Surviving the incident at the Cheng Kang Psychiatric Hospital made Xie Xue into a legendary teacher at the school.
When she returned to the lectern, not a single student arrived late or left early without a legitimate excuse. The classroom was jam-packed every lecture, with students from other classes attending the lesson if they weren't busy—even the dreamboat from the fourth-year drama class stumbled in to take a good look at her. All the students wanted to see this lucky duck who had supposedly escaped the clutches of a deranged and violent murderer.
Even more outlandishly, there were those who believed that if you printed out Xie Xue's photo and hung it on your dormitory door, the entire dorm would be sure to pass their classes.
But Xie Xue was oblivious to all of this. She believed with great confidence that the reason behind the current unprecedented surge in popularity of her screenwriting and directing classes must be because her teaching methods were extremely interesting.
"Aiya, I really must be a genius educator who teaches in the best of ways," Xie Xue said gleefully to He Yu, who had come to deliver the class's homework to her. "Oh yeah, He Yu, are you feeling better? The school wants to give you an award—granted, the way you rashly charged into the fire shouldn't be imitated, but the university president said that your selfless act of courage is commendable…"
He Yu smiled. "I'm much better. That award is mostly for my parents, anyway."
He Jiwei and Lü Zhishu had found out about what happened, but they made no special efforts to return home upon hearing that their son wasn't severely hurt. It was a surprising decision for Lü Zhishu in particular—she always dealt with her clients with a smile, cracking one joke after another. Those who weren't familiar with her would get the impression that she was very charming and placed great value on family and life.
But people more familiar with her like Xie Xue and Xie Qingcheng knew all too well that her humor and kindness were a facade. As far as she was concerned, her business away from home was naturally far more important than her eldest son who had merely experienced a somewhat distressing ordeal. She simply called the school's administration and told the board of directors to pressure the school into consoling He Yu properly.
Therefore, He Yu didn't care one bit about these frivolous awards.
Xie Xue didn't know what to say. She felt pity for He Yu, but not wanting to pry into He Yu's family matters, she hurriedly switched to a more lighthearted topic. "Uh, umm, so, the school's hosting a campus exploration event on Friday. You've been through so much recently, so this is a perfect opportunity to unwind and have fun with your classmates. Why don't you join?"
"I can't. I have something I need to do on Friday."
"I see…" Xie Xue's face fell. "That's too bad. I was going to ask you to keep me company."
He Yu's aloof expression perked up a bit as he looked at her, asking, "You're going?"
"I have to." Xie Xue took out a giant, furry fox head from behind her desk and, after digging around some more, fished out a snowy white tail as well. "Look at this."
"What is this?"
"A costume for a nine-tailed fox mascot. The school organized it so that every department needs to select one teacher to wear a costume and welcome guests. My luck is so rotten, not only did I get volunteered as tribute, but I even drew the most boring activity venue."
"Isn't it always that those who are dumb at least have good luck? So how come you not only have a low IQ but shitty luck too?"
Xie Xue's face crumpled. She didn't even feel like dealing with He Yu's snide remarks.
He Yu sighed and then asked, "Where are you being banished to?"
"The newly revamped Neverland Island in the central lake. You know, that damned place might be called Neverland, but seriously? Even though the students strung up some lanterns and projected an image of the night sky over that useless place, it's pretty much the same as it has always been. Plus, it's so far away… Ah, the whole thing was supposed to be canceled this year, but the dean thinks of this event as a tradition, so we still kept it in the end…"
She dejectedly tossed the fox head and tail away and sprawled out limply in her chair.
He Yu picked up the furry, snow-white tail she'd tossed onto the desk and looked at it thoughtfully for a moment. He didn't say anything, but an idea popped into his head.
Friday arrived in the blink of an eye.
The buttery aroma of warm sponge cake wafted through the bakery classroom. He Yu carefully put the finishing touches on the freshly made cake, covered it with a pure-white sheet of wax paper, and packed it into a box. Then, he diligently tidied up the bakery classroom that one of the teachers had allowed him to use and walked out.
