You're My Belated Happiness - Chapter 21 Part 2

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You’re My Belated Happiness

Chapter 21 Part 2

Ruan Yu absent-mindedly walked into the cafeteria to get in line. When it was her turn to order, she pointed at the braised chicken drumsticks and asked the server without thinking: “Three.”

She wanted to make up for all of those chicken drumsticks she had missed back in those days.

The students around her gave her a surprised look. Ruan Yu was a little embarrassed and said to Qu Lan: “Mom, you’re too skinny, have some more meat.”

Qu Lan lowered her voice to snap at her: “Don’t get smart with me!”

They found a place in the corner to sit down.

There was no air conditioning in the school cafeteria. There were only a dozen or so large electric fans blowing. Ruan Yu picked up the chopsticks, getting ready to pick up the chicken drumsticks. Suddenly she heard a male voice blow over by the fan: “Xu Huaishi, was that man your boyfriend?”

Ruan Yu turned her head sideways and saw not too far away a boy with short hair carrying a tray while talking with Xu Huaishi.

She had indeed run into Xu Huaishi.

Ruan Yu turned her head back and lowered her head so she wouldn’t be noticed. Then she heard Xu Huaishi reply: “Can a boyfriend be that handsome? That’s my brother!”

Ruan Yu almost spat out the rice in her mouth. The next moment, she saw Xu Huaisong carrying a tray over and sat down right across from Xu Huaishi.

The short-haired boy was still talking with Xu Huaishi, but Ruan Yu couldn’t hear anything anymore because her head was filled with buzzing sounds at the moment.

Qu Lan noticed that Ruan Yu wasn’t acting like herself and asked her what was wrong.

Her voice caught the attention of Xu Huaisong.

At the moment Xu Huaisong looked over, Ruan Yu lowered her head and lifted her hand to cover her face while at the same time shaking her head to her mother to say that there was nothing wrong with her.

At the other end of the long table, Xu Huaisong didn’t seem to notice anything. He turned to talk to his sister: “Hurry, I’ll take you home after we finish.”

Xu Huaishi replied with an “oh.”

Ruan Yu realized by now that since college entrance exams were starting in a few days, the first and second year high schoolers get a short vacation to make room for the students to take the exam. Xu Huaisong was probably here to take his sister home.

Then, Ruan Yu figured, as long as she could make it through this meal, she would be safe.

She pulled her hair all to the right side of her face to shield it. When she picked up the chopsticks again, the three chicken drumsticks on her plate looked rather tasteless now. She couldn’t enjoy her meal anymore and still had to pretend nothing was wrong in front of her mother.

It was the first time after eight years that she was eating at the same time with Xu Huaisong in the cafeteria. And it ended up exactly like every other time back then, she was still hungry.

When the brother and sister finally picked up their trays and left the table, Ruan Yu was finally able to relax.

After lunch, Qu Lan was ready to leave but Ruan Yu was afraid that Xu Huaisong hadn’t walked far enough away, so she deliberately dragged her mother to walk around the campus for a while longer. What they didn’t expect was running into the vice principal of the school, He Chong, near the teaching building.

He Chong was Ruan Yu’s English teacher back then and was very close to both of Ruan Yu’s parents.

He recognized Qu Lan immediately and was very surprised, blaming her for not letting him know about their visit.

It was unavoidable for them to talk about the old days.

He Chong happily chatted with Qu Lan and said with a gentle smile: “What a coincidence today. I just met a student from my class in the past. And he happens to be from the same year as Ruan Yu.”

Ruan Yu knew that it was highly likely that he was talking about Xu Huaisong. At the time, in her year, only Xu Huaisong’s classroom 9 and hers classroom 10 were liberal arts classes and they shared many of the same teachers.

She intentionally avoided the topic and said with a laugh: “Mr. He has so many students. It’s not at all surprising.”

She successfully changed the subject.

She and her mother were invited to go to the principal’s office. It was still lunch time and in a short while, the office was packed with Qu Lan’s old fellow teachers.

Ruan Yu felt she was out of place in the office and told her mother that she would go out for a walk and come back later.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.