Jun didn't have that either. The university provided food at an exclusive counter for the teaching faculty for free.
Just moments ago, he finished a class and joined some teachers and students to head to the cafeteria. As he was about to go upstairs, something made him to look back. There, by a counter on the first floor, stood a familiar figure to him.
Somehow, Jun spotted Hana in the vast cafeteria, filled with a sea of people, without a shadow of doubt. He headed over to her without a second thought.
"My campus card doesn't work here. So, wait here a moment; some students are waiting for me. I'll ask to borrow theirs," Sato Sensei told Hana, who seemed unwilling to abandon her Oden stew.
But just as he finished speaking, a hand reached over and swiped his PT at the small payment window. Hana looked and saw it was one of the young men who had been discussing Sato Sensei's 'kiting the monster' moments earlier. They hadn't left yet and had been watching from the sidelines. Seeing the venerable Sato Sensei about to go through the hassle of borrowing a meal card, they swiftly stepped in to pay on his behalf.
"Consider it my treat, Sato Sensei!" The young man said sheepishly, and he and his friends quickly ran off before Jun could even call out to them.
"Never mind, I'll ask around later to find out which class they're in," Jun said, picking up Hana's hotpot and leading her towards the stairGiven his nature, Jun wouldn't let someone else pay without returning the favor, but that could wait. Other people were still waiting for him. Professors and students from the literature department, who were standing at the stairwell, craned their necks to see who had so abruptly pulled him away.
Earlier, they had been in deep conversation when Sato Sensei saw something, muttered a quick apology, and briskly walked into the crowd, startling everyone. When they saw him stop at a Oden counter to speak with a young woman, they realized he'd spotted someone he knew—But who could make the normally composed Sato Sensei so excited?
Facing the multiple pairs of keen eyes, Hana gave a small smile and greeted them, "Hello."
They all warmly responded, "Hello, hello!"
Their eyes then collectively shifted to Jun, waiting for an introduction. But Jun just smiled and said to Hana, "Let's go to the second floor to eat; it's less crowded there."
Hana: "Oh, sure."
Sato Sensei added, "Is this all you're having for lunch? Do you want anything else?"
Hana: "No, this is enough."
"Is this too little?" Jun asked.
"No, I had a big breakfast," Hana lied, deceiving Jun.
Those who had come with Jun heard his kind and patient inquiries and assumed that she must be his daughter, given the preferential treatment. Yet, no one had heard that Sato Sensei even had a daughter.
The group speculated wildly, but one young teacher remembered some gossip from a group chat. A younger student had mentioned meeting a girl at Sato Sensei's home who seemed to be a favored relative.
'Maybe it's her!' The teacher believed.
Everyone sat down on the second floor and ordered their meals. During the wait, Jun unwrapped the Oden stew and placed it in front of Hana. He'd forgotten to grab chopsticks, so he went back to the counter for some and also brought back a cup of hot water for her. "Eat up. If it's too little, you can have some more later," he advised.
"Do you want me to order you another bowl of egg tofu?" he offered.
Hana couldn't help but think that older people always assume young people can eat a lot. It reminded her of visits to her grandmother's house, where she was fussed over and fed in the same way.
"Don't worry about me," Hana replied, subtly kicking him under the table to draw his attention to the curious eyes of others. She then began to eat her Oden stew without hesitation.
Jun rarely cooked those food at home, so it had been a long time since she'd had something like this. She really missed it.
Everyone at the table was too polite to outright ask who Hana was, mainly because of Jun's high status. Whether they were his students or students of students, everyone respected him. If he didn't introduce her, they wouldn't dare to ask, and so they just sat, eyes glued on how Sato Sensei was attending to her.
It was so down-to-earth. One young student was astonished. She'd always been too shy to strike up a conversation with Sato Sensei. Now seeing him sitting beside this young woman, talking in such a relaxed and homey manner, made her feel much closer to him.
It seems that even big shots pamper their kids just like ordinary people—everyone had assumed by now that they were related by blood.