The campus exploration event was boisterously underway.
He "I don't have time to hang out" Yu took a leisurely stroll around the campus with one hand carrying Xie Xue's favorite whipped cream mango mousse cake and the other tucked into his pocket.
He checked out a world travel-themed maze and won a small stuffed toy dog—a white Samoyed that looked like a smiling angel with round, dark-chocolatey eyes that gazed up at him as he hugged it in the crook of his arm.
"Look!"
A group of schoolgirls were standing nearby with their little fists pressed to their mouths. Fragments of their conversation floated over to He Yu's ears from time to time.
"It's He Yu-xuezhang! The xuezhang who rescued his teacher from the fire! He's even hotter in person than in his pictures!"
"What xuezhang, you silly girl. He's a xuedi!! He's in the 1001 screenwriting and directing class!"
"Huh? But he's so tall...he looks like he's gotta be almost 180 centimeters. Wait, no. He has to be like 190..."
"I have a friend in his class who said that He Yu's family is super wealthy—and he's gorgeous and has perfect grades to boot."
"Isn't that just like Wei Dongheng-xuezhang?"
"Forget it, Wei Dongheng doesn't behave like a man at all. He's so full of himself and prettier than a flower, yet you still wanna call him 'xuezhang'? You might as well call him 'xuejie' instead. He's such a showoff, flaunting his family's wealth, and clearly spoiled rotten. Last week, the prettiest girl in the Class 5 drama course confessed to him, and do you know what he said?"
"What?"
"You? Why don't you look in the mirror—want me to send you a set of skincare products?"
The first girl couldn't muster a reply to this.
"But He Yu's not like that. He has such an easygoing personality and is so well mannered, he won't even raise his voice at people. Heck, he even risked his life to save Xie-laoshi! Where can you even find such a nice boy?"
Hearing them talk about him like this, He Yu gave them a little smile. The schoolgirls quietly squealed "he heard us!" and then immediately scattered into the distance in embarrassment.
In his usual gentle and refined manner, He Yu held back a second smile as he watched them go, his gaze darkening. Xie Qingcheng should really get a load of this.
How could anyone not like him?
He didn't actually have any interest in these schoolgirls. But that person…
That person was the only one he wanted.
The phone in his pocket buzzed, breaking him out of his thoughts. He Yu checked the message.
"He-laoban, you really want me to chop down the rope bridge?"
It had come from a second-year outdoor recreation club member.
Neverland Island lay in the middle of Huzhou University's garden lake; the center of the island had a campsite set up by the university's outdoor recreation club. This message was from the senior who usually managed it.
He Yu replied, "The rope bridge has gone a long time without ‐ repairs. It'd be dangerous to keep it up. Besides, chopping it down would also make it easier for the dean to replace it."
The second-year texted back, "But the dean just had workers do a maintenance check at the beginning of the term. Our club is responsible for
managing Neverland Island, so if it broke in such a short period of time, our outdoor recreation club would have to pay for it. Even though it's just a small floating bridge, it would cost at least 3,000 RMB to fix…"
In response to this message, He Yu solved the problem with a few
taps on his screen. He imagined the sudden clinking-coins sound effect that
his fellow senior's phone was making at this very moment accompanying
the message: "5,000 RMB has been sent to your Alipay account."
Executive He's message followed right on its heels. "Please make sure to chop it down thoroughly." The communication methods of the bourgeoisie were so simple and decisive.
The penniless club member was speechless.
According to the directions on the campus exploration event map, the nine-tailed fox would wait for students at the dock, then accompany those who wanted to take the duck-shaped boats to Neverland Island.
He Yu walked toward the lakeshore covered in withered leaves and dead branches. As expected, he saw Xie Xue wearing the white nine-tailed fox mascot costume and waiting for the students who would come for the boat rides.
The white fox sat quietly in the boat, seemingly unaware that one of its nine tails had fallen onto the water's surface, setting off ripple after ripple from the swaying vessel.
