章 19: A brother’s love
編集者: Sparrow Translations
As most of the student body in the school were rushing for lunch, the cafeteria first floor was flooded with the noise of students chatting and eating. The cafeteria second floor also had a steady influx of people, though less than the first floor. Hence, it was much more peaceful in comparison.
As the second floor of the cafeteria was a place frequented by the wealthy Mr and Ms perfects of Qingshui High, everyone recognized Tang Meng.
"Hey, isn't that Young Master Tang? Who are those two sitting with him? To think that they would get the chance to eat with Young Master Tang!"
"You idiot, see, didn't I tell you the fat guy over there was Ling Yun? The guy that just ran eleven rounds around the track with the sandbag and sent the whole student body into a frenzy? As for the other, just look at that figure! Need I spell it out for you? "
"You're saying that that is one of the three belles of our campus, Ning Lingyu? Doesn't she usually tie a ponytail?"
"It definitely is her! Looks like Young Master Tang is intending to step up his pursuit of belle Ning's heart before graduation! This also means that he wants to go all out against Xie Junya!"
"Eh, this means there will be a show to watch! Tang Meng versus Xie Junya, I can't wait to see who will be able to win the Ning Lingyu's heart!"
"Me too!"
Presently, the second floor was filled with inaudible whispers and speculations.
"Look! Even Class 6's Zhang Ling's here! She and Cao Shanshan are inseparable, does that mean Cao Shanshan's coming here as well?"
Qingshui High's three belles: Ning Lingyu, Cao Shanshan, Zhuang Meina.
Ning Lingyu always ordered food from the first floor of the cafeteria to take back to the hostel to eat. As for Cao Shanshan, she would usually have her lunch delivered to her by someone from home. Only Zhuang Meina would visit the second floor of the cafeteria more frequently.
The appearance of all three belles in the second-floor cafeteria stirred up excitement and chatter among the young men and women present.
If three ladies could cause a real scene individually, then what would happen when three belles came together?
Almost everyone in the second-floor cafeteria had their eyes on Tang Meng's table, following their every action closely as none of them wanted to miss out on anything juicy.
Ning Lingyu had brought her brother here as she wanted him to be able to nourish his exhausted body. She had planned to come slightly earlier than the rest so that they could quickly finish eating. Ning Lingyu did not want to attract any unnecessary attention to herself, thus choosing such a quiet corner for their meal. Nonetheless, she still found herself becoming the center of attention. Fortunately, she and Ling Yun were sitting with their back facing the door and thanks to Ling Yun's large body, she was hidden from view. Otherwise, it would be a disaster having to eat under the scrutiny of all those rich male students.
Ning Lingyu really disliked such situations.
In contrast, Ling Yun was used to such situations and was unfazed by the gaze and whispers around him. He remained as cool as a cucumber as if he was alone in the cafeteria.
Some students tried to sit nearer to Lingyu to get a piece of the action, only to be scared off by Tang Meng's death stare. Tang Meng was determined to enjoy his first meal with Ning Lingyu and would make sure no one disturbed his meal, even if blood had to be spilled!
But some were still relentless.
Zhang Ling ran up the stairs and entered the second-floor cafeteria. Upon seeing most of the seats taken except for three seats near where Tang Meng was seated, she ran over and promptly sat down at a seat near the wall. Zhang Ling knew that Cao Shanshan liked peace and hated attention, thus, she left the seat with the back facing the entrance for Cao Shanshan.
Sitting beside Tang Meng, she naturally noticed Ling Yun sitting diagonally opposite her
Ling Yun?!" Ning Lingyu?!
Zhang Ling covered her mouth in shock.
It was going to get lively.
Cao Shanshan was going to be here soon and if things continued this way, she would surely be seating beside Ling Yun. Zhang Ling was instantly reminded of the rumors about the two of them that morning.
Oh no, this is bad. I'm sorry Shanshan, I did not do this on purpose, Zhang Ling apologized in her heart.
At the same time, Zhang Ling could hear a bunch of chaotic laughter coming from a table near her. Damn you, Zhang Ling, why did you have to sit beside me? Why do you have to sabotage me like this? Tang Meng cursed in his mind.
Yet, Tang Meng was not able to do a thing about it. Despite not being as conspicuous as Xie Junyan or Cao Shanshan, Zhang Ling was also from an influential family. In addition to that, no one saw the significance of Tang Meng being the son of the Deputy Director.
"I will have Sichuan boiled fish and a plate of sliced beef and ox tongue in chili sauce, extra spicy!" As Zhang Ling shouted her order to the passing waiter, it was clear to Tang Meng she had no intention of leaving. After ordering, Zhang Ling briefly gave Tang Meng a look of disdain before looking away.
With so many people in the cafeteria now, the staff was so busy that not even a dish was served to Ling Yun's table yet. Ling Yun's stomach growled in hunger as he smelled the fragrance of cooking coming from the kitchen. He was practically dying to eat some food. He had no choice but to satisfy himself with some tea, replenishing the water he had lost during his run. Ning Lingyu, being the caring sister that she was, kept refilling her brother's cup the moment it was empty.
Tang Meng could only look on in envy, keeping his tears in his heart as he looked at his empty teacup, which had been empty since who knew when. Yet, Ning Lingyu did not even glance at it, showing absolutely no concern for him at all.
"So how did you exactly lose ten thousand dollars to my sister?"
Ling Yun asked calmly as he looked Tang Meng dead in the eye. Zhang Ling's ears pricked up as she focused her attention on them.
