Chapter 24.2| Spring camping

Xu Zhiyi and Meng Yin arrived a little later and took their seats. While Lin Xipei still had half a piece of sushi in her mouth that she hadn't swallowed yet, a breeze blew over the sushi brought by Xing Xiuze. Her eyes, however, lingered on the two insulated lunch boxes labelled "Zhiyin CP" in front of her, one of which contained a freshly heated meal box. The insulated lunch box belonged to Xu Zhiyi, while the heated meal box belonged to Meng Yin.

Xu Zhiyi opened the lunch box, placing all the side dishes in front of Meng Yin without missing a single one, and then took the meal box brought by Yin for herself. 

Suddenly, Xipei felt that the sushi in her mouth didn't taste as good. She glanced around at her position, perfectly sandwiched in the middle, feeling like a neglected vegetable.

Just as she sighed about being the neglected vegetable, a blue lunch box appeared in front of her. "This one is for our Xipei babe," said Yin with a playful tone. 

Inside the light blue lunch box were sweet and sour spare ribs, braised pork with eggs, and a stir-fried mushroom with vegetables. 

Lin Xipei's eyes quickly shifted to the one in front of Xu Zhiyi, looking exactly the same.

"Our Yin babe truly loves me," Lin Xipei's acting skills came to life, attempting to squeeze out a few tears, but her tear ducts seemed dry at the moment, though her words were heartfelt.

Xing Xiuze watched as Xu Zhiyi placed another insulated lunch box aside without even glancing at it. Just as he was about to pick up his chopsticks, a square Lock & Lock container appeared in front of Zhiyi. Xiuze didn't say a word, simply picked up the insulated lunch box and left. 

The Lock & Lock box was small, like a mini sushi platter compared to his box, specially made by Xiuze's father for Xu Zhiyi. 

Xu Zhiyi opened the Lock & Lock box and pushed it towards Yin, saying, "Try it, Xing Xiuze's father is quite skilled in cooking."

"What's going on here?" 

First-line gossip enthusiast Xipei was a bit confused, but didn't forget to enjoy some braised pork. 

Xing Xiuze opened the insulated lunch box and said, "Laughed a bit too loudly in the car this morning, and your bro Yi held a grudge, confiscating the meal Nanny Dong made for me."

Lin Xipei, adept at multitasking, first asked Yin with a fangirl look, "Darling, did Nanny Donf make this braised pork? It's so delicious." Then she turned to Xing Xiuzeand said, "You didn't just laugh a bit too loudly, you were practically asking for trouble." 

Encouraged by Xipei's praise, Yin covered her mouth and asked Xu Zhiyi, "Do you think it's delicious?" 

Zhiyi raised an eyebrow, "Did you make this?" 

"I learned it from my grandmother during the winter break," Yin answered honestly after tasting a reheated bite, "I couldn't get up this morning, so I made it last night. It lost some flavour overnight." 

Half a piece of sugar-coated spare ribs tinged the white rice with colour, just like Xu Zhiyi's slightly muted voice that was equally enticing, "Exceeding the top-ranking level." 

It didn't quite match Xu Zhiyi's usual style of speaking, but it was surprisingly effective.

Xing Xiuze divided the thermal box he brought into three layers, and Nanny Dong was fair to everyone, making a favourite dish for each of the three people. Lin Xipei teased Xing Xiuze, then carried the green pepper beef that was made for her, only to see her "guiding CP" engaging in private conversations. Sandwich cookies chose to eat quietly while also having sugar. The eyes of the other five or six people at the table the group occasionally glanced towards the group, as they freely ate without any awareness of the surroundings.

The plateau where they were situated was elliptical in shape, with the reception building at the centre serving as the dividing line. The front part was set up with tents, while the backyard served as the activity area for this event. 

The boring yet fun tug-of-war competition for the entire team took place on this lawn in the afternoon. The tug-of-war competition was divided into male and female groups, each consisting of 40 people, with free participation. Men and women conducted three sets of matches separately, with different prizes for each set, revealed at the end of each match.

"Xu Zhiyi, do you know what prizes are there for the competition?" Yin was a little curious. Xu Zhiyi was not aware of it, but Lin Xipei, the intelligence expert, answered on behalf of Xu Zhiyi, "The first group is the 90th-anniversary commemorative badge, the second group is the medals left from the school sports meeting, and the third group is a big red flower." 

"This prize setup is quite unique." Can the prizes for the last two groups be more elaborate? "Want a commemorative badge?" Zhiyi did not miss Yin's expression upon hearing about the badge. "A bit." 

Zhiyi casually tousled the sticky rice ball on Yin's head and walked towards the registration area. Xing Xiuze bumped into Nie Hai's arm and asked Xu Zhiyi while raising his head, "Are we going?" 

"Let's go."

Xipei looked at the scene, shaking her head and clapping, "Exciting."