After Going on a Blind Date With My Omega Love Rival (ABO, GL) - Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Chi Ruixi was hesitating whether to send Yu Heyi a WeChat message when Teacher Cheng pulled her to go eat. As they reached the door, Chi Ying suddenly appeared at the office entrance.

“Teacher Chi, I need to talk to you.”

Chi Ruixi glanced at Teacher Cheng beside her. Teacher Cheng, quick to read the room, smiled and said, “Teacher Chi, I’ll go save us a spot.”

“Okay.”

After Teacher Cheng left, Chi Ying pulled Chi Ruixi to a corner, glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, and then spoke. “Zheng Qin resigned?”

“You heard too?” Chi Ruixi was a bit surprised. Had the news spread that fast?

She’d only just heard about it.

Seeing her surprise, Chi Ying’s expression turned unnatural. In a quieter voice, she said to Chi Ruixi, “I told my mom about it.”

Chi Ruixi nodded. She knew this—Chi Shengxi had mentioned that if it weren’t for Chi Ying’s call, she wouldn’t have shown up out of the blue.

But Chi Ying’s next words caught her off guard: “Mom’s planning to donate to the school to build a gym.”

After saying this, Chi Ying rubbed her nose, looking at Chi Ruixi with a bit of apprehension.

With Chi Ying’s words, Chi Ruixi understood. The corporation was the Chi family.

She just wanted to live a quiet life, not get tangled up with the Chi family. Her face turned cold, and she spoke to Chi Ying with a hint of anger.

“You didn’t need to tell her. I can handle these things myself.”

Chi Ying had been afraid of this reaction, but keeping it from her now would likely make her even angrier later.

Being met with Chi Ruixi’s cold words was the hardest thing for her. Anxiously, she tried to grab Chi Ruixi’s arm and said, “Auntie, I was just worried about you. Zheng Qin’s not a good person. She shouldn’t be so close to you. Isn’t it better now that she’s gone?”

What could Chi Ruixi say? The deed was done. She knew Chi Ying meant well, but she didn’t want Chi Ying to turn into someone who used power to pressure others.

Sighing, she patted Chi Ying’s hair. Chi Ying lowered her head, looking obedient, but Chi Ruixi knew she took after Chi Shengxi—after the Chi family.

She, on the other hand, was the exception in the Chi family.

“Auntie knows you meant well, Xiao Ying. But some things I can handle myself. You’re still a kid. Studying hard is what you should focus on now.”

Being told this, Chi Ying felt even more embarrassed. She mumbled an “mm” and said in a slightly whiny tone, “I know, Auntie.”

“Oh, right, Auntie.” After calling out to Chi Ruixi, Chi Ying suddenly seemed a bit shy.

“What’s up?”

Chi Ying bit her lip, hesitating before saying, “Yesterday, Grandma said she wants you to come home for dinner.”

“And then?” Just dinner—Chi Ruixi didn’t think it was something to make Chi Ying so hesitant about.

“Ugh!” Chi Ying let out a dramatic sigh.

“It’s my fault. That day, Grandma called me home for dinner and brought up your situation. I wanted to speak up for you, but then she asked how I knew so much.”

“What did you say?” Chi Ruixi still didn’t quite follow what Chi Ying was getting at.

“I said Uncle works in our school cafeteria…” Chi Ying kept her head down, not daring to look at Chi Ruixi. Then she heard Chi Ruixi chuckle and ruffle her hair.

“What’s the big deal? It’s my personal business. If she knows, she knows.”

“Go on, let’s eat.” She patted Chi Ying’s shoulder.

But Chi Ying didn’t let go, swinging her arm and saying, “Auntie, I want to eat with you today.”

“What about Zhan Yuan? Don’t you usually eat with her?”

At the mention of Zhan Yuan, Chi Ruixi clearly noticed her niece’s mood shift—she seemed a bit upset.

…Thinking of Zhan Yuan, Chi Ying was indeed a bit upset. They’d just had a fight.

Now that her name came up, Chi Ying felt a dull ache in her chest.

“Forget about her. I want to eat with you today.”

The more Chi Ying acted like this, the more suspicious Chi Ruixi became. Chi Ying and Zhan Yuan had always been close, ever since middle school. Sometimes, Chi Ruixi couldn’t tell who was clinging to whom.

They were very close.

As Chi Ruixi and Chi Ying stepped into the cafeteria, both of them scanned the room.

Chi Ruixi was looking for Yu Heyi. She didn’t see her at the serving station and wanted to know where she was.

Chi Ying was looking for Zhan Yuan. After a while, she spotted her in a corner, eating alone, looking small and pitiful with her head down.

Chi Ruixi searched but couldn’t find Yu Heyi. Turning around, she saw Chi Ying staring at the corner. Following her gaze, she also saw Zhan Yuan eating alone.

Zhan Yuan was her class representative, a good student with a nice personality. She was shy at first, but Chi Ying had brought her out of her shell, making her much livelier.

So Chi Ruixi couldn’t imagine what could have happened between her and Chi Ying.

Unless Chi Ying had upset Zhan Yuan.

“Did you bully Zhan Yuan?”

Chi Ying, lost in thought, was startled by Chi Ruixi’s words and immediately retorted, “How could I bully her? If anything, she bullied me.”

