The big black dog

"Tsk, tsk, one of these has Shu Yao and Cui Zhao in it. Did you forward it to Qin Ci?"

"Already sent it, but he hasn't replied."

"Good. We're in for a show."

Seeing the smile on his face, Xue Pan felt much more at ease for some reason.

"Sorry about yesterday, man. I'd had some booze, and it went to my head." Xue Pan sounded relaxed.

Hua Jian didn't even look up. "There won't be a next time. Get handsy again, and I'll chop your hands off."

"Want to grab a meal?" "Sure."

"Xiao Jian."

As the two were talking, a gentle voice sounded behind them.

Hua Jian whipped around and exclaimed in surprise, "Second Brother, what are you doing here?"

"You've been avoiding me, you brat. How else would I see you if I didn't come myself?" He looked at Xue Pan beside him. "And you are?"

Xue Pan immediately straightened and said respectfully, "Hello, Second Brother. I'm Hua Jian's friend, Xue Pan."

Xie Zhitan smiled. "Hello there."

Hua Jian rubbed his nose.

Xie Zhitan gave Xue Pan an apologetic look. "Sorry, but I need to talk to Xiao Jian about something."

Xue Pan immediately said, "No problem. Hua Jian and I can meet up another time."

The Imperial Capital was huge and full of melodrama, with the people around the main cast bearing the brunt of it.

"Xue Pan, have you lost your fucking mind? Why didn't you answer my messages?"

At the furious shout, Xie Zhitan turned to look.

Qin Ci? How did he know Xiao Jian's friend?

Qin Ci's head was about to explode. He had woken up to the photos Xue Pan had sent. What could those two have been going to the restroom to do, pressed so intimately together?

And the photos were timestamped. It was the very night he had accompanied Shu Yao to UP.

While he had been drinking upstairs, Cui Zhao had been getting it on with Shu Yao in the Absorption Room downstairs.

Motherfucker. That bastard Cui Zhao had actually dared to sneak back from the North!

That old fox Cui Chengming had dared to pretend to obey the Qin Family while defying them behind their backs!

But the one who left Qin Ci most humiliated and furious was Shu Yao!

Qin Ci reached Xue Pan in moments, only then noticing Xie Zhitan standing nearby.

His expression immediately turned odd.

He had rushed out after seeing the photos, still wearing the black silk pajamas he had slept in the night before, with a pair of slippers on his feet.

Xie Zhitan, by contrast, wore black dress pants and a crisp shirt tucked at his waist, fitting against his lean muscles. He looked refined, gentle, and handsome.

It made Qin Ci, the wealthy young master, look like a country bumpkin instead.

"What are you staring at?" Qin Ci snapped.

Xie Zhitan lowered his eyes and turned to Hua Jian. "Come have lunch with me."

Hua Jian immediately nodded. "Okay!"

Xie Zhitan and that freeloader were actually ignoring him!

"You two..."

Xue Pan immediately stopped him. "Young Master Qin, classes have just let out. If someone films you, it'll only hurt your reputation."

Qin Ci stared darkly at the retreating figures of Xie Zhitan and the freeloader, who were chatting happily. After a long moment, he said, "Take me to Shu Yao."

Meanwhile, Hua Jian felt rather disappointed.

He wouldn't get a front-row seat to those men's catfight.

What a shame.

Shu Yan's decision to post the photos through an alternate account wasn't particularly clever. With Shu Yao targeted this time, the men he had wrapped around his finger would surely rush to handle it for him.

Shu Yan would probably have a rough time for a while.

Tsk, tsk. He really was a good person, getting back at Shu Yan so gently.

Seeing the boy across from him smiling, Xie Zhitan couldn't help asking, "What's made you so happy?"

Hua Jian said sweetly, "Nothing makes me happier than you treating me to lunch, Second Brother."

Xie Zhitan chuckled. "What's the relationship between that friend of yours and Qin Ci?"

