Chapter 33 He Is Merely Your Kept Lover

"Why is it you?" Only now did Li Shiming notice Chu Tian’s presence, immediately recognizing who he was. After all, Liu Qingxue was an unrivaled beauty—one he would never forget for as long as he lived, nor could he forget the man who had stolen her away.

"Why can't it be me?" Chu Tian retorted.

Li Shiming’s face twisted with anger and embarrassment as he demanded, "You're not even a student here—what are you doing on campus?"

"Xiaotian is my younger brother," Qin Shiya interjected, her delicate brows furrowing as she spoke in a low, steady voice.

Brother? What kind of brother? Sworn brother? A little brother? Or an elder brother? As the director of academic affairs, Li Shiming had naturally reviewed Qin Shiya’s employment file. He knew perfectly well she was an only child—where did this so-called brother come from? She was obviously lying.

"Shiya, you must remember your responsibilities as a teacher. You can’t be so careless in your private life, or set a bad example for the students," Li Shiming said, struggling to contain his fury, adopting a tone of heavy, earnest admonition.

"What do you mean by that?" Qin Shiya shot back.

Li Shiming sneered coldly, pressing, "You say you’re siblings—do you really think anyone will believe that?"

"It doesn't matter whether others believe it or not. It’s the truth, and I have no need to explain myself," Qin Shiya replied, slapping the table, her tone filled with icy detachment.

Hearing this, Li Shiming grew even more incensed. He’d been humiliated by Liu Qingxue at the bar before, and now he was being rejected by Qin Shiya as well. Most infuriating of all, these two gorgeous women had both turned him down because of that pretty-boy Chu Tian. How was he supposed to swallow such humiliation?

"Ha! The two of you aren’t siblings at all. He’s just your kept lover—a gigolo who prowls bars for women," Li Shiming spat out. "I never thought you’d stoop so low, Shiya. It was bad enough when you were always hanging around bars, but now you’re consorting with this good-for-nothing punk."

His voice rang out across the cafeteria, loud enough for everyone to hear. He intended to ruin Qin Shiya’s reputation; only if the goddess was dragged from her pedestal did he stand a chance of conquering her.

In an instant, the cafeteria fell silent. All eyes turned to Qin Shiya, as if searching for the truth in Li Shiming’s accusations.

"No way—could Teacher Qin really be keeping a pretty boy?"

"It’s hard to say. If it were completely baseless, Li Shiming wouldn’t dare make such a scene."

"Even if she were, bringing a gigolo onto campus is really disgraceful," people whispered, swept along by Li Shiming’s narrative.

Qin Shiya glared furiously at Li Shiming, but before she could defend herself, Chu Tian’s voice rang out.

"If you have the guts, say that again," Chu Tian said, a cold glint in his eye. He didn’t care what Li Shiming thought of him, but he would never allow anyone to insult his fourth senior sister.

"Then listen well: you’re nothing but a kept pretty boy, Qin Shiya’s pet lover," Li Shiming said, full of arrogance, certain he was untouchable. "This is Tianmen University, not your seedy bar—do you really think you can lay a hand on me here?"

But Chu Tian never played by the rules.

He stood up, grabbed Li Shiming by the collar, and flung him aside.

Crash!

Li Shiming landed hard on a nearby dining table, sending plates and food flying everywhere, drenched in sauce, looking utterly wretched. For the dignified director of academic affairs to be reduced to such a state in his own university—it was a humiliation beyond words.

"Li Shiming brought this on himself—today he’s finally met his match."

"Not necessarily. Teacher Qin’s boyfriend is far too inexperienced; to hit someone in front of so many witnesses—does he really think he’ll walk away unscathed?"

"With Li Shiming’s petty nature, there’s no way Teacher Qin’s boyfriend will escape punishment today."

"Whatever—it serves Li Shiming right!"

Laughter broke out among the onlookers. Few felt any sympathy for Li Shiming; his arrogance and lack of friends had made him universally disliked on campus. Even now, no one pitied him for being beaten up by Chu Tian.

"You pretty boy! You’re not a student or staff here—how dare you trespass and attack someone on campus? I’ll make sure you rot in jail!" Li Shiming ranted, wild-eyed, pulling out his phone to call the police.

Chu Tian remained utterly unmoved by the spectacle.

"This is Tianmen University. There’s a violent intruder assaulting people on campus. Send officers immediately," Li Shiming blustered into the phone, exaggerating wildly—what had been a simple scuffle was painted as a violent attack.

"Xiaotian," Qin Shiya tugged on Chu Tian’s sleeve, her voice tinged with worry.

"Don’t worry, Fourth Sister. Nothing will happen," Chu Tian replied with a gentle smile, patting her hand reassuringly.

"Keep pretending to be calm, pretty boy. The police will be here soon—you’ll be in a cell before you know it," Li Shiming hissed, glaring at Chu Tian with venomous certainty.

...

Meanwhile, at the Hongmen District Police Station.

Officers prepared to mobilize after receiving the emergency call.

"What’s going on?" Lu Xuelan asked, her brows knit in concern, sensing something was off.

"Captain, we’ve just had a report—there’s a violent intruder attacking people at Tianmen University. We’re dispatching officers now," a young policeman replied.

"An intruder on campus?" Lu Xuelan’s face grew grave. "I’ll go with you!"

If someone had truly broken into the university, it was no small matter. In this country, anything concerning students was a matter of utmost importance.

Ten minutes later, the Hongmen officers arrived at the cafeteria. They had expected chaos, but instead found the campus calm, with no sign of panic.

Seeing this, Lu Xuelan began to suspect a false alarm.

"Step aside and don’t interfere with police business," Lu Xuelan ordered, pushing through the crowd at the cafeteria entrance and walking straight in.

No sooner had she entered than she spotted a familiar figure.

Chu Tian sat calmly in a chair, with Li Shiming sprawled at his feet.

Though Li Shiming was filthy, he had suffered little actual injury. This was, after all, where Chu Tian’s fourth senior sister worked—he would never go so far as to kill someone here.

"Chu Tian, you again?" Lu Xuelan’s face darkened. These days, seeing Chu Tian always meant trouble.

The most awkward part was that Chu Tian was Liu Qingxue’s junior, leaving Lu Xuelan uncertain how to handle him.

"Officer Lu, you’re not planning to arrest me again, are you?" Chu Tian raised an eyebrow, surprised to find Lu Xuelan leading the team.

The officers behind exchanged glances. The conflict between Shi Shouxin and Lu Xuelan had been the talk of the precinct for some time. Was this mysterious young man really the cause of it all?