Chapter 15: The Silver Chain

Mateo slammed his fist into Gu Yanli’s shoulder.

It was a full-force hit. Gu Yanli swayed slightly, but the hand locked around Xu Zhou’s ankle didn’t move at all, as if welded in place.

“I told you to let go. Are you deaf?!”

Mateo’s eyes were bloodshot. He grabbed Gu Yanli’s shirt collar with his other hand and dragged him backward.

Gu Yanli used the momentum to stand.

His expression stayed cold. He peeled Mateo’s hand away, not even bothering to smooth the wrinkled collar, and only lifted his eyes.

“This is St. Lester’s campus property. The disciplinary office has the right to enter any room for a surprise inspection at any time. Reyes, mind your attitude.”

“Surprise inspection?”

Mateo let out a furious laugh, pointing at the silver chain that gleamed coldly under the light on Xu Zhou’s ankle.

“How far does a room check go? All the way onto his bed? And you put this thing on him? You think I’m blind?”

Xu Zhou’s head hurt from their argument.

He irritably pulled the covers over his legs, leaving only a pale ankle exposed.

The silver chain was still attached. From all the pulling just now, it had left a clear red mark around his skin. It looked sore.

“Seniors.”

Xu Zhou poked half his head out from under the blanket. His voice was muffled against the pillow, full of laziness.

“If you’re going to fight, go outside. I have class tomorrow. I want to sleep.”

His tone was too casual, too indifferent. It was as if the two most unmanageable heirs in the entire school were having a lover’s quarrel over him, and it had nothing to do with him.

Mateo turned at the sound of his voice. Half the agitation dropped from his face. He pointed at the chain, looking awkward.

“Xu Zhou, are you brain-damaged? He puts this on you and you don’t even kick him?”

“I kicked him. Didn’t move.”

Xu Zhou turned over, showing them the back of his head.

“Mr. Gu’s uniform is pretty hard.”

Gu Yanli’s gaze paused for half a second on the fluffy back of Xu Zhou’s head. A trace of amusement flickered in his dark eyes before going cold again.

He put his hands back into his trouser pockets and looked down at Mateo.

“Under the personal safety protection order, the protected person must wear a location marker. That’s the rule.”

“Bullshit!”

Mateo cursed.

“Tracking markers made of a silver chain? With your name engraved on it? Don’t give me that official jargon. Take the damn thing off now!”

“This is the disciplinary office document.”

Gu Yanli took a folded sheet with a red stamp out of his pocket, pressed it against Mateo’s chest, and slapped it into his hand.

“I’m not looking at it!”

Mateo slapped his hand away, palm stinging.

The two tall, imposing boys faced off in the narrow guest bedroom. The air was so heavy with gunpowder that it could almost ignite on its own.

Xu Zhou rolled over again, irritated, and pushed himself up on his elbows.

He hadn’t slept well last night. Right now his temples pulsed with pain, and his stomach churned from the sustained tension.

“Enough. Don’t put on a kung fu show here.”

He fished out his phone from under the pillow. The cold white glow lit up his face, making his tired features expressionless.

He angled the screen toward Gu Yanli.

“Mr. Gu, I looked up the Special Student Safety Protection Regulations just now. Article 7, Section 2 says that if the protected party believes the safety liaison’s supervision goes beyond the normal scope, he can apply for a one-click transfer directly in the system.”

Gu Yanli’s fingers on the edge of the bed tightened.

“St. Lester’s system has a default rule. If the first contact becomes invalid, all security permissions and the location backend transfer automatically to the second contact.”

Xu Zhou’s fingertip hovered over the red application button. He looked up at Gu Yanli and spoke slowly.

“The second contact is Theodore Vale. Mr. Gu, are you sure you want me to press this and hand my location access over to the Black Rose Society?”

Gu Yanli didn’t answer.

He stood in the shadow by the bed. His face, which was usually as cold as a sculpture at the disciplinary office, was tightly drawn.

Xu Zhou’s move was a needle pushed right into his bottom line.

Theodore had had his eyes on Xu Zhou around campus for a while. If the location backend was handed over to him, it would be like opening a gap in Gu Yanli’s own territory.

Xu Zhou tilted his head and looked at Mateo.

“As for you, senior. Article 10 states that if more than two physical fights occur in the protected person’s residence, the system will mark the area as a high-risk location.”

He yawned and pulled the blanket tighter around himself.

“In that case, I’ll get forcibly moved to an isolated observation room under closed management by the dorm administration, and the cohabitation agreement becomes void. If you want me out tonight, keep fighting.”

Mateo’s already raised hand froze midair.

He stared at Xu Zhou, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Finally, he ground out one word between his teeth: “f*ck!”

If Xu Zhou got sent to that broken-down building that was no different from a prison, all his trouble from the past half day would be a joke.

