Half an hour later, Ge Zhicheng closed his laptop in the classroom and glanced around at a few teammates still working. After dividing up the tasks, he figured he could do his own work whenever he wanted. Lu Yuxing and Wen Jiayue had already shut their laptops and started looking at other coursework.
Ge Zhicheng knew Lu Yuxing's habits; he wouldn't leave the library until closing time, driven out by the staff. Wen Jiayue also had excellent grades and rarely slacked off. Ge Zhicheng had no interest in joining their relentless studying, so he exchanged a knowing glance with Lin Xuying.
The two shared a laugh and made excuses to sneak away.
As Lu Yuxing packed up to leave, almost at ten o'clock, Wen Jiayue, not wanting to be left alone in the classroom, said, "I’m done too; let’s go together."
The two left the building, walking for a while when they heard a ruckus coming from a café behind them. A group of men and women was laughing and joking, creating quite a commotion.
Wen Jiayue couldn’t help but turn to take a look. Her calm demeanor changed immediately, her delicate brows furrowing in distaste. The group consisted of people she knew—three boys and two girls. Three of them were familiar to her: Tian Miao, Jiang Kaixuan, and a girl from Class Three.
The other two, a boy and a girl, were unfamiliar, though she recognized them as sophomore students from the School of Science. The group seemed to have just finished some kind of gathering or club activity, their excitement causing them to make noise that turned heads down the street.
One of the girls from Class Three spotted Wen Jiayue and called out her name. Jiang Kaixuan then noticed Lu Yuxing beside her and remarked, "Oh, even our big boss Lu is here?"
The two in front had no choice but to pause, waiting for the tide of people to catch up, enveloping them in the noise.
Wen Jiayue had just had a back-and-forth with Jiang Kaixuan in the course group a few days ago, where they had both disrespected each other, so she had little to say now. Geng Kaixuan seemed to intentionally ignore her and turned to the others, complaining, "The cheesecake from that place was terrible. My mouth still tastes sour from it..."
Tian Miao quickly chimed in, "I felt the same. It wouldn’t be spoiled, would it?"
Wen Jiayue felt something was off. Jiang Kaixuan had a somewhat arrogant personality, perhaps because he was decent-looking and came from a good family. He often acted as if he had a leg to stand on, which made him come across as self-important. Tian Miao frequently went along with him, adding to her discomfort.
One girl interjected, "Different tastes, I guess. I’ve had it a few times, and it was fine. Their cheese is different."
Jiang Kaixuan retorted, "Bad is bad; it’s not about taste! Damn, I’m going to have to drown it out with instant noodles later."
Tian Miao offered, "I’ll swing by the supermarket later and grab you a cup."
"Thanks, man."
Wen Jiayue rolled her eyes, not caring about appearances, and remarked, "You didn’t even walk with Xiaohan this smoothly when you were dating. Are you sure you’re not into guys?"
Her casual comment didn’t catch much attention from the others, but Tian Miao's face suddenly darkened, and he shot her a gloomy look.
He suddenly recalled a threat from today: be careful of what others might reveal. "What did Shang Jue say to you?" he blurted out.
Wen Jiayue was taken aback and replied, "What’s wrong with you?"
Why would it have anything to do with Shang Jue?
But Tian Miao stared at her intently, making her feel uneasy. Unable to gauge her reaction, he felt increasingly anxious, his palms sweating. With so many people around, he wanted to question her further but couldn’t.
Lu Yuxing, glancing down at him, showed little emotion.
The girl who had mentioned Shang Jue then asked, "… Did you all see that post on the forum yesterday?"
Wen Jiayue responded, "It’s a rumor; I asked Shang Jue about it."
Jiang Kaixuan, however, scoffed meaningfully, saying, "If you ask Shang Jue, he definitely won’t admit it."
Wen Jiayue retorted, "But Big Boss Lu is here."
All eyes turned to Lu Yuxing. He was walking on the outer edge of the group, taking a few steps forward before coldly stating, "It’s fake. I have nothing to do with him."
His voice was icy, tinged with an undeniable sense of aversion, as if the thought of being discussed with another guy disgusted him. The group instinctively fell silent.
Wen Jiayue added, "Did you hear that? Big Boss Lu said it’s fake."
Jiang Kaixuan countered, "But no one can prove that Shang Jue is gay, right? He hasn’t clarified anything today, either. If it were a normal guy being rumored to be gay, he would’ve cleared it up already."
Tian Miao pondered for a moment. Apart from being sure about Shang Jue's orientation, most of what he said on the forum was likely nonsense. However, Lu Yuxing's evident disgust toward Shang Jue seemed genuine, implying he didn’t know Shang Jue liked men.
Tian Miao felt a sense of relief wash over him. Even if Shang Jue did spill his secrets, who would believe him? Now even Lu Yuxing found him disgusting…
Wen Jiayue, irritated, shot back at Jiang Kaixuan, "Do you have proof before you start spreading rumors?"
