TT Chapter 36. Li Danui at the Village Entrance

Gao Duo had no intention of discussing the rumors any further. After the four of them spent the entire night playing Landlord, they emerged from the hotel in single file the next morning, drawing stares from every direction.

Students who were out getting breakfast blinked in confusion as they watched this strange quartet. Their brains took a good while to catch up before they finally managed to piece together the connections between them.

Right, Chen Ting and Pei Yiyao were best friends.

Chen Ting was also in the same dorm as Yang Shulin.

And Chen Ting worked part-time at Gao Duo’s café. That made sense.

But why had the four of them come out of a hotel together? What exactly happened last night?

If it had just been Chen Ting and Pei Yiyao, people could have indulged in a bit of wild imagination. But Yang Shulin and Gao Duo too? Four people? Everyone’s thoughts immediately spiraled off into some uncharted territory.

Was yesterday some kind of couple day?

Because Gao Duo acted quickly, the scandalous post from the night before had not spread widely. On top of that, it was still early morning, and the news had not yet made the rounds.

Chen Ting, however, had his attention on something else entirely. Thanks to Gao Duo’s obsessive pickiness, they had ended up staying at the most upscale hotel outside campus. While checking out, they unexpectedly ran into two familiar faces at the front desk.

Zhou Cheng and Su Luo, former campus heartthrob and goddess.

As for why Su Luo was also considered “former,” it was because the events surrounding Chen Ting had shattered her flawless goddess persona. Tang Yin had since risen to take her place and officially dethroned her earlier this year.

Gao Duo seemed to recognize them. He stared at them meaningfully for a second, then leaned lazily against the counter and joked with Chen Ting, “Why don’t you take me as your master, Ting Ting? I guarantee no one will ever dare bully you again.”

“Take you as my master?” Chen Ting froze.

“Yeah.” Gao Duo winked at him.

But in no time at all, Gao Duo’s gaze was locked solely on Cool Guy Pei Yiyao.

Pei Yiyao and Gao Duo had never gotten along. Especially when Gao Duo tried to lure Little Ting Ting away, Pei Yiyao’s expression grew even colder. “No need to trouble yourself, senior.”

Gao Duo shrugged and looked past him at Chen Ting. “You’re always welcome to come find me. I won’t even charge tuition.”

With that, he waved and sauntered off, the very picture of ease and grace.

Yang Shulin could feel the chill coming off Pei Yiyao and quickly chased after Gao Duo. “Senior, senior, how about you take me as your disciple instead? I promise I’ll study hard and improve every day.”

Chen Ting held back a laugh and quietly reached out to take Pei Yiyao’s hand, giving it a gentle shake. “I’m hungry. Let’s go get breakfast.”

“Alright.” Pei Yiyao replied in a measured tone, his eyes unreadable. But Chen Ting was sure he was jealous. This was exactly how Cool Guy acted when he was jealous. He had to be patient with him.

One of them wore a frosty look, the other tried to coax him. The two of them soon left the hotel as well.

Zhou Cheng and Su Luo stood awkwardly off to the side. They were clearly upset but did not want to stir up more trouble with Chen Ting and Pei Yiyao. They checked out after them and quickly left.

Of course, Chen Ting could not care less about what happened with those two. In fact, he thought it was good that they were still together. Handsome guy, pretty girl—they matched well. Their brains even worked the same way. They were a perfect fit.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

During that time, everything was so calm it was as if that late-night post had never existed. Gao Duo’s finesse left Chen Ting impressed. The man handled situations like this with such practiced ease. No wonder he used to be a campus legend.

That Saturday night, Chen Ting went to work as usual, and find that Gao Duo was there too.

“Senior.” Chen Ting greeted him politely without breaking stride, heading straight behind the counter and tying on his apron.

Gao Duo slouched over the counter and watched him lazily. With a teasing grin, he said, “You really not going to reconsider becoming my disciple?”

Chen Ting looked a little curious. “Why me? Yang Shulin could work too.”

“He wouldn’t do. He’d probably get sold off.” Gao Duo tapped idly on the marble countertop with a curled finger. “Cool Guy is too blunt. People like him tend to rely on sheer strength to crush their opponents. But you…”

A sweet-faced little schemer. Now that was worth grooming.

Chen Ting suddenly felt like he was being stalked by a big bad wolf. But no, he was supposed to be a peaceful, harmless little rabbit. How could he let Gao Duo lead him astray? He was innocent. Really.

But Gao Duo seemed to have his sights set on him. The moment Chen Ting had a free hand, he immediately pulled boss rank and told him to bring over some coffee.

“Little Ting Ting looked so cool playing the drums.” Gao Duo waved his phone with a sly smile. On the screen was a video of Chen Ting performing at the ball.

“I know, right.” Chen Ting nodded.

That was not the reaction Gao Duo expected. He raised an eyebrow, more and more convinced that this one had excellent potential. The perfect heir to his dark and shameless legacy.

Chen Ting caught on too. The whole disciple thing was a joke. Gao Duo probably just wanted someone to talk to. As for those rumors, maybe the suicide bit was fake, but the ex-boyfriend part sounded real.

Gao Duo noticed the flicker of thought in his eyes and leaned in. “How much have you figured out?”

Chen Ting blinked, looking completely innocent. “Just a little.”

“Do you want to know more?”

“Not really.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“I have a boyfriend already, senior. He’s insanely jealous.”

