At the entrance of the Seventh Dining Hall, Liu Xiaohu and the others were still slowly inching forward. The canteen had been open for over half an hour, and they had just barely stepped inside. There were still dozens of people lined up before the food window.

It wasn't just Liu Xiaohu and his group who were in a foul mood. The students queued behind them wore even grimmer expressions, occasionally muttering curses under their breath:

"This is a student canteen, so why can people from outside just come in and eat? It's so infuriating!"

"Damn it, these leeches are the worst, always pouncing wherever there's good food!"

"Come on, don't say that. Dogs are cute; why should they take the blame for these people?"

"Even if dogs aren't truly human, some people really are dogs!"

"..."

Listening to the grumbling, Liu Xiaohu and the others found their mood slightly lifted. Truth be told, they were really annoyed at these folks for coming to the Seventh Dining Hall to compete for their meals.

After another ten minutes in line, it was finally Liu Xiaohu's turn. They quickly gathered around the window and, upon peering in, their faces immediately fell.

There seemed to be only one serving of the chopped pepper fish left. There was hardly any fish, but plenty of chili peppers. Meanwhile, Liu Xiaohu's favorite, braised pork with preserved vegetables, was completely gone, not even a hint of the preserved vegetables, just some leftover broth emitting a strong aroma.

"Damn it..."

Liu Xiaohu felt helpless. He ordered all the remaining chopped pepper fish, along with some shiitake mushrooms and greens, and three servings of rice, then headed toward the dining area.

After taking just two steps, he stopped. The dining area was packed, at least a quarter of the people were from outside the school.

"What do we do? There's nowhere to sit!"

Yao Xuehui stood beside Liu Xiaohu, holding a tray, looking distressed as he mumbled.

"This is ridiculous!"

Du Hua sighed, turned around, and headed toward the door, saying as he walked,

"Why are you just standing there? Let's go to the bleachers at the stadium to eat. We can return the trays after we're done."

Liu Xiaohu shook his head and, along with Yao Xuehui, turned to leave.

They hadn't gotten far when they heard a loud voice from the food window:

"We're out of rice today. We didn't expect so many more people to come for food compared to usual. It'll take at least forty-five minutes to steam more rice. Instead of waiting, just grab a bite from another canteen.

Sorry to the students still waiting in line. Come earlier for dinner next time and make up for what you missed at lunch!"

There were still dozens of people lined up, and hearing this, they immediately erupted in complaints:

"Damn those so-called influencers! If it weren't for their constant streaming, we wouldn't have all these freeloaders coming to snatch our food!"

"People from outside are so disgusting. Coming into our school to snatch our food, are they too poor to eat outside?"

"It's all Jiang Yu's fault! If his cooking wasn't so delicious, how would these troublesome folks get lured over?"

"..."

"???"

Jiang Yu, busy in the kitchen, felt frustrated: "How is this my fault?!"

…

On the third floor of the administrative building, in the office of the student affairs division.

It was nearing December, and every year-end, Xiong Bingsheng had endless tasks to handle, busy to the point where he felt he was floating off the ground.

The student affairs office at the university deals with anything related to students. The issues might not be significant, but they are many and varied. By the time he handled a few minor things, the day would be over.

As soon as he noticed it was past working hours, Xiong Bingsheng quickly organized the various documents on his desk, categorizing them neatly in the file cabinet. Then, putting on the coat hanging on the back of his chair, he locked up and headed downstairs.

The last time Liu Xining and Xie Siqi visited to perform, he accompanied them to the Seventh Dining Hall, but since then, due to work, he hadn't had the chance to go back.

What made him feel a bit wronged was that when he and Qiu Juncheng escorted the two celebrities to the Seventh Dining Hall, they didn't even get to eat or sip a single spoonful of soup.

This was something that left Xiong Bingsheng somewhat "bitter", and just the thought of those fragrant meals in the canteen made his stomach growl.

Today, he hadn't planned on dining at the Seventh Dining Hall either, until Niu Wenlin, who had been on a business trip and eaten numerous dreadful meals, expressed a strong craving for the food there.

So, just after three in the afternoon, as Niu Wenlin landed, he couldn't wait to call Xiong Bingsheng to arrange dinner at the Seventh Dining Hall.

By now, Niu Wenlin should be at the school, and not wanting to waste time, Xiong Bingsheng briskly made his way to the Seventh Dining Hall.

The distance from the administrative building to the Seventh Dining Hall was quite a walk. Along the way, Xiong Bingsheng occasionally saw students running out from the nearby dormitories, playfully chasing each other in the wide street, all heading in the same direction.

