But things never seem to go the way people hope. Otherwise, “May all your wishes come true” wouldn’t be such a beloved phrase.
For more than a week after that day, Lu Nanyang really didn’t run into that scumbag again.
Seemed like his guess was right. That cafeteria encounter had been a freak accident. Maybe he wouldn’t have to see that trash again until graduation.
What did surprise him, though, was that Wen Fei still hadn’t let go of his unrealistic fantasy.
Thursday afternoon, they didn’t have any classes, and Da Ze and Jia Rong had invited Lu Nanyang to play basketball.
Normally, Wen Fei would never join in something so “reeking of straight-guy sweat.” But that day, for some unknown reason, he insisted on tagging along.
“I think I might be too skinny right now,” Wen Fei said seriously, hugging the basketball. “Maybe I need to bulk up a little.”
Da Ze stared at him, stunned. “Who are you? And what have you done with our Wen Fei?”
“The sun must’ve risen from the west,” Jia Rong clicked his tongue. “Weren’t you the one just last week saying sweat ruins your good looks?”
“Last week was last week, this is this week.” Wen Fei tossed the basketball to Jia Rong and assumed a defensive stance. “This week, I’ve turned over a new leaf. How can I win a beauty’s heart if I don’t work hard?”
Lu Nanyang’s eyelid twitched. “Whose heart are you trying to win?”
“Who else? His so-called dream guy,” Jia Rong laughed, backing up a few steps and tossing the ball toward the hoop.
Wen Fei stood under the basket, legs apart and flailing his arms like a crab freshly crawled out of the sea.
The crab defense didn’t stop Jia Rong’s shot, but Jia Rong missed anyway. The ball bounced off the rim and landed right in Lu Nanyang’s hands.
“I’ve done thorough research and preparation. He doesn’t like them too skinny,” Wen Fei said, wagging his finger. “I saw a post from one of the girls earlier. She said he once mentioned he prefers people with well-proportioned muscles and distinct bone structure. Said it makes it easier to find veins.”
Lu Nanyang: “…”
“Alright then, go build up your muscles,” Lu Nanyang said expressionlessly as he raised his hand and took a shot. “Try to work your way onto his operating table someday.”
The basketball traced a beautiful arc through the air, effortlessly passing over Wen Fei’s crab-like defense, not even grazing the rim, and fell cleanly through the net.
“Nice shot,” Da Ze whistled.
Wen Fei picked up the basketball, holding it with eager hands. “I think I’ve got it now. Doesn’t seem that hard.”
Lu Nanyang chuckled and beckoned with his finger. “Then give it a try.”
“Get ready, I’m coming!” Wen Fei shouted.
He didn’t know how to dribble, so he just hugged the ball tightly and charged forward. When he got under the backboard, he jumped and flung the ball like he was spiking a volleyball.
His roommates stared in shock as the basketball flew at an angle across the court, slamming straight into the back of a boy playing nearby.
Wen Fei gasped and covered his mouth in horror. The boy cursed loudly and turned around.
“I’m so sorry, really sorry,” Wen Fei said quickly. “I didn’t mean to. I was just—”
Before he could finish, the boy exploded with a string of curses. “What the fck is wrong with you? Are you blind, you damn fggot?!”
Wen Fei froze on the spot, his face turning pale. He knew there were some students at school who disliked him, but he had never encountered someone this aggressively hostile before.
Lu Nanyang’s expression darkened. He took two steps forward, and Wen Fei quickly grabbed his arm, trying to signal with his eyes not to cause trouble.
But Lu Nanyang ignored him and walked straight up to the boy. “And what’s a ‘damn f*ggot’ got to do with you? What, did one screw you so hard you’re still sore?”
The boy’s face flushed red with anger, and he immediately kicked Lu Nanyang hard in the waist.
It was a solid kick. Lu Nanyang wasn’t expecting it and was hit with a sharp wave of pain.
Da Ze and Jia Rong rushed over.
“What the hell, man?!”
“You wanna fight? Bring it on!”
Lu Nanyang gritted his teeth and tugged back Da Ze, who wasn’t too happy about being held back. Just as he was about to say something, a teacher’s voice rang out nearby.
“What’s going on here?!” The teacher ran over, face grim. “Fighting in broad daylight on campus? What class are you all in? What happened?”
Fortunately, Da Ze and the others hadn’t started swinging yet, so the situation was pretty clear. After some quick questioning, the teacher figured things out and dragged the boy who threw the punch off to the disciplinary office.
“Holy crap, Lu-ge, your timing was genius,” Da Ze said with lingering fear. “Didn’t even notice the teacher was nearby. If I’d thrown a punch, this whole thing would’ve escalated.”
Yuncheng University was strict about on-campus fights. Getting caught usually meant losing course credits at the very least.
“Just had better awareness than you,” Lu Nanyang said.
He’d always been cautious when it came to potential conflicts, and he was usually calm. He wasn’t afraid of trouble, but if it could be solved another way, he’d always prefer that.
Maintaining friendly relations with everyone was his principle.
Funny how he could keep it together so well in other situations, yet completely lost his cool when it came to Xie Quan.
