Considering that Bai Shishi couldn’t handle spicy food, the group tacitly skipped the Sichuan cuisine window altogether.
The cafeteria offered plenty of dishes, and Bai Shishi—visiting a university cafeteria for the first time—found herself overwhelmed by the choices. In the end, she gave up agonizing over it and simply picked the same braised eggplant as Mo Xiangwen.
Once everyone had gotten their food, they found a table and sat down together. Mo Xiangwen set his tray aside and glanced at the others. “I’ll grab some soup first. You all sit tight—I can bring it back on a tray.”
“Ah.” Su Mengyao jumped to her feet in a hurry. “I’ll go with you then. It’ll be easier with two people.”
“No need. It’s just a few bowls of soup—I can carry them back on a tray.” Mo Xiangwen shook his head, turning down the offer. “Chat among yourselves for a bit. I’ll be right back.”
Seeing how insistent he was, the four of them nodded. “Thanks.”
Soup and rice in the school cafeteria were free; students just had to serve themselves.
Mo Xiangwen ladled out the soup into bowls and set them on the tray.
He was just about to lift the tray and leave when a familiar voice called out.
“Lao Mo, why didn’t you say anything if you were coming to the cafeteria alone?”
He set the tray down and turned around.
Who else could it be but his three roommates?
Mo Xiangwen eyed them curiously. “What’s this? No delivery today? You guys came to the cafeteria instead?”
Qin Yongfeng replied, “We happened to pass by, and they figured we could eat here and head straight back to game afterward.”
Mo Xiangwen glanced at the other two. There wasn’t a trace of embarrassment on their faces—instead, they watched him with gleeful mischief.
As he puzzled over it, Xi Shaojie grinned and asked, “Lao Mo, you sorted things out with Classmate Yan being mad, right?”
Mo Xiangwen shot them a speechless look. He’d thought something serious had happened, but no—it was still this same nonsense. Did these guys have nothing else on their minds?
“I told you, it’s not what you’re imagining.” Mo Xiangwen shook his head. “We’re all friends. We just met up to chat.”
“Gotcha. After all, that’s what you keep telling us to our faces—that you and Classmate Yan are just friends.”
Zhong Taihong stepped forward and clapped him on the shoulder with a teasing grin, but Mo Xiangwen pretended to aim a kick at him and sent him scurrying back.
“So this means you’re eating with Classmate Yan?” Zhong Taihong asked. “You didn’t even shoot us a message.”
Mo Xiangwen paused to think. Well, technically, yes—this counted as eating with Yan Nuoya, even if three other people were there too. He nodded.
“Looks like it’s all good then.” Xi Shaojie shook his head in mock disappointment and patted his shoulder. “What a shame. We three were betting on how long it’d take you to sweet-talk Classmate Yan.”
They wanted the drama but were scared he’d actually get dumped for real, huh? Mo Xiangwen’s face darkened; he had no idea how to even respond to that.
“Alright, alright. Since you’re off dining with Classmate Yan, we won’t cramp your style.” Zhong Taihong let out a sarcastic sigh. “Beauty beckons, after all—we can’t hold you back.”
Mo Xiangwen knew exactly what they were getting at. He let out a helpless sigh and shook his head.
“Thanks for the heads-up, guys. I’ll grab you each a milk tea on my way back to the dorm.”
“Sweet—that’s what we wanted to hear.” Zhong Taihong waved him off grandly. “You’re free to go.”
Mo Xiangwen didn’t bother bantering any further. He grabbed the tray and headed off. Any longer, and Yan Nuoya and the others might start wondering what was keeping him.
Once he was gone, Zhong Taihong and Xi Shaojie exchanged a silent glance.
“Lao Zhong, did you get a good look at how many bowls of soup were on his tray?”
“Nope, but at least three.” Zhong Taihong shook his head.
“Five.” Qin Yongfeng shook his head from the side. “I keep telling you two to ease up on the gaming—you can’t even count bowls properly.”
“Five?” Zhong Taihong frowned. “Hang on… didn’t we spot Lao Mo and a few others when we headed up to the second floor earlier?”
“Four.” Qin Yongfeng didn’t miss a beat. “Lao Mo included, that’s four people total.”
“Then there’s Classmate Yan on the first floor.” Xi Shaojie reminded them quietly.
The three men stared at one another, at a loss for words.
Finally, Zhong Taihong sighed. “You know, when things get this absurd, I actually start believing they’re just friends.”
“Lao Mo’s been saying that from the start.” Qin Yongfeng grumbled. “You two are the ones doing all the imagining.”
Xi Shaojie asked, “Should we tail Lao Mo and check out the scene?”
Zhong Taihong shook his head. “Nah. I’m scared I’ll end up overturning the ‘just friends’ theory—and that’d bum me out.”
Mo Xiangwen had no clue what they were discussing, though it wouldn’t have fazed him if he did. These guys speculating wildly about his life wasn’t anything new.
Just harmless guessing—no skin off his back. Let Zhong Taihong and the others do their thing.
Like earlier today at Yipin Tea—if push came to shove, they’d have his back anyway.
Roommates ribbing each other was normal, nothing overboard.
“It’s taking a while. Su Mengyao was about to go look for you—is everything okay?” Su Mengli asked as he returned.
“All good. Bumped into some roommates and chatted for a minute.” Mo Xiangwen shook his head and passed out the bowls of soup.
Bai Shishi, sitting beside him, gave him several up-and-down looks before finally glancing away.
The moment he sat down, Su Mengyao leaned forward eagerly. “So, what’s the deal with wanting to make a game?”
That drew everyone’s attention right back to him.
“Let’s eat and talk then.” Mo Xiangwen picked up his chopsticks by way of example. “We’re all friends here—no need to stand on ceremony.”
For all his words, though, no one else touched their chopsticks. They kept their eyes on him.
Mo Xiangwen set his down too, a touch embarrassed. “Here’s the thing: I do want to try indie game development, but I don’t have any solid ideas yet.”
“No concrete plan?” Su Mengli shook her head slightly. “That won’t fly with the teacher’s approval. And game dev as entrepreneurship? It’s a stretch to begin with. Does solo indie work even count?”
“No rush for now—just floating the idea.” Mo Xiangwen nodded in understanding. “For the headcount requirement, I’ll get a few roommates to sign on nominally as a studio. They won’t actually pitch in.”
“That rounds up to a legit startup, right? The teacher probably won’t nitpick the details.”
“I think it’s awesome—why not give it a shot now?” Su Mengyao sounded way more pumped than her sister, her voice pitching up. “Any snags, we can just ask the teachers at the Entrepreneurship Incubation Base.”
“That’s… not a bad call.” Mo Xiangwen hesitated a moment, then nodded. “Like Mengyao says—consult the teacher first, then tackle the hurdles.”
“Quick, let’s eat and head over?” Su Mengyao urged.
“Today? Seems kinda rushed.” Su Mengli frowned. “By the time we get there, the teacher might be wrapping up for the day.”
“Wrapping up means still there. Asking sooner lets us prep sooner.”
Su Mengyao stood her ground, and she had a point—even Yan Nuoya and Su Mengli nodded along.
“Fair enough.” Mo Xiangwen said. “I’ll swing by after I finish eating.”
