chameleon

On his phone was a message from Professor Zhang: [Call me when you get to the dorm.]

Lin Yuan, feeling puzzled, dialed the number. “Hello, Professor.”

“You’re at the dorm? Cough, cough~~”

“Yes.”

“That fast.”

“I took Gu Xuan’s car.”

“Come over to my place. Cough, cough~~” A violent coughing sound came from the other end of the line.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I won’t die. Come over, bring your laptop, I want to see that takeout algorithm you’ve been working on.”

Lin Yuan instinctively realized that his mentor wanted to give him guidance. “Your health is more important, and it’s already this late. Why don’t you go back and rest early?”

“Do you still want your computing equipment? Cough, cough~~, Hurry up and come over.”

Lin Yuan didn’t understand. From Professor Zhang’s words, it seemed he not only wanted to see his algorithm but also wanted to help him solve the computing equipment problem. But why didn’t he say anything just now in the office?

That’s right, Gu Xuan was there just now. But what did computing equipment have to do with Gu Xuan being there?

Could it be… Lin Yuan suddenly thought of Journey to the West. Was his mentor trying to be Patriarch Subodhi, specifically calling him, this Monkey King, over tonight?

After hanging up the phone, Lin Yuan quickly went downstairs. He didn’t have to walk this time; he mounted his small electric scooter.

Not long after he started driving towards Professor Zhang’s office, Lin Yuan remembered his mentor’s violent coughing.

Lin Yuan felt he should do something, so he turned his scooter around and headed in the opposite direction.

Lin Yuan rode his small electric scooter very fast. He remembered seeing a pharmacy near the Nine Minutes Sweet Milk Tea Shop where Xia Ye worked last time.

Before long, Lin Yuan arrived at the place. He didn’t even have time to check on Xia Ye, the poor office worker toiling nearby.

“Is there anything that can help smokers stop coughing?” Lin Yuan asked the clerk directly.

“Is it for yourself, or a gift?”

“For an elder in the family, something practical and effective.” Lin Yuan was afraid the other person would try to sell him an impractical gift box. Caring for his mentor didn’t require unnecessary expenses.

“How severe is the cough?”

“Like an old smoker.”

“Is there phlegm?”

Lin Yuan thought for a moment. “It sounds like there is.”

“This mint spray has a good cough-suppressing effect and contains some anti-inflammatory ingredients. But in the long run, it’s still best to smoke less, and you can also drink some honey pomelo tea. There are boxes for two hundred over there on the shelf, and some for over three hundred. Do you want them?”

Lin Yuan followed the direction of the other person’s finger, and sure enough, they were gift-boxed honey pomelo tea. He hesitated for a moment, wondering why a box of tea would start at two hundred.

“You’re a student from the school across the street, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Well, for elders at home, you can buy some pomelos, dry the peels after eating them, then buy a bottle of honey, and steep it yourself at home.”

Lin Yuan’s awkwardness finally dissipated. “Thank you.”

After paying and taking the spray, Lin Yuan rode his small electric scooter back as fast as he could.

—

Xia Ye was a bit out of sorts all evening because Lin Yuan had stood her up.

She was afraid that Lin Yuan was truly playing hard to get with her, as Song Xiaoxiao had said. But she was also afraid that Lin Yuan simply didn’t care about her and was still displeased with her for working as a maid.

Subconsciously, Xia Ye habitually paid attention to every little yellow man and little blue man she saw on the street.

Suddenly, the small electric scooter parked outside the pharmacy diagonally across the street looked very familiar. Before long, Xia Ye saw Lin Yuan come out of the pharmacy. Lin Yuan was carrying a plastic bag and then rode away on his small electric scooter without looking back.

‘He really is too busy.’

‘Not only does he deliver takeout, but he’s also doing errands to buy medicine.’

‘Hmph, he didn’t even come to see me when he passed by.’

Xia Ye’s panic dissipated quite a bit, but as she watched Lin Yuan’s retreating figure, she felt a little puzzled, ‘Why doesn’t he have a takeout box, and he’s not wearing a delivery uniform either?’

