Shen Si

Shi Su and Fang Sheng's dorm room.

At the dining table, Cen Xia received a baffling message.

The sender's profile picture was a mirror selfie taken at a gym. His face wasn't visible, but he had a good physique. Cen Xia hadn't saved a name for him, and his username was a smiling emoji-the little yellow face that looked cheerful but was actually sarcastic.

The message was simple, too: a question mark.

Cen Xia scrolled up and found that they had never exchanged a single message. This question mark was the first since they'd added each other.

He thought for ages but couldn't remember who this person was or when he'd added him.

Out of politeness, he sent back a question mark.

The other person replied instantly with another question mark.

Cen Xia sent another one back.

After several question marks went back and forth, the other person got annoyed and asked directly: What's going on between you and Shen Si?

Seeing how rude he was, Cen Xia lost his temper and jabbed at the keyboard: Who the hell are you, buddy?

The other person seemed struck speechless by that. Half a minute passed before he replied: You didn't save my name?

Isn't that obvious? Cen Xia rolled his eyes inwardly.

Another message followed immediately, containing just a name:

Shen Zhong.

Cen Xia nearly jumped out of his seat. Fuck, how could I have forgotten him!

Ding Yiheng was sitting beside him, and Cen Xia's sudden movement knocked his chopsticks to the floor. "What are you doing?"

Cen Xia had no time to answer him. His fingers flew over the keyboard: Sorry, that wasn't me just now. What can I do for you, Brother Zhong?

Less trouble was better than more. He'd play nice and act dumb to get past this first. He'd already offended one Shen Si; he couldn't afford to add Shen Zhong to the list.

In the gymnasium, Shen Zhong was wearing a sleeveless tank top for ease of movement, exposing taut, well-defined muscles. He'd just finished exercising, and a fine sheen of sweat covered his wheat-colored skin. Holding his phone in one hand, he casually took a towel someone handed him with the other and wiped the sweat from his face and neck.

His eyes remained fixed on the messages on his phone. When he saw the other person's excuse, he let out a snort.

Shen Zhong: Has Shen Si contacted you?

Cen Xia replied: No.

Shen Zhong's hands were large enough for him to hold his phone and type smoothly with one hand. He typed and deleted the text in the input box, then knitted his brows and paused. Finally, he sent: If Shen Si contacts you, you can message me.

Cen Xia raised his brows in surprise when he saw the message.

Was Shen Zhong the warmhearted type?

Afternoon classes began.

Some people in the class were discussing the forum. It was one thing for them not to recognize Cen Xia, but Ding Yiheng was exceptionally popular in class, and yet not a single person had recognized him in the photos.

Cen Xia figured it must have been because the rain was so heavy that everyone had been soaked beyond recognition.

But how had Lin Jiandu and Shen Zhong recognized him? Their eyesight was far too good.

As for Shen Si, before class, he had already run through countless scenarios in his head, imagining what methods Shen Si would use to make trouble for him. He even felt a faint thrill of excitement. After all, he had never encountered anything like this in his life.

This time, he had to teach those little brats a proper lesson. They hadn't even grown all their hair yet, and already they were trying to act like gangsters. That wouldn't do.

He'd even thought up a slogan: Say no to school bullying, strive to be civilized students!

But unexpectedly, the entire afternoon passed without a ripple.

He didn't see Shen Si, or even a single one of Shen Si's lackeys.

After class, he and Ding Yiheng were just about to leave when a classmate called out to them-or, more precisely, to Cen Xia.

Cen Xia turned around and saw a fairly familiar face. He was indeed a classmate, though he was introverted and didn't talk much. Cen Xia had even been in the same study group as him before.

His name seemed to be... Zhang Yao.

Zhang Yao spoke very quietly and didn't look people in the eye when he talked, but that was just how he was. "The class monitor asked you to go to the equipment room and move some things. They're needed for class tomorrow."

"The class monitor?" Cen Xia looked around but didn't see him.

Zhang Yao said, "He went over first and asked me to call you."

Ding Yiheng said, "Why didn't he ask me? I'll help him move the stuff. More hands will get it done faster."

After Ding Yiheng spoke, Zhang Yao grew a little anxious. "The class monitor only asked for one person. You should hurry over..."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Ding Yiheng asked, puzzled.

Zhang Yao's eyes darted around. "I-I'm in a hurry to get something to eat. You two hurry up..."

Ding Yiheng opened his mouth to say something else, but Cen Xia stopped him. "You go back first. I'll go move the stuff."

"Okay, let me know when you're done."

The equipment room Zhang Yao had mentioned was the innermost room in the entire building.

It was the break between classes, yet the place was so quiet that not a single voice could be heard. That was obviously abnormal, but Cen Xia put his hands in his pockets and walked straight in as though he were out for a stroll.

He stopped at the equipment room door.

It was pitch-dark inside, and he couldn't hear the slightest sound of anything being moved.

The class monitor Zhang Yao had mentioned wasn't inside.

Cen Xia guessed that as soon as he pushed the door open, several people would rush out and pin him down.

The fingertips tucked into his pockets trembled slightly, a sign of excitement.

Cen Xia licked his pointed teeth and raised a hand to knock softly, letting the people inside know-he had arrived.

The equipment room door opened, and Cen Xia's surroundings instantly grew several shades darker. He stepped inside.

He had barely crossed the threshold when two hands pinned his shoulders, one from the front and one from behind. With a bang, the door was slammed shut behind him.

Dust rose around him. Cen Xia closed his eyes and muttered inwardly.

They couldn't even put a little effort into their lie. How long had it been since anyone came into this equipment room? How could they possibly need to move anything from here?

They couldn't even pick a better place. It's all dust.

Only after the dust had settled did Cen Xia open his eyes. The lights in the equipment room were off, and only the curtains had been drawn open. The sun hadn't set yet, and enough light came in for him to barely see.

Shen Si was standing against a table with his arms crossed, looking down at him.

Only then did Cen Xia notice that he'd been pinned to the floor. He looked down and saw dust on the parts of his pants that touched the ground.

He was a little unhappy. He hadn't planned to do laundry today, but now he had no choice.

He raised his head and met Shen Si's gaze.

Shen Si had delicate, beautiful features and could indeed be called a beauty. Cen Xia had always believed the word "beauty" had no gender, unlike "beautiful woman" or "handsome man," which had been marked for whom they should be used from the moment they were coined.

Shen Si's slender brows and eyes were lowered, and he looked at Cen Xia as though he were looking at a piece of garbage.

"Cen Xia?" The name came from his mouth as though he had held it on his tongue, slowly licking it before spitting it out, coated in the damp, sinister slime of a venomous snake.

"You've got some nerve."

Cen Xia didn't think much of it. He seemed to have heard many people compliment him on that.

"Not really," he said modestly.

A very soft sneer escaped Shen Si's throat, and the outer corners of his long, narrow brows rose with it, his beauty bearing down on others.

The more Cen Xia looked, the more he felt that not only did Shen Si and Shen Zhong look nothing alike, their appearances had developed in completely opposite directions.

Could having different mothers really make such a difference?

But the original book seemed to have mentioned that Shen Si's mother was a film queen. Maybe he took after her more?

She was a film queen, after all, so her looks were naturally flawless.

Looking at that face, Cen Xia's thoughts wandered.

He vaguely remembered that in the forum's beauty-ranking post, Shen Si had been fourth, with a girl in third place.

Cen Xia had seen photos of that girl. She was indeed so beautiful that words failed, as exquisite as someone who had stepped out of a game illustration.

He'd seen second, third, and fourth place. He wondered what the first-place Yan Wuping looked like, to outshine them all and sit firmly in first place.