“Boss, this is our A-University campus heartthrob. Of course he is handsome,” a friend sitting nearby teased.
“Oh, no wonder I felt my little shop was unusually bright today; it really brings glory to my humble place. If the new classmate finds the food good, remember to come often.”
Wang Yue placed the cleaned utensils next to Shen Jiayu and laughed happily. “Only you know how to do business, Boss. Let’s see if your head chef can capture our school heartthrob’s stomach.”
The colors of the dishes were vibrant. Once all the plates were served, the table picked up their chopsticks to taste them.
Shen Jiayu tried a few bites; Wang Yue was not wrong, the taste was indeed excellent. Unlike daily fare, most of the dishes here were cold salads with bright colors, preserving the original flavor of the ingredients to the greatest extent. The taste was primarily sour and spicy, crisp and refreshing. With one bite, one could taste the freshness and simplicity of the mountain forest and feel the vibrant energy of life.
The others waited for Shen Jiayu to start eating before they reached for dishes away from his side of the table. It was rare for them to be this close to Second Young Master Shen, let alone eat at the same table. While eating, they peeked at this truly elite individual. Even in this run-down place, he ate with the elegance of an aristocrat. Sitting there, he was like a bright moon in the sky, and anyone would be tempted to take a few glances.
When the meal was nearly finished, the group ordered a few beers and chatted while smoking.
Just then, the elderly janitor came to clean up. Seeing the cigarette butts scattered on the ground, his face darkened. He criticized them on the spot: “You are all university students, how can you be so ill-mannered? Isn’t there a trash can right next to you?”
Wang Yue bent down to pick them up and threw them into the trash can with a smile. “I’m sorry for the trouble. We will be more careful next time.”
The other guys nearby looked disgruntled. “Young Master Wang, why give a janitor such a good attitude?”
Wang Yue’s expression was solemn. “The old man is in his fifties or sixties and still earns a living by his own labor; he is much better than us second-generation heirs who only know how to ask for money.” The few who were scolded looked embarrassed and dared not speak.
Shen Jiayu noted that Wang Yue was actually not a bad person. He had fair skin, refined features, and a sunny appearance; anyone who saw him for the first time would feel a sense of trust. His family was also involved in politics, and he was being groomed for that path. From a young age, he had been raised with the manners of a gentleman and the dignity of a scholar. Therefore, he was always the “child of another family” in the elite circle—handsome, high-achieving, and skilled.
Suddenly, his phone rang. Shen Jiayu picked it up. “Deliver it to the school gate. Don’t come over; I am coming to you. Just wait there.”
He hung up and said to the others, “I have to head back first.”
“Safe travels, Second Young Master.” The table watched him leave.
Once the Second Young Master’s figure disappeared, Wang Yue leaned back, crossed his legs, lit a cigarette, took out a bank card, threw it casually on the table, and glanced at the others.
“Whoever puts him in the hospital, this card is yours.”
The other second-generation heirs knew that any card from Young Master Wang contained a seven-figure sum. They exchanged smiles and rose in unison.
Finally, a smirk played on Wang Yue’s lips, though his eyes were cold. “Be discreet. Watch your strength.”
That night, it started to rain heavily.
It was already 10:00 PM. Si Xuan had just left the hatchery and was heading to his rented room.
On the way, he occasionally passed pedestrians holding umbrellas, walking in a hurry.
The night was like ink. Dim streetlights stood lonely between heaven and earth, their halos cut into pieces by the rain, blurring the deep night scene.
Si Xuan pulled up his hoodie, carried his black backpack, put his hands in his pockets, and stepped through the puddles in his sneakers.
As he reached the depths of an alley, Si Xuan’s muscles suddenly tensed; his powerful beast-like intuition sent a warning.
Five or six men in black suits appeared in front of him. He turned his head; there were five or six more in black suits behind him. These men were clearly professionally trained; even through their suits, one could see their exaggerated muscle lines.
Si Xuan took off his backpack and placed it on the side of the road. He slightly rotated his neck, and a crisp cracking sound resonated in the rainy night, like chains being unfastened. He flexed his knuckles, and the sound of bones waking up followed. The beast was about to awaken!
He took a deep breath and threw a punch instantly. The wind from his fist brushed past the air with the force of thunder, as if it could shatter everything. His movements were swift and decisive. Standing alone among the men in suits, his eyes were as sharp as cold stars, devoid of fear. Every strike was filled with fearless power.
The sound of rain mixed with the sounds of bare-handed combat, erupting with primitive violence.
Suddenly, he smelled a familiar sweetness at the tip of his nose, and his fierce attacks gradually weakened. In the end, he was overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Si Xuan was torn apart by the men in suits and fell powerlessly to the ground, splashing water everywhere.
He kept his eyes open, staring at the pitch-black sky, the cold rain hitting his face mercilessly. A large patch of bright red bloomed on the ground. He only felt a surge of intense pain, like a raging tide, instantly drowning his consciousness. The parts of him that were struck felt as if they were being hammered; the burning pain continued to spread, and every nerve was screaming in protest.
