Yu: Where are you?

Seeing the message, Yan Shou first checked the time. Yes, it was still very early in the morning. He looked back at the screen and quickly started typing.

Shou: In the elevator of my dormitory.

Yu: Ok! Then come straight to the parking lot.

Yan Shou was a little puzzled by the last instruction, but when the elevator doors slid open on the ground floor, he quickly stepped out and made his way straight toward the parking lot. Arriving there, he began looking around, dialing Shen Yu's number to find him. Suddenly, a striking sight caught his attention.

Parked right there in the lot was a luxurious car. The car was a sleek, low-profile hypercar painted in a striking shade of deep midnight violet, a color that was looking almost black in the shade but shimmers with an expensive, iridescent purple glow under the sunlight. Instead of a standard manufacturer logo, the hood featured a golden custom designer emblem: a beautifully sculpted, silver-plated water lily, its petals sharp, metallic, and holding a single, flawless amethyst at its core.

Yan Shou was still standing in a daze, admiring the sleek vehicle, when the car suddenly let out a loud honk.

"Are you just going to stand there and watch, or are you actually going to get inside?"

Yan Shou was a little stunned as he realized the call had already been connected and Shen Yu was speaking directly through his phone.

Hanging up the phone, Yan Shou walked straight over to the car. But when he opened the back door, he was met with the hilarious sight of a sleeping puppy—Lin XiaoXi, was snoring peacefully in the backseat. Yan Shou smiled and then gently closed the back door, and took the passenger seat , up in the front instead.

"What are you doing here this early in the morning?" Yan Shou asked as he fastened his seatbelt. "And I'm even more shocked to see him here. He never wakes up early or gets to class on time."

"Oh, I didn't wake him up. I just dragged him here," Shen Yu said with a smirk. He started the engine and smoothly steered the luxury car out of the parking lot, heading straight toward the main road. 

"So now tell me the real reason behind this," Yan Shou said. "Why did both of you show up here? There must be a particular reason behind it."

Shen Yu smiled, keeping his eyes on the road ahead.

"Okay, I admit defeat. The real reason behind this is that Lin XiaoXi's mom called me yesterday. She said he's been practicing late these past few days, and even though she keeps telling him to go to sleep early, he never listens. In the end, she came up with a solution: if he wakes up early, he'll eventually have to go to sleep early. That’s why she called me and told me to pick him up."

Shen Yu adjusted his grip on the steering wheel and took a turn. "I usually wake up early anyway so I can finish my work with a fresh mind, so I saw no problem with it. While I was picking him up, I remembered that you were heading to the university at this time too, so I came over to get you."

"Oh, I see," Yan Shou nodded in understanding. He glanced over his shoulder at the back seat and smiled helplessly. "But looking at him, he's still sound asleep."

They both glanced back at Lin XiaoXi, who was sleeping peacefully in the backseat.

Shen Yu sighed, looking back at the road. "Let him be. We can't stop him from sleeping. If he doesn't sleep here, I bet he'll just end up sleeping in the classroom anyway. So let him sleep for now. Once he gets used to the early schedule, he'll eventually develop the habit of going to bed on time."

After a few minutes' journey, the car eventually stopped in the university parking lot. Together, they woke up Lin XiaoXi, who was still in a complete daze, and headed straight toward the cafeteria to fill their stomachs and wake up XiaoXi's sleeping senses.

As they walked, everyone around them kept stealing glances, continuously whispering and murmuring to one another. For Yan Shou, being stared at was nothing new, but the vibes coming from the crowd this time felt a little different. It felt like he wasn't the main subject of the gossip today. He looked over at Shen Yu, who was completely unbothered, walking peacefully as if he owned the place. Then he glanced at Lin XiaoXi, whose steps were shaky and dizzy, showing exactly how desperately he still wanted to sleep.

They made their way inside the cafeteria and bought their breakfast. Yan Shou took his usual: two sandwiches, eggs, and a carton of milk. Lin XiaoXi ordered a strong coffee and two sandwiches for himself, while Shen Yu ordered a light fruit salad and an apple juice.

