Slowly, I lifted my head.
Students were watching me.
Not pretending.
Not glancing.
Just watching.
A group of engineering majors near the walkway stopped mid-conversation.
One girl pulled out her phone.
Another whispered something, glancing between me and the card.
I shoved it into my pocket so fast I probably looked guilty of something.
The whispering grew louder.
I caught a few words.
"Lin Xuan."
"Foreign girl."
"XuanTech."
XuanTech.
Then I remembered:
His family owns a technology company.
A cold, sinking feeling fluttered in my stomach.
I exhaled slowly and started walking.
Fine.
Totally fine.
I had been in Shanghai for less than twenty-four hours and somehow managed to become the campus's newest scandal. That had to be some sort of record.
I made my way toward the library steps.
If people were going to stare, I might as well pretend I didn't notice.
Two girls sat on the steps, their conversation cut off abruptly when they saw me.
One gave me a tight, polite smile.
"Hi."
"Hi," I replied cautiously.
Her friend nudged her.
"You're the exchange student, right?"
"Yeah. Allie."
"I'm Li Na," she said. She gestured to the other girl. "This is Jia."
Jia nodded but continued staring like I was an unusual lab specimen.
"So," Li Na said casually, "you know Lin Xuan?"
Her tone made "know" sound like a capital letter situation.
I sighed. "Kind of. The university assigned him as my campus guide."
Both girls froze.
"Assigned?" Jia repeated.
"Yeah."
They exchanged a look loaded with unspoken meaning.
"That's…unusual," Li Na said carefully.
"Everyone keeps saying that," I muttered.
"Well…usually exchange students get volunteers from the international office," Jia explained. "Not someone like him."
"Great," I said flatly. "So why did I get him?"
Li Na shrugged helplessly. "Your guess is as good as ours."
Jia leaned forward slightly. "You came with him last night, right?"
Of course, the internet worked fast here.
"Yeah," I admitted.
"And he gave you a tour today?"
"More like a walking list of buildings."
Li Na hesitated. "Did he…give you anything?"
Alarm jolted through me.
"Why?"
"Your pocket," she said, pointing.
I instinctively covered it.
"The card?" Jia murmured.
Her eyes widened a fraction.
"That's nothing."
My heart thumped. "You know what it is?"
Li Na nodded slowly. "That's the XuanTech crest."
There it was again.
XuanTech.
"Wait," I said faintly. "As in the AI company?"
"Yes," Jia confirmed.
I felt lightheaded.
"Lin Xuan said his family owned that."
Jia laughed slowly. "Owned is one word for it."
"XuanTech runs half the data infrastructure in Shanghai," Li Na added. "And funds a good chunk of the university's programs."
"Oh."
And they partner with the government on smart-city development."
"Oh."
"And Lin Xuan is the founder's son."
I stared at them, my mouth opening and closing like a confused goldfish.
"…Oh."
Suddenly everything clicked.
The Mercedes.
The way people stared.
Chen Yu's reaction.
The whispers.
The card.
Jia crossed her arms. "People don't just get that card."
My spine stiffened. "What does it mean?"
Li Na exchanged a look with Jia, then said quietly:
"It means he's claiming responsibility for you."
"That sounds dramatic."
"In his world," Jia said, "everything is dramatic."
I leaned against the railing, trying to process the avalanche of information. My brain was working overtime, trying to reconcile the icy boy who barely offered full sentences with the idea that he was the heir to a technological empire.
Across the courtyard, a group of students whispered while looking directly at me.
One pointed to my pocket. Another snapped a photo.
The rumor was spreading.
Fast.
I sighed.
"Well," I said. "This semester is going to be interesting."
Li Na laughed. "Interesting is one word for it."
Jia gave me a sympathetic smile. "Welcome to Shanghai International University."
The tone made it sound more like a warning.
I pushed away from the railing, brushing imaginary dust off my jeans.
"Thanks," I said. "I think."
