Chapter 15: Testifying for Him

As the group approached, Lin Hexi noticed that most of them were members of the basketball team.

You Chong was also there, wearing a basketball jersey and carrying a basketball under his arm. He seemed indifferent to their situation, his expression cold as he walked past Zhou Xuan and sat down where Lin Hexi had previously been sitting. He lifted one leg, placed the basketball under his shoe, twisted open a bottle of mineral water, and tilted his head back to drink.

A boy with a buzz cut and tan skin stepped forward and asked aggressively, “Which one of you is Lin Hexi?”

Only then did Lin Hexi take his eyes off You Chong and said, “I’m Lin Hexi, what’s the matter?”

“It’s you?” The boy’s gaze, filled with anger, swept over them. Without another word, he stepped forward and reached out to grab Lin Hexi by the collar.

Lin Hexi swiftly dodged to the side, still smiling, though an air of detachment and coldness began to emanate from him. “If you have something to say, say it properly. What does grabbing someone prove?”

The buzz-cut boy stared intently at him, “You had no reason when you were stealing my girl, and now you expect me to be reasonable with you?”

Lin Hexi glanced at him with an inexplicable expression, “Do we know each other?”

The other boy sneered, “Of course, you don’t know me, but you know my girlfriend.”

Lin Hexi showed a troubled and headache-inducing expression, repeatedly recalling the girls he had recently interacted with, but could only come up with Fang Qingning. Almost thinking that Fang Qingning had deliberately deceived and approached him, Lin Hexi patiently asked again, “Who is your girlfriend?”

Zhou Xuan, who had been coldly observing the confrontation between Lin Hexi and the buzz-cut boy, snickered, “It looks like you’ve taken quite a few girls from their boyfriends.”

Lin Hexi ignored his comment.

The buzz-cut boy angrily questioned, “Do you dare say you didn’t attend the mixer last week? That you didn’t go to the birthday party last night? Do you dare say you didn’t deliberately flirt with my girlfriend both times you saw her?”

Focusing on the last question, Lin Hexi sincerely smiled, “Since she has a boyfriend, why did she attend the mixer? Moreover,” he paused slightly, his tone tinged with sympathy, “haven’t you heard the saying? It takes two to tango in such matters.”

Perhaps his sore spot was hit, and the buzz-cut boy’s face turned livid as he clenched his fist, ready to punch Lin Hexi in the face.

Lin Hexi, who was of equal height, raised his hand to block the fist mid-air. “If you really want to fight, at least let me finish what I have to say first,” he said, his expression darkening as he lifted his gaze. “You keep insisting that I was at the birthday party last night and the mixer last week. Did you see me with your own eyes, or hear my voice with your own ears?”

Someone couldn’t help but speak up, “Xu Yuanhua’s best friend mentioned before last Thursday that there was a mixer with you all on Friday. We all heard it ourselves. Last night, you left quickly, so we didn’t see you, but we did see these guys who were with you.”

Lin Hexi thought about it and realized it might be true. Last Friday, Ning Nan had asked him to attend the mixer, but he declined because he had to return to the Lin family. As for last night, that was even more absurd. He glanced back at Ning Nan’s followers behind him and then turned to the speaker. “You think these guys are my followers?”

The other person looked at him with disdain, “Who in the whole school doesn’t know that these guys are your and Ning Nan’s followers?”

Lin Hexi’s expression grew colder.

He had figured out the whole situation. Ning Nan had taken some people to a mixer with girls from the neighboring department and had stolen the girlfriend of this buzz-cut boy. It turned out that this boy was on good terms with Zhou Xuan and his group. Ning Nan couldn’t afford to offend someone as influential as Zhou Xuan, so to avoid trouble, he simply stayed away from school. The girlfriend probably only vaguely mentioned breaking up without specifying who she was leaving him for.

Lin Hexi said, “Since they are followers of both Ning Nan and me, why couldn’t Ning Nan be the one who stole your girl?”

The person opposite replied, “Do you think we’re stupid? We already checked; Ning Nan was in class at school last night.”

Lin Hexi nodded, not arguing further. Instead, he turned again to look at the people behind him, his tone devoid of much emotion: “You guys tell them, was I present at the mixer on Friday or the birthday party last night?”

Compared to Lin Hexi, these people were more afraid of offending Ning Nan, so they chose to remain silent.

Lin Hexi wasn’t surprised by their reaction. He turned back and said, “I can tell you, Ning Nan asked me to go to the mixer on Friday, but I didn’t go. Last night, I was also at school, taking a class for Ning Nan.”

Zhou Xuan’s face was full of mockery. “You can say whatever you want, but just because you say it doesn’t make it true. Empty words won’t solve anything.”

Lin Hexi remained unfazed. “I have evidence.”

