The summer vacation passed quickly.
During the holidays, Chen Qianqing spent most of his time on rehabilitation and reading. By the time school started, he could already walk without crutches.
Chen Qianqing returned to school on September 3rd, more than ten days after his and Lu Zhengfei's birthdays. During these ten days, Lu Zhengfei hardly spoke to him. It seemed that he was truly hurt. He even sent someone else to accompany Chen Qianqing to school.
Chen Qianqing pretended not to notice Lu Zhengfei's gloomy face. After all, Lu Zhengfei wouldn't do anything to him, and he didn't mind the standoff between them.
Zhu Mao originally thought that Chen Qianqing would still live at home this semester, but he was surprised to see Chen Qianqing bringing his luggage. Obviously, he intended to stay on campus this semester as well.
Since Chen Qianqing had difficulty walking, the person sent by Lu Zhengfei helped him move his luggage into the dormitory before leaving.
Zhu Mao was tidying up his bed when he noticed Chen Qianqing and exclaimed in surprise, "Qianqing, you're not staying at home this semester?"
Chen Qianqing nodded. He had never lived on campus before, and he knew that living on campus would have its inconveniences. But compared to being with Lu Zhengfei every day, he preferred to bother a bit more. Besides, Lu Zhengfei himself agreed to let him stay on campus, so why wouldn't he agree?
Zhu Mao felt that Chen Qianqing had changed since his leg injury. He no longer had the same smile on his face, and he became colder. Sometimes, Zhu Mao even hesitated to talk to him.
Chen Qianqing noticed the growing distance between him and Zhu Mao, but he didn't intend to make any changes. Pretending to be someone he was not in front of unimportant people was exhausting enough. Chen Qianqing was afraid that one day he would really go crazy.
In September, the weather was still hot. After tidying up their beds, Chen Qianqing and Zhu Mao left the school to have dinner.
Although Lu Zhengfei allowed Chen Qianqing to stay on campus, someone was still assigned to follow him. After all, Lu Zhengfei didn't fully trust him yet and didn't want him to wander around freely.
Chen Qianqing and Zhu Mao found a small eatery and sat down to eat while chatting.
Zhu Mao said, "Qianqing, our class leader said that after the National Day holiday, our class will organize a mountain climbing activity. Will you go?"
Chen Qianqing had no appetite. He ate slowly, saying, "I don't know, it depends on the situation."
Zhu Mao continued, "Well, will you be going home for the National Day? If not, can you help me take care of my hamster..."
Zhu Mao had a hamster named Tuotuo in the dormitory. It had become quite chubby, almost like a pancake. As they were going on holiday for the National Day, he was looking for someone to take care of it.
Normally, Chen Qianqing wouldn't go home for the National Day – or rather, Lu Zhengfei wouldn't allow him to go home. But this year was different. Chen Qianqing said, "I will be going home. I couldn't go back during the summer vacation, so it wouldn't be right to miss the National Day."
Zhu Mao nodded and pushed his glasses up. He said, "Alright, I'll find someone else then."
After finishing their dinner, the two of them started walking back to the school. It was still early, and the eatery was not far from the campus, so they decided to take a stroll.
However, halfway through their walk, they unexpectedly bumped into someone familiar.
"Liú Jǐngyáng!" At first, Zhu Mao thought he was mistaken, but upon closer inspection, he realized that the person standing by the roadside was indeed Liú Jǐngyáng. Compared to a few months ago, he looked much worse, wearing a black t-shirt, and his hair was messy, clearly indicating that he had gone through difficult times.
Chen Qianqing was a little surprised to see Liu Jingyang. He thought that according to Lu Zhengfei's personality, Liu Jingyang would have been driven out of the city long ago and would never be able to appear in front of him again, but he didn't expect to see him.
"Zhu Mao," Liu Jingyang heard someone calling him and turned his head to see Zhu Mao and Chen Qianqing. A resentful expression flashed across his face, but quickly disappeared, replaced by a smile. "Are you two having a meal?"
Zhu Mao knew that Liu Jingyang and Chen Qianqing were not getting along. He glanced at Chen Qianqing and saw that he had no expression of annoyance on his face before saying, "What have you been up to lately? You haven't contacted us."
"I've been busy looking for a job," Liu Jingyang dared not tell him about being expelled from school. It was too easy for Lu Zhengfei to make him, an ordinary student, unable to continue his studies. It was simply a matter of a few words.
Liu Jingyang could harm Chen Qianqing, but he could never harm Lu Zhengfei.
Listening to the conversation between Zhu Mao and Liu Jingyang, Chen Qianqing had no expression on his face. It was as if he was just chatting with someone on the roadside, not showing any interest in interrupting.
