The Gap Between People Is Greater Than the Gap Between People and Dogs

The air in the cafeteria went still for a moment.

All sounds of chewing, idle chatter, and the clinking of bowls and chopsticks vanished in unison.

Hundreds of eyes turned to look in their direction simultaneously.

"You think having money makes you special! Who cares about your food!"

A sharp voice tore through the silence.

Wei Xiaofeng stood a few paces away, clutching an empty bowl, his chest heaving violently.

His face had turned the color of liver, and the veins on his forehead were throbbing.

He looked like a taut string, ready to snap at any moment.

"Saying our Grade C meals are for dogs... tsk, tsk, tsk, so we commoners aren't even human, right? We deserve to be trampled under the feet of you rich people, right?"

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became; his voice turned shrill and distorted, and spittle flew from his lips.

As soon as these words were out, countless students in the cafeteria who were gnawing on Grade C buns stopped mid-bite.

A sense of restlessness permeated the air.

Some silently set down their buns, their eyes gloomy.

Others lowered their heads, clenching their fists.

The bowl of soup that had been splashed seemed to burn their own faces.

But this restlessness lasted only a few seconds.

Whispers soon spread like a rising tide.

"Isn't that Wei Xiaofeng? Why is he so fired up?"

"He's just bitter about the rich. Haven't you heard? His family used to deal in forging materials, but they went bankrupt because of Universal Heavy Industry's new machine. To scrape together his tuition, he even sold his mother's jewelry."

"Heh... who's to blame? His family is useless, living off past glory and failing to keep up with the times, and now he's blaming everyone else. Does he think he's invincible just because he got into Class One?"

"Exactly. Did Lin An do anything to provoke him? So what if he's rich? If you're poor, you deserve to die, that's just how it is."

"Besides, the one who said the Grade C meal was for dogs was that silver-haired girl, wasn't it? Why splash Lin An? Picking on the soft target?"

Wei Xiaofeng listened to the surrounding gossip, his face cycling between shades of green and white.

What was wrong with these people?

Shouldn't they be helping him?

Why was everyone speaking up for that rich kid?

His gaze remained pinned to Lin An.

He recognized that logo.

Universal Heavy Industry.

It was this very enterprise that had launched that damned Civilian Soul Guidance Forging Machine, which cost only one-third of a traditional forging bench while being five times more efficient.

The business the Wei family had built over three generations had turned into scrap metal overnight in the face of that machine.

His father closed the shop, his mother pawned her dowry, and their entire life savings were poured into the hole of their external debts.

And him?

This young master of Universal Group had the dean of students personally carry his luggage upon enrollment, lived in a fifteen-square-meter top-tier dormitory, and even had a chair installed for him in the cafeteria.

Why?

Why did his own family have to fall apart while this person could enjoy everything with such peace of mind?

"What do you people know!"

Wei Xiaofeng whipped his head around and roared at the crowd, his eyes bloodshot.

But as he scanned those whispering faces, a chill welled up in his heart.

Those looks—

They weren't sympathy, nor were they anger; they were schadenfreude.

And a hint of pity, as if looking at a fool.

He had come out early and didn't know what had happened this morning.

When trouble found Lin An this morning, the entire faculty had swarmed out, and the dean of students personally led a team to surround the boys' dormitory building.

With such an overwhelming background, who would dare to provoke him?

If he were just an ordinary second-generation heir, it might be different, but Lin An was clearly not from the same world as them.

How could one be jealous of someone who didn't even belong to their world?

Just then, two figures stood up at the same time.

Tang Wulin set down his chopsticks and walked to Lin An's side without a word.

Gu Yue stood up as well.

She did not walk to Lin An's side, but instead stood directly in front of him, shielding him behind her.

Those purple eyes had turned into cold, vertical slits at some point, the pupils narrowing into thin lines like some predatory reptile locking onto its prey.

"Did you eat shit or something?"

Gu Yue's voice was very soft, as light as an ice blade scraping against glass.

"Looking for trouble for no reason?"

Stared at by those eyes, Wei Xiaofeng's heart constricted violently.

An instinctive fear shot up his spine, making the hair on his body stand on end.

What is wrong with this girl?

She is clearly just from Class Five, so why does she have a gaze like that?

It felt like being stared at by some terrifying behemoth.

His throat tightened, and though he opened his mouth, not a single word could escape.

Just then, several students gathered behind Wei Xiaofeng, all of whom were his usual cronies.

"Xiaofeng, we've got your back!"

"So what if you have money? Do you think Class One has no one?"

"Exactly! Just an auxiliary type, what are you acting so arrogant for?"

With people backing him up, Wei Xiaofeng's confidence returned.

Lin An finally put down his chopsticks.

He turned his head, his gaze passing over Gu Yue's shoulder to land on Wei Xiaofeng.

His expression was indifferent—no anger, no disdain, not even disgust.

"It's fine, ignore him."

"But..."

Gu Yue bit her lip, clenching her fists in frustration.

"Why should we be the ones to deal with a person like this?"

Lin An rolled his eyes at her, his expression filled with speechlessness. "It's a waste of time."

He was genuinely speechless.

Gu Yue was the one who said "the bun is for the dog," yet this guy didn't splash Gu Yue, he splashed him?

Is he a lunatic?

Besides, he bought extra food to share with others, and that insulted their self-esteem?

If you don't want to eat it, you don't have to.

Lin An shook his head, sighing inwardly.

As expected of a small place.

Their awareness of the Soul Path is not high enough.

If this were in the Ming Capital, let alone mocking him to his face, those with any sense would have already knelt down and called him daddy.

A small place is just a small place; they are self-righteous, thinking they are the chosen ones just because they have a little talent, yet they don't even know how to cling to a powerful figure.

People like this won't get very far.

Ignore.

Completely, utterly ignore.

Wei Xiaofeng stood frozen in place.

His face flushed from red to purple, then from purple to black.

His bloodshot eyes glared fixedly at Lin An, his teeth grinding together with a clicking sound.

He splashed the soup, he hurled insults, and yet the other party wouldn't even give him a proper look?

It was as if he were a fly.

No.

Not even as good as a fly.

A fly could at least make someone frown.

But he, he didn't even have the qualifications to make someone frown.

"Hey!"

Wei Xiaofeng lunged forward, his voice cracking from the intensity.

"Remember my name! Wei Xiaofeng of Class One, Grade One! Kid, if you've got guts, don't leave after school! Let's have a duel!"

His finger was almost poking Lin An in the face, spittle flying everywhere.

"You wouldn't be too scared, would you? Huh? Support-types are just trash! Having money doesn't mean a damn thing—"

The words were cut short.

A hand reached out from the side, fingers splayed, and clamped precisely onto his head.

Gu Yue had appeared before him without him even noticing.

There was no expression on her exquisite face, but her violet eyes were as cold as a frozen lake.

"Try saying one more word."

Wei Xiaofeng's pupils constricted.

He hadn't even seen how she moved.

The next second—

His head was gripped by that hand and slammed violently into the floor.

Bang!

With a dull thud, the floor tiles cracked into a spiderweb pattern.

Wei Xiaofeng's forehead struck the center of the fractures, and blood began to seep along the grout lines, a blinding, vivid red.

His entire body went limp like a puppet with its strings cut, twitching once on the ground before falling still.