Huan Zhan turned back to Gou Feng.
"But seriously… You rejected Angela. One of the most beautiful girls on our campus."
Gou Feng took a sip of his melon juice, which was no longer cold.
"Mmm. It's better than giving someone false hope."
Huan Zhan looked personally offended.
"Do you know how many guys would willingly throw themselves off a building just for a chance like that?"
"Then they can ask her out themselves," Gou Feng replied without hesitation.
"That's not the point!"
"That's exactly the point."
Shen Jiu let out a snort.
For once, he completely agreed with Gou Feng.
Huan Zhan looked back and forth between the two of them before groaning dramatically.
"You two are impossible."
Gou Feng simply shook his head.
"Come on. We're going to be late for class."
The three of them once again hurried out of the cafeteria and blended into the stream of students making their way across campus toward their afternoon classes.
The afternoon passed quietly.
The once-bustling university grounds gradually emptied as students headed home or returned to their dormitories after their final classes of the day.
Meanwhile, Gou Feng sat alone inside a café near the university gates, waiting for his two best friends, just as they had planned earlier.
The café catered primarily to wealthy students and visiting professionals.
With its expensive menu, few students came here regularly, making it one of the rare peaceful spots near the campus.
On the table before him sat a slice of caramel chiffon cake and a cup of bubble milk tea.
Both were only half-finished.
Gou Feng was never particularly fond of sweets. In fact, he rarely ate desserts at all.
Unfortunately, occupying a table for hours without ordering anything felt impolite, so he had settled on what he considered the safest options on the menu.
Time slipped by faster than he expected.
Nearly four hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Most of that time was spent reading a web novel on his phone. Every now and then, he took a small sip of his milk tea or lifted his gaze toward the window, quietly watching students and faculty come and go outside.
At exactly 5:10 p.m. his phone rang.
Gou Feng glanced at the screen, and saw the caller ID.
Huan Zhan.
He answered the call without hesitation.
"You guys are done already?"
"Yeah, finally," Huan Zhan replied, sounding relieved.
"Where are you? We're at the university parking lot."
"I'll be there in a minute."
After hanging up, Gou Feng slipped his phone into his pocket and rose from his seat.
He picked up the untouched slice of caramel chiffon cake, finished the last few sips of his now lukewarm bubble milk tea, then made his way to the cashier to settle the bill.
A few moments later, Gou Feng left the café and headed toward the university parking lot, where his two best friends were waiting for him.
However, before he could turn into the parking area, something rough suddenly dropped over his head.
A sack.
His vision went black. Strong hands yanked both of his arms behind his back, and before he could react, cold metal cuffs snapped tightly around his wrists.
"What—"
A fist slammed into his stomach.
The force knocked the air from his lungs, making him double over with a pained groan.
Instinct took over. He twisted sharply, preparing to fight back, but a brutal kick crashed into his abdomen before he could even make a move.
Pain exploded all over his body.
He stumbled backward, lost his footing, and struck the back of his head against the stone pavement.
A sharp ringing echoed inside his skull.
"Shit…"
Before he could shout for help, someone grabbed his face.
A thick strip of cloth was pulled tightly across his mouth and secured behind his head, reducing every protest to muffled sounds.
"Mmph!"
Shit! SHIT! What the hell is happening?
Gou Feng's eyes burned with fury beneath the sack.
His body had barely begun recovering from his fever. He still felt weak and fatigued, his strength nowhere near its peak, and now this.
Fuck!
Whoever dared laid a hand on him. He'll kill every single one of them!
As if his situation wasn't bad enough, another pair of metal cuffs locked around his ankles.
His anger only deepened.
Great.
Just fucking great!
A pair of powerful arms suddenly wrapped around his waist and lifted him effortlessly.
Instead of struggling blindly, Gou Feng forced himself to remain calm.
His body wasn't in any condition for a reckless escape. He didn't have a choice but to listen carefully.
He calculates each footstep, turn, and change in direction. Silently, he counted everything while paying attention to every sound around him.
