Chapter 106 Nobles 4
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the enormous arched glass dome of the flower-decorated restaurant, scattering shimmering dappled light across the room. The air was filled with the rich aroma of coffee beans, the fragrant scent of black tea, and the warm, buttery aroma of freshly baked scones.
Good manners are ingrained in every Silver Oak student; even when having afternoon tea with friends, only soft laughter escapes their lips. The melodious violin strings together the laughter, creating a harmonious and pleasing sound.
Lu Xuejin forked a cherry tomato; in the bright light, the skin shone a vibrant red, subtly revealing the fruit. She opened her lips and bit into it, the sweet and sour juice bursting forth, staining her lips a deep color.
The young man's shoulder-length hair was tied back with a ribbon into a small ponytail, the smooth strands of hair brushing against his straight, fair neck, making him extremely eye-catching.
No one dared to stare at him with an offensive gaze. All the scrutiny and attention were cautious, and many people even held their breath, afraid that the sound of their breathing would disturb the people in the transparent private room.
During their years at Silver Oak, this was the first time they had encountered Lu Xuejin so frequently at school—she used to spend most of her time off-campus working for her family and rarely showed up.
At an age when many people still rely on their parents for a living, Lu Xuejin is already a highly regarded young person in high society, and everyone believes that he will take over the power of the Lu family.
Many of them had never even seen Lu Xuejin in person, only catching glimpses of this top-tier noblewoman's profile in the admiring and infatuated words of her peers, and in blurry photos that circulated rapidly in anonymous online forums.
They ate all the other fruit, leaving two honey fruits, but probably didn't like the taste.
The tea was barely touched. Kang Yuan's dog ignored the waiter and diligently brought over plain water. So, he didn't like flavored water? Or did he not like overly sweet water?
I vaguely remember someone taking a picture of him drinking lemon tea in the tree hole.
So you don't like sweet water?
Cute, incredibly cute from every angle.
Lu Xuejin possesses a background and family history that are difficult for others to match, yet her personality is not flamboyant or arrogant. The friendliness she exudes when she smiles always unintentionally attracts others to forget the difference in their status and get closer to her.
The people of Silver Oak were both pleased to see Lu Xuejin more often lately and couldn't help but feel jealous of the reason for his change—that lowly special admission student.
Many people showed disgust at the mere thought of this name. Just as they were about to look up to cleanse their eyes with the president's beautiful profile, the specially recruited student, who was constantly being cursed and scorned, swept past them. His strong physique and gloomy, cold aura made his presence undeniable in the crowd.
He walked behind Lu Xuejin, caught a glimpse of the lone honey fruit on the porcelain plate, and naturally picked it up with his bare hands to finish his leftovers.
The movements were fluid, as if they had been repeated hundreds of times.
This is such an ambiguous and intimate act!
Many people were stunned when they saw this scene.
How long has it been? This lowly commoner has already reached such a level of understanding with Lu Xuejin?
When Kang Yuan returned with the food and saw this scene, the smile on his face instantly froze, and a burst of anger suddenly flared up in his eyes.
Since the special admission student appeared, the young master's attention has been entirely focused on him. He not only promoted him to secretary, granting him power that others could only dream of, but also stayed at Silver Oak for a long time because of him, which was not like the young master he usually was.
His excessively tall and muscular physique gave him an overly aggressive look, and his slightly dark skin had a dirty quality to it.
This person, whose lowly origins are obvious at a glance, has taken his place and is now fawning over the young master.
How dare he? How could he be worthy?
In front of Lu Xuejin, Kang Yuan still acted like a senior who cared for his junior, but in reality, he harbored deep resentment and jealousy.
He quickly walked over and put down the snacks: "Young master, today's chef's special is made with a base of biscuits mixed with lemon juice and grapefruit juice, a layer of cheese with crunchy sugar granules, and cream mixed with raspberry jam. The overall flavor is sweet and sour, six parts sour and four parts sweet."
"Okay, thank you." Lu Xuejin smiled politely.
Before Kang Yuan could say anything more, Mo Chen picked up his knife and fork, deftly cut a piece from the triangular pastry, and naturally brought it to Lu Xuejin's lips, while Lu Xuejin naturally parted her lips.
An invisible barrier surrounded the two, keeping everyone else out.
Kang Yuan found himself unable to join in, frozen in place, unsure of what to do. His face flushed red and then paled. In the end, he could only silently make way for Shen Mo so that he could serve Lu Xuejin.
He retreated further back, his sinister eyes fixed on the silent back.
Silently handled all the tasks entrusted to him by Lu Xuejin. He had just gone to deal with the venue dispute between the oil painting club and the orchestra. As two popular clubs, the members' families are either wealthy tycoons or have enormous influence in the political and educational fields. The friction that arises is not something that ordinary people can mediate, much less something that a special admission student can get involved in.
