DCISBS chapter 21

“Hey, people are saying they haven’t seen Xie Quan in the campus clinic lately,” Wen Fei said suddenly while scrolling on his phone.

Lu Nanyang paused for a moment. He’d seen the same post, where a lot of girls were complaining that during Xie Quan’s shifts recently, only a female nurse had been there.

—“Maybe he’s been really busy with school lately? He’s in his third year now, the coursework must be intense.”

—“That girl is pretty too, but I still want to see handsome Dr. Xie, waaaah 😭😭😭.”

“Maybe he’s busy with classes… or maybe he’s sick and recovering,” Lu Nanyang said, eyes lowered as he continued sweeping trash off the dorm desk into the garbage can.

Just as he tied up the trash bag and picked it up, he met Wen Fei’s meaningful gaze.

“What?” Lu Nanyang felt uncomfortable under his stare.

“Didn’t expect that—you’re speaking like a decent person now,” Wen Fei said, genuinely surprised. “I thought you’d be all ‘he’s being unprofessional’ or ‘he lacks medical ethics.’”

“I’m not that petty,” Lu Nanyang said flatly.

“Not petty? You forgot how much you used to hate him?” Wen Fei said, still scrolling. “Anyway, not my business anymore what happens to him.”

“You don’t like him anymore?”

“Warm, gentle senior is out of style!” Wen Fei flipped his phone screen and held it up to Lu Nanyang. “Now it’s all about the lowkey bad-boy vibe! If he’s not a little bad, he’s not a real man. Look at this hottie—doesn’t he give off that sexy rebel feel?”

Lu Nanyang: “…”

He knew it. Wen Fei never liked a guy for more than half a month.

Just then, Wen Fei felt a thump from the lower bunk—someone had kicked the bed.

“Can you talk about pretty girls in the morning for once?” Jia Rong said. “All you talk about is handsome guys.”

Wen Fei shot back immediately, “If you could find any pretty girls, I’d be happy to talk about them with you.”

That instantly shut Jia Rong up.

At that moment, the dorm door opened and Da Ze came in carrying takeout for four.

“Lunch time, sons!”

Jia Rong jumped up like a fish out of water. “Thanks, Dad!”

“Thanks, Daddy!” Wen Fei chimed in shamelessly. “Your son wants to give you a big kiss!”

Da Ze got goosebumps all over. “Get lost—say one more creepy thing and I’m gonna hit you.”

Wen Fei didn’t care, grinning as he jumped off his bed to grab chopsticks.

“When I left, you three were lying around just like this. Big weekend and you’re all couch potatoes—don’t you worry about turning into vegetables? Let’s go out after lunch or something!”

“Where to?” Jia Rong asked while slurping noodles. “Internet café or bar?”

“All you straight guys ever do is hang out at net cafés or bars,” Wen Fei said with disdain. “Your nightlife is seriously boring.”

“Then what would you find exciting?” Da Ze asked. “How about the four of us team up and hit the library instead?”

Jia Rong couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Lu Nanyang slowly picked up a mouthful of noodles and pondered, “Actually… that’s not a bad idea.”

Da Ze: ?

“I remember Jia Rong has to take the CET-4, right?” Lu Nanyang said. “And Da Ze still has to retake Legal History. Wen Fei, what was the name of that reference book Professor Xu told you to buy?”

As soon as the topic shifted, the energy in the room visibly dropped.

“Selected Readings of Chinese Copyright Cases,” Wen Fei answered. “I messed up a ton of questions on copyright law in the last exam.”

“Same. Those questions are really tricky. What’s the book called again?” Jia Rong pulled out his phone to make a note.

“Alright, guess I’ll hit the library too, go over some papers and memorize a few questions.” Da Ze sighed, then looked at Lu Nanyang. “What about you, top student? Do you even need the library?”

That tone…

As if his grades had just fallen from the sky.

“I’ve got some things I want to look up,” Lu Nanyang replied.

“Alright then, let’s move out.” Da Ze sighed dramatically. “Room 402 study squad, activate!”

The library was in a more remote part of the campus, about a ten-minute walk away and up a small hill. But that night, the sky was particularly clear. As they walked along the dimly lit path, a glance upward revealed a sky full of stars.

Yuncheng wasn’t a big city, and being a coastal town, it had the advantage of fresh air. As long as the weather was good, the stars were always visible.

The night breeze brushed against the casually dressed boys, lifting the hems of their T-shirts. Their flip-flops slapped against the still-warm brick pathway, startling a few grasshoppers hiding in the grass.

“…My mom said that senior I mentioned is now working as an assistant to a senior judge—his future’s freakin’ bright,” Da Ze was saying. “Heard that judge owns two villas and a sports car, and has a chauffeur picking him up and dropping him off every day.”

Jia Rong’s eyes widened. “Judges get paid that much? Aren’t they just civil servants?”

Da Ze waved dismissively. “Totally different. They get a ton of allowances, special judicial stipends, top-tier insurance and benefits, plus…”

He made a money-counting gesture with his fingers and raised his eyebrows. “They’ve got this.”

“What’s that?” Wen Fei looked blank.

“This!” Da Ze clicked his tongue. “Use your brain. He’s a senior judge—everything has to go through him.”

“Must be nice,” Jia Rong sighed. “I wanna be a judge too.”

“Forget it,” Da Ze mocked. “With no connections, you’d end up in some tiny local court, handling neighborhood disputes all day.”

