Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

The two walked back to the parking lot along the gravel path.

Yan Xi walked on the left, her hand still in his.

She walked a little faster than she had come, not because she was in a hurry, but because she was hungry.

Li Chen judged it from her walking frequency.

I took 82 steps per minute when I arrived, now I take 91 steps per minute.

Yan Xi walks faster when he's hungry, a pattern he observed in the cafeteria for two months before confirming.

As Yan Xi passed a stone wall covered with vines, her pace slowed by half a second.

Her gaze swept across the wall, and her lips moved slightly.

"The aerial roots of the vine have penetrated the mortar cracks for at least..."

"Fifteen years."

Li Chen finished speaking for her.

Yan Xi turned to look at him.

"You guessed."

"Based on the diameter of the vine stems and the weathering characteristics of the stone wall mortar."

When did you study botany?

"After you fell asleep last night, I had nothing to do. So I flipped through a paper."

Yan Xi pinched his palm with her fingers.

It doesn't hurt.

But the meaning is clear... enough showing off.

Get in the car, Li Chen drives.

Yan Xi sat in the passenger seat and stuffed the towel back between his neck and headrest.

"Does it still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

"You're lying. The muscles on your right side compensated when you turned your head."

Li Chen didn't refute. He was indeed still a little stiff.

"I'll press it again for you after we get to the food stall."

"At the dinner table?"

"What, afraid of losing face?"

"I'm afraid the boss will think you're strangling me."

Yan Xi didn't reply, but the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.

The seafood stalls in the town center were more authentic than Li Chen had imagined.

Open-air.

A few metal tables and plastic stools.

A shed made of tarpaulin was placed overhead.

The sea breeze made the oilcloth rustle.

Yan Xi glanced at the surroundings.

"Your 4.7 rating is the lowest."

"A local fishermen's canteen. It has a good reputation."

"What about hygiene?"

"You were breaking crabs apart with your hands in the courtyard of the fishing village last night."

Yan Xi glared at him. Then she sat down.

The boss was a woman in her early forties, with dark skin and a loud voice.

The oil stains on the apron were the same as those on the noodle shop owner's, like part of his work clothes.

"Two people? What are you going to eat?"

Li Chen ordered three dishes: salt-baked shrimp, steamed yellow croaker, and razor clams with scallion oil.

"Choose small yellow croakers, as they have fewer bones. Don't put garlic in the razor clams."

The shop owner glanced at him. "Doesn't your wife eat garlic?"

"I don't eat onions, garlic, or cilantro."

"If you don't put scallions or garlic in the razor clams, what's the point of calling them 'scallion oil razor clams'?"

"Call them razor clams."

The boss shook his head, smiled, and left.

Yan Xi rested her elbows on the metal table, her chin on the back of her hand, looking at him.

"You don't even ask me when you order food anymore."

"I know what you want to eat before you do."

"Then tell me what I want to eat now."

"You want soup. But these food stalls don't make soup. So you're hesitating about ordering a bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup—but you think pre-made seaweed soup isn't fresh. In the end, you'll choose a bottle of coconut milk. At room temperature."

Yan Xi looked at him for five seconds.

"Boss, a bottle of coconut juice, please. Room temperature."

The boss's voice came from the kitchen. "Ready!"

Li Chen stood up. "I'll go get it."

"Sit down." Yan Xi pressed his hand down. "You just hit someone. Let your fists rest."

She got up and walked to the freezer, bent down and rummaged through it, taking out a bottle of coconut juice. She glanced at the temperature, then put it back. She replaced it with a bottle closer to the outside.

She walked back and placed the coconut juice in front of Li Chen.

"This bottle isn't cold. Here, have some. You have a sensitive stomach."

Li Chen looked down at the bottle. There were no water droplets on the bottle wall. It was definitely at room temperature.

"You just said you wanted coconut juice."

I want it at room temperature. But there's only one bottle of room temperature bottle in the freezer.

Li Chen looked at her.

"So you gave me the only bottle that was at room temperature."

Yan Xi sat down again, her gaze shifting to the sea.

"I'm fine drinking iced drinks."

Li Chen didn't touch the bottle of coconut juice. He stood up, walked to the freezer, bent down and looked around. Finally, he took two bottles: one of coconut juice and one of warm barley tea.

He placed the barley tea in front of Yan Xi.

"I saw it just now next to the kitchen. It was in an insulated box. It was warm."

Yan Xi glanced at the bottle.

How did you know there was an insulated box?

"I glanced at the kitchen layout when I came in. The insulated box was to the left of the stove, and it contained barley tea and soy milk."

Yan Xi unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip.

"You can memorize the kitchen layout with just a glance."

"You can memorize the wall construction method with just one glance. We're even."

The dishes are here.

The shells of the salt-baked shrimp were fried until golden brown.

The yellow croaker wasn't big; the meat fell apart with just one bite.

The razor clams weren't served with scallions or garlic, just soy sauce and a little bit of ginger.

Li Chen peeled shrimp for Yan Xi first.

The shells were peeled off completely, and the shrimp meat was placed in a row on her plate.

Yan Xi picked up a shrimp and put it in her mouth. She chewed it twice.

"fresh."

"The cargo just returned from the fishing boat this morning."

"How did you determine that?"

"There are fish scales under the table legs. It's half-dried. This means the fish has been processed at the food stall for no more than three hours."

Yan Xi glanced down at the table leg. There were indeed two translucent fish scales stuck to the iron pipe.

"Your observation range includes under the table legs."

"That also includes your shoelaces being loose. Left foot."

Yan Xi looked down. The lace on her left shoe was indeed untied.

She didn't bend over.

Li Chen had already squatted down.

He knelt down beside the plastic stool and tied her shoelaces. A bow. Then he stood up and dusted off his knees.

Sit back down. Continue peeling shrimp.

An elderly couple at the next table watched them for a long time. The old woman patted the old man on the shoulder. The old man lowered his head and ate his fish, pretending not to hear.

Yan Xi pushed the yellow croaker in front of Li Chen.

"You eat the fish. Don't just peel shrimp for me."

"I'll finish peeling first—"

"Eat now."

Li Chen picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks.

When he eats fish, he first uses his chopsticks to probe the direction of the bones.

This habit was formed when he helped Yan Xi remove fish bones.

Now I can't stop eating it myself.

My phone vibrated.

Group 302.

[Wang Qiang: Li Chen, have you guys eaten yet??? I just ate a bowl of vegetarian noodles that cost five yuan. Five yuan. Vegetarian noodles. Can you imagine???]

[Zhao Zixuan: His purpose in posting the photo of himself with plain noodles was to make Li Chen feel guilty so he would send him a red envelope.]

[Wang Qiang: I didn't!!! I was just simply sharing my life!!!]

[Zhao Zixuan: Your plain noodles don't even have an egg on them. You're using poverty to emotionally blackmail me.]

Li Chen posted a picture of a dish.

Salt-baked shrimp, steamed yellow croaker, and razor clams are neatly arranged.

[Li Chen: Food stall. 30 yuan per person.]

three seconds.

[Wang Qiang: Thirty yuan per person??? Last time you treated me to Haidilao, it cost 180 yuan per person!!! You ate with your senior for thirty yuan!!! What does that mean!!! It means you'll eat anything with her!!! That's love!!! But when you treat me, you have to make up for it with something expensive!!! That's just being polite!!!]

[Chen Mo: Logically consistent. Rare.]