Chapter 28: Show of Strength Part 2

Detecting the sarcasm, He Siheng was baffled. “Just asking. Why are you so pissed?”

Tan Jing pressed his lips together and said nothing.

He Siheng was already in a bad mood from running into Lu Xinshu, so he fell silent too.

For a moment, only the rain pattering on the umbrella filled the air—dull and noisy, irritating the mind even more.

They returned to the hotel in silence. As soon as they entered the room, He Siheng stripped off the hoodie. “I’m going to shower.”

With that, he headed straight into the bathroom without looking back.

The first time he’d smelled Lu Xinshu’s pheromones, that nauseating bloody stench and lecherous gaze still churned in his stomach.

South Middle School was private with high tuition, full of young masters and misses like He Siheng from well-off families. Lu Xinshu had gotten in on scholarships and aid, wearing faded canvas shoes that made him stand out and drew bullying.

He Siheng had never paid attention to such things before. One time, he and Zhou Yu happened to pass by while Lu Xinshu was being bullied and casually helped out.

Somehow, the story got exaggerated, and from then on, Lu Xinshu inexplicably became someone He Siheng “protected” at South Middle School.

He Siheng thought Lu Xinshu looked pitiful getting bullied and saw it as no big deal—just a small favor—so he didn’t bother with it.

But Lu Xinshu was grateful and often brought him snacks and little gifts.

He Siheng was always popular at school, receiving confessions and presents every few days. He treated Lu Xinshu’s thank-yous like anyone else’s and didn’t think much of them.

Aside from the monthly top-two rankings and that one helping hand, He Siheng and Lu Xinshu had little real interaction.

Back when he started middle school, He Siheng had been heartbroken by Tan Jing and became something of a lone wolf. He barely befriended the clingy Zhou Yu, his desk mate then, as a casual drinking buddy but refused to open up to anyone.

Even when Lu Xinshu kept bringing gifts, He Siheng didn’t hang out with him much at first.

That changed when He Siheng accidentally saw Lu Xinshu delivering takeout for his family on a weekend and learned he worked odd jobs during weekends and vacations to support them while squeezing in study time.

Maintaining top grades in such harsh conditions impressed He Siheng.

Zhou Yu once mentioned offhand that Lu Xinshu relied almost entirely on scholarships and aid to attend, but after He Siheng started dominating first place every monthly exam, the top scholarship naturally went to him.

The school’s scholarships were tied purely to grades, with a big gap between first and second.

He Siheng had never cared about the money, treating it as pocket change. But learning that his casual spending was someone else’s lifeline made him feel uneasy.

He didn’t want to tank his scores for a poor classmate—nor would Lu Xinshu accept such charity.

So He Siheng discussed it with Boss He at home. Boss He sponsored a batch and negotiated with the school to eliminate the scholarship differences between first, second, and third place, making them equal.

After that, He Siheng paid a bit more attention to Lu Xinshu. The guy seemed quiet and scrawny but had a resilient personality—like unbreakable bamboo, or that dog of a former friend he’d cut ties with.

Gradually, their interactions increased, and He Siheng started treating him like a brother, going all out for him.

Lu Xinshu was malnourished and sickly, so He Siheng brought supplements from home nearly every weekend, took him out to eat, and occasionally to Old Zhang’s Noodle Shop.

Lu Xinshu lived far from school, wasting time commuting, so to let him sleep more, He Siheng pulled strings for dorm fee waivers, getting him into the dorms to live with him.

He Siheng had thought they got along great, so when that incident happened, he turned the school upside down searching without ever suspecting Lu Xinshu.

In third year of middle school, He Siheng started receiving bizarre “letters.”

The contents were contradictory—sometimes lewd professions of love, other times vicious hate. The only common thread: dark and disgusting.

“Another girl confessed to you? Your face is so pretty. I want to peel off your skin and keep it just for me.”

“Congrats on the basketball championship. You looked so full of energy—I want to tie you up and fuck you hard.”

“You play violin too? As expected of a rich young master. You look great in a suit, but I’d rather see you with nothing on.”

“I hate it. Why are you so perfect? Why do you get everything so easily?”

“You’re flawless—skin so white and tender. Just thinking of you at night gets me off hard.”

The vicious, filthy words invaded He Siheng’s life relentlessly—sometimes disguised as love letters in his desk, hidden in textbook layers, or slipped into his homework.

He Siheng was fed up and furious at the pervert but kept quiet.

First, he feared alerting the snake; it was embarrassing and he wanted to catch them himself. Second, it was too disgusting—he didn’t want it reaching Shu Qiu and worrying her sick.

Only his closest pals, Zhou Yu and Lu Xinshu, knew. But the pervert was cunning: notes were printed, no handwriting, and they slipped away like ghosts. Despite every trick, they couldn’t unmask him.

After months of torment, in the final semester of third year, He Siheng decided not to live in the dorms anymore.

Not long after, on his last night in the dorm, he discovered the pervert’s true face—it was Lu Xinshu, whom he’d trusted all along.

Lu Xinshu had slipped sleeping pills into He Siheng’s bedtime milk, thinking him asleep. He knelt by the bed, spilling his “love” and hate in full.

If He Siheng hadn’t spent that afternoon with Zhou Yu testing new milk teas, downing enough to counter the drugs accidentally, he wouldn’t have woken.

If not for the drugs sapping his strength, He Siheng would’ve beaten Lu Xinshu to death that night.

Lu Xinshu ended up bruised and swollen but still played victim in the office: “Sorry, He Siheng. I didn’t mean to wake you. I just wanted to tuck you in.”