"Ha! Tian Miao has seen Shang Jue cozying up with a guy. It’s too eye-watering for me to even mention."
Another girl from Class Three gasped, "Really?"
"Wait, this didn’t come up in the post yesterday, did it? Tian Miao saw it?" Their voices dropped as they leaned in, their expressions eager for gossip.
Lu Yuxing slowed his pace, his gaze growing heavy. His phone suddenly lit up in his hand; he glanced down to see a call from Shang Jue.
He stepped aside a bit, putting in one Bluetooth earpiece to take the call. When it connected, there was silence on the other end.
As the excited chatter continued around him, Lu Yuxing suppressed his emotions, patiently waiting for a few seconds.
“Baby?” Shang Jue's clear voice seemed to ease the agitation in Lu Yuxing’s heart.
Lu Yuxing replied, “...Mm.”
Shang Jue's voice sounded cautious and gentle, "Do you have time? I need to talk to you about something."
Lu Yuxing’s cold demeanor softened a little after hearing him. "Are you home?"
"Mm."
Lu Yuxing glanced at the crowd chattering nearby. "I’ll come find you."
Feeling that some things were better discussed in person, Shang Jue thought for a moment before agreeing with a soft "Mm."
After hanging up, Lu Yuxing removed his earpiece. The others were still engrossed in conversation.
Tian Miao was surrounded by several people, while Wen Jiayue cast a confused glance at Lu Yuxing, trying to make sense of the ongoing discussion and wondering whom she should trust.
“The post said that the boy with the surname He has some relationship with Shang Jue. Could it really be like what it says in there...?”
Tian Miao spoke in an uncertain tone, “I can’t say for sure. But it seems that the watch on Shang Jue’s wrist was given to him by that boy... I saw them near the school gate; that boy handed the watch to Shang Jue himself.”
“Is it expensive?”
Jiang Kaixuan scoffed, “Remove the ‘is it,’ and the official price is eighty-nine thousand.”
Someone gasped.
Geng Kaixuan continued, “But I know that guy with the surname He; his family is quite wealthy. If he really gave that watch as a gift to his boyfriend, then it would be a bit stingy.”
“Eighty-nine thousand is stingy?”
“To someone of that level, yes, it is.”
“Damn!”
Hearing the astonished voices, Tian Miao felt a sense of vanity swell within him. He laughed and said in a somewhat lewd joking tone, “That price... could be about right for a friend with benefits.”
He didn’t notice that the person walking in front of him had slowed down.
Still smiling, Tian Miao heard a low, calm voice say, “Say that again?”
Tian Miao froze for a moment, turning to see Lu Yuxing’s indifferent face, his dark eyes gleaming with a cold intensity that seemed capable of seizing one’s soul.
“I said that price could be for a—”
Before he could finish, Lu Yuxing’s fist came crashing down.
Tian Miao was hit on the jaw and fell to the ground, the unfinished words in his throat turning into painful moans.
Lu Yuxing showed no intention of stopping, expressionless as he swung a second punch.
“Damn—” Jiang Kaixuan reacted quickly and rushed to pull him away.
Seeing Jiang Kaixuan's face, Lu Yuxing didn’t even flinch. He elbowed him hard in the abdomen.
The hit landed squarely on Jiang Kaixuan’s stomach, causing him to nearly vomit. The other girls were so frightened that they stood frozen, too scared to move.
Tian Miao, in the midst of the sharp pain in his jaw, opened his eyes just enough to see, continuously trying to fight back with his knees and fists, but Lu Yuxing seemed unfazed, silently throwing punches.
His pupils were so dark that, without light, one couldn’t discern any emotions within—like a deep abyss.
—Am I going to be killed by him?
In an instant, Tian Miao was enveloped by a sense of overwhelming panic.
His strong will to survive kicked in; he raised his hands to cover his face while the other hand searched his bag and the rough ground. His fingers found a hard object in the flower bed by the roadside! Without hesitation, he picked it up and struck it against Lu Yuxing's head with all his might!
A splash of blood fell from Lu Yuxing's white neck, warm droplets hitting Tian Miao's face.
He froze. The others, finally reacting to the sight of blood, screamed as they rushed over to break up the fight.
Lu Yuxing was surprisingly strong; even with several people pulling him, they couldn’t separate him. Geng Kaixuan cursed and hurriedly got up to add more force.
Lu Yuxing covered the back of his neck where he was injured, and as he was dragged away, he kicked Tian Miao hard in the stomach with his right leg.
A girl instinctively reached for her phone to call the police, but Jiang Kaixuan said, “Let’s go to the hospital first.”
He grabbed Lu Yuxing by the collar, wanting to scold him, but when he met those dark, brooding eyes, he felt a chill run down his spine, and all the curses he wanted to say were swallowed back.
