Our Entire Family Has Secrets [Transmigrated] - Chapter 5

The cafeteria was overcrowded, and it took Yuan Bozhu quite a while to find an empty seat after searching for a long time with his packed lunch in hand. He finally found one and sat down in a corner.

The cafeteria at Qiancheng No.1 High School was very large, with four floors, each offering different meals.

The higher the floor, the more variety there was, and consequently, the higher the cost.

Yuan Bozhu usually ate on the first floor, not because it was cheaper, but because it was less crowded and had fixed side dishes every day, saving him the trouble of deciding what to eat for lunch.

But obviously, today there were a lot more people than usual in the first-floor cafeteria.

Yuan Bozhu hadn’t initially thought about the reason, just quietly eating.

He didn’t eat quickly or slowly because the cafeteria food wasn’t particularly delicious; he only ate to replenish his energy and didn’t pay much attention to the taste.

“Did you see him? He’s queuing over there!”

“Yeah, I saw! Wow… he’s so handsome, ahhh.”

Yuan Bozhu was sitting next to a few girls who didn’t have anything in front of them; it seemed they weren’t there to eat. They were holding hands and excitedly looking towards the cafeteria window.

“I didn’t expect Lin Shuanghuai to come to the cafeteria for lunch. Just seeing him makes me feel so happy.”

“The girl next to us… Han Banlan again? Is he really dating Han Banlan?”

“No, no, yesterday Han Banlan personally posted on the forum to clarify. She said even if all the men in the world died, she wouldn’t be with Lin Shuanghuai.”

“Huh? Isn’t she supposed to be close to Lin Shuanghuai? Why does it sound like she doesn’t like him?”

“It’s because they are too close, she doesn’t have romantic feelings for him.”

Yuan Bozhu suddenly understood why there were so many people in the cafeteria today.

Every school has its influential figures.

At Qiancheng No.1 High School, there are particularly famous people, and Lin Shuanghuai is one of the top ones.

Even Yuan Bozhu, who doesn’t care about school gossip at all, is quite familiar with Lin Shuanghuai’s name and face.

Of course, it’s not because Yuan Bozhu pays attention to him.

It’s mainly because everyone in the school knows Lin Shuanghuai.

His name and various photos are circulated in every corner of the school.

Apart from being the only recognized school grass dominating the school forum, Lin Shuanghuai has been a regular guest speaker under the national flag since his first year, the central figure in various cultural performances, sports competitions, and academic lectures.

In his second year, Lin Shuanghuai was promoted from the Minister of External Relations of the Student Union to the President, which further fueled his popularity.

A person who is friendly, cheerful, and approachable, while also having excellent academic performance and a refined appearance, teachers and classmates alike praise Lin Shuanghuai as the perfect student representative, unable to find any faults in him.

For someone like Yuan Bozhu, who prefers to stay away from such popular figures, Lin Shuanghuai’s popularity equals being under constant scrutiny, which equals danger.

Many people made a special trip to the cafeteria on the first floor to see him, looking for opportunities to talk to him, or like these girls, they just watched from a distance.

They regarded Lin Shuanghang as the mascot of No. 1 Middle School.

For someone like Yuan Bozhu, who prefers to stay away from such popular figures, Lin Shuanghuai’s popularity equals being under constant scrutiny, which equals danger.

So, he quietly sped up his eating.

“Senior, you’re here in the cafeteria today too!”

“Shuanghuai, Shuanghuai, I got some dry pot on the fourth floor, want to eat together?”

The fifth window was crowded, and nobody was there to get food.

The cafeteria aunt scooped up a big bowl of braised pork and skillfully placed it in Lin Shuanghuai’s plate.

Lin Shuanghuai’s pupils trembled, politely reminding her, “Auntie, I wanted the bok choy on the side…”

“Alright, alright, I’ll give you the bok choy too, along with the meat, look at how skinny you’ve become.”

As she spoke, the aunt picked up a chicken leg and placed it on Lin Shuanghuai’s plate, which was already almost overflowing, with a cheerful smile, asking, “Is there anything else you want?”

