“Hey! Give me the lunch card,” Haotian said, kicking the bench with his leg. “Do it fast. Can't you hear me?”

Yan Shou took a deep breath and looked at him. “Brother, but that is my card, you know. And with the money I earn, I don't think I will be able to afford the high-end food here,” Yan Shou said with a calm voice and a sweet smile.

Haotian huffed at him and put his hands in his pockets. “If you can't afford it, you shouldn't have taken admission here in the first place. Already having trash like you here is disrespectful to this university.”

Haotian's lackeys laughed at the comment with each other, mouthing the word "trash" at Yan Shou.

“Stop wasting my time! I already know that a new card has been issued, so pass it over to me now. I have other things to do,” Haotian argued.

Yan Shou looked at him. He wanted to curse him right to his face, but he chose to remain silent. He couldn't play all his cards just yet. Before Yan Shou could say anything further, one of the lackeys spoke up.

“Don't you have any sugar daddies like those rumors say? Why not run to him and beg him for some food?” he said, and they all started laughing. “I've been curious all this time what you actually do with him.”

“Aiya! Not him, but them. We don't know how many he has,” another one spoke up.

They both laughed together. Yan Shou's temper was wearing paper-thin at their comments, but he was trying his absolute best to remain silent.

“What happened, the cat got your tongue, huh? You forgot how to speak.”

“No, no, no, not a cat but a dog! One who wags his tail for people in bed.”

Yan Shou clenched his hands into fists at their comments. He wanted to punch them right in their disgusting faces.

“He is just like his pathetic mother. She also served people like a parasite, and after sleeping with Boss's father, she gave birth to him.”

“Hey, look at his face, it looks like he wants to fight back! Hahaha,” one of them said, pointing at Yan Shou, who was trying to control himself by clenching his hands into a deathly grip under the table.

“I told you I don't have time, didn't you hear me?” Haotian spoke up. He had been silent all this time, thoroughly enjoying the show.

“Boss, he won't give it up like this,” one of the lackeys said. He stepped forward, grabbed a tray filled with food from the side table, and was just about to throw it at Yan Shou when someone gripped his hand in mid-air.

“You should put that tray down. That girl hasn't eaten anything from it yet,” Lin XiaoXi said with a sweet smile. Even though he had a smile on his face, Yan Shou could feel the dark, dangerous energy emanating from him.

The lackey quickly put the tray back in its place. Lin XiaoXi passed a smile at him. He sat back in his seat and looked at them.

"Because you guys were brothers, that's why I thought it wouldn't be appropriate to intervene, but you know..." Lin XiaoXi paused and looked at those lackeys.

"Hurting anyone here might get reported to the university authorities. Besides, our ShouShou is just trying to eat his lunch peacefully, isn't he?" Lin XiaoXi said, tilting his head with a sugary-sweet smile.

The entire cafeteria seemed to freeze at his words. The intimate nickname 'ShouShou' left everyone completely stunned, making their minds go completely blank for a second. Haotian clenched his hand into a tight fist and gritted his teeth in frustration.

"I just want that lunch card, nothing else," Haotian said, trying his best to maintain a calm voice.

"But isn't that Shou's card? How does it suddenly become yours?" Lin XiaoXi countered casually as he poked at his food with a chopstick. "And if I remember correctly, you already have your own card with you, don't you?" 

Lin XiaoXi casually eyed the chicken nuggets on Yan Shou's tray. Sensing his gaze, Yan Shou immediately transferred them over to Lin XiaoXi's tray.

"Thank you!" Lin XiaoXi beamed, his face lighting up with a bright and cute smile. 

'Da ge! Can you please stop smiling like that? All the girls in this cafeteria look like they want to murder me with a glare that is digging holes straight through my body!' Yan Shou screamed internally.

"Hey! Why are you taking his side? Haven't you heard all those rumors circulating about him?" one of the lackeys asked, stepping forward aggressively.

"There are also rumors circulating about your boss saying that he had to hire a middle-school tutor to help him pass his basic entry exams. Is that one also true?" Lin XiaoXi asked, delivering the line with absolute, blunt innocence.

