A Friend’s Triumph and a Rival’s Fury

[Chen Xing: I apologize for the abrupt interruption.]

Chen Xing was someone Su Yan had consistently sponsored, though they had lost contact since high school. The last message in their chat interface still read: ‘I will become as outstanding as you.’

Su Yan had assumed Chen Xing was facing some difficulty, and despite his reserved nature, he had typed out a thousand-character message, the gist of which was: ‘If you ever need help, feel free to contact me.’

He wasn’t a saint; it was simply that Chen Xing bore a striking resemblance to his past self, the only difference being that Chen Xing still had a mother he rarely saw.

Born in a remote mountain village, Chen Xing’s father was a lazy, gambling alcoholic, and his grandparents had to subsist on a tiny plot of land to raise him.

A sudden tragedy struck when he was seven. His father, drunk, gambled away the car fare and a month’s worth of household expenses while playing cards in town. On his walk back, he was tragically run over by a large truck.

His death was gruesome.

Chen Xing’s mother then left to work outside, but eventually, she too lost contact. He never once blamed her.

Adding insult to injury for this already struggling family, his grandfather passed away.

Su Yan continued his sponsorship until Chen Xing reached high school. Then, on an ordinary day, Chen Xing chose to sever contact with him. Unaware of what had transpired, Su Yan could only silently transfer ten thousand yuan to him.

The transfer, however, was automatically returned to his account.

Su Yan stared intently at his phone, scrutinizing the contact’s name in disbelief. Had Chen Xing encountered some trouble?

[sy: No interruption at all.]

Beside him, Lu Lin’s lips tightened into a frown, his emotions in turmoil. He was practically radiating, ‘I’m in a terrible mood.’ He had glanced at the contact name earlier and already had an answer forming in his mind.

The other party quickly sent another message.

[Chen Xing: I got into the same university as you. I hope you can congratulate me.]

Su Yan released Lu Lin’s hand, which he had been clutching, and couldn’t help but chuckle upon seeing the message. He seemed genuinely happy for Chen Xing, congratulating him on escaping the suffocating mountain that had weighed him down.

His fair, slender fingers pressed the voice message button, and the boy’s pleasant, clear voice, imbued with laughter, came through. ‘I knew you could do it! I’ll treat you to a meal sometime.’

[Chen Xing: Okay.]

[Chen Xing: But I’m too embarrassed to see you right now. I hope you can wait for me for a while.]

[Chen Xing: I will become outstanding enough!]

He even added an exclamation mark at the end, emphasizing his resolve.

Lu Lin finally lost all restraint. He tightly gripped Su Yan’s hand, gently squeezing it, his voice laced with coldness as he raised an eyebrow. ‘Tell me, Song Xingyu, are you really that desperate for a meal?’

Though Su Yan’s expression became awkward, he didn’t pull his hand away, for Lu Lin’s face clearly showed he was on the verge of anger, and his grip was exceptionally firm.

He couldn’t fathom why Lu Lin had suddenly brought up Song Xingyu. While he knew Lu Lin was prone to jealousy, what did this have to do with Song Xingyu? He hadn’t even been speaking to Song Xingyu.

Before he could voice his question, Lu Lin’s cold voice cut through the air. ‘If your mistress mother hasn’t given you enough living expenses, making you desperate for a meal, I’ll give you some.’

With that, Lu Lin let out a few self-deprecating laughs.

A moment later, he casually pulled a card from his pants and tossed it at Song Xingyu, who stood a meter away.

The card flew straight towards its target, ultimately striking his face. The air crackled with tension, and even Chen Xubai, usually talkative, was utterly bewildered by the situation, awkwardly searching for something to do.

He certainly wouldn’t risk offending Lu Lin to help Song Xingyu.

Upon witnessing this, Su Yan’s handsome brows furrowed involuntarily. ‘Are you sick?’

Since the start of the semester, Lu Lin had been subtly targeting Song Xingyu, but this behavior was truly beyond the pale. The goodwill Su Yan had developed for him crumbled in an instant.

‘Why do you despise Song Xingyu so much?’

Su Yan’s clear, melodious voice reached Lu Lin’s ears, and his words made Lu Lin’s heart skip a beat. Calling Song Xingyu ‘others’ meant Su Yan definitely considered him ‘one of his own.’

Su Yan couldn’t understand why, after he had just scolded Lu Lin, Lu Lin’s expression turned shy and infatuated.

Without dwelling on whether Lu Lin had a screw loose, he stood up and walked over to Song Xingyu, intending to offer a few words of comfort. Before he could speak, however, Lu Lin’s voice echoed again.

Lu Lin’s expression had returned to normal as he looked up at Su Yan, his words dripping with mockery. ‘He doesn’t need comfort; he only needs money.’

Then, he narrowed his peach blossom eyes, feigning a pathetic look, and drew out the end of his sentence: ‘Yanyan, I’m the one who needs comfort.’

