Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"013"

Whether things would still happen even after being refused.

The second thing Xiao Lancui needed to confirm.

Fu Chen's face instantly darkened—was he being toyed with? He instinctively raised his hand, but Huo Shenan caught his wrist and shot him a look. Fu Chen clenched his fist for a second or two, then nodded and released his fist.

Huo Shenan withdrew his hand and leaned in with a half-smile. "Since Little Lanzi has plans, we'll catch you another time. Won't disturb your studying—study hard and keep improving!"

Xiao Lancui kept writing, not even a flicker of his long lashes. Huo Shenan rubbed his nose, snorted, and said, "Alright, guess I've offended you too. See you around."

He left first.

Fu Chen stared hard at Xiao Lancui, his smile not reaching his eyes. "See you, Little Lanzi."

People like Fu Chen and Huo Shenan—Xiao Lancui had met their type before.

When he was young, he'd attended a school for a while, where most classmates came from noble families—some good, some bad. The bad ones were just like Fu Chen and Huo Shenan—lazy bums who spent all day messing with their classmates.

Xiao Lancui had been the target of a prank once.

They had slipped a snake into his backpack, hoping to see him panic and lose his cool. But Xiao Lancui didn't. He calmly grabbed the snake, and as the laughter died in their throats, he walked up to the ringleader, pulled open his waistband, and dropped the snake in.

Boring people are all the same—back then, and now.

Xiao Lancui continued taking notes in German. English was too easy; he didn't need simultaneous-interpreter-level training.

He got faster fast. In the morning, he was at 120 words a minute with 99% accuracy; by the afternoon, he'd hit 150 words a minute at 100%.

When the final bell rang, Xiao Lancui capped his pen.

Xiao Anfeng and Lu Siye hadn't shown up all day. Fu Chen and Huo Shenan had only come for the morning class and never came back.

This is where things started to deviate from the original.

In the original, Lu Siye really didn't show up, but Xiao Anfeng did—and got forcibly dragged into a car by Lu Siye after school.

He still had time before nine, and Xiao Lancui wasn't in a rush to check on Xiao Anfeng's whereabouts. He slung his bag over one shoulder and headed to the second cafeteria.

The original mentioned the second cafeteria had better food.

It was dinner time, but the second cafeteria wasn't crowded. Probably because most City University students were brainiacs who valued efficiency—most ate alone and fast, so there were plenty of free tables.

Xiao Lancui grabbed a tray with one veggie dish, one meat dish, and a bowl of soup, found an empty table, and sat down. He took a sip of his medicinal soup first, then ate slowly.

His stomach had been weak in his later years too, so he'd gotten into the habit of chewing slowly—the imperial physician said it was easier on the stomach.

A few minutes later, Jiang Xing sat down across from him, tray in hand, grinning. "Classmate Xiao, what a coincidence! Running into you here too!"

Xiao Lancui figured it wasn't much of a coincidence—the second cafeteria had good food, so most students would pick it first.

He nodded, which was response enough.

Jiang Xing didn't mind. He glanced at Xiao Lancui's plain meal, then set his steamed cod next to Xiao Lancui's tray, and said enthusiastically, "I haven't touched this fish—it's super tender, have some!"

The first time he'd seen Xiao Lancui, he'd instinctively thought the guy must be a germaphobe—skin so clear it looked translucent, radiating this snow-white purity from the inside out, like someone who'd wash his hands a hundred times a day.

Xiao Lancui declined. "I got just enough for myself. If I eat more, I'll have leftovers." Except for the matcha pudding Ice Bread—he didn't mention that.

Jiang Xing's eyes went wide. "You calculate your portions that exactly?"

Xiao Lancui preferred being alone and hated small talk—unless it was court business, then he'd talk a little more.

Jiang Xing had too many questions, so Xiao Lancui cut to the chase. "Not always accurate. I like to eat in peace. I've got stuff to do later, so I don't have time to chat."

It was rare for him to say that much. Jiang Xing didn't take it as coldness—he blushed and apologized. "Sorry, I'll be quiet." Then, softer, "I eat quietly too."

