Chapter 5: Instant Noodle Temptation, Wang Cheng's Heart Breaks

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Yu Kelan stared blankly at the candy on her desk, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, her peripheral vision caught Lin Ge walking towards the door. Driven by an impulse, Yu Kelan quickly hid the milk candy. But this action, as if she had done something wrong, made Yu Kelan feel a bit guilty. This made Yu Kelan find it a bit amusing.

"Yu Kelan, he's not your dad, why are you afraid of him?" Thinking this, Yu Kelan's mood finally calmed down a bit. She lowered her head and started reading. But in reality, her peripheral vision was still watching Lin Ge.

The returning Lin Ge was carrying a large pile of snacks, and in his right hand, a cup of instant noodles. The instant noodles had already had hot water poured into them at the tuck shop. By the time he returned to the classroom, they were already cooked. A fragrant aroma wafted from the cracks.

In 1992, Master Kong entered mainland China. In 1993, through television advertisements, it became a household name. At that time, there was no concept of junk food or fast food. In the eyes of ordinary people, this was a delicacy. But in this era, where "ten thousand yuan households" were considered rich, and an ordinary person's salary was two or three hundred yuan, a 2.5 yuan cup of Master Kong instant noodles was undoubtedly a luxury. Basically, ninety-nine percent of students had never eaten it.

"Gulp!" Smelling the fragrant aroma, the students in the classroom couldn't help but swallow their saliva, secretly looking towards Lin Ge. Even Yu Kelan was no exception.

"Hand it over." Lin Ge suddenly placed his hand on Yu Kelan's desk.

"What?" Yu Kelan was still thinking about the instant noodles and didn't react. Lin Ge said nothing more, directly reaching into Yu Kelan's pants pocket.

"What are you doing!" Yu Kelan was startled and immediately jumped up. But soon, she felt the suspicious gazes of the surrounding classmates and quickly sat back down.

"You have food, why did you lie to me?" Lin Ge calmly took out his hand, then unwrapped the milk candy and popped it into his mouth.

Seeing this scene, Yu Kelan, who was about to get angry, didn't know what to say. However, in her mind, the scene of Lin Ge putting his hand into her pants pocket kept flashing. As everyone knew, school uniform fabric was thin and transparent... And she was an innocent young girl. In short, if she didn't have a handle in Lin Ge's hand, she would have really wanted to fight this scoundrel just now!

"Lin Ge, you're going too far!" Wang Cheng was constantly watching Lin Ge's every move. Lin Ge putting his hand into Yu Kelan's pocket, he couldn't see due to the angle. But Lin Ge's actions and Yu Kelan's reaction, Wang Cheng knew what he had done to Yu Kelan without thinking. Especially when he watched Lin Ge eat the second milk candy he had given Yu Kelan. Wang Cheng's fists clenched tightly, his fingernails digging into his flesh. His blood surged, and he felt as if a beret, a vibrant green one, had appeared on his head.

Although Yu Kelan was not his girlfriend. Perhaps, this was the awakening of some past life bond.

"Where did you get so much money to buy all these things?" In the end, Yu Kelan couldn't hold back her curiosity. She calculated that the pile of snacks on Lin Ge's desk, plus that cup of instant noodles, would cost at least forty or fifty yuan.

In 1993, high school students rarely had much pocket money. Parents who spoiled their kids might give fifty cents or a yuan. After all, prices were cheap. If it weren't for the fact that cents were eliminated in 1992, the lowest-priced snacks might still start at one cent. One yuan could buy a lot of snacks. No wonder Yu Kelan was puzzled by Lin Ge's sudden wealth.

"Forty or fifty yuan is considered a lot?" Lin Ge found it a bit amusing. The 10,000 yuan the system gave him were old-style "Great Unity" bills (large denominations with multiple figures). Lin Ge was worried the tuck shop owner wouldn't have enough change, so he simply bought a bunch, hoping to reach a hundred yuan. But unexpectedly, he couldn't carry it all, nor did he even reach 100 yuan. This made Lin Ge sigh: prices were really cheap in this era, unlike in the future where people talked about "cherry freedom," "strawberry freedom," "chili freedom," and money was worth nothing.

"Slurp~" Ignoring the completely speechless Yu Kelan, a somewhat hungry Lin Ge opened the instant noodle lid, picked up a fork, and took a bite.

"The taste is quite ordinary, not as good as instant noodles in the future." After swallowing that bite of instant noodle, Lin Ge concluded inwardly. But Lin Ge didn't consider that future instant noodles had been meticulously improved bit by bit over decades to slowly conform to popular tastes. How could they compare to the Master Kong instant noodles that had just entered the mainland market?

"Gulp~" Yu Kelan belonged to this era. Although she wasn't hungry, seeing Lin Ge eat with such relish, and smelling that alluring aroma, she couldn't help but swallow a small mouthful of saliva. And by chance, Lin Ge heard this sound.

"You want to eat?" Lin Ge turned his head and looked at Yu Kelan with a smile.

Her little secret exposed, Yu Kelan's face turned crimson, and she desperately waved her hands.

"Heh heh, just say it if you want to eat." Lin Ge chuckled.

Unexpectedly, he picked up a forkful of instant noodles and put it into Yu Kelan's mouth.

"Mmph, mmph…" Yu Kelan couldn't speak, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief. But her mouth was honest; she instinctively slurped it in and chewed with her silver teeth.

Yu Kelan's action was something even Lin Ge hadn't expected.

"Yu Kelan, what are you doing? That's that scoundrel Lin Ge's used fork!""There's no hope. I actually sold my first kiss for a forkful of instant noodles!"

After finishing that bite of instant noodle, Yu Kelan regretted it. She was too ashamed to face anyone, immediately burying her head on her desk like a turtle. Earlier, she could blame Lin Ge for being reckless and feeding her instant noodles. But afterward, she herself had slurped it in and swallowed it. Now, she didn't even have a reason to blame Lin Ge.

"Kelan, what are you doing?""Why did you eat his instant noodles?""I know, you didn't mean to, he forced you, right?"

Wang Cheng, who was constantly watching Yu Kelan, felt like crying now. The girl he liked had eaten instant noodles fed by another man, and swallowed them. And the fork was even used by another man. Didn't that amount to an indirect kiss? Thinking this, Wang Cheng's heart shattered.

"It's okay, Kelan must have been forced.""Or maybe Kelan had never eaten instant noodles before, so she couldn't resist.""I don't blame you! I next time, I'll use my saved pocket money to buy you instant noodles.""I believe the only person Kelan likes is me, Wang Cheng!"

Wang Cheng constantly comforted himself.

For the next few classes, Yu Kelan, besides listening during lectures, spent the rest of her time with her head down, like a turtle. No matter how Lin Ge provoked her, she didn't respond, just stayed sprawled on her desk. However, Lin Ge didn't mind. After all, his goal had been achieved.

Lin Ge wasn't genuinely in love with Yu Kelan. He merely pitied her tragic fate in his previous life. As long as he could create a rift between Yu Kelan and Wang Cheng and spoil their affair, it would be enough. The process didn't matter; whether Yu Kelan hated him or resented him. Perhaps many years later, when Yu Kelan saw Wang Cheng's true colors and remembered what happened back then, she might even thank Lin Ge.