Even Li Chongwen, normally the picture of calm gentleness, finally lost his temper. His cheeks flushed an unnatural red, and his usually placid eyes now seemed to burn. “I don’t owe you any money. Please stop harassing me!”

“Then go report it to the police, why don’t you? See if they’ll do anything about it.”

The middle-aged man was clearly an old hand at this — he knew that for a small dispute like this, the police would only mediate, and as long as he wanted to keep pestering Li Chongwen, there was nothing Li Chongwen could do to escape him. His attitude was thoroughly shameless.

Qian Wei shot Qian Chuan a look. “That’s my classmate over there. Go help him.”

Qian Chuan blinked, then nodded in understanding.

“Are you going to walk out of here yourself, or should I carry you out to the police station?”

A phys-ed student’s build was nothing to sneeze at — Qian Chuan stood 185 centimeters tall, broad-shouldered and long-legged, radiating youthful vigor just standing there. The moment he stepped into the fray, the sleazy middle-aged man’s bravado noticeably shrank.

But shrink as his bravado might, his arrogant posture didn’t change. He tilted his chin up. “Little brother, don’t think you’re some hero righting wrongs here.” He pointed at Li Chongwen. “Ask him why I keep coming here to cause trouble — it’s because he owes me money and won’t pay it back, and I’ve got no other choice but to corner him here!”

Li Chongwen clenched his fists. “I’ll say it again — I don’t owe you any money!”

“Oh, sure! It’s not you who owes me, it’s your old man — but a son paying his father’s debt, that’s only right! Your dad ran off, so shouldn’t I be asking you for the money instead?”

“Whoever owes it, go collect from them!”

“Everyone, come look, a top university student’s bullying someone!” Seeing that Li Chongwen wasn’t budging, the middle-aged man started making a scene, clearly hoping to use public pressure to force him to comply.

Drawing attention and getting stared at was probably the last thing Li Chongwen wanted right now, and just as Qian Wei had guessed, his face — calm just moments ago — was now flushing red under the man’s loud accusations. But what the man said was probably true, so he could only stand there, mortified, enduring the curious stares from all around.

“A son and his father are two different people — legally, there’s no such concept as a son paying his father’s debts. If you think he owes you money, go take him to court!” Qian Wei stood up too. “Since you’re so confident you’re in the right, then use the law to protect yourself. Want my brother here to personally escort you to the police station and the courthouse?”

“What— what business is it of yours?”

“So sorry, but this here is my friend, and I can’t just stand by while you harass him. If you want to keep this up, you’ll have to get past my brother first.” Qian Wei finished, then patted Qian Chuan’s shoulder. “Oh, and call up your buddies from the athletics department, will you? The ones with the biggest muscles — and isn’t there one who does Muay Thai? Definitely call him too.”

“No problem.” Qian Chuan said, already reaching for his phone.

Sizing up the situation, the middle-aged man decided this wasn’t worth it after all. He stopped pressing the issue, muttered a string of curses, and stormed off, seething with resentment.

Once he’d left, the restaurant finally settled back into calm, and everyone resumed eating. No one paid Li Chongwen any more mind. He seemed to finally be able to breathe again, and lowered his head, beginning to clean up the mess of spilled food the man had left behind.

He didn’t want to talk, so Qian Wei didn’t push. She simply gestured for Qian Chuan to help her clean up with him.

After a while, Li Chongwen finally spoke.

“That’s my father.” The words seemed to cost him great effort, as if every syllable took courage to say. “He likes gambling. Every time he racks up a huge debt, he runs off to lie low somewhere. That man couldn’t find him, so he came to collect from me instead.”

Li Chongwen had always been proud and independent — in her previous life, Qian Wei and their classmates hadn’t had the slightest idea about his family situation for the longest time. Clearly, even when he suffered through hard work and harassment on his own, he never wanted to use his hardships to earn everyone’s attention or sympathy — he didn’t want anyone to know at all. Now that Qian Wei had accidentally stumbled onto the secret he’d worked so hard to keep, she imagined it must be difficult for him inside.

