Qin Shen was truly frightened.

If you were to ask him who he fears most, it would undoubtedly be his uncle, Qin Zhengze.

It wasn't just fear, it was a mixture of awe and reverence; a desire to get close yet a reluctance, and a deep-seated admiration.

However, their family's relationship with their uncle has never been good; every time they see their uncle, he is lukewarm towards them.

His father said it was because his grandfather valued him and wanted him to inherit the Qin family, which his uncle resented, so he disliked him.

But Qin Shen vaguely felt that it wasn't like that. His father told him to flatter and fawn over his grandfather and make him happy. He secretly glanced at his uncle's expression, which was half-smiling, as if he were watching a monkey show.

That expression became a mental block for him, making him feel that there was something that he and his father didn't know.

If his shrewd and powerful uncle, who had held a high position for many years and was the head of the Qin family, truly intended for him to be the next successor, would he be so indifferent to him, even too lazy to say a word to him?

However, it is a fact that his uncle has no wife or children, and over the years, he has never shown any intention of marrying or having children.

My uncle has no children. Sooner or later he will grow old and powerless. When that day comes, who else can the Qin family pass on to besides him?

But the sight of this boy who looked seven-tenths like his uncle filled Qin Shen with dread. He suddenly realized, what if his uncle had a child? Wouldn't that be the most legitimate son of the Qin family?

No, we mustn't panic.

Qin Shen shook his head; cold sweat had soaked through his back. There were plenty of people in the world who looked alike; you couldn't assume that just because someone looked like someone else, they were related by blood.

It was quite a coincidence, though. First, a boy who looked like the Lu family couple appeared. It was said that the Lu family had switched the babies at birth.

There was someone with this man who looked just like his uncle. Qin Shen was starting to suspect that there might be some kind of conspiracy targeting his family.

His threat was only half-uttered, making him appear weak and cowardly. Coupled with his disheveled appearance, covered in mud and grime as he had just gotten up from the ground, the onlookers immediately booed.

"What's going on?!" someone shouted from afar.

"Security is here!"

"Someone's causing trouble! Come quick! A rich kid is beating up a student!"

"Don't let them get away, stop them, stop them..."

...

With the help of a passerby, Qin Shen and his entourage were taken to the school's security office.

The three of them from the dormitory were traveling together. Zeng Peng went upstairs to ask for leave for them. There were also several boys who had been knocked down by Qin Wu, as well as onlookers who took the initiative to witness the incident. The bustling crowd almost filled the small room.

Ruan Bei was attending class at school when Qin Shen and his two friends from outside the school blocked him at the teaching building. They were in the wrong, and they even hit the student, which made the security department and the school leaders who came to deal with the problem even angrier.

Hearing that they were going to call the police, Qin Shen became agitated: "They were the ones who hit me, he threw hot water on me first."

Ruan Bei, pointed at by him, remained completely calm and said, "You stopped me from going back to class, you laid hands on me, and you even insulted me and my parents..."

Qin Gu was unaware of the background and was furious upon hearing it. However, he hesitated to act directly in front of his teacher, though his cold gaze was like a knife piercing through her.

Qin Shen couldn't stand his face and instinctively avoided his gaze. After realizing what was happening, she secretly hated herself for being so weak.

"I came to you to seek justice, and you brought people to beat up my friend, and you show no remorse whatsoever. Is this how your school teaches its students?"

"Isn't he your ex-boyfriend who cheated on you?"

These words weren't spoken by Ruan Bei, but by a passerby who had witnessed the entire scene. Their words immediately drew laughter.

Ruan Bei laughed along, then said righteously, "You said I hit you... friend—"

He paused deliberately, which immediately caused another burst of laughter.

"Then tell him to call the police and let them come find me. Otherwise, if you just make up stories and say that I hit him, I'll say that you deliberately fell down in front of me to try and scam me."

If Lu Sibai wanted to call the police, he would have done so already. Since he didn't, he won't call them again.

"You..." Qin Shen was speechless. He couldn't argue with Ruan Bei, so he said angrily, "Sharp-tongued."

"It's better than a green-haired turtle."

"Hahahaha, why are you speaking such obvious truths..."

Qin Shen gritted his teeth in anger, glaring at the students who were laughing and joking.

The school leaders, having observed the situation calmly and already understanding the general cause and course of events, said sternly, "Call the police."

It wouldn't be right not to take action if a student at their school was assaulted on campus.

No matter how angry Qin Shen was, he was also rational enough to know that he was completely in the wrong. If he really called the police, he would lose face big time.

But it's impossible for him to bow down to Ruan Bei.

His feverish mind gradually calmed down, and he made an excuse to go to the restroom, intending to make a phone call to make arrangements.

Bai Miaomiao glanced at him and raised her voice, "Teacher, shouldn't we let the journalism students follow up on this kind of thing? At least they can find some material for the school newspaper."

As luck would have it, there was a media studies major at the event. Her major required her to keep up with current events, and she had specifically researched the love-hate relationship between Qin Shen and Lu Sibai, which had previously caused a stir. She had even explained the situation to other classmates who were unaware of it.

Upon hearing Bai Miaomiao's words, she immediately understood that even a cuckolded prince is still a prince. If he pulls strings and puts pressure on his superiors, wouldn't the students' grievances be in vain?

How can we tolerate this?!

The girl immediately asked the other classmates who were watching for the videos they had taken, collected them, and prepared to make a big news story to use public opinion to punish this rich second-generation who bullied others.

After the two were reprimanded and sent home, Qin Shen originally planned to go to the hospital to see Lu Sibai and take the opportunity to show off his achievements.

