Chapter 1922 — The One in the Dream

"Oh..." Bai Weituo nodded as though it all made perfect sense—though anyone could see he did not believe a word of it. Still, who could blame him? Wang Xinyan had fallen, Wei Zhao had reached down to pull her up, and somehow Wei Zhao ended up underneath while Wang Xinyan was on top? That defied all logic.

But the truth was, Wei Zhao really had not lied. That was simply how it happened. It was just that in this day and age, no one believed the truth.

"What kind of face is that?" Wei Zhao was at a loss for words.

"Nothing, really, Brother Lin. It's nothing at all—perfectly normal, a man and a woman in love." Bai Weituo could not fathom why Wei Zhao was acting shy. From the way the man drank, bold and unrestrained, he did not seem the shy type at all.

"All right, enough—just lead the way!" Seeing that Wang Xinyan's face was about to drip blood, Wei Zhao hurriedly cut Bai Weituo off.

"Let's go, everyone else is ready!" Bai Weituo nodded and said nothing more.

Wang Xinyan bit her lip, wanting to complain to Wei Zhao, but then she thought better of it—he had meant well. If he had not saved her, she might well have been badly hurt. But then, on second thought, if Wei Zhao had not been staring at her chest, she would never have dodged in the first place. At that thought, Wang Xinyan grew angry again. She stomped hard on Wei Zhao's foot, gave a huff, ignored him entirely, and went off after Bai Weituo.

Having been stepped on, Wei Zhao gazed at Wang Xinyan's retreating figure and stood there in a daze...

It was not the pain that left him stunned. It was that Wei Zhao seemed to remember—deep in the recesses of his memory—that there had once been a girl who had looked at him with that same sulky, reproachful glare, then stomped hard on his foot and run away...

Who was she? Wei Zhao furrowed his brow. It was only a fleeting sensation, and when he thought carefully, he could not place such a person. Neither the eldest young lady nor Xiaoshu would ever do such a thing, and Xiaoxiao—even less likely.

Then who could it be? Could it be the person from his dream? Sometimes, when a person experiences something, a feeling of déjà vu comes over them—as though they have lived it in a dream, or in a past life. It is a mysterious sensation that many people have felt but cannot explain scientifically; they can only chalk it up, half-heartedly, to having seen it in a dream.

Could it be... that he had dreamed of Wang Xinyan? Dreamed of her stepping on him?

Watching that distant figure walk away, he felt it somehow, imperceptibly, overlap with a fragment of memory... Perhaps it really was from a dream?

Wei Zhao shook his head and quickened his pace to catch up.

The cafeteria here was of the top-tier, massive variety—each one several times larger than the cafeterias at Donghai Engineering University. But unlike a university cafeteria, there were no long rows of serving windows. Here there was only a single row of tables, and at the far left end of the tables sat several large vats holding three dishes: one meat, one vegetable, and one soup.

Elsewhere along the tables were basins of rice, basins of steamed buns, and basins of twisted rolls.

"In a moment you'll come up one by one to get your dishes—someone will serve you. Rice and other staples you'll get yourselves. But we expect you to develop the habit of taking little and coming back often. If you take food and can't finish it, and the leftovers exceed one-tenth of your tray, you lose one point! Be careful when you get your rice—no shoving. If you spill, you lose two points!" Once all the students were in position, a soldier in charge of the cafeteria explained the rules of eating.

At the mention of point deductions for leftovers, those students who had planned to heap their trays full immediately abandoned the idea. These military training scores counted toward their academic credits. Lose a point here, lose a point there, and in the end they might not have enough credits—they would have to take extra courses before they could graduate.

Though the cafeteria was crowded, the soldiers serving the dishes were unhurried and orderly. So despite the numbers, the line moved quickly, one after another, and soon it was the turn of Wei Zhao's medical program.

Wei Zhao and Wang Xinyan stood at the back of the line, last to be served. But when it came time to serve them, the soldier—who had been dishing out portions for the young men all along—did not look carefully when he reached Wang Xinyan, and gave her a man's portion as well.

Wang Xinyan wanted to ask him to take some back, but then reflected that once it had been served, returning it seemed improper—and besides, students from other classes were still waiting in line behind them. She had no choice but to steel herself, take the tray, and leave with Wei Zhao.

"You're not taking any staples?" Seeing that Wang Xinyan had taken only a bowl of egg soup and no rice or buns, Wei Zhao asked, puzzled.

"There's already so much food. If I take staples too, I'm afraid I'll leave leftovers..." Wang Xinyan frowned, looking down at the dishes on her tray.

"Oh, that's no problem." Wei Zhao casually picked up two twisted rolls and set them on her tray. "These rolls are good. Eat a little, or you'll be hungry tonight."

"Huh?" Wang Xinyan was speechless. One roll was already a lot for her—and Wei Zhao had given her two?

"Whatever you leave, I'll finish it." Wei Zhao could indeed eat a great deal—Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu knew that well from experience. But he could eat much or little; going without was no problem either. Such were the advantages of a cultivator.

Wang Xinyan's face flushed slightly. Wei Zhao eating her leftovers? Wouldn't that be like an indirect kiss? But seeing that Wei Zhao's expression was perfectly normal and his gaze clear, she knew she was overthinking it. She murmured an assent, and the two of them found a table to eat at.

They had barely sat down when a commotion broke out not far behind them.

Wei Zhao's brow furrowed slightly—because amid the clamor, he heard a voice he recognized. It was Bai Weituo's!

Other people's business, Wei Zhao could not be bothered with. But this lecherous young fool who called him "Brother Lin" at every turn—him Wei Zhao could not ignore. That was the kind of man Wei Zhao was: once he counted someone a friend, he would see things through to the end, no matter whether the matter was complicated or simple, meaningful or pointless, whether it cost him time or not.

"Xinyan, wait here for me. Bai Weituo's gotten into an argument with someone." Wei Zhao's expression had turned a little cold.

"Oh... be careful..." As soon as the words left her mouth, Wang Xinyan felt she was overthinking again. With Wei Zhao's skills, how could a bunch of college students do anything to him? But... did this count as her caring about him? Wang Xinyan rarely cared about others, especially not a man—yet in this moment, she truly did care, and it came from the bottom of her heart.

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