Chapter 66

Li Yan stared blankly, almost as if he wanted to bore two holes into Lin Qiuzu’s collarbone with his gaze.

It wasn’t until Lin Qiuzu struggled out of his grip, retreating while pulling up his collar, that Li Yan snapped out of it.

“What’s this? Who gave you these?” Li Yan’s breath came unevenly, his eyes reddening as he asked.

“None of your damn business.” Lin Qiuzu’s reply was blunt and cutting. He already had a new target in mind, and looking at Li Yan now, everything about him felt irritating. He must have been blind before to treat this fool like he was something special.

Lin Qiuzu quickly tidied his clothes and turned to leave.

Seeing this, Li Yan immediately stepped in to block his path.

Lin Qiuzu narrowed his eyes, his expression icy. “Li Yan, we’re done. Stop trying to control me with your stupid demands. I’ll do whatever I want—it has nothing to do with you.”

By this time, Li Yan had calmed down somewhat. Remembering the real reason he had come, he forced down the jealousy surging in his chest.

Taking a deep breath, his expression softened slightly. “I need to ask you something.”

Lin Qiuzu crossed his arms impatiently. “Speak.”

“That thing I asked you to clear up before—did you do it?” Li Yan was already annoyed just bringing it up. His tone carried a hint of frustration as he ran a hand through his hair. “Why has the rumor spread so far that even my professor has heard about it? I just got off a call with him before coming here.”

Lin Qiuzu let out a cold laugh, full of mockery. He lifted his chin slightly. “And why the hell should I clarify anything? You care about your reputation, but I don’t?” He snorted. “Besides, it was someone from your school who started it.”

Li Yan frowned. “You found out who it was?”

“Yu Xingteng. Ring any bells?”

“Yu Xingteng?” Li Yan’s face changed instantly. “Isn’t he…”

Lin Qiuzu sneered. “He spread those rumors to get back at me. And not just about you and me—Mi Zhao and others got dragged into it too. But I don’t have time to deal with him right now, and honestly, I don’t give a damn about clarifying anything.”

Li Yan was incredulous. “So you’re just going to let the rumors spiral?”

“This world isn’t short on gossip. Give it a few days, and people won’t even remember our names. What’s there to panic about?” Lin Qiuzu rolled his eyes. He had already been angry about it before, but now he couldn’t even be bothered to explain. “Anyway, I have other things to handle. Yu Xingteng is from your school, so go deal with him yourself. Don’t come to me—got it?”

With that, Lin Qiuzu turned to leave.

But before he could take more than a couple of steps, Li Yan stopped him again.

Lin Qiuzu’s expression darkened to the extreme.

Oblivious to his mood, Li Yan’s gaze drifted once more to his collarbone, still partially obscured by his collar. He couldn’t help but ask, “So… you have a new boyfriend now?”

“I already told you—it’s none of your business.” Lin Qiuzu sidestepped him, continuing forward.

This time, Li Yan didn’t try to stop him. He just stood there, watching Lin Qiuzu leave. He hadn’t expected Lin Qiuzu to suddenly pause a short distance away.

“I don’t have a new boyfriend,” Lin Qiuzu said, a cryptic smile curling his lips. He raised an eyebrow and looked back at Li Yan. “I just met someone suitable, that’s all.”

Li Yan had spent enough time entangled with Lin Qiuzu to recognize that smile instantly. His scalp tingled, an ominous feeling creeping up on him. “Who did you meet?”

“You wouldn’t know him.” Lin Qiuzu paused before adding, his smile deepening, “But Mi Zhao does.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Didn’t Mi Zhao get himself a rich new boyfriend?” Lin Qiuzu drawled. “That guy casually threw out a 200,000-yuan check for him. I thought he must’ve been head over heels, but turns out, not so much.”

Li Yan finally pieced things together. His expression shifted from shock to outright panic. He took a step forward, his voice urgent. “Are you insane? You even dared to snatch.. from Mi Zhao!

