Chapter 79

Chapter 79

Xie Qingfeng didn’t leave the classroom immediately after class. He waited until almost everyone had gone, then started packing up his things.

Just as he was exiting the back door, he was unexpectedly stopped. Turning to the person, he asked, "Yes?"

The person blocking him was a young man in his early twenties, with a buzz cut, revealing a clean forehead and a handsome face.

Hearing Xie Qingfeng's words, he smiled brightly and extended his hand for an introduction: "Hello, Xie student, I'm Mu Zhilan from your department, a second-year student. You can call me Senior Mu or just Zhilan like friends do."

While saying this, he blinked at Xie Qingfeng, his smile growing more radiant and familiar.

Xie Qingfeng: …

He looked expressionless at the increasingly enthusiastic smile of the person in front of him, and uttered, “I see, now move aside.”

Mu Zhilan's expression froze, clearly not expecting such a dismissive and impatient reaction from Xie Qingfeng.

His naturally friendly demeanor usually worked wonders in making friends, but this time he had hit a wall.

Xie Qingfeng completely lost his patience and walked around him: "If you have nothing to say, then as far as I'm concerned, there's nothing to discuss."

Moreover, even if there was something, what did it have to do with him?

On the other side, Jing Xi had been eagerly watching the students leave the class since the bell rang, but none of them were his beloved Master Xie.

Hao Jixin, observing his behavior, clicked his tongue: “Master Xie always dislikes the crowd. He usually takes at least ten minutes to come out.”

This was only because the classroom was closest to the school gate this time. Usually, it took even longer.

Jing Xi ignored him, fully aware of this fact. He had no ulterior motives; he simply wanted to see Master Xie at the earliest opportunity.

If he wasn't worried about missing Master Xie, he would have already run inside to find him.

After all, he was too excited this morning and forgot to tell Master Xie he would come to pick him up at noon.

Hao Jixin saw his unassuming demeanor, which was far from that of a movie star, and teased, “Hey, instead of being a successful actor, you’re not seriously planning to be a kept man forever, are you?”

Jing Xi didn’t respond to him, but suddenly stood up straight, evidently feeling affronted.

Hao Jixin exclaimed in mock surprise: “Still got some pride, huh? There’s hope for you yet.”

The next moment, Jing Xi, who had been eagerly watching the front, suddenly darted into the door, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Hao Jixin: ?

Stunned, he looked ahead and indeed spotted the conspicuous Jing Xi standing with his back to the door, blocking a student from Master Xie, his face not visible, but his mood evidently sour.

His waist-length hair seemed to bristle with anger.

Hao Jixin eyed the distance to the iron gate, then back in that direction, bewildered: "Damn, in just a blink of an eye! Jing Xi's speed is wasted not competing in sprinting!"

Snapping back to reality, he hurriedly jogged over, hoping to prevent any conflict.

Jing Xi, with a dark expression, looked coldly at the young man in front of him: “Who are you, and why are you pestering him?”

Even from a distance and with just a few glimpses, Jing Xi was certain this person was bothering Master Xie.

Even as Master Xie quickened his pace, the man kept jogging up and talking nonsense, annoyingly persistent.

Mu Zhilan, taken aback by Jing Xi's sudden confrontation, frowned in displeasure, but on recognizing the signature long hair, realized this was Master Xie's often-seen companion.

Mu Zhilan quickly masked his annoyance with a smile: “You've misunderstood, friend. I just wanted to invite Master Xie for a meal. We're from the same department, seniors and juniors, who knows, we might even end up working at the same hospital after graduation.”

Jing Xi's expression darkened further. Seniors and juniors?

How is that the same as master and disciple? He's never been recognized as Master Xie's junior disciple, so where does this guy get the nerve?

Master Xie had already planned to teach this clingy person a lesson just outside the school gate.

With cameras everywhere on campus, it wasn't wise to stir trouble, but a slight reprimand before leaving the school premises was justifiable.

He hadn't expected Jing Xi to burst onto the scene, clearly enraged.

Master Xie hadn't thought much of it, but as he turned, the agitation of Jing Xi's internal energy caused a wave of air around him, and his loosely tied black hair brushed his hand, unexpectedly tickling it.

Xie Qingfeng, sensing Jing Xi’s growing anger and fearing he might cause trouble, reached out to grasp his wrist, “He’s an insignificant person, it's not worth it.”

As he spoke, he increased the pressure in his palm slightly, finally getting Jing Xi to look at him. The energy around them dissipated instantly, hair falling neatly, but Jing Xi's phoenix eyes revealed an inexplicable sense of grievance: “He said he was your senior, and you were his junior!”

The voice was somewhat through gritted teeth, yet inexplicably it sounded like a complaint.

Xie Qingfeng knew the term 'senior-junior' well and hadn't thought much of it, but now, facing Jing Xi's stubborn gaze, he suddenly recalled the other's aggrieved accusations while holding him that night.

He instantly understood why the other was so angry.

When Hao Jixin arrived panting, he saw the master not only holding Jing Yi's wrist but also soothing him with an exceptionally gentle and patient voice, "I don’t know him; he means nothing to me. Look, I didn’t respond to him. If it weren’t for your talking to him, I would have gotten rid of him already."

After finishing, he looked up at Mu Zhilan, who was already stunned and incredulous, "I don’t know you. Can you leave now? If you don’t go, I’ll call the security."

Mu Zhilan was furious. Did he really know who he was? He was the crown prince of the Mu Group, the most handsome freshman of the previous batch.

