"Today... we went up the mountain for our practical training. Wang Lei approached me and said that there was a rare medicinal herb up there and asked me to take a look. Once we were in the grove... he suddenly told me he wanted me to be his... girlfriend and wouldn’t let me leave... I was really scared..." Recalling the events of the morning, Li Yingni was still shaken, her delicate hands tightly clenched, her knuckles turning white.

"Listen," Shen Xingkong had already guessed what had happened, and his expression became very serious. "Wang Lei is trash—filthy trash, at that. If you want to finish your medical studies peacefully, stay far away from him, as far as possible. It’s best if he doesn’t even get a single hair on you."

"I know, but... we’re in the same class... How can I possibly avoid him?" Li Yingni was worried about constantly running into Wang Lei, thinking that if he was determined to cause her trouble, she wouldn’t be able to avoid him.

"Don’t worry about that. He’s no bandit, and he doesn’t have the guts for that. The school is full of people, and there are always people on your way home. Does he dare to openly assault you?" Shen Xingkong sneered. Wang Lei was nothing more than a lowlife thug, far from being a true gangster.

"How can you say that?" Li Yingni’s face turned bright red, so embarrassed she wished she could find a hole to hide in.

"Alright, alright, enough about that trash. Come on, eat up, or the food will get cold." Shen Xingkong, who usually saw Li Yingni as poised and dignified, was surprised to see her acting so shy, like a little girl.

It took a while for Li Yingni to calm down. She gave Shen Xingkong a playful glare before finally picking up her chopsticks, though she quickly put them down again.

"Shen Xingkong, you should be careful too!" Li Yingni suddenly thought of how Shen Xingkong had stood up to Wang Lei for her today, turning Wang Lei into his enemy. Now, the most dangerous person was Shen Xingkong himself.

"Hahaha..." Shen Xingkong suddenly burst into laughter, nearly spitting out his food. "Am I supposed to be afraid of him? I could crush him with a single finger. Hahaha!"

"Then... why did you run away on the mountain today?"

"Hahaha... uh..." Shen Xingkong’s laughter abruptly stopped, and he awkwardly scratched his nose. Why did the class monitor have to bring up the one thing he didn’t want to talk about? "I was just giving him face because we’re classmates. Even though Wang Lei is trash, I’m the bigger person!"

"Hehe..." Li Yingni could easily see through Shen Xingkong’s bluff, but she didn’t expose him. Instead, she smiled, pressing her cherry-red lips together, and then joined Shen Xingkong in eating.

After they finished their meal and drank their fill of free tea, they called the waitress over and fought over who would pay the bill.

Shen Xingkong, feeling that as a man he couldn’t let a woman pay, argued that it would be too embarrassing. But Li Yingni was firm, insisting on paying, and finally shoved the money into the waitress’s hand, leaving Shen Xingkong no choice but to give up.

When they left the restaurant, Li Yingni hailed a taxi to take her home, not forgetting to remind Shen Xingkong to be careful. Shen Xingkong stood on the street, watching as Li Yingni’s taxi disappeared at the far end of the street, his expression growing serious as he sat down on the curb.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

During the meal, Shen Xingkong had been putting on a brave face. There was no point in showing weakness—what could Li Yingni, a gentle woman, possibly do to help him?

He knew he had angered Wang Lei and had become his mortal enemy. That mad dog would not let him off easily. It was very likely that when he returned home tonight, Wang Lei would have a gang waiting for him, ready to beat him senseless.

What should he do? Report it to the school administration? It wouldn’t help; the school authorities couldn’t do anything about Wang Lei. Call the police? That would be a joke—Wang Lei’s father was in law enforcement. Reporting him would be like walking into a trap.

The only solution was for Shen Xingkong to deal with Wang Lei on his own. But aside from Chang Le, he had no allies. Besides, he felt that Chang Le had already helped him enough. He couldn’t drag Chang Le into this any further; that wouldn’t be what a true friend would do.

A real friend wouldn’t cause you trouble no matter what.

“Darling, you’ve got a call... Darling, you’ve got a call...”

Just as Shen Xingkong was racking his brain for a solution, his old Nokia phone, which he’d had for five or six years, rang with its shameless ringtone. He pulled it out and saw that the incoming number was unfamiliar.

“Hello, who’s this?” Shen Xingkong asked weakly.

“Hehe, is this Dr. Shen Xingkong?” A sweet voice chimed from the other end of the line.

“Are you looking for Dr. Shen Xingkong? You’re calling a bit early; try again in two years, and you might find him.” Shen Xingkong thought someone was playing a joke on him.

“Oh, come on, it’s really you, isn’t it? Dr. Shen, you’re such a joker! Hehe, it’s me, your Auntie Song!”

“Huh? Auntie Song?” Shen Xingkong’s eyes lit up as he remembered the seductive and charming woman he had met at Chang Le’s house the previous night.

“Yes, yes, it’s me! Dr. Shen, didn’t you ask me to find some friends for you? Hehe, I started calling them first thing this morning to tell them all about you!” Auntie Song was clearly fishing for compliments, her motives obvious.

“Really? Well... thank you!” Shen Xingkong quickly regained his composure.

“Oh, don’t be so formal with me! Let me tell you, all my friends are eager to meet you. Do you have time?”

“Time?” Shen Xingkong couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. What did he have if not time? He didn’t even know where to go.

“I have a few patients lined up, but Auntie Song, you know I’d make time for you no matter what!” Shen Xingkong knew that when it was time to play the part, he had to play it well.

“You’re too kind, Dr. Shen. Auntie Song won’t let you down. How about this: there’s a salon called ‘Blooming Years’ on Wenjing Street. Let’s meet there in an hour, okay?”

“Alright, I’ll be there,” Shen Xingkong replied, hanging up the phone. He then stood up, brushed off his pants, and flagged down a taxi to take him to Wenjing Street.

Wenjing Street was one of the more prosperous streets in Z City, located in the city center. The street was lined with upscale establishments, including nightclubs, bars, hotels, KTV lounges, and beauty salons. The customers here were all prominent figures in Z City, at least small business owners, and the cars parked along the street were nothing less than Audis.

"Blooming Years" was located in the middle of Wenjing Street, a large beauty and spa salon—a place where wealthy women splurged on luxury, flaunting their taste and indulging in their vanity.

Shen Xingkong stood in a supermarket across the street from "Blooming Years," not in any hurry to keep the appointment. He was, after all, the sixth-generation descendant of an imperial physician, and as such, he needed to carry himself with some degree of importance. And an important person has every right to be fashionably late.

He looked across the street at the salon’s grand sign and entrance, as well as the luxury cars parked outside. Shen Xingkong never would have dreamed that one day he would be heading to a place like this.

It wasn’t until his watch showed that he was “fashionably late” by twenty minutes that Shen Xingkong finally strolled out of the supermarket, crossed Wenjing Street, and headed towards the "Blooming Years" salon with purposeful strides.