Chapter 33: The Pinky Promise

The line moved slowly in the stifling air.

Having someone to talk to made the long wait in line feel far less unbearable.

At last, Wen Zhixia stood before the serving window, just as she’d hoped. She clutched her meal card in her small hand, leaned forward, and began choosing her dishes. Her wide eyes darted back and forth over the dishes, never blinking, before her slender, pale fingers quickly pointed out her choices—

“Auntie, I don’t want too much rice, and then I’ll have this one, and this, and this! …That’s all, thank you, Auntie!”

It was obvious the young girl had a fondness for spicy food—she selected three spicy dishes: poached spicy pork slices, mapo tofu, and shredded cabbage with chili.

The contractor for Canteen No. 2 was a fellow townsman of Principal Lin. In fact, nearly all the cafeteria staff, janitors, and security guards were from his hometown—this was hardly a secret at school. People even joked that if the school were allowed to keep dogs, Principal Lin would probably bring every dog from his village to be school mascots.

No one minded, though. For one, Yunqi No. 1 High was semi-private, and the chairman of the board was Principal Lin himself. For another, his fellow villagers were diligent and conscientious workers—their presence had even earned Lin a reputation for loyalty and gratitude.

It was said that, back when Principal Lin was admitted to college but couldn’t afford tuition, it was the villagers who chipped in, five or ten yuan at a time, to help him out.

The second canteen mainly served local dishes, prepared by a chef who used to cater large banquets back in the village. Thanks to school management and subsidies, the meals were cheaper than at many high schools.

The dishes Wen Zhixia picked cost her only 6.5 yuan—3.5 for the poached pork, 1.5 for the mapo tofu, 1 for the shredded cabbage, and a flat 0.5 for rice.

Perhaps it was her sweet manners that won the serving lady’s favor, for all three compartments of her stainless steel tray were filled to the brim.

Wen Zhixia pressed her meal card to the reader. Her card looked different from Chen Shian’s—it was pink, covered in adorable little cat stickers. Chen Shian would later learn that the cat was Hello Kitty, and the stickers were her own handiwork.

“I’ll go get chopsticks and wait for you over there,” she said.

“Alright.”

Wen Zhixia carried her tray away, and Chen Shian stepped up to order his own meal.

Today, dressed in his school uniform with freshly cut hair, the serving auntie didn’t recognize him from yesterday, but seeing his agreeable face, she still gave him an extra helping of meat, just as she had before.

When Chen Shian emerged from the line, tray in hand, Wen Zhixia had already fetched chopsticks and spoons for both of them and was bent over, ladling soup from a large pot.

“Let me do it,” he offered.

“No need! I’ve got it all done. Here, this one’s for you.”

The soup was a bit hot. She fixed her eyes on the bowl, carefully placing it on his tray, then set another on her own.

“Huh? Where are the chopsticks and spoon I just got?”

“I’ve got them. Come on, where do you want to sit?”

“Let’s sit at the back!”

So, each with their tray, they made their way to a quieter spot at the rear of the dining hall and sat down.

“What did you get?” Wen Zhixia sat opposite Chen Shian, peering curiously at his tray the moment she set hers down.

“Braised pork with potatoes, stuffed eggplant with garlic sauce, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Want to try some?”

“No, thanks. Do you want to taste mine?”

“Sure.”

She’d only meant to be polite, but to her surprise, this shameless Daoist actually reached over with his spoon and helped himself to her tofu!

Seeing her momentarily stunned, Chen Shian chuckled. “If there’s anything you want, just help yourself.”

Wen Zhixia finally dropped her reservations and scooped up some of his scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Eating like this was so much more fun—if they were both overly polite, how boring would it be?

“Do you want some braised pork with potatoes?” he offered.

“Nope~ I need to eat less meat; I’m trying to lose weight.”

Despite her words, Chen Shian couldn’t help but notice the dish she reached for most was still the spicy pork slices.

“Lose weight? You’re not even remotely overweight—why bother?”

“Just… I want to be thinner, that’s all!”

Chen Shian eyed her as he ate. With her figure, she was the last person who needed to worry about weight. If by “thinner” she meant her full, rounded chest…

Which quack doctor was misleading such an innocent girl?

“Don’t worry about it. Eat up. With all the energy you burn studying, you need to eat well. If you really want to stay healthy and toned, I actually know a set of exercises that would be perfect for you.”

“You know about that kind of thing?”

“A little.”

“How does it work, how does it work?”

His words piqued Wen Zhixia’s interest—what girl doesn’t care about looking good?

“The meridians are the channels for energy and blood flow. If they’re blocked, the blood stagnates. So, if you want to lose weight, dieting alone isn’t enough; you have to get your circulation going.”

