Chapter 12 Passing a Message

Chapter 12: Passing a Message

On Monday, Xie Fengshi leaned against the corner of the subway car, his head nodding drowsily, while his phone screen was still lit, bombarded with messages from Lu Shiyan.

"Xiao Lu Xiao Lu: I'll wait for you tomorrow!!"

"Xiao Lu Xiao Lu: You'll really come, right?"

"Xiao Lu Xiao Lu: Or maybe I'll drive to pick you up?"

"Xiao Lu Xiao Lu: Where do you live?"

"Xiao Lu Xiao Lu: You there?"

"Xiao Lu Xiao Lu: Asleep?"

"Xiao Lu Xiao Lu: Good night!! See you tomorrow!!"

Xie Fengshi yawned and put his phone back in his pocket. The subway announcement sounded, and he followed the crowd off the train. As he stepped out of the station, he couldn't help but pause.

The autumn sunlight filtered through the gaps in golden leaves, a few students ran past him with books in their arms, a bell tower stood in the distance, and people sat in twos and threes on the lawn.

Beautiful, damn beautiful.

Xie Fengshi walked along this road toward the school, but the farther he went, the more he felt something was off—why were so many people staring at him?

He looked down and checked himself. His clothes were all normal. Though not designer brands, they were clean and tidy, and he wasn't wearing them backward.

Moreover, when the students noticed Xie Fengshi looking up at them, they immediately averted their eyes, pretending to chat.

Before Xie Fengshi could think further, someone patted him on the shoulder from behind: "Xie Fengshi!"

Lu Shiyan's round, fair face appeared in front of him: "You're here?"

Xie Fengshi stumbled forward from the pat: "How are you here?"

"Waiting for you."

Xie Fengshi was momentarily at a loss for words. Lu Shiyan had already taken his arm and was pulling him forward: "Come on, come on, let me take you to a great place?"

"What great place?"

"The coffee shop behind the library. Their cinnamon rolls are amazing. My treat."

Xie Fengshi was dragged along for a few steps before he couldn't help asking, "Lu Shiyan, are you always like this?"

"Like what?"

"So enthusiastic with everyone?"

"Not with everyone. I'm enthusiastic with you."

Xie Fengshi was puzzled. Lu Shiyan explained, "You agreed to cook at my place, so we're friends now. I'm like this with all my friends."

Alright, Lu Shiyan's standard for friendship was that simple and blunt.

People kept greeting Lu Shiyan along the way, and after responding, he would introduce them to Xie Fengshi. As Xie Fengshi listened, he gradually realized something—this school was really not ordinary.

He had known before that the original owner's major was fine arts, with ridiculously expensive tuition, but he had no concept of the school itself. Now, hearing Lu Shiyan talk, he finally understood.

If someone could be Lu Shiyan's classmate, they couldn't be just ordinary people.

"Lu Shiyan."

"Yeah?"

"Is this school very prestigious?"

Lu Shiyan said, "Don't you know? Our school is ranked in the top three. A bunch of alumni have won Best Cinematography awards."

Xie Fengshi fell silent. Lu Shiyan continued, "But our college is okay; it mainly depends on your work. If your work is good enough, the professors don't care if you come to class regularly. If your work is bad, it's useless to come every day. Let me tell you a secret—I almost failed last semester because I didn't submit all my projects. Later, my brother donated a building to the school, and the professor relented and let me turn them in late."

Xie Fengshi: "...Your brother is great."

"Great my foot. That building was my dad's; he used it as a favor." Lu Shiyan pouted. "He wasn't so generous when he fired my nanny."

The good place Lu Shiyan mentioned was indeed nice. The small coffee shop behind the library was tucked behind a red brick wall covered in ivy, and the outdoor seating was full of people.

Lu Shiyan, familiar with the place, found a spot, made Xie Fengshi sit down, and went to the counter to order.

Xie Fengshi leaned back in his chair, squinting in the sun, feeling completely lazy. The warm sunlight fell on him, and in his ears were the sounds of conversation and laughter in an unfamiliar language, with people throwing frisbees on the lawn in the distance.