—

On the way back, not long after entering the school gate, Lin Yuan seemed to see Gu Xuan’s white Benz.

He vaguely remembered that license plate seemed to be Gu Xuan’s.

Since he had driven him back to the dorm and his mentor had also said to get along well with him, Lin Yuan felt it would be a bit rude to pretend not to see him and just leave. So he turned a corner and approached.

As Lin Yuan got closer, he could clearly see the person inside the car. Although the campus streetlights were dim, he could still make out Gu Xuan through the car window.

It was still very hot on an August night, and Gu Xuan’s car engine was still humming. The car windows were tightly closed, clearly indicating that the air conditioning was on.

Lin Yuan approached and tapped on the car window. “Gu Xuan, what a coincidence.”

But the soundproofing of the car window prevented Gu Xuan from hearing the sound outside. Lin Yuan tapped twice before the other person reacted.

The car window slowly lowered. Gu Xuan was holding his phone and talking, “Who are you?” Lin Yuan didn’t expect to be greeted by Gu Xuan’s angry and impatient roar.

Lin Yuan was very puzzled, even a bit bewildered. How could the usually polite Gu Xuan suddenly act like this?

Gu Xuan’s call continued, “I’m not yelling at you, baby, I’m really not yelling at you.” It seemed the person on the other end of Gu Xuan’s call had mistaken the target of his roar.

“I really had something urgent just now. I’m coming to pick you up now, to apologize, okay…?”

“You… you’re Lin Yuan?” Gu Xuan finally reacted. The person tapping on his car window was actually his fellow disciple, Lin Yuan. He immediately hung up the phone, as if he suddenly didn’t care about the person on the other end anymore.

Then Gu Xuan quickly got out of the car. “How are you here? This is too much of a coincidence.”

Gu Xuan’s attitude reverted to being gentle and polite, but it made Lin Yuan feel a bit disoriented. “I… I went out to buy something. It is quite a coincidence.” Lin Yuan tried his best to maintain a smile, to avoid letting the other person see the strangeness in his heart.

“Lin Yuan, I’m really sorry just now. I didn’t know it was you, and I just happened to run into something. I’ll treat you to a meal another day to apologize.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. We’re all under the same mentor, after all.” Lin Yuan acted as if they were family. He finally brought out his philosophy of survival, putting on a mask. Originally, he didn’t want to, but out of instinct, Lin Yuan still put on a mask when facing Gu Xuan.

“You go ahead and be busy. It’s too hot outside. See you later.”

“Okay, we’ll catch up another day.”

After Lin Yuan left, he didn’t go directly towards Professor Zhang’s office. Instead, he purposely walked towards his own dorm first. He didn’t want Gu Xuan to have any suspicions, not even a slight one.

Originally, Lin Yuan was still hesitant about what to say if Gu Xuan asked why he was there. Should he tell the other person that he specifically went to buy medicine for his mentor?

Professor Zhang specifically called him back after Gu Xuan and he had left, clearly considering avoiding Gu Xuan. But keeping it from Gu Xuan made him feel a little guilty.

But now that feeling was gone. Instead, Lin Yuan enjoyed the feeling of having a small secret.

Gu Xuan’s roar was clearly the real Gu Xuan. When faced with someone on a small electric scooter tapping on his car window late at night, he immediately let out a dragon’s roar. This was clearly not the behavior of a truly cultivated person.

Combining Gu Xuan’s previous gentlemanly demeanor in front of his mentor and his solicitous attentiveness to his mentor, these two personas were clearly not the same.

Therefore, Lin Yuan could almost certainly confirm — Gu Xuan was faking it.

If Gu Xuan had still been somewhat upset after recognizing him, Lin Yuan could have understood, perhaps the other person was just angry and unintentionally took it out on him. But Gu Xuan’s chameleon-like change in expression confirmed his suspicion.

Also, one second he was speaking softly on the phone, and the next he just hung up.

Lin Yuan gave a slight bitter smile. It seemed he would have a lot of dealings with this fellow disciple in the future.