A light drizzle fell around four or five in the morning, condensing water vapor in the air so the dust could not rise.
Fu Baizhou got up early to prepare breakfast for Lin Zhuo. He did not make anything overly complicated, opting instead for two steamer baskets of soup dumplings, a few fried dough sticks, some tea eggs, and a glass of freshly squeezed soy milk.
After a few hours, the medication had taken effect, and the allergic reaction on Lin Zhuo’s neck had improved, the marks basically disappearing.
Lin Zhuo washed up in the bathroom, returned to his room to change into a clean set of clothes, and sat at the dining table playing with his phone.
There were forty-seven people in the class group chat, and everyone had set their remarks to show their real names and dorm numbers.
Lin Zhuo had previously asked his aunt under what status he was admitted, and she told him he entered through the normal process, telling him not to worry.
He did not understand such matters very well. He had remained silent the entire day yesterday, and no one had taken the initiative to talk to him either.
Being in an unfamiliar environment made him rather introverted, and coupled with the worry that others might ask how he got in, he did not know how to respond.
Truth be told, he should not have chosen international trade; he should have picked a humanities major, such as literature or law.
His vocational college major was tourism management. After graduating and entering society, he originally wanted to find a job related to his field, but he simply had no money to spare, so he ultimately chose a private enterprise. Once he paid off his student loan, he planned to look for a job again, only to meet Xiao Ling and get delayed once more.
Before he could dwell on it further, Fu Baizhou carried today’s breakfast to the table one by one.
Lin Zhuo picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a soup dumpling. Freshly steamed, it was filled with scalding hot broth that practically numbed his tongue. Fortunately, Fu Baizhou had quick reflexes and quickly handed him a cup of cold water.
“Wife, did you burn yourself? Why were you in such a rush?” Fu Baizhou gently patted Lin Zhuo’s back and asked with a helpless expression.
No matter how foolish Lin Zhuo acted, Fu Baizhou would never get angry at him, as if he naturally lacked that emotion.
Of course, had he not seen Fu Baizhou lose his temper at someone else with his own eyes, he genuinely would have thought Fu Baizhou possessed a completely submissive temperament.
He remembered that time when he was studying mathematics.
The tutor had not lost his temper back then; after all, the tutoring fee provided by An Wan was quite high, and the tutor had plenty of patience.
An Wan had said that the tutors hired for him were gold-medal instructors who had achieved great success in their respective fields. Perhaps accustomed to coaching clever students, the tutor lost his temper and sneered at him a couple of times after explaining a problem several times without Lin Zhuo understanding.
Lin Zhuo himself had not reacted much yet, but he saw Fu Baizhou walk up to the tutor with a darkened face and directly reach out to grab the tutor by the throat.
Lin Zhuo had been terrified at the time, quickly pulling on Fu Baizhou’s hand and demanding to know what he was doing.
Fu Baizhou desperately tried to restrain his temper, veins bulging on his neck as the words squeezed out through clenched teeth: “He insulted you.”
“Let go right now!” Lin Zhuo watched the tutor’s complexion turn from red to purple, worrying that Fu Baizhou might actually kill the man.
Fu Baizhou released his grip, and the tutor sat on the floor gasping heavily for air, his eyes filled with terror.
Lin Zhuo squatted down to offer the tutor a word of comfort, but his hand was swatted away. Seeing that Fu Baizhou was about to move again, he hurriedly dragged him back to the room to lecture him.
After that, the tutor never came back, and they got a new math tutor.
Fu Baizhou had an interview scheduled for ten in the morning. After dropping Lin Zhuo off at the school gates, he found a parking spot and walked into the school alongside him.
Lin Zhuo could sense that the number of turning heads had increased significantly today, which was undoubtedly thanks to Fu Baizhou.
He quickened his pace, shortening what would normally have been a dozen-minute walk by several minutes.
Arriving downstairs at the teaching building, he asked Fu Baizhou, “Will you be alright?”
The corners of Fu Baizhou’s lips curved into an appropriate arc, his eyes curving slightly. “Azhuo, if you are worried, you can come with me.”
Lin Zhuo’s mouth twitched. He should not have gone along with it, because Fu Baizhou really would climb right up the pole if given an inch.
“Alright, I trust you. Go ahead.” He waved at Fu Baizhou in a gesture of farewell.
Fu Baizhou nodded, looking entirely gentle. “Azhuo, see you later.”
Lin Zhuo turned and headed upstairs. As soon as he stepped into the classroom, several gazes unified onto him. Thinking he had done something wrong, his heart beat anxiously.
He walked over to his seat and sat down, and two girls holding their phones walked up to him.
The gender ratio in the class was skewed, with only a dozen girls out of more than forty people.
“Are you Lin Zhuo?”
Lin Zhuo slowly nodded, thinking to himself that the moment had finally come. Did they want to ask how he managed to get into this class?
The girl immediately took out her phone, which displayed a photo of Fu Baizhou. Her eyes shining with curiosity, she asked, “What is your relationship with him?”
The photo must have been secretly taken last night. Fu Baizhou had been standing under a streetlamp, the soft light outlining his superior side profile.
His skin was fair, like fresh snow in early winter, emitting a dazzling luster under the warm lighting.
Although the photo was somewhat blurry, it was not hard to tell how striking Fu Baizhou’s face was.
“He and I are friends.” Relieved that the girls did not ask the question he had mentally rehearsed countless times, Lin Zhuo felt a bit of disappointment mixed in, as he had prepared multiple responses.
“Then can you give me his contact information?” the girl asked again, her eyes filled with hope.
Under normal circumstances, Lin Zhuo might have hesitated and agreed, but the moment he thought of Fu Baizhou’s dangerous personality, he did not want to mess things up, so he said, “I can ask him and give you an answer then, is that alright?”
“Really? Thank you so much!” Hearing Lin Zhuo agree, the girl broke into a bright smile, thanked him once more, and returned to her seat.
Lin Zhuo took out his phone and sent a message to Fu Baizhou: [Someone wants your contact info. Should I give it to them?]
Fu Baizhou had not gone through his interview yet at this hour, though it took two minutes before he replied.
He sent a voice message.
Lin Zhuo converted it to text.
[Wife, I am yours. You can do whatever you want with me.]
Lin Zhuo could not fathom Fu Baizhou’s thoughts, but he knew that Fu Baizhou was absolutely obedient to him.
[Then should I give it to her?]
Fu Baizhou sent another voice message: “Sure, I listen to all wi…”
Lin Zhuo accidentally hit play. The speaker was loud, causing his classmates to turn and cast gazes toward him. Fortunately, he managed to turn off the audio in time, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.
He did not bother replying to Fu Baizhou anymore.
Lin Zhuo would turn twenty-four this November, an age four years above the class average.
He roughly understood how he managed to get in, but since he had not taken any exams, it was undoubtedly all orchestrated by his aunt.
The initial classes were more relaxed than he had imagined, with the teachers spending the first session outlining the key learning directions for the textbook.
When the noon class ended, Lin Zhuo headed downstairs while typing a message to ask Fu Baizhou how his interview went.
Before the message could go out, he looked up and saw a tall figure standing beneath a pillar.
Fu Baizhou stood against the wall, his slender and tall physique making him look like a model even in simple clothing.