He remained silent and composed, as if he had not encountered any difficulties or obstacles. He calmly reported the results: "After negotiations, the orchestra compromised and gave up the venue. In exchange, the painting society will need to allocate one-tenth of its budget to the orchestra next year."
"You've worked hard. Would you like some snacks?" Lu Xuejin didn't care about the outcome of these small things. She scooped up a spoonful of tea and snacks, turned around to hand it over, but saw a long, bright red wound on Momo's cheek.
Lu Xuejin frowned almost imperceptibly.
He put down the silver spoon and slightly raised his hand towards the silence.
Silence immediately took a small, obedient step forward, bowed her head, and brought her cheek close to her fingers.
A few very faint gasps were heard in the restaurant.
Amidst countless shocked and resentful gazes, her slender, fair fingers gently caressed the wound, her movements carrying an almost tender pity, her fingertips lightly stroking the edges of the injury.
"Does it hurt? How did you get hurt?" Lu Xuejin examined it for a while and found that it was just a common scrape. The wound had already scabbed over and there was no sign of bleeding. Her brows relaxed, but when she spoke again, there was a hint of anger in her voice, "Is someone not cooperating with the work?"
Near the balcony, someone vaguely heard these words. Thinking of his friend, who was the deputy director of the orchestra, he immediately held his breath, his heart pounding.
Lu Xuejin is indeed gentle and rarely uses his family background to make things difficult for others. However, sometimes he doesn't need to show any direct or clear malice. People eager to attach themselves to the Lu family will swarm around him and deal with the person who makes him frown.
He remained silent but downplayed the incident, saying he had been accidentally scratched by a tree branch.
They also said that everyone cooperated well and no one caused trouble.
He lied.
Every word is a lie.
Ever since the news of Shen Mo's appointment as the student council president's secretary spread, the difficulties they faced have never ceased. No one wanted to see Lu Xuejin, who was high and mighty and whom everyone could only admire from afar, standing next to a lowly and uncouth commoner, nor did anyone want to see a specially admitted student using his power to stir up trouble.
In this country, and in this academy, the rule for thousands of years has been to differentiate between the noble and the lowly, and the power-hungry desire flowing in their blood makes students naturally resistant to the rise of specially admitted students.
But behind the silence stood Lu Xuejin, and no one dared to challenge the Lu family. So compared to before, these difficulties seemed particularly "gentle," at most they were just silently tripping people up and isolating them, such as encountering malfunctions when using the bathroom, suddenly being unable to pay when swiping their cards in the cafeteria, and not getting a response when doing work. These were small but annoying little things.
Sometimes, the torment of small troubles is the easiest to break you down because it has the biggest impact on your quality of life, yet you can't bring it up openly.
Should I tell Lu Xuejin, "President, someone deliberately froze my student ID card, and someone bribed my classmates to isolate me?" That's ridiculous.
As expected, he remained silent and endured it without revealing it to Lu Xuejin.
But they didn't expect that this ordinary person, who was meek and obedient like a pet dog in front of Lu Xuejin, was actually extremely fierce and cruel beneath his gentle exterior.
Like a thug born in the lowest slums, his methods of solving problems can only be described as violent. Although his silent fists do not fall directly on them, they are displayed on those insignificant lackeys. There is not a trace of fear of power or nobility in his eyes.
Start with family and friends?
The silent household registration had long been exposed through the tree hole; he had no father, no mother, no friends, and no family.
Barefoot people have nothing to fear from those wearing shoes, and the nobles, who were restricted in every way, were at a loss as to what to do with him for a time.
For example, in this dispute between the two major groups, after discovering that Silence was handling the matter, the orchestra and the painting club reached a private agreement. On the surface, the conflict continued, with neither side willing to back down. Unexpectedly, Silence not only slunk away but also pointed at the musical instruments.
"Since no one is willing to back down, I'll just smash these things. Anyway, they're instruments that can be bought anytime. The chairman values me so much, he'll definitely help me clean up the mess."
Hearing such a shameless remark, the orchestra director was so angry that he trembled, but he also truly loved orchestral music, and could only retreat helplessly upon hearing this.
The obstruction brewing by the two major gangs was thus easily resolved, and he silently returned to Lu Xuejin's side, pretending to be nonchalant.
Countless dark gazes were cast upon him from every corner of the restaurant. If those gazes were tangible, the silence would have been torn to shreds long ago.
This lowly person only enjoyed his moment of triumph.
Someone was gripping their phone, their jaw clenched, their face contorted in spasms.
They dare not touch Lu Xuejin's followers, but that doesn't mean others dare not. The world is full of wonders, and there are plenty of crazy people who don't care about their lives.
Just wait and see.
