The topic of the wealthy woman 【CC123】 didn't last long before the conversation shifted to what to eat for dinner.
"I heard the canteens at Bin University are really good. There are eight major canteens—east, west, south, north, spring, summer, autumn, and winter—and some departments even have smaller snack canteens," Yan said.
"Today, the canteens might be crowded, right? A lot of parents are dropping off their kids, so they’ll probably want to check out the canteens too. It’s bound to be packed," Chu Bingbing chimed in.
Yan nodded in agreement. That was true.
"But today and tomorrow are both freshmen registration days, so the restaurants near the school are probably crowded too."
It was rare to see a dorm where everyone arrived carrying their own luggage like theirs. Earlier in the day, while strolling around campus with her childhood friend, Yan had even seen some freshmen accompanied by a dozen family members—aunts, uncles, and all—coming to tour and take photos. After all, Bin University was one of the top two universities in Xia Country, a dream institution for families across the nation.
"Oh no..." Chu Bingbing's face scrunched up in frustration.
"How are we supposed to eat then? Will Ding Ling be back before dinner?"
It was the first day of school, and they were going to be living together for the next four years. Chu Bingbing thought it was important for everyone to eat together and bond.
However, Gu Jiasui's name was still trending on social media. If they went to the canteen together, they’d likely get photographed, and leaving her behind while the others went to eat didn’t feel right either.
"Why not just order takeout?" Yi Zhi wondered why they were so troubled.
Ever since arriving in this peaceful, abundant world, she felt like she was living in a dream. No need to venture out and fight mutated beasts or plants, no need to deal with alien species, no need for outdated communication methods. With a phone in hand, she could have hot, delicious meals delivered anytime—convenient, fast, and tasty!
"Hmm, takeout would take at least forty to fifty minutes to arrive, and by then, it’d probably be cold. The timing of the dishes would be off too," Yan muttered.
On the first day of registration, eating something less than satisfying could really dampen the mood.
Yi Zhi fell silent. Her standards for food weren’t particularly high.
Being able to fill her stomach was already good enough; she didn’t ask for much in terms of flavor.
When she first arrived in this world, she thought she was dreaming. She ate half a box of instant noodles in one day and even stored half of her belongings in her personal space.
After all, food in her previous life had been incredibly scarce.
Everything had mutated. Many animals became inedible after mutation, and even the ones that were edible tasted awful, as if their genes had regressed. Mutated plants were thorny, toxic, and highly aggressive. The polluted land couldn’t produce normal crops, and consuming too many highly mutated animals or plants would lead to the accumulation of toxins in the body. Ordinary people and even superhumans could turn into alien species!
Before the Northern Base developed a high-yield, toxin-resistant potato, most people had no choice but to rely on mutated animals and plants for survival. Without enough resources to hire healing superhumans to cleanse the accumulated toxins, they risked turning into alien species and being executed.
The miraculous space she had accidentally activated only had a small five-square-meter plot of land. It was thanks to the fruits harvested from this special land that she had survived so long in the post-apocalyptic world.
She didn’t think Yan was being picky. After all, this was a world of abundance and prosperity, where people lived in peace and enjoyed life. It was only natural to want to indulge a little.
Thinking this, Yi Zhi rubbed her temples. Yes, she should learn to relax and raise her standards, just like these young, carefree girls.
Come to think of it, she had only been twenty-five when she died in her previous life. After struggling through eight years of the apocalypse and never having the chance to attend university, now that she had the opportunity, she should make up for what she had missed.
"Why don’t we take a taxi and eat somewhere farther from campus?" Yi Zhi suggested.
At that moment, Ding Ling, who had been absent from the dorm, suddenly popped up in the 【320 Buddies】 group chat.
【Ding Ling】: Have you guys eaten yet?
【Ding Ling】: My juniors prepared a lot of food for me to bring back.
"Ding Ling’s coming back? And she’s bringing food? Juniors? Did she mistype?" Yi Zhi was surprised.
Chu Bingbing glanced at the message and hummed. "Probably a local relative or elder who made some dishes for her to bring back to the dorm or something."
"That works, though I feel a bit bad about it," she said with a smile, revealing her cute little fangs.
Yan stared at the word "juniors" for a while.
She thought to herself: She probably didn’t mistype.
The juniors of a ghost king... Is the food they’re bringing back really safe?
Still, she replied as usual.
【Gu Jiasui】: Okay.
【Yi Zhi】: Haven’t eaten yet.
【Chu Bingbing】: Yay~ Rubbing my hands in anticipation~~ Love you love you.jpg
Seeing the overly brief responses from the other two and Chu Bingbing’s playful emoji, Yan’s lips twitched, and she typed:
【Yan】: We haven’t eaten yet~ We were just discussing what to eat~ If you’re bringing food back, that’ll save us the trouble~ Just wondering, is there any staple food? If not, we’ll need to go to the canteen to buy some.
