of his old school and wanted a change of scenery. She moved on to the next thing that puzzled her: “What kind of grudge do you have?” It must’ve been something serious if, even after Chen Ciyi had been gone for over a month, these guys still had enough lingering resentment to pick a fight the moment they saw him again. And it’s not like they looked like they’d been beaten to a pulp—those three seemed perfectly fine.

This time, Chen Ciyi just smiled without saying anything and continued to lower his head to eat the skewers.

Since Chen Ciyi didn’t say anything, she didn’t ask further. After all, everyone has secrets and things they don’t want to talk about. As friends, respect is enough—no need to dig into details. He’ll say it when he wants to.

The two of them ate quietly for a while. About halfway through the meal, Xu Yannuo suddenly looked across the table at Chen Ciyi because it occurred to her—when she pretended to be timid behind the school convenience store shelves, what had he praised her for? “Deskmate, great acting skills?”