Although Jiang Lu had agreed to go see Bubu, he had classes for the next few days, and his free time was also filled with lectures arranged by the school. He was responsible for checking people in, so he could not be absent, meaning he could not spare any time for the moment.
The rain drizzled continuously all night and only cleared up by noon the next day. In the afternoon, the Business School arranged a lecture in the tiered classroom, scheduling freshmen from both the Business Administration and Finance majors to attend.
Having to constantly attend lectures after military training, and with all of them being unimportant matters, Xie Yu grew impatient with listening and started a mobile game with Shi Jiayu the moment he sat down.
Chen Feng was left autistic by last night’s bullying, so he simply reversed his thinking and looked for videos on Bilibili, intending to learn how to make custom levels to trap the person surnamed Xie.
Jiang Lu sat in the same row as them, with an empty seat beside him.
People kept coming and going past this empty seat to check in with him, but Jiang Lu did not pay much attention to it until someone sat down and neither took the check-in sheet nor left.
He turned his head and saw Lin Xuan, feeling somewhat surprised.
“We meet again, classmate Jiang.” Lin Xuan also turned his head to meet his gaze, a refined and faint smile lifting the corners of his lips as he asked politely, “Do you mind if I sit here?”
Since you are already sitting down, why are you still asking? Jiang Lu muttered inwardly.
However, after last night, he had a very good impression of Lin Xuan, so he smiled friendly at him and moved the check-in sheet that had been placed on the empty seat over to his own side. “I don’t mind. Nobody is sitting here, you can sit.”
“Bubu is at home, taken care of by a nanny,” Lin Xuan proactively brought up Bubu, continuing as if making casual conversation, “Does classmate Jiang also major in Business Administration?”
“No, I major in Finance.” Jiang Lu shook his head, knowing that Lin Xuan majored in Business Administration.
This matter was not a secret to begin with.
Lin Xuan was the top scorer in the college entrance examination for this city, and both the major he was admitted to and the major he was originally recommended for had been made public after the admissions at Yenching University concluded.
The three of them, Chen Feng, finally noticed at this moment that there was an extra person beside Jiang Lu and looked over one after another. However, Lin Xuan had never been to school before, and neither his photos nor videos had been made public online, so they did not recognize him.
Jiang Lu was also talking with Lin Xuan, leaving them no chance to break into the conversation.
“That’s a pity, I thought…” Lin Xuan gently curved his eyelashes, looking very amiable, but his voice grew lower and lower until it became inaudible. However, he quickly spoke up again, “Actually, I came here specifically to look for you.”
Jiang Lu felt a bit puzzled. “You came specifically to look for me? Why?”
“Saying this might be a bit abrupt, especially since we have known each other for less than twenty-four hours,” Lin Xuan was very candid, “but classmate Jiang is the first person I got to know here. I feel that you are very kind, and I like you a lot, so I want to make friends with you. Of course, if classmate Jiang minds, never mind.”
As if thinking of something, he lowered his eyelids, pressed his lips together, and stopped talking.
A moment later, he raised his eyes again, looking at Jiang Lu with expectant eyes, exceptionally sincere, looking like a pitiful little puppy waiting for a reply. He asked softly, “Does classmate Jiang mind?”
Jiang Lu could not quite handle such a gaze, and upon hearing this, he immediately said, “Of course not.”
After he finished speaking, he paused, thought for a moment, and added, “Classmate Lin is so gentle. Not just me, but many people would be very happy to become friends with you.”
“Is that so?” Hearing this, Lin Xuan smiled, not the shallow smile that just floated on the surface, but a heartfelt, intense joy.
He curved his eyes, pure and harmless, and said in a low, pleasant, and slightly meaningful voice, “If classmate Jiang thinks that way, then that would be wonderful.”
Jiang Lu did not detect any hidden meaning and blinked his eyes. “Of course.”
“You are the first person to evaluate me like that,” Lin Xuan said, his voice clear, smooth, and pleasant. “Thank you, classmate Jiang, I am very happy.”
