Chapter 20: Help Me Walk the Dog

At 2:30 PM on Sunday, everyone met at the school gate.

The other five members of the group all arrived on time, except for Lin Hexi, who was still late. No one was willing to message him on WeChat, so eventually, Yang Juan called him via WeChat voice.

When Lin Hexi picked up the call, he said he was already on his way.

Yang Juan hung up the call and relayed Lin Hexi’s words to the remaining four people.

Someone immediately frowned and loudly complained about his lack of punctuality.

Yang Juan couldn’t help but offer an explanation for him: “Maybe something important came up unexpectedly and delayed him.”

In the dormitory, another roommate named Zhao Du quietly retorted, “I don’t think he was delayed by anything important. It’s probably because the battle last night was too intense, and he still hasn’t gotten up yet.”

Zhou Xuan turned his head and asked, “What battle?”

Even You Chong, who usually wasn’t interested in gossip, looked over.

Zhao Du looked surprised, “Haven’t you all seen the school forum?”

Hearing this, Zhou Xuan frowned unhappily, “The forum is full of gossip about Lin Hexi. Who wants to read about him every day?”

“I just happened to see it yesterday,” Zhao Du lowered his voice, “You all know about the new ‘flower’ of the Performing Arts Department that was anonymously posted on the forum, right?”

Yang Juan thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered, “I know, I think she’s a first-year student, named—”

Zhou Xuan continued, “Fang Qingning.”

“Exactly.” Zhao Du nodded, “Yesterday afternoon, someone took a photo of him and Fang Qingning entering a love hotel near the station and posted it on the forum.”

“He’s quick,” Zhou Xuan sneered, “Already hooking up with a first-year student.”

Another group member chimed in, “I saw that post too. The photo was very clear, and from the side profile, it was definitely him.”

The group started counting on their fingers the number of times Lin Hexi had been caught or seen with a hookup at a hotel.

You Chong, who had been standing silently on the side the entire time, suddenly spoke up, “Are you sure the photo was taken yesterday?”

Zhao Du was stunned for a moment and then said, “Did you see the photo?”

You Chong didn’t hesitate, “Let me see it.”

Zhao Du took out his phone, logged into the school forum, and found the photo for him.

Zhou Xuan, looking puzzled, glanced at him and asked, “Since when did you start taking an interest in this kind of thing?”

You Chong replied nonchalantly, “What’s wrong with looking?”

Zhou Xuan, indeed, didn’t press further. He just slightly raised his chin towards You Chong and said, “Alright, you’re the young master, whatever you say goes.”

The post was still floating at the top of the homepage and had even become a hot post marked with a flame icon. Zhao Du enlarged the photo in the post and handed it to You Chong to see.

With just a quick glance, You Chong could recognize that the side profile in the photo was indeed Lin Hexi. Moreover, the clothes and pants the person was wearing were the same outfit he had seen Lin Hexi in just yesterday.

You Chong returned the phone to Zhao Du. “When was the photo taken?”

Zhao Du looked down and skimmed through the main content of the post. “It was around four or five in the afternoon.”

You Chong’s expression turned strange. “Four or five in the afternoon? Was it four or five?”

Zhao Du replied, “The poster themselves said they couldn’t remember clearly.”

You Chong nodded, saying nothing more, but slowly furrowed his brow.

He had seen Lin Hexi on Bar Street around five o’clock yesterday afternoon, and he didn’t think the whole hotel incident could be wrapped up in just half an hour.

He didn’t know how such a rumor had started, but just thinking about the extent to which it had spread and the possibility of any truth behind it, You Chong’s expression already darkened.

He didn’t speak up to clarify things for Lin Hexi, nor did he raise any further questions about the photo. Instead, he began to internally question the truthfulness and credibility of the previous rumors related to Lin Hexi.

About five minutes later, Lin Hexi walked over from across the street.

In the scorching heat of thirty degrees, he was unusually dressed in a long-sleeved shirt, as if trying to cover up some marks on his body that couldn’t be exposed, which ironically seemed to confirm the rumor about the hotel stay circulating on the forum.

The five people waiting for him under the shade of a tree each had different expressions on their faces.

Noticing their lingering gazes, Lin Hexi didn’t seem the least bit uncomfortable. He even tilted his head and gave You Chong a slight smile.

Zhou Xuan was the first to speak up impatiently, “Do you have any sense of time? Making all of us wait under the blazing sun for you.”

Lin Hexi looked at Zhou Xuan, the smile on his lips still lingering, and responded lazily, “Am I blind, or is there no sun under the shade of this tree?”

Zhou Xuan glared at him darkly.

Lin Hexi didn’t look at him again. He suppressed the roguish smile at the corner of his mouth and turned to the others, apologizing, “Sorry, it was my fault for being late.”

You Chong gave him a quick glance and, without bringing up the lateness again, said, “Alright, now that everyone’s here, let’s go.”

