Zodiac Guardian

This is the second chapter of the day, please don't forget to add this book to your favorites.

As he reached the dormitory door, Qi Yue's heart suddenly leapt as he thought, if today he could see Xu Qing and Shen Yun, those two beauties, in a lesbian situation again, that would be too wonderful. As he was thinking, he carefully used his key to open the door, trying to make as little noise as possible.

However, this time, Qi Yue was disappointed. There was not a soul in the dormitory, the three beauties were not there. Just as he was about to return to his room, he noticed something white fluttering in the wind on the balcony outside the living room. He walked over, curious.

When Qi Yue saw what exactly was on the balcony, his first reaction was to cover his nose. In fact, any man would probably have a similar reaction.

Just as Qi Yue was debating whether or not to take a closer look, the sound of the door opening startled him.

Those who do something wrong tend to get nervous easily. Although Qi Yue wasn't doing anything wrong, he was still startled and quickly went back to his room.

Just as Qi Yue reached his bedroom door, the three beauties had already arrived in the living room. Xu Qing instantly spotted Qi Yue, "Huh, you're back pretty early."

Qi Yue struggled to maintain his composure, "Yeah! I came back right after dinner. You guys didn't eat at the dorm, did you?"

Ming Ming said, "There's a new Western restaurant that's just opened next to the school. We gave it a try. We wanted to invite you but you're from the philosophy department and we from the foreign language department along with Sister Yun from the thermodynamics department are far away from you. We didn't wait for you and went ourselves. It was a really nice restaurant."

Xu Qing chimed in, "Indeed, very good! Shouldn't certain new residents show some appreciation and treat us three beauties to another meal there?"

Western food? Qi Yue was taken aback, thinking to himself that Western food was not only unfilling but also costly. If he were to dine there once, he'd probably exhaust an entire month's allowance. He quickly feigned ignorance to Xu Qing's hint, saying, "What's so good about Western food? It can't top Yan Huang's 5000-year-old culinary culture. I prefer Yan Huang's food."

Xu Qing smirked. Shen Yun on her side added, "On our way back earlier, did you hear a broadcast by the school? The school has introduced a new canteen rule - main courses aren't free anymore. It seems we need to purchase them by weight."

Xu Qing laughed and said, "I did hear, and I know why they made this rule. I heard that a 'human rice bucket' served themselves more than a dozen bowl of rice last night at the canteen that even got the canteen scared. The main reason was that seeing him relishing his meal, many others too began eating more than usual resulting in a significant rise in the consumption of the canteen's dishes. That 'human rice bucket' was indeed awesome! Imagine someone eating five to six kilograms of a main course. I can't believe it."

Ming Ming couldn't help but giggle, "He must be a starving ghost reborn. Qing'er, are you sure your gossip is accurate? Who can eat that much?"

Xu Qing pouted, "Of course. My source is reliable, it's definitely true. I heard he was there again today at noon. Many others also flocked to the canteen hoping to catch a glimpse of him eating his meal. Consequently, today's midday grain consumption far exceeded that of last night and this is why the school has enacted this new rule."

"Why oh why! Even God wants to ruin me." Qi Yue lamented, "Shit, no wonder the canteen was so crowded at lunch today."

Ming Ming looked at Qi Yue curiously, as though suddenly realizing something, and her eyes widened, "That... that 'human rice bucket'... it isn't you, is it?"

Qi Yue replied in distress, "What 'human rice bucket'? Qingbei is being too unreasonable. Did I eat that much? This noon, I only had fourteen dumplings in total. Now they have changed the rules, I'm doomed, I can't even get enough food anymore."

Three beauties, six bright eyes all fell in stunned silence onto Qi Yue's flat belly. They knew exactly the size of the school's bread rolls – half a pound each. Fourteen of them totaled seven pounds. A person eating seven pounds of bread, was that humanly possible?

Qi Yue wore a pained expression, "Stop staring at me, I don't know why either, but my appetite has increased so much recently. Is it a crime now to eat a lot?"

Xu Qing's gaze shifted to Ming Ming, "Can someone who can eat seven pounds of food in one sitting really have congenital heart disease?"

Ming Ming, slightly embarrassed, responded, "Eating and the heart don't influence each other! Besides, I didn't know he could eat this much. Maybe, eating a lot is a problem in itself." As she said this, she hastily gestured to Qi Yue, urging him to return to his room quickly.

All Qi Yue cared about in that moment was the bread and rice that was being taken from him. He hadn't noticed Ming Ming's gestures and chuckled bitterly, "It's over, it's over... my relief fund definitely won't be enough for meals this time."

"Relief fund? What relief fund?" Shen Yun, who was standing nearby, curiously asked.

Qi Yue was taken back and quickly brushed it off, "No big deal, I'm just going to go back to my room now." He went back to his room and shut the door. He needed to solve this problem about food, but he didn't want Shen Yun and Xu Qing to know that he was actually living off government relief funds.

As they watched the closed door, Shen Yun and Xu Qing turned their curious gaze towards Ming Ming. An idea flitted across Ming Ming's mind and she quickly said, "My cousin does indeed rely on relief funds to live. His parents passed away when he was very young, and he could only survive through the aid from the government. We wanted to help him, but he's very stubborn and hasn't accepted any help from relatives apart from the government's aid. As such, he naturally has no money. When he's at the school canteen, of course he can only eat more staple food, with no oil in his belly, eating more staple food is normal."

Xu Qing was stunned, "No wonder, no wonder he refused to eat in the dorm. I thought he wasn't attracted to the meals Sister Yun cooked, turns out it's like this. He's so pitiful! How could I have spoken to him like that yesterday?"

Shen Yun asked, "Qing'er, what did you say to him yesterday?"

Xu Qing replied with a bitter smile, "I asked him to share the rent and then asked him to contribute five hundred yuan for food every month. He agreed to share the rent, but refused to eat with us. I had no idea he was in such trouble! I thought being Ming Ming's cousin, his family must be wealthy. Plus, he wears branded clothing!"

Ming Ming's face darkened, "Those clothes were just given to him by my sister. If you saw what he used to wear, you wouldn't say that."

Hearing Ming Ming, Xu Qing imagined a poor student who studied hard and got admitted to a prestigious university. She lowered her head, "I'm sorry, Ming Ming, I didn't know."

Ming Ming furrowed her brow slightly, "Qing'er, do you know how much Qi Yue gets from his relief fund every month? I heard him saying, it should be around six hundred yuan. After sharing the rent, there's hardly anything left for him, let alone his smoking habit. He once told me that sometimes he can either afford cigarettes or food. Sure, we're roommates and it's reasonable you requested him to contribute to the food expenses. But, how much could we possibly consume in a month? Even a thousand yuan would be more than enough for us three, and you're asking him for five hundred, naturally he couldn't agree because he simply can't afford it." Growing emotional, Ming Ming continued, "From now on, let him eat in the dorm. I'll cover his food expenses."

"Ming Ming, don't be upset, Qing'er just wanted to joke around. We didn't know about Qi Yue's difficulties since you never mentioned," Shen Yun jumped in quickly to placate the tense atmosphere.

While the atmosphere outside the room was tense, Qi Yue inside was all smiles. Of course, he wasn't laughing because Ming Ming offered to pay for his food, but rather because of some of the girls' misunderstandings. It seemed Shen Yun and Xu Qing treated him as a pitiable figure, and pulling the sympathy card had worked. Approaching them would be much easier from now on.