Chapter 6: The Black Rose Seat Card

Xu Zhou watched Mateo’s face, still beaded with hot sweat from training. He didn’t answer. He just put his hand back into his pocket, away from the card.

“I’m talking to you.”

Mateo closed in half a step. The muscles in his thighs were taut. He reached out a thick, rough finger and made a grab for the silver wax seal.

Xu Zhou was about to lean back. A ripping sound cut through the air. The black card split diagonally right in front of his eyes.

The seat card, black with silver edging, fell with a slap onto the plastic dining table. It skidded through the grease stains Mateo had just left, gleaming harshly under the light.

Joey had bitten his straw flat. He shrank his neck and pushed his tray away, afraid that an oil splash would land on his new sneakers.

Theodore set down the linen napkin he had been using to wipe his fingers by the window. He didn’t hurry over. His blond hair lay under the crisp, cold collar of his white shirt, and his gray-blue eyes watched from a distance.

“Reyes, the card in your hand is a replica of an observer seat for the Black Rose Gala. No one at Saint Lester tears up another person’s seat.”

“Whose name is written on it?” Mateo picked up the card with two fingers and flicked it. His eyes were wild, carrying a brutal, unreasonable edge. “The person living in my suite’s guest room, whether he goes to your Black Rose or not, that’s my call, Theodore.”

“He’s just borrowing the guest room. He’s not your private property, Senior Reyes.”

Theodore stood up. His tall frame was wrapped in a deep blue vest, and his voice wasn’t loud, but everyone in the dining hall stopped their knives and forks.

He looked at Xu Zhou, a flicker of interest passing through his gray-blue eyes.

“Student Xu, before six tonight, the rewritten seat card will be delivered to P-18. I hope that by then, Senior Reyes’s door access won’t happen to break.”

“Senior Reyes. Senior Vale.” Xu Zhou finally spoke. He used his fork to pick up the half-eaten chicken breast and set it back on his plate. He also picked up the car keys that Mateo had knocked to the corner of the table and pushed them into Mateo’s hand.

“Once you two are done talking, remember to wipe the table. Senior Reyes smeared the sauce. Sweep up the paper scraps on the floor too. Thank you.”

Mateo’s hand froze for half a second. “Xu Zhou, you…”

Xu Zhou ignored him. He stood up with his empty tray and walked around Theodore without looking at him.

Theodore watched the few strands of black hair on his pale neck, slightly tousled by the sea breeze. He slid his finger around the rim of his cup, and the corner of his mouth moved.

“This mess is Senior Reyes’s responsibility.”

Xu Zhou dropped that cold remark just before stepping out the door.

Joey slipped out behind him like a little tail. Under the dry, glaring autumn sun outside the dining hall, he wiped sweat from his forehead.

“Unbelievable. Xu Zhou, you’re the boldest sponsored student I’ve ever met. You left a Gulf crown prince and a duke’s heir behind to clean up your mess?”

“The card was Theodore’s gift. Mateo tore it.” Xu Zhou tucked the card into his pocket. “None of my business. I only care about the two o’clock dance rehearsal. I wonder if Ethan will dock my conduct points for being late yesterday.”

Joey hurried along beside him, muttering.

“Give me a break. Theodore got added to the P-18 regular visitor whitelist this morning. He said he’d bring the seat card up personally at six. Are you really going to open the door and welcome him? With Mateo’s territorial instinct, tonight he’ll tear the roof off the top floor of Arden.”

“Theodore activated a visitor card, not a room card.” Xu Zhou buttoned his school collar, looking tired.

“The rules at Saint Lester are made by people like Theodore. The Black Rose Gala roster is even tied into the backend of the dorm management system. He has plenty of ways to get master door access. No matter how expensive a lock Mateo puts in, he still has to bow to school rules.”

“So you’re going to put a table in the living room and let them sit there drinking black tea and staring each other down?”

“I’ll charge a tea fee. Cash.” Xu Zhou said flatly.

Joey laughed so hard he almost stepped into a puddle.

The two walked through the marble archway and headed toward Rose Auditorium. Red maple leaves covered the tree-lined path, making a crisp, rustling sound underfoot.

The afternoon wind blew out through the auditorium doors, carrying a hollow, cool hum.

Xu Zhou was about to take his student card for the rehearsal out of his backpack when he slowed down.

On the concrete steps in front of the main auditorium stood a person.

Bai Qi wore a light blue shirt that had been washed pale, his coat neatly folded over his arm. His whole manner was gentle and quiet. In his hand was a stack of rehearsal handouts, and he was quietly watching Xu Zhou approach.

The afternoon sunlight fell on Bai Qi’s face, but it didn’t reach his eyes, which usually carried a composed smile.

Bai Qi looked at Xu Zhou, a strange coldness and restraint in his gaze.

He used to be Saint Lester’s most prominent sponsored student representative. No matter how indifferent the school board heirs were on ordinary days, they always maintained basic gentlemanly conduct for him in public.

But today, the fingertips holding the handouts were pale, and the edges of the paper had been pressed into fine creases.

Looking at Xu Zhou as he drew near, Bai Qi’s voice was gentle, but cold to the bone.

“Xu Zhou, can we talk?”

Xu Zhou stopped, slid his hands into his uniform pockets, and looked at him without expression.

The wind from the corridor blew through the auditorium door. Red maple leaves spun around their feet, like a silent overture to abdication.

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