He turned and looked directly at You Chong, who had been indifferent and stayed out of the situation under the basketball hoop.

You Chong sat there with legs crossed, and looked down at his phone casually. Sensing Lin Hexi’s gaze, he lifted his eyes coldly to meet it.

Lin Hexi said, “He can testify that I didn’t attend the mixer on Friday.”

Everyone present turned their attention to You Chong.

You Chong’s expression was distant, and his gaze toward Lin Hexi was as if he were looking at a stranger, with no intention of speaking up to explain for him.

Lin Hexi still looked at him with a burning gaze, with a glimmer of hope slowly rising in his eyes.

Touched by such a look, You Chong frowned in annoyance, but he remained silent.

Lin Hexi’s gaze wavered, and the hopeful light in his eyes gradually dimmed.

He slowly turned back, lowered his eyes to search for Ning Nan’s phone number in his mobile. As his fingers slid across the screen, Lin Hexi was lost in thought. Obviously, calling Ning Nan was the simplest and most straightforward solution. Although Ning Nan was arrogant and overbearing, he wasn’t very smart. With just a few words, Lin Hexi could easily extract the truth from him. Yet, a moment ago, he had inexplicably chosen to seek You Chong’s help first.

Now that he had calmed down and thought about it, he realized that it was obvious: You Chong never liked him, so why would he voluntarily speak up to help?

Lin Hexi raised his hand to press the dial button.

At that moment, You Chong’s voice came from behind, “He didn’t attend the mixer on Friday; he went back to the Lin family with Lin Tong.”

Lin Hexi’s hand froze mid-press, and he looked back at You Chong, visibly surprised.

You Chong didn’t look at him and continued, “He wasn’t at the birthday party last night either. I saw him at school after the elective class.”

Everyone present looked at You Chong with bewildered expressions.

Even Lin Hexi himself showed rare astonishment.

After finishing, You Chong raised his eyebrow slightly, “Why are you all looking at me like that? What, don’t believe what I said?”

The boys from the polytechnic institute quickly shook their heads, saying they had no doubts.

Zhou Xuan sat down next to You Chong, and clicked his tongue lightly. “Anyone who doesn’t know better would think you’re siding with Lin Hexi.”

You Chong frowned, clearly displeased with Zhou Xuan’s comment. “If he was there, he was there. If he wasn’t, he wasn’t,” he said, without hiding his disdain. “If he really were guilty, would I need to cover for someone like him?”

Everyone knew what kind of person Lin Hexi was. You Chong always disliked slick-tongued and morally dubious people like Lin Hexi, so Zhou Xuan naturally believed that You Chong wouldn’t deliberately side with Lin Hexi. However, Zhou Xuan asked, slightly puzzled, “When did you see Lin Hexi last night?”

Clearly not wanting to say more, You Chong glanced at him. “Didn’t I already say? After class.”

Zhou Xuan nodded, understanding, and had no doubts about his words.

The crowd, ready for a fight, found themselves dealing with a misunderstanding. They calmed down and left along the same way they came.

Lin Hexi called out to You Chong, who was turning to leave, and approached him. He said with a lowered voice with a similarly puzzled expression. “Did you really see me at school last night?”

“No, I didn’t see you. Couldn’t you guess from the look on those guys’ faces?” You Chong sneered lightly. “Their expressions made it clear they were hiding something.”

“So,” Lin Hexi was taken aback, “you lied?”

Hearing this, You Chong narrowed his eyes. “What? You can lie to my face, but others can’t?”

Lin Hexi’s expression changed instantly. He pretended to be emotionally moved, sniffing dramatically and looking at You Chong with a beaming smile. “I’m just so touched, that’s all.”

You Chong mercilessly exposed his poor acting, “Liar.”

Lin Hexi didn’t mind at all and still cheerfully said, “Thanks. I owe you one; I’ll pay you back next time.”

“I am not expecting you to pay back, just reduce the number of times you appear in front of me,” You Chong replied, his gaze darkening as he scrutinized him. “Besides, I wasn’t helping you. If you really did such a thing, I wouldn’t have spoken up for you.”

Lin Hexi’s smile hadn’t faded. Hearing You Chong’s business-like tone, he casually nodded in acknowledgment, “You really trust Ning Nan’s little followers? Aren’t you worried they’re just putting on a show?”

You Chong said, “If it were you, of course, I wouldn’t believe them.”

Hearing this, Lin Hexi’s expression fell. “Are you saying my credibility is lower than theirs in your eyes?” he pretended to be dejected. “I’m a little hurt right now.”

You Chong just scoffed coldly and turned away without hesitation.

After watching You Chong walk further away, Lin Hexi finally averted his gaze, and his expression gradually returned to calm.

After a moment, as if he couldn’t help it, he stood there and once again curved his lips into a smile.