Chapter 9
As if his thoughts had been exposed, Yun Xiao flushed with anger. “So what if I did?”
Yun Xiao dreaded going to the school clinic for check-ups. Whenever he felt a little off or out of control, he would search his symptoms online. It had become a habit.
Every search left him feeling like He Ting and the others would be attending his funeral the next night. He’d be on edge for a few days, then bounce back to his usual self.
Yun Xiao shot a fierce glare at the meek-looking Pan Ze and yelled, “I don’t care! I want my breakfast!”
Yan He looked up at the tall clock tower nestled in the trees. The hands pointed to eleven o’clock. Wasn’t it about time for lunch? Did he really have to have those soup dumplings instead of a proper meal?
Yun Xiao could be incredibly stubborn about certain things. He wouldn’t rest until he got the breakfast Yan He was supposed to bring him.
Yan He was always patient with a paying client. “Alright, I’ll go to the first cafeteria and see.”
A slight curve appeared on Yun Xiao’s lips. He kicked Pan Ze’s foot. “What are you waiting for? Get the car.”
Pan Ze looked from Yun Xiao to Yan He, silently adjusting the red wig on his head before dutifully driving the car over to take them to the first cafeteria.
Pan Ze kept glancing at the rearview mirror. That despicable Yan He had actually sat in the back, turning him into the chauffeur.
Weren’t they both just lackeys?
Yan He was so cunning. He hadn’t bothered to get his driver’s license during the two-month summer break after his college entrance exams. It was all for this!
Of course, a noble young master of the F4 wouldn’t step foot in a cafeteria filled with specially-enrolled students. So, the car parked at the entrance, and Yan He went in alone.
It was almost lunchtime, and the cafeteria was already bustling with students.
Yan He went to the same breakfast stall from the morning. Steam billowed from the steamers. Besides the breakfast specials like soup dumplings, steamed buns, and fried dough sticks, they also sold boxed lunches.
One meat, two vegetable dishes, and a bowl of rice cost eighty-eight yuan. And who knew if it was just pre-packaged meals they were heating up.
“Sir, one order of soup dumplings, please,” Yan He said.
“Coming right up,” the cheerful man said with a smile, lifting the top layer of the steamer. A wave of hot steam rushed out as he opened the lid. While picking up the dumplings, he looked at Yan He and said, “Hey, kid, it’s the middle of the day. Why are you still eating dumplings? Want a proper meal?”
There were many specially-enrolled students, but for some reason, the man remembered Yan He.
An idea struck Yan He. “It’s not for me,” he said. “It’s for Yun Shao of the F4.”
The man’s hand paused as he was putting the dumplings in a plastic bag. He stared at Yan He in disbelief. “Who’s it for? Yun Shao? Young Master Yun Xiao from the F4?”
He dropped the tongs, went to the window, and peered outside. Sure enough, he saw Pan Ze’s emerald green car, and the vague outline of a tall figure in the back seat.
“No way! How can a member of the F4 eat these frozen soup dumplings? It’s an insult to the F4!” the man exclaimed, turning back to Yan He with a determined look.
So they are pre-made!
Yan He realized something was wrong. His goal was to get a discount on the breakfast, not to stop the man from selling it!
The man hurried back to his workstation and started rolling out dough. “I’ll make a fresh batch by hand right now!” he called out.
Yan He was speechless.
Seriously? Do you have to be so blatant with the preferential treatment?
This goddamn noble academy novel, where everyone worshiped the F4, was terrifying.
The man’s hands moved with incredible speed. He quickly wrapped a fresh batch of dumplings and put them on the steamer.
Yan He took the opportunity to study for his driver’s license theory test. The dumplings were ready in about ten minutes. He paid sixty-eight yuan and headed out of the cafeteria with the breakfast.
A macaque appeared out of nowhere in the cafeteria. The sight of the bag of dumplings in Yan He’s hand seemed to awaken some ancestral memory, and it immediately reached out a paw to snatch it.
Yan He jumped back in fright, clutching the bag protectively.
The man from the breakfast stall leaned out and shouted dramatically, “Those are for Yun Shao of the F4! You’ll be dead if you touch them!”
