Yan Yifei, Gao Haiyang, and Lu Ziyu were originally in a cheerful mood, enjoying their dumplings.
"DING DONG. You have a visitor."
Hearing the chime, Yan Yifei paused with his spoon in hand. Pretending not to hear it, he continued eating. Gao Haiyang and Lu Ziyu also paused at the exact same time and ignored it.
However, the doorbell kept ringing incessantly, demanding attention like the grim reaper and completely ruining their mood to enjoy the good food.
"Captain, should I go open the door?" Gao Haiyang put down his chopsticks and asked cautiously.
"Open what door?! It’s definitely that pest again! Why is she haunting us like a ghost? What a buzzkill!" Lu Ziyu exclaimed. He glanced at Yan Yifei, signaling Gao Haiyang with his eyes to check their captain’s expression.
Yan Yifei’s grip on his chopsticks tightened, his expression darkening.
If it weren’t for the fact that his mother and Mu Hanyu’s parents were good friends, he definitely would have beaten that pest up!
In the past, he, Gao Haiyang, and Lu Ziyu had played pranks on her, but the results were negligible. Later, when he truly couldn’t stand it anymore, he had confronted her face-to-face with harsh, vicious words, tearing her down from head to toe. She had just cried, but afterwards, she went straight to complain to his mother, which resulted in him getting a severe scolding.
He was really annoyed!
Throwing down his chopsticks, he stood up, intending to get some condiments.
Seeing the dark-faced Yan Yifei suddenly stand up, Gao Haiyang and Lu Ziyu simultaneously reached out and grabbed him around the waist.
"Captain! How can you hit a woman? Besides, she’s just a little annoying. Just ignore her," Gao Haiyang advised loudly, hugging Yan Yifei tightly. He figured that without him and Lu Ziyu holding their captain back, Mu Hanyu would definitely be in for a beating today.
Lu Ziyu also pulled at Yan Yifei desperately. "Captain, don’t be impulsive! You don’t want your mother dropping by the school to see you tomorrow, do you?"
"Alright, let go. Who said I was going to hit her? I’m going to get the vinegar and soy sauce! Didn’t Gan Lan say that pan-fried dumplings can be dipped in vinegar, soy sauce, and chili? I just want to try it." Although Yan Yifei did have the urge to beat Mu Hanyu up, it was only a fleeting thought. Striking a woman was impossible—it would never happen in this lifetime, except for opponents and enemies.
Hearing this, Gao Haiyang and Lu Ziyu realized they had misunderstood. Come to think of it, if their captain had really wanted to hit her, he wouldn’t have waited until now. They awkwardly released him and chimed in simultaneously, "You scared me to death! I really thought you were going to hit someone."
"But Captain, since when did you have things like soy sauce, chili, and vinegar here?" Lu Ziyu asked in confusion.
Yan Yifei walked into the kitchen and took out the condiments, replying calmly, "I just bought them the last couple of days. Didn’t expect to use them so soon."
Gao Haiyang followed behind him and said knowingly, "I don’t think you bought them just these past two days. For a kitchen hazard like you, when would you ever buy these things unless it was to learn cooking from our junior, Gan Lan?"
Yan Yifei glared at Gao Haiyang. "You talk too much!"
Lu Ziyu chuckled. "Captain, is the food you make even edible? I remember one time during an outdoor training session, we were having a barbecue. You enthusiastically stepped up to grill a piece of meat, and the few teammates who were ’lucky’ enough to eat it ended up throwing up." Finishing his sentence, he slapped his thigh and laughed heartily at Yan Yifei.
Yan Yifei flew into a state of humiliated rage. "...Get lost! Get out! Roll back to your own dorm!"
"By the way, do we really not need to open the door? The doorbell has been ringing for several minutes already," Gao Haiyang suddenly remarked.
"You can go open it." Yan Yifei sat back down and took the pan-fried dumplings out of the temperature-controlled box. He picked up a dumpling with his chopsticks, dipped it in mature vinegar, and took a bite with a CRUNCH. Chewing thoughtfully, he nodded, then dipped the other half in chili and gave it a try as well.
His depressed mood was instantly swept away by the delicious food.
"I’ll go open the door then!" Gao Haiyang stood up and asked tentatively.
Yan Yifei nodded, his mood completely unbothered. He picked up another one, dipped it in soy sauce, and tasted it. In the end, he concluded that dipping them in vinegar tasted the best, while the chili was also pretty good.