The pain snapped him out of his thoughts. Lu Nanyang hissed, holding his waist and leaning against the basketball hoop. “Give me a second to recover.”
That bastard had kicked him really hard.
Wen Fei looked like he was about to cry. “Lu-ge, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I wasn’t careful enough—”
“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Jia Rong quickly said. “The guy’s an asshole. Don’t let the fact you’ve been bullied before make you think everything’s your fault.”
“Assholes are just assholes,” Lu Nanyang said calmly. “Even if you hadn’t hit him, he might’ve still gone after you just because he didn’t like the way you looked. Don’t punish yourself for someone else’s mistakes.”
He knew that lesson all too well.
Wen Fei wiped his eyes and nodded. Then he went over to help Lu Nanyang. “He hit you pretty hard. You should really go to the infirmary.”
“Let’s go. We’ll all go with you,” Da Ze said.
“No need. I’m not crippled,” Lu Nanyang replied. “How about you guys go get me something to eat and bring it back to the dorm?”
“That works too.” Da Ze nodded. “You two take it slow, yeah?”
It was fine until he started walking—then Lu Nanyang began to suspect something might actually be broken.
The more he moved, the more it hurt. By the time they reached the medical building, sweat was pouring down his back.
As soon as they walked in, Wen Fei started yelling, “Doctor! Doctor! My friend got kicked hard and he’s in a lot of pain—can you save him?!”
Lu Nanyang: “…”
All eyes in the room turned toward him. He was so embarrassed he wanted to sink into the floor.
And that embarrassment turned into a painful mix of shock, rage, and a desire to die on the spot when he saw who was sitting inside the doctor’s office.
Xie Quan sat behind the desk, surprised, his long eyes behind his glasses flicking up. The pen in his hand paused on the paper mid-sentence. From Lu Nanyang’s angle, he could see Xie Quan’s long legs crossed beneath the desk, his polished leather shoes reflecting a gleam of light.
It was the first time he’d seen this scumbag in a white coat, and combined with that fake elegant exterior, it made the word scumbag come alive in every possible sense.
Xie Quan’s expression of surprise lasted only a moment before he quickly composed himself. In contrast, Lu Nanyang stood there, still holding his waist, his face cycling through red, green, and pale like a traffic light.
In a battle of aura, Lu Nanyang was utterly defeated.
The silence was broken first by Wen Fei, who let out a surprised squeal. “God—”Dr. Xie, isn’t today Thursday? Why are you…?”
“I swapped shifts with the senior who was supposed to be on duty. He’s going on a date with his girlfriend,” Xie Quan replied easily, smiling at the two of them. “What happened here?”
Lu Nanyang grabbed Wen Fei and turned to leave. “Nothing, sorry to bother you.”
Wen Fei stumbled a few steps, then pushed him back. “Hey hey, what are you doing? No, no, the way you were hurting just now—what if it’s a fracture? Hurry up and let him take a look!”
Lu Nanyang almost ground his back teeth flat as he spoke, “No need for him to look.”
Wen Fei pulled him aside, looking unhappy. “Hey, Lu Nanyang, I’ve been meaning to ask—do you have some kind of problem with the person I like?”
Lu Nanyang paused. “Of course not, it’s just…”
“Just what?” Wen Fei frowned, hands on his hips. “What did my dream guy ever do to you? Why are you so prejudiced against him?”
“I…” Lu Nanyang felt like he couldn’t explain even if he tried. His Adam’s apple bobbed twice before he squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth: “I have no problem with him.”
“That’s more like it.” Wen Fei patted him on the back. “Don’t worry. He is the top of his class in med school—probably more reliable than actual hospital doctors.”
“…” Lu Nanyang could only return with a dark face.
Xie Quan was still leaning calmly against the desk, watching them with a gentle smile. But Lu Nanyang couldn’t shake the feeling that the amusement in Xie Quan’s eyes had deepened.
“Come sit. Where are you hurt?” Xie Quan said with a warm smile.
“No thanks. I’ll stand here,” Lu Nanyang replied stiffly.
Xie Quan looked up at him, his gray eyes narrowing slightly, lips curving.
“Alright then.” He stood up from his chair, still smiling. “Let me take a look.”
Lu Nanyang froze, alarm bells blaring in his head, but he couldn’t move a muscle. He could only watch as Xie Quan walked around the desk and stopped right in front of him.
Up close, the pressure from Xie Quan was even stronger.
After all, there weren’t many men in daily life who could match Lu Nanyang in height. When Xie Quan stood in front of him, he completely blocked out the overhead light, casting a small shadow.
And he was way too close.
Warm breath from Xie Quan’s nose brushed against Lu Nanyang’s ear. His lips were thin, and the way they curved up looked almost sharp—like a smile that could cut.
Was this much proximity really necessary to examine a patient?
Lu Nanyang could clearly smell the faint fragrance of body wash on Xie Quan—it was subtle, almost vanishing in the charged atmosphere, but he could still recognize it: mint.
Same as that day. The scent he hated the most.
Suddenly, a cold chill spread from his lower back—Xie Quan had pulled his shirt from his waistband and pressed down hard on the spot where he had been kicked.
“Sh*t—” Lu Nanyang nearly teared up from the pain, swallowing back a curse with difficulty.
