Rescuing Someone

"You—what nonsense are you talking about?" The woman grew flustered.

"Heh, it doesn't really matter. If I can't go to Peking University, I can go to Tsinghua University instead. I'm sure they'd welcome me too. Oh, and I suggest you get your son a different dorm room. I have manic depression. If something upsets me, I might hit someone. Want to see my diagnosis?" Xue Chen remained perfectly calm, utterly unfazed by the threat. Instead, he revealed a chilling smile.

"You—" The woman had not expected Xue Chen to be so forceful. She was momentarily speechless, then flew into a rage from embarrassment. After shooting him a vicious glare, she turned and left.

She did not dare take things too far. She had only said those things to scare him. This was an era when the nation was rising vigorously, and every university student was a key talent the country intended to cultivate. Even this century-old school would not bow and scrape before her just because she had some money. Though capitalism was not as prevalent now, that did not mean it was gone.

If she truly offended him beyond repair, who knew whether he might take it out on her son? No, I need to get my son a new dorm room.

Just like that, Xue Chen swiftly eliminated a potential problem—someone who might have clashed with his dormmates' values in the future.

Rescuing Someone

Before long, night fell. Other than the son of that odd woman from the afternoon, all seven dormmates had arrived. Wu Liang, the lively one who knew how to get the atmosphere going, suggested they go eat B City roast duck.

"How can you come to B City without trying roast duck? Big brother's treating." Wu Liang hooked an arm around Kong Hui beside him and said with a grin.

"We'll eat you broke!" Lin Ran joined in the teasing. Xue Chen naturally had no objections, and Xu Le and the other two said nothing against it either.

Wu Liang waved his hand. "Brothers, move out—"

The boys found a roast duck restaurant near the school. There were quite a few customers inside, most dressed like students, probably drawn in by the restaurant's reputation.

Wu Liang looked over the menu and ordered several more dishes, then urged the server to bring the food quickly as they waited for their roast duck.

At that moment, two young-looking girls walked in and headed straight for a table piled high with food. They looked like students too, and both were beauties. Wu Liang and the others' attention was immediately drawn over. "Hey, hey, hey, beauties—"

"Hey, don't start drooling. If you stare too long, they'll think you're a pervert." Xue Chen patted Wu Liang on the shoulder.

Wu Liang turned and rolled his eyes at Xue Chen. "Keep it down, will you? I'm just appreciating beauty."

"Who told you to look so sleazy just now? You deserved it!"

Lin Ran leaned over and studied Xue Chen before asking, "Xue Chen, how are you so calm?"

"The most important thing to me right now is my studies. Love will only slow down my path to greatness." Xue Chen had originally wanted to say it would slow down his path to making money, but decided it was better not to be so blunt.

"Tch!" Everyone else at the table voiced their disdain in unison.

Lin Ran, however, looked thoughtful. "If a girl really confessed to me during university... maybe it wouldn't be impossible to consider."

"Uh... whatever makes you happy." Xue Chen looked at Lin Ran's dreamy expression and silently lit a candle for Li An. Far away in France, Li An inexplicably sneezed.

"Hey, what are you two muttering about? Those girls are coming over." Wu Liang suddenly nudged Xue Chen with his elbow. The soda cup in his hand struck the glass tabletop with a crisp, pleasant chime.

"Oh." Xue Chen looked up and saw the two girls walking toward them. On closer inspection, both were very young, around eighteen or nineteen. Their skin was delicate and fair, their faces round and adorable—not like the influencer faces of later generations. Their large eyes seemed to speak for themselves. But none of that had anything to do with him. His attention was wholly focused on the roast duck the server had just brought over.

Lin Ran followed his gaze and his eyes lit up, but then his gaze landed on the roast duck Xue Chen had wrapped. He could not help swallowing.

"Here." Feeling the burning gaze beside him, Xue Chen turned toward Lin Ran and handed him the wrapped roast duck.

"Thanks." Lin Ran took it and stuffed it straight into his mouth, then squinted his eyes. "So good— Xue Chen, you're the best. Can you wrap me another one?"

"You're welcome." Xue Chen smiled faintly and really did wrap another one for him.

Lin Ran accepted it, lowered his head, and took a bite of the roast duck. His eyes curved into crescents.

"Um... may I ask, are you students from B University?" The two girls came over and stood across from Xue Chen and Lin Ran. One of them asked.

"Yeah, we're from B University. Which school are you from?" Wu Liang took the initiative to strike up a conversation. He had caught the scent of perfume on the two girls, two completely different fragrances, though he did not know exactly what kind they were.

"We're freshmen from Normal University. Originally, all eight of us from the dorm agreed to come eat together, but... um, they were a little..." The girl with shorter hair hesitated, ultimately unable to say it aloud.

"They didn't come?" Hearing that, Wu Liang understood.

"Mhm!" The long-haired girl who had first spoken nodded repeatedly.

"You don't mean you want us to pay for the roast duck you ordered, do you?" Xu Le asked hesitantly.

"No, no, no! I mean, could you help us finish it?" The short-haired girl hurriedly waved her hands. Looking around somewhat awkwardly, she said, "We asked a lot of people just now, but they all seemed to think we were scammers."

Wu Liang laughed. "To be honest, the way you approached people really did make you look like you were looking for suckers. But we can help you out."

"Thank you. I was just thinking that if nobody helped, I'd take it back to the dorm and eat it slowly." The long-haired girl thanked them repeatedly. Then she and the short-haired girl picked up the untouched roast duck from their table and placed it on Wu Liang and the others' table. After giving them apologetic smiles, they hurried away.

After the two left, Lin Ran poked at the roast duck on the plate with his chopsticks and sighed. "Sigh, I actually forgot to ask for their contact information."