18th Floor: I think their relationship isn’t simple. XY is the only one I’ve seen in school who stays so close to LYB.
19th Floor: I heard he’s his brother? Not sure.
20th Floor: That illegitimate son Lu Yibing has a brother whose surname is Xie? Then he’s probably the real young master. Now there’s going to be a good show. I heard this from the grapevine.
21st Floor: So he’s actually the eldest young master of the Xie family? remember he went abroad; how did he get into our school? Good grades, beautiful looks, and a superior family background exactly which window did God close for him?
The girl watched as the post she made was gradually pushed to “HOT” status, then pulled the person beside her toward the classroom.
Outside the stained-glass windows, a light drizzle began to fall again. The sound of rain hitting the eaves was wrapped in a few wisps of cold wind, weaving between the two figures standing at the corner of the corridor.
It was a bit chilly.
Lu Yibing’s gaze fell upon Xie Yun. The youth’s skin was very pale, and his long, butterfly-wing-like lashes swept down, damp with a hint of rain mist. Under his eyelids, dark circles pulsed with faint, intersecting veins. His profile featured a high, straight nose, and his lips were tinged with a thin, pale red.
So beautiful.
The onlooker fell into a daze.
When that same burning gaze was thrown his way again, Xie Yun looked sideways with doubt, and their eyes met. Almost instinctively, Lu Yibing quickly averted his head. A subtle sensation burned the tips of his ears, spreading across the entire auricle with increasing intensity. He felt as though his thoughts were trapped in a wildfire, churned into a state of unrest.
Meanwhile, Xie Yun, looking at him: “?”
“Lu Yibing?”
That’s the name, right?
The cold voice, like ice crystals forming on the eaves, dropped crisply. Lu Yibing froze, turning back to meet Xie Yun’s eyes. His amber pupils were drenched by the rainy sky, filled with a thin layer of mist and partially shielded by his lashes. The long corners of his eyes were slightly flushed.
“You…”
“Me?”
Lu Yibing was stunned again. Xie Yun watched him. Just a moment ago, the residual water had darkened the hair on Lu Yibing’s forehead, and several droplets clung to his long lashes.
As the melodious class bell rang out, Xie Yun casually pulled a few tissues from his pocket and tossed them to him, taking a step ahead. “Wipe yourself off.”
His hair was completely wet.
Lu Yibing snapped out of it and took them with a word of thanks. The tissues carried an elegant, faint scent of cedar that brushed past his brow.
It smells so good.
He gripped the white tissues, now dampened by the water, and stared at that tall, slender receding back.
The curriculum at Felod Academy was consistent with ordinary high schools: electives plus core subjects plus credit hours equaled the final grade. This wasn’t difficult for Xie Yun, who had consistently ranked first in his grade.
He felt no pressure listening to the current elective on “Humanistic Philosophy.” Most of the students who attended this old man’s class were unlearned, playboy-type scions who had been squeezed in through connections. Consequently, almost no one was actually listening.
Birds huddled in a row on the branches, pecking at their wet feathers. Outside the European-style classroom, the May sky was a hazy gray, and the cool air-conditioned wind drifted past the tips of Xie Yun’s hair.
The moment the bell rang to end class, he prepared to pack his things and head to the library.
Thud.
A broad hand pressed down on Xie Yun’s desk, and a tall figure blocked his path.
“Transfer student.”
A familiar, arrogant voice dropped down from above: “Why did you also take this elective?”
Xie Yun lifted his eyelids. In front of his eyes, Cui Yiyang’s somewhat frivolous gaze fell upon him.
It really is a small world.
“As it happens, I heard you did well on the entrance exam. I have a problem I’d like to consult you on.” That bit of frivolity shifted from the “enemy’s” gaze to the corner of his upturned lips. He smiled. “Our top student wouldn’t refuse me, right?”
Xie Yun looked at him without any fluctuation of emotion.
“Sorry.” Then, the top student stood up and said simply, “It’s not convenient right now. You should find someone else. Excuse me.”
With his knuckles braced against the table, Cui Yiyang raised an eyebrow and leaned in several inches closer. “I haven’t settled the score with you for kicking me there during the noon break, and now you dare to refuse me?”
The two were so close their noses nearly touched, their warm breaths intertwining. Usually, the moment the bell rang in a public classroom, the students would empty out; now, only the two of them remained in the vast room.
Given the height disadvantage, Xie Yun frowned and took a few steps back. He truly had an urgent matter—to go to the library to borrow a book before it closed—and couldn’t afford to waste time with him.
“Fine. I’ll wait for you on the second floor of the new library. Bring your problem then.”
The crisp sound of ice crystals hitting the floor echoed. Cui Yiyang was about to speak, but Xie Yun grabbed his bag and slipped out the other side.
Cui Yiyang: “?? F*ck?”
The sound of the wind whistled past his ears as Xie Yun leaped down the stairs, the hem of his clothes fluttering in the wind. However, in a short while, he arrived at the old library.
Dark green vines entwined the red bricks and white walls, with overgrown weeds showing the marks of time, yet the side featured prominent, transparent floor-to-ceiling windows. Felod’s castle-style library had a long history and consisted of only one floor. Since the new library was built at the North Gate, people rarely came to this old place.
That was exactly why Xie Yun chose it. Peace and quiet.
