PART 3
Those golden eyes felt strangely familiar.
Yan He had overheard the other specially-enrolled students talking in the car yesterday. He Ting’s family was from the northernmost part of the empire, and he was a quarter Russian.
Staring at that flawless face, Yan He found it hard to imagine He Ting speaking with a thick, rustic accent, saying things like, “Oh my goodness!” or “Whatcha doin’?”
Suppressing a laugh, Yan He followed Pan Ze’s lead and greeted him. “Greetings, He Shao.”
He Ting sat down, his presence like the Siberian spring. He rested a long arm on the leather sofa, his gaze falling on the still-steaming breakfast in Yan He’s hand. “Did Yun Xiao ask you to bring breakfast?” he asked.
His unhurried voice spoke perfect Mandarin, the falling intonation at the end of his words strangely alluring, calm yet latently dangerous.
Yun Xiao always slept in until noon. Old Shen was off-campus for medical treatment, and Old Xu was still in the mountains and hadn’t returned. How could he not know this and still call himself a lackey?
Or… had Yun Xiao changed his ways for this little lackey? Had he suddenly decided to eat breakfast?
He is an obedient lackey, at least.
Yan He adjusted his mask, a professional, pleasing smile filling his grey, glass-like eyes. “Not at all,” he said politely. “He Shao, would you like some?”
So devious! Pan Ze mentally screamed. He quickly pushed forward the high-end thermal container beside him. “He Shao, if you’re hungry, would you like to try the breakfast from the fifth floor of Cafeteria No. 7? There’s truffle and abalone congee, foie gras crepes… Holy crap.”
Before Pan Ze could even finish listing the menu, he saw He Ting reach for the plastic bag Yan He was holding.
Pan Ze’s inner monologue: Son of a bitch!
Yan He: !! Son of a bitch, my sixty-eight-yuan breakfast!
Thank goodness for the mask, which helped him manage his expression. Yan He watched as He Ting condescended to take a bite of a soup dumpling, the broth spilling out.
“Not fresh,” He Ting commented. “Don’t buy it next time.”
Yan He nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, his mind racing. What do you mean, not fresh? It’s pre-made! For a rich kid like you, that should be a novelty you’ve never had before, right?
Pan Ze looked at his thermal container, then at Yan He’s nearly cold breakfast. After a moment of internal conflict, he finally understood He Ting’s choice.
Young Master He had never eaten commoner food before. It was like eating rich delicacies every day; sometimes you just want to try simple porridge and side dishes.
He never thought this specially-enrolled student, who looked so honest, was actually a cunning old fox with a belly full of tricks. He had become the control group instead!
He was the clown!
Beasts are very sensitive to the freshness of their food. He Ting didn’t take a second bite. Instead, he took out a soft handkerchief and wiped his lips.
He Ting took out his phone. “Yan He?”
Yan He immediately stood at attention. “Yes.”
“Add me,” He Ting said, his tone flat and unreadable.
Yan He’s heart trembled. Does this mean I have to be He Ting’s dog after becoming Yun Xiao’s dog? And then the dog of the entire F4? Is my life really this miserable?
He didn’t dare refuse. Under Pan Ze’s gaze, which was practically shooting flames of jealousy, he took out his phone and habitually opened WeChat’s scan function. “I’ll scan you.”
But the QR code on the screen wasn’t for WeChat; it was for the official academy app, Meng Shou.
Yan He had been a programmer in his past life. He felt the app was decent, but it didn’t quite match the prestige of a noble academy. It had a chat function, but it was rather archaic, and the stickers weren’t even animated.
Seeing this, Yan He quickly switched to the Meng Shou app and scanned He Ting’s QR code to add him.
Not adding him on WeChat is better anyway. One less person to block when I post on my Moments.
He Ting accepted the request. Five seconds later, Yan He received a transfer.
[User 15737 has transferred 1,000 yuan to you.]
Yan He: !!!
“Is it enough?” He Ting put his phone away calmly. “For the breakfast.”
A flash of guilt crossed Yan He’s face. Damn me for thinking He Ting was just eating my breakfast! Our He Shao is still a growing boy! He should be eating a lot, gorging himself!
He Ting took in Yan He’s expression. With a new toy, the last thing you wanted was for them to be a mystery. You’d rather they have desires.
Liking money was fine.
Money was the one thing he had in abundance.
It was a good deal to get his contact information this way. And by adding him only on the Meng Shou app, they could stay in touch while maintaining a certain distance. This was good.
But could he really suppress his surging beastly nature?
He Ting stared at those beautiful eyes, sparkling with excitement, and suddenly felt that he might just have to let his desires run wild.
“He Shao, what are you saying?” Yan He said with apparent sincerity. “I’m just running errands and buying breakfast for you young masters. How could I let you pay?”
He Ting smirked slightly but said nothing, simply picking up a copy of the academy newspaper from the side.