Lin Shuanghuai pursed his lips, awkward yet grateful, smiled and said, “No, thank you, Auntie.”

He paid for two meat and two vegetable dishes but received treatment as if he ordered seven meat and eight vegetable dishes, plus a soup and a chicken leg.

If they waited a little longer, the aunt would have given him an extra plate.

Struggling with his overloaded lunch, Lin Shuanghuai looked up to see a vast army of lunch-goers, not even a gap to be seen.

But before he could find a seat, several people had already waved at him.

Whether they knew him or not, they all shouted, “Lin Shuanghuai, come sit with us!”

Lin Shuanghuai nodded in thanks to them but didn’t accept the invitation, waiting in place for a moment.

Some classmates had already saved him a seat in the class.

He waited for Han Banlan and Yu Yangen to finish getting their food, and the three of them walked over together.

“I’m so fed up, did the aunt’s hand shake too much? I asked for stir-fried pork with green peppers, but she shook it twice and now there’s only green peppers left! Am I growing vegetables or what!”

Han Banlan was furious, glanced at Lin Shuanghuai’s plate, and became even angrier, “Damn, Lin Shuanghuai, did you just rob the cafeteria?”

“Forget it, I just witnessed the aunt’s differential treatment firsthand, it’s really hurtful,” Yu Yangen looked at Lin Shuanghuai’s plate with longing eyes, almost drooling.

The others at the table followed Yu Yangen’s gaze and looked at Lin Shuanghuai’s plate, all showing jealous and pained expressions.

After Lin Shuanghuai sat down, he pushed his plate to the middle and said:

“Help yourselves.”

In less than ten seconds, this group of undignified people had looted his food clean.

“Free lunch tastes the best,” Yu Yangen said, gnawing on the chicken leg contentedly.

Others echoed, “Thanks for the treat, Lin, Grandpa!”

Lin Shuanghuai glanced at them, “Have some dignity.”

He only held his bowl of soup, picking at the vegetables inside slowly, eating very slowly, and the level of soup in the bowl hardly decreased.

Han Banlan stretched her legs onto the chair, took a bite of braised pork, and asked, “Why didn’t you go eat outside today? Didn’t you always say the cafeteria was too noisy?”

Lin Shuanghuai didn’t answer immediately. He finished chewing slowly before saying, “I have to go to the dean’s office in a while, it’s urgent.”

“For the scholarship?”

“Mm.”

A few people exclaimed in excitement, “Awesome, are they going to guarantee it for you? Then we must celebrate tonight!”

Han Banlan was also happy and clapped her hands, “Let’s go karaoke!”

“Yeah! Karaoke!”

“Weekend then.”

Lin Shuanghui quickly declined, still smiling, his tone gentle as usual, “I have something tonight.”

Han Banlan and Yu Yan’en exchanged a glance, then both exaggeratedly leaned on the table, staring at Lin Shuanghui.

“Are you raising other dogs behind our backs?”

The movement was too strong, and the table shook along with their hands.

Lin Shuanghui’s bowl almost spilled, but he managed to hold it. He looked up with a smile, “Do you want to die?”

Han Banlan put her legs down from the chair and slapped Yu Yan’en on the back of his head, “Apologize quickly! Do you know Lin Shuanghui might secretly stab you tonight?”

Yu Yan’en shrank his neck and cooperatively said, “Sorry, we were just afraid you had other dogs, we were narrow-minded, we were immature.”

Before Lin Shuanghui could tell him to shut up, a girl suddenly lunged at him from the aisle.

She really lunged.

Lin Shuanghui dodged, and the girl didn’t land on him, but her hand hit the table, causing the soup bowl that hadn’t spilled before to overturn completely.

Lin Shuanghui’s uniform jacket was soaked.

Several people around sighed, lamenting Lin Shuanghui’s bad luck.

The girl’s companions behind her were still covering their faces and giggling, urging her quietly, “Hurry up and ask for his number!”

Obviously, they pushed her over.