He had no interest in that now. Exhausted, he returned home, his mind constantly flashing back to Qin Gu's face, which looked so much like his uncle's.

However, when he pushed open the door, he was greeted by a magazine that his father had thrown at him.

Fortunately, it wasn't a large volume, but the fashion magazines Luo Youqi read were all printed on glossy paper and of unclear weight. When Qin Zhengping angrily threw it at him, it felt like a slap in the face, leaving Qin Shen stunned on the spot.

"dad?!"

"Don't call me Dad!"

Qin Zhengping looked furious: "Didn't I tell you not to mess around with that good-for-nothing youngest son of the Lu family? He's already cheated on you, and you still won't wake up?!"

"Dad, what are you saying..."

Qin Shen's eyes flickered, while Qin Zheng clutched his chest, furious: "You still want to hide it from me? Look at yourself!"

He threw his phone on the sofa. Qin Shen went over, picked it up, and looked at it. Suddenly, everything went black.

His name was prominently displayed alongside the green-haired turtle at the bottom of the trending searches, and his popularity was rising.

The painful experience of being repeatedly trending on social media before filled Qin Shen with fear. He was mocked and insulted every day in various ways. Those worthless, vulgar, and ill-mannered netizens hid behind the internet, pointing fingers and making comments about him. Did they deserve it?!

"Click on it and see what you've done!" Qin Zhengping had clearly been angry for a while, and was leaning back on the sofa, clutching his chest and panting.

Qin Shen tapped the video with trembling fingers. It was a video of him arguing with Ruan Bei. Everyone else except him and Qin Wu was blurred out.

Several eye-catching headlines made him grit his teeth in hatred.

"The Green Tea Textbook Re-examines Tea Art, and the Green-Haired Prince Goes to War for Love"

Why don't you dye this thing green?

"You can't just take off the green hat whenever you want."

...

Qin Shen slammed his phone down: "I'm going to sue them!"

Qin Zhengping almost fainted from anger at his unfilial son.

Don't you even see what people are saying about you? At this critical juncture, instead of avoiding trouble, you want to run right into it?!

"you……"

"Dad, we can't just let this go, I..."

"Guards, lock him up!" Qin Zhengping didn't want to listen to him anymore. If he kept talking, he would end up like Lu Minghai, ending up in the hospital because of his unfilial son.

"Dad! Dad! Let me go..."

Compared to the raging storm on Qin Shen's side, Ruan Bei was much happier.

They came out of the security office, and the second class was almost over. If they rushed back now, they could probably warm up the cold benches, but they still wouldn't get warm.

Thinking that his classmates had helped him out of injustice, he felt he should show some appreciation, so he suggested that they go out for a meal together.

The boys were quite carefree, and they agreed to Ruan Bei's invitation as soon as he asked. None of the boys who intervened were actually injured. It was winter, and they were all wearing thick clothes. Moreover, Qin Wu was careful with his strength. The most serious injury was just a slight sprain in the arm of the first boy.

Girls are reserved, but they can't help but feel hungry when they see handsome guys. If the school heartthrob invites you, you'll have to go even if it costs you money.

So the girls nudged each other, blushing as they agreed.

With so many people around, and it being winter, hot pot was a perfect choice, so a group of young people went to a hot pot restaurant off campus.

The media studies student showed Ruan Bei the video and article she had submitted to a popular influencer, which led to Qin Shen being called out again.

"Don't worry, I've heavily blurred your images, you absolutely won't be able to tell, and the audio has also been processed..."

After listening to their conversation, she realized that it seemed to involve Ruan Bei's privacy, so she cut out the parts that shouldn't be released.

"Thank you so much." Ruan Bei felt happy as she looked at the comments mocking Qin Shen.

"Please have some tea." Ruan Bei smiled and beckoned to the waiter, ordering a pot of floral tea.

The girl secretly touched her burning cheeks, and was just about to take the opportunity to say a few more words to Ruan Bei when a hand reached out from the side, hooked around Ruan Bei's neck, and pulled him over.

Ruan Bei almost fell into Qin Gu's arms, bracing herself against his thigh to steady herself: "What are you doing?"

"I want to eat... pan-fried buns, go buy them for me."

"Now?" Ruan Bei glanced at the hot pot broth that had just been served. "We can eat right away."

Qin Gu: "I want to eat pan-fried buns."

"Okay, I'll go buy it. Is there anything you need me to bring back?"

With hot pot available, no one wanted to eat steamed buns, and everyone waved their hands in refusal. Ruan Bei asked Qin Gu to help him arrange it, then put on his scarf and hurriedly went out.

As soon as he left, Qin Gu immediately sat down in his seat, calm and natural as if he had always been sitting there.

girl:"……"

The hot pot broth hadn't boiled yet, but Ruan Bei ordered some cold dishes, such as edamame and shredded vegetables. Qin Gu picked up a piece with his chopsticks.

Girl: "...That!"

"What's wrong?"

The girl watched him slowly finish his food and put down his chopsticks, then choked up, saying, "N-nothing."

Those were Ruan Bei's chopsticks, and they had been used...

When Ruan Bei returned with the steamed buns, he acted as if he hadn't noticed that his seat had been changed and naturally sat in Qin Gu's original seat.

"Here, eat it while it's hot, the meat filling won't be good to eat once it gets cold."

Qin Gu took a bite of the steamed bun, and Ruan Bei asked expectantly, "How is it? Does it taste good?"

Qin Gu casually stuffed the remaining half into his mouth: "Try it yourself."

"Hmm, not bad. I'll try other fillings next time."

Girl: "..." So my roommate was right, Gu Bei really is there, waaaaah, I'm heartbroken.