After talking to Zhu Mao for a while, Liu Jingyang saw that Chen Qianqing showed no intention of speaking and became a little anxious. He whispered, "Qianqing, I know I went too far that day, I'm sorry, don't take it to heart."
Chen Qianqing showed a smile that was not a smile. This Liu Jingyang really thought that Chen Qianqing had no temper. But then again, if he was the real Chen Qianqing, Liu Jingyang might have achieved his goal.
If the real Chen Qianqing was really angry enough to make Liu Jingyang drop out of school, seeing Liu Jingyang's miserable situation and hearing his apology might really waver his determination.
Unfortunately... the current Chen Qianqing was cold-blooded and indifferent. Instead of feeling pity for Liu Jingyang, he felt that Lu Zhengfei had been too lenient, so he laughed, "Since you know you went too far, why are you appearing in front of me?"
Liu Jingyang's face turned ugly. He didn't expect Chen Qianqing to give him no face.
Seeing the tense atmosphere between Liu Jingyang and Chen Qianqing, Zhu Mao hurriedly said, "We are all classmates, why create such a tense situation... Maybe we will have a chance to work together in the future."
From Zhu Mao's perspective, it was indeed Chen Qianqing deliberately making things difficult for Liu Jingyang. He didn't know what Liu Jingyang had said to Chen Qianqing, and naturally didn't know what kind of impact those words had on Chen Qianqing.
Chen Qianqing looked at the angry Liu Jingyang and suddenly reached out and patted his shoulder, saying seriously, "Don't provoke me anymore, or you will be even worse than now."
Liu Jingyang's eyes turned red with anger. Both of them were young people in their twenties with hot blood. He thought that lowering his head and apologizing to Chen Qianqing was enough to save face, but he didn't expect that Chen Qianqing would simply ignore him and even give him a few slaps. Liu Jingyang forcefully pushed away Chen Qianqing's hand, spat on the ground, and said angrily, "Chen Qianqing, you arrogant bastard! You're just a higher-class prostitute, aren't you? I was wrong about you!"
Chen Qianqing didn't get angry when his hand was pushed away. He just looked at Liu Jingyang's angry figure with a look of pity. The people arranged by Lu Zhengfei by his side would definitely tell him about this matter in the evening. He didn't even need to report it.
In fact, Lu Zhengfei knew about this matter before the evening. His requirement for those who followed Chen Qianqing was to immediately inform him if there was any abnormal situation, not wasting a minute.
And when Lu Zhengfei heard the news, he was discussing Chen Qianqing's recent condition with a psychologist.
"He seems to have changed," Lu Zhengfei couldn't let the psychologist see Chen Qianqing, so he could only describe it himself, "He's not giving me the cold shoulder anymore, and he's not as stubborn as before. He even smiles at me..."
The psychologist listened and took notes. He asked, "Do you think his change is good or bad?"
Lu Zhengfei hesitated for a moment before saying, "...His personality has improved, but..."
The psychologist noticed the strange expression on Lu Zhengfei's face and whispered, "But what?"
"I don't know," Lu Zhengfei said dejectedly, "Before, he would resist me and I always had a way to deal with him, but now... he... he..."
The psychologist's expression showed understanding. "From using weapons to cold war?"
Lu Zhengfei nodded.
The doctor paused, holding the pen in his hand, and smiled, "Lu Zhengfei, based on my understanding of you, you wouldn't have come to me just to say these things. Come on, what else are you hiding from me?"
Lu Zhengfei's expression looked very troubled.
The doctor continued, "Stop beating around the bush and just say it."
After a long silence, Lu Zhengfei finally said with difficulty, "He... can't get it up anymore."
The doctor almost broke the pen in his hand. He coughed a few times, covering up his surprise, and pretended to be calm, saying, "Lu Zhengfei, you also have your own problems now."
Lu Zhengfei got angry, "Damn it, Xu Shaoren, are you enjoying my misfortune now?"
Xu Shaoren couldn't help but burst into laughter, "I've been telling you that you would mess things up. You were so rough with Chen Qianqing back then, and now you're facing the consequences. Look at how desperate you are!"
Lu Zhengfei cursed again before saying, "Enough with the nonsense, tell me what to do."
Xu Shaoren said, "Well, actually, the biggest problem now is not whether he can get it up or not, but whether it's only with you that he can't."
Lu Zhengfei's face became even more grim.
Xu Shaoren grinned, "Do you want me to give it a try?"
Lu Zhengfei sneered, "You try? With his personality, he would probably cut you off directly."
Xu Shaoren replied with a smirk, "Is he that fiery? Then I'm even more eager to give it a try."
Lu Zhengfei said, "Can we focus on the main point?"
Only then did Xu Shaoren put away his smile and said seriously, "You should first figure out if he can't get it up with anyone or only when you're the one initiating."