Qian Wei patted his shoulder. “You don’t need to explain yourself to me. Qian Chuan and I just did what was right in front of us — we’d have helped anyone in that situation. You don’t owe us an explanation just because we happened to help. You have your own reasons and your own privacy, it’s fine.” She smiled. “And whatever happened here today, Qian Chuan and I will keep it to ourselves — including the fact that you work here.”

Li Chongwen froze for a moment, and then, finally, broke into his first smile of the day — a smile without a trace of gloom, clean and genuine, his clear eyes fixed on Qian Wei. “My family isn’t well-off. I depend on scholarships and work-study to cover my tuition, and on top of my own expenses, I have to support my younger sister too. My mother’s sick and can’t work.” He paused. “I really don’t want people to know about all this, so I chose to work somewhere this far from school. But it’s not out of vanity, and it’s not because I’m afraid people will look down on me for being poor — I just don’t want people treating me differently, giving me special allowances, because of it. I can handle these difficulties myself. I already receive financial aid, and I don’t want to take charity on top of that and waste social resources that could go to someone else. If it weren’t for my father’s gambling, my work-study job and financial aid would be more than enough. There are people in this world who need donations far more urgently than I do — people who can only survive because of that money.”

Qian Wei was a little surprised that Li Chongwen had opened up to her so completely. She blinked, and then smiled — yes, this was exactly who Li Chongwen was. Always upfront, never using his hardships to seek attention, always dignified, even in his explanations. Holding to his own principles and pride, even though he could have made his life easier by accepting donations, he chose not to. He had his own convictions, and even though he hadn’t been born into wealth, he always kept a compassionate heart — he knew there were people in this world who needed help more than he did.

Qian Chuan patted his own chest. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep it quiet. Better that nobody knows about this — who knows what kind of story it’ll turn into once it spreads. Even if you’re in the right, that doesn’t mean you’d come out unscathed in the rumor mill — next thing you know, people are saying you swindled someone out of money and are secretly working to pay it back.”

Li Chongwen laughed. “Thank you both.”

Unfortunately, though Qian Wei and Qian Chuan understood Li Chongwen’s situation perfectly well, the restaurant owner wasn’t quite so sympathetic. Having heard about the dispute, he hurried over, took one look at the scene, and his face darkened.

“Xiao Li, your work attitude’s never been an issue, but ever since last week, someone’s been coming in constantly to cause trouble for you. We’re just a small family restaurant — if this keeps up, it’s going to hurt business…”

Li Chongwen understood the implication perfectly well. He lowered his head, but in the end, politely and humbly thanked the owner, then offered his resignation on his own.

After the owner left, Li Chongwen turned back to Qian Wei with a smile. “Guess I need to find a new job.”

A thought flashed through Qian Wei’s mind. “Qian Chuan’s actually looking for an English tutor. Your English is really good — would you be interested?”

Qian Chuan: ???

“He’s got the College English Test Band 4 coming up this December. My brother’s in the athletics department, you know how it is — his academics aren’t great, and his English especially is a mess, grammar all over the place. We’ve been looking for a reliable English tutor for a while now, but the ones we found, even though their English was good, just weren’t great at explaining things clearly.”

Qian Chuan: ???

Qian Wei kept spinning the story. “But last time you explained that criminal law problem to me, I understood it right away. You’re really good at teaching. Could you help tutor Qian Chuan? I really can’t find a good teacher. Please, please!”

“Alright then, I’ll just tutor him for free, as a thank-you for today.”

“No, that won’t do,” Qian Wei said. “We’ll pay the going market rate for tutoring. As for you thanking us — we’ll take one free lesson as thanks.” She smiled. “So it’s settled! Starting next week, you’ll come tutor Qian Chuan!”

Tutoring was one of the most common ways for college students to earn some extra money through work-study, and Qian Wei thought this was far easier than wiping tables and carrying plates at a restaurant. Plus, Qian Chuan and Li Chongwen were on the same campus, saving him the commute and time. With this steady income secured, Li Chongwen would also have more breathing room to find a better part-time job elsewhere. On top of that, forcing Qian Chuan to spend time with Li Chongwen every week would also nicely limit how much time he had left to go make his presence known around Mo Zixin — killing two birds with one stone, brilliant!