That made Gao Duo laugh so hard he flopped onto the counter. After a long while, he propped up his chin and looked at Chen Ting with a lazy gaze. “Alright, I’m gay. Been at it longer than you. Just not as lucky. You know those stories about demons seducing poor scholars? I guess I’m the little demon, and the scholar is you. Poor guy worked so hard to pass the exams, so the demon had to go mess with someone else. And now that the scholar has made the honor roll and is off to his wedding night, isn’t the demon allowed to feel a little sorry for himself?”

It was the first time Chen Ting had ever heard someone compare themselves to a seductive little demon so openly. He paused and asked, “What about the rumor?”

“Oh, that.” A flash of disdain crossed Gao Duo’s face. “He was trying to compete with me for a scholarship. In that story, he didn’t even have a real part. At best, he was just Li Daniu from the village gate. Suicide for love? Please. I think he crammed so much archaeology into his brain that it’s packed full of prehistoric cow dung.”

“Pfft…” Chen Ting could not hold back a laugh.

“Hey now.” Gao Duo tapped the counter. “Li Daniu is already miserable enough. Don’t make fun of him.”

“Who’s Li Daniu?” Pei Yiyao had arrived.

Chen Ting silently cursed. Seeing him laugh that hard just now probably meant he was in for a tough time coaxing the jealous man tonight.

Gao Duo, never one to let a good drama go to waste, opened his mouth again. “We were bonding. If you’d shown up just a few minutes later, I might’ve stolen him from you.”

He stretched lazily, then stood and gave Pei Yiyao a deliberately taunting look before swaggering off.

“Bye bye~”

Chen Ting cautiously studied Pei Yiyao’s expression. Seeing that he stayed silent, he tugged lightly on his sleeve. “You don’t actually believe him, do you?”

Pei Yiyao shook his head. “I was just thinking about how much it would cost to buy this place.”

Chen Ting went speechless.

There was just no talking to rich people.

He had come with the intention of coaxing him, but after that outrageous flex of wealth, he completely lost the motivation. He might be a second-generation landholder, but somehow he kept getting overshadowed. It was maddening.

Just then, he received another message from Gao Duo.

Gao the Beauty: In addition to the Art of Thick-Skinned Scheming, I also have a Love Sutra.

Gao the Beauty: Men need stimulation. A little jealousy is good for bonding. You two are so sweet it’s giving your senior a toothache.

Pei Yiyao looked wary. “Message from Gao Duo?”

Chen Ting countered, “Weren’t you the one who said you didn’t care?”

“I didn’t mean that.” Pei Yiyao caught his hand and said, “If you’re leaving, then it must be my fault. It has nothing to do with Gao Duo.”

He paused, then added, “In our story, he’s just Wang Dazhui from the village gate.”

Chen Ting could not help but laugh. “If Senior heard you say that, he’d probably explode.”

Pei Yiyao kept a deadpan face. “Then let him.”

“Alright, alright.” Chen Ting softened his voice just a touch. “Go sit for a bit. I’ll be off in ten minutes.”

“Okay.” Pei Yiyao went to his usual spot and sat down. He grabbed a book from the shelf and pretended to read, though his gaze mostly lingered on Chen Ting, ignoring everyone else around him.

The other patrons in the café were used to this by now.

“It’s gotta be cheese. Definitely cheese. Just look at those eyes. That gaze could stretch into miles of melty string…”

“Yeah. Cheese is power.”

Chen Ting did not hear the cheese nonsense. With his shift nearly over, he began cleaning up as usual. When he opened the drawer, he caught sight of something in the corner. His hand paused.

He pressed his lips together and hesitated for a long moment. Finally, he picked it up, peeled away the shiny wrapping, and popped it into his mouth.

It was a piece of liquor-filled chocolate.

The clear aroma of alcohol burst across his tongue. Chen Ting smacked his lips, thinking the flavor was surprisingly good. His eyes flicked toward Pei Yiyao, feigning innocence while clearly plotting something behind that sweet expression.

A few minutes later, his shift ended. Chen Ting stepped out from behind the counter, saw off the last customer politely, then gestured to Pei Yiyao that it was time to go.

He looked completely normal, and Pei Yiyao did not notice anything unusual either.

The two walked along a cobbled path back toward the dorm. Halfway there, Pei Yiyao suddenly stopped. Chen Ting looked around. The spot they were in was hidden by thick trees. It was close to the main road but tucked away enough that no one could really see what happened here.

“Next semester, don’t take the café job anymore. Alright?” Pei Yiyao turned to look him in the eye.

Chen Ting did not answer. Instead, he scrunched his nose and leaned in close, as if trying to sniff out the jealousy hanging around him. A smile played on his lips. The moment made Pei Yiyao’s eyes darken. He reached out, ruffled Chen Ting’s hair, and pulled him into his arms.

“Don’t go around sniffing.”

“Jealousy smells awful.”

Chen Ting struggled slightly and looked up at him. His curls brushed against Pei Yiyao’s chin, tickling him. Just then, Pei Yiyao caught the faint scent of alcohol on his breath. His brows drew together. “Did you drink?”

Chen Ting answered with perfect confidence. “You gave it to me.”

“Tell the truth.” Pei Yiyao gave his butt a light smack.

“I am telling the truth. It doesn’t even count as alcohol. It’s just chocolate. Want to try for yourself?” Chen Ting rose on his toes, his warm breath brushing against Pei Yiyao’s face.

In response, he received an especially searing kiss. Pei Yiyao wrapped his arms around him and turned, pinning him against the thick trunk of the old tree behind them. One hand cradled the back of his head. The other circled his waist, holding him close as he kissed him with enough heat to make the air spin.

Barely ten meters away, students were strolling back from the library in small groups along the shaded path, completely unaware of what was unfolding behind the dense canopy of leaves.