Jiang Lu ultimately managed to suppress that urge.
Throughout the rest of the week, Jiang Lu did not meet with Lin Xuan, but the frequency with which he ran into Tang Yuan and Yu Jingrong suddenly increased.
Aside from elective classes, he even ran into them during major-specific classes. Word was that they wanted to switch majors, so they were tagging along to sit in on these classes ahead of time whenever they had no schedule conflicts.
Xie Yu and the others were quite pleased. When Tang Yuan and Yu Jingrong showed up for class, a little flirtatious teasing was all it took for them to head to the back rows to keep the newcomers company, and the breaks were quickly monopolized, leaving Jiang Lu out in the cold instead.
Jiang Lu never intended to cozy up to those two ungrateful people anyway. He sat in the front row where the seating was best. With Xie Yu, Chen Feng, and Shijiayuan out of the picture, the empty spots were quickly filled by four girls from the same dormitory. Among them was Zhang Xiqiong, who had run against Jiang Lu for class representative.
All four girls got along well with Jiang Lu.
During the break after the final class on Friday, three of the girls went to the restroom together. The remaining Zhang Xiqiong suddenly asked Jiang Lu, “Class Rep, do you happen to know Lin Xuan?”
Remembering that Zhang Xiqiong had once bumped into him and Lin Xuan walking together, Jiang Lu nodded. “I know him. What is wrong?”
“I saw a post about him on our school’s forum,” Zhang Xiqiong said. “Have you seen it?”
“What post?” Jiang Lu asked, looking blank.
“I will send it to you.”
Zhang Xiqiong quickly forwarded the post she had mentioned to Jiang Lu.
An Inside Look at Lin Xuan from the Business Administration Major: The Pure and Upright New Campus Belle is Actually a Psychopath.
The title made Jiang Lu’s eyelid twitch. He clicked the link, let it launch the app, and finally saw the full contents.
Title: An Inside Look at Lin Xuan from the Business Administration Major: The Pure and Upright New Campus Belle is Actually a Psychopath
Main Post: Come to think of it, it is quite a coincidence. The poster has been a schoolmate of Lin Xuan from elementary school all the way through university. I simply cannot stand how he has been repackaged as a gentle campus idol ever since coming to Yan University, so pardon me, but I am here to tear off his mask.
Without further ado, straight to the evidence.
If this post gets deleted, I will post it on Weibo.
In the following replies, the original poster methodically laid out several pieces of solid evidence. The first two were the very things Chen Feng had told him about a couple of days prior, while the rest consisted of evidence showing him watching coldly from the sidelines with zero empathy, though none of them had quite the impact of the first two.
Drawings that Lin Xuan had once created were also posted. They were very clear, bloody and mangled, enough to make anyone deeply uncomfortable.
Aside from these, the poster also released a video filmed from a hidden perspective.
In the video, Lin Xuan appeared to be surrounded by several people.
However, Jiang Lu did not have time to tap on it before the class bell rang, so he had to set it aside for the moment.
He fretted over it the entire lecture, holding out until class ended before finally tapping it open, even refusing when Xie Yu called for him to leave.
The video was only a few dozen seconds long.
The moment Jiang Lu put on his earphones, he heard the people in the video ask with unmistakable malice, “Young Master Lin, how would you evaluate the male protagonist’s actions?”
“Digging his dead girlfriend out of her grave to turn her into a specimen? How totally psycho.”
Lin Xuan was wearing his high school uniform, his back turned to the camera so his expression could not be seen. Jiang Lu could only catch the motion of him resting his cheek in his hand and hear his clear, gentle, and unhurried voice: “Being able to stay with the person you love forever, is that not a good thing?”
“So if your girlfriend died, you would do that too?”
Lin Xuan tilted his head slightly, appearing to ponder for a moment before finally letting out a soft laugh.
The video ended with the sound of the teenagers laughing. “Holy crap. Lin Xuan, what are you laughing at? You are so terrifying.”
“No wonder people say those things about you.”
