Chapter 18: Concealment

Chapter 18 Concealment

Lu Yuan leaned closer to the young man.

"...Don't get it wet for the next few days. It would be terrible if it gets inflamed or infected," Lin Shenshi instructed, tying a neat bow with the gauze.

Looking up, he found Lu Yuan barely a fist's width away.

Those deep, dark eyes gazed down at him, his reflection mirrored in the black pupils. A turbulent, murky darkness churned within, indecipherable.

"Teacher Lu?" Lin Shenshi waved a hand in surprise. "Did you hear what I just said?"

Lu Yuan was silent for a few seconds, then lowered his gaze and withdrew his hand, as if all that intensity had never been there.

"I heard."

He looked at the carefully treated wound and added, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Lin Shenshi couldn't help but steal a few more glances at Lu Yuan. It was hard to imagine that the man from the original novel, who only knew how to relentlessly engage in intimate acts with the protagonist, could have such a normal conversation.

As Lin Shenshi tidied up the iodine swabs and gauze, he noticed a stack of letters on the desk in his periphery.

They weren't the ones he had delivered last night.

These were brand new, unopened fan letters.

Lin Shenshi blinked, and before his brain could fully process, he had already blurted out, "I'll write these."

The words were barely out of his mouth when Lin Shenshi regretted them. But words spoken are like water spilled—they cannot be taken back.

He swallowed and tried to salvage the situation, "But, I'll need to write them in your office before I leave."

Lu Yuan lifted his eyelids, studying him with intense scrutiny.

Lin Shenshi didn't dare tell the truth.

He had already promised Yu Lanzhao to decline the letter-writing task, but a moment of soft-heartedness had led him to take it on again. If he brought the letters back to the dorm to write, Yu Lanzhao would surely be upset.

"If I stay here, I can also help out if there's anything else you find inconvenient." Lin Shenshi racked his brain and finally found a more convincing reason.

Lu Yuan neither agreed nor disagreed, simply gesturing with his eyes toward a corner where a spare chair stood.

Lin Shenshi moved it over and sat opposite, tucking himself into a corner of the desk to start writing the replies.

Lu Yuan picked up "The Painted Veil" and continued reading. The story had reached the part where the female protagonist was being unfaithful to her husband.

His gaze couldn't help but drift back to the young man.

A faint smile seemed to flicker in the depths of his dark eyes.

*

The sun dipped low in the west.

On the bustling street, a young man ran, the evening breeze tousling his hair. His deer-like eyes were bright and clear, and the dark tear-drop mole under his left eye added a touch of unique allure.

Passersby turned their heads.

Yu Lanzhao seemed not to notice. As the red light lit up, he stood by the roadside waiting, his gaze lingering anxiously in the direction of the school.

He wondered what Xiao Shi was doing that afternoon.

Yu Lanzhao wanted to rush back to campus immediately, but before that, he had one more thing to do.

The luxury store was filled with a dazzling display of goods. On his way to his part-time job, Yu Lanzhao had spotted a scarf—a soft, creamy tan. He had been drawn to it immediately.

After his shift, he rushed over, wanting to buy it as a gift for Xiao Shi.

The sales associate enthusiastically introduced, "This is our new autumn-winter release. It’s made of high-quality cashmere, as soft as a cloud. We also have a matching set. Though the winter may be cold, lovers will find spring-like warmth."

"Matching set?"

Yu Lanzhao couldn't help but glance at the light coffee-colored scarf. On the same mannequin, there was a same-style scarf in a different color—deep gray.

The sales associate said, "Yes, are you buying it for your girlfriend?"

Yu Lanzhao softly murmured a "yes."

Though it wasn't official yet, one day, he would make it happen.

He reached out and touched the fabric of the scarf. It was soft and gentle against the skin, unlike anything he had ever felt before.

As the store’s featured item displayed in the window, the elegant tag was engraved with a slogan—

["Romance is an overflowing urge to share."

"Happiness is the small joy of sharing matching styles."]

Yu Lanzhao’s mind instantly pictured him and Lin Shenshi wearing matching couple scarves, surrounded by people praising how perfect they looked together...

His heart softened.

"Miss, I'd like to buy—"

Suddenly, his voice trailed off.

On the exquisite price tag, it was printed—

[Price: ¥1999.00]

A suffocating feeling washed over him. Yu Lanzhao lowered his head, the joy in his heart instantly extinguished.

It was too expensive.

As an orphan, his government stipend was barely enough each month. He had to take on multiple part-time jobs just to make ends meet.

Over the years, he had only managed to save a few hundred yuan. He had planned to use all of it to buy a gift for Lin Shenshi, but now he realized it wasn't even enough to cover a fraction of the cost.

The young man’s heart was sensitive and fragile. The feel of the high-end wool under his fingertips seemed to burn his skin at that moment. He withdrew his hand as if electrocuted, his fingers curling at his sides.

He had never set foot in a luxury store before and had no idea a scarf could cost more than two months of his living expenses.

Recalling how Lin Shenshi had once taken him shopping, guiding him through one high-end store after another—all with names in English he had never seen before—the store's decor and the clothes' exquisite craftsmanship were just as refined as this place.

It dawned on Yu Lanzhao just how much money Lin Shenshi had spent on him that day.

The young man’s long eyelashes lowered. The gap in their status made even love feel out of reach, and a sour ache welled up in his heart.

