The waiter asked another waiter, then apologetically and with difficulty said to He Lin, "I'm sorry, our restaurant now only accepts scan-to-order and scan-to-pay, so we can't split the bill into two. But I can tell you the prices for each order separately, and one of you can transfer the money to the other later."
He Lin looked at Sheng Kuang, "Is that okay?"
Sheng Kuang lifted his eyes, "Sure."
"..."
These were two normal sentences, but for some reason, Lin Jing felt a strong sense of impending conflict.
The food at this restaurant arrived quite quickly. Although He Lin ordered slightly later than Sheng Kuang and his group, the dishes for both tables were served around the same time.
They had ordered two dishes twice, and one of them was a large dish that was duplicated. Someone passing by saw the two large basins of boiled beef on their table and couldn't help but glance at the five of them, their expressions suggesting they were looking at five mentally challenged individuals.
The atmosphere at the dining table wasn't particularly good, but it wasn't particularly tense either.
He Lin and another guy were chatting amongst themselves as if Sheng Kuang and his group didn't exist.
Sheng Kuang, in turn, acted as if He Lin and that guy didn't exist, occasionally looking up to say something to Yu Zhou.
Sheng Kuang and He Lin had a peculiar rhythm. When He Lin spoke, Sheng Kuang would respond, and when Sheng Kuang spoke, He Lin would also say something. Neither of them spoke directly to each other, but it felt like they were communicating.
And it wasn't a friendly exchange; it was more like a subtle competition.
Just as Lin Jing was seriously suspecting the two of them might come to blows if they stayed any longer, the freshly squeezed fruit juice ordered by He Lin was brought by the waiter.
He Lin poured a glass for himself and the other guy, then turned to Lin Jing, "Lin Jing, you like orange juice, do you want me to pour you a glass too?"
Lin Jing made a sound of surprise and was about to speak when Sheng Kuang beside her raised his eyelids, "She doesn't drink it."
Lin Jing stopped her words and turned to look at Sheng Kuang.
He Lin acted as if he hadn't heard Sheng Kuang and reached out to grab Lin Jing's cup, "We can't finish it anyway, it would be a waste."
The moment He Lin's fingertips were about to touch Lin Jing's cup, Sheng Kuang reached out, took her cup, and then picked up the nearby water pitcher, pouring her a glass of hot water and placing it in front of her. "She hasn't been drinking cold things these past few days."
The atmosphere instantly froze.
After about ten seconds, He Lin seemed to understand the implication of Sheng Kuang's words, silently withdrew his hand, and placed the juice back on the table.
After a moment of awkward silence, Lin Jing cleared her throat uncomfortably and looked at Yu Zhou across from her.
She suddenly realized why Yu Zhou looked familiar. She exclaimed, "Ah, I remember you."
Yu Zhou: "What?"
Lin Jing stared directly at Yu Zhou and said expressionlessly, "You, weren't you the one wearing that flashy bright red tracksuit who shouted 'yo' at me the day before yesterday during the sports meet when I went to register for the women's 1500 meters?"
Yu Zhou: "..."
Seeing Yu Zhou not responding, Lin Jing asked again, "Were you?"
Yu Zhou paused for two seconds, "Sister Jing, you have a good memory."
Just as Lin Jing was about to reply, He Lin, sitting next to Yu Zhou, suddenly interjected, "Of course, Lin Jing's memory is incredibly strong. She can remember most things with just one look. Once our school organized an event, and there was a segment where you had ten seconds to memorize as many words as possible appearing on a screen. Lin Jing was the champion then."
Yu Zhou looked impressed, "That strong?"
He Lin: "Yeah, she's very capable. She's also great at debate, and the advanced mathematics competition, she's amazing at all of them."
Sheng Kuang glanced at He Lin. He didn't interrupt him, letting him talk about some of Lin Jing's experiences at school.
His silence made He Lin talk even more, even pulling Lin Jing into reminiscing, "Lin Jing, do you remember the traditional culture competition we had with the law department? You were so amazing that time; without you, our department might have lost."
Sheng Kuang's eyelids drooped as he listened to He Lin talk.
He felt quite annoyed, but more than annoyance, it was an indescribable sense of crisis.
He wasn't stupid; he knew He Lin's words weren't directed at Yu Zhou at all, but at him.
To others, his words seemed like casual conversation, but to Sheng Kuang, they took on a completely different meaning.
He was using this method to remind him that his shared experiences with Lin Jing far outnumbered Sheng Kuang's.
Every word he spoke was a hint to Sheng Kuang.
Don't think you're close just because you know Lin Jing and her period.
You're not close at all. There are many things about her that you don't understand. I was part of so many of her past experiences, while you, you've only played a few games with her.
Sheng Kuang initially wanted to learn more about Lin Jing from He Lin, but the more he listened, the more uncomfortable he became. In the end, a ball of fire inexplicably rose in his chest, making him extremely displeased.
He looked up at He Lin, who was chatting with a smile, and his gaze fell on Lin Jing.
He watched her for two seconds, then his eyes moved down to her phone, which was casually placed on the table.
He stared at her phone for a moment, noticed a bit of oil stain on the phone case, and then casually picked up her phone. "This phone case is a bit dirty. I'll give you the one I'm using now."
As he said that, Sheng Kuang pried off Lin Jing's phone case.
Sandwiched between the case and the phone was a piece of paper.
Sheng Kuang, feigning ignorance, picked up the note. "What's this?"
Lin Jing turned her head. She opened her mouth, but before she could stop him, Sheng Kuang slowly unfolded the note.
He stared at his own signature on the paper, paused for a moment, then deliberately unfolded it for He Lin to see.
He watched He Lin's expression gradually stiffen, paused for two seconds, and slowly turned to Lin Jing beside him. "Little Cp, can you explain what this means?"