He walked closer to the fox, the fallen leaves crunching softly beneath his feet. The zoned-out nine-tailed fox mascot didn't hear him approaching until he was standing by the shore.
"Xie Xue."
The nine-tailed fox was stunned for a moment before it turned its head to look at him in surprise.
He Yu smiled. "Bet you didn't think I'd come."
He glanced around at their surroundings. "They really sent you far away from everyone. I doubt anyone else would bother coming out here, so if I didn't come, you'd be left sitting around here all day."
The nine-tailed fox looked at him in silence, as if it didn't quite agree with what he said.
"Who else do you think would come visit you? Your brother?"
After a pause, He Yu said gently, "Your brother is nearing menopause, and yet he keeps getting forced into matchmaking dates out of his age cohort. He spends all his days so pissed off by those little girls that he needs to drink Women's Soothing Tonic to calm down; he probably doesn't have the time or energy to care about you."
The nine-tailed fox didn't react.
He Yu stepped gracefully onto the boat. "Come on, I'll go with you. To Neverland Island."
A lake on a university campus couldn't be all that big, so even though the island was in the central lake, it took less than two minutes for the two of them to reach that lump of dirt called Neverland.
The island looked as pathetic and deserted as expected. There were a few strings of lanterns hung up just for show and some tent-building materials strewn around the campsite covered in a thick layer of ‐ accumulated dust. There were too many mosquitoes out right now, so even though it had already been a month since school started, the outdoor recreation club had yet to organize a single event.
He Yu said, "I'll be your customer. So, where do I get the stamp?"
The nine-tailed fox silently moved its head, gesturing toward a certain direction.
He Yu looked at the full-body fox costume, and his amusement reared its head once more. "It's so hot today, don't you feel stuffy wearing that? Why don't I help you take it off?"
At the sight of him reaching out, the nine-tailed fox took a quick step back, holding its paws up in front of it.
"…You don't want to?"
It nodded.
"Ah, okay, keep wearing it then. Don't come crying to me if it gets too hot."
The nine-tailed fox lowered its snowy paws indifferently and crossed its arms.
He Yu gazed at it. "To be honest, it's pretty cute. If you look like this, Gege will give you full marks on your performance review later."
Once again, silence hung between them.
"Go ahead and lead the way, then," He Yu said
The stamp was located in the middle of Neverland Island and atop a small, simple desk. The nine-tailed fox silently leaned against a tree and turned its head to gaze off into the distance.
He Yu turned to look at it after getting his stamp. While he found the whole thing amusing, he also felt that the costume's head must be too heavy for Xie Xue. Not to mention, given his predisposition to bullying people, the more Xie Xue didn't want him to remove the headwear, the more he wanted to get it off.
And so, seeing that the nine-tailed fox had turned in a different direction, he found himself seized by a sudden whim. Setting his things on the ground, he walked over silently, and once he was close enough, he grabbed the head abruptly and, with a big smile on his face, pulled up.
"Xie Xue—"
What? How could it be?!
The face covered in disheveled hair that appeared from beneath the headpiece didn't belong to Xie Xue at all! It was a clearly furious Xie Qingcheng!
Both men were at a loss for words.
Professor Xie's mouth opened and shut several times in succession. After pressing his lips tightly together for a while, he pushed his messy fringe out of his eyes and gave a glare that pierced He Yu like a dagger. The tips of his white teeth were just barely visible under his thin lips as he gritted his teeth.
He broke the silence with a terrifyingly chilly voice, "Are you fucking insane?!"
Executive He's expression darkened the moment he saw Xie Qingcheng. "No, but why did you crawl your way into this stupid mascot getup without telling me?"
Xie Qingcheng tossed the headpiece into He Yu's arms and pulled himself out of the costume with a frown. It was truly a rare occasion; the elite Professor Xie was always immaculate, so He Yu could never have imagined that he'd ever be able to see something as wretched as Xie Qingcheng laboriously climbing out of the suit with disheveled hair.