After finishing their breakfast, they all exited the cafeteria, sipping on their drinks. After saying a quick goodbye Shen Yu then took a turn, heading off toward his own building, while Yan Shou and Lin XiaoXi walked together toward theirs. 

Yan Shou and Lin XiaoXi had two classes back-to-back that morning, which made them particularly late for lunch. By the time their lectures finally ended, both of them were absolutely starving, so they made a beeline straight for the cafeteria. On the way, they messaged Shen Yu to join them, since he had also been busy attending his own classes and staying behind to discuss a few topics with his professors.

Shortly after Yan Shou and Lin XiaoXi settled down at an empty table, Shen Yu joined them. The three of them were just about to start eating when, suddenly, someone slammed a hand hard onto their table. Lin XiaoXi and Yan Shou both flinched. Looking up, they found Gao Peng standing over them, glaring fiercely.

Yan Shou studied the bully from head to toe, noticing a shocking transformation. This boy had changed completely. His once-proud hair had been brutally buzzed into a short crop, and there was a thick plaster cast wrapped around his right hand. Following the direction of Gao Peng's furious eyesight, Yan Shou saw that his gaze was locked dead onto Shen Yu, clearly trying to dig a hole straight through the designer with it.

"You! What did you do? Everything that has happened to me is your fault. Pay me back!" Gao Peng shouted loudly at Shen Yu.

But Shen Yu remained perfectly calm, taking a slow breath as he set down his chopsticks. "Excuse me, but I don't even know what you are actually talking about right now."

"Ha! Hahaha!" Gao Peng burst out, laughing like a complete maniac. He leaned in closer, his voice dropping into a venomous hiss. "Look carefully, you bastard, at exactly what you have done to me."

Yan Shou passed a quick look across the table at Lin XiaoXi, who just shrugged cluelessly in response. They both then turned their heads back toward Shen Yu, who slowly, deliberately shook his head with an unbothered sigh.

"You have to understand that when I said I don't know what you're talking about, I actually don't know exactly what it is—until you speak with your mouth," Shen Yu said, calmly crossing his arms over his chest.

Gao Peng glared at him, his chest heaving as he spat out the words, "Yesterday when I got out of the cafeteria, everything was absolutely normal. Nothing happened after that. I took all my classes, and then I was on my way home in my car, but suddenly I found a strange vehicle parked right in front of me, blocking the path, so I had to stop. I honked so many times, but no one came out. In the end, I had to step out myself just to get a closer look!

The moment I tapped on the glass of that car, someone threw a black sack over my head and started beating me ruthlessly! Particularly my right hand—they didn't stop until it was fully fractured! Then they put a tight blindfold over my eyes, and I heard someone start cutting my hair with a trimmer. I was struggling, but those hands were strong as hell. They completely took advantage of me, and I couldn't do anything!"

"But in this whole story, it still doesn't prove that it was me who harmed you in the first place," Shen Yu said, his voice entirely smooth and level.

"It was you! It can only be you!" Gao Peng roared. "Because I gripped your wrist with my right hand, that's exactly why my right hand was fractured! You targeted it on purpose! You are the one who did all of this!" 

Shen Yu remained perfectly calm. He looked over at Gao Peng, then casually slid a small card across the table toward him.

"This is the card of the receptionist who attended to Lei and Tie while they were out of town. As for me, I was busy arranging my showroom, so there is absolutely no chance I was there in the first place. If you want, you can call the police. I have no objection.

Now that I have answered your questions, you can leave. Otherwise, this time, I will be the one calling the police for harassment."

Gao Peng gritted his teeth hard, snatched the card off the table, and stormed out of the cafeteria in a blind rage.

Lin XiaoXi and Yan Shou watched him go, then looked back at Shen Yu, who had already resumed eating his lunch peacefully. Suddenly, as if struck by lightning, Lin XiaoXi remembered something and quickly took out his phone.

"My goddess, I missed out so much!”