Chapter 3: Meeting Again at the Bar

Lin Hexi pressed down Zhou Xuan’s hand that was gripping his collar, and pried open his clenched fingers one by one.

You Chong did not stop Lin Hexi’s actions but looked at him with a mocking expression. “If you don’t want others to go against you, you shouldn’t think about going against others first.”

Lin Hexi smiled faintly, “I eat normally and attend classes normally every day. I don’t know, when did I offend you again?”

You Chong said, “You know in your heart what you have done.”

Lin Hexi felt increasingly baffled and innocent.

You Chong looked at his expression, coupled with his good-looking and expressive face, along with his tea-brown short hair and the silver earrings on his ears, only felt that he was pretending to be ignorant on purpose, and he felt even more annoyed.

However, the grouping matter had already been settled. And the teacher had clearly stated in class that the group list would be registered online and no further changes to the groups would be accepted.

After two classes, Zhou Xuan continued to treat Lin Hexi with a cold attitude, as if he did not exist. Seeing the expression on his face, Lin Hexi was in a good mood.

As the class was about to end, the teacher concluded the theoretical lecture and asked the five groups to exchange contact information.

The four people in You Chong’s dormitory already had each other’s contact information. They only asked one other person for their WeChat number and ignored Lin Hexi.

Lin Hexi, who was cold-shouldered and ignored, was not angry. He knew well that his deliberate trickery had somewhat disgusted them. The anger he felt from Zhou Xuan diminished slightly. He did not seek out anyone else but smiled and asked You Chong, “Add me on WeChat?”

You Chong did not even lift his eyelids.

Lin Hexi then reached for the phone loosely held in You Chong’s hand.

The phone was locked, and without the password, Lin Hexi naturally could not unlock it.

You Chong looked at him coldly and said nothing.

Lin Hexi’s hand lightly rested on the phone as expected, but he didn’t take any further action. Instead, he raised his eyes and looked at You Chong with a curved smile.

Facing his smiling face, You Chong remained completely unmoved.

Lin Hexi’s eyes curved even more, and the hand resting on the edge of the phone lifted to grasp You Chong’s wrist. With a hint of mischief and deliberate intention filled his eyes, he said, “Add me.”

You Chong’s expression turned visibly colder, and he harshly shook off Lin Hexi’s hand, and gave a low warning, “Stay away from me.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Hexi curved the corners of his lips but said nothing more.

Seeing that those few people seemed determined not to add him on WeChat, they immediately stood up to leave as soon as the class bell rang. Lin Hexi then slightly straightened his expression, propped his face with his hand, and raised his eyes to call after them, “The group collaboration score accounts for half of the individual assessment. Are you leaving so decisively because you don’t want the credits for this course?”

You Chong stopped in the aisle, and looked at him condescendingly, “Do you want the credits?”

Lin Hexi found it amusing, “If I didn’t want the credits, I wouldn’t be attending the class.”

You Chong said, “Since you still want the credits, from now on, you should behave yourself and not stir up any trouble.”

Although he didn’t understand how he had become someone who loves to cause trouble in the other person’s eyes, Lin Hexi didn’t argue. Instead, he looked calmly at the person in front of him, “I can behave, but shouldn’t you also stop using your tactics?”

You Chong replied, “Fine.”

The two reached a verbal agreement and exchanged WeChat contacts.

Before leaving, You Chong gave him a cold warning, “Don’t harass me on WeChat, or I’ll block you.”

Lin Hexi held back his laughter and agreed.

After the five of them left, Lin Hexi leaned over the table and laughed out loud. One moment, he was wondering if You Chong really thought he had a crush on him after saying such things. The next moment, he recalled You Chong’s reaction and found it quite amusing.

After leaving the teaching building, Lin Hexi did not return to the student dormitory but headed straight out of the school gate. Staying out all night had become a regular occurrence in his three years of university. If it weren’t for Zhou Xuan stirring things up, the counselor usually turned a blind eye during room checks.

