She Was Cornered!

After much deliberation, He Zhen made the call after all.

"Sorry for the trouble, Uncle." He Zhen briefly explained the situation to Zhao Xu and asked for his help.

Zhao Xu had neither a wife nor children. He had never even married.

He was He Zhen's father's younger half brother, born to the same mother but a different father, and worked as a private investigator.

It was the sort of job the He Family would consider beneath them.

He looked downright scruffy. Calling him unkempt would have been a compliment.

The biggest jobs he took involved catching cheating spouses.

He Sheng had no fondness whatsoever for this half brother of his.

But he did not stop He Zhen from keeping in touch with him.

Zhao Xu agreed readily, but He Zhen still transferred him some money.

Zhao Xu sent it right back, with an extra eight hundred.

He Zhen did not argue with him and left him a message saying he would treat him to tea next time.

Zhao Xu did not refuse.

He Zhen ran his fingers over his phone, his feelings tangled.

He was afraid Yao Tao was telling the truth, but he was also afraid she was lying.

"Dorm leader, how long are you planning to hog the balcony?" Zhang Yuan was waiting to hang up his boxers.

"Sorry." He Zhen put his phone away. "I'm done. Go ahead."

"What's with that face? Trouble in love?" Zhang Yuan squeezed past him. He felt that He Zhen had seemed a little more human lately.

Not that he had been inhuman before. He had just always seemed a little fake.

And he had been such a jerk.

"No." Thinking back carefully, He Zhen realized that he had plenty of chances to talk to his roommates, but rarely did.

He was busy every day, helping other people while also running circles around Fu Xin.

The thought made his expression turn slightly awkward.

"So you're in love, then." After hanging up his boxers, Zhang Yuan pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. "Want one?"

"I'm not in love." He Zhen's denial came half a beat late, as though he were lagging. "I don't smoke."

"He Zhen, the good little boy." Zhang Yuan teased him. "You really do need to stay away from the wrong person!"

"You know, my last girlfriend put me through hell. She nearly drove me out of my mind." Zhang Yuan exhaled a mouthful of smoke. "Sometimes looking at you is like looking at the idiot I used to be. It's so frustrating when I can't snap you out of it."

He Zhen: ...

"Don't take it personally. I just thought you were being a real idiot." Zhang Yuan scratched his head. A second later, the balcony window was yanked open.

"Zhang Yuan!" Ning Tianci's face was thunderous. "How many hundreds of times have I told you not to smoke in the dorm?"

"Oh, come on, my dear brother-in-law! What kind of nose do you have?" Zhang Yuan instantly stubbed out his cigarette while secretly passing the rest to He Zhen.

He Zhen hesitated for a second before stuffing the cigarettes into his pocket.

As he did, he felt Yao Tao's hair clip, still in there.

"Got any more?" Pinching his nose, Ning Tianci began searching Zhang Yuan's pockets.

"No, no, I really don't!" Zhang Yuan pressed his palms together. "I swear, I just had a little craving!"

"Remember what you promised our A Fu. If you're going to quit, commit to it," Ning Tianci warned him. "I don't care how close we are! Got it?"

"I swear!" Zhang Yuan let out a breath. A second later, He Zhen stabbed him in the back.

"If you promised her, I'm not hiding these for you." He Zhen took out the remaining cigarettes and handed them to Ning Tianci.

"Hey, He Zhen, you-" Before Zhang Yuan could go after He Zhen, Ning Tianci shot him a look. He had no time to worry about He Zhen now. "Tianci, you know me. I just wanted a little taste! Someone gave them to me! I didn't buy them!"

"And you just took them?" Ning Tianci sneered. "Don't you know how to say no?"

He Zhen closed the balcony door for them. The only other person left inside the dorm was Qiao Zhuo, who was gaming with a headset on.

On Wednesday afternoon, He Zhen went to model for a drawing session as invited. He looked around but did not hear the familiar voice.

"What are you looking for?" An Qing asked curiously.

"Nothing." He Zhen put down his bag. "Do I need to pose?"

"You can read!" An Qing and her classmates all gathered around to greet him.

But the owner of that endlessly chattering voice, as noisy as a cicada, never appeared.

The students attending these portrait sessions were not necessarily in the same year, but their assignments were much the same.

They arrived one after another, with He Zhen in the center of the group.

He sat on the desk they had set up and leafed through a book, reading page after page.

Modeling for portraits did not necessarily mean holding one pose without moving. This worked too.

But few people could sit still for that long, especially good-looking ones.

After all, there were only a handful of people in the entire university they could get to sit quietly for them. Other models had to be paid, while He Zhen did it for free.

Naturally, everyone in the Arts Department liked He Zhen and avoided making things difficult for him. That was an unspoken understanding there.

Compared with He Zhen, Yao Tao was having much worse luck.

She had indeed planned to sneak into the Arts Department and had already arranged for someone to save her a spot.

These drawing assignments generally took place at fairly regular times, with one teacher supervising while the students drew quietly. Letting an extra person or two in was no big deal.

After all, the university had not gone so crazy that they could not hold a portrait session just because He Zhen was there.

Yao Tao had been walking along without any trouble when someone grabbed her bag.

She looked back and saw three utterly unremarkable faces.

None of them appeared in her orders on any platform, nor did they exist in any corner of her memory.

"Where are you rushing off to?" The one in front had no dyed hair, but his tone was pure thug.

Yao Tao was baffled. "Do we know each other?"

"Well, we do now." The lout whistled at her. "Come have some fun with us."

Yao Tao's expression slowly cooled. "No time. I'm busy."

"Busy with what? Chasing He Zhen?" His tone changed. "You don't even know who keeps He Zhen, and you still dare run after him? Have you got no shame?"

Well, well.

Yao Tao raised an eyebrow. "What, do you like He Zhen?"

The leader's face darkened. "Watch your mouth, you little brat. I only like women!"

"Oh." Yao Tao widened her eyes and looked at him innocently. "You like me."

"Are you sick in the head?" he snapped.

"Zhong." One of the guys behind him spoke quietly. "People are looking over."

"Let's find somewhere else to talk." The man called Zhong put a hand on Yao Tao's shoulder. "You'd better behave."

He was threatening her.

"Okay." Yao Tao's hands were itching.

The leader was called Zhong Shengtai. His two little buddies were Zhang Rui and Wang Qingsong. All three were second-years, just like Yao Tao, and all three were slackers from the Computer Science Department.

Before learning their names, Yao Tao's assessment of them had been: No such person on record.

Once she knew their names, she was amused.

They belonged to the series of Fu Xin's lapdogs: cannon fodder who had actually been given names, despite Fu Xin having no need for them at all.

What, had they come to get even for Fu Xin?

Looking at the three of them, Yao Tao suddenly found it rather funny. Was Fu Xin getting desperate?

"Did Fu Xin tell you to beat me up?" Yao Tao got straight to the point.

"You think you're worth it?" Zhong Shengtai looked down at Yao Tao. "Who the hell are you to compare yourself to Fu Xin?"