The Cannon Fodder’s Survival Guide at the Noble Academy - Chapter 11

◎Roy… so he’s actually that good at basketball◎

His breath caught. It took An Tang quite a while before he could force his gaze back to the court. Fu Jieyu had already turned away, seriously watching the game.

An Tang also straightened himself, spine stiff as if to make up for something. His eyes were aimed at the players, but his mind was nowhere near the court.

He didn’t like sports. Naturally, basketball meant nothing to him—in the past he’d always thought of it as a waste of time and energy.

Right now, he was only here to get close to the F4.

But so what? Who ever approached someone with no ulterior motives at all?

Suddenly, his chest rose and fell sharply, his breathing turning fast. An Tang bit down on the restless feeling and shot a fierce glare at the person beside him in his heart. He just knew it—Fu Jieyu was the most hateful of them all!

He couldn’t sit next to him any longer.

So he stood up immediately, walked straight to the far-left seat, and sat down, tearing open a bread wrapper and taking big bites.

After two bites, he felt a clear gaze on him. Slowly, An Tang’s chewing slowed.

Pei Chengrui leaned on his knees, staring over with a smile.

Awkward, An Tang quickly swallowed the mouthful, disguised the half-eaten bread as if untouched, and set it aside.

Just as he finished covering his tracks, he saw Pei Chengrui signal the referee for a substitution.

Moments later, the man was standing right in front of him.

Broad shoulders, long legs—just standing there blocked all of An Tang’s view.

“Thanks for the hard work!”

With practiced ease, An Tang reached under the seat, trying to grab something—but only caught empty air.

His fingers fumbled helplessly before he remembered he’d switched seats. His water bottle wasn’t here.

He laughed awkwardly twice, spotting the familiar bottle not far away.

“You thirsty? I’ll get you some water.”

“No need.” Pei Chengrui stopped him, then sat down beside him, eyes still fixed on the court. “That robot vacuum—is it useful?”

An Tang froze, then quickly nodded. The thing was huge, but honestly, he’d almost forgotten about it. A brand-new robot vacuum should fetch a good price though.

“Hmph, liar.”

“…Then why ask if you knew?”

“My room’s small. I don’t need a vacuum.” An Tang forced himself to explain patiently. Who knew what was going on in this guy’s head—asking random nonsense, even keeping tabs on whether he used the gift or not. It wasn’t like he’d thrown it away; that should be good enough!

Pei Chengrui gave him a suspicious glance, then as if recalling something, only gave a soft “mm” and said no more.

At last, peace. An Tang turned his eyes back to the court—he couldn’t afford to be distracted in front of the eldest brother. But the moment his gaze landed, he was immediately drawn to a golden silhouette.

Roy… so he’s actually that good at basketball.

In just that short while, he’d scored three or four goals. Their team’s score was climbing so fast the other side looked like they’d lost the will to play.

“Who are they playing against today?” An Tang asked casually, but got no reply. Puzzled, he turned his head and lifted his eyelids.

“Why are you staring at me like that? If you don’t want to answer, just don’t answer.”

Pei Chengrui gave a cold snort, tore his gaze away, and stared back at the court in silence.

Brows twitching, An Tang turned back as well, completely baffled. Why was he mad again? So weird.

The silence in the air grew heavier and heavier. With a sigh, An Tang tried to ease things. “So… what should we eat tonight?”

“Eat the northwest wind.”

An Tang shut his mouth immediately. If he pushed further, he probably wouldn’t even get that.

Luckily, An Tang had no say in the matter anyway. Roy Shelley, fresh off the court, certainly did.

“Pei, how about Wuyan Restaurant tonight?”

For a long moment, Pei Chengrui didn’t answer. Until An Tang raised his head—only to realize the man was staring right at him. The tension felt unbearable, so he nodded quickly. “Anything’s fine!” As long as it wasn’t the northwest wind.

But Pei Chengrui just turned and walked away.

An Tang felt singled out. Roy Shelley looked like he thought so too.

“If he’s not eating, then are you?”

If the eldest brother wasn’t there, how could he eat? “Forget it.” An Tang shook his head. He’d just find another chance next time—right now he had to coax that touchy, spoiled brat.

But where was he? He’d only turned around for a moment and the man had vanished. Just as he stepped toward the exit, someone called out.

“Where do you think you’re going? This way.”

Turning his head, An Tang saw Pei Chengrui sitting in a car, window rolled down. A headband now tied on his forehead, his brows arched with a roguish edge.

Wait… he went to change clothes?

Sliding the door open and getting in, An Tang realized—yes, he had.

The car pulled away the moment he sat down.

“Eh, aren’t we waiting for them?”