Since it wasn’t an official, registered newspaper, the students in the academy’s news department were always bold with their writing. It was full of gossip: the F4’s suspected fallout, He Ting’s trip to the Discipline Room, the arrival of new specially-enrolled students, and even public relationship announcements from couples.
Beside them, Pan Ze recalled his years as Shen Shao’s lackey, and tears streamed down his face.
Reimbursement…
You can get reimbursed for buying breakfast for the F4?!
How come I’ve never seen this before?
So you can actually talk about money with the F4?
Pan Ze’s eyes darted between his own bronze nameplate and Yan He’s. He refused to believe Yan He got special treatment because he was better. Therefore—
It must be because Shen Shao is too stingy!
Far away from the academy on personal business, Shen Shao suddenly sneezed. ?
But as an aspiring top-tier lackey, Pan Ze wasn’t about to give up. He had to make Yan He look bad. He immediately said in a snide tone, “Junior Yan, didn’t you consider that the F4 young masters might not eat soup dumplings? Did you not have a backup plan?”
“That bag of yours is bulging. Is there other breakfast in there?”
Pan Ze tugged at the small backpack Yan He was carrying. A tearing sound made Yan He jump. The bag had only cost a hundred yuan, but it shouldn’t have ripped so easily. It wasn’t like it had been torn by a beast’s claws.
A few items tumbled out of the bag: the academy handbook and map, Bluetooth earbuds, a pack of tissues, and… a nameplate.
The eyes of all three people in the room fell on the nameplate.
Pan Ze, who had been so arrogant a moment ago, froze. Seeing the words “Pan Ze” engraved on the pale gold nameplate, his mind went blank, and his taunts died in his throat.
Yan He’s heart ached. It’s over. I’m about to lose eight thousand yuan! The owner found it!
The gold from Pan Ze’s nameplate was worth seven or eight thousand yuan. Yan He had originally planned to leave it in the dorm, but Bai Yuzhou was the protagonist shou, and conflict always seemed to follow him. He had heard from his female colleagues that an academy NPC had once broken into the dorm and rummaged through Bai Yuzhou’s things. To avoid getting caught in the crossfire, Yan He had decided to carry it with him. Who knew it would backfire so spectacularly!
He had flaunted it right in front of the owner.
A blush spread from Pan Ze’s neck to his face. His earlier arrogance was gone, replaced by stuttering. “I… you… I, the nameplate…”
Yan He didn’t know how to explain either. “Um, I have a bit of a collecting habit. I just picked it up. Senior Pan… do you want it back?”
Pan Ze shook his head. What was there to want? It had been tainted by the smell of that specially-enrolled student’s vomit… It was just that… Oh, god!
“Heh.”
A cold scoff suddenly sounded beside them.
He Ting’s face was frosty, like the biting wind from Siberia. He slapped the newspaper down on the table, not too hard, but not too lightly either.
Secretly collecting some wild man’s nameplate.
At Bestia Academy, nameplates were rather personal items. Graduating students often exchanged them as tokens of affection.
Yan He had just entered the academy, and he already had a target.
He Ting glanced down at the black and gold nameplate on his own chest. The academy crest gleamed with a subtle dark light. Fewer than ten people in the entire academy possessed a black and gold nameplate.
His nameplate was clearly rarer than Pan Ze’s.
The sound of the newspaper hitting the table startled both Yan He and Pan Ze. They looked at each other.
“Did… did we disturb He Shao’s reading?” Yan He guessed.
“We?” He Ting let out another cold, inexplicable scoff.
They had only met yesterday, and he was already using “we”? Or did Yan He subconsciously feel that he and Pan Ze were the same kind of people? One was from the dog family, the other a hyena. They had nothing in common.
Suppressing his fluctuating emotions, He Ting picked up the newspaper again. “Get out.”
Yan He didn’t dare say another word. He quickly gathered his fallen belongings from the floor, picked up the remaining warm breakfast, and bowed to He Ting. “Of course. Please take your time.”
Yan He and a beet-red Pan Ze tiptoed out of the F4’s common lounge. They had just reached the lawn where he had encountered the big tiger last night when Pan Ze’s expression suddenly changed. “Watch out!”
Yan He wasn’t as sensitive to danger. He jerked to the side as a crumpled ball of paper flew out of the lounge’s massive window and hit him squarely in the chest.
It didn’t hurt.
Yan He bent down to pick it up. When he unfolded it, the headline was right there: “F4 Head He Ting Enters Discipline Room Again,” accompanied by a blurry picture of He Ting’s back.
Yan He looked at the long distance the paper had traveled, then reached behind him to feel his torn backpack. Something felt strange. Was this a situation a normal person could create?
This academy was full of oddities.
“Senior Pan…”
Pan Ze snapped out of his daze. He coughed. “Ah? How about you don’t call me ‘Senior’? Call me ‘Brother Pan’ or ‘Brother Ze’.”
Yan He immediately dropped his suspicions and put some distance between them. “Senior Pan, I’m straight.”
Pan Ze: ? What kind of straight guy secretly collects my nameplate?!
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