Honestly, Chi Ruixi didn’t believe her.

“Let’s get food first, then go find Zhan Yuan.”

While queuing for food, Chi Ruixi saw Teacher Cheng. Seeing Chi Ruixi with Chi Ying, Teacher Cheng didn’t call her over, just waved and continued eating.

In line, Chi Ruixi stood behind Chi Ying, clearly distracted, wondering why Yu Heyi wasn’t there.

Had she been fired?

Chi Ying got her food, and finally, it was Chi Ruixi’s turn. The serving auntie was the same one who often worked with Yu Heyi. Chi Ruixi wanted to ask about her but felt a bit shy.

The auntie, however, was enthusiastic, even adding extra ribs to Chi Ruixi’s plate.

“Teacher Chi, your leg’s injured. Eat more ribs to recover.”

Chi Ruixi smiled and said, “Thank you.”

Then, casually, she asked, “Where’s the person who was serving with you yesterday?”

She didn’t mention Yu Heyi’s name since the auntie didn’t know about their relationship.

To her surprise, the auntie gave a knowing smile and said, “Little Yu’s in the kitchen now.”

“The kitchen?”

“Yeah, she’s a cook now.”

“Oh.”

Chi Ruixi didn’t know what to say. She smiled at the auntie and left.

She had planned to take Chi Ying to find Zhan Yuan, but Chi Ying had already sat down at a random spot and started eating.

“Chi Ying.”

Chi Ying, busy eating, looked up, pretending to be clueless. “Auntie, what’s up?”

Chi Ruixi glanced toward Zhan Yuan and said, “Didn’t I say we were going to find Zhan Yuan?”

“Huh? Did you?” Chi Ying played dumb.

Chi Ruixi gave her a disapproving look, then turned to find Zhan Yuan.

Chi Ying hadn’t expected her aunt to actually leave her. Seeing her sit next to Zhan Yuan, she was stunned.

“Zhan Yuan, is it okay if I sit here?”

Zhan Yuan, eating with her head down, heard Chi Ruixi’s voice and instinctively started to stand. Chi Ruixi waved her hand, and Zhan Yuan sat back down, her face slightly red, saying softly, “Sure, Teacher Chi.”

She said it was fine, but Chi Ruixi noticed Zhan Yuan didn’t touch her chopsticks after she sat down.

Probably just feeling shy.

Chi Ruixi smiled, keeping her voice gentle. “Eat. Am I that scary?” She even blinked playfully.

Zhan Yuan almost laughed but quickly suppressed it.

“I’ve got plenty of ribs. Here, take some.” Chi Ruixi picked up Zhan Yuan’s chopsticks and put a few ribs on her plate.

“Teacher Chi… I can’t eat that much.” Zhan Yuan tried to give them back.

“It’s fine, eat. You’re growing. You need to eat more.”

With that, Zhan Yuan couldn’t argue and obediently ate the ribs Chi Ruixi gave her.

While eating, Zhan Yuan felt someone watching her. Looking up, she saw Chi Ruixi eating earnestly. She glanced behind her and saw Chi Ying quickly lower her head in a panic.

Zhan Yuan pursed her lips, looking a bit sad.

Though Chi Ruixi was eating, she noticed Zhan Yuan’s every move and knew she was looking at Chi Ying behind her.

Casually, she said, “Had a fight with Chi Ying?”

Zhan Yuan’s eyes widened, and she shook her head.

“Xiao Ying can have a temper sometimes, but she definitely didn’t mean to upset you.”

Convinced her niece was the one causing trouble, Chi Ruixi was stunned when Zhan Yuan said, “I’m the one who made her mad.”

Then she lowered her head, eating in silence.

She clearly didn’t want to talk about it. Chi Ruixi felt a headache coming on. Teenagers were so hard to understand.

And it wasn’t just teenagers. Her relationship with Yu Heyi was confusing too. Since that day, she hadn’t dared to push Yu Heyi too far. They were getting along peacefully, but it felt like that peace had reached a plateau.

They just couldn’t break through.

Chi Ruixi was a bit worried, as was Zhan Yuan. Chi Ying, watching from behind, was getting anxious. They were chatting one moment, then suddenly both went quiet.

This made her uneasy. She didn’t know what they were talking about.

Chi Ying had almost finished eating and started cleaning up her tray to throw out the trash. At the garbage area, she saw Yu Heyi squatting and smoking.

“Uncle, you smoke?”

Yu Heyi, secretly watching Chi Ruixi, was startled by Chi Ying’s sudden appearance. She quickly tossed the cigarette butt to the ground and stomped it out.

“Shh, keep it down.”

“Oh, scared Auntie will find out?” After tossing her trash, Chi Ying squatted next to Yu Heyi. From this spot, they could see Chi Ruixi if they looked up, but Chi Ruixi wouldn’t notice them unless she looked closely.

Caught by a kid, Yu Heyi was embarrassed, her face turning red. “Don’t say anything. I only smoke occasionally.”

She glanced at Chi Ruixi, who looked back, their eyes meeting.

This made Yu Heyi even more flustered, as if Chi Ruixi had caught her smoking. She grabbed Chi Ying’s hand and said, “Don’t tell your auntie.”

Then she hurried back to the kitchen.