【Ding Ling】: There’s staple food. On my way back.
"I wonder what Ding Ling will bring back. I’ve never had Bin City’s local dishes before, but there’s a lot of seafood here. Maybe we can go eat seafood and see the ocean this weekend," Chu Bingbing said with interest.
For people who weren’t close, talking about food was always the safest topic. Yan stood up and walked around the dorm, as if searching for something, which caught the others’ attention.
"Yan, what’s wrong?"
"No table," she said succinctly.
"If five of us are eating together, we’ll need a bigger table or two small folding tables."
Back home, Yan had a small folding table placed on the bay window in her bedroom, perfect for drinking tea or reading. Before coming to school, she had even added a folding table to her shopping list but decided to buy it after arriving.
Earlier, while buying curtains, she had seen folding tables but thought it would be a hassle to move them up and down from the upper bunk, so she didn’t buy one. Now, it seemed she’d have to get one after all.
Yi Zhi was momentarily dazed. Right, they needed a table to eat now, not just sitting on the floor and nibbling alone.
She volunteered, "I’ll go buy it. I’m strong enough to carry a table."
"Does anyone want a small folding table? We can put two together, or we can buy a small square table," Yan suggested, gesturing with her hands.
Gu Jiasui frowned slightly. Over the past year, she had grown accustomed to her current "bed." The university dorm only had beds, not traditional sleeping platforms. Placing a small table on the bed felt improper.
"I don’t need one," she declined.
Yi Zhi and Chu Bingbing also shook their heads. Yan made the final decision: "If no one needs one, we’ll buy a small square table. We can also use it to play cards or board games. We’ll split the cost."
Yan and Yi Zhi went out together. Yi Zhi was wearing a short-sleeved shirt paired with high-waisted cargo pants and a pair of not-so-pretty outdoor shoes. Walking side by side, Yan realized how tall Yi Zhi was.
Yan was 165 cm tall, which was considered a decent height among average people, but she was a full head shorter than Yi Zhi.
"Yi Zhi, are you, like, 180 cm tall?"
"Almost," Yi Zhi replied. Her skin wasn’t particularly fair, and the muscles on her forearms were clearly visible.
Yan glanced at her superhuman roommate’s profile—broad shoulders, long legs, and a wolf-cut hairstyle. With her height and style, if you didn’t look at her face, you might mistake Yi Zhi for a handsome young man from behind or the side.
Was it her imagination, or was Yi Zhi also observing her?
At the supermarket, Yan took photos of different table designs and sent them to the group chat. The responses from her roommates were all "whatever," which made her hesitate. She really had a hard time making decisions.
Fortunately, Yan had measured the available space in the dorm with a tape measure before coming. Following the dimensions, she picked out a white 70*70 cm folding table. At fifty bucks, it probably wasn’t much more expensive than buying online, and since they could use it right away, splitting the cost meant it was only ten bucks per person!
Yan initially wanted to ask the store to deliver the table, but Yi Zhi effortlessly picked it up, so she quietly closed her mouth.
As expected of someone from the post-apocalyptic world—her strength was impressive!
She casually bought some disposable utensils and small bowls. By the time the two of them returned to the dorm with the table, they happened to run into Ding Ling, who was just coming back with food.
Ding Ling, with her somewhat frail frame, was carrying two large bags. Yan quickly wiped down the table with disinfectant wipes and gestured for her to set the bags down.
"The main dish is on top; it can't be squished," Ding Ling said matter-of-factly.
Everyone came over to help. Chu Bingbing was the first to pull out the large container from the top of the bag.
"It's huge!" she exclaimed.
When they opened the lid, everyone was taken aback by the size of the main dish. Inside the round container was an enormous flower-shaped steamed bun, dyed pink with green leaves, and a prominent red dot at the center.
This super-sized bun was easily enough to feed five people, and they’d probably still have leftovers.
Yan fell silent. If she remembered correctly, regular steamed buns didn’t look like this, did they? The more she looked at it, the more it seemed like an offering you’d find on an altar.
The dishes Ding Ling brought back included fish, meat, vegetables, pastries, and desserts. Everything looked untouched and still steaming hot.
"Ding Ling, did you pack all this for us without eating any of it yourself?" Yi Zhi asked.
"Yeah, it was all for me anyway," Ding Ling replied.
The head of the special task force who had arranged for her to attend university had told her that the purpose of going to college was to help her adapt to modern life and make a few friends.
But the Ghost King had no friends. Ding Ling didn’t know how to make friends.
The team leader who taught her about human customs had said: Friends are people who share things with each other.
Earlier that day, Ding Ling had received a celebratory offering prepared by the archaeological team that had unearthed her, to mark her enrollment in university. After some thought, she decided to bring it back to share with her future friends.
After all, offerings were delicious.