Lin Qiuzu remained calm. “ I did not snatch him. He’s still Mi Zhao’s.”

Li Yan froze in place, utterly stunned. He was so shaken by Lin Qiuzu’s casual tone and shameless attitude that he couldn’t even find words.

Just yesterday, a friend had mentioned that Lin Qiuzu was asking around about his uncle, even digging up his building and apartment number. Li Yan had assumed he’d get turned away like last time.

But from the way Lin Qiuzu was talking, it seemed like he’d actually made progress?

A wave of nausea surged in Li Yan’s stomach. He fought the urge to vomit, staring at Lin Qiuzu in utter disbelief.

He suddenly felt disgusted.

—

Ruan Xin arrived to pick up Li Sipei, bringing a fresh change of clothes for him and an extra set for Mi Zhao.

Mi Zhao glanced at the clothes—brand new, with the tags still on.

Of course, he couldn’t just throw away his old clothes. He bundled them up in a bag, planning to take them back to school for a wash.

On the way back to campus, Ruan Xin casually asked Li Sipei, “Mr. Li, I heard from the security guards that someone came looking for you the past two nights?”

Li Sipei responded with a simple “Mm.”

Sitting beside him, Mi Zhao immediately turned his head. “Who was it?”

Li Sipei thought for a moment before replying, “A younger relative. I’m not very familiar with him, but I suppose he heard I was discharged and wanted to visit.”

“Visiting you at night?” Mi Zhao smirked, rubbing his chin. “Sounds kinda suspicious to me.”

Li Sipei nodded seriously. “That’s why I didn’t answer his calls. He knocked on my door twice, but I didn’t open it.”

“This is more like it.” Mi Zhao pinched Li Sipei’s hand. If he had a tail, it would have been wagging by now. He felt a bit smug but also somewhat worried. “What if he really had something important to discuss with you?”

He remembered that two nights ago, when he and Li Sipei were in the bedroom, a few calls had indeed come through on Li Sipei’s phone.

Unbothered, Li Sipei calmly returned the pinch. The two of them exchanged a few more squeezes before he finally responded, “If he has something to say, that’s his business. It has nothing to do with me.”

Mi Zhao covered his mouth and chuckled, but midway through, he suddenly met Ruan Xin’s gaze through the rearview mirror.

Startled, Ruan Xin quickly looked forward again.

Mi Zhao also hurriedly restrained his laughter, his cheeks burning as he sat up straight with feigned seriousness.

The car stopped outside the school gate. A strong sense of reluctance welled up in Mi Zhao’s heart. If Ruan Xin weren’t present, he would have clung to Li Sipei for much longer.

As it was nearing noon, he called Yan Qinting, then went to the cafeteria to get a meal for him before strolling leisurely back to the dormitory.

From a distance, he saw a crowd gathered outside the dormitory building, both men and women, creating quite a commotion.

Mi Zhao had no interest in joining the spectacle and was about to take a detour when he suddenly heard a familiar name.

Li Yan?

He stopped in surprise, hesitated, then stepped onto a nearby flowerbed ledge to get a better look.

Sure enough, one of the people surrounded by the crowd was Li Yan.

But for some reason, Li Yan was sporting a bruised and swollen face, looking furious yet powerless. His expression was twisted with rage as he tried to lunge at someone, only to be held back by the crowd.

Mi Zhao shifted his gaze to the other party.

Well, what a coincidence.

He recognized that person too—Yu Xingteng.

With that, the reason for their fight became obvious.

The dormitory supervisor rushed over upon hearing the commotion, forcefully squeezed through the crowd, and separated the two before launching into a scolding.

Yu Xingteng was also bruised and battered, standing beside Li Yan with his nose in the air, neither willing to back down.

The dormitory supervisor, fuming, threatened to drag them both to the counselor’s office and make sure they received a formal disciplinary record.

