Chapter 4
The next day, the incident of Lei Xin cheating was publicly announced throughout the school. However, the punishment was lighter than what Tan Ning had expected—it was merely a cancellation of his grade for that course. It wasn’t recorded in his personal file, nor was he expelled.
Perhaps this was the result of Lin Song’an’s intervention; otherwise, Tan Ning’s complaint letter might have sunk without a trace.
He hadn’t expected Lin Song’an to choose him over Lei Xin. Sitting by the window in the library, Tan Ning tapped his textbook with his fingertip. For the first time, he couldn’t focus on his work and found himself frequently distracted.
Choosing him wasn’t entirely unexpected.
Yesterday, when Lin Song’an said he would handle it, Tan Ning thought he might just have Lei Xin apologize or something similar. Who would have thought that Lin Song’an didn’t entirely dismiss his actions, nor did he let his carefully written complaint letter become a waste of paper.
Lei Xin had actually been punished.
Perhaps noticing the pleasant expression on his face, a female student who had hesitated to sit beside him finally relaxed. She carefully took off her backpack and sat down.
Instinctively, Tan Ning moved his belongings forward a bit. The girl was startled, thinking that he disliked having someone sit next to him. After some thought, she decided to find another seat through the system.
Unaware of his classmate’s inner turmoil, Tan Ning noticed a commotion near the entrance of the second-floor public reading room, drawing everyone’s attention.
The electronic display at the entrance updated its announcements:
[The Business School and Law School jointly establish a professional training base for law and business management talents.]
The accompanying photo featured school and department leaders, along with Lin Song’an—clearly taken after Tan Ning had left.
Seeing that line, curiosity prompted Tan Ning to open the class group chat and read the detailed announcement.
This meeting was more significant and practical than he had imagined. The two schools would not only invite relevant experts to offer case-based courses on law and business management but also provide opportunities for outstanding students to study abroad on a full scholarship.
Study abroad on a full scholarship?
This piqued Tan Ning’s interest.
He checked his class schedule for the semester and found he had enough free time. He contacted the class monitor in the group chat, privately messaging to express his interest in signing up. The class monitor couldn’t believe that Tan Ning wanted to join and asked in disbelief:
“Do you really want to participate? This program will involve many group activities, frequent visits to enterprises, and will take up a lot of your spare time.”
No matter how many times the class monitor confirmed, Tan Ning simply replied with one word:
[Yes.]
After registering, he packed up his textbooks and headed to the Law School for class.
A small decision, like a breeze stirring flowers on a branch, lightly falling on the water’s surface, creating a ripple that soon disappeared.
He quickly forgot about this matter.
Until a month later, after finishing a listening exercise and taking off his headphones, he picked up his phone and found he had been added to a group called [Law and Business Management Youth Training Base.]
The group announcement read:
[Dear students, the Law and Business Civil Case class starts tonight at 6:30 PM in Room 314 of the Business School. The lecturer is Yang Bingkai, former Associate Dean of the Law School at Qingjiang University.]
He noted the time.
At 6:20 PM, he arrived punctually at Room 314. It was his second time at the Business School, and he was noticeably more familiar, finding his destination more quickly. However, he was a bit unlucky—he pushed open the front door again. As soon as he entered, he sensed the stifling atmosphere in the classroom.
The chatter instantly quieted down.
Everyone widened their eyes, wondering if he had walked into the wrong classroom. But he calmly walked in, closed the door, and sat in the center of the first row.
“Why is he here? Doesn’t he never participate in group activities?”
“Maybe it’s because of the credits?”
“If he cared about credits, why doesn’t he ever join class activities? I heard he plans to rely solely on his GPA to get into graduate school.”
“So annoying. Why is he participating? I heard there will be random group assignments later. God forbid I get grouped with him.”
An uninformed student from the Business School squeezed over and whispered, “Why do you all dislike him? I think he’s quite good-looking. I’ve never seen such a handsome beta.”
A classmate from the Law School crossed her arms and snorted, “Huh, if he looked at you, you wouldn’t think he’s good-looking anymore.”
“I’ve never seen such a gloomy gaze.”
By now, Tan Ning had learned to automatically tune out such gossip. He sat in his seat and took out his laptop.
The classroom gradually filled up, but the teacher hadn’t arrived yet.
Organizing the files on his laptop screen and preparing to create a new document, he saw a well-dressed man in a suit walk in. As he walked, he frequently turned his head to talk animatedly with someone behind him.
Everyone craned their necks to look out the door and saw Lin Song’an.
He was dressed casually, carrying a shoulder bag, looking much more relaxed than usual, with a few strands of hair falling over his forehead.
Professor Yang was passionately talking to him, even as they approached the podium.
“I heard this professor used to be a legal advisor for Tianhe Group,” someone whispered.
Hearing the words “Tianhe Group,” Tan Ning raised an eyebrow and looked up, just in time to meet Lin Song’an’s gaze.
He had never made eye contact with Lin Song’an in public before and was momentarily startled. In his memory, he hadn’t seen Lin Song’an properly dressed many times. Most of the time, they were together in private, and even when dressed, Lin Song’an wore pajamas or a robe, or shirts that had been torn.
In any case, it was never a presentable image.
He had forgotten what Lin Song’an was supposed to be like.
Perhaps he should be the future heir of Tianhe Group—a rare, top-tier alpha with excellent looks and physique, admired by all, exuding elegance in every move.
But in Tan Ning’s eyes, he didn’t seem that way.