The original poster quickly added an explanation for the video: We were talking about a movie at the time, I forgot what it was called. It got banned because it was too horrifying and bloody. Watch with caution, do not say I did not warn you. We were just morbidly curious at the time, but we all threw up watching it. Only Lin Xuan showed no reaction at all.
He was the top scorer in the municipal college entrance exam; why has nobody ever stepped forward to talk about this? Naturally, because he is the crown prince of the Lin Corporation. The whole school belongs to his family, and who would dare offend him?
Lin Xuan, do not pretend to be innocent.
I am watching you.jpg
Jiang Lu had heard of this movie before, but he had never watched it. He only knew the premise of the male protagonist’s actions, which had filled everyone who heard of it with dread.
Were those few people in the video the ones Lin Xuan mentioned, the friends his parents had arranged for him?
Lost in thought, Jiang Lu was startled when someone gave his desk a sharp knock. He looked up to see Shijiayuan and let out a sigh of relief. “What is wrong?”
“What are you looking at? You look so guilty,” Shijiayuan said with a puzzled expression, glancing at the books on his desk. “Let us go grab lunch.”
“Coming.” Jiang Lu put away his phone, hurriedly stuffing his things into his crossbody bag. Only when he followed them outside did he notice that Tang Yuan and Yu Jingrong were there too.
The two of them cast a glance his way.
With just that single look, Jiang Lu could tell they were unwelcoming.
“The two of them are joining us,” Xie Yu said, throwing an arm around Jiang Lu’s neck. “What were you doing just now? You even refused when I told you to come along. Are you coming to the bar with us tonight?”
“Never mind.” Jiang Lu pouted. Refusing to look at those two individuals, he nimbly ducked out from under Xie Yu’s arm. “You guys go eat, and I am heading out.”
“Hey?” Chen Feng called out to him.
Jiang Lu scurried off in a flash.
“So the five of us are going?” Yu Jingrong said with a smile. “Little Deer darling does not seem to welcome us much. Did he see that post about Lin Xuan and think we were the ones who posted it?”
Xie Yu’s expression faded slightly, his tone growing cool. “Whatever he thinks has nothing to do with Lin Xuan. Whatever grudges you have with Lin Xuan, do not drag him into it.”
“Let us go, let us go, the place is already booked,” Tang Yuan chimed in smoothly to mediate when he saw Xie Yu was displeased.
Shijiayuan glanced in the direction Jiang Lu had left, and just as he was about to speak, he saw Xie Yu irritably pinching the bridge of his nose. “Forget it, you guys go. I still have to livestream tonight, so I am out.”
With that, he followed in Jiang Lu’s direction without a moment’s hesitation.
Chen Feng and Shijiayuan exchanged glances, sensing that something was amiss. They initially wanted to find an excuse to leave as well, but Tang Yuan and Yu Jingrong talked them into staying.
“Yu Jingrong’s foul mouth just runs without his brain, spewing garbage. You guys know how he is, why bother taking it to heart?” Tang Yuan draped an arm around each of them and said, “Come on, come on. The place and the people are all set and booked. Let us head over first, and next time I will make Yu Jingrong beg for mercy in tears to apologize to our Little Deer darling, alright?”
“So, was that post actually made by you guys or not?”
The four of them gradually walked into the distance.
It was only after Jiang Lu had walked some distance away that he reopened the post, but within those few short minutes, the forum moderator had already deleted it.
After pondering for a moment, Jiang Lu went to ask Zhang Xiqiong: When did you see this post?
Zhang Xiqiong replied very quickly: The poster published it right before class, and I just saw it. Do you think what he said is true or false?
Jiang Lu did not have the habit of gossiping about others behind their backs. Besides, he had just told Lin Xuan that friends should understand and respect each other, so he glossed over it with a vague response.
He was originally hesitating over whether to ask Lin Xuan if he had seen the post when a message from Lin Xuan popped up.
Lin Xuan: Are you out of class?