No one was on duty at the library today. Xie Yun swiped his card at the door—beep—and the sound echoed through the vast space. The style remained European, with tall, broad, palm-colored wooden bookshelves arranged in rows forming a circle. At the end, there was a wooden ladder nearly nine meters tall to help reach books.
No wonder it only had one floor; the shelves were that tall. The new library was also European, but its layout was like a labyrinth. This place was more prominent and observable, with a wide field of vision that allowed one to see everything at a glance.
A chandelier encrusted with jewels hung from the titanium-white ceiling, flanked by several stained-glass windows that cast bright, colorful patterns. At the end of the circular bookshelves stood a white statue of Aristotle. Stately and solemn.
The air conditioning in the castle-style library was self-service; it would blow cold air upon sensing someone. Soon, the vast space was filled with a chill.
Xie Yun was looking for literature on philosophy. His snow-white fingers against the palm-colored wooden cabinet appeared even paler, bony yet strong. He found it; the philosophy books were at the bottom. Fortunately, he didn’t have to climb the ladder—Xie Yun was somewhat afraid of heights.
After getting the book he wanted, he prepared to head to the study room. A chaotic sound of footsteps interrupted his thoughts.
“Hey, I’m telling you, we’ve skipped class all the way here. No one from the student council should be coming, right?” A crew-cut Alpha walked in, glancing around.
A blonde Alpha with his hands in his pockets kicked a wobbly stool. “If we’re caught, we’re caught. What’s there to be afraid of? At most, they’ll dock some of my credit hours. If I fail at the end of the term, my dad’s there.”
“Fine, fine, you’re the young master, alright?” Crew-cut casually let out a smile, then looked confused. “Hiss… but speaking of which, usually the AC only turns on after someone’s been here for a while. Why is it so cold today?”
Creak—
The bookshelf Xie Yun was leaning against moved slightly.
The air instantly dipped into an eerie silence. The air-conditioned wind wrapped in a chill drifted over the heads of the two Alphas. Crew-cut bolstered his courage and shouted toward that direction: “Who… who’s there?!”
No response.
By now, the blonde also frowned impatiently and nudged the other: “What are you standing there for? Go look.”
Gulping, the crew-cut Alpha didn’t seem to dare disobey the command and tiptoed over.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. His heart beat like a drum.
Suddenly! A random book flew toward him, hitting Crew-cut square on the bridge of his nose!
Xie Yun slipped out from the side and sprinted toward the main door. He was just about to twist the lock when he realized the two who had entered had already locked it behind them.
“What the hell, it’s not the student council. Scared the sh*t out of me.” With his arms crossed over his chest, the blonde glanced at the person who wasn’t wearing a school uniform and walked toward him slowly. “Hey, who are you wandering around here for? Don’t you know this is our territory?”
Crew-cut rubbed his painful nose. As soon as he recovered, he cursed: “Damn, that hurts. Which son of a b*tch dared to hit me?”
A slender figure wrapped in a gray checkered long shirt kept his back to them.
After asking for a long time with no response, Crew-cut lost his temper and grabbed Xie Yun by the back of his collar, spinning him around.
“You!”
On that snow-colored skin, the person’s face remained entirely expressionless. Xie Yun slowly lifted his thin, butterfly-wing-like eyelids and stared at him coldly.
Crew-cut froze. The faint scent of cedar floated to his nose, making his head spin; it carried a cold, “strangers keep away” air that made him hesitate to speak. The fist he had been about to throw stalled in mid-air.
He gulped again. He smells so good. And he looks pretty.
The blonde walked over, and after seeing Xie Yun, he smirked. “Yo, didn’t expect a little beauty.”
His greedy gaze slid inch by inch from his face down to Xie Yun’s neck. The library lights were a dim, bright yellow, illuminating the youth’s slightly pink gland. It was very shallow and faint; one could tell at a glance he was a Beta.
The blonde smiled and leaned close to Xie Yun. Seeing the collar Crew-cut had wrinkled, he reached out to pat him. “Alright, let go. Why be so rough with a beauty?”
His grip loosened. Crew-cut, now recovered, seemed to recognize Xie Yun and listened to the blonde.
“How about this? Seeing as you’re so pretty and you stumbled into our territory…” The blonde’s words trailed off as he leaned in and whispered to Xie Yun with a squinting smile: “There’s no surveillance here. Stay and play with the two of us for a while, and I’ll forgive you, deal?”
“Anyway, you’re a Beta. You won’t get pregnant.”
Crew-cut signaled with his eyes: The Xie family’s young master—you dare touch him? The blonde was dismissive: He’s just a Beta. The cameras are off; he can’t beat the two of us.
Seeing the two of them making eyes at each other, Xie Yun only felt irritated.
No surveillance, right? Perfect.
Bang! He didn’t give them another moment to exchange looks. A fist flew toward the blonde’s forehead. Accompanied by a wisp of fragrance, the punch “greeted” the blonde first. Xie Yun’s face darkened as he raised his leg and kicked away the still-dazed crew-cut Alpha.
Both fell to the ground simultaneously. Blood instantly seeped from the blonde’s forehead. He was stunned, and just as he was about to get up to strike back creak Xie Yun had somehow broken the lock on the main door.
“F*ck! Where are my keys?!”