But he heard nothing, no conversations, no passing students. Only the gentle rustling of tree leaves as the wind drifted across the campus.
Whoever did this thing to him knew exactly what they were doing.
They had chosen their timing perfectly.
Classes had already ended, and most of the students and faculty had left the university.
The pathways were nearly deserted.
There would be no witnesses to see their crime unfolding.
Just as Gou Feng reached that conclusion, he heard the heavy rattle of chains.
A moment later, he heard a creak. The sound of a massive metal door being swung open.
His body tensed.
Where the hell are they taking me?
Without warning, he was thrown inside.
His body slammed onto a cold steel floor before rolling to a stop.
A dull ache immediately spread through his shoulder.
Gou Feng gritted his teeth, swallowing a curse as the pain settled in.
Then he heard voices, several of them, all male.
One set of footsteps broke away from the others and steadily approached him.
Gou Feng quickly steadied himself, suppressing the throbbing ache in his shoulder as he lifted his head.
A moment later, someone crouched in front of him and roughly yanked the sack from his head.
Light flooded his vision.
He narrowed his eyes against the sudden brightness, blinking several times before his sight finally adjusted.
Six young men surround him.
One of them, a blond-haired student with striking blue eyes, remarkably similar to his own, was crouched directly in front of him.
Gou Feng's gaze shifted to the tallest among them.
Broad-shouldered and powerfully built, there was no need for an explanation.
That man was undoubtedly the one who had overpowered him and dragged him here.
His gaze then swept across the rest of the group.
To his surprise, every one of them wore the same university uniform as he did.
He frowned.
Students?
"Well, well..." the blond man drawled.
Leaning closer, he openly studied Gou Feng's face as though admiring a rare work of art.
"So the rumors weren't exaggerated."
A slow grin spread across his lips.
"You really are as beautiful as everyone says."
Gou Feng met his gaze without the slightest hint of fear.
"What the fuck do you guys want?"
The blond man smiled with obvious satisfaction before gripping Gou Feng's chin between his fingers.
"We wanted to meet the man who tried to steal my girl."
He tilted his head.
"Ever heard of Angela?"
Both of Gou Feng's eyebrows rose, as realization dawned on him.
A long, exhausted sigh escaped him.
So that's what this is.
That woman already has a boyfriend... yet she still went around flirting with other men.
What a complete pain in the ass.
Can't people deal with their own relationships without dragging innocent people into them?
"I rejected her," Gou Feng replied flatly.
"So I don't understand why you've gone this far."
The blonde leaned even closer, his breath hot against Gou Feng's ear.
"Because... we also want to know you."
His gaze traveled slowly into Gou Feng eyes, nose, lips, then lower, lingering with obvious hunger.
"Intimately."
A flicker of disgust immediately crossed Gou Feng's face.
"You people are into men?"
His mocking tone caused several of the young men to exchange uneasy glances.
Even the blond man's smile faltered for a brief moment.
Silence settled over them for a moment.
Then one of the others, a fairly handsome student with neatly combed brown hair, cleared his throat.
"So what if we are?" he asked.
"I've heard some men can get pregnant these days. The ones born as wolves or whatever. They live among humans now, don't they?"
He scratched his head, searching for the right term.
"They have... what was it called again? Oh, right. A second gender."
The blond man chuckled.
"That's right."
He turned back to Gou Feng, amusement dancing in his blue eyes.
"You know… We actually heard an interesting rumor about you."
He deliberately let the silence stretch.
"They say you're half-Lycan."
The blond man studied Gou Feng's face, carefully watching for even the slightest change in expression.
"They also say Lycans have secondary genders like Alphas, Betas, and omegas."
He smirks.
"And from what I've heard, Omegas can get pregnant regardless of whether they're men or women."
His eyes gleamed with unmistakable malice.
"Pretty fascinating, isn't it?"
He slowly gazes downward before returning to Gou Feng's face.
"You certainly don't look like an Alpha."
A slow grin spread across his lips.
"Maybe you're an Omega."
He slightly leaned away.
"Maybe after we get to know each other a little more intimately… We'll find out."