Even if the chairman likes you a lot, what's the use if you're dead...? In the perpetually snowy Silver Oak, there's no shortage of burial grounds.
All the malice could only be suppressed, flowing silently, making this originally bright and warm space become dull and viscous.
The light gradually dimmed.
Lu Xuejin was completely unaware that the tea and snacks were just right, which made him smile.
Lu Xuejin enjoyed the scenery.
Heavy, fiery, and dark emotions surged and surrounded me, like a hungry, unsettled wild beast. Touching it would not only fail to pacify it, but would also result in it biting back.
The sudden sting is like touching cold water in the dead of winter; your fingertips will instantly turn red and then purple.
His dark uniform was soaked with water, the hem of which was wrinkled and dripping wet, probably because he had been doused with several buckets of water. Even after wiping it with a dry towel, Zhu Can's hair still radiated a chill.
He clutched the towel tightly in his palm. This cold-looking, unpopular transfer student stared blankly at Lu Xuejin, his pupils a dark, almost black green, lifeless and dull. After a long pause, he managed to utter a muffled, extremely hoarse sentence:
"Thanks."
"Go get him a coat," Lu Xuejin instructed. "It's so cold, and he's soaking wet. He'll catch a cold if he goes outside."
His handsome brows furrowed as he looked at Zhu Can: "If I hadn't heard any noise, you would have suffered limb necrosis from being locked up like this all night, even if you didn't get sick. Who is so malicious as to lock you in there?"
"Don't be afraid, tell me. I'll handle everything."
Zhu Can stared into those bright blue eyes, so clear and flawless, and easily found his own reflection in them.
He blankly uttered a few names.
Then, Zhu Can saw Lu Xuejin smile. It was truly amazing; his fellow human being smiled just like a human, the smile flowing naturally from the slight upturn of her lips to the corners of her eyes, without the slightest hint of stiffness.
He stared at it, becoming increasingly mesmerized, unable to tear himself away.
After the victim was taken back to the dormitory, a student couldn't help but ask, "Chief, should this be reported to the supervisor?"
School rules prohibit violence, but there are many things the college can't do about it.
Lu Xuejin shook her head. "Don't cause any trouble for the lady. I'll handle those people."
He turned his palm over; the redness on his fingertips hadn't faded yet. The image of Zhu Can, soaking wet and shivering but expressionless, flashed through his mind.
Lu Xuejin smiled so hard her eyes crinkled.
Because of Lu Yangfeng, he had come into contact with many strange creatures that were difficult for ordinary people to detect since childhood. Lu Yangfeng said they were called "invisible things" and possessed all sorts of magical powers.
Zhu Can is also an intangible being, so he wouldn't mistake someone else. Then here's the question—how could a strange monster hiding among people be bullied by weak humans?
"What are you trying to do hiding in the crowd?" Lu Xuejin casually caught a snowflake and spoke to the cold, austere wind and snow.
Afterwards, Lu Xuejin had Zhu Can stay by his side, taking care of him at all times, and those cruel malices instantly disappeared, as if they had never existed.
The two outcasts knew each other's identities, but never revealed them, and got along tacitly.
Lu Xuejin habitually uses a smile to disguise his insincerity. His life experience since childhood has taught him that with his looks, he can often win people's favor simply by smiling.
This skill works wonders in unfamiliar environments, from slums to colleges.
But Zhu Can seemed to know the amusement and malice behind the smile, unlike those fools who were blinded by a smile. He could always see Lu Xuejin's true feelings behind his smile.
Others mocked Zhu Can as a dog, and he really did follow Lu Xuejin around like a dog. His brief departures were only to deal with anyone who displeased Lu Xuejin.
During a holiday, Lu Xuejin abandoned Zhu Can and went home, running up the wooden stairs and making a clattering sound.
After they moved out of the slums and into the small villa bought by Lu Yangfeng's lover, there would be no more neighbors angrily banging on doors and hurling insults because of noises coming from late at night. Lu Xuejin worked tirelessly from head to toe, until his forehead was soaked with sweat, at which point Lu Yangfeng told him to go take a shower.
After taking a shower, he emerged as a clean and smiling young man.
He pulled out a chair and deliberately scraped the knife and fork against the porcelain plate, making a sound.
Lu Yangfeng looked at him thoughtfully: "Baby, have you made any friends?"
"No," Lu Xuejin said in a soft, drawn-out voice, sweetly changing the subject. "It's Mom who's at fault. Has the taste changed, or has someone else taken over? Aunt Lin will be angry."
His little scheme failed, and Lu Yangfeng smiled enigmatically, "Then what happened to make our darling so happy?"
The fork slammed into the plate with a loud crack as it broke the steak.
Lu Xuejin looked at the crack and said sweetly.
"Just found a new toy."
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