The rumors within the campus said that he was staying out all night to hang out with various men and women outside the school. However, the truth hidden beneath these rumors was that he had rented an apartment off-campus. Due to these increasingly rampant rumors, his university classmates avoided him, and Lin Hexi was too lazy to defend himself.

From birth, he had been forced to carry the label of “illegitimate child.” Over the past twenty years, he had grown increasingly indifferent to his reputation. Now, with fewer superficial social interactions in university, he found himself enjoying the peace and freedom of being alone.

However, that evening, his peace was disturbed by a phone call from Ning Nan.

Apparently, someone was having a birthday, and Ning Nan called to invite him to a bar.

Lin Hexi accepted the invitation.

He didn’t like Ning Nan, and Ning Nan was also insincere towards him.

Ever since he left the shabby, low-rise residential building in the alley and stepped into the Lin family’s house, he had automatically been placed in Ning Nan’s social circle. Birds of a feather flock together, as the saying goes. Everyone seemed to naturally assume that an illegitimate child should stick with other illegitimate children.

This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, Lin Hexi thought.

At least when he heard those unpleasant rumors about himself at school, the legitimate wife and legitimate son of the Lin family would no longer keep a constant, suspicious watch over him, fearing that he was coveting and scheming for the Lin family’s wealth.

This was probably the only reason Lin Hexi could tolerate Ning Nan’s little antics and maintain a facade of friendship with him.

Lin Hexi didn’t return to his rented apartment. Instead, he took a taxi from outside the school gate to the “Eighth Day” bar.

Ning Nan and a few others were seated in the booth area facing the stage. On the table were already opened bottles of red wine and a partially eaten birthday cake. It was evident that they hadn’t waited for him.

Lin Hexi didn’t mind and didn’t call out to them. He walked into the booth area and sat down on the sofa opposite Ning Nan.

Ning Nan withdrew his gaze from the sexy dance on the stage, turned his face, and pushed the wine glass beside him towards Lin Hexi, asking perfunctorily, “Want some cake?”

Lin Hexi responded calmly, “No need.”

He sat on the sofa for a while, and soon, the young girl dancing on the stage finished her performance. The resident DJ of the bar took the stage to start playing music, with the lighting casting shadows that moved fluidly into the dance floor. Guests gradually began to flock to the center of the dance floor.

Ning Nan called everyone around him to join the fun in the dance floor, and Lin Hexi also stood up from the sofa, leisurely following behind them. The dance floor was crowded, and Lin Hexi stood on the outskirts of the crowd with a relaxed expression, slightly swaying his body to the strong rhythm of the music playing in his ears.

A long-haired girl in a camisole and hot pants came close to him, her makeup was thick and alluring, making it hard to tell if she was a university student or a single woman already working. Lin Hexi raised his hand to her shoulder, intending to push her away.

Suddenly, a streak of light passed before his eyes, with dark red lights sliding from the second floor. Lin Hexi’s hand froze on her shoulder, and he subconsciously squinted towards the upper floor.

Amidst the intersecting lights and shadows, he saw Lin Tong’s face.

Lin Hexi casually lowered his gaze, pulled the girl in front of him into his arms and wrapped his long arm around her waist.

As the light swept down from upstairs a second time, Lin Tong’s face became clear again in his view. At the same time, another face that became equally clear was You Chong’s, standing beside Lin Tong.

After a brief moment of surprise, without any attempt to avoid, Lin Hexi’s gaze locked directly onto You Chong’s eyes.

When catching the faint look of disgust on You Chong’s face, Lin Hexi curved his lips into a smile without any surprise. 

The next second, he lowered his head, grabbed the wrist of the girl in his arms, and pulled her out of the crowded dance floor. Under the watchful eyes of the two on the second floor, he led her to the dimly lit corridor on the other side of the bar that led to the restrooms.