He, Li Xiaoshu, Was Tough as Nails!

The bearded man who had been silently following behind saw Li Shu meet his eyes and immediately bolt, confirming his suspicions.

He had done so much dirty work in the shadows, yet he had never expected that one day some brat would scare him off.

At the thought, a vicious glint flashed through the bearded man's eyes. This time, he would definitely teach that reckless college student a lesson.

The blond behind him took two steps forward. "Boss, we've still got two bags of goods over there."

"Forget them. I've found the brat who messed things up for me last time. Watch me fucking kill him this time."

Hearing that, the blond snickered and beckoned for the others behind him to follow. "That kid's so fair and pretty. Why don't we drag him somewhere deserted and teach him a good lesson? Heh heh heh..."

The lewd laughter carried a chilling malice.

Even an athletic runner as skilled as Li Shu couldn't stop his legs from going weak when he spotted another four or five people following him in a decorative mirror outside a streetside café.

The cool wind sliced across Li Shu's face like thin blades. His forehead, the tip of his nose, and his lips were frighteningly cold.

He was alone now. Taking his current route to the police station would mean going through an alley. If those people caught him there... no, no, just thinking about it made him so scared he wanted to throw up.

Constantly imagining the worst made his hands and feet go numb. He stumbled over a raised paving tile, and cold sweat instantly broke out all over him. Fortunately, that also helped Li Shu calm down completely.

Don't be scared, don't be scared. There's really nothing else I can do now anyway. Just charge straight ahead!

He, Li Xiaoshu, was tough as nails. What of it?!

Steadying himself, Li Shu threw every last ounce of strength into charging forward with a howl. His mind went blank, and the words leaking out of his little mouth bypassed his brain entirely:

"Aaaah! Pei Song'an! Crown Prince Pei! Daddy Pei! Save me, save me, save me!!!"

Cold air kept pouring into his nose and mouth. He no longer knew whether he had scared himself senseless or the wind had done it. His head just kept buzzing, and he had no idea when the frantic footsteps behind him had disappeared.

In any case, by the time he reached the police station entrance, Li Shu was panting hard, his eyes painfully dry. Thinking that surveillance cameras must have caught those people somewhere along the way, he patted his chest smugly.

"When it comes to sheer ability-"

The blue sky was perfectly clear. Feeling as though he were surrounded by a red glow, Li Shu finally relaxed. Only then did he realize that the hand reaching into his pocket for his phone was shaking.

But that did nothing to stop Li Xiaoshu from feeling pleased with himself.

Hmph. How dare they chase me? Execute their entire families!

Just as he was about to call Cheng Zhen to say he was safe, a man's voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Li Shu?"

His pounding heartbeat still echoed in his ears. Hearing someone call him, Li Shu instinctively turned around and met a very familiar pair of eyes.

The young man wore a crisp, well-cut police uniform. His brow had a distinctly Eastern beauty, and when he wasn't smiling, his eyes held an upright, honest air.

He was Tan Xu, an upperclassman Li Shu had met in a rock-climbing group a while ago.

"Tan Xu, what are you doing...?"

Tan Xu hadn't expected to run into Li Shu outside the police station at this hour. "I'm interning here. You're so out of breath. Did something dangerous happen?"

Li Shu wanted to speak, but his throat was too dry. In his agitation, he sucked air into his throat and broke into an endless fit of coughing. In the end, all he could do was raise a thumb and wave it in front of Tan Xu.

Boo-hoo, what a reassuring voice. Cough, cough, cough.

Tan Xu brought Li Shu into a break room at the station, made him a cup of warm tea with a tea bag, and set it before him. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Li Shu held the cup in both hands, feeling its warmth seep into his palms, and only then did things slowly begin to feel real. But within seconds, his relaxed expression turned serious again.

"Yes."

Tan Xu straightened, his expression earnest. "Go ahead."

Li Shu said, "Where's the bathroom? I've been running so long I kind of need to pee."

Tan Xu clearly didn't quite understand the way this younger student's mind worked. After a two-second pause, he pointed behind Li Shu. "That room."

Li Shu looked so reverent he seemed ready to bow down to him. "Thank you, thank you."

The bathroom door had just closed when Tan Xu noticed the phone Li Shu had left on the table ringing. Out of politeness, he neither looked at it nor answered it. Li Shu heard it from the bathroom, though, and casually assumed it might be Cheng Zhen.

"Could you answer that for me? Tell him I'm fine and I'll be back in a bit."

Only then did Tan Xu stand and look over, and the name Brother Yannan came into view.

After a moment's hesitation, he tapped the answer button.

Chen Yannan's voice came through first. "Shu, are you at school? I wanted to..."

Tan Xu had no intention of prying into Li Shu's private affairs, so he interrupted. "Hello. Li Shu is at the police station right now. He's fine and will be heading back shortly."

Recognizing the unfamiliar voice, Chen Yannan lost his coaxing tone and asked urgently, "Li Shu's at the police station? Why isn't he answering his phone? Is he hurt?"

Tan Xu said, "Please don't worry. He isn't hurt. He's just in the bathroom."

Only then did Chen Yannan feel somewhat reassured. He collected himself before saying:

"Which police station? I'll come pick him up right now."

Tan Xu looked at the disconnected call, vaguely sensing that something wasn't quite right.

After washing his hands, Li Shu splashed some cold water on his face. The cold sweat the wind had dried on his skin felt like a thin layer of plastic film, extremely uncomfortable.

He scrubbed haphazardly at his face with a paper towel. Only after leaving the bathroom and settling fully into the chair did Li Shu truly feel that he had escaped death.

Tan Xu glanced at the pink on Li Shu's cheeks and quickly looked away. "Your friend said he's coming to pick you up."

Li Shu tipped his head back and downed the tea in his hand with gusto. "I'm touched! Once he gets here, I've decided to use his card to buy Zhaocai a new food bowl!"

Tan Xu didn't reply. He still felt that something wasn't quite right.

The lunch break wasn't particularly busy. Seeing Li Shu nodding off, Tan Xu fetched a small blanket from his workstation and draped it over him.

"I just washed this blanket and haven't used it yet. Get some sleep if you're tired."

"Thanks." Li Shu didn't stand on ceremony. He curled up in the chair and buried his face in it, his eyelids so heavy they were practically sticking together, while his brain diligently pondered why those people had disappeared halfway through chasing him.

The room was quiet enough to hear breathing clearly.

Tan Xu's gaze fell on the ankle Li Shu had exposed by bending his knees. It was very fair.

But soon, the door was suddenly pushed open, disrupting the quiet atmosphere.

The hem of Chen Yannan's trench coat swung up with his movements, his voice still tense and urgent. "Shu, are you all right?"

Hearing that, Li Shu, whose mind was almost completely overtaken by sleepiness, jerked his head up, his thin eyelids folding into several creases.

"Huh???"

Dude, what are you doing here?