"Here, here."

Lu Shiyan came back with a tray and placed a cup of hot cocoa in front of Xie Fengshi. "I didn't know what you'd like, so I got you this. Their hot cocoa is really good too."

Xie Fengshi looked at the hot cocoa piled high with cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce, and topped with a cinnamon stick. He was silent for a moment, then took a sip. The sweetness almost made his face twist.

Lu Shiyan looked at him expectantly: "How is it?"

"Pretty good, just a bit sweet."

"Sweet? I think it's just right." Lu Shiyan was already enjoying his cinnamon roll, eating with powdered sugar all over his mouth.

Xie Fengshi watched the round-faced little young master eating like a hamster, and immediately understood why Aunt Lin said seeing Lu Shiyan reminded her of her own son.

Because Lu Shiyan's harmless-looking face indeed had a quality that made people want to take care of him.

"By the way, Xie Fengshi, are you really coming tonight?"

"Yeah."

"What time? I'll pick you up. Where do you live?"

"No need, just send me the address."

"That won't do. What if you get lost? The roads are really confusing around here. The first time I came, even GPS led me astray. I'll pick you up. It's settled."

Xie Fengshi couldn't argue with him, so he nodded.

Lu Shiyan was satisfied: "By the way, what do you want to eat tonight? I'll have someone buy the ingredients in advance."

"What do you usually like to eat?"

"I'll eat anything. Whatever you cook is fine."

Xie Fengshi laughed at his unambitious demeanor: "I'll figure something out then."

"Okay."

As they were talking, a girl with chestnut curly hair walked over with a coffee: "Lu Shiyan? You here to study today?"

Lu Shiyan looked up: "Elisa, come sit!"

The girl named Elisa smiled and sat down in the empty seat next to him: "Is this your friend? I haven't seen him before."

"Yeah, this is my friend Xie Fengshi, also from our college." Lu Shiyan introduced casually. "This is Elisa. She's studying photography, and her work is amazing."

Elisa was embarrassed by the compliment: "Don't listen to him. I'm just starting out."

Xie Fengshi nodded: "Hello."

Elisa looked at Xie Fengshi and suddenly remembered: "Are you working at a restaurant?"

Xie Fengshi was a bit surprised: "You know?"

"It's all over the group chat. I was planning to check it out this weekend, but the professor's making me do grunt work."

Lu Shiyan jumped in: "Then go next week. I'll come with you."

"You've already had it."

"But I still want to eat."

Xie Fengshi listened to their banter and smiled: "Thanks for the patronage."

"It's because your cooking is good. By the way, what classes do you usually take at school?"

Xie Fengshi recalled his schedule: "Basic sketching, color composition, and art history."

"Basic sketching? Which professor?"

"I think... Johnson?"

Elisa's expression instantly turned sympathetic: "Professor Johnson?"

Lu Shiyan couldn't help gloating: "You're screwed, Xie Fengshi. Professor Johnson is the notorious hard-ass of our college."

Xie Fengshi: ?

Elisa explained: "He's a total stickler. You have to submit ten sketches every week, not even one less. If your drawings aren't up to par, you have to start over. And he randomly checks attendance; miss three times and you're automatically failed."

Xie Fengshi: ...

Screwed.

"You haven't been to his class yet, have you?" Lu Shiyan asked.

Xie Fengshi stared with a deadpan look and stayed silent.

Lu Shiyan patted him on the shoulder: "It's okay. It's only been a month since school started; you still have a chance. Here, I'll introduce you to some friends, all from our college. Let them help you catch up."

"No need..."

"Yeah, you need it." Lu Shiyan had already taken out his phone to round up some friends.

About five minutes later, a tall guy with black-rimmed glasses walked over: "What's the sudden call for?"

"This is Xie Fengshi, my friend, also from our college." Lu Shiyan introduced. "This is Kevin. He studies oil painting, and he's already sold several of his works."

Kevin nodded to Xie Fengshi: "Hello."

