Chapter 16: Marking Ownership
Xie Yu snapped irritably, "Of course it's for you. Who else could it be for?"
He snatched the scarf box from Shen Ci’s lap and tossed it onto the back seat with a clatter. "Don’t just sit there staring. Put it on, let me see."
Shen Ci hesitated slightly. The fabric in his hand was exceptionally soft, made of high-quality material. This scarf could pay for months of meals. He awkwardly wrapped the scarf around his neck, looping it tightly twice.
He looked like he was trying to strangle himself with it.
Xie Yu muttered, "...Are you an idiot? Never mind, I’ll handle it."
He leaned over and re-tied the scarf for Shen Ci, making a neat knot. The tassels draped loosely over Shen Ci’s coat, enveloping him completely.
Shen Ci held the scarf, his eyes lowered as he watched Xie Yu tie the knot. Xie Yu’s fingers were long and graceful, incredibly dexterous. "...Sorry, I’ve never tied one like this before."
He didn’t own any scarves at home, only his grandmother’s old silk scarf, which had been washed so many times it was wrinkled and faded, the patterns completely gone.
Xie Yu paused, carefully finished tying it, and then sat stiffly in the driver's seat, his fingers fidgeting with something. He didn’t speak for a long time.
Shen Ci said, "Should I go to class now?"
He moved to open the door, about to get out.
Xie Yu stopped him sharply, "Don’t move! There’s something else!"
Seeing Shen Ci halt, Xie Yu gripped the box in his hand, mentally cursing the ridiculous situation a thousand times. Then, closing his eyes, he commanded, "Lower your head."
Shen Ci was slightly taken aback but complied, lowering his head.
Xie Yu said, "Push your hair back and show your earlobe."
Shen Ci tucked his hair behind his ear, revealing the earlobe.
Xie Yu opened the packaging, pressed his fingers against Shen Ci’s ear, and the next moment, Shen Ci felt a slight pain as something clipped onto his earlobe.
Xie Yu mumbled something indistinct: "You’re also wearing this ear cuff. Don’t take it off before class ends."
He deliberately slurred the word 'ear.'
Shen Ci tilted his head, catching a glimpse of the small accessory in the car's rearview mirror. It was a tiny platinum ear cuff, the size of a grain of rice, with a flowing "x" in cursive script, the lines smooth and elegant, like intertwined vines.
The ear cuff was simple, small enough to be very discreet, unisex in design. It hung coolly from his ear, almost unnoticeable.
Shen Ci touched it, "X?"
Xie Yu narrowed his eyes, "It’s the first letter of my last name. What, you don’t want to wear it?"
In the original novel, the protagonist insisted on leaving a mark on Shen Ci. The original description was "a * stud engraved with Young Master Xie's name." Although the * was censored, Xie Yu could easily guess what it was. He thought it was absurd and flat-out refused, hurrying to a jeweler to have this ear cuff custom-made.
As for why it wasn’t an ear stud, first because Xie Yu didn’t know how to pierce an ear, and second because he found it odd to ask Shen Ci, a guy, to pierce his ear for him. Fortunately, it was close enough, so the system didn’t complain.
Shen Ci pinched it lightly. The tiny ear cuff hung from his ear, mostly hidden by the scarf. From a distance, only a faint glimmer of silver was visible, barely noticeable.
As Shen Ci examined the accessory in the mirror, Xie Yu swallowed hard, growing more uneasy. Here was someone going to class, and he was forcing a mark on them, marking him like he was property. It felt completely insane, even if it was the system’s demand—it was still completely perverse.
Xie Yu said irritably, "If you don’t like it, sell it after this class. You could sell it for a decent amount."
Young Master Xie wasn’t strapped for cash. The ear cuff was a luxury brand’s high-end custom piece, a unique designer piece that could fetch a good price even second-hand—enough to cover Shen Ci’s living expenses for years.
Shen Ci’s hand froze as he touched the ear stud.
Xie Yu snapped irritably, “Look, I don’t care what you do later, but you’re wearing it in class, got it?”
“Yeah,” Shen Ci replied, then added after a moment, “I won’t sell it.”
As class neared, more people gathered at the entrance of the teaching building. Xie Yu’s Bentley stuck out like a sore thumb. With less than five minutes to class, Shen Ci pushed the door open. “I gotta go.”
He glanced at Xie Yu, who made no move to start the car. He hesitated. He almost asked, “You’ll wait for me?” but thought it’d be too forward. So he asked instead, “Got plans later?”
Xie Yu often hung out with rich kids, but with He Zhiyuan in jail, today’s hangout was a no-go.
To his surprise, Xie Yu yanked out the car key and hopped out. “I’m coming with you.”
Shen Ci paused. “With me?”
“To attend your class,” Xie Yu said, frowning. “What, I can’t sit in on your class?”
“It’s probably gonna be boring,” Shen Ci said.
Today was a Q&A for the course. As Jiangcheng’s top university, A University was full of overachievers, and the academic difficulty was very high. Shen Ci’s course had a 50% failure rate; half the students in the major struggled to understand. If Xie Yu sat in, he’d be bored out of his mind.
