1.2

Although Chen Yu had only played unimaginably minor characters before, as a perfectionist with nothing better to do, he had still refined his acting abilities to the highest degree. So when 'Shao Li' found himself being stared at by a stranger, he anxiously lowered his eyes and tucked his hands behind his back like a child afraid of being scolded. Unconsciously scrunching his brows together and blushing, he barely managed to stammer out, "Ah h-how can I help you?"

The other man stepped forward, smiling down gently, and answered, "I'm sorry to disturb you. I'm Zhao Cui, here for a meeting with Headmaster Feng. Do you happen to know if he's available?"

Chen Yu nervously nodded like a chick pecking rice. In his mind, he licked his lips and thought to himself, "En, looks big and strong, exactly my type. Too bad Shao Li doesn't seem to be gay, can't go too out of character so soon." As he maintained his uneasy appearance and led Zhao Cui to the headmaster's office, he carefully went over the plot to see if this Zhao Cui appeared anywhere. In the second half, there seemed to be a mention of the headmaster having to report to a Zhao Jia regarding Liu Yao's relationship with Nangong Wei, but the Zhao family didn't show much of an interest so the matter ended there. Oh well, he may pull this man in later, but for now, it might be fun to see if the headmaster and Liu Yao get caught doing something naughty in the office by this man.

Zhao Cui walked silently next to the slender young man, noting the furtive shining glances directed at him every so often. He was somewhat surprised. Although the whole person gave off an obviously tense aura, the little face was clear of sweat and his breathing was steady, as if he was just generally unused to strangers and not afraid of Zhao Cui in particular.

While Zhao Cui's face always carried a faint smile and his voice never deviated from a low, soothing bass, his devious ruthlessness was well known, so that everyone tiptoed around him. Given that they'd met in the faculty room, he'd assumed that the other staff would have at least given him a warning about Zhao Jia's influence, but it seemed not.

Thinking to make some rare small talk, he commented, "I don't recall seeing you at the academy before."

He expected the other side to introduce himself, but instead, Chen Yu, mostly unwilling to get involved with a powerful character so early, replied quietly, "Yes, I've just entered as a student teacher for music." Suddenly brightening up all over, he turned to Zhao Cui and asked, "Do you play any instruments?"

The starry eyes stared directly up into Zhao Cui's own dark pair, appearing hopeful and encouraging. Faced with such enthusiasm, Zhao Cui could only dredge up his long-forgotten childhood experience and reply smoothly, "Oh, I've practiced a bit of piano."

Immediately, Chen Yu's face shone passionately as he smiled and turned over Zhao Cui's hands, stroking them from palm to fingertips. He murmured enviously, "Yes, it must be so nice to have such big hands."

Before Zhao Cui could react to being so abruptly fondled, Chen Yu rounded a corner and motioned to the heavy wooden doors up ahead. Drooping his head somewhat, he returned to his previous shyness and uttered, "Th-this is the headmaster's office." He turned to go, but after a brief hesitation turned back and rushed to say, "I...I hope we can play together someday." Then he really did leave, almost running away.

Zhao Cui stared dumbfoundedly after the other man, wondering whether he had imagined the ambiguous undertones. No matter what the intent, that the youth had actually touched him was truly a case of newborn calves not fearing tigers ah. Both irritated and amused, he rubbed his hands to get rid of the lingering sensations and briskly knocked on the door.

Chen Yu barely held back before bursting into laughter when he was far enough away, chuckling at how he had finally eaten some tofu and teased a handsome man for the first time in so many years. "Sure enough, it's most fun to flirt a bit ah," he sighed, wiping his tears.

Returning to his cubicle, he sneered as he ruffled through the graded papers and shoved them into his backpack. "Too bad I didn't hear that white lotus and slag headmaster doing much in that office, but tomorrow I'll start dealing with those scum main characters."

Then he directly picked up his bag and rode the bus back to his small studio apartment. The academy didn't provide room and board for student teachers like him, so Shao Li had used the last of his savings to rent a flat an hour away from the school's city campus.

Despite being prepared from the original owner's memories, Chen Yu was still somewhat dissatisfied with the cramped room, which was already almost filled up completely by the cheap double mattress in the corner and a wall of musical instruments. First things first, he had to hurry up and make money to move out.

Of course, Chen Yu had innumerable skills and ways to become rich overnight, but to stay in character...contemplating how a Shao Li with an IQ slightly closer to his own would make money, he flung the backpack in his hand to the ground and stripped off to step into the narrow shower.

While washing, he considered and discarded various ideas and finally decided to stick to making music. Since this was the 21st century, it was still the age of the Internet, so he'd anonymously upload some videos of himself playing music on a blog and first get some money from advertisements.

Briskly toweling off, Chen Yu shuffled through Shao Li's closet, which was made up of clothes in various sizes that the poverty-stricken youth had picked up for cheap prices. He carelessly shrugged after looking through the selection and changed into an oversized white polo shirt and surprisingly short preppy shorts that he was too lazy to exchange for a longer pair.

Dressed, he then ran his hands over the instruments Shao Li had on his shelves. To make it fun...Chen Yu quickly settled on the cello and set up the camera on his laptop.