Time seemed to pause for a few seconds. Calmly, Tan Ning withdrew his gaze.
Smiling, Lin Song’an greeted Professor Yang and then walked in. By now, there weren’t many seats left, so, like Tan Ning did that day, he took a nearby empty seat in the front row.
There were two seats between them.
Another round of gasps rippled through the room.
Tan Ning found it amusing.
Lin Song’an didn’t look at him, nor did he look at Lin Song’an. The two maintained a “two-seat” distance—appropriate, neither familiar nor deliberately distant.
This time, no one would mock Tan Ning for using Lin Song’an to make a scene, nor would anyone overinterpret Lin’s actions. After all, there was no need for their names to appear together repeatedly.
Professor Yang opened his prepared PowerPoint and smiled at the students, giving a brief self-introduction. “I won’t waste time with unnecessary words; let’s get straight to the point. The integration of law and business is a major trend. The fusion of law—a concept with definitiveness—and the free, uncertain business environment can create fascinating sparks. This is what we’ll discuss today. Are there any students from the Law School who can tell us the basic characteristics of law? This should be quite simple.”
No one expected the teacher to ask someone to answer a question in the third sentence of the first class. Everyone exchanged glances, pretending to be invisible.
After scanning the room, and just as he was about to continue speaking, Tan Ning raised his hand.
“You, please. No need to stand up.”
Slightly lifting his head, still wearing his indifferent expression, he answered seriously, “Normativity, expression of state will, coerciveness, universality, and procedural nature.”
“Very good. It seems your fundamentals are solid.”
After answering, he lowered his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a slight smile on Lin Song’an’s face.
For some reason, this annoyed him.
Another “odd” aspect of Tan Ning was that while he was cold to people, he was enthusiastic in class. Sitting in the front row directly facing the podium was already unusual, but he also consistently raised his hand to answer questions, giving those who disliked him more reasons to criticize.
Normally, he didn’t care what others thought, but seeing Lin Song’an smile made him irritated.
He shot a glare in Lin Song’an’s direction, but Lin Song’an’s smile only deepened.
Professor Yang continued, “With these definitive characteristics of law, when it collides with the free and uncertain business environment, what kind of sparks will fly? This is what we’ll explore next…”
It seemed that Lin Song’an wasn’t listening attentively, occasionally lowering his head to check his phone and reply to messages.
Realizing he was distracted, Tan Ning subtly shifted his body to the other side to avoid his peripheral vision acting on its own.
After the first class ended, Lei Xin walked over from the back row. Picking up Lin Song’an’s bag, he said, “Bro, let’s sit in the back. Why stay near this bad luck?”
Lin Song’an said there was no need.
“I have something to discuss with you.”
Lei Xin had found out that the complaint against him came from Tan Ning. He had wanted to confront him directly, but the school leadership said that the evidence was solid and the language was strong. If they tried to cover it up, it might lead to worse consequences. They couldn’t just dismiss it; they had to minimize the issue, resulting in the cancellation of his grade for that course.
When Lei Xin received this outcome, he was stunned. He didn’t know where things had gone wrong—how someone could report his cheating and succeed.
He had previously only been annoyed by this haunting beta, but now he outright hated him.
Just as he was planning revenge, Lin Song’an sent him to Shanghai to pick up an old friend from childhood. Distracted, he thought about letting it go. But seeing Tan Ning today reignited his anger. Watching as Tan Ning, back turned, organized his notes, he was about to go over and cause trouble when Lin Song’an stopped him.
Lin Song’an’s expression was somewhat serious, even showing a hint of displeasure between his brows. Lei Xin was momentarily stunned.
Lin Song’an was always gentle with others and rarely got angry.
Seeing this, Lei Xin knew he couldn’t push further. Deflated, he held Lin’s bag and said, “Bro, let’s sit in the back. Ye Ling is here, waiting for you.”
Glancing at Tan Ning, who was focused on typing, seemingly oblivious as if wearing headphones, Lin Song’an followed Lei Xin to the back row.
As soon as he left, the classmates behind began to gossip excitedly:
“Who is Ye Ling? Is that the omega with curly hair in the last row? Wow, he’s so beautiful, like a doll.”
“They’re childhood sweethearts, according to Lei Xin. Ye Ling has been studying abroad and came back specifically for Lin Song’an’s grandfather’s birthday.”
“If he’s childhood friends with Lin Song’an, his family must also be wealthy. They look so good together.”
“Really, that boy’s smile is so cute.”
“This scene is just like a TV drama.”
Several times, Tan Ning mistyped words. He typed “application of law” three times, each time mistakenly writing “practical law,” unable to correct it.
Perhaps his eyes were strained from looking at the screen too long—they felt itchy and a bit blurry. He blinked, flexed his fingers, and on the fourth attempt, after carefully checking the suggested words, he paused for two seconds and finally got it right.
He stared at his notes, waiting until the class bell rang and Professor Yang returned to continue the lecture.
The three classes lasted until nearly nine o’clock. Outside the teaching building, it was completely dark. Packing up his backpack, Tan Ning left through the front door.
Still somewhat unsure of his direction and unwilling to follow the crowd, he slowed his pace, walking at the back and looking around for another staircase. With the faint light from a nearby self-study room, he spotted a dark stairwell.
So he left the crowd and headed over.
Just as he reached the corner on the second floor, someone grabbed his wrist and pulled him into an empty classroom.
He smelled a familiar scent, and before he could speak, his lips were sealed.