Once the two of them had left the restaurant, Qian Chuan was still fuming. “How could you just sell me out like that! My other grades might not be great, but my English is actually really strong! I already passed CET-4, ages ago! I even passed CET-6!”

Qian Wei brushed it off. “Just consider it a favor to me. And besides, there’s no end to learning — even if you’ve passed Levels 4 and 6, you shouldn’t get complacent, might as well keep studying with Li Chongwen, maybe even push for TEM-8.”

Qian Chuan nearly fainted with outrage. “Aren’t you into Lu Xun? Buying him breakfast, sucking up to him — and now what, you’ve got your eye on Li Chongwen too? Qian Wei, I’m starting to think you’ve got some seriously dangerous ideas. You can’t do this — you’re pursuing Lu Xun on one hand, still buying him breakfast, and now you’re moving in on Li Chongwen too! Fine, say you’re just generous enough to want them both — go after him yourself then! Don’t drag me in to buy his favor for you with your money!”

Qian Wei glared at him. “What’s going on in that head of yours? This is an investment in the future. Lu Xun and Li Chongwen are both clearly cream of the crop. I’ve made friends with them now — once they strike it rich, won’t they look out for me? I’d have gone myself, but Li Chongwen’s my classmate, he knows my English is good.”

Qian Chuan grumbled, “Fine, but you owe me for this. I could’ve been spending this time working and earning money — money I could’ve used to buy the latest Nokia phone.” He blinked innocently at her.

Fine, you little punk, milk it while you can! Qian Wei’s teeth itched with irritation, but she had no choice — she agreed to this humiliating deal anyway.

“You go to Li Chongwen’s lessons, and I’ll buy you the phone.”

Qian Chuan blew her a kiss. “Qian Wei, so often the people closest to us forget to say those three little words.” He said, deeply moved, “I love you.”

“Get lost!”

“But Qian Wei, what if you end up winning both of them over — how would you choose? Who do you actually prefer?” Qian Chuan mused aloud, breaking it down. “Looks-wise, Lu Xun’s better. Body-wise, Lu Xun’s also better. Family background, probably Lu Xun too. But personality-wise, I think Li Chongwen wins out — Lu Xun’s got that pretty-boy face but seems shady underneath, all high and mighty on the outside, but for all we know he’s the most ruthless of anyone once he turns dark, might even hit you down the line. But on the plus side, with someone as capable as Lu Xun, protecting you would be no trouble at all. Li Chongwen, on the other hand, looks too bookish, doesn’t seem like the type who’d ever raise a hand. Ugh, tough call.” Suddenly, as if remembering something, Qian Chuan smirked slyly. “Actually, forget it, go with Lu Xun. I saw it last time — his stuff’s pretty impressive, probably a much better experience overall. After all, I hear a bad sex life is one of the leading causes of divorce these days.”

“Qian Chuan!” Qian Wei clapped her hands over her ears. “Have you no shame at all!”

“Please, don’t act like I don’t know what you read — those man-on-man stories of yours are way more explicit and intense than anything I’ve said.” He glared at her, listing it off. “I saw it last time! That novel you were reading, where the male lead gets drugged with some aphrodisiac called ‘Ten Days of Moaning Powder,’ and then does all sorts of unspeakable things with another guy, and there was even one where a man gives birth!”

Qian Wei didn’t bother arguing — she just clamped a hand over Qian Chuan’s mouth. “Shut it, will you!” They were back on campus grounds by now, students passing by all around, and Qian Wei was terrified someone might overhear and get the wrong idea.

Qian Chuan lowered his voice. “So tell me, between Lu Xun and Li Chongwen, who are you actually picking?”

Qian Wei thought it over seriously. “How about this — Li Chongwen can be the main wife, and Lu Xun can be the mistress.”

“…”