Three on the Same Stage

Of the three protagonist shous, only Lu Mian had not been specially admitted.

But Lin Jiandu's situation was different from Shi Su's.

Shi Su really did come from an ordinary family and had gotten into Kanlitel because of his excellent grades. The second part was true of Lin Jiandu too, but his family situation was more complicated.

Simply put, he was an illegitimate child.

So when Lin Jiandu took him to a private dining establishment with beautiful surroundings, he wasn't surprised.

Still, he had to put on a show of surprise.

Past the entrance was a front courtyard with artificial hills and rocks and koi swimming in a pond. Beyond a moon gate, palace lanterns hung beneath the eaves of a corridor.

A waitress led them to the door of a private room. She raised a hand and knocked twice, then pulled the door open and stepped aside to let them in.

A whole other world lay within. Just inside was a tea room with elegant, understated furnishings. Farther in was the dining area.

This time, Cen Xia didn't have to pretend to be surprised. He was genuinely floored by the lavishness.

After they sat down, a server poured them tea.

Cen Xia took a sip. He couldn't tell what kind of tea it was, but its fragrance lingered in his mouth.

Lin Jiandu didn't explain how a specially admitted student like him could afford such an upscale restaurant. He simply looked at Cen Xia with a smile.

"There's no menu here. Guests eat whatever the chef makes, but every dish tastes wonderful."

He pointed to the wooden plaque beside Cen Xia. "Is there anything you can't eat? You can write it on there."

The server stepped forward and picked up the plaque, a writing brush in hand from who knew where, ready to write down whatever he said.

Cen Xia thought for a moment. "There's nothing I can't eat."

"All right, then that's settled." Lin Jiandu nodded to the server with practiced ease, and the staff filed out.

That left the two of them alone in the private room. Cen Xia had finished his tea and was about to pour himself another cup when Lin Jiandu beat him to it. He picked up the teapot, leaned close, and lifted his hand gently, filling the air with the fragrance of tea.

"Do you like this tea, Cen Xia?"

"I can't tell good tea from bad, but it smells nice, anyway." Cen Xia wasn't the least bit embarrassed about being a "cow chewing peonies."

Lin Jiandu nodded in agreement. "Mm, I can't tell either."

He took the opportunity to sit down beside Cen Xia. They were so close that their arms brushed from time to time.

When Cen Xia made a slightly bigger movement and bumped Lin Jiandu's arm yet again, he started to speak, stopped, then started again. With so much room, why did they have to squeeze together?

This Lin Jiandu was a little too clingy. No wonder he was the protagonist shou in the book who burst into tears at the drop of a hat, asking for hugs and coaxing.

Lin Jiandu picked up some food for him. When he looked up, he met Cen Xia's hesitant gaze. He tilted his head slightly and blinked. "Cen Xia?"

Pretty and harmless.

Cen Xia sighed inwardly. Forget it. He's good-looking, so I'll let him be.

"Eat more. You're too skinny." As he spoke, he picked up a morsel of food for Lin Jiandu too.

Lin Jiandu was tall, but he had no meat on his bones. No wonder he couldn't break free when someone forced him.

"Too skinny?" Lin Jiandu looked down at the extra piece of chicken in his bowl and murmured, "Cen Xia, don't you like skinny people?"

"It's not that I don't like them. Being too skinny is unhealthy. You need to eat more and put on some weight to improve your immunity," he said, talking nonsense.

"But you only look good when you're skinny." Only then would someone like him, only then could he make someone like him.

"Says who? What's good-looking about being as skinny as a bamboo pole? A well-proportioned body, with flesh where it should be and abs-that's what looks good."

"I have flesh." As if to prove he had flesh where it should be, Lin Jiandu lifted his shirt and exposed his stomach.

"That's soft flesh. What's so good about soft flesh?" Cen Xia lifted his own shirt too, showing him the eight-pack he was so proud of.

"See? This is what you call good-looking. Why else would everyone want to work on their abs?"