"Why would I tell you? You said so much nonsense the entire way here, when would I even have had the chance? If you're done getting your stamp, then scram."
He Yu stared at him in dissatisfaction. "Where's Xie Xue?"
"She found it too hot and asked me to take her place. Now, who's the one busy with matchmaking dates and needs to drink Women's Soothing Tonic again?"
He Yu didn't reply.
Meeting Xie Qingcheng's incisive, scalpel-like gaze, He Yu recalled what he had said earlier and smiled. "Please don't take it to heart. Those were just idle remarks."
This was the first time they'd met since parting ways at the police station. After the initial horror of the situation faded, the atmosphere became a bit awkward, especially for Xie Qingcheng. Shortly after throwing beer in He Yu's face, he felt that his actions had been entirely unnecessary. He was accustomed to keeping a cool head, but that day, the pressure of his emotions had gotten the better of him. So, when He Yu happened to hit a sore spot, he lost his temper and started a fight with the younger man. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have stooped so low as to squabble with a boy thirteen years his junior.
Now, as He Yu apologized to him again, Xie Qingcheng paused while running his hands through his messy hair. His tone eased slightly as he broke the tense atmosphere and responded, "…Forget it. Weren't you busy today?"
"…Yeah. How did you know?"
"Xie Xue said she asked you because she planned on having you take her place, but you said you were busy today and had no time, so she felt awkward asking."
He Yu fell silent for a long while. Instead of responding to Xie Qingcheng, he set the mascot head and the Samoyed plushie to the side. He stood with his hand to his forehead as he processed the situation. Then, he turned around and walked back toward the dock, the bag with the mango mousse cake in hand.
"…I should have checked the almanac today before coming out."
However, when He Yu returned to the Neverland Island dock with a sliver of hope in his heart, all he saw were the bobbing duck-shaped boats that had already been moored on the opposite bank. The boats swayed back and forth, their golden beaks distorted into mocking smiles by the warped light reflecting off of the waves.
It was only then that He Yu remembered that he'd personally asked his xuezhang to cut off all means of transport after he landed on the island so that he could trap Xie Xue here alone and tell her his feelings.
Was this what it meant to shoot oneself in the foot?
He Yu's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"What's wrong?"
The sound of footsteps approached him from behind; he didn't need to turn back to know that the only other featherless biped on this island was Xie Qingcheng. He Yu had originally planned for a single man and a single lady to stay on this island—a perfect scenario for romance. But now, not only were two single men trapped on this island, but the other was the one man whom he detested the most.
The more he thought about it, the more vicious he felt. It was to the point where he kind of wanted to handcuff Xie Qingcheng's hands behind his back, tie him to a tree, and torment him half to death for an entire night in this lonely wilderness until Xie Qingcheng's complexion turned pale and his body was covered in bits of grass, until he passed out, until he died. There was nobody else coming anyway, and if he couldn't declare his love to Xie Xue, then it was just as well if he could personally destroy this man. In any case, he shouldn't waste this no man's land that he had built so carefully.
Who asked him to ruin his plans, anyway?
Having removed the mascot costume, Xie Qingcheng's figure appeared tall and slender as his aura abruptly changed. When he caught up to He Yu and walked beside him, it was as though He Yu could smell that elusively cold scent of medicine and disinfectant that he couldn't stand all over again.
He Yu composed himself and tamped down on the unrealistic urge to commit a crime as he turned around once more.
"I don't know why the boats are all on the other side."
"…Maybe they're being operated from the control room?" Xie Qingcheng stuck his hands in his pockets as he expressionlessly mulled things over for a while. "It's okay; there's still a rope bridge. Follow me."
Five minutes later, Xie Qingcheng stared at the now-mostly submerged rope bridge in silence with disbelief written all over his face.
"It seems the rope bridge has also broken."
