Chapter 7: The Unforgettable Story of Green Pepper 2
"Sigh..." In the last class of the morning, I lay on the table and sighed for the one hundred and eighteenth time today.
Li Zimei nudged me with her elbow and asked quietly, "Do you want to take Linglong out again?"
"Ah? What? What does this have to do with Linglong?" Li Zimei's confusing question left me a little confused.
"I've known you for so long, and I've only seen you like this twice. The last time was because someone wanted to take Linglong out, and the other person disagreed." Li Zimei explained in a low voice.
My heart skipped a beat when I heard this. The last time it was Hongze who wanted to take Linglong out. And today, Hongze kept pestering Lingjiao during every break. If Li Zimei hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have known that this was totally out of character with my usual style.
"Oh, it's okay… I'm probably too comfortable." After saying that, I buried my head in my arms to avoid what Li Zimei said next.
In the midst of the chaos, the school bell rang. I stood up from my seat, the teacher had already left, and the classroom was noisy, everyone was discussing what to eat for lunch.
Li Zimei looked at me in surprise. I scratched my head in embarrassment. “Well, I didn’t expect that I would fall asleep like this, and the teacher didn’t notice.”
"The teacher found out. I was going to call you. But the teacher told me not to call you, saying that you might have stayed up late studying last night, so she wanted you to have a good rest."
"Haha, really?" After hearing what Li Zimei said, I felt even more embarrassed. It turns out that it's okay for good students to sleep in class.
Suddenly remembering something, I turned my head to look at Hongze, but his seat was gone! I looked around for him, but saw him standing next to Lingjiao's seat.
He hadn't talked to her much in months, and his impression of her was just that of a "bread maker." But today, it was like metal meeting a magnet, and he automatically stuck to her during the break.
"You don't usually come to me on your own initiative..." I muttered in dissatisfaction. As soon as I finished speaking, I covered my mouth in fear, not daring to think deeply about the meaning of the words. "Haha... I guess my brain is confused. It's break time, let's eat. You should eat at noon. Yes, yes, eat. Let's have steak. Let's splurge and go out for a Western meal today."
While talking to myself, I walked towards Hongze and shouted behind him in a neither loud nor soft voice: "Oh, I forgot to bring lunch! Let's go out to eat today!"
Hongze did not rush over as I expected. He continued talking to Ling Jiao as if he didn't hear anything.
Zhou Mian came over and asked me, "You didn't bring food? Do you want to eat directly at my house?"
"Eh?" I shook my head and raised my voice again, "Zhou Mian, which restaurant is that super delicious steak you mentioned last time? Let's go there! I'll treat you!"
"When did I say that?" Zhou Mian looked at me in confusion and asked doubtfully.
Seeing Hongze indifferent, I got anxious and shouted in his direction: "It was last time! Super delicious steak! I'm drooling just by hearing it!"
Hongze still didn't turn around, but Ling Jiao tilted her head to look at me with a sneer on her face: "Fu Lingmiao, what do you want to do? You're asking for a super delicious steak, but I've shouted it out to you and you didn't move a step. You're also asking Zhou Mian to eat, my 'elite', can you afford it?"
"I..." Ling Jiao's words hit home. I stiffened my neck and said angrily, "Of course I can afford it! I just received the translation fee yesterday!"
"After treating Zhou Mian to a steak, you're going to eat Zhou Mian's meals for free for a month? Until you get the translation fee next time?" Ling Jiao continued to attack me mercilessly, "Or... have you finally figured it out? Are you going to use the living expenses provided by Nie's?"
"I don't!"
A strong sense of regret surged in my heart. When I saw Hongze getting close to Ling Jiao, I said something on impulse that I couldn't bear the consequences of. That's why I am being ridiculed by Ling Jiao now.
Zhou Mian put his arm around my shoulder, patted me comfortingly, and said to Ling Jiao loudly, "I promised to treat Ling Miao to steak before, so don't say anything nonsense."
"Oh? You promised?" Ling Jiao glanced at Zhou Mian, her tone teasing, and then looked at Hong Ze who had been silent. "Do you like steak? My company owns a three-star Michelin restaurant, and the chef's American vanilla steak is pretty good. Do you want to come with me to try it at noon?"
"Hmm?" Hongze looked at me subconsciously when he was suddenly asked. He immediately raised his hand to cover his neck and turned his head away to hide it. "Okay."
