Life is a play, and acting is everything

Bai Chen felt that he had recaptured a little of his old university atmosphere in the pottery room.

The girl's pottery-making technique had actually been quite good. There was nothing seriously wrong with it, just a small issue with her technique.

She had never noticed that particular step, which was why she had been unable to get past that hurdle.

Bai Chen spotted the problem and pointed it out to her.

First, he asked her to demonstrate that step again for him.

The girl sat down, put a fresh lump of clay on the wheel, and began shaping it.

As soon as she finished that step, Bai Chen told her to stop, raise her hands slightly, and apply a little less pressure.

Although puzzled, the girl followed each of Bai Chen's instructions to correct her technique.

Sure enough, with Bai Chen's adjustments, she finally got past the hurdle that had kept stopping her.

She was thrilled.

Bai Chen told her, "As long as you fix this one little mistake, every piece you make from now on will get better and better."

Besides, Bai Chen felt that she had handled one detail exceptionally well. She had noticed something even he had overlooked before. She was very meticulous.

It seemed he would have to refine his own method next time, too.

After the club activity, Xia Wangqiu latched onto Bai Chen again, and he could not shake him off.

After hearing what the older female student had said in the classroom earlier that day, Bai Chen had a pretty good idea of what she meant.

She meant that Xia Wangqiu had just broken up with someone and was already looking for his next boyfriend.

And his next target was Bai Chen.

He had no control over how many boyfriends Xia Wangqiu went through in a month.

He despised people who treated others' feelings like toys, but that was none of his business.

Now, however, Xia Wangqiu had latched onto him like a stubborn plaster, and that was getting in his way.

The smile had already vanished from his lips.

Beside him, Xia Wangqiu kept chattering away.

Bai Chen only wanted to get to the cafeteria, finish his meal quickly, and return to his dorm.

Suddenly, a young man rushed between them.

He was cute, the sort of boy who looked skinny at first glance.

He stared unblinkingly at Bai Chen.

Biting his lip, his eyes glistening, he pointed a finger at Bai Chen.

"What does he have that I don't? Is he better-looking than me? Did he seduce you?!" the boy demanded, sniffling.

Wonderful. The ex has shown up, Bai Chen thought.

This has nothing to do with me. I never seduced Xia Wangqiu. Besides, doesn't he think "seduce" is a strange word to use?

He has everything I have. Why would I need to seduce him?

Now that he's here, this should be easy. I can finally shake off this clinger.

Bai Chen looked expressionlessly at the cute boy in front of him.

"I have nothing to do with him," he explained. "Leave me out of whatever's going on between you two."

With that, Bai Chen prepared to slip away.

But the next instant, Xia Wangqiu grabbed him and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Yes, that's right. He's better-looking than you, and he has a better personality. I want to pursue him," Xia Wangqiu told the boy opposite them.

Bai Chen could not stand a stranger getting this close to him. It made him feel a little sick, and he struggled hard to break free.

But Xia Wangqiu only tightened his grip.

Bai Chen: "..."

He seized Xia Wangqiu's hand and pulled it over his back. The next instant, Bai Chen sent him flying with a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree shoulder throw.

The whole movement was seamless.

"Aah-!" Xia Wangqiu's face twisted in pain.

Bai Chen felt immensely satisfied. Expressionlessly, he said, "Don't cross the line again, or next time it won't stop at a shoulder throw."

The boy in front of them was stunned. He had thought Xia Wangqiu had found someone gentle.

That had been his first impression of Bai Chen, too. Fair-skinned and delicate, quiet and refined, he looked easy to bully.

Who could have known he would launch straight into such a violent shoulder throw a moment later?

The boy had originally intended to step forward and argue with him, but now he was too frightened to move.

Xia Wangqiu was still on the ground, rubbing his lower back. By the time he recovered, Bai Chen had vanished.

Never mind the boy-even Xia Wangqiu himself had not known that the younger student he had taken a fancy to was so violent.

He had assumed Bai Chen was a meek little junior. Only today had he learned that Bai Chen was nothing like he had imagined.

He found him increasingly interesting.

The boy hurried over to help Xia Wangqiu up and comforted him. "Xia, look at his awful temper. You don't even like that type. Let's get back together."

The boy pleaded humbly, gazing at the young man with shimmering eyes.

Xia Wangqiu rubbed his forehead helplessly. "Xiao Shu, you know our personalities don't match at all. Find someone else."

With that, he left.

Although there had been a little trouble earlier, it had not affected Bai Chen's mood in the slightest.

He was now seated, enjoying his lunch.

After that shoulder throw, Bai Chen's arms were aching a little.

Perhaps this body was too frail.

Back when he was in elementary school, his parents had seen other children signing up for extracurricular classes and wanted to enroll Bai Chen in one, too.

Bai Chen, who was still in elementary school at the time, had very childish ideas. He wanted to be as powerful as Spider-Man.

His parents had both laughed and told him that only taekwondo could make his dream come true.

And so, without quite knowing what he was getting into, Bai Chen had signed up for taekwondo.

He kept studying it all the way through high school.

But the original owner's body was not in good shape. Just a few movements were enough to hurt it.

He thought he would definitely have to start exercising sometime.

Before he had even finished his meal, however, three people walked up to him.

Neither their expressions nor their demeanor looked friendly.

Shi Long was the first to speak. He picked up Bai Chen's meal tray and hurled it hard onto the floor.

Bai Chen: "..."

"Do rich people all like smashing other people's food?" Bai Chen was utterly speechless.

He had barely eaten a few bites before his meal was thrown to the floor, and it was Suan Cai Yu he had queued ages to get, too.

Deeply annoyed, he curled his hand into a loose fist. He really wanted to swing a punch at him.

Sure enough, the three of them had come to make trouble. He had known he would not escape it.

There was so much bullshit to deal with today.

He looked at the three of them, pretending to be at a loss.

"Young Master Shi, wh-what's wrong?" he asked timidly.

To an outsider, he would have looked like a little white rabbit.

Life is a play, and acting is everything.

Shi Long hauled Bai Chen out of his chair with a forceful tug.

He glared viciously at Bai Chen, spittle flying. "You've got the nerve to ask? Were you behind what happened to my family's company? Did you say something to Lin Jingchen?! Huh?"