Chapter 1

At the school gate, I tossed an awful sandwich into the trash can and turned to leave.

Suddenly, strange words popped up in front of me.

[OMG, the female lead actually ate a sandwich she found in the trash!]

[Poor Selina, she's so miserable. If only someone would help her.]

[Only the male lead will help her, but sadly, they won't meet for another three years.]

I suddenly turned around and saw a gaunt, sickly-looking girl fishing the sandwich I'd just tossed out of the trash.

Her eyes widened in panic as she looked at me. "I-I'm sorry. I thought you didn't want it."

I marched over, snatched the sandwich from her hand before she could react, and threw it right back into the trash.

The comments: [Seriously? That guy is so mean. He won't even let someone eat the sandwich he just threw away?]

[Ugh, it's so frustrating. I just wanna slap him through the screen, but I can't.]

The girl couldn't even meet my eyes, her face burning with shame.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

I flashed her a bright smile. "You can't eat stuff from the trash. Come on, I'll buy you some spaghetti."

She was probably a freshman.

She froze for a moment, and then blurted out, "No, I'm fine."

"My family's restaurant. It's on the house. Let's go," I said.

Without giving her a chance to refuse, I hauled her onto my e-scooter and sped off toward my family's restaurant.

The comments: [Okay, I take it back. This senior is actually such a good guy.]

[But wait, this isn't how the story's supposed to go.]

[Guess they've adapted it, but honestly, I like it. Hope Selina catches a break soon.]

[What if Selina ends up falling for this guy instead?]

[No way, the male lead is meant to be her partner. But hey, maybe this guy will turn into the second male lead.]

Those comments were really overthinking things. I had zero interest in messing up someone else's relationship.

On the way, I asked her name and what grade she was in.

Turned out she really was a freshman. Her name was Selina Ward.

After we got off, Selina lingered at the door, too shy to come inside.

So I just grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her in.

"Mom, I'm home," I called out.

The restaurant was empty, and my parents were just sitting there, scrolling on their phones. When they heard me, they both looked up, totally caught off guard.

I knew exactly why they were surprised. I'd only ever brought guys over to mooch food before. This was the first time I'd ever brought a girl to the restaurant.

But they snapped out of it pretty fast, both breaking into big smiles.

Mom smiled, "Hey there, pretty girl, come on in and grab a seat. What kind of spaghetti do you want? I'll make it for you."

Dad added, "We've got all kinds of spaghetti. Take your pick."

Selina shuffled uneasily into her seat and mumbled, "Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Shaw. I'm not really into meat, so just something light would be great."

The comments: [Selina, I thought spaghetti bolognese was your favorite.]

[She just doesn't want to trouble the owners.]

[Selina's such a good person, but life just keeps kicking her down.]

I put my foot down, "Mom, make her a plate of spaghetti bolognese."

Mom grinned. "Alright. James, come help me in the kitchen."

"Sure," I said.

I followed Mom into the kitchen, while Dad stayed out front, chatting with Selina.

Mom turned on the stove, looking serious as she asked in a low voice, "What's your relationship with her?"

I quickly explained, "Nothing at all. She's a freshman. I didn't even know her until half an hour ago."

Mom gave me a skeptical look. "If you didn't know her, why bring her here? Was she really that desperate for some spaghetti?"

I sighed. "Mom, she picked up the cold sandwich I tossed in the trash and tried to eat it."

Mom's jaw dropped. She was speechless for a moment.

After a while, she smacked me on the head.

"Seriously, wasting food? How dare you!" she said.

I covered my head, looking all pitiful. "You always give me way too much food. I can't finish it, and if I brought it home, you'd just complain and scold me."

Mom gritted her teeth. "From now on, only take what you can eat. No more wasting food."

I flashed her a sheepish grin. "Got it."

Mom, worried Selina might not have enough to eat, made her a generous plate of spaghetti.

She even piled all the leftover bolognese on top as an extra treat.

When I set the plate down in front of Selina, she looked both surprised and delighted.

"That's a lot, James. I..." Selina stammered, looking a little overwhelmed.

"Don't worry if you can't finish. Just leave what you can't," I reassured her.

Selina blurted out, "I can eat it all."

"If you can, great. But don't push yourself, okay? No need to overeat," I added.

"Okay," she said. Selina's eyes suddenly welled up with tears. She ducked her head, staring at the table. "Thank you."

Mom smiled. "No need to thank us. Go ahead and eat before the spaghetti gets all clumpy."

The comments: [James and his family are all such good people. Looks like Selina won't have to go hungry anymore.]

[Not necessarily. Just because they helped her once doesn't mean they'll keep doing it.]

[Still, it's way better than her own mom. After her mom got a new family, she just left Selina to fend for herself.]

Selina picked at her spaghetti, taking tiny bites, but her tears were falling so hard that they landed right in the plate.

It was heartbreaking to watch, and my parents and I all looked away, not wanting to intrude on her pain.

Mom dragged me back into the kitchen.

"What's really going on with her family?" she asked.

The comments didn't really give me much to work with, and honestly, I'd only just met her. It was not like I should know all the details anyway.

I said, a bit unsure, "Her mom got remarried and pretty much stopped caring about her. I guess her dad's not around anymore, maybe even passed away."

Mom was furious.

She snapped, "Honestly, what kind of person is that? Never mind, it's not our place to meddle.

"But listen, from now on, you bring her breakfast in the morning, grab her lunch and dinner from the cafeteria, and bring her here for a late-night bite. Just treat it like helping out a kid who needs a hand."

I nodded eagerly. "Okay."