I clenched my fists and said nothing, staring at Hongze without blinking, not really understanding why he did this.
"It just so happens that I'm planning to treat Ling Miao to this, too. Let's go together." Zhou Mian dragged me towards Hong Ze and Ling Jiao without saying anything, "Let's go, I know the driver will come to pick you up, and we're just on the way."
Ling Jiao smiled happily, her eyes became tender, and she walked happily towards the classroom door: "You also know..."
Zhou Mian also followed, leaving Hong Ze and I alone standing facing each other.
I looked at Hongze, sighed for the one hundred and nineteenth time today, and walked out of the classroom: "Ah... let's go too."
"I pestered her for the whole morning, and she finally told me how to become a family." Hongze's voice sounded behind me, "It's getting married!"
My right foot hooked around my left foot, and I lost my balance. My arms were waving wildly, and the table and chairs beside me rolled to the ground with a crash. “Ha… I was scared to death. I was hallucinating . I was hallucinating.”
"Lingmiao, are you okay?" Zhou Mian turned around and ran over when he heard the noise and helped me up from the ground.
"It's okay, it's okay, I just... just..." I kept talking for a long time but couldn't say anything. I stared at an eraser on the ground and felt my head buzzing, as if I was standing on the engine of an airplane that had already taken off. The fear of weightlessness made me unable to think.
"Hey, human! I said we..."
“Ahhh!” Hongze’s voice continued to ring out, and I screamed in horror, as if what he was about to say was nothing but a death sentence.
"Hahaha, Zhou Mian, look, you and Fu Lingmiao are both cowards." Ling Jiao, who had come back at some point, leaned against the door frame, crossed her arms and looked at us with interest as if she was watching a show.
Although I could understand every word Ling Jiao said, I couldn't understand the sentence when they were put together.
I looked up at Zhou Mian in confusion, but he once again looked away and turned his head away from me. I had no choice but to look at Ling Jiao, hoping she could explain it to me.
Ling Jiao seemed to understand my confusion and waved her hand: "It's useless, Fu Lingmiao. You see, every time you fell, Zhou Mian helped you up, but my 'Elite', you know that you never stood up again, right ?"
"I..." I pursed my lips and slowly lowered my head under Ling Jiao's gaze. I knew that Ling Jiao was right, and I didn't stand up again at all.
"Ah! I'm hungry! Didn't you say we were going to eat steak? Hurry up, I can't wait any longer, my stomach is about to explode." Hongze, who had been silent all this time, suddenly shouted, rushed to my back, slapped me on the back, and pushed me forward.
I passively let him push me, and the two of us walked to Ling Jiao's side. Ling Jiao stood up straight and said lightly: "Even you want to be a coward?"
Hongze almost didn't think about it and retorted without any pause: "I'm not a coward. You can't force the newly hatched fish and shrimp to call the wind and rain."
"Ah? Small fish and shrimp? Calling the wind and calling the rain? Why do small fish and shrimp call the wind and calling the rain?"
"Yes, because small fish and shrimp can't call the wind and rain, so Fu Lingmiao can't reply to you immediately. There are no cowards here!"
"Ah? What does Xiaoyu Xiaoxia have to do with Fu Lingmiao? What are you talking about? You've confused me."
"that is……"
Listening to the increasingly dangerous conversation between the two, I was so nervous that I was sweating. I wanted to beat Hongze up to stop the conversation. If I didn't keep an eye on Hongze, he would be unable to hold back and would be exposed.
I tried to pull myself out of my low mood and put on mental control: "Although small fish and shrimp live in the water, you can't ask them to control the water. Hongze, this is what you mean, right?"
"Hmm?" Hongze looked at me hesitantly, finally understood my expression, and nodded obediently, "Yes, that's what I mean."
"What's going on?" Ling Jiao waved her hand suspiciously, not dwelling on it any more. "Zhou Mian, why don't you leave?"
"Ah?" Zhou Mian, who had been standing there, raised his head stiffly like a puppet. He shook his head, and when he opened his eyes again, his eyes had regained their former spirit. "Let's go. I haven't eaten the steak made by Chef Allen for a long time. I miss it. Let's go."
Ling Jiao blinked noncommittally and said nothing.
After Zhou Mian came up to us, the four of us walked out of the school gate together.
On the way, even Hongze, who always seemed like a "curious baby with a hundred thousand questions", became silent. It seemed that everyone had a lot of secrets that would be exposed if they opened their mouths.
