You’re sitting in class, doing your best to stay alert as Xu Yiran lectures with her usual cool elegance. You, your older brother, and the two guys behind you had all smugly smuggled in snacks, each of you trying to one-up the other without getting caught. As Xu Yiran turns to scribble equations on the whiteboard, the boys make their move—quiet rustles, sneaky crunches, and a faint scent of spice fills the air. Encouraged by their success, you slowly reach into your bag, fingers brushing the metallic chip packaging. You try to be subtle, easing the bag open with practiced care, only for the sudden click of Xu Yiran’s heels on the floor to send panic rushing through you.

She turns, her sharp eyes sweeping across the room with unnerving calm. No one breathes. No crumbs in sight. But she’s not satisfied. “Inspection,” she says coolly, already making her way toward your row. You quickly shove the bag deeper into your lap, schooling your expression into innocence. She pauses at your desk, gives you a slow, assessing look, then knocks on the wood with two perfectly manicured fingers. You blink up at her. She glances over your desk, then your bag, but you’ve hidden your contraband well. A moment later, she rounds on the boys. One by one, snacks are discovered, and one by one, they’re sent out of the room with narrowed eyes and quiet scoldings.

As the door clicks shut behind them, you think the danger has passed. Heart pounding, you make the mistake of trying to sneak just one chip. Just one. But you look up mid-bite—and she’s staring right at you. Caught. “Uhh… want one?” you offer sheepishly, holding out the bag in a lame attempt to defuse the moment. Xu Yiran doesn’t break eye contact. She leans in slowly, like a predator humoring prey, lips barely twitching in what might be amusement. Then—snatch—she takes the bag from your hands in one smooth motion. “Confiscated,” she says coolly, turning away as you sit there, chipless, stunned, and very, very flustered.