Xie Fengshi also nodded: "Hello."

Lu Shiyan said: "Kevin, aren't you going for an outdoor painting trip next week? Take him along. He just got here and hasn't caught up with many classes."

Kevin didn't hesitate much: "Sure. Outdoor sketching next Tuesday. Are you coming?"

Xie Fengshi was still a bit dazed, but Lu Shiyan had already agreed for him: "Yes! He'll definitely come!"

Xie Fengshi turned to look at Lu Shiyan: "You agreed pretty quickly for me."

"Of course. You're my friend. If I don't look out for you, who will?"

Xie Fengshi couldn't help asking: "Seriously, aren't you worried I'm up to no good?"

Lu Shiyan was busy eating and looked confused: "Huh?"

"I mean, aren't you afraid I have ulterior motives? What if I'm trying to con you? What if my cooking is terrible?"

"But your cooking is really good, and you haven't scammed me. When I gave you the deposit, you said it was too much."

"What if I'm faking it all?"

Lu Shiyan answered seriously: "Then you're going way too far for a con."

Lu Shiyan stuffed the last bite of cinnamon roll into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed: "Besides, you don't judge a person by what they say, but by what they do. So yeah, I trust you."

Xie Fengshi didn't say anything more. He picked up the hot chocolate and took another sip. It was way too sweet, so he set it down fast to find something to cut the sweetness.

There was also a cinnamon roll Lu Shiyan had ordered for him on the tray. Xie Fengshi broke off a small piece and put it in his mouth.

Hmm? It actually tasted pretty good.

The outside was slightly crispy, dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Inside, it was soft and airy. When he bit into it, the buttery flavor filled his mouth perfectly. The sweetness was perfect—maybe because they cater to international students, it wasn't the kind that'd rot your teeth like locals like.

After that sugar overload from the hot chocolate, this cinnamon roll was basically a godsend.

"What do you think?" Lu Shiyan asked expectantly.

"This is delicious. Perfect."

"See? I told you they have the best cinnamon rolls here!"

As the autumn wind blew, a few yellow leaves twirled down and landed on their table.

Lu Shiyan picked up the leaf and looked at it: "Fall is great. Not too hot, not too cold."

Xie Fengshi nodded, feeling that. He was still working on the cinnamon roll, his hands coated in powdered sugar. When he heard the door, he looked up and saw a familiar face.

Sun Zhiqiang walked in with two others, staring at his phone: "I told you, it's here. Order whatever you want."

He finished talking and looked up, meeting Xie Fengshi's eyes. The atmosphere turned icy.

Sun Zhiqiang's face went from 'whatever' to 'not again' to 'crap, bad luck.'

Xie Fengshi almost laughed. What soap-opera crap is this? The campus is huge, but we still have to cross paths in this cramped café?

It was Lu Shiyan who spoke up first. The young master was still chewing a cinnamon roll as he followed Xie Fengshi's gaze: "Sun Zhiqiang?"

Sun Zhiqiang's expression changed visibly when his gaze landed on Lu Shiyan. Xie Fengshi found this change pretty interesting.

Sun Zhiqiang dropped his previous aggressive stance: "Lu Shiyan, you're here too?"

Lu Shiyan said, "I come here often. Do you two know each other?"

Lu Shiyan said it innocently, but Xie Fengshi felt like Lu Shiyan was doing it on purpose.

Sun Zhiqiang didn't rise to the bait. He frowned and asked, "How are you two together?"

"He's my friend. Oh, by the way, Xie Fengshi is coming to my place for dinner tonight."

Lu Shiyan said "dinner," not "cooking."

Xie Fengshi glanced at the young master from the corner of his eye, seeing only an innocent look, like a little bunny.

But Xie Fengshi caught the real meaning behind that sentence.

—Xie Fengshi is my friend. He's coming to my house for dinner.

"Coming to my house for dinner" and "coming to my house to cook" are completely different concepts.

The former means you are a guest of honor, a friend, an equal. The latter means you are hired help, a service provider, someone paid to do a job.