Jiang Lu deliberated on his reply and ultimately decided against asking about the matter.
Because Xie Yu had caught up to him, forcing him to temporarily pause the conversation.
On Sunday, Jiang Lu and Lin Xuan had agreed to visit Bubu. When he arrived, Lin Xuan was watching an online lecture and directly gave him access permission, telling him to head straight upstairs.
He appeared completely unaware of the post.
Jiang Lu did not disturb his studying, instead quietly holding Bubu while sitting beside him and looking through his sketchbook.
Jiang Lu had already seen most of the drawings in this sketchbook, but this was the first time he was seeing them in their completed form.
Lin Xuan had a heavy course load as well and could only finish these drawings in his spare time, so only a portion of them were done. Jiang Lu looked through them carefully and soon finished the entire book.
Noticing that he had closed the sketchbook, Lin Xuan turned his head to ask for his opinion. “What do you think?”
“Well,” Jiang Lu thought for a moment and decided to speak the truth. “I feel like the expressions are a bit monotonous.”
No matter what posture or situation the youths in these drawings were in, they all wore the exact same expression, forever just smiling with a calm gaze directed at the person outside the frame. It was identical to the photograph Jiang Lu had given Lin Xuan, as well as the very first drawing Lin Xuan had shown him.
“You think so too.” Lin Xuan looked quite troubled, lowering his voice. “So this really is my weak point.”
“Actually, they are already drawn very well,” Jiang Lu comforted him. “Just practice more and use your imagination.”
“I cannot imagine it,” Lin Xuan replied.
“Huh?” Jiang Lu was puzzled. “Why can you not imagine it?”
“Because,” Lin Xuan paused, glancing at him quickly, “I have never seen it.”
Jiang Lu tilted his head, asking silently.
“Because I have never seen Classmate Jiang Lu’s reaction, so I do not know what kind of expression you would make,” Lin Xuan said helplessly, offering an example. “For instance, this one.”
He picked up the sketchbook, flipped to a certain page, and handed it to Jiang Lu. In the drawing, a youth was curled up on the floor, his loose shirt draped open, and a pendant necklace lay quietly on the floor beside his cheek.
Lin Xuan’s fingertip tapped on the pendant necklace as he softly explained to him, “This is a bug, a listening device.”
“Classmate Jiang Lu.” He raised his eyes, gazing at Jiang Lu’s pretty profile. “If it were you, when you found out there was a listening device on your body and that every word and action of yours was under the control of a man, how would you react? What kind of expression would you make?”
Jiang Lu stood silent.
Just as he was about to say he could not imagine it, he heard Lin Xuan’s low, pleading murmur, “Please, Classmate Jiang Lu, help me out.”
Jiang Lu paused slightly, swallowing the words that had reached his lips. With a solemn expression, he asked softly after a moment, “Then, does this man like him?”
“He likes him.” Lin Xuan paused briefly after speaking. “He loves him very much.”
“What about him?” Jiang Lu pointed at the youth in the drawing and asked. “Does he like him?”
With a calm gaze and remaining silent for a few seconds, Lin Xuan said, “I do not know.”
“Then if it were me,” Jiang Lu deliberated for a long time. Resting his hands on his knees, he gently curled his fingertips. With a slightly heated face and acting somewhat recklessly, he spoke, “I might feel a bit happy, or rather, excited.”
I should not have said that.
Jiang Lu closed his eyes, yet as if unable to control his own mouth, he continued, “I feel like, perhaps I could sense his love for me through it.”
Once he finished speaking, a brief silence fell over the room.
Lin Xuan looked at him in silence, his throat moving slightly, his expression somewhat inscrutable. Jiang Lu did not quite dare to meet his eyes. “I…”
“I understand.” Lin Xuan finally broke into a smile, interrupting him. “If possible, could you let me see what you look like when you are like this?”
He pressed his palms together, resting them against his curved lips, and looked at him with beseeching eyes as he spoke in a soft, coaxing tone, “Please, Classmate Jiang Lu.”