The exquisitely decorated glass door swung open and closed, the autumn wind bleak and stinging the young man's eyes.

Yu Lanzhao stood with empty hands, yet something stirred intensely in his chest.

He had always brushed off the mockery and laughter of his classmates with disdain, but at this moment, the desire to earn a great deal of money surged overwhelmingly within him.

Something in his pocket felt uncomfortably hard; Yu Lanzhao pulled it out.

—It was a business card.

[Taihe Model Agency]

[Agent Ji Ping]

*

Lin Shenshi had been busy all afternoon, and only a small part of the replies were done. The sky outside had darkened, and he estimated that Yu Lanzhao would be back soon. He stood up, informed Lu Yuan, and left the office, promising to come back every day to help until Lu Yuan's hand injury healed.

The autumn wind was blustering outside as Lin Shenshi tightened his coat and walked toward the dormitory, totally unaware of the eyes watching him from the eighth floor.

Only when the young man’s figure disappeared into the building, under the orange-yellow glow, did Lu Yuan let the curtain fall. With a flick of his finger, he opened a drawer, revealing a white medicine bottle and a pure black wooden box.

His long, slender fingers skipped over the white bottle and picked up the wooden box.

Lu Yuan walked to the opposite side, his palm stroking the chairback before he sat down in the seat still warm from the young man’s presence.

He let out a soft, barely audible sigh, then opened the box and took out a sealed indigo-blue handkerchief.

Just as he had once wiped his hands, he now gently used the handkerchief to wipe down everything the young man had touched.

The stationery, the pen, the desktop… every inch, every fragment, he meticulously wiped until he was certain the handkerchief had captured every trace of the young man’s presence.

Then…

He brought the handkerchief to his nose and drew a sudden, deep breath.

Like an addict long denied a fix, his dark eyes swirled with a ravenous, near-monstrous craving.

Something within him stirred to life. Lu Yuan closed his eyes tightly, a low, strained groan escaping his throat.

*

When Lin Shenshi returned to the dormitory, he found, to his surprise, the room empty.

Yu Lanzhao hadn’t come back yet.

By the time he had mostly finished his week’s assignments, most of the students in the dormitory had already turned in for the night. Yu Lanzhao finally came back late that night.

"Ah Zhao, why are you so late today?" Lin Shenshi asked, his voice muffled by toothpaste as he brushed his teeth.

He remembered the original book mentioning that the protagonist’s part-time job ran from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., so he should have been back long ago.

Yu Lanzhao bent to take off his shoes. "Something urgent came up." He paused, then added, "Xiao Shi, the convenience store has been really busy lately. I’ll be coming back late these next few days, so you don’t need to wait for me."

Lin Shenshi was rinsing the toothpaste from his mouth and didn’t notice the slight oddness in Yu Lanzhao’s voice.

He nodded, thinking this was another change from the original story, but by now, he was growing accustomed to it.

It was just the butterfly effect. No matter how the outside world changed, his mission remained the same: to save Yu Lanzhao from the predatory scumbags.

Lin Shenshi pondered: now that Lu Yuan was being watched, the remaining two...

In the original plot, this was the time when the casting for the large-scale fantasy romance film *Long Moon Star River* was underway, with powerbroker Yin Yunxian and award-winning actor Qi Lian making their appearances.

So, the best way to keep Yu Lanzhao away from them was to skip the auditions. But Lin Shenshi also knew that in the original book, the protagonist took on extra roles during the busy midterm exam period purely out of financial necessity.

The young man’s pride was like a tightly strung wire; direct charity would only make him resistant. Recently, whenever Lin Shenshi treated him to extra meals, Yu Lanzhao transferred the full amount back via WeChat, insisting that if Lin Shenshi didn’t accept it, he would never eat again.

So Lin Shenshi couldn’t stop him outright but could only feel him out: "Ah Zhao, recently... have you been thinking about going to any auditions?"

Yu Lanzhao: "I’ve been looking into some, but haven’t found anything suitable yet."

Lin Shenshi breathed a sigh of relief but didn’t forget to add, "If you find something suitable, let me know. I’d like to tag along too."

Yu Lanzhao gave a soft hum and went into the bathroom to wash up. Lin Shenshi climbed into bed, sitting with the blanket wrapped around him as he waited.

Unconsciously, he began dozing off, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier.

Having spent the entire afternoon in Lu Yuan’s office, though writing replies wasn’t physically taxing, the tension of sharing a space with that creepy older guy had kept his nerves on edge. Now, finally back with Yu Lanzhao, he felt exhausted.

Within two or three minutes, Lin Shenshi’s head had dropped onto his knees, his breathing light and slow.

When Yu Lanzhao emerged from washing up, this was the scene that greeted him.

He paused mid-action while drying his face, his dark eyes flashing with surprise before warming with affection.

Yu Lanzhao set down the towel, walked over quietly, and with one arm around Lin Shenshi’s shoulders and the other under his knees, lifted the sleeping young man and carefully laid him on the pillow.

As he set him down, he lurched forward slightly and stumbled. Afraid of crushing Lin Shenshi, he instinctively braced his arms on either side.

After two breathless moments, seeing that Lin Shenshi was still sleeping soundly, he finally relaxed with a sigh.

Almost simultaneously, Lin Shenshi turned over.

Their lips met.

It felt like a bolt of lightning.

Yu Lanzhao stood there, frozen.