Sun Zhiqiang understood it too. His expression shifted again and again, a mix of confusion and irritation piling up in his eyes, even a hint of wariness.

Xie Fengshi went along with it, neither explaining nor speaking up.

He could actually understand how Sun Zhiqiang felt right now. This guy was probably baffled, wondering how a fake heir kicked out of the Xie family could be sitting here with the Lu family's young master.

And judging by Lu Shiyan's attitude, it wasn't just polite courtesy to a classmate. He genuinely treated him as a friend.

Then Lu Shiyan spoke again: "Sun Zhiqiang, do you want to sit down and eat with us? Their cinnamon rolls are really good."

His tone was sincere, and his smile was bright. Lu Shiyan even scooted over, leaving room for Sun Zhiqiang. Xie Fengshi almost laughed.

Either Lu Shiyan was genuinely naive, or his game was too sophisticated for Xie Fengshi to see through. But watching him eat, Xie Fengshi leaned toward the former.

Sun Zhiqiang was frozen by the unexpected invitation, standing there unsure whether to stay or leave. The two sidekicks behind him exchanged confused glances.

Sun Zhiqiang finally walked over, looking down at Xie Fengshi: "Xie Fengshi, you're pretty good."

When Xie Fengshi looked up at him, he caught Sun Zhiqiang's expression clearly. The way Sun Zhiqiang targeted him seemed like a child throwing a tantrum in his eyes: "Sun Zhiqiang, I don't understand."

"What?" Sun Zhiqiang was caught off guard.

Xie Fengshi tilted his head, genuinely puzzled: "Why are you so persistent in targeting me? What did I ever do to you?"

He really couldn't figure this out.

Was Sun Zhiqiang Xie Yun's lackey? But Xie Yun hadn't given him any benefits. Did he just dislike Xie Fengshi? But the original Xie Fengshi had no real enmity with Sun Zhiqiang.

This guy was like an NPC set on a loop—every time he saw Xie Fengshi, he had to stomp on him, then run off, only to do it again next time.

Wasn't he tired?

Any little commotion in the café could draw attention, and with Lu Shiyan there, the international students nearby were all ears. A few even sneakily pulled out their phones.

Sun Zhiqiang was silent for a long while before muttering, "It's not that I want to target you. Someone doesn't want you to do well. I'm just going along with the flow."

"Who?"

"You know who it is."

Xie Fengshi did know, but he wanted to hear Sun Zhiqiang say it out loud.

Sun Zhiqiang didn't take the bait: "If you're friends with Lu Shiyan, why didn't you mention it earlier?"

There was even a hint of grievance in his tone. It then clicked.

In the circle of international students, everyone kept a mental ledger. Who was rich, who had power, who could be offended, who couldn't—they had it all figured out.

Sun Zhiqiang dared to stomp on Xie Fengshi because the Xie family had abandoned him, leaving no one to back him up. But if Xie Fengshi had someone behind him, even if it was just the least accomplished young master of the Lu family, that changed the game.

Xie Fengshi sifted through his predecessor's memories and found that the original Xie Fengshi was well aware of these rules. He had just been too pampered by the Xie family, thinking that the people who raised him wouldn't actually abandon him.

And what happened?

"I don't need to report who I hang out with to anyone," Xie Fengshi said.

Sun Zhiqiang's face fell, but he didn't lose his temper. Xie Fengshi could read the change in his mood: Sun Zhiqiang was now in that classic state of having his weak spot exposed but refusing to admit defeat.

At this university, especially at a school of this caliber, they preached diversity and equality on the surface, but behind the scenes, social hierarchy was everything.

Sun Zhiqiang's family had money, but only so much.

In this school, he was upper-middle class, not quite reaching the top circles. So he followed Xie Yun around, needing to put someone down to prove that he was high enough on the social ladder.

Thinking this, Xie Fengshi said, "Sun Zhiqiang, do me a favor and pass along a message."

"What message?" Sun Zhiqiang asked warily.

"Just say that I'm doing well here and there's no need to worry about me."