After calling for a ride, Jiang Kaixuan looked at the conditions of both Tian Miao and Lu Yuxing.
Tian Miao had been hit pretty hard, but Lu Yuxing had aimed to avoid vital points, so he hadn’t beaten him to death.
Lu Yuxing’s situation was more concerning, though, as he had been struck by the stone and had an injury on his head...
Damn, Jiang Kaixuan felt a surge of panic. Could this lead to someone dying...?
He glanced at Lu Yuxing, who had completely calmed down, pressing against his head to stop the bleeding, his face showing little expression.
It was as if the one who had just fought like a mad dog and the one now injured were not the same person, nor was he the same Lu Yuxing who sat quietly in class.
—
Fortunately, Lu Yuxing’s injury wasn’t too deep, but since it was on his head, he still had to stay in the emergency room for observation. After a while, once his condition improved, he would also need to undergo a series of tests.
The accompanying group let out a sigh of relief. Jiang Kaixuan had lost his temper entirely, continuously wiping the sweat off his brow in the hospital.
After a simple bandage, Lu Yuxing finally became aware of the dizziness from his head injury.
“You guys can go back,” he said.
Seeing him looking as if he might fall asleep at any moment, Jiang Kaixuan replied, “Why don’t you call your family over?”
“No need.”
“No need, my ass! If you faint here, who’s going to sign for you?”
In the end, Lu Yuxing still called Lu Yunsheng. While he was fearless during the fight, explaining to Lu Yunsheng took him half a minute before he dared to speak.
When Lu Yunsheng arrived at the hospital in the dead of night, several boys and girls left in a panic to return to school. They definitely wouldn’t sleep well that night.
After hearing Lu Yuxing explain the situation, Lu Yunsheng sat beside him and stared at him with a gaze that made Lu Yuxing feel quite uneasy.
“Getting hit on the head twice in three months—you really have a knack for it.”
“…”
Realizing that his brother was genuinely angry, Lu Yuxing wisely chose to remain silent.
Feeling guilty for having summoned Lu Yunsheng from his warm home, he couldn’t help but feel remorseful.
However, he didn’t regret hitting Tian Miao once.
His dizziness worsened, and after muttering “I’m sorry” to Lu Yunsheng, he fell into a deep sleep.
…
He must have slept for a long time.
His dreams flipped through various scenes.
From the side profile of a boy obscured by smoke to the stage of a performance... He was holding his cello, and a piano melody harmonized with his playing. Then he was on the award stage, receiving a first-place certificate from the presenter. He scanned the audience out of boredom, easily locking eyes with someone whose gaze was following him. The cold and focused eyes staring at him made his calm heartbeat surge with excitement.
But the silent dream abruptly shattered with the noise of chaotic shouts, medical carts, and the agonizing moans of patients, trying to pull him away from this less-than-beautiful dream.
“Hmm…”
Lu Yunsheng, who had cramped himself on the small companion bed overnight, woke up in the morning.
Hearing Lu Yuxing’s faint murmur that resembled a nightmare, he called out to him.
The person in the hospital bed slowly opened his eyes, the pain at the back of his head making him feel a bit disoriented.
“Awake? Does your head still hurt?” Lu Yunsheng asked.
Though he knew it was a pointless question.
Lu Yuxing dully replied, “Hmm.”
“Do you want to sit up?” Lu Yunsheng asked.
“Hmm.”
As Lu Yunsheng was about to adjust the bed’s valve, he suddenly remembered something: “You hurt your head, not your leg. Get up by yourself.”
“... Hmm.”
Lu Yunsheng: “...” Did he get hit hard enough to be dumb?
Lu Yuxing mechanically sat up, staring at the air wall in front of him with a dazed expression.
I… Shang Jue… Boyfriend.
Lu Yuxing: “…”
Baby… I want to remember you… husband.
Lu Yuxing: “………………”
Lu Yunsheng looked at his brother, whose face quickly twisted in a range of colors from pale to red after a brief moment of daze... finally settling on a very saturated shade of red.
Lu Yunsheng: … Why is it so colorful?
He had never seen such a rich expression on his brother’s face.
Is he really not just dazed?
Concerned, he asked, “What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable?”
“…”
Lu Yuxing opened his mouth, his face red as a handsome tomato.
In the cold winter, that color was definitely shocking, as if his face would start smoking at any moment.
Lu Yunsheng looked at Lu Yuxing, who had transformed from the calm patient he saw last night into this expression-twisted tomato.
No matter what questions he asked, Lu Yuxing only immersed himself in his own world, staring blankly without responding.
After a long while, as Lu Yunsheng began to feel anxious about Lu Yuxing's condition, he finally heard him speak.
“I want…”
Lu Yuxing seemed to calm down, his sharp eyes appearing eerily calm for the first time.
“I want to kill him.”
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