But when the girl saw Lin Shuanghui’s clothes soaked in soup, she didn’t dare to ask for anything and quickly stood up straight, “I-I’m sorry!”

Yu Yan’en and Han Banlan borrowed tissues from nearby people, “Quick, quick, who has tissues?”

As soon as this was said, within a ten-meter radius, many unfamiliar classmates took out tissues and handed them over.

“Your Majesty, I arrived late to save you!” Yu Yan’en respectfully handed three packs of napkins.

Lin Shuanghui couldn’t laugh or cry, he took them to wipe the soup.

“I didn’t mean to… Lin Shuanghui, I’m sorry, really sorry, my friend pushed me as a joke just now, and I couldn’t stand steady…”

Seeing the girl beside him, whose face kept turning pale and red, Lin Shuanghui didn’t say anything harsh.

Just like the rumors, he was good-tempered with everyone, could joke around, and had a gentlemanly demeanor.

“Don’t worry,” Lin Shuanghui reassured her, “it’s not hot.”

The girl, on the verge of tears, suddenly blushed, unable to speak for a while.

“Why are you still wiping here, hurry and take it off, it’s all oily—” Yu Yangen couldn’t stand Lin Shuanghuai’s gentle appearance and was about to help him take off his clothes.

Lin Shuanghuai remained calm, holding his wrist, then in a tone that begged for a beating, he said to the people nearby, “Help, help, Yu Yangen is assaulting me.”

Scared the straight man Yu Yangen recoiled three feet in place, “Hey, why are you accusing me!”

Everyone laughed, and the tension from earlier dissipated.

The girl left feeling extremely guilty, but Lin Shuanghuai kept wiping the oil and soup off his clothes, feeling more and more disgusted.

He reluctantly stood up, “I’ll go to the restroom.”

Yu Yangen wanted to accompany him, reaching out to take Lin Shuanghuai’s arm.

Han Banlan scoffed, “Two grown men going to the restroom and still holding hands, really girly.”

“Why can’t grown men hold hands? Grown men not only hold hands, but they also pinky swear.”

Yu Yangen, tall and robust, was a member of the basketball team, the former head of the student union’s sports department, nearly two meters tall. He should have been a tough guy, but his gestures and actions were quite childish.

He stretched out his large knuckled little finger towards Lin Shuanghui, winking, “Come on, Brother Hui, let’s pinky swear—”

The next second, his finger was twisted by Lin Shuanghuai.

“Ahhh!”

Han Banlan burst into laughter, “You’re being naughty, serves you right.”

“Why are you shouting, I didn’t use much force.”

Lin Shuanghuai let go of his hand and pointed to Yu Yan’en’s plate, “Finish eating. If I see any leftovers, I’ll deduct points from your weekly score.”

“Okay.”

Yu Yangen rubbed his pinky and shrugged his shoulders.

He was hungry, so when Lin Shuanghuai said so, he stopped being polite, didn’t decline, and sat down to continue eating.

After Lin Shuanghuai left, noticeably many people also left the cafeteria.

Someone suddenly curious said, “Actually, wouldn’t it be enough to just take off your coat? Why bother washing?”

“Maybe he’s really afraid of getting sunburned?”

“You’re listening to Lin Shuanghuai talking nonsense! He went hiking with me during the summer vacation and didn’t say a word even after getting two shades darker,” Yuan Yang’en said as he was about to look for the photos of Lin Shuanghuai getting tanned.

“But I do remember back in the first year of high school, he had a pretty weak body. He could faint from running a few extra steps. Maybe he’s lacking exercise recently, and his physical fitness has declined again?”

“I don’t know, maybe he’s just delicate,” Han Banlan, who was quietly eating, suddenly raised her eyes and interrupted,

“What’s there to discuss? Let’s eat.”

“Oh…” Everyone obediently focused on their meals.

Only Yuan Yangen, whose brain was missing a wire, couldn’t help but sigh, “Ah, how come this person is always sickly every day?”

***

Yuan Bozhu recently felt like he had forgotten something.

