One glance at her told him that she was underfed and obviously still hungry. Gosh, she’s poorer than I
am, yet she treated me to dinner yesterday! What a nice girl! We’ve only just met, but she’s so
considerate.
Of course, Casper had no idea of knowing what was going on in Amelia’s head. If he did, he might not
know how to react. The truth was, she was born that way. She would not gain weight no matter how
much she ate. She would not call herself skinny. She was just “dapper”.
Growl…
Amelia barely finished talking when her stomach decided to protest, telling her that it was fed up with
her lies.
Instantly, her face flushed red with embarrassment.
Casper regretted not having gone to the cafeteria to get some food first before coming to meet her. He
could have shared the food with her.
Amelia said the fruits she bought were generally rotten ones. Considering how expensive the fruits in
the market were nowadays, even the bad ones were not cheap. She must have bought them to save
what little lunch money she could, but she probably did not have enough to afford a decent meal that
day.
Amelia’s such an angel. She’s willing to share her fruits even if it means she has to go hungry. She’s
certainly good-natured, but she shouldn’t have to do that.
Casper could not bear to hurt her. He considered what else he could do to offer assistance, and get her
out of her current dilemma. Such a beautiful girl should not receive such unfair treatment.
“Come on. Let’s go to the cafeteria. I have some money with me.”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt
Casper could see that Amelia was not really full. He helped her up and took her to the cafeteria next to
the female dorm.
“That’s okay. I’m full.”
Not used to having a boy hold her hand, Amelia’s face flushed red again as she firmly shook her head.
“Perhaps, but you could use a little more food,” Casper insisted.
Soon, Amelia relented and agreed to follow him to the cafeteria.
When they got there, Casper went to purchase some simple meals, skipping over the pricier ones and
brought the food to their table.
He did not intend to reveal his true identity in front of Amelia yet. He preferred to go with the flow and
allow her to accept it naturally as time passed.
He could tell that Amelia was like a little rabbit, easily spooked, and could run away at any time.
Casper had decided long ago that Giselle would be the future daughter-in-law of the Simpson family,
but he still wanted to protect this girl to the best of his abilities.
As he sat opposite Amelia and watched the girl eat, one small mouthful at a time, he began to space
out. Amelia looks so pretty even when she eats.
“Um, why are you staring at me like that? You should help yourself to some food too.”
Amelia shyly lifted her head when she felt Casper’s burning gaze on her. Her flushed cheeks made her
face looked even prettier.
“Alright.”
Casper did not want to scare her off. Instead of cracking jokes like the other guys would, he obeyed
Amelia and dug in.
After the meal, the two exchanged contact information. They were both young people of the new
generation, yet Amelia was not on WhatsApp or any other social media platforms. The mobile phone
she was using was a really old model which came in a black-and-white screen.
After dropping her off at the female dorm, Casper heaved a sigh of relief and considered himself lucky
that he had not met Lillian along the way. Otherwise, he could not very well explain himself.
The sun was high up in the sky as he walked back to his dorm. Casper felt so joyful that he did not feel
hot at all. Perhaps inner peace really could cool down the body.
However, right at that moment, his phone rang.
The caller was neither one of his roommates nor Jack, his teacher. The president of the table tennis
club had summoned him to run an errand.
“Hey, Casper! Get your ass over to the table tennis court at Vermillion Complex! Pronto!”
A girl’s voice, loud and commanding sounded from the other end of the line as soon as Casper picked
up the call.
“Um, but I…”
Casper did not want to go. He desired rest, so he tried to come up with an excuse.
“Stop babbling! Do you dare to go against the president’s instructions? Get over here now! I’ll only say
this once.” The girl cut in before he could say anything, and hung up the call without even waiting for
him to explain.
Casper just wanted to return to his dorm and take a nap. He looked up at the scorching sun, pondering
his fate. At last, he took a deep breath and made his way to the Vermillion Complex in East District
Two.
The Vermillion Complex was actually the messiest stadium in Business University. This description
rang especially true for the table tennis court, where all sorts of sports equipment were piled up all over
the floor. It was not at all an ideal place to play table tennis.
But that place had air-conditioning. The summer heat was absolutely brutal, so the members of the
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmclub opted to enjoy the cool air while practicing there.
Casper signed up for the table tennis club right after he entered the university. He just wanted to get a
hobby. Yet, in the two years he had been there, he hardly ever got to play.
“Oh, look. The ball boy’s here.”
“Come on, hurry up. We don’t have all day.”
“Can’t you run with those legs?”
A group of young men and women stood around the table. They beckoned to Casper as soon as they
saw him enter the court, motioning him to pick up the pace and go collect the balls.
For two whole years, that was what he had been doing the most. He was never a player.
One girl stood out among the many members. She wore a pink sports T-shirt paired with a pair of
culottes. On her feet were a pair of Nike sports shoes. Her hair was tied into a ponytail. Her overall
attire practically screamed youth and vitality.
She was the vice president of the table tennis club. Beside her was a burly, dark-skinned young man
with hairy arms, donned in Adidas sportswear. He was David Gordon, the club’s president.
“What’s wrong with you, Casper? Don’t you know you should be here? The vice president had to give
you a call. Proud of yourself, aren’t you? If you’re still late the next time around, I’ll kick you out of the
club!” David yelled as he glared sternly at Casper.
He had looked down on Casper from the get-go. He did not think the skinny man was qualified to join
the table tennis club.
“You’re just so goddamn slow! It’s been over ten minutes since our call. Don’t you know we paid to use
the air-conditioner and the court? It’s twenty per hour, mind you. We couldn’t play because you weren’t
here. You’ve wasted fifteen minutes of our precious time,” the vice president mumbled, clearly irritated.
“President, Vice President, I’m really sorry for being late. Something came up.”
Casper decided to keep a low profile to the very end, so he simply explained with utmost humility.