The dissatisfaction conveyed by this action was too obvious.
For a moment, no one dared to speak, and silence quickly spread around, centered on Lu Zhuonian.
The atmosphere gradually solidified.
At first, Chen Zemian didn’t understand why Lu Zhuonian was angry.
Of course, he still didn’t know.
But he suddenly noticed many eyes secretly watching him, so he pointed at himself in surprise.
Because of me?
Lu Zhuonian didn’t even glance at him.
Chen Zemian reflected and thought the worst thing he had done was probably just appearing in front of Lu Zhuonian.
Maybe Lu Zhuonian was unhappy to see him.
So, Chen Zemian tactfully said goodbye: “Mr. Lu, if there’s nothing else, I’ll leave first.”
Lu Zhuonian paused slightly and looked up at Chen Zemian.
Chen Zemian tentatively added, “Goodbye?”
“…”
The atmosphere was awkward, and Xiao Kesong, who was standing near the racing car on the other side, noticed and looked over.
He saw Chen Zhe standing opposite Lu Zhuonian. Lu Zhuonian’s deep eyes just looked at him silently.
A large circle of people surrounded the three, silently drawing a line between themselves and Chen Zhe, as if to say, “It was Chen Zhe who angered Young Master Lu. It has nothing to do with us.”
What’s going on?
Chen Zhe was always eloquent. He had just said hello and left early. He shouldn’t have said anything wrong. Why did he make Lu Zhuonian angry?
Xiao Kesong started walking over, but before he could figure out how to smooth things over, he heard Lu Zhuonian snort coldly and turn away.
Everyone followed Lu Zhuonian and left, leaving Chen Zemian standing alone.
Xiao Kesong was confused and approached Chen Zemian: “What does Zhuo Nian mean?”
“It should mean goodbye.” Chen Zemian, having achieved his goal of leaving early, said goodbye to Xiao Kesong: “I’m going home to sleep. Bye.”
Those who hadn’t left far away: “…”
Brother, you can still sleep after making Young Master Lu so angry.
This insensitivity is amazing.
—————
Chen Zemian lost track of time once he got into work mode.
He worked frantically in front of the computer for a week and finally finished the game framework.
After finishing, he fell into a deep sleep, then went out to get food. After eating, he finally remembered to take out his phone from the corner and reconnect with the world.
There were many message notifications on the screen, but he didn’t know who they were from.
No one is looking for him = no one is looking for him.
Xiao Kesong had called him a few times six days ago but hadn’t called again afterward, probably because he was angry.
There was also a resignation text message from an unknown number.
It was probably from the place where Chen Zhe used to work. After multiple unsuccessful calls, they sent a message informing him that he was fired due to continuous absence.
Okay.
He didn’t even know where he was supposed to work.
During this period, Chen Zemian recalled many memories from his original body, but none related to work.
If it didn’t exist, it probably wasn’t important.
Chen Zemian had some free time and cleaned up the room. He found many useful things, including Chen Zhe’s ID card.
Chen Zhe was only 18!
He knew Chen Zhe was young, but hadn’t expected him to be so young. Although barely an adult, Chen Zhe had already struggled in society for years and even befriended Xiao Kesong, the eldest son of the Beijing circle, through his own efforts.
That was truly impressive.
Thinking this, Chen Zemian decided it was necessary to win back Young Master Xiao.
After all, Chen Zhe had worked hard for that friendship. It wouldn’t be right for Chen Zemian to just sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor. But if he didn’t cherish it, he’d be furious if Chen Zhe came back one day.
Chen Zemian called back.
He called twice without an answer, then hung up on the third try.
He was really angry.
Chen Zemian sent a sincere apology text:
【I was wrong.】
Xiao Kesong didn’t reply.
Chen Zemian reflected more:
【I shouldn’t have ignored your calls. Please don’t be angry.】 (Emoji)
The phone vibrated with a reply.
【snort.】
Why are you snorting too?
Chen Zemian scratched his head, unsure what these young masters meant by “snort,” so he searched online:
“How to reply to ‘hum’”
“Are you angry when you hum?”
“What to send when the other person is angry”
“How to appease someone who is angry”
“Steps to apologize with high emotional intelligence”
Chen Zemian was very curious and kept researching until his phone vibrated wildly, finally realizing he had been at it for over half an hour.
Xiao Kesong’s name flashed on the screen.
Huh?
Since he called on his own initiative, it meant he was no longer angry.
Chen Zemian closed the webpage and answered the call.
Xiao Kesong spoke gloomily: “Chen Zhe, where have you been? Why didn’t you reply to my messages?”