For some reason, Su Yan momentarily envisioned Lu Lin as that emoticon: ‘qwq’.

However, realizing his words might affect Song Xingyu, he quickly turned to look at him, only to witness an awkward scene: Song Xingyu was crouching down, carefully placing the card into his clothing pocket.

Su Yan decided to turn his head back.

Lu Lin’s earlier words suddenly resurfaced in his mind. Why had he said that? Was he so enraged by Su Yan chatting with someone else that he could only maliciously vent his anger on Song Xingyu?

Su Yan had no idea how outlandish his thoughts were.

Song Xingyu, despite being verbally abused, wasn’t angry; after all, he still got money. Although there was a pang of humiliation, Lu Lin was right—he was short on cash.

Money was king.

Only then did Su Yan notice the ointment still in his hand. He hadn’t even properly bandaged Lu Lin’s injured hand, yet he had turned around and accused him. But, indeed, Lu Lin deserved the accusation.

Feeling somewhat guilty, a stray strand of hair stood upright on his head. He dared not meet Lu Lin’s gaze, but recalling the shocking knife wound, he resolved to bandage it properly.

After all, if even Song Xingyu didn’t mind Lu Lin’s behavior, Su Yan had even less right to comment.

He pressed his lips into a thin line and moved towards Lu Lin. The ambiguous atmosphere that had existed between them had long since dissipated.

Lu Lin leaned against the wall, shaking his injured hand, watching with amusement as the person slowly approached him. He saw a hint of guilt in Su Yan’s eyes, a truly novel sight.

Su Yan lifted his eyelids, gazing at Lu Lin with wide, moist eyes, unblinking. Before he could speak, Lu Lin received a phone call.

Seeing the caller ID, his expression immediately turned cold. He answered the call but merely tossed the phone aside, letting the person on the other end bellow into the receiver.

The voice was so loud it sounded as if it would shatter the phone and crawl out of the screen.

No sooner had the call ended than Lu Lin’s peach blossom eyes sparkled with a smile. His silver hair made him appear strikingly attractive, yet to Su Yan, he simply seemed insane.

After the call, he didn’t even have time to exchange a few words with Su Yan before hastily departing. Su Yan likely understood the situation; it was probably a call from Lu Lin’s father.

The novel had only briefly mentioned Lu Lin’s father, who was typically neglectful and often brought women home. This hands-off approach didn’t last long, however, because Lu Lin grew to be remarkably outstanding, earning praise from everyone he met, which in turn ignited his father’s possessive control.

Lu Lin, surprisingly, was quite ethical; he hadn’t simply ended his father’s life.

Su Yan sighed, placed his phone aside, and lay on the bed, staring blankly at the bed board. However, his phone, lying beside him, kept ringing incessantly.

Upon opening it, dozens of messages popped up. His beautiful brows furrowed as he read each word aloud: ‘The Sleeping Beauty play officially begins rehearsals. Everyone, see you there…’

Su Yan abruptly sat up, his forehead hitting the upper bunk with a ‘thump.’ He let out a pained ‘hiss’ and clutched his head with his hand.

Song Xingyu had, at some point, climbed back into the upper bunk. Hearing the thud, he poked his head out. With Lu Lin absent, he could openly show his concern for Su Yan without restraint.

Seeing this, he quickly got out of bed and stood before Su Yan, gently brushing away his bangs to check for any bumps on his forehead.

After only a few tens of seconds, Su Yan extended a slender finger and moved Song Xingyu’s hand away, stating naturally, ‘I’m fine.’

A flicker of disappointment crossed Song Xingyu’s eyes. Unnoticed by him, Su Yan’s phone was being bombarded with messages from the same number.

[Stay away from him.]

[Stay away from him.]

[Stay away from him.]

…

Su Yan also inexplicably felt a chilling coldness emanating from the bracelet on his wrist, but he quickly shook his head, dismissing it as overthinking. Could Lu Lin possibly be attached to it?

A small bump inexplicably protruded on his forehead, but as a kind and sensible Sleeping Beauty, he pressed on, even with his injury.

Soon, following the address sent by Cheng Ye, they arrived at their destination. The school highly valued student club and recreational activities, believing students should be vibrant and bright, not sullen and lifeless.

Therefore, a dedicated teaching building was used for club activities.

Since they were performing a play, Cheng Ye had applied for a vacant dance studio.

Su Yan pursed his lips, gently pressing a finger to the corner of his mouth. His beautiful eyes curved into a compliant smile, hoping to leave a good impression on everyone.

The previous Su Yan had been a false Su Yan.

To his surprise, upon opening the door, he was still so utterly stunned by the sight before him that he couldn’t recover for a long time. The snacks he was carrying naturally slipped from his hand and fell to the floor with a ‘thump.’

The sound echoed particularly eerily in the dance studio.