His pitch-black pupils gazed at Jiang Lu as he whispered, “You really are as cute as I imagined.”
Jiang Lu was praised to the point of his ears turning a bit red. He pressed his lips together, touched his earlobe, and his eyes subconsciously looked toward his fingertips.
They seemed to have solidified a bit more than just now.
Lin Xuan kept watch over Jiang Lu’s movements, the curve at the corners of his lips never dropping.
At this point, not many people were coming in anymore, so the student assistant closed the door, and the tiered classroom gradually grew quiet.
Chen Feng, who was closest to Jiang Lu, finally found an opportunity to chime in and asked by Jiang Lu’s ear, “Xiao Lu, who is this person next to you?”
“Lin Xuan.” Jiang Lu turned his face slightly to talk to him.
“Vocal! Lin Xuan?” Chen Feng asked in astonishment, looking toward the other side of the classroom. “Don’t those in Business Administration sit over there? Why is he here?”
The counselor had designated seating areas for the two majors, and coupled with the need to sign in, most people would subconsciously choose to sit close to their own class. The two majors rarely mixed their seating.
Chen Feng looked at Lin Xuan, who quickly noticed his gaze and looked back at him, slightly raising the corners of his lips and giving him a friendly nod.
Chen Feng was slightly startled and nodded back to greet him.
Remembering what Lin Xuan had just said, Jiang Lu explained honestly, “He just came back to classes today and doesn’t know the people in his class yet. The two of us met last night, so he came to find me.”
The seats for their major were on the outer side, and in order to make it convenient for his classmates to find him, he also sat in a relatively eye-catching spot. Lin Xuan would definitely be able to see him upon entering from the front door, making it easier to find him than to search for his own classmates.
“Oh, oh, alright.” Chen Feng did not take it to heart and turned back to talk to Shi Jiayu, who kept poking his arm.
Jiang Lu opened the textbook for the next class. As soon as he read two words, he heard Lin Xuan ask, “Do you have time to show me around the campus, classmate Xiao Lu?”
Jiang Lu’s fingers paused slightly, and he turned his head in slight confusion.
What did Lin Xuan call him?
“Do you have time to show me around today, classmate Xiao Lu?” Seeing him like this, Lin Xuan patiently repeated himself, then explained, “I just came back and am not very familiar with the school yet.”
After finishing, realizing something, he explained further, “I feel that calling you classmate Jiang is a bit too polite for friends, so I acted on my own and changed the form of address. You don’t mind, do you?”
Jiang Lu shook his head.
He truly did not mind, only feeling a bit hesitant.
Ever since he discovered that his body would turn transparent, he had rarely refused other people’s requests. Sometimes he even put their requests in first place, prioritizing satisfying them, and only came back to solve his own problems afterward.
Therefore, he was somewhat conflicted right now. He neither wanted to refuse Lin Xuan nor wanted to skip class, so after thinking about it, he spoke truthfully, “I have classes both later and tonight.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Lin Xuan said understandingly. “I don’t have classes this afternoon, so I can accompany you to class. I only need classmate Xiao Lu to leave one hour for me after class,”
He held up a single finger, “to get me familiar with our college’s teaching building, that’s all. I will treat you to dinner tonight. Is that alright, classmate Xiao Lu?”
Classes at Yenching University ended at five-thirty in the afternoon and started again at seven-ten in the evening, leaving a gap of nearly two hours in between. Even if there was no time to eat after touring the campus with Lin Xuan, they could grab a little something else to pad their stomachs first and then go eat properly after evening classes ended.
As for the dinner Lin Xuan offered to treat him to, Jiang Lu did not take it to heart. He stared at his own fingertips, pondered for a moment, and agreed.
He did not tell Chen Feng and the others about this, so when Lin Xuan followed Jiang Lu into the classroom for his next class, all three of them turned their heads to side-eye them: “?”
Although this class was a large lecture, it was exclusively for Finance majors. What did it have to do with Lin Xuan, who was in Business Administration?