"Ah, how unlucky. Someone must have pulled a prank." Although He Yu feigned calm on the outside, on the inside he was considerably dispirited. Would you look at that! If it isn't the consequences of my own actions. After a while, you'll also find that there's no phone signal either.
He had originally planned on staying on this island with Xie Xue until around midnight. To that end, he'd even managed to get his hands on a set of signal jammers that were used for the university entrance examinations to prevent cheating. Actually, it could be said that they were even more effective than the ones used in the examination because he'd reprogrammed the devices himself.
He Yu was rather capable in this respect. He would often distract himself when bored by focusing all his attention on studying how to break into computer systems and signal interference. Given his opponents' firewalls, breaking into computer programs was a race against time. It was quite effective at diverting his attention from his pain and keeping his illness under control. After so many years of practice, he had inadvertently become a formidable first-rate hacker.
Of course, he wouldn't tell his senior that the signal jammer was of his own making. He only had him activate the device on the other side of the shore, thus ensuring that Xie Xue would get no response no matter what. If anyone tried to come to Neverland Island, his xuezhang would also tell them that this activity was too boring and had already been shut down.
He Yu had originally thought that this was a perfectly seamless plan.
For the sake of it, he'd even made sure to stress the details to his accomplice. "Remember to wait on the opposite shore until midnight before sending the boats back over."
"Understood, He-laoban."
"You must ignore us no matter how much we call for help during this
time. I want to put on a convincing act in front of her, otherwise she'll get
suspicious very easily."
"No problem, He-laoban."
At present, as He-laoban gazed at Xie Qingcheng's slender and poised silhouette, he felt a slight headache coming on.
What do you mean, no problem? He Yu inwardly scolded himself. This problem is turning out to be a bit too big…
"Wait a minute, there's someone on the other side." Xie Qingcheng had walked halfway around the lump of dirt that was Neverland Island and discovered the senior club member standing watch on the other shore. "I'll call for him."
"It's useless for you to do it." He Yu sighed, mustering his final wisp of hope.
"It's better if I do it."
Xie Qingcheng asked, "Why is that?"
"I'm just being filial. I respect the elderly and cherish youth—is that a good enough reason for you?"
He Yu felt like he was truly at the end of his rope and didn't want to bother wasting his breath with Xie Qingcheng anymore. He began waving on his own toward his wingman across the water, but to no avail.
Fifteen minutes later, the dry-mouthed Young Master He leaned back against the tree trunk.
Xie Qingcheng mocked mildly, "Now that you're done being filial, do you still have any energy left?"
Young adult men who had just come of age had the biggest of egos; to them, the most unbearable thing was to hear others say that they were impotent. However, He Yu genuinely had no explanation to offer, and so he simply turned to his other side, unwilling to even look at Xie Qingcheng. He picked a knee-length stalk of foxtail grass and slapped in frustration at the mosquitoes buzzing around him.
The more he stood there and thought, the more irritated He Yu became. He tossed the stalk of grass away with a flick and turned to walk into the forest.
"Where are you going?" Xie Qingcheng asked.
"I'm going to get a drink of water from the campsite." The boy's voice had already gone hoarse from yelling.
After walking some distance away, He Yu took out a different, unblocked phone and sent his accomplice a message with a nauseated expression. "Something's gone wrong. Please help us get off the island."
The senior club member replied in an instant, and he didn't even forget to suck up to this member of the bourgeoisie. "Very impressive, Executive He! Your acting's so good! Even this message is fake, right?"
Another few seconds passed, and another message arrived.
"Executive He, I remember that you told me before not to let you two out no matter what you said. I'll take care of everything, so don't you worry. I'll only come pick you up after midnight. If other people try to get close to Neverland Island, I'll chase them off. So, don't worry and enjoy your private time together."
He Yu couldn't come up with a suitable reply.
What was he supposed to enjoy on this deserted island?
Enjoy Xie Qingcheng?
If murder weren't illegal, he could certainly chain Xie Qingcheng up, toss him into a heap of straw, and enjoy himself all night long, but what was he supposed to enjoy now?