Yan Shou bit his inner cheek, trying so hard not to laugh out loud, but he was currently failing as a muffled snicker escaped his throat.

Lin XiaoXi turned to look at him, his face perfectly innocent and clueless. Yan Shou coughed a few times to cover his tracks, then quickly put some more chicken nuggets into Lin XiaoXi’s tray to distract him.

"It's nothing, just focus on eating," Yan Shou said with a reassuring smile, though inside, he was absolutely dying to laugh out loud.  

Haotian's face was currently changing colors like a distressed squid. Anyone looking at him could tell he was desperate to fight back, but he couldn't; the opponent in front of him this time was just too powerful, backed by a family with immense status. Ultimately, he chose to bite his tongue.

"Lin XiaoXi, you will definitely regret taking his side," Haotian huffed, turning on his heel and storming away with his little pack of lackeys.

Lin XiaoXi simply shrugged at their retreating figures and went right back to enjoying his lunch. Yan Shou looked over at him, shook his head, and smiled helplessly at his antics. Pulling out some tissues, he began to dry his wet hair and wipe his face.

"Do you want to borrow my jacket?" Lin XiaoXi asked, already pulling it off to offer it to him. 

Yan Shou looked at the jacket, which was simple and elegant, a bright yellow color with clean white stripes. Even without looking for a brand tag, his past-life eyes could tell that the material alone was blindingly expensive.

"No, it's fine, thanks. I'm almost dry anyway," Yan Shou said, wanting to change the subject. "Let's eat up quickly. We've already wasted enough time, and you must have classes in the afternoon." With that, he quickly started to stuff food into his mouth.

Instead of picking up his own chopsticks, Lin XiaoXi just sat there, staring intently at Yan Shou's face. Yan Shou paused mid-chew, feeling a bit self-conscious, and pulled out his phone to check on his reflection in the dark screen.

"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" he asked. 

Lin XiaoXi’s playful smirk faded, his expression softening into genuine curiosity. "I was just wondering... how can you stay so calm when people say such horrible things to you? If it were me, I would never be able to hold back. When he first approached you, I thought he was just going to talk normally. I had no idea he could be that incredibly rude. I'm sorry I didn't protect you sooner. Actually, my parents have strictly forbidden me from fighting. I've learned self-defense, but it's too bad I'm not allowed to use it."

As he spoke, Lin XiaoXi’s face dropped into a pout, looking exactly like a dejected puppy. Yan Shou couldn't help but smile warmly at the sight.

"It's alright," Yan Shou assured him, trying to ease his guilt. "It's truly unpredictable with Haotian. You never know what he’ll do from one second to the next, so it's totally fine."

Lin XiaoXi brightened right back up and nodded happily. After finishing the rest of their lunch, they cleared their trays and exited the cafeteria together.

"You know, the vibe you gave off back there when you were confronting them... it was truly the dangerous type," Yan Shou said as they walked side-by-side down the campus path. "I'm still feeling a little chilled just thinking about it."

"Oh, that?" Lin XiaoXi chuckled, with a mischievous smirk on his face. "I actually learned that from someone."

"From whom?" Yan Shou asked, his curiosity genuinely piqued. 

"I won't tell you~" Lin XiaoXi teased playfully. "But I'll take you to meet him next time. He is a seriously cunning person. He can make absolutely anyone bend to his will—and he can straighten anyone out if he wants to."

"Oh? Is that so?" Yan Shou replied, amused. The two continued walking together, easily chatting and laughing as they headed toward their next destination.

Meanwhile, across town, fabric scraps and sketches lay scattered across a chaotic luxury workshop, alongside half-finished dresses and stray pieces of jewelry. Expensive designer gowns and elegant tailored suits draped over mannequins that lined the walls, while various caps, luxury watches, and silk ties were casually laid across the counters. 

In the center of the room stood an elegantly dressed man, working on a new garment with a focused attention. He paused for a moment to glance down at his watch.

Then, completely out of the blue, he sneezed loudly twice.

Rubbing his nose, the man frowned at the empty room and muttered, "Who the hell is cursing me behind my back?”