Remembering that unexpectedly peaceful morning, Gou Feng lowered his eyes with a faint frown.
"...Ge's been acting strange lately."
"Hm? What is strange?" Huan Zhan blinked.
Gou Feng simply shook his head.
"It's nothing."
"Ahem." Shen Jiu cleared his throat awkwardly.
Gou Feng looked over just in time to see him rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"Sorry about that," Shen Jiu said.
"Our Pact Leader... doesn't exactly strike us as the caring type."
"That's putting it lightly," Huan Zhan quickly chimed in.
"I mean, come on... We've seen him make grown men cry during meetings."
"We've seen him dismiss executives with a single sentence," Shen Jiu added without missing a beat.
Huan Zhan nodded so vigorously that his hair bounced.
"Don't forget that one company manager. The one Lord Bao stared at for less than a minute. He got so nervous he forgot his entire presentation."
Huan Zhan leaned forward dramatically.
"The poor guy looked like he wanted the floor to split open and swallow him alive."
Shen Jiu instinctively lowered his voice.
"And let's not forget..."
He glanced around before continuing in little more than a whisper.
"We're usually the ones cleaning up the bodies afterward."
The two cousins exchanged solemn looks before nodding in complete agreement.
"...He's terrifying."
Gou Feng couldn't help but smile.
He couldn't blame them for thinking that way.
To anyone who only knew Hei Bao as the Pact Leader, he was an untouchable figure. Cold, ruthless, and frightening enough that his mere stare made anyone pee on their pants.
Very few people ever saw the man behind that title.
The Hei Bao they feared was only one side of him.
Gou Feng had been fortunate enough to witness the other.
Hei Bao was never good at expressing concern through words.
Instead, he let his actions speak for him. Perhaps that was why so many people misunderstood him.
Because the things he did for others were always done in silence, expecting nothing in return.
Just then, the bell signaling the end of the lunch break echoed throughout the campus.
The lively cafeteria grew even noisier as students stood from their seats, grabbed their bags, and hurried toward their afternoon classes.
Conversations overlapped with the scraping of chairs and the sound of hurried footsteps, filling the hall with youthful energy.
Gou Feng blinked, pulling himself away from his thoughts.
He lowered his gaze to the watch on his wrist.
"It's almost time for class."
Huan Zhan let out an exaggerated groan.
"Why does lunch break always end so quickly?"
"Because you spend half of it talking," Shen Jiu replied without looking up.
Huan Zhan clicked his tongue.
"That's called socializing."
"No," Shen Jiu shot back.
"That's called making enough noise for the entire cafeteria."
"What? My voice isn't even that loud!"
"You literally announced to everyone earlier that you wanted an extra serving of braised pork."
"I was hungry!"
"And somehow the whole cafeteria found out."
The two cousins immediately fell into another round of playful bickering.
Watching them, Gou Feng couldn't help but laugh a bit.
Their endless squabbles had long since become part of his everyday life. As noisy as they were, the familiar banter somehow made everything feel lighter.
He rose from his seat and adjusted the strap of his bag over his shoulder.
The lingering weakness from last night's fever hadn't completely disappeared, but compared to how he had felt the day before, he was much better.
At the very least, he no longer felt as though his body would give out with every step.
Gou Feng grabbed his oversized cup of melon juice from the table and took a leisurely sip.
Just as the three of them were about to leave, Shen Jiu and Huan Zhan suddenly stopped in their tracks.
It was as though they had remembered something at the exact same moment.
The two cousins slowly turned toward Gou Feng in perfect synchronization, making him nearly choke on his melon juice at the bizarre sight.
He swallowed hard before looking at them suspiciously.
"What?"
The expressions on their faces immediately put him on guard.
They looked as though they had just been informed of their own executions.
"A-Feng..." Shen Jiu began cautiously.
"Could you come with us somewhere after class today?"
"Just this once," Huan Zhan added quickly, nodding earnestly.
Gou Feng blinked.
"Why?"
"Yeah, why?" Huan Zhan echoed absentmindedly.
Shen Jiu turned and smacked him lightly on the arm.
"You idiot. You were the one who was supposed to explain."
"Oh."
Huan Zhan rubbed his sore arm sheepishly.
"Right."
He cleared his throat and straightened his posture.
