Making Amends

The rumors grew more and more rampant. With neither of the two people involved stepping forward to deny them, they quickly spread like wildfire among the students.

Su Yuan could clearly feel that she had become a celebrity. On her way to class, students were always casting strange looks at her. No one pointed openly, but there was no avoiding the whispers. At that moment, she finally understood the troubles celebrities had to deal with.

The entire road had become a stage for the drama. She stood beneath an enormous spotlight, like a rare animal caged in a zoo, forced to accept the gazes coming at her from every direction.

Even the classmates she had spent a year with looked at Su Yuan with more than a little something else in their eyes. Some were envious, some indifferent, and most just pursed their lips to show they weren't affected. Among them, Lu Wei, the newly appointed class Youth League secretary, told her through body language that she was rather schadenfreude.

After learning that Su Yuan had made a name for herself in this year's Student Union and become the External Relations Department's deputy minister, the joy Lu Wei had felt at beating Yang Xiaowei to become class Youth League secretary had quietly vanished. She had been wondering why Su Yuan hadn't wanted to compete for the position. So she'd thought it was beneath her!

If Lu Wei still felt victorious over becoming nothing more than a class Youth League secretary, it would only show how small-minded she was. Just then, word spread that Su Yuan and Xiao Yiyan were boyfriend and girlfriend. Lu Wei began to understand, and felt much more at ease.

What was she so pleased about?

Su Yuan had probably gotten her position as deputy minister of the External Relations Department through Xiao Yiyan. And after all this commotion, just how would she handle the fallout? Plenty of people wanted to tear her to pieces now. Lin Jun alone would give her a hard time!

Lu Wei's mood brightened at once. As she passed Su Yuan, the corners of her mouth curled into a faint smile.

As long as she's miserable, I'm happy...

Su Yuan, of course, had no idea why Lu Wei was so hostile toward her. Some people were just like that—you could never figure out why they harbored such ill will toward you. Their moods seemed to belong to a different dimension from everyone else's, their way of thinking impossible to understand.

The simplest way to deal with people like that was to ignore them.

As soon as class ended, Su Yuan hurried back to her dorm. Only here could she find a quiet haven. Compared with all those mixed and varied gazes outside, it was much safer.

Around five, she finished the homework her teacher had assigned. Su Yuan remembered she still had to tutor Tang Wen, so she rode the secondhand bicycle she had just bought to Tang Wen's home.

This was her second time there. Without Xia Linfei to guide her, Su Yuan relied on her good memory to find the house number.

Tang's father and Aunt Zhang were as welcoming as ever. Tang Wen had also grown familiar with Su Yuan, calling her "Big Sis Su" over and over until Su Yuan had no way to resist.

Two hours later, it was already eight in the evening. Seeing how late it was, the Tang family wanted her to stay the night. But Su Yuan couldn't possibly agree. She insisted on riding her bicycle back.

"If you're going home, don't ride your bike. Let Uncle Tang drive you back," Aunt Zhang said, worried. She thought it was unsafe for a girl—especially a pretty girl—to walk alone at night.

Su Yuan felt awkward. She knew the whole Tang family thought she was a girl. It was Xia Linfei's fault for not explaining things properly back then. Now that the misunderstanding had taken hold, it would be hard to explain.

"No need. I can get back on my own."

"How can we let you do that? Your Uncle Tang has a car. It'll only take a little while to drive you there and back."

"That's right, Su Yuan. Let me drive you back," Tang's father said warmly.

"Really, there's no need."

Su Yuan appreciated their kindness, but still insisted on riding her bike back.

Seeing how determined she was, the Tang family had no choice. "All right, then. Be careful on your way home."

When she got back to Dormitory Building 17, she saw Wang Ping waiting by the entrance. As soon as he spotted Su Yuan, he said, "You're finally here. I just made plans with Lin Jun. I told him you're my friend and that he shouldn't bother you anymore. The guy said he wants to take you out for a late-night snack. Don't just stand there—come on."

Without waiting for Su Yuan to agree, he grabbed her hand and pulled her outside.

"Hey, wait a second. I need to park my bike first."

"Then hurry up."

A minute or so later, Su Yuan had parked her bike. Wang Ping watched her stroll out at an unhurried pace and muttered, "Don't dawdle. We've got business to take care of."

There was a snack street outside Binhe Institute of Technology's east gate. It was around ten—not exactly early—but the street was still packed with people. Most were couples out for a late-night bite.

From far away, they could see Lin Jun's lean, wiry frame. He sat alone at a white plastic table, with several plates of barbecue laid out in front of him. Three bottles of beer had already been opened.

When he saw Su Yuan and Wang Ping arrive, the guy stood up to greet them. Without another word, he handed Su Yuan a glass of beer. "Little Brother Su, I was out of line yesterday. Let me apologize again today. From now on, we're good buddies. If you run into anything you can't handle, tell me. I'll take care of it for you!"

