C14 Emergency Situation

For reasons unknown, despite having lived for over thirty years and experienced a handful of romances, he was still seized by an irrepressible excitement, his breath quickening.

In the heart of every person lies an indistinct yet unforgettable shadow, a figure that, due to fate or other circumstances, remains hidden deep within, serving as a poignant reminder of life's journey.

For Chu Jun, Su Xiang was more than just a name; she symbolized his high school days. Indeed, she was the one he had harbored a secret crush on, and now, unexpectedly, she was confessing her feelings to him.

In his past life, Chu Jun had been absent from school for nearly a month and a half after his father's tragic leap. By the time he returned, Su Xiang had already left for Yanjing. The confession he now held—whether she had stealthily reclaimed it or it had never surfaced at all—was a mystery.

Gasping for air, his fingers trembling as they clutched the letter, he instinctively searched for Su Xiang's silhouette. Her soft black hair seemed to bring into view her blushing, bashful face.

Adrenaline coursed through him.

"What are you staring at? Let me see!" Chu Jun was snapped out of his reverie by a voice from behind, followed by the swift theft of the letter from his grasp.

"Whoa, a love letter! You've got a love letter, man! I should've fallen for you back then, waiting for you in Yanjing, huh? Su Xiang wrote this to you?" Liu Tao's voice escalated as he read the closing signature, his exclamation punctuated with a swear.

"Shut your mouth!" Chu Jun's heart sank. He lunged forward, reclaiming the letter, but the damage was done. Liu Tao's words had reached eager ears, prompting sidelong glances and hushed murmurs. The classroom erupted into chaos, like a drop of water hitting a sizzling pan.

"What are you looking at?" Chu Jun's outburst, a stark contrast to his usual mild demeanor, silenced the room as heads turned his way, and a hush fell over the crowd.

"Hehe, sorry about that!" Liu Tao's round face was beet red as he scratched his head, looking utterly bewildered. He knew he had stirred up trouble; confessing a crush was a deeply private matter, and coming from Su Xiang, it was like setting off an atomic bomb.

Chu Jun shot Liu Tao a fierce glare. The guy was one of his best buddies, always up for a laugh, which is probably why he'd pulled such a stunt.

Settling back into his seat, Chu Jun's gaze drifted to Su Xiang. She appeared absorbed in her book, but the rigid set of her shoulders told him she was just as mortified.

The joke had turned the classroom vibe weird. People were sneaking glances, with Su Xiang and himself as the main spectacle. During the break, it was even more evident as Su Xiang was swarmed by her dorm mates, whispering and shooting looks his way.

Apart from Liu Tao, the other students seemed to keep their distance from Chu Jun, their eyes betraying a mix of envy and resentment.

Su Xiang, besieged by her friends, had no escape. With a decisive slap on the table, she declared, "Enough already, no more questions. Lunch is on me at the small cafeteria!"

Her words sent the girls into a frenzy. The allure of the small cafeteria was irresistible.

"The small cafeteria? Oh my god! We're finally going to have a blast there!"

"Absolutely! It's been two months since I last ate there. Haha, thanks, Su Xiang, and thanks to you too, Chu Jun!" A girl's exuberant voice turned heads, including Chu Jun's.

Chu Jun's face muscles tensed into a forced smile, though he could well imagine it looked more grotesque than anything.

The girls' laughter rang out again, deepening Chu Jun's empathy for Su Xiang's plight. No doubt, she had offered the lunch to silence her relentless dorm mates.

For the rest of the morning, Chu Jun was physically present but mentally adrift, his thoughts a tangled mess as the lectures droned on.

At last, the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Su Xiang stood up, her laughter mingling with that of her close friends as they exited the classroom. Just before stepping out the door, she turned and flashed a smile in his direction.

Chu Jun's face blazed with heat, likely as red as a monkey's rear.

"Hey, Chu Jun, how about treating me to a meal at the small cafeteria?" Liu Tao sidled up to Chu Jun, propping himself on the desk and winking.

"Beat it, I'm eating at home!" Chu Jun snapped back, Liu Tao's teasing snapping him back to reality. By now, Su Xiang and the others had vanished from the classroom.

Chu Jun typically went home for lunch, while Su Xiang, whose parents had moved to Yanjing for work, had been boarding at school since her junior year, dining in the school cafeteria.

The school had two cafeterias, casually referred to as the big and small ones. The big cafeteria, with its affordable prices, was the usual pick for most students, including Su Xiang.

But today, to appease her friends, she decided to splurge at the small cafeteria, a place that was significantly pricier and typically frequented by the more affluent students. No wonder her friends were so thrilled.

As Chu Jun pedaled home, his thoughts were a jumbled mess. He could hardly believe Su Xiang might have feelings for him, especially after that unexpected smile she gave him.

A smile crept onto his lips, but it was quickly overshadowed by a sudden sense of foreboding, as if trouble was brewing.

Memories flooded back to him—the small cafeteria!

The day after his father's tragic suicide, the small cafeteria had inexplicably collapsed. Though not many students ate there, the incident had injured several cafeteria workers and students, with three suffering severe injuries that caused them to miss their college entrance exams. At the time, Chu Jun was too consumed by grief to take much notice.

But today, Su Xiang was planning to take her classmates to that very cafeteria. A chill ran down his spine. Gripping the brakes hard, Chu Jun wheeled around and pedaled furiously back to school. If his memory served him right, Su Xiang and many others might be walking into a catastrophe.

Pedaling furiously, he zoomed through the school gates and made a beeline for the small cafeteria. This modest eatery had once been a warehouse, and despite its age, it still presented well from the outside thanks to some careful refurbishments.

"Su Xiang! Su Xiang!" Chu Jun's voice rang out the moment he burst through the doors of the small cafeteria.