Chapter 25: A Single Meal's Kindness

Yan Xue had always thought that when Kange said she felt like another version of him, it was merely a tactic men used to express romantic interest in a woman they fancied. Perhaps there were indeed some similarities between them, but whether it reached the degree of having "another self" remained questionable. Now, however, she realized it was not an exaggeration in the slightest.

Although their upbringing environments and life experiences were not entirely identical, the similarities in their past hardships were enough to show that their personalities were indeed very close.

Yan Xue had tasted the bitterness of being ostracized by a collective. While it did not cause her excruciating or unbearable pain, it was certainly no pleasant memory. Hearing Kange recount this chapter of his life in such an understated tone, she could not tell whether she felt more surprised or heartbroken, so she subconsciously reached out and placed her hand over the back of Kange's.

Surviving exclusion and isolation purely through a stubborn spirit was not particularly difficult; as long as one was obstinate enough, many people could manage it. However, to grow up in such an environment without becoming increasingly hot-tempered, but instead learning to respond tactfully, handling surrounding issues more efficiently and with less self-inflicted damage—that was truly a remarkable and difficult feat.

Yan Xue's gesture made Kange pause slightly, and immediately afterward, his eyes and brows brimmed with smiles.

"Put that way, this He Peiren sounds quite nice," Yan Xue was not stupid; she could guess what He Pei's actions signified. However, Kange's attitude was already enough to clarify things. Through their daily interactions and getting to know each other step by step, Yan Xue did not believe Kange was the kind of person whose feelings could be easily swayed. Thus, she was unwilling to indulge in unwarranted jealousy and bring unnecessary trouble upon herself. "To extend an olive branch when everyone else is ostracizing someone takes a tremendous amount of courage."

"Extending an olive branch is hardly the word for it. As you said, that kind of behavior really required immense courage, something the average person probably could not afford," Kange smiled and shook his head. "Speaking of which, she basically owes me a debt of gratitude for a meal."

"A debt of gratitude for a meal? How do you mean?" Yan Xue asked with curiosity.

"In the beginning, those boys in our class wanted to intimidate me by picking a fight. Later, they realized they were tough, but I was desperate, so that route didn't work. That was when they started plotting other ways to give me a hard time.

"One day during PE class, while I was out of the classroom, someone—who knows who—got a few tubes of glue and poured them straight into my schoolbag. When class ended and I discovered it, everything inside the bag was a complete mess. The books and notebooks were glued together, and the small change I kept in the bag was stuck fast to the notebooks, impossible to tear off."

"How despicable!" Yan Xue frowned. Just imagining that scenario made her teeth itch and anger flare up inside her.

"Yes, truly despicable. Because of that, I didn't have my books out during class that afternoon, and the teacher even drove me out into the hallway to stand as punishment." Although Kange used the word despicable, he seemed entirely unaffected by the memory. "Still, that wasn't the most important part. The most important thing was that my mom back then was working and taking care of me all by herself, so she was exceptionally busy and simply had no time to come home at noon to cook for me. She gave me pocket money every day to buy bread for lunch..."

"Your money was glued down and couldn't be torn off—how did you solve your lunch problem?" Yan Xue knitted her brows.

"Exactly, I was this close to going hungry the whole day," Kange laughed. "And that brings us to how He Pei gave me that meal. She went home for lunch every single day. That afternoon, when she saw what people had done to my schoolbag, she secretly threw her own pocket money onto my desk before leaving. Thanks to that, I finally didn't have to go hungry until evening.

"That night, when my mom found out what I had been through during the day, she cried for a while. Afterward, she took me over to He Pei's house to return the money and express her gratitude. He Pei also lent me her workbook so I could copy the problems into my new assignment notebook. From then on, our two families interacted more frequently than before, though mostly outside of school, with the adults visiting each other. At school, He Pei was also afraid of being ostracized by the others, so she practically never spoke to me.

"By the time we graduated from elementary school, my family had moved to City W, and we lost touch after that. Two or three years ago, we ran into each other by chance, and that's how we reconnected. My mom is the kind of person who—perhaps having endured too much pain—always holds onto and deeply cherishes any kindness shown to her by those around her during difficult times. That's why she is somewhat more affectionate toward He Pei."

Yan Xue glanced at Kange sideways without speaking, a silent smile playing on her lips. Kange only noticed this after he finished talking, and feeling rather helpless, he reached out and flicked her forehead lightly with his finger. "Look at that expression of yours! What wild thoughts are running through your mind?!"

"Nothing much, just pondering a very realistic question. I wonder how your mom and He Pei herself view this 'debt of gratitude for a meal'?" Yan Xue teased him. "Could it be a case of repaying a meal with one's entire hand in marriage?"

"You certainly have a broad mind!" Kange feigned annoyance, glaring at Yan Xue. "You better not say you feel completely unfazed when making jokes like this. If you're completely unfazed, then I'm going to have to start panicking!"

Yan Xue laughed heartily and waved her hands repeatedly. "I'm not panicking, truly! Because right now, it's not like I'm nursing an unrequited crush on you while you have no feelings for me—if that were the case, I'd probably really feel a sense of crisis. What do I have to be afraid of now? If you had any intention of repaying her with your hand in marriage, you wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to rent a place and move right next door to me!"

"There are countless reasons why I like you, but self-confidence is definitely one of the main ones!" Kange looked at Yan Xue and sighed.

Kange's words felt like a wave of warm wind blowing across her face. Yan Xue hurriedly touched her cheek, and sure enough, it felt slightly burning hot.

She had always considered herself a straightforward person who disliked beating around the bush and preferred total openness and directness when dealing with others. Yet, some of Kange's unmasked expressions still managed to push past her limits.

"I'm not worried about your feelings, but your family, and He Pei herself—do they perhaps harbor some other interpretation?" Yan Xue felt too shy to put it too bluntly. Even without hearing the exact words He Pei had spoken to Kange over the phone earlier, just by listening to Kange's replies, it wasn't hard to guess the content of the conversation.

He Pei seemed to be asking why Kange chose to move out instead of living in his own home, and also where he had moved. She had probably even offered to visit his rented apartment and help him clean up and get settled, only to be repeatedly fended off with distant evasions until she finally had no choice but to give up.

It was abundantly clear that the other person had cast herself in a rather intimate role.

Yan Xue did not doubt Kange's feelings for her; she was simply worried that He Pei might harbor misunderstandings and cause unnecessary trouble.