The only sound in the room was the rustling of leaves in the wind outside the window.

Gu Yanli watched the young man who showed only a small part of his face above the covers. Xu Zhou’s black lashes drooped, hiding every bit of calculation behind them.

He suddenly realized he had perhaps never truly seen through this transfer student who seemed to go with the flow.

“The key is on the table.”

Gu Yanli took out a silver key the size of a thumbnail from his pocket and placed it on the nightstand, which still had splashes of water on it.

He didn’t look at Mateo again. He turned and left the guest room. The hem of his black shirt carried the scent of fir through the air.

From downstairs came the sound of the front door closing.

Mateo spat on the floor. He snatched up the little key, walked to the bed in a few strides, and reached for Xu Zhou’s ankle.

“Come here. I’m taking this piece of junk off.”

Xu Zhou drew his leg back, not letting him touch it.

“Don’t. If you take it off right now, the disciplinary office backend will immediately get a warning about abnormal device disconnection.”

Mateo frowned. “What’s the key for, then?”

“The key opens the lock, but it can’t clear the backend record.”

Xu Zhou rubbed his temples tiredly and lay back on the pillow.

“If it comes off tonight, Gu Yanli can claim I intentionally damaged school security equipment and take me into the disciplinary office fair and square tomorrow. He’s fishing, senior.”

Mateo held the cold little key, knuckles whitening around it.

He finally saw how vicious Gu Yanli was.

Gu left the key behind like a concession, but he was actually waiting for Xu Zhou or Mateo to slip up.

As long as they lost patience tonight and opened the chain, Gu Yanli would have a hundred legitimate ways to drag Xu Zhou under the disciplinary office’s watch tomorrow.

“f*ck, that gutter bastard.”

Mateo cursed under his breath.

He no longer tried to grab Xu Zhou’s ankle. He crouched awkwardly by the bed and shoved the little silver key into his pajama pocket.

Then he stretched out his big calloused hand, grabbed the edge of the blanket, and pulled it up. The movement was rough but careful.

He covered Xu Zhou’s exposed shoulder completely, patted the edge, and tucked the corner into the side of the mattress.

“I’ll hold onto it. Tomorrow I’ll have the student union’s tech department hack the alert permissions on the backend, and then I’ll take it off. Make do with it for tonight.”

He still had one private motive he hadn’t said aloud.

With the key here, Xu Zhou couldn’t take the chain off on his own and return it to Gu Yanli. It also cut off one excuse for Xu Zhou to meet Gu Yanli privately.

Mateo stood up and kicked the glass shards by the bed into the corner, so Xu Zhou wouldn’t step on them if he got up in the middle of the night.

“Whatever. Turn off the light.”

Xu Zhou’s voice was already thick with drowsiness.

Mateo stood by the bed for a long moment, watching the small figure huddled under the blanket. Finally, he reached over and turned off the main light, leaving only a faint glow from the hallway.

He stepped over the damp stains on the carpet and left. The door closed with a dull sound.

The guest room returned to darkness.

Xu Zhou closed his eyes and shifted underneath the covers.

The silver chain on his ankle was a little heavy and cold against his skin. It pressed into him and made it hard to sleep.

Going to school was such a pain in the ass, seriously.

He put his hand on his forehead and was about to force himself to sleep when the phone under his pillow suddenly vibrated.

Xu Zhou groped for it without opening his eyes and swiped the screen.

It was a private message from Theodore Vale.

No idle chatter. Just a single notice.

[Junior, Gu just registered the safety restrictor on your ankle in the system. Per school rules, bring the key to the student council’s Red Tea Room at ten tomorrow for a routine registration.]

Another line appeared below it.

[If you can’t get the key, or if Reyes won’t let you go, tell me. I’ll pick you up at Arden Residence tomorrow morning.]

Xu Zhou stared at the screen, expressionless, and sighed in the dark.

A single equipment registration entry in the system was enough for Theodore to reach into Arden Residence.

He seemed to be fulfilling his routine duties as vice president.

In reality, every word was a provocation aimed at Gu Yanli and Mateo.

Xu Zhou turned his head and looked at the closed door.

The key he needed for registration was sitting in Mateo’s pajama pocket right now.

If he asked Mateo for it tomorrow, that hot-tempered wild dog would definitely blow up on the spot.

But if he didn’t go, Theodore really would arrive on time tomorrow morning and personally knock on Arden Residence’s door.

Either way, this building wouldn’t get a single minute of peace.

Xu Zhou rubbed his swollen temples, turned off his phone, and threw it onto the nightstand.

To hell with the key. To hell with the Red Tea Room. Whatever, I’ll deal with it tomorrow.

He pulled the blanket over his head and closed his eyes.

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