“…”
Chen Zemian frantically reopened the “Steps to Apologize with High Emotional Intelligence” page from his history.
Xiao Kesong demanded angrily, “Speak!”
Chen Zemian choked on his saliva as he spoke: “I cough, cough, cough… I’m at home, cough, cough.”
Hearing his coughs, Xiao Kesong asked, “Why are you coughing so hard? Are you sick?”
From his conscience, Chen Zemian knew he shouldn’t lie, but admitting he was sick might make Xiao Kesong stop nagging about not answering calls and messages.
Chen Zemian coughed twice more ambiguously: “Much better now.”
Xiao Kesong didn’t press further: “No wonder I didn’t see you at the Jinlin Hotel. I went there to eat that day but couldn’t find parking.”
Chen Zemian vaguely remembered Chen Zhe had established a relationship with Xiao Kesong by driving him, so he said, “It’s not easy to park there. Next time you go, I’ll drive for you.”
Xiao Kesong was easy to coax. Hearing this, he easily forgave Chen Zemian: “Let’s go tonight. I want to eat their taro duck.”
Chen Zemian couldn’t imagine how taro and duck could be combined but respected Young Master Xiao’s taste and agreed: “Where are you? I’ll pick you up.”
Xiao Kesong was happy: “At school. Come over, we can play ball together.”
Chen Zemian had reservations about playing ball but didn’t mention them. He showered, changed into clean clothes, and took a taxi to Xiao Kesong’s school.
Lu Zhuonian, Ye Chen, Xiao Kesong, and others were at the same university, ranked first among comprehensive universities in Beijing, boasting a century-old academic tradition.
On campus, ancient trees towered, their green canopy like a natural shelter.
Walking under the trees’ shade, Chen Zemian ran into Lu Zhuonian before reaching the basketball court.
It was a break between classes. Students were bustling in and out, but Lu Zhuonian seemed surrounded by an invisible barrier, isolating him from the noise and leaving him in a quiet space.
At school, Lu Zhuonian dressed casually in a dark denim jacket with a white round-neck T-shirt underneath. The material was exquisite and well-designed, revealing his slender neck and a bit of his collarbone.
His hair wasn’t styled; a few strands hung over his forehead, sweeping between his eyebrows and eyes, softening their sharpness. At first glance, his lips were red, teeth white—like new buds on a willow tree, pure and fresh.
This Lu Zhuonian, full of aura, was completely different from the one followed by eight bodyguards, wearing black sheepskin gloves and a high-end shirt and suit.
Chen Zemian even wanted to whistle at him.
However, he hadn’t forgotten that Lu Zhuonian took him to the hospital, nor that Lu Zhuonian still had his bronchoscopy application form. He also recalled that night at the racing club when Lu Zhuonian was unhappy just seeing him.
Based on those three points, Chen Zemian not only didn’t dare whistle but also shrugged and hid in the crowd.
As soon as Lu Zhuonian stepped out of the teaching building, he saw Chen Zhe.
He originally wanted to pretend not to see him, but when he saw Chen Zhe sneaking around to avoid him, he became furious again.
There’s no place to hide.
It’s just hilarious.
You have such an eye-catching face. If you don’t want to be noticed, don’t hang around in front of him all the time.
Lu Zhuonian didn’t want to notice him.
But Chen Zhe was too eye-catching. His cool-toned skin was dazzlingly white, like a light board in the sun. Not only Lu Zhuonian but many students nearby were staring at him.
He had also dyed his hair light blonde.
Are you trying to make a debut?
For some special reasons, Lu Zhuonian needs to keep his emotions stable, and he uses strong self-control to restrain negative feelings daily.
He’s been doing a good job.
But Chen Zhe’s strange changes disrupted the regular rhythm of his life’s symphony.
The night he realized teasing Chen Zhe brought him pleasure, he should have known that all seemingly beautiful things have a price.
The prerequisite for his happiness was that Chen Zhe had made him angry first.
Chen Zhe knocked out his bodyguard and approached him quietly. Originally under control, Chen Zhe suddenly lost it, which represented danger and showed a huge mistake in Lu Zhuonian’s previous assessment of him.
Lu Zhuonian’s anger mainly came from this. Rather than being angry at Chen Zhe’s eccentricity, he was angry at his own incompetence and loss of control.
But later, after testing and tug-of-war, he regained the initiative: he pretended to fight with Chen Zhe to confirm Chen Zhe had no intention to kill or harm him.
Once Chen Zhe no longer posed a threat, Lu Zhuonian regained his power.
Chen Zhe was still under control.
