Chapter 17: The Silent Game

The campus was quieter than usual that afternoon. Midterm exams were looming, and there was an air of nervousness with everyone cramming last-minute studying. Spring air carried the sweet scent of blooming flowers, but the campus was… almost too quiet.

Lin Feng was trapped in his head in his afternoon lecture, the professor's voice distant murmurs in the background as his eyes drifted to the screen of his phone.

CATL stock was still positive—not much, but sufficient to allow him to feel as though he was playing a largergame. He wasn't rich by any means, but the growth was steady. And the reward from the system had made it easier to take a breath, at leastslightly.

But as he sat there, his thoughts were far from the numbers on his monitor. He couldn't help but recall the text message Liu Xiaoyu had sent him that morning.

"Are you free tonight?"

That was something… different.

He hadn't been used to getting such messages, least of all from women. Throughout most of his life, he'd been hidden from the notice of the femaleshe'd secretly admired, and now suddenly all this was new in the atmosphere. The staring pauses when they'd catch eyes across the lecture hall. The subtle smiles by the hallwaywhere she'd passed.

Today it was all change.

The Library

Later in the evening, Lin Feng strolledto the library, his heart racing as he arrived at the meeting point agreed upon. He'd no idea what awaited him, but he'd never imagined it would turnout this. strange.

He took a seat at the table, glancingwildly at the clock.

6:45 PM.

Liu Xiaoyu had asked to meet at 7 PM, but the longer he waited, the more he could feel himself getting nervous. Was this a trap? Was she just being friendly to him like she was toeveryone else? Or was there something else behind her invitation?

The library buzzed quietly with the turning of pages and the distantsound of muffled speech. Lin Feng tried to focus on the book in front of him, but his mind kept wandering.

Finally, at 7:05 PM, Liu Xiaoyu walked in, her brown hair tied back in a loose ponytail, wearing a simple, elegant white blouse and black skirt. She spotted him barely a moment later and smiled.

Sorry, I'm running late," she said, sitting down across from him. "I washeld up by some work."

Lin Feng forced a smile. "It's alright, I wasn't waiting long.".

They exchanged small talk, and whenshe had opened her own book, theyeased the discussion initially. Lin Feng asked after her studies—something to help the silence become tolerable. But then the moment grew somewhatsomber, the two of them exchanging alook every now and then.

"I… I was wondering," Liu Xiaoyu eventually spoke, her tone soft, nearlyhesitant. "How have you been? You've seemed different lately."

Lin Feng looked at her, stunned. "Different?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I don't know how to put it. You've been a little more… more confident, I suppose? You're not so shell-shocked anymore."

He blinked, taken aback. Was it really that obvious?

"I… I don't know," Lin Feng stuttered, running the back of his neck. "Maybe I've been focusing more on my work. Trying harder to excel."

She smiled weakly. "It's okay. You seem to be more at ease."

Lin Feng couldn't think of anything to say to that. She sounded like she meant something else, but everythinghe said just seemed to come out wrong.

"I guess… I'm trying to. Just…" He paused. "It's not easy."

The words lingered in the air aroundthem, heavy with more than he intended. But Liu Xiaoyu did not seem uneasy. Instead, she seemed to study him for an instant before going on.

"Yeah, I know. Life's not easy."

He stared into her eyes and saw a flicker of something there. It wasn't pity. It wasn't sympathy. It was morelike comprehension. A sense that theyboth fought against something, even though they were living in completely different realms.

And then—abruptly—she asked, "MayI ask you something personal?"

His stomach twisted up, unsure where this was going. "Okay," he replied, his voice a little rough.

She hesitated, biting her lip. "Ever.thought about what comes after college? I mean, after all this schooling? The future, I guess."

Lin Feng took a deep breath. This was it.

"Honestly, I don't know," he muttered. "I've considered it a lot. There's lots of pressure for me to live up—partlybecause my family's. well, you know. I just want to be able to hold my headup high myself. But it's hard when everything seems unattainable."

She looked at him seriously. "I knowwhat you're saying. Most of the people around here think they've goteverything in hand. But they don't. It's all superficial."

Lin Feng eased a bit, the knot in his chest untightening. "Yeah. I guess it's easy to forget that with everything that's going on around here.".

They sat there for a moment, a silence that was comfortable settling over them. The only noise was the quietrustling of pages and the far-off hum of the fluorescent lights overhead. But something in the air had changed. It wasn't a huge change. It wasn't dramatic. But there was a difference. A silent understanding.

Jealous Eyes

But just as Lin Feng was starting to unwind, the door of the library creaked softly open. Lin Feng didn't even notice it at first, too caught up in his conversation with Liu Xiaoyu.

But then he did notice.

A presence.

He looked to one side and saw Lu Chen leaning in the doorway, watchingthem. His expression wasn't exactly unfriendly, but it was certainly.vigilant.

Lin Feng felt a knot shape in his stomach.

Lu Chen, of course. The rich brat. The one who used his wealth as a sort of shield.

And now, it seemed, he had seen Lin Feng talking to Liu Xiaoyu.

Lu Chen glanced over at them for a moment before turning and walkingaway, but not before casting one final look back at Lin Feng—one of silentdisdain.

Lin Feng didn't allow his face to show his emotions. He glared downwards, still focusing intensely on his textbook, hoping Lu Chen would just leave.

Liu Xiaoyu sensed the tension. Shelooked from Lin Feng, to Lu Chen, and bit her lip.

"Is something wrong?" she murmured.

Lin Feng forced a smile, but it was a bittense. "Yeah. Just. people love to stare.".

She gave him a knowing look, but she didn't pursue the matter. Instead, she grabbed her pencil and started writingagain.

But Lin Feng couldn't help but feel that something was being planned behind the scenes—something withconsequences.