Liang Dong met Shen Er'an’s eyes, which were darker than normal people, and felt tense and nervous like he was being trialled by a judge. “That’s uh,” Liang Dong impulsively blurted out a lie, “he begged me!”

Shen Er'an looked at him silently.

“It’s true, An-ge. When that guy flaps his lips, any sort of lie, nonsense, and myth can come out of his mouth. One moment he says this, the next moment that—it's hard to tell what's true and what's false. Don’t be tricked by him.” Liang Dong turned his head to avoid Shen Er’an’s gaze as he flicked the ash from his cigarette over the railing. “Last night, he disguised himself as a waiter to take the chance to see your dad while serving the dishes. But that’s not all. He even begged me to call Qi Shuang over, saying he had something to say to Qi Shuang. Who knows what tricks he was up to? I refused, so he said he’d let me touch him. I found him disgusting and turned him down. In the end, he kept bothering me so I had no choice but to agree. While I also hate how Qi Shuang’s so eager to become your stepmother, compared to Jiao Bai, Qi Shuang isn’t that bad. At least he doesn’t create trouble.”

Shen Er'an stood up.

Liang Dong and Shen Er'an were standing on the same step but Liang Dong was a few centimetres shorter. The sense of pressure from this height difference came down on him, and he diffidently kicked the ball down the stairs.

After a long time, Shen Er’an spoke, “Dongzi[1], while you’ve been mingling in this circle, you haven’t picked up any of those, bad habits, right?”

Liang Dong's face flushed red. His dad was a wealthy local businessman without much knowledge, while An-ge was a top student, excelling in a realm Liang Dong couldn't grasp, earning his respect and admiration. So when his dad scolded him for one whole day, he could laugh it off, but when An-ge said a single word, he felt so ashamed that he wanted to disappear.

“Alright, I admit it was me who took him there last night, and I was also the one who made him sneak in as a waiter. I just wanted to watch some drama unfold and enjoy the show.” Liang Dong raised his voice, “But it was definitely him who asked me to bring Qi Shuang to the lounge. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him to confirm!”

Shen Er'an turned and went down the stairs, holding the dragonfly he had just folded, which also had a ruined wing.

Liang Dong leaned against the railing, breathing deeply. An-ge stood up for that guy just now. What does that mean? Does he really consider him a friend now?

What is An-ge thinking? Jiao Bai was kept in Qinxin Estate for two years as one of his dad’s potential wives. He almost became his stepmother. Someone with this sort of identity can become his friend? Isn’t that cnf aknnc?

It’s plain cnf aknnc. It’s downright cnf aknnc. It’s cnf aknnc to the extreme.

Liang Dong muttered to himself, “An-ge, putting everything else aside, just the fact that Jiao Bai has a thousand faces is reason enough for me to not let him into our circle.”

That guy was absolutely not the type to behave and be content with his lot. His cheerful appearance was just a way to lower people’s guard. Deep down, he was evil and bad—not a good person. Liang Dong couldn’t shake off the feeling that Jiao Bai had the potential to inflict serious harm and lead people to ruin.

.

Tomorrow was Sunday. As soon as Jiao Bai finished school, he headed to the market to buy pig trotters, beef, bass, and shrimps, and went home to cook a feast. He nimbly tossed the pig trotters into the pot to stew and washed his hands. He then turned his backpack upside down and shook out his homework all over the table.

It was just one day off. Why did they feel the need to give so much homework?

Jiao Bai casually picked up a practice test and laid it on the table. He snapped a photo of a question and sent it to Zhang Zhen.

J: Big Sister, my homework is really hard O_O

When WeChat pinged, Zhang Zhen was driving. He glanced at the person in the back seat through the rearview mirror.

Qi Yilao's suit jacket was draped over his lap. His eyes were closed, his dark-coloured tie was loose, revealing part of his Adam's apple, and his brows showed signs of fatigue.

“San-ge, should we still get Xiao Ji to come over tonight?” Zhang Zhen asked in a lowered voice.

“Yeah.”

Zhang Zhen didn’t say anything else. He first sent San-ge back to Lanmo Residence[2], and then went to the Academy of Fine Arts to pick up Xiao Ji.

San-ge’s companion changed monthly and each time, Zhang Zhen would create a group on his phone to store the person’s contact information.

Zhang Zhen recently deleted the 202308 group and created a new group labelled 202312.

The reason the months weren’t consecutive was because lead singer “Little Hot Pepper” Jiang Yan of the 08 group stayed by San-ge’s side the longest, remaining with him from August all the way to the third week of November.

The successor, Xiao Ji was far less attractive than Jiang Yan, with a face full of acne, flat features, and a timid demeanour. However, that certain asset of his surpassed everyone who had been with San-ge so far, and could be regarded as natural advantage gifted by the Heavens.

Zhang Zhen had no idea how long the 202312 group would remain in his phone before it was deleted.

Upon arriving at Lanmo Residence, Xiao Ji, who had been well-behaved the entire journey, bowed to Zhang Zhen, and said, his ethereal voice somewhat reserved and anxious, “Thank you, Mr. Zhang, for bringing me here.”

“Go on in. Make sure you don’t anger San-ge.” Zhang Zhen waved his hand.

Xiao Ji cautiously walked towards to the quiet and secluded castle. To him, the big shot inside was a gentle devil. He prayed that he wouldn’t make any mistakes today. He mustn’t make a single mistake.

Zhang Zhen rubbed his sore neck. He hadn’t finished his last task of the day yet. It was now seven-forty. He had to send Xiao Ji back to the Academy in an hour.

Of course, if Xiao Ji was competent enough, he might be able to stay at Lanmo Residence for half an hour longer.

That was a new record set by Jiang Yan—an hour and a half.

Zhang Zhen smoked a cigarette by the car before heading into Lanmo Residence. Aunt Liu brought him the soup that she prepared in advance, and quietly went about her work.

Zhang Zhen finally had the time to check WeChat.

If his comrades needed anything, they would phone him directly. There was only one person who would contact him on WeChat.

Zhang Zhen's first thought when he saw the question was, Is this a physics question, a chemistry question, a math question or a biology question? Which is it?

He couldn't understand it, so he forwarded it to the group chat.

The group chat erupted with messages from his comrades.


[1] 栋子 (Dòngzi) – a nickname that shows that they are close friends. Dong is the ‘Dong’ in Liang Dong. 子  (zi) – means child/son.

[2] 兰墨府 (Lán Mò Fǔ) 兰 means orchid, 墨 means ink and 府 means residence or mansion.