Hua Jian said innocently, "I don't know either. My friend's family isn't well-off, so he often works part-time off campus. He races cars too. Maybe that's how he got involved with Qin Ci."

Ah, Shu Yao has been kissing and hugging all those men, while Qin Ci thinks he's hot shit even though he's only ever held Shu Yao's hand.

Now that he's seen those intimate photos of Shu Yao with those men, if he can still play the Teenage Mutant Ninja Doormat, I'll salute him as a real man!

Xie Zhitan's hand paused as he poured the water.

Honestly, he really had misunderstood Hua Jian before.

He had thought the boy was introverted, but he was actually a chatterbox. He simply kept all his words bottled up inside.

Clear, fragrant tea slowly flowed into the cup.

Gentle, refined, courteous, elegant-every one of those words suits my Second Brother!

I wonder what kind of woman Second Brother likes, though? Or maybe he doesn't like women, but...

Something flickered in Xie Zhitan's eyes. Not wanting to hear any more nonsense, he asked, "I told you to come see me in my office. Why didn't you?"

Hua Jian froze, and his inner voice abruptly fell silent.

Second Brother was talking about the Class Attendance Pass from last time. Hua Jian accepted the cup of tea from Xie Zhitan and muttered, "I'm too busy, Second Brother. Besides school, I have a part-time job."

"I only teach two classes a week. You can't even spare time for two classes?" Xie Zhitan gave him a stern look. "It's not just about attending lectures. I want you to make more friends. The students in my class come from good families and have good character."

"But I don't understand those lectures at all. Second Brother, please let me off!"

"Then keep listening until you do! That's settled. I'll send you the class times later."

Qin Ci heard their conversation as he approached and sneered in a low voice, "So this is our impartial Professor Tan, getting this little freeloader a Class Attendance Pass. I thought you treated everyone equally."

Xie Zhitan didn't turn around. Instead, he topped up Hua Jian's tea.

Hua Jian could practically see steam rising from Qin Ci's head.

He immediately said, "Second Brother, it looks like Young Master Qin has something to discuss with you. Why don't we talk another time?"

Hua Jian stood and pulled out his chair. "Please sit, Young Master Qin. You two talk. I'm heading out!"

"Hua Jian!"

As though he hadn't heard, Hua Jian hurried down from the restaurant's second floor.

Qin Ci scoffed and sat across from Xie Zhitan. "That little freeloader knows how to read a room better than you."

"Qin Ci, you're still not done with what happened last time?"

"No, I'm not." Seeing Xie Zhitan's cold expression directed at him made Qin Ci angry. He asked through gritted teeth, "You blocked me on WeChat?"

"Did I? I don't remember." Xie Zhitan lowered his head to drink. "If you have time to worry about such trivial things, Young Master Qin, you'd be better off spending more of it with Shu Yao so the young man doesn't get lonely."

Qin Ci's face darkened. "Who told you? Those photos are all fake. Shu Yao isn't that kind of person."

Xie Zhitan looked steadily at him. "Since the photos are fake, you should be comforting and reassuring him right now, Young Master Qin, rather than coming here to make trouble for me. To be blunt, we were only classmates for two years. We're not close."

Qin Ci felt deeply embarrassed. That was right. He should have been comforting Shu Yao now, not following Xie Zhitan around and demanding to know why he had blocked him.

Xie Zhitan lowered his gaze, then soon stood. He picked up a card beside him and held it out to Qin Ci.

Qin Ci asked through clenched teeth, "What's this?"

"This is a Class Attendance Pass for my class. Our disagreement started because Shu Yao wanted to attend it.

"In that case, I'll make an exception and give him a chance. Take it to him, Young Master Qin. But I hope you won't come looking for trouble with me again. Goodbye."

Once again, they parted on bad terms. Qin Ci sat there like a dejected big black dog.

But after a long while, the big black dog suddenly sprang up. "Xie Zhitan, you fucking gave me the Class Attendance Pass that freeloader didn't want!"