Xiao Lancui gave a small nod and said nothing. The two sat across from each other and finished their meals in silence.

After eating, Jiang Xing stayed put. Xiao Lancui stood up with his empty tray, and Jiang Xing immediately got up too. Xiao Lancui found it a little weird and asked, "Something else?"

Jiang Xing's face went red again. He shook his head. "N-no, nothing."

Xiao Lancui nodded. "I'm heading off then."

This time, Jiang Xing didn't follow. Xiao Lancui dropped off his tray, then walked to the cafeteria entrance, where there was a convenience store. The owner was a woman in her early forties—she had Xiao Anfeng's exact eyes.

The woman was Xiao Anfeng's birth mother, Zhao Lan.

Zhao Lan had been sick when Xiao Anfeng's biological father stole him away. Years later—just last year—she'd finally found Xiao Anfeng. She'd wanted to claim him back, but seeing how well he was doing in the Xiao family, she thought it over and couldn't bear to mess up his life now, so she held back.

But she missed Xiao Anfeng like crazy, so she sold her house and used all her savings to buy the convenience store in the second cafeteria. Just catching a glimpse of him now and then was enough.

In the original story, Xiao Anfeng didn't reunite with his birth mother until two years later.

Xiao Lancui entered the convenience store.

Zhao Lan was doing the books at the register. Someone came in, and she looked up out of habit. Seeing Xiao Lancui, she immediately ducked her head in guilt, jabbing at the calculator.

She knew everyone in the Xiao family—she knew Xiao Lancui was the Xiao family's Third Young Master.

Xiao Lancui looked around the store but couldn't find the matcha pudding Ice Bread. Instead, he spotted a few boxes of bruise ointment on a shelf.

Pure herbal formula, for bruises and blood circulation—little round tin boxes.

Xiao Lancui thought for a second, picked up one box to check the ingredients, then grabbed another and brought both to the counter.

Zhao Lan's head was practically buried in the counter as she scanned the items, when she suddenly heard Xiao Lancui's voice. "Boss, you don't carry the matcha pudding Ice Bread?"

Zhao Lan shook her head. "No."

"It's pretty good. You should stock it," Xiao Lancui said with a faint smile. "Can't get it on campus, and I get cravings."

"Okay," Zhao Lan nodded, quickly bagging the two boxes of ointment. "That's seventy total."

Xiao Lancui smiled faintly. "No bag, thanks."

Zhao Lan immediately took the ointments out and shoved them toward Xiao Lancui. "Bag's free. Still seventy without it."

Xiao Lancui didn't say anything else. He put the ointments in his bag, paid, and left.

Outside, it was pitch dark, and the night wind was biting. This body was like a sieve—no matter how warm the clothes, they couldn't hold in heat. Xiao Lancui pulled out a handkerchief—pure white, no embroidery, just like the ones he'd used in ancient times. It was fine and soft, gentle on the skin even with heavy use.

He coughed softly into it for a while, folded it, and buried his chin in his scarf before slowly heading toward the school gate.

Footsteps followed him. Xiao Lancui ignored them. As he walked out the gate, two sports cars pulled up from front and back, boxing him in. The window of the bright yellow car in front rolled down, and Fu Chen leaned out of the driver's seat, waving. "Yo, Little Lanzi, what a coincidence—date over already?"

The dark blue sports car behind him also lowered its window. Huo Shenan rested his left arm on the car door, slid his sunglasses up onto his head with the other hand, and raised his hand in greeting with a smile, "Hey, Little Lanzi."

Xiao Lancui didn't react at all, didn't even turn his head, and Huo Shenan's smile stiffened for a moment.

At that moment, Lu Siye, who had been following Xiao Lancui from the cafeteria, walked around Huo Shenan's car, slung an arm around Xiao Lancui's shoulder, and whispered in his ear, chuckling lightly, "So, my good friend, you like men?"

Xiao Lancui frowned. Although Lu Siye didn't smell of tobacco today, he had a different pungent cologne scent, and Lu Siye being so close made him uncomfortable.

Unlike the others, Lu Siye's approach carried—

a childish aggressiveness.