However, due to the previous incident—“Authority challenged by Chen Zhe”—Lu Zhuonian began to doubt his own power. So, he abused his authority to verify it. He took Chen Zhe to the hospital for a physical examination, then threatened and forced him to surrender until Chen Zhe apologized and begged for mercy.
The so-called lumbar puncture, colonoscopy, gastroscopy, and bronchoscopy were all his silent declarations to Chen Zhe: I can control you whenever I want.
This was so shameless.
During this process, he wasn’t really establishing authority, but trying to regain the confidence he had lost in front of Chen Zhe.
This idea was wrong. Just correct it.
Lu Zhuonian originally thought that once the logic was clarified, Chen Zhe would lose his uniqueness.
But he was wrong again.
After seeing Chen Zhe again at the racing club, Lu Zhuonian still felt concerned about him.
It wasn’t guilt—just completely unreasonable mood swings.
These were two pieces of bad news: first, he did not feel guilty for his despicable behavior, meaning his moral bottom line was lowering; second, he didn’t know what those strange emotions were, meaning Chen Zhe was still out of control.
For that race, they set the schedule at 56 laps. While passing the stands on the 18th, 31st, and 46th laps, Lu Zhuonian glanced at Chen Zhe out of the corner of his eye.
On the 18th lap, Chen Zhe lowered his head. On the 31st, he played with his phone. On the 46th, he was still playing with his phone.
He was a little unhappy then, but still managed to break the record.
The only time Chen Zhe looked at the big screen showing his results was when he was startled by fireworks.
Lu Zhuonian tried hard to ignore Chen Zhe.
Unfortunately, this time Lu Zhuonian, who was usually successful, didn’t get what he wanted. The more he tried to ignore Chen Zhe, the more Chen Zhe seemed to be everywhere. The more he tried to control his emotions and not let Chen Zhe affect him, the more his emotions fluctuated.
This must be Chen Zhe’s problem.
Lu Zhuonian walked down the stairs, his eyes fixed on Chen Zhe, and suddenly began to doubt his own judgment.
After all, last time he came to a conclusion, but it turned out the problem was actually his own.
But this time, it should be different.
Even from a probability standpoint, it’s impossible that all of this was his fault. Could it be that Chen Zhe has done nothing wrong?
Chen Zemian didn’t know Lu Zhuonian had such a rich inner drama.
If he knew, he would definitely praise him.
But soon, something more exciting happened.
Chen Zemian saw a beautiful woman carrying a guqin walking toward Lu Zhuonian.
He recognized her immediately—
The second most popular female supporting character in the novel, the school beauty Shen Qingwan.
Shen Qingwan is the leader of the Guqin Club, and Lu Zhuonian is the president of the Student Union. During their time at school, they frequently worked together on school projects. She gradually fell in love with Lu Zhuonian and had secretly admired him for many years.
In the original text, there were many female supporting characters who liked Lu Zhuonian.
The male protagonist was charming and irresistible. Several confidantes, including a gentle school beauty, a cold senior school sister, a hot policewoman, a beautiful stewardess, a jade-like movie queen, and an enchanting female president, all approached him to become his close friends.
However, it was never clear who would be the heroine. According to the tone of male-oriented literature, the author probably wanted them all, but for the sake of harmony, couldn’t write it that way, so simply left the relationship ambiguous.
Until the end, these confidantes and the male protagonist remained in an ambiguous state, without even a kiss. It was really hard to tell who was most important to Lu Zhuonian.
The question of who the male protagonist truly liked became an unsolved mystery, with readers debating for years without conclusion.
The author left this suspense forever in the hearts of millions of readers.
When Chen Zemian saw Shen Qingwan appear, he suddenly realized—
He might have a chance to find out who Lu Zhuonian’s official partner is!
Chen Zemian was so excited that he couldn’t help but take a few cautious steps forward.
Lu Zhuonian caught sight of Chen Zhe approaching, his expression brightened slightly, and he kindly called out Chen Zhe’s name.
“Chen Zhe.”
Chen Zemian thought he was moving very stealthily, but when Lu Zhuonian suddenly called his name, he was startled and froze, hesitating between turning around to run or walking forward boldly.
Lu Zhuonian made the decision for him: “Come here.”
When people are in a daze, they tend to obey orders subconsciously.
Chen Zemian walked over and stood two steps behind and to the right of Shen Qingwan, keeping a distance that allowed him to run forward or backward if necessary.
Then he imitated the original owner’s attitude toward Lu Zhuonian and flattered him: “Mr. Lu, what do you want?”
Lu Zhuonian said, “Speak like a human being.”