As the commotion settled and the crowd dispersed, Mi Zhao lowered his head, clutching the takeout box in one hand and the bag of clothes in the other, hoping to slip away unnoticed into the dormitory building.

But the dormitory supervisor had sharp eyes and spotted him immediately.

“Mi Zhao.” A voice called from behind. “Come here too.”

Mi Zhao sighed inwardly and trudged over, looking dejected.

Li Yan and Yu Xingteng stood side by side in front of the supervisor, both turning their gazes toward Mi Zhao.

Mi Zhao acted as if he didn’t see them, not sparing them a single glance as he walked up to the supervisor and murmured a respectful, “Auntie.”

The supervisor scanned him from head to toe before reprimanding him, “Do you have any idea how many times you’ve skipped staying in the dorm? Every time, you leave first and only bring me the leave slip the next day. Where’s your leave slip this time?”

She extended her hand toward him.

At those words, several pairs of eyes shifted toward Mi Zhao, including one particularly intense gaze.

Mi Zhao glanced up slightly and met Li Yan’s complicated expression. Immediately, he felt so repulsed that his hair stood on end, and he quickly lowered his gaze to stare at his own feet.

“Auntie, I’ll go find my counselor and get the leave slip later today,” he admitted with a cooperative attitude.

“Last night’s leave slip can be made up, but what about the night before?” The supervisor waved her hand in front of him. “You should have given me that one yesterday, right?”

Mi Zhao: “…”

He had forgotten.

Because he had been taking too many leave days lately, he felt embarrassed about constantly bothering his counselor. He had planned to request a leave slip covering multiple days at once but ended up losing track himself.

Seeing his troubled expression, the supervisor snorted and retracted her hand. “I’ve been around long enough to know what’s going on. Do you really think I can’t tell you’re skipping dorms to date someone?”

Mi Zhao remained silent, but his ears turned red.

“It’s fine for young people to date, but don’t let it cloud your judgment. You’ve been missing from the dorm for days now.” The supervisor pointed at Li Yan and Yu Xingteng. “See them? This is what happens—fighting over a relationship in the middle of campus, turning themselves into a public spectacle, embarrassing themselves all the way to the counselor’s office.”

Suppressing his amusement, Mi Zhao pressed his lips together and muttered, “I understand, Auntie. I’ll be more mindful in the future.”

The supervisor waved him off. “Alright, just make sure to submit the leave slips for both nights.”

“Got it.” Mi Zhao scurried away.

Back in the dormitory, he recounted the incident to Yan Qinting.

Yan Qinting wasn’t surprised. He climbed down from his bed, sat at the desk, and started unpacking his chopsticks while commenting, “Yu Xingteng has been running his mouth everywhere. It was only a matter of time before he got beaten up. I don’t think either of them are innocent—just a case of dogs biting dogs.”

Mi Zhao leaned against the desk, holding his phone, and was texting Li Sipei.

Originally, he hadn’t planned to bring up Li Yan, but the thought of Li Yan’s swollen face made him want to laugh. Out of pure amusement, he decided to share the news with Li Sipei.

Li Sipei had already returned home and replied almost instantly: “His misfortune makes you this happy?”

Mi Zhao sent a voice message, laughing, “I just love seeing him suffer. The worse off he is, the happier I am. My happiness is built on his misery.”

From the side, Yan Qinting gave him a thumbs-up and mouthed, “Exes are always the most ruthless.”

Mi Zhao rolled his eyes at him.

But after that, there was no response from Li Sipei for a while.

Mi Zhao waited for a moment before assuming that Li Sipei had gotten busy with something. Just as he was about to start washing his clothes, a call came through.

It was from Li Sipei.

Mi Zhao answered immediately. “What were you up to just now?”

“I was calling my mom,” Li Sipei said in a relaxed tone, as if he had simply gone to fetch a glass of water. “I told her to ban Li Yan from attending my birthday banquet.”

“…”

Mi Zhao burst out laughing. “Hahahaha!”