Lu Siye was seven or eight centimeters taller than Xiao Lancui and had been working out regularly. Xiao Lancui didn't waste energy on futile resistance; he was just about to cough when Lu Siye's expression shifted immediately. Remembering what happened yesterday, Lu Siye let go on his own and stepped back several paces.

Xiao Lancui pulled out his handkerchief, coughed lightly a couple of times, then calmly looked at Lu Siye. "Perhaps we were friends before, but now, you're a stranger to me, and I don't plan on getting reacquainted with you."

He didn't bother responding to that last remark.

He knew Lu Siye meant Jiang Xing—he'd seen them eating together at the same table in the cafeteria.

Lu Siye was indiscriminate with men and women, and later on, he was exclusively into men, with a wild personal life. He was straightforward and judged others by his own standards; there was no need to explain.

This didn't change his plan, though.

Seeing Xiao Lancui had stopped coughing, Lu Siye stayed three or four steps back, not approaching. He changed his strategy and said with a smile, "My dear Lancui, this isn't fair, is it?"

Inside the car, Fu Chen and Huo Shenan glanced at each other from a distance and simultaneously pressed their lips together to stifle their laughter, both knowing Lu Siye was getting started.

This rich kid—the nicer he acted, the bigger a jerk he was.

Tonight, Xiao Lancui was in for it!

"You lost your memory and forgot our great friendship, but I haven't—not in my heart." Lu Siye smiled with a charming look. "You're my best friend, and there's no 'one of' about it."

He even apologized sincerely, "I was too angry yesterday. I lost control when I heard you wanted to end our friendship. I'm sorry, I sincerely apologize. Give me a chance to make it up. Tonight, I'll take you racing, and we'll forget all the unpleasantness at full speed!"

Xiao Lancui calmly waited for Lu Siye to finish his act. Whether Lu Siye showed up or not, he was still heading to Panling Mountain today.

But now he could confirm that he could refuse, yet the timeline would automatically correct itself in another form, turning into Lu Siye forcing him to go.

So the outcome was inevitable.

Tonight, someone would definitely be in a car accident.

A new question came up: would Xiao Anfeng also be automatically corrected, showing up at Panling Mountain some other way? And would the person in the accident still be Xiao Anfeng?

Xiao Lancui went along with it and replied calmly, "Fine."

Before Lu Siye could react, he walked toward Fu Chen's sports car and asked Fu Chen outright, "Can I sit in your passenger seat?"

Caught off guard, Fu Chen froze.

He hadn't expected Xiao Lancui to get in his car on his own. For some weird reason, he felt absurdly flattered.

Damn!

A little adopted kid—he was letting Xiao Lancui in his car; Xiao Lancui should be kissing his feet, right?

Yet Fu Chen stammered slightly, "Oh, yeah, sure."

Xiao Lancui opened the door and got in.

Lu Siye pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, his gaze darkening slightly. After Fu Chen drove off with Xiao Lancui, he let out an incredulous light laugh, turned back to Huo Shenan, and asked, "Do I fucking look like I have a good temper?"

Huo Shenan laughed and cursed, "Damn, you look like a world-class scumbag from every angle. Good temper my ass!"

Lu Siye curled his lips and was about to go to the opposite side to get in his car when Huo Shenan suddenly asked, "Should we bring Xiao Anfeng along?"

Lu Siye was taken aback. From yesterday to today, he'd been thinking about how to teach Xiao Lancui a lesson and hadn't paid attention to Xiao Anfeng. He thought for a second, "No, tonight is Xiao Lancui's show."

Mentioning Xiao Lancui, he was noticeably excited. His gaze drifted again toward the bright yellow sports car that had merged into the traffic flow.

And he felt annoyed again.

Xiao Lancui had lost his memory, and his eyes were fucking broken too.

Fu Chen's Lamborghini was at best a bicycle compared to his Shelby Viper.

Lu Siye was about to step into his car to overtake Fu Chen when his phone rang.

At the same time, Xiao Lancui also received a call.

Zhou Fengqiang said over the phone, "Not good, young man, your friend is missing!"