It's quite apparent that these students also intend to go to the Seventh Dining Hall for dinner. They walked briskly, looking a bit anxious, since the number of people eating at the Seventh Dining Hall is increasing rapidly, and if you don't hurry, you might really end up without a meal.

Just a couple of days ago, dozens of students at the very end of the line queued for so long, only to end up not getting any food. They had to go back and grab a pack of instant noodles as a makeshift solution.

This incident is well remembered by the students who frequent the Seventh Dining Hall. Even if they don't feel hostility, at least they find those outsiders, who come to snatch food, quite unpleasant.

If you come to the school out of nowhere to compete with others for food, how could they possibly treat you nicely?

Since Xiong Bingsheng hadn't been to the Seventh Dining Hall for a while, he wasn't very familiar with these changes. But he didn't have time to eat at the Seventh Dining Hall, as there were plenty of young clerks in the administration building.

Ever since he recommended the Seventh Dining Hall to these young clerks, they initially thought the Seventh Dining Hall was run by his relatives and that he was coaxing them to spend money there.

But after trying it once, these clerks realized that the food at the Seventh Dining Hall was truly delicious!

Occasionally, these clerks joked about the outsiders coming to snatch food during casual chats. They didn't think much of it, but since Xiong Bingsheng was involved in student affairs, he was more sensitive than these young folks and secretly grew wary.

While Xiong Bingsheng was on his way and thinking about these matters, he was suddenly startled by a sharp car horn behind him.

He turned his head to see a red off-road vehicle speeding past him with a "swoosh" and disappearing around the corner ahead.

A few students, looking somewhat embarrassed, patted their chests and cursed:

"Driving so fast on campus, are they rushing to reincarnate or something?"

"These outsiders are really disgusting, running wild even in the school!"

"If the school doesn't seriously manage this, something bad will happen sooner or later."

"..."

Xiong Bingsheng stood aside listening, his face serious.

...

Ten minutes later, in the hall of the Seventh Dining Hall.

After Xiong Bingsheng and Niu Wenlin bought their meals at the staff window, they searched for a while in the crowded dining area before finally finding a spot vacated by two students who had finished eating.

Taking a tissue from his pocket, Xiong Bingsheng wiped the grease and rice grains off the table, sat down, took a long breath, and couldn't help but shake his head with a bitter smile:

"It's getting harder and harder to have a meal here at the Seventh Dining Hall. You can't even find a seat. Look over there, there are students eating while standing!"

Niu Wenlin didn't turn to look. In fact, he saw it when he first arrived. There were more than just a few standing; some students, thinking the dining hall was too crowded, simply took their food outside to eat.

If the weather is nice, it's not too bad. But what if it rains? What would the students do then?

He was somewhat puzzled, "Why is the Seventh Dining Hall suddenly so crowded? It used to be busy, but not this cramped!"

"Didn't you see all those cars outside the dining hall?"

Xiong Bingsheng gestured outside, saying, "They're all here to eat."

"I was wondering why there were so many people in the dining hall who didn't look like students. They actually came all the way here just to eat."

Niu Wenlin took a napkin and wiped his chopsticks, speaking leisurely,

"The reason the school builds dining halls is not for profit, but to provide three meals a day for students and staff, so they can work and study in peace. Outsiders coming in to compete with students for food, what sense does that make?"

"Exactly, having three or five outsiders come for a meal occasionally isn't a big deal, but now look, they're coming from far away, in droves."

Xiong Bingsheng shook his head, speaking with some helplessness,

"This is a bit much. Meals originally prepared for students are all eaten by them. What about our students?"

"Such things shouldn't be ignored. If too many outsiders come in, it's easy for trouble to brew inside the school. If something happens, it won't just be us; the whole school will have a headache."

Niu Wenlin took a bite of the dish and chewed it, then lifted his head to look at Xiong Bingsheng, saying,

"Lao Bear, you're in the Student Affairs Office, dealing with student-related work. You can't just let this go."

"Why would I let it go? Aren't I considering how to handle this? There are so many loose ends, I need to figure out a plan first."

Xiong Bingsheng almost got mad hearing this and waved his hand, saying,

"Don't rush, don't rush, let me think carefully. This matter definitely needs to be handled!"

Saying this, he picked up a piece of stewed meat with chopsticks and put it in his mouth, chewing it slightly, smiling contentedly with his eyes. He couldn't help but sigh,

"Boss Xiao Jiang's cooking skills are getting better and better, no wonder it's attracting so many outsiders to come and eat!

Who wouldn't love such delicious food?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.