He then took a sip of the soup from the soup dumplings—a perfect match!
"Captain, why are you suddenly paying attention to Mu Hanyu?" Lu Ziyu also picked up a pan-fried dumpling, copying Yan Yifei by dipping it in the condiments. "Delicious! It tastes even better with vinegar!"
"I’ll have a proper talk with her. It’s very troubling for me that she’s always like this," Yan Yifei said, frowning.
"It’s not like you haven’t talked to her before. The question is, does she ever listen?" Lu Ziyu scoffed.
"Why did it take you guys so long to open the door? I’ve been ringing the doorbell forever! If I hadn’t already found out you were in the dorm today, I would’ve thought you were avoiding me on purpose," Mu Hanyu chattered away the moment she entered, her tone full of grievance.
"What are you eating? It doesn’t look like anything special. It’s too plain! There isn’t even any meat." Looking at the single type of food on the table, Mu Hanyu openly expressed her disgust.
She opened her Light Brain and sent a message to her family’s chef, telling him to prepare a lavish dinner and deliver it to the school. Then she looked up and spoke gently to Yan Yifei. "Yifei, I’ve had my family’s head chef make a sumptuous dinner for you. Just wait a little while."
As she spoke, she reached out, intending to throw away the dumplings on the table.
Yan Yifei saw through her intentions and moved his dumplings to the side. "Don’t touch my things! Also, my family has no shortage of head chefs. The reason I let you in is because this is the very last time you will ever set foot in this dorm!"
Mu Hanyu retracted her hand, her eyes slightly red as she said aggrievedly, "I just meant well. You train so hard but only eat such plain food. I was afraid your body wouldn’t keep up nutritionally."
Yan Yifei said impatiently, "Don’t give me that nonsense, and stop bothering me from now on. I’ve already told you that I don’t like you! You actually disgust me!
"And don’t bring up my mother. From now on, even my mother’s words won’t work! I don’t want to see you anywhere near me!"
This time, Mu Hanyu truly cried. Yan Yifei had never spoken such harsh words to her. In the past, he would only tell her to stop bothering him or threaten to block her, but now...
Through tear-blurred eyes, Mu Hanyu choked out, "Do you have someone you like? Is there something I’m not doing well? I just want you to like me a little bit, that’s enough."
Without a second thought, Yan Yifei retorted, "Even if I liked men in this lifetime, I still wouldn’t like you!"
Hearing this, Lu Ziyu and Gao Haiyang—who were acting as background decorations—felt a bit of panic. They wondered, "Could the captain be interested in me?" At the mere thought of this, they both shuddered in unison!
Seeing their expressions, Yan Yifei instantly knew what they were thinking. Pointing at them, he said angrily, "I wouldn’t even look twice at you two!"
The pair waved their hands simultaneously. "Captain, we didn’t say anything!"
"Is the one you like that commoner who was sucking up to me while we were eating at Mingzong the other day—the one I scolded? You actually told me to get lost because of her! I have reason to suspect you’ve fallen for her! Or is it that woman sitting in her seat with the crude table manners?" Mu Hanyu sobbed, her tone filled with jealousy.
Hearing her mention Gan Lan, Yan Yifei’s heart skipped a beat. He continued with his venomous tongue, "...Whoever I like, it will never be you. Give it up and don’t appear in front of me again. You are such a nuisance. I have no idea how your family raised you, teaching you to be so entirely shameless."
Hearing those words, Mu Hanyu utterly broke down! Covering her face, she ran out.
Lu Ziyu gave Yan Yifei a thumbs-up. "Captain, this is the first time I’ve seen you so eloquent, leaving her with absolutely nowhere to hide."
Meanwhile, Gao Haiyang watched the receding figure of the devastated Mu Hanyu. "She... she wouldn’t do anything stupid, would she?"
Yan Yifei scoffed. "If you’re worried, why don’t you follow her and see?"
"No way." Saying that, Gao Haiyang went right back to eating his food. During the argument earlier, he had stashed all the dumplings into the temperature-controlled box, terrified that his precious dumplings would get cold.
Lu Ziyu couldn’t care less. "What could happen to her? She was exactly like this back when we used to prank her."
Gao Haiyang nodded in agreement. The three of them blissfully resumed eating their dumplings, as if Mu Hanyu had never even been there.