Xie Yu figured he had no choice but to listen. This ridiculous plot was set here, and he had to play it out. He nodded coldly. “I know.”
Shen Ci had no choice but to take him to the classroom.
As the semester end approached, even those who usually skipped class had come, and the classroom was packed. Xie Yu looked around and went straight to the back, finding a corner seat.
He liked sitting at the back in high school, sleeping where the teacher couldn’t see.
Shen Ci watched him settle in and then stepped onto the podium. He opened his teaching plan, his clear eyes sweeping across the room, pausing slightly on Xie Yu before moving away. “Class, let’s first go over the exercises with the highest error rates in the homework…”
Shen Ci was tall and slender, wearing a fitted camel wool coat—this coat was bought by Xie Yu last time—the belt at the waist outlined a beautiful curve. Standing on the podium like this, he looked refined and restrained.
Xie Yu admired him for a moment, then raised his hand to check the time. “System, keep an eye on it for me.”
According to the novel’s requirements, there were still a few plot points.
Time passed, and the PPT switched three slides. The students buried their heads in calculations.
“Su Zhu, press the remote control,” the system said.
Xie Yu took out the TV remote control, placed his hand under the desk, and pressed it randomly.
This thing was a hotel TV remote control, with the two places being more than ten kilometers apart. The remote control was, of course, useless, otherwise, it would rewrite the history of infrared communication technology. Xie Yu brought this thing purely because the original text required it, and he temporarily took it out as a prop.
The original text described: “The noble and beautiful young man on the podium was lecturing slowly, his posture was excellent, his back was straight, Young Master Xie watched him, sneered, and thought to himself, ‘He really is a tough nut, enduring to this extent, still unwilling to bend.’ Suddenly, he became interested and wanted to test the young man’s limit, so he slightly curled his lips and pressed the remote control…”
Regarding this, Xie Yu said, “What remote control is not a remote control? Who said what remote control to use? Is my TV remote control not a remote control?”
He followed the system’s prompts. When the system said to increase, he pressed the volume up button; when the system said to decrease, he pressed the volume down button. He messed around randomly, managing to get through it.
Over there, Shen Ci was lecturing, chalk sliding across the blackboard. He had just dissected two major questions and now switched the PPT, letting the students practice on the spot.
No student dared to ignore the practice questions before the final exam. For a moment, everyone buried their heads, and the sound of pens scratching paper filled the room. Shen Ci stood on the podium, his gaze ostensibly scanning the room but finally landing steadily on Xie Yu.
The system urged, "Hurry up, you're making eye contact, Su Zhu, touch your scarf!"
In the novel, after the original protagonist left a humiliating mark on Shen Ci, he wore a matching necklace around his own neck. When they made eye contact, he would deliberately rub his neck, like a superior reminding a slave of their status, full of the smugness of a petty person.
Xie Yu wasn't wearing a necklace; he had a similar scarf instead. So, he raised his hand and awkwardly touched the scarf.
"System, I thank you," Xie Yu said with a blank expression. "I never knew adjusting a scarf could look so creepy."
Shen Ci also noticed this action. He flinched as if burned, quickly looked away, and buried his head in his lecture notes.
In the original text, Xie Yu's actions ended there. Now that it was done, but the class wasn't over, Xie Yu couldn't leave. He slumped on the desk, half-listening to Shen Ci's lecture.
Shen Ci must be a very popular Teaching Assistant, speaking at a steady pace with clear and rigorous logic. As he spoke, many students showed expressions of sudden understanding.
But Xie Yu wanted to sleep.
Specialized courses are a blast for top students, but for slackers like me, they’re just plain boring. Moreover, Xie Yu was an underachiever from a different field. Shen Ci was spouting terms and formulas that went right over his head, making him feel lost, as if he were back in high school. Within two minutes, he was so drowsy that Shen Ci at the podium seemed to blur, and the complex terms turned into a droning chant, swirling around his head.
Xie Yu thought, "...Is this what the world of academic gods is like? After two minutes, if I didn’t know I was just tired, I’d think I was losing my mind."
As the class progressed, Xie Yu couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep with his head down.
Shen Ci slightly raised his head, his gaze falling on him, and paused.
Xie Yu was sitting by the window in the back row. Outside the window were large ginkgo trees, now fully golden in late autumn. The sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm glow. The light fell on his coat, scarf, and the skin of his cheeks, outlining fine fuzz, soft and warm, soaked in the scent of the sun.
He was out like a light, completely at peace.
Shen Ci glanced at him and was momentarily taken aback.
Xie Yu’s demeanor was a stark contrast to Shen Ci’s. Shen Ci was all tension and coldness, radiating a lonely, distant vibe, while Xie Yu was laid-back and lazy, like a big cat soaking up the sun, so cozy and content that you just wanted to pet him.
As he looked at him, Shen Ci suddenly found himself thinking, 'It must feel really nice to hold him.'
He was startled by the thought and then suddenly remembered that he had held him before.
On many nights in the past, on the big bed in the hotel, he had been close to Xie Yu. At the time, he thought it was just part of the deal, but now, remembering it, the warmth felt almost too intense.