Upon hearing Ling Yun's question, Tang Meng almost exploded. After using you to start a bet, personally skipping two lessons just to help you count laps, helping you deal with Li Lei and even losing ten thousand dollars to you, still you dare feign ignorance?
Carefully glancing at Ning Lingyu, Tang Meng managed to suppress himself. "You should know who I am, right?", he snorted.
He thought to himself, I must have a better attitude. After all, if he were to win Ning Lingyu's heart, Ling Yun would become his future brother in law. Thus, he had to show his worth in front of Ling Yun and make sure that he left a good impression.
"I heard my sister calling you Tang Meng a while ago, that's all I know." Ling Yun answered with a nonchalant shrug without looking at Tang Meng.
I don't care who you are, I just want to know what happened, thought Ling Yun.
"What?! You… you…" Tang Meng could no longer contain his anger after hearing Ling Yun's halfhearted answer and attitude. He raised his right thumb and pointed at himself, barking, "Then let me educate you! I am Tang Meng! The same character as the Tang in the Tang Dynasty! Meng meaning ferocious! My nickname is Little Gambling God and I learn only from the best! Now, do you remember?!"
Ling Yun felt as if he was watching the circus. "I cannot remember and I couldn't care less about who you are. What's important is what happened, so just get straight to the point. Hurry before our meal comes," Ling Yun replied bluntly.
It was the first time Tang Meng had met someone so stubborn, so much so that he could no longer find the energy to get angry anymore. This was the first time in his whole life he had felt so disrespected. Even Xie Junyan did not have the guts to speak to him like how Ling Yun did. Ning Lingyu's head faced down as she tried to hide her laughter. Her pretty cheeks were flushed from her giggling as her shoulders shook violently in her attempt to hold back her laughter.
My brother is so cool!
To Ning Lingyu, that tasted sweeter than honey. This person was indeed her brother! Being beside her brother seemed to give her strength and that made her forget all about the whispers and stares around her. As for the temperamental Zhang Ling, she fell off her chair from laughter after seeing how Ling Yun climbed all over Tang Meng's head.
Helpless, Tang Meng could only lean back with a sigh before beginning the explanation.
"Remember you were running laps around the track… I used that to open a gambling bet. The bet was about how many rounds you would be able to last. For those betting ten rounds and above, the returns were twenty-fold. Lingyu disliked the way I used you for bets. So she placed five hundred on you running more than ten rounds. As a result, she won ten thousand dollars. Do you understand now?"
After finishing his speech, Tang Meng instinctively tightened his fist just in case Ling Yun decided to duke it out with him.
To everyone's surprise, Ling Yun did not even seem to care about Tang Meng. Instead, his face was full of admiration and self-reproach as he looked towards Ning Lingyu. What followed almost made Tang Meng heave blood!
"Oh well done, little sister! Good job for having faith in your big brother, you should continue to have such faith! That being said, since you believed in me so much you should have betted at least a hundred thousand dollars instead of just five hundred dollars!" Ling Yun exclaimed happily to his sister.
Seeing that Tang Meng had told the truth, Ning Lingyu's heart pounded, feeling anxious. She could not bear to look up and look at her brother. Never had she expected that her brother would react in this way!
Ning Lingyu lifted her head as she widened her eyes and looked at Ling Yun. All that she could utter was an awkward, "Ah…?"
On the other side of the table, Zhang Ling was having the greatest laugh of her life. Having been in the same class as Ling Yun for three whole years, she had never known that he was such an interesting fellow. A hundred thousand dollars bet? Times twenty of that and he would have been a millionaire! Even the Little Gambling God wouldn't have enough!
Shaking, Tang Meng almost felt like making an escape from the cafeteria. Fortunately, the first dish arrived. With the fragrant chicken mushroom stew on the table, its tantalizing aroma immediately resolved the tense atmosphere.
"No need to hold back your laughter, sister. The food won't be able to enter your stomach if you hold all that laughter inside! Enjoy the meal before going back to class!" Ling Yun teased. Seeing that the food was served, Ling Yun patted Ning Lingyu's shoulders before grabbing a chicken drumstick with the chopsticks and putting it in her bowl. As for himself, he took the remaining drumstick with the chopsticks before devouring it with his bare hands.
Ning Lingyu could no longer hold back her laughter. In a blink of an eye, she was in a laughing fit. Her cheerful and beautiful smile stunned Tang Meng. Seeing how happy Ning Lingyu is, I'll not argue with you anymore!, Tang Meng thought. As he gritted his teeth in anger, Tang Meng mimicked Ling Yun's actions, grabbing a chicken wing and moving it towards Ning Lingyu's bowl.
*Pa* Ling Yun reacted with his lighting fast hands, using the chopsticks on his right hand to slap aside Tang Meng's chopsticks.
"She's my sister, I'll take care of her. There is no need for outsiders to interfere," Ling Yun frowned at Tang Meng.
Tang Meng would have loved to stab the chopsticks into Ling Yun's eyes. He could have sworn that if it weren't for the presence of Ning Lingyu, he would have slammed that whole pot of chicken mushroom stew onto Ling Yun's head.
Upon hearing what her brother said, Lingyu accidentally dropped the chicken drumstick she was holding into the bowl of stew, splattering the stew everywhere. Her heart felt so warm and her elegant nose turned red as tears welled up in her eyes. With her eyes no longer able to hold so many tears, the tears started flowing down her face. Emotional as she was, Ning Lingyu shed a tad more tears than normal that day.
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