“I’m fine with just working in a legal department of some company after graduation. Doesn’t need to be anything fancy,” Wen Fei stretched lazily. “What about you, Lu-ge?”

“Hmm?” Lu Nanyang replied absentmindedly.

“Why bother asking?” Jia Rong shrugged. “With his family background, what can’t he do?”

Wen Fei glanced awkwardly at Lu Nanyang, but the latter remained calm, even thoughtful. “Actually, I think running a pan-fried pancake stall would be kind of fun. Flexible hours, and you’ve always got food when you’re hungry.”

Da Ze laughed. “Then why study law at all?”

“It’s useful. At least I can argue with the city inspectors.” Lu Nanyang said seriously. “Once you guys graduate and go work for companies, I’ll set up my stall right outside your office buildings. The sign will read: Fried noodles, fried rice, pan-fried pancake—plus civil, commercial, and criminal litigation services.”

Wen Fei laughed so hard he almost choked. Jia Rong was at a loss for words and could only roll his eyes.

The group of boys kept joking around on their way to the library, drifting from exam talk to future career plans. Lu Nanyang didn’t join in their dreams for the future—he’d always been the kind of person who just acted when the time came. If no decent job came along, a pan-fried pancake stand didn’t sound too bad to him.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of the stack of reference books in Xie Quan’s room.

Why did Xie Quan decide to study medicine?

What kind of job did he plan to get in the future?

Even though it was already late, the library lights were still bright. Da Ze tossed his bag onto a desk to reserve a spot. “Go find your books—meet back here later.”

Lu Nanyang responded and wandered off into a corner between the shelves. Soon, he was out of sight.

He browsed through the humanities and social sciences section for a while before stopping in front of the shelves marked Psychology.

Handbook of Anxiety and Phobia Disorders.

Lu Nanyang hooked a finger over the spine and pulled it from the shelf.

As he flipped through it on his way back, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure sitting nearby.

He instantly stopped walking, held his breath, and took two steps back to hide behind the bookshelf.

Xie Quan was sitting alone at a table in the corner. A tall stack of reference books was piled in front of him, blocking half his face. Lu Nanyang could just make out his furrowed brow as he read.

His expression still looked tired, with noticeable dark circles under his eyes, but he definitely looked better than the last time Lu Nanyang had seen him.

Lu Nanyang quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Maybe it was guilt over the Li Xin case, or maybe it was how off Xie Quan had seemed that day—whatever the reason, Lu Nanyang had been feeling uneasy. Now, seeing him quietly studying there, a weight finally lifted from his chest.

But really, what did Xie Quan have to do with him anymore? The Li Xin case was closed. They shouldn’t have any more interactions going forward.

He never liked people like Xie Quan to begin with, and he never intended to become friends with him. So what was this supposed to be now?

Lu Nanyang frowned, glanced at the book in his hand, and turned around, intending to put it back.

Just as he raised his hand, a sarcastic voice rang out behind him.

“Ohhh, look who it is—Young Master Lu himself? Haven’t had time to go home in three months, but you’ve got time to hang around here at night reading leisure books, huh?”

Lu Nanyang turned his head. He could recognize that voice with his eyes closed.

Even in the library, Zhanlei’s voice didn’t drop in volume. It was loud and full of hostility that anyone could hear, quickly drawing attention from everyone around.

Lu Nanyang turned the book cover toward him calmly and said, “Leisure books don’t usually have this title.”

“Sure, you’re hardworking and diligent,” Zhanlei mocked. “In the Lu family, you’re the f***ing best.”

Lu Nanyang didn’t want to respond and didn’t want to cause a scene in the library. He picked up the book and turned to leave. But Zhanlei moved quickly and stepped in front of him, even sticking his foot out on purpose.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Zhanlei, move,” Lu Nanyang said. “This is a library.”

Zhanlei didn’t care at all—in fact, he raised his voice. “What did you just call me? Say it again if you’ve got the guts.”

Lu Nanyang found him unbelievably childish—already in his twenties, yet still pulling these grade-school level stunts in public.

And in a place like this, he couldn’t even avoid him. Zhanlei clearly knew that and was pushing it on purpose.

“What did you call me?” Zhanlei grabbed Lu Nanyang’s arm. Lu Nanyang tried to shake him off twice but failed. “You think you have the right to call me that? Come back here and say it properly!”

“Move. I don’t want to fight you here,” Lu Nanyang frowned.

“Oh yeah? Go ahead and try!”

How humiliating.

Just as Lu Nanyang was about to shake off Zhanlei’s hand and walk away, a voice came from behind him—Xie Quan’s.

His voice was still gentle and composed, but carried an undeniable authority. “Excuse me, this is a library. If you want to argue, can you take it outside?”

Lu Nanyang and Zhanlei turned to look at Xie Quan at the same time. Zhanlei obviously couldn’t stand someone stepping in like this, so he tightened his grip on Lu Nanyang’s arm and said, “What’s it to you? If I don’t make things clear with him today—”

Before Zhanlei could finish, Xie Quan grabbed his wrist and twisted it back, forcing him to release Lu Nanyang.

His handsome brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed slightly. “If you want to talk, talk. No need to grab and pull. It’s not a good look.”

Zhanlei looked Xie Quan up and down and sneered, “Oh? And who are you to him, that you’re sticking your nose in?”

Xie Quan smiled lightly. “Boyfriend. Is that a problem?”