"Junior, let me tell you, coming to Jiangzhou University was the right choice. Honestly, of all the universities in the country, you won't find soup dumplings and hot and sour soup as delicious as ours anywhere else!"
"Senior, aren't you exaggerating? How good can the food actually be in the cafeteria?"
"Hey, this kind of blatant bragging doesn't require exaggeration! See for yourself, how many people are lining up here?"
"Ah, there really are a lot of people queuing! With so many people, how long do we have to wait to eat?"
"Senior has a trick, want to know what it is?"
"Yes, yes, tell me, senior!"
"No rush, no rush, come on, let's add each other on WeChat first!"
"..."
"Students these days really play the game!"
At the entrance of the second cafeteria, Duan Yiming saw an upperclassman dragging a suitcase with a girl who was obviously a freshman, laughing and talking as they walked into the cafeteria, and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.
He didn't come for breakfast today because he was in a hurry, and he couldn't just drop everything for a bite to eat.
But after tasting the delicious soup dumplings, he couldn't stop craving them, and his mind was elsewhere all morning, thinking about the cafeteria.
So, as soon as his shift ended at noon, he rushed over impatiently.
He turned his head to glance at Zhu Youfeng and said with a smile,
"Buddy, I heard you don't have a girlfriend either. You could learn from that student earlier; approaching girls with good food is actually a great idea, at least you can exchange WeChat contacts."
"Senior, your information is incomplete."
Although he lost the bet yesterday, Zhu Youfeng wasn't discouraged. Instead, he felt quite the rapport with Duan Yiming. He calmly retorted,
"Do you think someone like me would still lack girls around?"
"Ah? Hahaha, I guess I was overthinking."
Upon hearing this, Duan Yiming burst into laughter. Shortly after, he seemed to recall something, frowned, and with a worried look said,
"I didn't realize earlier, but now it hits me—this isn't right.
How many seniors do you think would brag to freshmen using the same method and leak the info that the second cafeteria has delicious soup dumplings?"
"What do you mean, senior...?"
Zhu Youfeng was momentarily stunned, as if he'd realized something too.
"There are already so many people lining up for soup dumplings. Those fools telling freshmen about it think they wouldn't come and queue?"
Duan Yiming became increasingly agitated as he spoke, indignantly saying,
"These idiots, is this something you can flaunt and show off? Others would want to keep it under wraps for themselves!
Such delicious soup dumplings, I'd rather nobody knew, so I can enjoy them secretly on my own. Isn't that wonderful?"
"..."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Youfeng's face twitched involuntarily, silently mocking in his heart:
You have the nerve to call others idiots, aren't you one too?
Just yesterday, after eating the soup dumplings, you went on the campus forum and bragged about it, otherwise I wouldn't have thought you were exaggerating and made a bet with you.
Come to think of it, if you hadn't posted about it, I wouldn't know that the second cafeteria sold soup dumplings until now.
But after pondering for a moment, Zhu Youfeng restrained himself from exposing Duan Yiming and just said softly,
"Since the senior didn't come in the morning, perhaps you aren't aware, but the soup dumpling shop posted a notice that starting tomorrow, they'll be sold on a timed basis. If you come too late, you might not get any even if you queue."
"Ti-timed sales?!"
Duan Yiming's eyes widened, his face a mix of shock as he said,
"Doesn't this mean not only will more people want to buy soup dumplings, but there's also less time to do so? It will be getting harder and harder to buy them?"
"Senior, you're so smart!"
"I damn it..."
"Oh by the way, since you didn't come in the morning, the shop also introduced hot and sour soup. It's tangy and spicy and tastes incredible, simply calling it 'delicious' doesn't do it justice!"
Seeing Duan Yiming look as if he was about to go mad, for some reason, Zhu Youfeng felt a bit of schadenfreude in his heart as he continued,
"Too bad we're a bit late now; we probably can't get any for lunch.
Many students queued up before 10:30, and with new students registering today, the line has already wrapped around the cafeteria hall..."
"I don't care!"
Duan Yiming suddenly interrupted him, glaring as he said,
"You lost the bet yesterday, and the wager wasn't just a week's worth of meals, you also have to help me get them!
You, yes you!
Right now, immediately! Go get me two baskets of soup dumplings and a bowl of hot and sour soup, I'll be waiting at the seat across from the snack bar!"
Zhu Youfeng: "..."
Goddamn it!
Why did I provoke him?!
Great, now I've shot myself in the foot!
...
"Hey, man, are you also here to grab a bite at the second cafeteria?"
"Yeah, a classmate told me that the soup dumplings and hot and sour soup here are amazing, so I had to come try them!"
"Then what are you doing standing here? You need to queue!"
"There are too many people in line, it looks like hundreds! So, I'm still deciding whether to just grab something else instead..."
"What's there to hesitate about, if you really want to eat, just queue! Tell me, how much are you willing to pay?"
"What?"
"A spot in line, how much are you willing to pay? If it's reasonable, I'll give you the spot I queued for half the day!"
"Ah, this..."
...
"Hey there, how about selling me your spot for 50 bucks?"
"50 bucks? Are you kidding? Someone's spot that wasn't even as far up as mine sold for 100 this morning!"
"But 100 bucks is a bit too much, I'm not exactly rich here, I just wanted to taste the legendary soup dumplings and hot and sour soup."
"Either way, I can't part with my spot for 50 bucks, I've been queueing for over an hour, you know how hard that is?"
"Let's each take a step back, I don't need your spot. When it's your turn, just help me buy a portion with my 50 bucks, treat it as if I'm treating you to it, how's that?"
"Can you even do that?"
"Why not? You're not losing anything, you're getting a free meal, just by helping me out a little!"
"Alright, alright then!"
"..."
"See, see, it's all your fault, second brother!"
Lu Shuyao stood in line, listening to the conversation from people queuing before and after her, feeling helplessly amused. She turned to give Lu Shuwu a glare, puffing angrily,
"If you hadn't paid for someone's spot this morning, everyone in the cafeteria would have queued up quietly, and none of this chaos would be happening now."
"How can you blame me?"
Lu Shuwu shrugged, innocently defending himself,
"Students these days are really smart; all I did was buy a spot from someone, and now they're sharing spots with others, without the need to buy the whole position outright!"
Lu Shuyao was so amused by this that she "pfft" laughed out loud. She quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth and rolled her eyes at her unreliable second brother:
"Just close your mouth already!"
"Sis, as an elegant lady, you need to learn to be reserved."
"..."
Lu Shuyao couldn't be bothered with him, but after a while, she couldn't help asking, "Second brother, when are you going to see the boss?"
"After lunch."
Lu Shuwu turned his head, smiled carefreely, and said, "Do or die, it all depends on this!"
Lu Shuyao: "..."
Looks like her second brother is never going to get serious in this lifetime.