Lin Jun's attitude surprised Wang Ping. He had thought it would be enough if Lin Jun agreed to stop bothering Su Yuan. He hadn't expected him to be so magnanimous, even promising, "I've got your back from now on." Su Yuan was a little overwhelmed, too. At first she couldn't figure out what Lin Jun was playing at, but gradually she realized he sincerely wanted to bury the hatchet.

She was happy to do that, too. Taking the glass he offered, she smiled. "As long as we've settled things between us, that's all that matters."

"Come on, bottoms up!" Lin Jun laughed heartily.

Su Yuan was happy to oblige, downing the entire glass in one go.

Lin Jun praised her, while Wang Ping worried that her slender frame couldn't hold much liquor. "Don't just drink. Have something to eat and line your stomach."

Su Yuan sat down. The conflict between her and Lin Jun had come out of nowhere, but it was better to make peace than hold a grudge. Besides, Lin Jun's background was far beyond what an ordinary person like Su Yuan could afford to antagonize.

He was the deputy director of the City Public Security Bureau. In another place, that position might amount to no more than a deputy department-level official, depending on which divisions he oversaw. If he was in charge of less influential departments, he might as well be waiting out his career.

But Binhe City's deputy director of public security was no small figure. Binhe was a sub-provincial city, and its Public Security Bureau was a deputy department-level agency. The director was generally also a member of the Standing Committee and held a full department-level rank, so the more prominent deputy directors had often made it to deputy department-level themselves.

Lin Jun's father was the bureau's number-one deputy director, in charge of its day-to-day work. He held a deputy department-level rank and also served as a deputy director of the Donghai Provincial Public Security Department. Though he ranked near the bottom in the provincial department, the fact that he held both positions was extraordinary in itself.

Su Yuan didn't want to make an enemy of Lin Jun, a second-generation official with such a solid background, for no reason. Being able to sit and drink with him now was already a very good outcome.

The three of them drank and ate barbecue, and before long it was half past eleven. Lin Jun kept toasting Su Yuan, acting as if she really were his little brother. He thumped his chest and promised that as long as he was around, nobody would bully her!

It would be a lie to say Su Yuan wasn't touched. As far as she was concerned, Lin Jun was the biggest source of trouble. If he stopped coming after her, she had nothing to fear from anyone else. It was best if Lin Jun had her back; that would save her a lot of hassle.

They clinked glasses one last time. Lin Jun wore a faint smile and drained his drink in one gulp, feeling absolutely delighted.

Everyone was saying Xiao Yiyan's boyfriend was Su Yuan, but after learning Su Yuan's "secret," he knew she wasn't a threat to him. He was the only one who knew this secret for now, so there was no way he would let such a good opportunity slip by.

As the saying went, "Let the storm come harder!"

As Su Yuan was his shield, he naturally ought to protect her. After all, in a way, she was helping him cover his tracks.

It was just a pity that such a cute boy turned out to be "gay." Watching Su Yuan tilt her head back slightly as she drank, a trickle of alcohol sliding down her slender neck, Lin Jun couldn't help sighing to himself.

It was getting late, and the barbecue stall was about to close. In the end, Lin Jun insisted on paying the bill. The three of them had spent a little over two hundred yuan and drunk six bottles of beer.

By the end, Su Yuan felt like she would throw up if she took one more bite of meat. She really shouldn't have eaten so much.

After saying goodbye to Lin Jun, Su Yuan staggered along with Wang Ping toward the dorm.

"Look at you. If you can't hold your liquor, don't drink so much. You don't have to humor Lin Jun. Give that guy an inch and he'll take a mile." Wang Ping steadied Su Yuan as she stumbled, frowning.

She waved a hand. "I-I'm fine. My head's just a little fuzzy. I can still walk." Even as she said it, her foot landed with a soft, wobbly feeling. She had drunk a bottle and a half this time, which was unusually good for her.

Wang Ping shook his head, gaining a whole new appreciation for just how tiny her tolerance was. He had no choice but to help her swipe her student card and unlock the dorm entrance.

"By the way, Wang Ping, how did you get so close to Lin Jun? One of you is a poor kid from the countryside, while the other is a second-generation official whose father's still on the rise. From the way things look, you've even got the upper hand over Lin Jun. I'm really curious."

"You just don't get it. Lin Jun may come from a powerful family, but if you want to make him listen, you need your fists! If he won't listen, beat him until he does!"

Su Yuan was a little speechless. So Wang Ping had beaten Lin Jun before, and apparently beaten him into submission. If Su Yuan had been in Wang Ping's place, she wasn't sure she could have won—or even dared to lay a hand on him. Luckily, Wang Ping had run into Lin Jun. If he'd met some other second-generation official with a short temper who couldn't stand the slightest insult, Wang Ping might already be sitting in a detention center.

"I can see you're having trouble walking. Want me to help you to your room?"

"Thanks." Su Yuan knew her limits. Without Wang Ping holding her up, she'd probably fall on the stairs in her current state.

"Hey, Wang Ping, let me lean on your shoulder. That's enough... No, you don't have to—"