Chapter 442 - 441: What If: Did the Big Shots Vie for Favor Today? 10

Chapter 442: Chapter 441: What If: Did the Big Shots Vie for Favor Today? 10

Wang Xiaotao never expected the class monitor to be so loyal, bravely stepping forward to help him at a time like this.

He looked at him gratefully, then shook his head. "Thanks, Class Monitor. Don’t worry, it’s nothing."

He then looked at Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng, who were both starting to look impatient, and carefully hugged his backpack, whispering, "It’s in here."

Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng peered curiously at his backpack. To let the little cat breathe, a gap had been left in the zipper. Through that sliver of light, they saw a cat with round, green eyes blinking at them.

Staring at its solid black right eye, they both nodded in confirmation.

Yep. It was still the same ugly cat.

To see this cat as soon as possible, the two of them, for once, hadn’t been late today. They had even arrived at school half an hour earlier than usual.

Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng had only come over to take a look; actually touching the cat was out of the question. Even though the cat had been shaved and wasn’t so dirty anymore, young masters like them would never deign to touch such an ugly thing.

But in the next moment, the two of them pulled out boxes in perfect sync. "Oh, right—rice water. It’s for the cat."

No one knew how astonished the chefs of the Jiang and Mu families had been the night before when they saw the two words "rice water" newly added to the young masters’ breakfast requests. They even mistakenly assumed the two had grown tired of rich, heavy food and wanted something light, so they had made breakfast much plainer than usual.

The rice water itself was specially prepared, simmered with high-quality rice from their family-owned farms. To enrich the texture, they had even added crushed oatmeal and diced water chestnuts.

But how could the chefs have known they were having it packed up purely to feed a cat? Not knowing where else to buy rice water, they had simply decided it was easier to have it made at home.

Jiang Xia hadn’t expected Mu Tangfeng to prepare something like this too. They stared at each other in shock.

"You brought rice water too?"

They asked again in unison, and this time, there was no doubt.

Both of them had initially felt a little embarrassed about specially bringing rice water for a cat, afraid the other would mock them. But now, they could finally relax.

Still, they couldn’t resist trading insincere, backhanded compliments. "Oh, you’re pretty thoughtful. But my family’s chef is an amazing cook. The cat will definitely prefer my rice water."

"Impossible. My family’s chef was poached from a five-star restaurant. He’s a master of all Chinese and foreign cuisines."

"Tsk. You think mine isn’t?"

The two started bickering like children again. The class monitor and Wang Xiaotao looked at each other, speechless. Finally, seeing that the morning reading session was about to start, Wang Xiaotao promptly took both containers of rice water and reminded them, "Class is about to start. Can we talk about this after class?"

"If you want to watch the cat, you can keep my backpack for now."

"No way. It’s too ugly."

"I’m allergic."

The two refused in unison. Shi Lan, in turn, couldn’t help but grind her teeth.

’These two really have a talent for driving people crazy! Just a moment ago, I’d almost felt like I was becoming some kind of bewitching siren of a cat, but in the blink of an eye, my beautiful fantasy was mercilessly crushed.’

Wang Xiaotao scratched his head awkwardly. "Oh, I see..."

Now he thought he understood a little better why they had asked him to raise the cat.

But if they found it so repulsive, why go through the trouble of finding someone to look after it for them?

Wang Xiaotao didn’t understand the young masters’ thinking. Not wanting to be a spectacle any longer, and seeing that class was indeed about to start, Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng left.

After they left, several classmates came over to ask how he knew them.

Some were still shaken, afraid that Wang Xiaotao would get beaten up by them, and had even been ready to secretly go get a teacher.

Wang Xiaotao was touched by everyone’s concern. He briefly told them what happened the previous night, then said, "Actually, I think Jiang and Mu are pretty good guys, not as bad as everyone says."

After hearing him out, everyone’s first reaction was disbelief. But after seeing the cat in Wang Xiaotao’s backpack and the rice water the two had just delivered to his desk, they started to waver.

Maybe it was true. At least the two of them hadn’t caused a scene in the classroom just now; they had just walked quietly over to Wang Xiaotao.

Soon, the class bell rang.

The students quickly scurried back to their seats.

Wang Xiaotao’s attempt to hide the cat from his classmates had ultimately failed, but no one tattled to the teacher. In fact, when class was over, some students even came over, wanting to gently feed the cat.

However, the cat couldn’t eat too much, so Wang Xiaotao had to refuse on her behalf. In the end, they just gently petted Shi Lan’s little head.

The only fur she had left was on her head. The classmates asked Wang Xiaotao about her and learned she had been a stray. Feeling sorry for her, no one laughed at her for being ugly. Instead, they awkwardly called her cute.

Listening to so much praise, Shi Lan felt her soul being purified.

Perhaps because it had been too long since her own school days, Shi Lan, nestled in the backpack in the desk, listened with keen interest to the teacher’s lecture. A hint of nostalgia unknowingly crept into her eyes.

「Lunch Break.」

Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng naturally summoned Wang Xiaotao and the cat to the private dining room they had specially paid for in the cafeteria. For his own lunch, Wang Xiaotao bought a two-yuan serving of shredded tofu with greens, piled his plate high with the free rice, and ladled a bowl of the free soup before heading over to find them.

This was more or less his usual lunch.

Occasionally, he would splurge a little, spending five yuan on one meat dish and one vegetable dish.

With his backpack on, Wang Xiaotao found the room. Pushing open the door, he was immediately greeted by the sight of a table piled high with an astonishing variety of dishes—dazzling and diverse, including seafood and abalone. The aroma was overwhelming.

Abalone was something he only knew about from television.

He swallowed hard, hesitating to go inside.

Mu Tangfeng was listlessly poking at the food with his chopsticks, a look of dissatisfaction on his face as if he was tired of eating this kind of stuff every day. He had no appetite.

Jiang Xia, on the other hand, was eating happily.

Hearing the door open, Jiang Xia didn’t even look up. Mu Tangfeng, however, brightened, his gaze falling on the backpack behind Wang Xiaotao. "You brought the cat?"

Wang Xiaotao nodded.

At the word "cat," Jiang Xia finally slowed his eating, turned his head, and waved him over. "Oh. Well, what are you doing just standing in the doorway? Get in here."

"Okay."

Wang Xiaotao glanced at the simple meal on his tray, which was mostly rice. Suppressing the feeling of inferiority that welled up inside him, he cautiously walked in and sat in the seat furthest from the two of them.

Mu Tangfeng’s eyes swept over his tray, an incredulous look on his face. "You’re only eating vegetables?"

"...Yeah."

Wang Xiaotao nodded awkwardly, placed his backpack beside the table, and looked down to take the cat out, not daring to meet his gaze.

Jiang Xia also took a look and was equally shocked. "No meat? How can that be okay?"

"I’m telling you, you’re at the age where you should be growing. No wonder you’re so skinny."

As someone who couldn’t enjoy a meal without meat, he really couldn’t understand people who didn’t eat it.

In reality, Wang Xiaotao loved meat, too. Especially since he had only had some thin porridge that morning, he had been starving for a while. Now, with the fragrant aroma of their dishes filling the air around him, he couldn’t stop his mouth from watering.

Of course, he wasn’t the only one. Shi Lan was also dazed by the delicious smells.