“But with all the classes, there’s no time to exercise…”

“I’ll teach you a few simple moves. Practice them before bed each night. I can’t promise miracles, but at the very least, they’ll help you sleep better.”

“Right! Yesterday you said I had too much internal heat. I haven’t been sleeping well lately—what should I do?”

Chen Shian began demonstrating a few basic wellness exercises, like massaging the scalp, rubbing the abdomen, and pressing along the spleen and stomach meridians.

Although Wen Zhixia couldn’t channel energy like he could, just sticking to the routine would be good for her health.

“Does it really work…?” she asked.

“If your cultivation were as deep as mine, the effects would be dramatic. But even with little or no cultivation, a bit is better than nothing—and over time, it’ll add up.”

His seriousness made her laugh. “I don’t believe you! Is this ‘cultivation’ of yours just a trick?”

“Well, how does my energy look to you?”

Wen Zhixia stared at him, eating as she observed—she didn’t really know how to “see” energy, but Chen Shian did look different from others: more vibrant, more alive.

She looked a little too long and found herself just admiring his features…

Snapping back, her cheeks flushed as she replied, “You look fine!”

“See? Proof that it works. I’ve been practicing since I was little.”

Wen Zhixia blinked, half-convinced, half-doubtful. Still, the exercises weren’t hard—she’d have to try them sometime!

They moved on from the topic, and Wen Zhixia started chatting about class.

“Oh! Teacher Ye gave you a reading pen?”

“Yeah. Does he teach your class too?”

“He does—he only teaches our class and yours.”

“I see.”

“How’s the pen? Does it help?”

“It’s good. I can finally figure out how to pronounce the words and what they mean.”

“Say something for me?”

“How do you greet people?” he attempted, in English.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Chen Shian was taken aback—they sounded stiff, flat, and awkward. Despite his remarkable memory for spelling, meaning, and pronunciation, saying it aloud felt like his tongue was tied.

Before Wen Zhixia could comment, he shook his head. “No, I need to practice pronunciation more.”

“You did really well!” Wen Zhixia encouraged him. “You’ve never studied English before, and you can already say a whole sentence. That’s impressive! With speaking and listening, reading books isn’t enough—you have to practice. If you want, I can help you. We’re study buddies, after all. My grades might be so-so, but I can teach you, no problem.”

Seeing the pride hidden in her smile, Chen Shian laughed. “Coming first in liberal arts and scoring 146—the highest in the grade—on English, and you call that so-so?”

“How did you know?!”

“I saw the honor roll. Your name is right at the top; it would be hard not to notice.”

“~~~”

Her cheeks turned red. She couldn’t help giggling. Wen Zhixia had never cared much about the honor roll, but now that Chen Shian had mentioned it, she felt genuinely proud.

“So, will you still be my study buddy?” she asked.

“Of course. We already agreed. When do you want to study together?”

Wen Zhixia thought for a moment. “How about on the way to and from school every day? I’ll help you practice speaking and listening, and we can study during meals too. That way we’re meal buddies and commute buddies!”

“Sounds good,” Chen Shian agreed.

“What’s your WeChat? Let’s add each other.”

She glanced around, then took out her phone and added him.

Chen Shian accepted her request. Now, among his contacts, there was a new friend with a cute cartoon cat avatar and the nickname “Zhizhi”—his second WeChat friend.

“It’s hard to text during class, so let’s make some simple arrangements,” Wen Zhixia suggested.

“What arrangements?”

“Well, I’m on the fourth floor and you’re on the second… How about this: if you want to wait for me to eat or go home, just wait in the first-floor hallway; if you’re not there, I’ll know you left; if you wait ten minutes and I’m not downstairs, it probably means I’m busy, so you can go ahead; and for morning classes, I’ll wait for you at the corner.”

“Alright.”

Chen Shian nodded. There was something charmingly old-fashioned about such an agreement.

Just then, Wen Zhixia reached out her right hand. Four fingers curled in, leaving her little finger extended, soft and innocent.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Let’s pinky swear.”

Chen Shian blinked, then solemnly set down his chopsticks and hooked his little finger with hers.

“Okay, it’s a promise.”

His voice was clear and bright, like a river stone washed in a mountain stream.

Although it was her idea, the moment their pinkies linked, Wen Zhixia’s heart skipped a beat.

She felt a subtle tingling crawl up her finger, his touch warm like sunlight, a little warmer than hers, brushing lightly against her delicate skin like a feather.

The pressure was gentle, just enough to feel the shape of his finger bone.

Her heart raced, cheeks quietly flushing.

When their pinkies parted, she quickly pulled her hand back and picked up her chopsticks.

“Let’s eat, let’s eat!”

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