“What’s there to wait for. Uncle Chen, drive.”

“Yes, young master.”

…Young master? For real?! An Tang stared at him, then at the man driving.

Not at all the elderly butler type he imagined. The chauffeur was young, refined in a suit, with only faint lines at the eyes betraying age.

Far beyond his expectations.

The driver caught his look in the mirror and gave a polite smile.

Instinctively, An Tang smiled back. Pure courtesy, of course—but he couldn’t deny, being chauffeured around like this felt surreal.

And the car interior! Leather seats, spacious, elegant pink trim along the windows. A small cabinet at the front caught his eye. What was inside? He stared too long, and Pei Chengrui popped it open—pulling out a soda bottle and pressing it to his cheek.

“Hiss!” The icy chill made An Tang jerk away. It was a fridge.

“Thirsty?”

He shook his head, still curious about the fridge. “Does it only hold soda?”

“What do you want?”

So there was more! His eyes lit up. After a thought, he said, “Kinda want some fruit.”

Like a magician, Pei Chengrui reached in and produced a box of neatly cut fruit.

“Here.” He set it on An Tang’s lap. Seeing his round-eyed astonishment, the gloom in his chest finally eased.

“Eat.”

Cute. Just… so disobedient. Couldn’t even tell who his real boss was.

Watching him nibble piece after piece, Pei Chengrui’s lips curved unconsciously.

“Is the pineapple sweet?”

Mouth full, An Tang shook his head. Thinking the other wanted some, he speared a chunk and held it out. But Pei Chengrui leaned forward and bit it straight from the fork.

An Tang froze, even forgetting to chew, staring blankly.

“Not bad,” Pei Chengrui said after swallowing. “Try the grapefruit. It’s in season, very sweet.”

Slowly, An Tang pulled the fork back and went for another pineapple piece instead—pink and prettier than yellow, and tastier too. Whatever he muttered afterward, An Tang tuned it out completely.

“Eat too much and you’ll get mouth ulcers.” The grapefruit was peeled already. Pei Chengrui held a slice right up to his lips. “This one’s sweet. Won’t sting.”

…

By the time the car stopped, An Tang was stuffed. They’d arrived earlier than the others. Hand on his stomach, he stayed quiet. Seeing right through him, Pei Chengrui told Uncle Chen, “Circle around, wait for the other two.”

An Tang rubbed his belly faster, praying he could digest before dinner.

But nope. By the time the others showed up, knocking on the window, his stomach felt even tighter. He could hardly eat a bite more.

“Why aren’t you getting out?”

Roy Shelley asked with a smile.

Awkward, An Tang forced a grin and climbed out, trailing behind them like a little tail.

Ordering food was chaos. The more he heard, the more his stomach clenched in despair.

Weakly, he tried, “Isn’t that… kind of a lot?”

Roy Shelley blinked, then smiled. “Should be enough. Let’s stop there.”

He was right. Just four people, yet the dishes filled the whole table—extravagant, fragrant, mouth-watering.

For a broke kid with no appetite, it was torture.

No, even if it killed him, he had to eat.

This one’s so tender! That one looks amazing! And this—delicious!

Cool and creamy—ice cream filling! Miam miam miam! His chopsticks flew, hands and mouth working nonstop.

Unnoticed, all three sets of eyes had fixed on him. Like a hungry kitten dropped into a pile of food, An Tang gobbled happily, eyes sparkling, face glowing.

By the end, his stomach was a perfect round ball.

Ahh, it had been so long since he felt this satisfied. So good.

Slumped in his chair, full and content, he suddenly remembered his real purpose here.

He was supposed to become their little follower! Ahh—completely forgot…

All this food’s fault, tempting him nonstop.

He glanced up. All three of them were still quietly eating their own meals.

Great. No one had finished yet. Still room to grow relationships.

But… were their relationships really this bad? Going out together and not a word exchanged? Even coworkers weren’t this cold.

Gently, An Tang phrased the question.

Pei Chengrui shot the other two a glance. “Nothing worth saying.”

Roy Shelley smiled. “Just hungry. Focusing on eating.”

As for Fu Jieyu—well, he never replied to anyone. So An Tang decided to take that as an answer too. If none of them were talking, he couldn’t just keep chattering either.

After a pause, he grabbed an unopened drink, twisted it open, and poured himself a glass.

That earned some attention. Taking advantage, he also poured drinks for Pei Chengrui and Roy Shelley. Figuring Fu Jieyu wouldn’t want any, he hugged the bottle and turned away.

“What about me?”

“Eh? You too?” Startled, An Tang saw the man’s face darken and hurriedly poured him a glass as well, babbling, “Haha, I thought you didn’t drink this stuff.”