They went to an outdoor equipment store and rented three two-person tents and two fishing rods. The original plan was to take the tents back to their dorms and bring them directly to the arboretum next week. However, they decided at the last minute to leave a deposit and pick them up from the store next week.

After leaving the store, the six of them went their separate ways. Zhou Xuan had something else to do and left first, while Yang Juan and Zhao Du headed directly back to the dorm. Another group member also returned to the dorm alone, leaving Lin Hexi and You Chong, who happened to be heading in the same direction toward Chengnan Community.

Lin Hexi took the initiative to strike up a conversation with You Chong, his tone slightly upbeat, “Were you helping me out just now?”

You Chong glanced at him and asked in return, “When?”

“When Zhou Xuan mentioned me being late,” Lin Hexi squinted slightly in the sunlight.

Upon hearing this, You Chong let out a vague chuckle, “I was just stating the truth.”

“Really?” The sunlight made it difficult for Lin Hexi to keep his eyes open, so he instinctively raised his hand to shield them. His tone was relaxed and casual, “Then I’ll just take it as you helping me out.”

You Chong didn’t respond directly. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Lin Hexi’s profile for a moment, then suddenly reached out and grabbed the arm that Lin Hexi had raised.

The sunlight in his vision was abruptly blocked out, and the warmth of You Chong’s dry palm against his wrist made Lin Hexi pause in surprise, and unconsciously stopping in his tracks to look at him.

You Chong’s expression remained unchanged as he held Lin Hexi’s hand and pushed his sleeve up, his gaze falling directly on the white bandage wrapped around his arm. “Long sleeves aren’t breathable. The wound could easily get infected.”

Lin Hexi quickly snapped out of his daze, pulling his left hand out of You Chong’s grip without paying much attention to his words. “It’s fine.”

As expected, You Chong didn’t push the issue further. He withdrew his gaze and asked, “Did you see the post on the school forum?”

“I saw it yesterday. So,” Lin Hexi replied casually, even smiling thoughtfully, “when I arrived, you guys were talking about this, right?”

You Chong scrutinized him intently, “You’re not planning to clarify?”

“Why should I clarify?” Lin Hexi responded in the most natural tone, “Sometimes, when you take the initiative to clear up these little troubles, that very act can bring you even bigger problems.” He raised the corners of his lips, adding half-jokingly, half-seriously, “And I hate trouble more than anything.”

Even though You Chong’s background was entirely different from Lin Hexi’s, he had also grown up in an environment where money and power were paramount. Although he couldn’t fully empathize with Lin Hexi’s perspective, he quickly understood the implications and deeper meaning behind Lin Hexi’s words.

Recalling Zhou Xuan’s past remarks about his disdain for mistresses and illegitimate children, it was easy to imagine that Lin Hexi’s life within the Lin family hadn’t been easy either.

“What about your father?” You Chong raised an eyebrow slightly and stated calmly, “The last time we went to watch the race on the weekend, it was because he asked you to go, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, so you knew?” Lin Hexi first showed a look of surprise, then lightly frowned. “He doesn’t like me either.” When he said this, his expression was calm to the point of indifference. “The Lin family accepted me, not because he felt guilty about me and my mother, but because of Madam Lin’s ulterior motives.”

This wasn’t exactly a comforting revelation, and You Chong’s gaze darkened slightly.

Fortunately, Lin Hexi didn’t intend to dwell on this topic. After all, he and You Chong weren’t even friends. Even if he wanted to confide in someone, there was no guarantee the other person would want to listen.

Besides, there wasn’t much he needed to confide about. If a person needed to rely on confiding to grow up well and live well, then he certainly wouldn’t have made it this far so smoothly.

Lin Hexi changed the subject, deliberately asking him, “Since you know the post on the forum is fake, why didn’t you clarify it for me?”

You Chong glanced at him, “What are you to me?”

Lin Hexi thought for a moment and answered honestly, “No one.”

“Since you’re no one to me,” You Chong’s expression remained calm, “why should I clarify anything for you?”

Lin Hexi paused, then slowly nodded, “You’re right.”

What You Chong said made sense.

People in this world are generally like that—they only care about those who matter to them.

If the rumors today had been about Zhou Xuan or Lin Tong, You Chong certainly wouldn’t have ignored them or let them slide.

Lin Hexi suddenly felt a genuine sense of loss, realizing that there wasn’t even one person in his life who would care enough to stand up for him like that.

He was so absorbed in his own emotions that he didn’t even notice his pace slowing down gradually.

A few moments later, when You Chong looked back, Lin Hexi had already fallen far behind.

He stopped and waited for him.

Lin Hexi continued to walk slowly, with the slightly warm sunlight beating down on his face. From where You Chong stood, he could clearly see Lin Hexi’s downcast eyes, tightly pressed lips, and the empty, joyless look in his pupils.

You Chong stood there, with a slightly furrowed brow.

The next second, almost as if compelled by some inexplicable force, he called out, “Lin Hexi, do you want to help me walk my dog?”