Chapter 8: Flirting

Chapter 8: Teasing

Du Yang fled back to the dormitory in a panic. Once inside, he leaned against the door, panting heavily.

Lin Haiyin put down her book and hurried over. Seeing Du Yang’s pale face, she grew worried.

“Du Yang, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

As she spoke, she took his backpack and tried to help him to bed, but Du Yang refused, shaking his head and turning into the bathroom.

Du Yang rinsed his mouth and splashed cold water on his face. Gripping the counter, he stared at his pallid reflection in the mirror, cursing himself for being too weak.

He had to be braver. In this life, he would get back at them.

“I’m looking for Du Yang. Is he here?” He Lin’s voice came from outside the bathroom door.

Lin Haiyin hesitated, glancing at the closed bathroom door, then said resolutely, “Du Yang isn’t here.”

She recognized He Lin—a well-known rich kid at A University, with a bad temper and handsome looks. Before, he had been the campus heartthrob, but Du Yang had taken that title when he arrived at A University.

Was this guy here to settle a score with Du Yang?

Du Yang was so skinny—how could he possibly take on a tall, sturdy guy like He Lin?

With that, Lin Haiyin repeated with determination, “Du Yang isn’t here. You should leave.”

She made a move to close the door, but He Lin raised his arm to block it, frowning. “I saw Du Yang enter the dorm building. Hasn’t he come back yet?”

Could he have fainted on the way? He Lin thought to himself, his gaze sweeping the room. He unexpectedly spotted Du Yang’s shabby bag; the frayed strap had left a strong impression on him when he helped Du Yang earlier.

He Lin felt a surge of irritation. He had come to check on Du Yang out of concern, only to find him hiding.

“Du Yang, I know you’re back…”

Before he could finish, the bathroom door swung open, and he thrust a black toilet plunger right in front of He Lin’s face, almost touching his lips.

He Lin stepped back in disgust, glaring at Du Yang. “Du Yang, are you out of your—”

The word “mind” died in his throat as he stepped back and saw Du Yang’s face—pale, with red-rimmed eyes. The look in his eyes held disgust, hatred, and even a trace of fear?

He looked so vulnerable.

He Lin’s heart clenched. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then stopped.

Lin Haiyin glared at him. “What do you want? This is a school—don’t you dare try anything!”

“I just wanted to see if you were okay,” He Lin said, completely ignoring Lin Haiyin, his eyes fixed on Du Yang with concern.

“Get lost!” Du Yang’s voice dripped with hatred, his eyes full of hostility.

“If you’re fine, I’ll just… go.” He Lin took two steps back, then turned and left in annoyance.

Everyone treated him politely; Du Yang was the first to openly hate him.

Could it be that Du Yang had seen him with Lu Yu earlier and gotten jealous?

Other than that, He Lin couldn’t think of any reason Du Yang would hate him.

That must be it!

Convinced of this, He Lin’s frustration and defeat suddenly turned into a faint, secret joy.

The most handsome student at A University had a crush on him.

He had always been so popular—even Lu Yu, that cute and soft guy, was close to him. There was no way Du Yang would hate him.

He Lin couldn’t suppress his smile as he walked down the stairs with light steps.

Lin Haiyin closed the dorm door and looked at Du Yang with concern, taking the toilet plunger from his hand.

“Du Yang, how did you end up tangling with that rich kid He Lin?”

“It’s nothing,” Du Yang, exhausted, leaned against the wall by the bathroom door. “Thanks for helping me earlier.”

“We’re friends. No need to thank me.” Lin Haiyin helped him sit on the bed. “When are you going home? You should leave early so He Lin won’t come looking for trouble again. I’ll be heading home tomorrow, and I’ll be worried about you being on your own.”

Lin Haiyin kept fussing over Du Yang and poured him a cup of hot water.

After a few sips of hot water, Du Yang felt much better and his face regained some color.

“I’ll move out of the dorm in a couple of days,” Du Yang said. “I found a part-time job and I start tomorrow.”

“That’s great!” Lin Haiyin beamed. She knew a bit about Du Yang’s family situation, but unfortunately, she didn’t have much extra money, or she would have helped him out.

They chatted for a bit, then Du Yang washed up and went to bed. Soon after, Lin Haiyin turned off the lights and went to bed.

Curled up in bed in the dark dorm, Du Yang stared with open eyes.

If he hadn’t gone out to see Fu Yan tonight, he wouldn’t have run into Lu Yu and He Lin on the way back.

If he had known about their relationship in his past life, he wouldn’t have been deceived so cruelly by He Lin.

Du Yang’s mind raced with many thoughts until late into the night, and it wasn’t until two AM that exhaustion finally took over and he slept for four hours.

At six sharp, the alarm rang. Du Yang reluctantly got out of bed, groggy, and stumbled to the bathroom to wash up.

Winter in Haicheng was freezing. Du Yang pulled his collar tight and braved the wind to get to the subway.

By the time he reached the top-floor office of Fu Corporation, it was still just before seven.

Du Yang carefully cleaned and wiped every surface in Fu Yan’s office, and mopped the floors of the break room and office area.

He finished cleaning at 7:40, grabbed his employee card, and went downstairs for breakfast.

The employee benefits at Fu Corporation were excellent—free meals and afternoon tea—just swipe his employee card, no charge. This was a lifesaver for Du Yang.

After breakfast, Du Yang stepped into the elevator with a half-empty carton of milk.

He cradled the milk protectively, unwilling to finish it all in one go.

In the Du Debao household, he had never had milk. In his past life, he didn’t start spending money on milk until the second semester of his sophomore year, when his live streaming finally took off.

The milk was slightly sweet and fragrant—the one small comfort in his countless moments of sorrow and helplessness.

Every time I drink milk, I feel better and think I can keep going.

Until He Lin destroyed everything he had.

Ding, the elevator doors opened. Du Yang lowered his head and stepped out.

He was immersed in his own world, not looking where he was going at all, and walked right into someone.

His nose stung. Du Yang instinctively looked up with a hurt expression, and met a pair of calm, ink-black eyes. Although they were very beautiful, Du Yang jolted, immediately perked up, and put on a smile.

"Chairman Fu, good morning! You look so handsome today! You look good enough to eat!"

Fu Yan had just exited his private elevator and was walking toward his office. He caught a glimpse of another elevator's doors opening, and this kid rushed out with his head down.

Before he had time to warn him, the kid bumped into him.

A moment ago, he was still looking wronged, about to complain.

Realizing it was him, he immediately switched to a smile.

Although the bump hurt, with tears welling up and a misty gaze, he was still smiling so happily.

How dare he flirt with him?

Who exactly is the one good enough to eat?

Fu Yan cast a cool glance and spoke in a flat voice, "You bumped into me. Apologize."

Although his tone was cold, Du Yang could tell he wasn't angry. So the smile in his eyes deepened, but his voice became serious.

"Chairman Fu, I'm sorry. I was walking blind and wasn't paying attention. I bumped into you and hurt you."

Du Yang gripped the glass milk bottle tightly and asked softly, "Do you want me to rub it better?"

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