"Cheung-ge called us this morning."
Gou Feng waited patiently.
"And?"
Huan Zhan exchanged a glance with Shen Jiu.
The two silently encouraged each other before Huan Zhan leaned in and lowered his voice dramatically.
"He told the two of us to report to Lord Bao's office immediately after class."
Gou Feng's brows slightly drew together.
"...Just you two?"
Shen Jiu nodded.
The smile on Gou Feng's face gradually faded.
"Did Cheung-ge say why?"
The two cousins shook their heads in unison.
"No," Shen Jiu answered honestly.
"He only told us not to be late."
A brief silence settled over the three of them.
Strange, why only Shen Jiu and Huan Zhan?
Why wasn't I included?
What exactly is going on?
As far as he could remember, this was the first time Hei Bao had summoned the two cousins without asking for him as well.
Perhaps the matter only concerned the two of them. Or... had these two gotten themselves into trouble again?
His gaze slowly returned to his childhood friends.
"What did you two do this time?"
"Thats the problem!" Shen Jiu helplessly sighs.
"We don't know what we did, or why we're being summoned."
Huan Zhan grabbed Gou Feng's arm with both hands.
"Please come with us."
"For the sake of our friendship," Shen Jiu added, clasping his hands together as though he were praying.
His eyes even looked suspiciously watery.
"We're terrified to face him without you. Please… We're begging you."
Gou Feng let out a quiet sigh.
The truth is, he had already decided to say 'yes' the moment they asked.
The three of them had grown up together.
If the two of them were really in trouble, there was no way he would let them face it alone.
Besides, watching the usually carefree pair look this frightened was actually pretty amusing to him.
"Fine."
Both cousins froze.
"Really?"
Gou Feng nodded.
"I only have one afternoon class anyway. After that, I'll wait for both of you and we'll go together."
"YES!"
The two cousins practically jumped off their feet.
Before Gou Feng could react, they lunged at him and pulled him into an enthusiastic group hug.
"A-Feng, you're amazing!"
"You're our savior!"
"We'll never forget this kindness!"
Gou Feng nearly spilled his melon juice.
"All right that's enough."
He awkwardly tried to pry them off.
"People are staring."
Sure enough, students at the surrounding tables had already begun looking in their direction.
One girl openly laughed at the scene.
Another discreetly lifted her phone, apparently recording the three of them.
Shen Jiu immediately let go.
"...Right."
Huan Zhan calmly backed down as though nothing unusual had happened.
"Ahem. Let's act normal."
Gou Feng looked at the two of them without expression.
"You two don't know what 'normal' means."
"That's hurtful," Huan Zhan protested.
"But accurate," Shen Jiu admitted with a solemn nod.
Huan Zhan gasped dramatically.
"Traitor!"
Watching the two cousins bicker once again as if nothing had happened, Gou Feng couldn't help but smile.
Sometimes they were idiots.
Actually, most of the time, but they were his idiots. And despite all their nonsense, he wouldn't trade their friendship for anything.
Just as the three of them were about to resume walking, a soft female voice called out from beside their table.
"Excuse me..."
Their conversation came to an abrupt stop.
Gou Feng, Shen Jiu, and Huan Zhan turned toward the voice almost at the same time.
Standing there was a beautiful young woman with fair skin and long, dark hair cascading over her shoulders.
A faint blush colored her cheeks.
Behind her stood four equally nervous friends, watching with eager anticipation as though silently cheering her on.
The moment Shen Jiu and Huan Zhan realized what was happening, their eyes immediately lit up.
Without saying a word, the two cousins slowly turned toward Gou Feng, wearing identical expressions that practically screamed, 'Good luck.'
Gou Feng shot them a puzzled look, unable to understand what they meant.
He simply shook his head and focused his attention towards the woman who now stood in front of them.
The young woman took a small breath to steady herself.
"My name is Angela."
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear before finally meeting Gou Feng's gaze.
"Gou Feng... I heard you still don't have a date for prom."
By now, several nearby students had begun paying attention.
It wasn't surprising.
Gou Feng was one of the most well-known students in their university.
Besides consistently earning excellent grades, his gentle personality and striking appearance had made him popular among many of his classmates.
Confessions like this weren't exactly rare.
Even so, many couldn't help but admire Angela's courage for approaching him so openly.