Wild animals wouldn’t be called wild if they were that obedient.
And yet, as if waking from a dream, the Emei Mountain native licked its lips greedily and scurried away over the tables.
Yan He was speechless again. That was… surprisingly human-like.
The animals in this academy were definitely strange.
Yan He got back into the luxury car with the soup dumplings. Yun Xiao narrowed his eyes and complained, “What took you so long to buy a few dumplings?”
Yan He smiled. “Eat them while they’re hot, Yun Shao.”
Yun Xiao, with his sense of ceremony, took a few pictures to post online before finally trying one.
The soup dumplings had thin skin and a generous filling. The broth was exceptionally savory. Yun Xiao took a bite, and the hot soup burst in his mouth, instantly scalding his sensitive tongue.
“Yun Shao, slow down! Spit it out,” Yan He said, seeing that he had clearly never eaten them before. He reached out to pat his back, a tingling sensation spreading through his own body, all the way to his nerve endings.
Yan He took the chance to sneak a peek. Damn it! The F4’s standard black uniform actually has faint gold patterns. You can’t even see the difference unless you’re up close. No wonder I thought it looked more high-class than ours!
While cursing internally, Yan He didn’t forget his duties as a lackey. He held a trash bag under Yun Xiao’s face.
Yun Xiao quickly spat into the bag, his lips slightly parted, his tongue red from the burn. Yan He suppressed a laugh and asked, “Are you still going to eat, Yun Shao?”
He hadn’t even tasted it properly yet, so of course he was.
Adhering to the principle of treating the paying client like a god, Yan He picked up a dumpling with a pair of disposable chopsticks. He pulled his mask down to his chin and blew on it gently, as if coaxing a child. “Blow on it before you eat.”
Yun Xiao had seen Yan He before. He had always known that the driver’s son was quite handsome, but seeing him again now stirred something in him.
Yan He’s skin was very fair, thin like the dumpling wrapper, with a faint pink hue.
Since he was facing Yun Xiao, Pan Ze, in the driver’s seat, couldn’t see anything, which made him fidget with anxiety.
A warmth touched his lips. Yun Xiao came back to his senses and took a small bite of the dumpling. It wasn’t so hot anymore.
His gaze swept over Yan He’s peach-like, moist lips, and a sudden thought flashed through his mind—the dumpling is too hot and needs to be cooled. My tongue is also burned. Can he blow on that too?
This rather sensual, bestial thought surfaced, and Yun Xiao felt a surge of irritation. His frequent transformations lately had made his emotions unstable, perhaps allowing these animalistic urges to take over. The thought was just too perverted.
Yun Xiao quickly lowered his head and ate two more in a row. His brows gradually furrowed. “They’re a bit greasy,” he said.
Hearing this, Pan Ze’s eyes lit up as he stared at the remaining dumplings. “Yun Shao, I…”
As if Yun Xiao didn’t know the habits of a hyena. He kicked the back of the seat. “Get lost! Stop daydreaming!”
Yan He pulled his mask back up, quite puzzled. Pan Ze was a young master too, right? Why did he love leftovers so much? What a strange quirk.
Or maybe he was just the ultimate F4 fanboy.
Yun Xiao had him put the rest away and stared at Yan He, annoyed. “Is this what you eat for breakfast every day?”
Yan He laughed dryly to himself. In his past life as a 996 corporate slave, when could he ever afford a sixty-eight-yuan breakfast?
Besides, the young master was eating handmade dumplings. They were infinitely cleaner and more hygienic than the frozen ones.
Seeing Yan He’s silent confirmation, Yun Xiao felt an inexplicable discomfort. Is this any way for a person to live? They could transform into beasts, and beasts craved fresh prey.
Noticing Yun Xiao’s frown, Yan He quickly said, “I’m sorry, Yun Shao. I’m a specially-enrolled student, so I can only go to the first, second, and third cafeterias. I can’t get into the ones you frequent, so I can’t bring you breakfast from the high-end restaurants.”
This was the cruel hierarchical order of Bestia Academy, like the food chain in the animal kingdom. The level of one’s nameplate affected every aspect of life, including dining.