The conversation quickly shifted to today's lessons and the topics to be discussed in the afternoon. No one paid special attention to Hana anymore, except for Jun, who spoke little but listened intently, keeping an eye on Hana. When questions were directed at him, he would respond, capturing everyone's attention as if he were sharing some profound truth.
This made Hana feel quite weird—The young man who used to sit next to her, hugging his knees and discussing academic difficulties, had matured into an authoritative figure capable of instructing many. When she saw Jun as a younger man, looking all pitiable, she would want to tousle his hair, push him onto the couch and tickle him until he couldn't help but laugh and run away. Now, seeing Jun's professional demeanor shining in his field, she didn't dare tickle him, but still wanted to make him laugh.
Jun's glowing presence while answering students' questions was differently captivating compared to his younger days. It was very good-looking, to say the least.
Soon the food arrived, and everyone began to eat. Jun first ladled some hot broth into Hana's bowl and, noticing her red, spicy mouth resulted from some spice snacks, said, "Have some hot broth to tone down the spice."
Still picking fish cakes from her Oden stew, Hana whispered, "Sato Sensei, let me share some common sense: drinking hot broth when feeling the burn will scald you."
Jun shook his head helplessly and began stirring the broth, attempting to blow it cool.
Hana couldn't watch any longer. If she allowed Jun to keep fussing like this, his students would probably drop their eyes out of their sockets. So, she wiped her mouth and said, quite seriously, "Sato Sensei, you don't need to worry about me. Start eating; I can take care of myself."
In fact, two of Jun's students at the table were taken aback by his attentiveness. Having followed him for years, they had never seen him so concerned with someone's well-being. In a way, Sato Sensei was never picky about his personal life, and this had reflected in his lack of care for others.
The two guys wondered, 'How has the straightforward academic, who isn't adept at looking after people, suddenly changed?' If the girl weren't so young, they would think that Sato Sensei was attending to a significant other. Only in their own relationships, would they be this tender and attentive.
A teacher who looked to be in his forties joked, "Sato Sensei is so good at taking care of a young one; it's no wonder so many people want to become his students every year."
The two students of Jun at the dining table were emotionally complex: 'No, Sato Sensei was easygoing, but when it came to taking care of people, he was genuinely inept.'
In years past, Sato Sensei would get so engrossed in his research that he would forget to eat and sleep. It would be up to them, his students, to dig him out from mountains of papers and remind him to eat something so he wouldn't faint from hunger. Meanwhile, the papers they submitted remained unrevised. Moreover, Sato Sensei was notoriously forgetful in daily life. When he was engrossed in some research topic, it was hard for him to remember anything else, including his poor students. When he did remember them, he would assign them a mountain of tasks, perhaps to make up for his neglect.
In summary, they had never received this level of meticulous care from Sato Sensei before.
They felt a tinge of envy. As two men in their forties, they maintained mature smiles on their faces. After all, their own students were watching, and they couldn't let their professional image be compromised.
To preserve Sato Sensei's dignified image at school, Hana remained very quiet this time and had no plans to publicly reveal her identity. Jun, considering she still wanted to hang around Naniwa University, also kept her identity a secret; otherwise, Hana would certainly become a spectacle, making it inconvenient for her to do or see anything.
After the meal, Hana stood up, patted her behind, and prepared to head back to the library.
Jun, unaware of her plans, hesitated before calling out to her, "I have a class this afternoon. How about you wait for me? I'll be free in about an hour and a half, and then I can show you around Naniwa University."
Behind Jun, the expressions of the others were diverse. Though they dared not speak out, they were all a bit unsettled. 'An hour and a half? Sato Sensei, have you forgotten that there's a student Q&A session after class? Also, don't you usually stay until the third session in the afternoon? Wake up, Sato Sensei, you are the committed and always helpful Sato Sensei! Look at the students' eager eyes, hungry for knowledge!'
Noticing the complex looks on the faces of the people behind Jun, Hana felt like she was a scheming concubine causing the emperor to neglect his royal duties. She couldn't help but smirk.
"...Maybe next time. I'll be in your library reading. Come find me after you're done."