Initially, he had looked down on this newcomer who had stolen his title of the most handsome freshman. He had seen the other's face in the cafeteria and was stunned by his beauty, wanting to befriend him, only to be snubbed.

Xie Qingfeng hadn’t taken this person seriously at first, but now he finally looked at him, meeting his eyes, and his gaze suddenly turned cold.

Mu Zhilan felt a chill run down his spine under Xie Qingfeng’s gaze, as if he was being looked at like a dead man.

Jing Xi would have struck down, had he not known that they were at school and couldn’t trouble the National Teacher. Especially the way he looked at the National Teacher, as if the latter was something he could easily obtain.

What nonsense, he was worthy?

But Xie Qingfeng had already pulled Jing Xi away.

Mu Zhilan wanted to chase after them, but his steps halted as he remembered that look; for some reason, it seemed as if Xie Qingfeng had seen right through his thoughts.

Indeed, he had harbored inappropriate thoughts, preferring punishment over respect. He even had the idea to ruin the other.

But how could he have known that at the beginning of this year?

Hao Jixin followed Xie Qingfeng and the others out, bewildered: Did he just see or hear something wrong?

The master was indeed comforting the Movie Emperor, right?

"Wow, what exactly happened these past days? How could the Movie Emperor manage to make the master treat him so well all of a sudden?"

"Could it be? Is it possible? Did the Movie Emperor really go so far as to let the master do that to him?"

"Otherwise, how could the master show him a friendly face?"

Hao Jixin thought more and more that this was the truth and exclaimed, "What a guy!"

"It has to be the Movie Emperor who could pull that off."

As Jing Xi was led forward by Xie Qingfeng, his dissatisfaction with the other person faded, quickly replaced by an awareness of their skin touching.

Xie Qingfeng only let go when they reached the school gate, but as he released his hand, Jing Xi's wrist seemed to sprout wings, instinctively clinging to his palm.

Xie Qingfeng: "..."

He turned his head and asked, "Are you sick?" It was still hot, he wasn't bothered by the heat, but he found him annoying.

Caught, Jing Xi leisurely withdrew his hand, touched his nose, and openly admitted his feelings, "Yes, I am sick with lovesickness."

Xie Qingfeng: "..."

Behind them, Hao Jixin, who had been eavesdropping, was shocked: "!!!"

They had to deal with something in the afternoon, so the trio went to have lunch first.

They opted for a private room again, ordering a table full of dishes Xie Qingfeng liked, with Jing Xi thoughtfully arranging everything for him.

Jing Xi did everything he could to prevent Xie Qingfeng from lifting a finger, even wishing he could wipe his hands with a wet towel for him before eating.

Hao Jixin was baffled, still unable to comprehend how Jing Xi had successfully devoted himself to this.

He dared not think about it; he couldn't, as the thought was too frightening.

Finally, Jing Xi gave Hao Jixin a look: "What's with the way you've been looking at me all this time? Why so strange?"

Hao Jixin focused on his meal, fearing that if Jing Xi discovered he knew his secret, he might be silenced permanently.

Initially, Xie Qingfeng refused Jing Xi's care, finding his enthusiasm overwhelming, but eventually, unable to stop it, he resigned himself to the situation.

Jing Xi was feeling a sense of crisis. He used to have an advantage with his youth over the older National Master, but now, after some time, he realized he had aged a few years himself.

He hadn't thought much about it before, but the incident with the young man made him aware that those surrounding the National Master were all fresh-faced eighteen-year-olds.

He feared that if a striking young man appeared out of nowhere, he might be heartbroken.

Jing Xi kept stealing glances at Xie Qingfeng during the meal, and when he was almost done eating, tentatively asked, "Do freshmen in your school still address each other as 'senior' and 'junior'? Is it a common form of address? Even for those you don't know?"

Hao Jixin, who had already graduated, responded, "Yes, it's just a normal way of addressing each other. Don't you know, Emperor Jing?"

It's such a common form of address.

After speaking, Hao Jixin realized something was amiss. Due to his parents' incident and his hiatus, had Emperor Jing not attended university?

Xie Qingfeng, sensing Jing Xi's grudge, shot a guilty Hao Jixin a glance, then calmly turned to Jing Xi, "It's just a form of address. If you want, you can call me..." He paused, then under Jing Xi's gaze, uttered, "Brother."

Hao Jixin, eating hurriedly and feeling guilty, choked on his food. Holding a cup of water and coughing violently, he turned quickly and bent over, hiding under the table.

His face, whether from choking or shock, expressed: ?!!

"Damn, damn! If I remember correctly, isn't Emperor Jing several years older than the master?"

"Do they play this thrillingly in private? Role-playing? Damn, how can I look at Emperor Jing the same way again?"

"So Emperor Jing actually has a penchant for acting younger?"

"I never knew this side of you, Emperor Jing."

Jing Xi looked at Hao Jixin disdainfully, keeping his distance, "Can't you even drink water without making a mess?"

From under the table, Hao Jixin's resentful eyes emerged, murmuring, "Whose fault is this? It's all because of you!"

Jing Xi always felt that his gaze was somewhat inappropriate, but too lazy to ponder further, he turned his head back to Xie Qingfeng: "No way. I'm in my twenties this year, and you, just eighteen."

If he really called him that, how could he face himself?

Xie Qingfeng, who had made the comment casually, raised an eyebrow in response: "Oh, you're that old, huh?"

Jing Xi: "..."

Xie Qingfeng became more amused as he thought about it: "So if it was a few months later, wouldn't it be..." He couldn't bear to finish the thought, as it would mean a whole generation gap.

Jing Xi: "............"