Pan Ze wanted to cry again when he heard this. He brought expensive breakfast from high-end restaurants, but He Shao wouldn’t even glance at it!
Yun Xiao stroked his chin, his gaze falling on the copper nameplate on Yan He’s left chest. He grew annoyed. “True, this is a bit of a problem.”
Yan He nodded. Exactly. So, bringing breakfast for the boss today was just part of being proactive on my first day. He probably won’t ask me to do it again, right?
Yun Xiao pulled a black and gold card from his pocket and handed it to Yan He.
Yan He didn’t quite understand, but it looked incredibly high-class, especially with the particularly majestic eagle engraved on it.
The noble young master of the F4 didn’t want to explain, so he looked at Pan Ze.
Pan Ze’s eyes weren’t that big, but that didn’t stop them from widening to their limit lately.
His eyes were turning red, his breathing becoming ragged. “This… This is Yun Shao’s exclusive access card! You can use it to enter any place in Bestia Academy!”
Bestia Academy was huge, and many places were off-limits to ordinary students. High-end restaurants aside, take the chemistry lab for example. Because of the corrosive chemicals stored inside, even Pan Ze had to submit an application to the teacher to use the lab alone. But the F4 could simply swipe their cards to enter.
In the entire academy, only the F4 had this special privilege.
Look at how Yun Xiao treated his lackey! And then look at his former boss, Shen Shao. The more Pan Ze thought about it, the more he wanted to cry a river of tears.
So it wasn’t his imagination. Shen Shao really was just that stingy! T^T!
Yan He’s glass-gray eyes above his mask instantly lit up. “Is there money on it?” he blurted out.
“…No money,” Yun Xiao said.
“…!!” Pan Ze exclaimed.
To compare the F4 access card to something as crass as money! At that moment, Pan Ze’s desire to usurp Yan He’s position reached its peak.
Yan He wasn’t disappointed to hear there was no money on it. An employee and his boss should maintain a certain financial distance.
No money was fine. All he knew was that he could finally get Pan Ze’s nameplate to the chemistry lab to melt it down. A cool seven or eight thousand yuan in his pocket!
“When you swipe the card to get in, they’ll just charge it to my account,” Yun Xiao added.
Was it too impulsive to give such an important access card to a lackey who had just started?
Yun Xiao stared at Yan He’s shining eyes and quickly came up with a reason—
Yan He didn’t know that every time he used the card, Yun Xiao would receive an immediate notification with the coordinates, allowing him to closely monitor his whereabouts.
Yun Xiao was also curious. Would Yan He use his card to enter places he shouldn’t? Was he a smart and sensible little lackey?
A single black and gold access card could reveal a lackey’s character. It was a good deal.
Poor Yan He was being played right into his hands!
Yun Xiao felt a great sense of accomplishment.
[Yun Xiao]: Thanks to my good buddy for the tip. I got my breakfast back. [Image]
In a lab in the far corner of the chemistry building, He Ting took off his gloves, revealing a pair of well-defined hands. He clicked on the WeChat notification and looked at the message Yun Xiao had sent over ten minutes ago.
He leaned against the lab bench and leisurely switched to the Meng Shou app. As expected, the forum was buzzing with discussions about Yun Xiao attending the freshman orientation at the Third Auditorium.
There were also blurry photos taken by students. He Ting immediately spotted Yan He sitting obediently between the two beasts. He looked well-behaved and incredibly submissive, like a good person who would burst into tears if you scared him.
In the photos, he looked like a peacemaker, yet he was possibly the source of the conflict. He was even a bit of an eyesore.
It must have been that little lackey named Yan He who bought new soup dumplings for Yun Xiao, allowing him to save face.
He Ting’s finger gently tapped the screen, switching to the chat interface of the Meng Shou app.
He had sent this message to Yan He an hour ago, but there was no reply. The last message from Yan He was the automatic notification of a payment received.
He Ting was puzzled.
Quick to take the money, but doesn’t reply to messages?
Recommended Reads
That’s chapter 8 again. Not 9
thank you for letting me know!