But he guessed that whatever could be automatically filtered out by his brain shouldn’t be too important, so he didn’t pay attention to it.

Until now, when he returned to the classroom from the cafeteria.

When he reached the position of the back door, he looked through the window on the door and saw four people of various heights and weights sitting in the originally empty classroom.

He finally slowly began to recall.

On Monday after school, he encountered a few troublemakers at the garbage disposal point.

They seemed to ask him to do something, but he ignored it.

He completely forgot about this matter, not giving it a second thought. Unexpectedly, today he had the chance to see those four people again.

Yuan Bozhu’s forgetfulness wasn’t due to poor memory, but rather intentional.

His life at school has always been monotonous and plain, with almost no sudden situations or accidents.

Therefore, most of the time, he would deliberately lower his attention to the surroundings and immerse himself in a consciousness world that others couldn’t perceive but he could.

In short, he often daydreamed.

This kind of daydreaming was different from ordinary absent-mindedness; it was a kind of disguised practice, also known as conscious meditation.

Yuan Bozhu could stand, sit, walk, or even take notes during class while immersing himself in this kind of meditation.

It helped his primordial spirit to better integrate into this body and mobilize the cultivation hidden in the dantian to assist in controlling the new body.

This was very important.

If the primordial spirit and the body couldn’t integrate, it would cause unexpected troubles.

For example, over a decade ago, when Yuan Bozhu was still a child, due to the powerful spiritual power in his primordial spirit and the incompatibility with his new body, he couldn’t restrain the outbreak of his cultivation.

One day, halfway through his sleep, three-year-old Yuan Bozhu suddenly recited a spell in his dream, only to wake up and realize…

He had burned down the house.

That night, his parents held him, standing in front of the blazing flames, looking bewildered.

They thought he had forgotten to turn off the kitchen fire. Although his sister Yuan Wanjiao emphasized that she had definitely turned it off, since they couldn’t find any other possible cause, they could only attribute it to her mistake.

Of course, such a thing would never happen again.

Through conscious meditation, Yuan Bozhu could control his power quite well now.

But his daydreaming was too frequent, so occasionally, he would forget about some unimportant things.

If no one reminded him, he might never remember those trivial matters.

Like these four people now, they shouldn’t have appeared in the classroom of Class 7 of Senior 3.

Their class was on the fifth floor, and there was only one class on the entire floor, surrounded by various subject offices.

These four people probably waited for a week before they figured out they could use lunchtime, when the teacher wasn’t there, to confront him.

Yuan Bozhu didn’t go in.

Today, Yuan Bozhu ate a bit faster and returned earlier, so the entire floor was quiet. If he went in, he would be walking right into their trap.

Fear, of course, it was fear.

Fear of trouble.

In this simple and sometimes boring life at school, nothing was more troublesome than getting involved with four troublemakers.

Yuan Bozhu didn’t want to expose himself in front of anyone, but it didn’t mean he would stand still and let others attack him.

The best way was to avoid it.

When other students came back and the teacher came upstairs, those four would naturally leave.

So, he changed direction and went downstairs.

Yuan Bozhu had originally planned to take a lap around the playground, but when he reached the second floor, he suddenly heard a short burst of cries.

Immediately after came the sound of someone falling to the ground.

The commotion wasn’t loud, perhaps others wouldn’t have noticed, but Yuan Bozhu had extraordinary hearing, and he heard it distinctly.

The second floor housed three classrooms and an office.

The source of the sound was the faculty restroom at the end of the corridor.

Was it a teacher?

Yuan Bozhu furrowed his brows, hesitating between stopping and minding his own business or investigating further.

Obviously, for various reasons, Yuan Bozhu wasn’t the type to meddle in others’ affairs, but neither was he one to turn a blind eye to someone in need.

Leaving aside the natural inclination for students to assist teachers in emergencies, just from the brief cry, Yuan Bozhu could sense the immense fear and panic in the person who made the sound.

It was a level of distress not typical of a simple fall.

After a moment of contemplation, he decided to walk towards the direction of the sound.