Chen Zemian: “…”
Shen Qingwan found the conversation between the two amusing and smiled. She turned to look at the young man with the clear voice behind her.
Seeing this, Shen Qingwan couldn’t help but widen her eyes slightly.
The boy had delicate features and was shockingly beautiful.
Standing in the sun, his extremely fair skin refracted subtle light like fine porcelain, so white it was almost transparent, even showing delicate pale blue capillaries. A small red mole on the side of his neck highlighted his handsome face, making him even more captivating.
Humans are visual animals; they can’t help but be attracted to beauty and appreciate it.
When Chen Zemian saw Shen Qingwan, he smiled and said, “Hello.”
Shen Qingwan came back to her senses and nodded with a smile, “Hello.”
Lu Zhuonian thought, What’s so funny? Are you two familiar with each other?
He glared at Chen Zhe with a sullen face: “What are you doing here?”
Chen Zemian looked away from Shen Qingwan’s face and focused on Lu Zhuonian: “Didn’t you ask me to come here, Mr. Lu?”
Lu Zhuonian asked as if it were obvious, “Are you here?”
Chen Zemian doubted himself due to Lu Zhuonian’s well-founded question. He looked at Lu Zhuonian, then at himself: “I… I’m here… right?”
Lu Zhuonian measured the nearly three-meter distance between them with his eyes.
Chen Zemian: “?”
Lu Zhuonian had never seen such a foolish person and said clearly, “Come a little closer.”
Chen Zemian raised his foot and took half a step.
Lu Zhuonian glanced at his side and signaled Chen Zemian to come quickly, warning him not to tempt fate.
Chen Zemian had no choice but to walk over and stand opposite Shen Qingwan and Lu Zhuonian.
Lu Zhuonian was very satisfied with this position and said to Shen Qingwan, “This is Chen Zhe.”
Shen Qingwan smiled and joked, “President, your friend is really good-looking. Do you handsome guys have some kind of private group where you only hang out with good-looking people?”
Lu Zhuonian was unromantic and stated the facts flatly, “There’s no group. He wanted to play with me and got to know me through Xiao Kesong.”
Chen Zemian glanced at Lu Zhuonian speechlessly, thinking, He’s praising you for being handsome through me, buddy. Who cares how I got to know you?
And what do you mean, “he wanted to play with me”? That sounds a bit strange.
Lu Zhuonian didn’t catch the hidden meaning in Shen Qingwan’s words, but he read Chen Zemian’s eyes clearly: “Why, don’t you want to play with me?”
Chen Zemian choked and said, “Yes.”
Shen Qingwan smiled, “I also like to play with good-looking people. President, the Student Union is having a dinner tonight. Invite Chen Zhe to come along.”
Lu Zhuonian said, “Next time. I have a dinner appointment tonight.”
Chen Zemian finally understood why Lu Zhuonian asked him to come—it was to use him as an excuse to refuse dinner. He followed Lu Zhuonian’s lead: “Yes, yes, I’m sorry.”
Everyone knew Lu Zhuonian was notoriously hard to make appointments with, so Shen Qingwan was not discouraged. Instead, she smiled generously: “It doesn’t matter, we made the appointment too late. Next time I’ll arrange it well in advance.”
Lu Zhuonian said, “Okay.”
Shen Qingwan took out her phone, tucked her hair behind her ear, cheeks slightly flushed: “Then I’ll add you on WeChat.”
Lu Zhuonian scanned the QR code.
Shen Qingwan was obviously happy. She held her phone tightly, waved, and said goodbye to the two of them: “President, I’m leaving now. All the clubs are rehearsing for the art festival performance. You must come see it when you have time.”
Lu Zhuonian nodded.
Shen Qingwan was cheerful and gentle, and waved again to Chen Zhe: “Bye, handsome boy.”
Chen Zemian smiled and waved back: “Bye, beautiful sister.”
Shen Qingwan’s face turned redder. She tucked her hair again, took two quick steps, and left.
Chen Zemian glanced in the direction Shen Qingwan had gone and thought she was really beautiful and had a good personality.
It’s a pity that Lu Zhuonian really didn’t seem interested in her.
But although it was boring, he still added Lu Zhuonian on WeChat.
So, is it interesting?
Oh, it’s really hard to guess what the male protagonist is thinking. I really don’t know who he’ll like.
Chen Zemian withdrew his gaze and turned his head to meet Lu Zhuonian’s eyes.
“…”
Chen Zemian: “?”
Why are you glaring at me again?
*****
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Author: LazyHermitGal
A Lazy Hermit Gal