Under his clothes, where no one could see, several black talismans appeared on Si Xuan’s skin, as if counteracting the pain from the beating. Si Xuan had to endure the pain while simultaneously suppressing the talismans that kept trying to surge out.
Footsteps approached.
The men in suits parted.
The only black umbrella at the scene was held over Shen Jiayu. He was wearing a white V-neck suit, and under the dim light, the silky fabric seemed to flow like liquid, with light lingering around him. He held a cigarette between his lips, and the smoke merged into the night.
Shen Jiayu walked slowly and elegantly. The man in the black suit holding the umbrella for him followed closely behind, almost his entire body exposed to the rain.
Two men pulled up the fallen Si Xuan. His originally chiseled face was now a tragic sight. His right eye socket was bruised, clearly having suffered a heavy blow; his cheek was swollen, the corner of his mouth was split, and blood was trickling down. His hair was disheveled across his forehead, and he looked both miserable and pathetic.
Despite this, when his pitch-black pupils looked at Shen Jiayu, they were still like a deep, bottomless pool—so profound that they seemed to have their own gravitational pull. When you stared into those eyes, you felt as if you were being pulled in, falling into an abyss.
In Si Xuan’s eyes, Shen Jiayu was like a being of light. Even though he was in the darkness, he was clean and untainted, not like someone looking for trouble, but rather like a prince inspecting his territory.
“How pathetic,” a hand in a white leather glove grabbed Si Xuan’s hair and pulled it up. Shen Jiayu wore a cruel smile, blowing smoke onto that miserable face. “It turns out this look suits you best. A stray dog should look like a stray dog.”
The thick scent of blood entered Shen Jiayu’s nose, mixed with the fresh scent of grass and trees. This strange fragrance stimulated every cell in Shen Jiayu’s body, making his internal organs breathe with joy. In some mysterious way, the scent seemed to contain a powerful gravitational force, mobilizing Shen Jiayu’s hidden desire for predation.
Si Xuan did not struggle or resist; he remained silent, his eyes fixed on Shen Jiayu.
The two made eye contact.
Deep within those pupils lay an impenetrable, deep black calm, as if to swallow everything around it. Shen Jiayu hated that look! Stimulated by that eerie, bloody scent, his negative emotions magnified once again.
The next moment, he pressed the cigarette butt hard into the center of Si Xuan’s forehead.
The intense burning sensation made Si Xuan frown. The skin between his eyebrows felt like it had been pierced by a red-hot needle, and the stinging pain reached his marrow.
Seeing this expression, Shen Jiayu smiled contentedly. He patted Si Xuan’s face, his voice filled with malice. “That is right, this is the expression a dog should have.”
Unexpectedly, Si Xuan also smiled, staring into those extremely beautiful phoenix eyes. “If the Second Young Master likes it, then it is worth it.”
This sentence was like a fuse. The seeds of violence were instantly ignited, and the excited blood flowed through his veins and limbs. Now, Shen Jiayu was left with only a primitive need for release.
He used all his strength to slap Si Xuan across the face, causing Si Xuan’s ears to ring. He tasted a salty sweetness in his mouth. “If you look at me like that again, I will dig your eyes out!” Shen Jiayu threatened viciously. Then, the sound of bones colliding with flesh echoed in the rain as Shen Jiayu swung his fists like a downpour.
Having grown tired of hitting him, Shen Jiayu shook his fists, turned around, took off his blood-stained white gloves, and threw them casually on the ground. “Take him away.”
Behind his back, Shen Jiayu gritted his teeth. If he stayed here any longer, he really might be unable to resist beating Si Xuan to death, tearing out his heart, and drinking the freshest blood. As the cold wind blew, that scent dissipated a bit, and he regained some clarity. He thought to himself that he must have been driven crazy to have such thoughts.
The men in suits hauled away the dying, bloodied Si Xuan. He was now like a small beast on the verge of death; every inch of his skin was screaming, and every bone was moaning. The world before him began to blur, and the burning pain seemed to be swallowing his entire being once again.
Si Xuan squinted at the white back as it gradually moved away, then lowered his head. In an angle no one could see, the corners of his mouth curled upward.
Shen Jia Yu.
Just you wait! I will make you pay the price!
Si Xuan lay in the hospital for the night. Normally, an average person would have to stay for at least three days. His monstrous recovery speed made the doctors marvel and constantly try to persuade him to stay longer. He was bandaged all over like a mummy. Fortunately, there were no fractures, and the hospital Shen Jiayu sent him to used the best treatment protocols, so Si Xuan was discharged the next day.
After being discharged, he took another week off. He obviously could not go to school in this condition, and he had more important things to do. A grudge should not last overnight; that was Si Xuan’s principle. Whether it was teachers, classmates, or colleagues who asked him, he used his usual excuse, claiming he had to go home for an urgent matter.
On his phone screen, the bright ID photo of Shen Jiayu looked elegant and refined, like a 3D model. Why was someone so beautiful so cruel? Si Xuan looked at it for a long time, his eyes complex. Unknowingly, some emotion had changed, and something had taken root.
He looked at the baseball cap and mask next to him, his mouth stretching into a terrifying smile.