Lin Jiandu stared at the taut waistline and clearly defined abs, his expression blank for a moment. It really did look good-slender and good-looking.

"So when they said looking like that made people like me, they were all fooling me..."

"That kind of aesthetic is warped. We have to promote healthy beauty standards. Pale, young, and skinny isn't something to strive for, understand?" Cen Xia spoke earnestly, his expression serious, thoroughly carried away by the conversation.

"You really should eat more. You're too skinny." Cen Xia felt his arm. "Look, there's no muscle at all. I'll take you to the gym from now on. I guarantee you'll be able to build a body like mine."

He felt it twice, then withdrew his hand, but Lin Jiandu's gaze remained glued to it. For a long while, he didn't come back to his senses.

After quite some time, he said, "Then... sorry for the trouble, Cen Xia."

Cen Xia opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly heard footsteps outside. They were hurried, as though someone were rushing to see someone, and drew closer and closer until the door to the private room was thrown open.

"Xiao Jian? Why didn't you tell me you were here?"

Cen Xia looked up and saw a man in glasses who looked like a refined scoundrel.

The man's eyes lit up the moment he saw Lin Jiandu.

He looked even more like a refined scoundrel now.

"Jinran? Long time no see." Lin Jiandu wore his usual shy little smile, but beneath the table, where no one could see, his tightly clenched fingers betrayed that he wasn't as happy as he appeared.

"And who is this?"

Only after Huo Jinran sat down beside Lin Jiandu did he notice the other person beside him. A trace of concealed hostility flashed through his eyes.

Lin Jiandu affectionately linked arms with Cen Xia. "He's my best friend at school."

Huo Jinran's hostility toward him only grew.

"Your best friend? When did our Xiao Jian make a friend? Why didn't you tell me?" His phoenix eyes lifted slightly behind his glasses, sharply raking the other man's face like a hawk fixing on its prey.

Cen Xia, under his stare: ...I only just found out we were best friends too.

Lin Jiandu's expression didn't change, but the irritation in his heart crept up and wrapped around it, tightening layer by layer until even his breathing grew a little unsteady.

"Jinran, you're so busy. How would you have time to listen to me talk about these things?" A trace of aggrieved reproach colored his voice.

Huo Jinran had no attention to spare for the insignificant Cen Xia anymore. He hurriedly coaxed Lin Jiandu in a low voice.

"I'm sorry. Once I get through this busy spell, I'll definitely spend time with you, okay?"

"Why haven't you been answering my video calls? Have you had a lot of classes..."

Cen Xia looked up at the ceiling, unwilling to listen to Huo Jinran's sickeningly sweet voice.

Lin Jiandu answered him obediently on the surface, but inwardly he was unbearably irritated. Hadn't Huo Jinran left the capital? How did he end up here? If I'd known, I wouldn't have brought Cen Xia here...

The door to the private room opened once again.

"Huo Jinran, were you in such a hurry just to see him?"

A young man with silver hair in a wolf cut leaned casually against the doorframe. Seeing Huo Jinran humbling himself to coax someone, he raised an eyebrow.

His hair was slicked back, leaving his strikingly contoured face completely unobstructed. A careless, irreverent smile played at the corners of his mouth.

Huo Jinran frowned at the sight of him. "Why did you follow me here? Where's Pei Huaiyi?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Huaiyi stepped out from behind the other man, his hands in the pockets of his black pullover jacket.

"Looking for me?"

Huo Jinran looked at his two friends with a bit of a headache. "It's one thing for Chi Zhao to tag along, but why did you come to watch the fun too?"

Chi Zhao said, "We're already here, so why don't we eat together?"

He strode over on his long legs and sat down opposite them, watching Huo Jinran and Lin Jiandu at his leisure.

Pei Huaiyi also sat down in the only empty seat.

Since there had only been two of them eating, Lin Jiandu had booked the smallest private room. Once the three newcomers arrived, the spacious room was suddenly full.

Cen Xia's eyes darted around. Oh-ho, all three laogongs are here...