They nodded, and I stepped back onto the main walkway.
Students parted around me, whispering in Mandarin, English, Korean – like a multilingual storm closing in.
I shoved my hands into my pockets, feeling the weight of the crane card like a stone.
Lin Xuan had dozens of warnings, but the one that echoed now was the first:
This university is not kind to outsiders.
I believed him.
Because today, I wasn't just an outsider.
I was suddenly the girl holding the Ice Prince's crest.
And everyone wanted to know why.
"Hey! Chicago!"
I turned at the sound of someone calling – not angrily, but with a bright, familiar enthusiasm.
Lu Feng jogged toward me, waving like we were old friends instead of near-strangers who'd only talked a handful of times.
His casual friendliness was a breath of fresh air after the silent judgements circling the courtyard.
He skidded to a stop beside me. "You look like someone ran over your lunch money."
I blinked. "Do people even do that anymore?"
"Emotionally? Absolutely."
A reluctant laugh escaped me.
Lu Feng grinned. "There it is. I knew you could still smile."
He fell into step beside me as I walked.
"So," he continued, "the rumor hurricane hit you?"
"More like a rumor typhoon."
"Ah." He nodded gravely. "You've reached level 2 of campus survival."
"Level 2?"
"Level 1 is not getting lost in the engineering labyrinth. Level 2 is surviving being seen with Lin Xuan."
I groaned. "Perfect."
We walked past the art building, and he perked up suddenly.
"Oh! Before I forget – you're the new exchange student, right?"
"Yeah," I said. "I'm majoring in illustration. I…uh…draw manga, mostly."
His eyes lit up like I'd told him I was handing out free money.
"Manga? You draw manga?"
"I'm trying," I corrected. "I grew up reading it. I want to publish someday."
Lu Feng ran a hand through his hair. "You've got to see my sketchbook, then."
"You draw?"
He grinned. "Not officially. I'm an econ major. But I've been sketching character art since middle school."
"You're joking."
"Nope. Look."
He pulled out a small black notebook and flipped it open.
My breath caught.
The drawings were clean, expressive, dynamic – light something straight out of a professional storyboard. Sharp jawlines, flowing hair, dramatic shading.
There was even a battle scene with enough motion lines to make a Marvel artist proud.
"Oh my god," I whispered. "You're…insanely good."
He puffed up, mock-proud. "Yeah, well. I dabble."
"This isn't dabbling. This is – this is professional."
"Tell that to my father," he snorted. "He thinks art is a hobby for people who don't like money."
"Sounds like my dad," I muttered.
Lu Feng closed the book. "Anyway, we have the same art electives this semester. I checked earlier."
"You did?"
"Of course!" he said brightly. "We inspiring artists must stick together. Especially when someone is drowning in rumor typhoons."
I winced. "Is it really that bad?"
He gave me a sympathetic smile. "It'll get worse before it gets better."
"…Fantastic."
"But," he added, nudging me. "You won't face it alone. I'll introduce you to the upper-year art kids later. They're weird, chaotic, and dramatic – but they're your kind of people."
Warmth spread through my chest.
"So I have at least one friend on campus?" I teased.
Lu Feng slung an arm around my shoulder dramatically. "You have a bestie now. Congratulations."
I laughed again – lighter this time.
We reached the art building stairs, and he stepped back.
"I've gotta run to class. But I mean it – if people give you trouble, or if you need help drawing the city for your portfolio, call me."
"Oh," I said, smiling despite everything, "I will."
He winked. "Good. And Allie?"
"Yeah?"
"You're going to be fine. Even if the Ice Prince threw you to into a palace full of dragons."
He jogged off toward the quad.
I stood there alone again.
Only this time, I didn't feel quite so alone.
The crane card still weighed down my pocket.
The rumors still swirled.
But now –
I had a friend.
And maybe even an ally.
The semester was going to be chaotic.
But maybe… just maybe…
I wasn't entirely unprepared.