Lin Xuan walked beside Jiang Lu, neither speaking nor caring about their gazes, leaving Jiang Lu with no choice but to explain the reason to them.
Xie Yu rubbed the bridge of his nose, making no comment on Jiang Lu’s decision, and only asked, “Will there be enough time to eat? If there isn’t enough time, should I bring you something?”
Jiang Lu glanced at Lin Xuan and hesitated for a moment. “Help me bring a hand-grabbed pancake.”
Xie Yu nodded. “Alright.”
Once the group sat down in the tiered classroom following their previous seating order, Lin Xuan asked, “A hand-grabbed pancake, what is that?”
Jiang Lu was somewhat surprised. “You haven’t eaten it before?”
“No.” Lin Xuan shook his head, smiling somewhat helplessly. “My family manages things quite strictly.”
“Oh, oh.” Jiang Lu originally had not paid much attention to it, but when he turned his head and saw Lin Xuan looking somewhat pitiful, he hesitated for a second. “What’s wrong?”
“Can you take me to try it?” Lin Xuan seemed a bit embarrassed. “Actually, I wanted to try these things before, but my family checks the transaction records on my account, so…”
He did not finish, but Jiang Lu understood and felt that Lin Xuan was rather pitiful.
His family managed him strictly, not only tightly controlling his diet but also checking his bank statements. He did not have a shred of freedom. He was truly very pitiful.
Jiang Lu’s heart softened a bit, and he agreed, “Then we’ll go together after we finish touring the school later.”
Lin Xuan’s eyes lit up slightly as he looked at Jiang Lu. “Okay.”
Jiang Lu turned his face away with some awkwardness.
The class bell rang, and Lin Xuan turned back as well, the curve at the corners of his lips almost impossible to suppress.
So easy to fool.
Jiang Lu listened very attentively in class, and Lin Xuan tactfully and quietly accompanied him through the lesson, stealing unnoticeable glances at Jiang Lu’s side profile as he listened intently, before calmly retracting his gaze before the three people in the same row could notice.
After class, Shi Jiayu and the two others greeted Jiang Lu and left first, taking Jiang Lu’s textbook with them.
Jiang Lu had originally wanted to suggest buying the hand-grabbed pancake first before coming back to tour the campus, but when he turned his head and saw Lin Xuan wearing a white shirt and possessing an elegant temperament, he paused.
He simply could not imagine what Lin Xuan would look like eating such street food while walking; it felt like it would be completely mismatched.
Forget it, it’s better not to ruin his image. Jiang Lu thought to himself, swallowing back the words that were right on the tip of his tongue.
Lin Xuan asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Jiang Lu stood up. “Let’s go, I’ll take you for a walk.”
Yenching University had two campuses, Siyuan Campus and Xishan Campus, and Siyuan Campus was further divided into the New District, the Central District, and the Old District. The Business School was in the New District and occupied the largest area among the colleges in the New District.
Jiang Lu led Lin Xuan around the teaching buildings, finally stopping at the Business School building.
“The College Building is our college’s administrative office building. All the teachers’ offices for the college are right here.” Remembering something, Jiang Lu said, “The Academic Affairs Office is not here, it’s in the East Five administrative building, along with your professional counselor’s office. Since you asked for leave, you should know where they all are, right?”
“I know.” Lin Xuan lowered his gaze to look at Jiang Lu.
He was a whole head taller than Jiang Lu.
“The first floor of the College Building is the computer lab.” Jiang Lu turned his gaze away. “There might be computer classes held here.”
He had learned all of this by going to consult older senior students.
Because he was the study committee member, classmates in his class might come to him to find out about classrooms.
And then, that was it. Jiang Lu said. “Do you still want to walk around?”
Lin Xuan raised his wrist to check the time and said softly, “No need, let’s stop here. Thank you, classmate Xiao Lu.”
“Then, shall we go buy the hand-grabbed pancake now?” Jiang Lu said apologetically, “I’m a little hungry.”
Lin Xuan curved his lips. “Okay.”
The two of them then headed toward the school gate.
