Chapter 5: Survival of the Fittest

Yu Shixue frowned slightly; he was arrogant and aloof, never paying attention to insignificant people, which was meaningless for the heir of the Yu Family.

"Jin Shaoyu's brother?" Yu Shixue said nonchalantly, "No impression."

His gaze only briefly landed on Ling Wu, then he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked past him, his tall and slender frame bumping into Ling Wu as if unintentionally.

Ling Wu:?

Isn't he afraid of getting dirty?

He was certain this person did it on purpose.

With such a wide space to walk, he chose to walk right beside him; he really holds a grudge.

Yin Huaiyu supported Ling Wu's shoulders from behind with both hands, leaning down to whisper in his ear: "Brother, you are truly cute, I look forward to our next meeting."

Having said that, he released his grip on Ling Wu, walked toward the direction Yu Shixue had left, took a few steps, then turned back, arms crossed, tilting his head to smile at him.

Then he walked away slowly.

Yin Huaiyu was a genius painter, often wearing a charming smile on his face that was extremely seductive, but in reality, he toyed with power and held all living things in contempt.

Peeling away the glamorous skin, underneath was a fastidious and mean heart corroded by power and money.

Seeing Yin Huaiyu look back repeatedly, Yu Shixue asked him abruptly: "What, have you taken a fancy to him?"

He pursed his lips, recalling the apology and helplessness in the boy's eyes when he looked back in a daze, the crimson lips and snow-white skin, so fragile, so weak....

He has the capital to be seductive.

"Ha?" Yin Huaiyu raised an eyebrow, his peach-blossom eyes filled with a look that was not quite a smile: "Shixue, are you joking? I wouldn't dare touch Shaoyu's own brother."

"But he is very tempting, isn't he?"

"Like Eve's apple."

Temptation and original sin.

The two walked side by side into the corridor of the teaching building; the hallway, inlaid with a giant relief quartz clock, was entwined with white roses, as quiet as an oil painting.

Yu Shixue: "I don't think you wouldn't dare."

Hm?

Yin Huaiyu curled his lips, as if he hadn't heard the subtext, and diverted the topic without a trace: "Look at you, always with that cold, unapproachable look; you were still able to lay a hand on Ling Wu's thin frame."

"What if you pushed him and something went wrong?"

His tone dropped, then slowly rose, a very ambiguous and lingering tone.

Yu Shixue: "He is a normal man."

He won't have an accident just from a light push.

"Alright." Yin Huaiyu shrugged innocently: "Shaoyu is truly blessed to have a brother who is good-looking and doesn't go home to fight him for the family fortune, instead putting all his heart into Jing Du."

"But it's a pity, that ice-faced Jing Du is destined to extinguish his fiery passion."

Yu Shixue was expressionless, feeling that he was talking a bit too much today.

But putting all his heart into Jing Du?

Mentioning this, he seemed to remember that a few days ago at the apartment entrance, a pretty boy stuffed a letter into Jing Du's mailbox.

Well.... to be specific, it was a love letter, because the envelope was pale pink and even painted with a nice heart.

Yu Shixue seemed to be able to foresee the scene of Jing Du losing his temper, his expression languid: "There's a good show to watch."

Yin Huaiyu was confused: "A good show?"

Walking into the apartment and pressing the elevator button, Yin Huaiyu reminisced: "What is there to like about that unromantic ice-faced Jing Du?"

"Just now by the fountain, his eyes were clean and bright when he looked at me; you don't think he fell in love with me at first sight and is going to have a change of heart, do you?"

"If that's the case....... wouldn't Shaoyu become my brother-in-law?"

Yu Shixue: "......."

The air was silent.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Yu Shixue: "It's not dark yet."

"It seems you don't like this topic, then let's change it." The smile on Yin Huaiyu's face vanished in an instant, and those amorous peach-blossom eyes inexplicably appeared somewhat cold and dark: "Have you heard? About what happened at Darkness."

Darkness is the largest entertainment venue within Sike Academy.

Yu Shixue lit a cigarette: "What?"

The corners of Yin Huaiyu's lips curled up arrogantly: "Shen Zhaojue lost his temper at Darkness."

Yu Shixue exhaled a smoke ring: "You want to say this has something to do with Ling Wu?"

"Yes." Yin Huaiyu's fingernails scratched against the elevator wall, making a harsh sound: "Ling Wu made Shen Zhaojue lose face in public, and you know that Shen Zhaojue is someone who holds a grudge."

Yu Shixue's action of holding the cigarette paused for a moment, he tilted his eyes to look at the malice in Yin Huaiyu's eyes, his tone without much fluctuation: "What, the dog raised by your family is let out to bite people at random like this, and you don't plan to manage it?"

"Tsk."

Yin Huaiyu: "That sounds really ugly, what do you mean by a dog raised by my family?"

"The Shen Family is an ally that has a cooperative relationship with the Yin Family."

Yu Shixue's Adam's apple bobbed: "Heh."

He clearly didn't believe it.

A family of high standing like the Yin Family, with generations of officials, retreated behind the scenes after the imperial power was hollowed out, and together with the other three families, they dominate the fate of the Empire.

This game of chess is not one that just anyone can enter.

"What about Jin Shaoyu?" Yu Shixue's eyes were pitch black, the corners of his mouth pulled slightly, appearing somewhat cold and rebellious: "Does he really not plan to manage his brother?"

"You have to look at the owner before beating a dog."

"Not to mention he is a young master of the Jin Family."

Yin Huaiyu feigned surprise: "Yu Shixue, are you joking?"

"Shao Yu hates his brother to death; he's likely happy to see Shen Zhaojue end up like this. Do you really think Shen Zhaojue would dare to act so brazenly without his hand in it or his tacit approval?"

Yu Shixue stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it into the trash can; he did not know much about the affairs of the Jin Family brothers, but the filth and corruption of wealthy clans and the malice of human hearts had always been this way.

Brothers turning against each other to fight for power.

It is nothing strange.

Seeing his silence, Yin Huaiyu asked in return: "Do you feel sorry for him?"

Yu Shixue narrowed his eyes slightly, his brilliance restrained, his temperament extraordinary: "A chance encounter, what does his life or death have to do with me?"

"If Jin Shaoyu doesn't even feel sorry for his own brother, do you expect me to feel sorry for him on his behalf?"

Yin Huaiyu: "Let's make a bet: will he leave the Sike Academy with his tail between his legs, or will he win by a single move? Or perhaps he will end up battered and bruised, eventually begging us for help."

He had always enjoyed such wagers where human lives were the stakes.

Arrogant and cold-blooded.

Some are born standing at the top of the pyramid, their lives filled with flowers and applause, looking down on the world with disdain, yet even with the waters of the gutter swirling at their feet, they still feel it is not enough.

Yu Shixue did not move: "Boring."

"Don't make too much of a scene."

Yin Huaiyu was not annoyed.

As if he had expected this all along, he stepped out of the elevator with one hand in his pocket, his feet treading on the polished lobby floor, his footsteps striking a chord in the heart.

Yin Huaiyu: "Since we are both sitting by and watching, then let's wait for the show to begin."

"I hope the Jin Family does not intervene; after all, the law of the jungle and the survival of the fittest have always been the best means for selecting an heir."

"I am looking forward to it."

The murals on both sides were magnificent, and the brilliant lights poured down, paving the path ahead; Yin Huaiyu put away his playful expression, like an insidious viper crawling from the deepest darkness into the light of day.