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 Everyone started out silent, their eyes glued to the meat on the plate.

Soon, with the flames intensifying, the steak gradually took on a golden hue. The meat became slightly firmer from the heat, and the surface turned an enticing caramel color.

The irresistible aroma of grilled meat wafted through the air, tantalizing everyone’s taste buds and stirring up their appetites.

As the first steak came off the grill, everyone wasted no time, quickly devouring it.

Noticing their table was empty, Qi Dong asked, “What do you want to drink?”

“Coke~”

“Coconut juice, please!”

“I want Coke too!”

“I’ll have iced tea!”

Everyone chimed in with their orders. Zhao Ying thought Qi Dong wouldn’t manage, so she got up to join him at the counter.

Meanwhile, the fatty kept busy, chatting while flipping skewers, effectively cleaning out one round after another!

“You guys are just waiting for the big screen to go live, right?” Wang Hao casually asked.

“Yeah, more or less. We’ll set it up before the school anniversary.”

“By the way, how’s the show coming along?”

The fatty recalled that the dance department would be performing a poetry drama at the gala.

“Drone show, of course~” Qi Dong chimed in.

“Huh?”

Zhao Ying shook her head.

“Is your Computer Science department really doing drone shows every year? Every big event is a drone show!”

“Can’t you come up with something new?”

“Honestly, with all these socially awkward folks who can’t carry a tune or dance without flailing their limbs, it’s impressive if they manage a drone show!”

Xiang Ran received a message from home and replied briefly.

Liu Shuyao, not participating in the conversation, looked at the empty grill and then at her busy boyfriend. She decided to pick up the tongs and put a few pieces of meat on the grill, carefully watching the cooking process and flipping them occasionally.

She placed the cooked pieces onto Xiang Ran’s plate first.

On the other side…

“This one’s not ready; wait a moment!”

The fatty interrupted Qi Dong, who was eager to grab some meat. Their grill was slower, while the fatty’s side had already eaten several rounds.

“This piece isn’t ready! It’s still bleeding!”

“Damn!”

“So, which one can we eat?”

Qi Dong began rummaging through the grill again, quickly shifting his focus to the fresh shrimp next to the lamb.

“This shrimp is already red; it must be good!”

However, just as he reached for it, a delicate white hand calmly grabbed the shrimp first.

The school beauty only realized what was happening after Qi Dong spoke up.

They exchanged awkward glances, and Liu Shuyao waved the shrimp in her tongs.

“Want this one?”

“No, it’s fine! You eat it!”

Qi Dong felt shy about snatching food from a girl, so he immediately let her take it.

But the next moment…

The school beauty directly placed the shrimp onto Xiang Ran’s plate.

“Fuk! School beauty, that’s not cool! Why just give it to Brother Ran?”

Qi Dong’s comment drew everyone’s attention.

Looking at Xiang Ran’s plate, it was piled high with meat from various parts of the cow—tongue, brisket, short ribs, chicken wings, fresh shrimp, squid—nothing was missing.

Ah, how awkward.

“Well, these weren’t grilled by Yang Ping; I grilled them myself.”

Liu Shuyao wanted to explain, but as soon as she finished speaking, she regretted it and nearly bit her tongue!

Ah, this just made it more awkward!

Faced with everyone’s surprised looks, her face turned beet red, reaching all the way to her ears. She gently bit her lip and shot a pleading glance at her boyfriend, her brows furrowed in panic.

Xiang Ran, noticing the meat on his plate, was clearly much less embarrassed than Liu Shuyao.

“What’s up?”

“I haven’t eaten a bite yet!”

“You guys are all acting like you’re starving.”

As he spoke, he locked his phone, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and everyone watched as Xiang Ran stuffed a hefty portion of meat into his mouth.

From the thickness, it was clear how satisfying that bite would be!

Now not only was Qi Dong’s plate empty, but even the hardworking fatty felt his dish wasn’t appetizing anymore.

They all shared the same plate and grill, even using the same piece of charcoal!

So, the diligent fatty decided to swap out. Wang Hao took over his chef duties.

After taking a sip of Coke, the fatty remembered his unfinished story about the solo escape room and suddenly got excited again.

“By the way, what were you guys doing for your duo tasks?”

“Was it similar to mine?”

“What was yours?” Qi Dong asked, not in a hurry to share his own experience.

“Damn!”

“What I had was just brutal!”

“The initial puzzles were all about the same, right?” Zhao Ying chimed in; theirs really weren’t too difficult.

“The puzzles weren’t hard, but the mechanisms were especially twisted!”

“You never know when something will pop out and scare you!”

“Can you believe you’re focused on solving a puzzle, and then suddenly, a hand reaches out from behind to tap your shoulder? Or the walls start moving slowly, creating an ever-widening gap between you and the table? It’s so thrilling!”

“Especially with the wind and eerie music! When the table finally moved, it even made cracking bone sounds, you know!”

“I was almost scared to death!”

Even now, the fatty felt a lingering dread when recalling it.

“Wow~”

Not only Qi Dong, but even Xiang Ran found it hard to believe.

“Was that a real escape room?”

“What do you mean?”

The fatty felt a bit offended by that remark, but Xiang Ran didn’t elaborate further.

“Aren’t you guys doing something like that?”

“Emmm...”

“We’re similar,” Wang Hao concluded, dispelling the fatty’s doubts.

But privately, the girls’ gossip didn’t stop.

“What about you?” Xiao Qiao asked.

“We’re fine; it’s something like a lie detector test,” Zhao Ying explained briefly.

“And you?”

“I was tied to a chair and had my mouth taped shut.”

“Wow~ That sounds exciting~”

“What about you, Shuyao?” The school beauty hadn’t spoken, probably feeling shy. She just raised her wrist, where the red marks were still visible.

“Is yours the same?” Zhao Ying’s eyes widened.

“Not quite; they didn’t tie it very tightly,” Xiao Qiao commented.

“I was handcuffed.”

“Damn!”

“Yours sounds even more thrilling!”

“It was okay; they blindfolded me, so I was pretty scared~”

“Did you feel like Xiang Ran was coming to save you like the Monkey King riding a rainbow cloud?”

Liu Shuyao felt shy but nodded.

After all, she had been terrified at that moment, so seeing her boyfriend was certainly a relief.

“Tsk tsk tsk... This is the kind of effect couples want from an escape room!”

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