It was neither time for evening classes nor had it reached the peak hour of afternoon classes ending, so there were not many people wandering around near the college, making it somewhat quiet. However, once they stepped outside the campus, it became much livelier.
Since evening classes were about to start, Jiang Lu’s classmates were all eating and strolling outside this school gate. Jiang Lu and Lin Xuan could run into a classmate greeting him every couple of steps.
After this happened a few times, Lin Xuan suddenly said, “You are very popular.”
Jiang Lu thought about it and said, “Probably because I’m a class officer, so they all know me.”
After the start of the freshman year, whether boys or girls, everyone first huddled together in dorm units. Aside from a few who were good at socializing, the only people they knew were likely just a few class officers.
Lin Xuan did not speak, only turning his head to glance at him.
Soon, the two walked up to the hand-grabbed pancake stall.
Several people were already lined up in front of the stall, and it would not be their turn for a while.
Jiang Lu opened WeChat intending to scan the QR code. While looking down, he heard Lin Xuan behind him suddenly shout “Watch out,” and before he could react, he felt a huge impact from behind, sending his whole body lunging forward.
He was dazed from the collision, and after managing to stand steady with difficulty, a wave of commotion erupted by his ear: “Are you trying to die? With so many people here, driving this fast, are you in a rush to get reincarnated?”
Responding to the scolding was the roar of a motorcycle speeding away and the triumphant whistle of the motorcycle’s owner.
Why would anyone drag race at the school gate?
Jiang Lu looked blankly in the direction where the motorcycle had disappeared, finally reacted, and immediately turned his head to look at Lin Xuan, who had shielded him.
Lin Xuan frowned slightly, his complexion noticeably paler than before. Seeing him look over, he even tugged at the corners of his lips and asked him, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Feeling that something was not quite right, Jiang Lu anxiously looked behind him. “Are you hurt?”
“My heel got grazed, it’s nothing serious,” Lin Xuan said with a frown.
Jiang Lu asked the hand-grabbed pancake vendor for a stool, helped Lin Xuan over to sit in the back, squatted down, and wanted to roll up his trouser leg to take a look, but was blocked.
“Don’t look…” Lin Xuan clenched his jaw and said in a low voice.
Jiang Lu looked up at him, softening his voice as he said, “Your face is all pale, let me see if the wound is serious.”
Lin Xuan pressed his lips tight, his lips pale. He lowered his gaze to stare into Jiang Lu’s eyes, and finally unable to hold out against him, he withdrew his hand, allowing him to roll up his trouser leg.
His heel was a bloody mess, with a large piece of skin horribly rolled and wrinkled, and shredded fabric practically entwined with the rotting flesh. It was a shocking and ghastly sight, and crimson blood had already seeped through his sock.
No wonder his face had turned that pale all of a sudden.
Jiang Lu gasped, his hand even trembling slightly as he pulled Lin Xuan’s trouser leg further up. He moved with extreme care, pulling the trouser leg up a bit more, but his movement suddenly came to a halt.
Because he saw that beneath Lin Xuan’s trouser cuff, there was hardly a single patch of good skin, including knife wounds, burns, whip scars, dense and blood-curdling crimson blood dots that looked like they had been pierced by needles, as well as purplish-blue bruises around his ankles that were almost branded deep into his skin.
These accumulated scars, some had already healed, but others were very fresh, clearly newly added recently.
Just looking at them, Jiang Lu felt somewhat physically nauseated.
Jiang Lu’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, his breathing stalling for a moment, and he suddenly understood why Lin Xuan had not wanted him to roll up his trouser leg just now.
He seemed to have caught a glimpse through this of the shabby, pitiful tip of the iceberg beneath Lin Xuan’s glamorous exterior.
No one wanted their pathetic side to be discovered by someone they had known for less than twenty-four hours, even if they were already friends.
Lin Xuan kept his head down, not missing the slight flutter of Jiang Lu’s eyelashes, and his lips curved in an unnoticeable manner.
Were you frightened, or feeling heartache?
So cute.