The restaurant overlooking the Huangpu River was the kind of place students at SIU only heard about.
Private entrance.
No public reservations.
No photographs allowed.
You were invited.
Or you weren't.
The kind of place where billion-dollar deals were made quietly over tea and lunch.
Lin Xuan stepped out of the elevator onto the top floor and was immediately greeted by a hostess in a tailored qipao.
"Mr. Lin," she said with a polite bow. "Chairman Zhao is waiting for you."
Of course he was.
Men like Zhao Liang did not wait long for anyone.
Not even the heir to XuanTech.
Lin Xuan followed the hostess down a narrow hallway lined with carved wooden panels and soft amber lighting. The faint scent of jasmine tea filled the air.
At the end of the hall, a private dining room door slid open.
Inside, two people were already seated at a round table.
Zhao Liang.
And his daughter.
Zhao Wei.
Chairman Zhao looked exactly like the kind of man who could control half the construction projects in Shanghai with a single phone call.
Sharp suit.
Silver hair.
Eyes that missed nothing.
Across from him, Zhao Wei sat with one leg crossed casually over the other, scrolling through her phone as if she were sitting in a coffee shop instead of one of the most exclusive restaurants in the city.
When she saw Lin Xuan enter, she grinned.
"Well," she said. "The Ice Prince arrives."
"Sit down, Xuan."
Lin Xuan inclined his head politely before taking the empty seat across from Zhao Wei.
"Chairman Zhao."
"You're late."
"By two minutes."
"Still late."
Zhao Wei rolled her eyes.
"Dad, if you scare off all your business partners, who are you going to play chess with?"
Chairman Zhao waved a dismissive hand.
"He can handle it."
A server appeared silently to pour fresh tea.
The porcelain cups were thin enough that the steam curled visibly above them.
For a moment, the conversation turned to neutral ground.
University partnerships.
Technology investments.
Infrastructure expansions.
Topics that sounded dull to most people but quietly shaped the future of half the city.
Only after the main dishes arrived did Zhao Wei finally lean back in her chair and smirk.
"So," she said lightly.
"Your campus tour caused quite a stir."
Lin Xuan didn't react.
"What stir?"
Chairman Zhao glanced between them with mild curiosity.
Zhao Wei tapped her phone and slid it across the table.
A university forum post filled the screen.
A blurry photo of a girl walking across campus.
Allie Reed.
Beside her –
Lu Feng.
Lin Xuan's eyes lingered on the image for a fraction longer than necessary.
Lu Feng's arm rested casually around her shoulders, his expression animated as he spoke.
Allie looked half-amused, half-overwhelmed.
Zhao Wei watched his reaction carefully.
"Recognize them?"
"Yes."
Chairman Zhao lifted an eyebrow.
"The foreign student?"
Zhao Wei nodded.
"The one he gave the crane card to."
Chairman Zhao looked mildly surprised.
"You did that?"
Lin Xuan set the phone down beside his plate.
"She needed protection."
Zhao Wei laughed.
"Oh, she definitely got it."
Chairman Zhao leaned back thoughtfully.
"You understand what that symbol means to people, Xuan."
"Yes."
"And you gave it to a first-year exchange student."
"Yes."
Zhao Wei rested her chin on her hand.
"You should see the forums."
Lin Xuan did not look interested.
"Students gossip."
"They're not just gossiping," Zhao Wei said.
"They're building conspiracy theories."
Chairman Zhao chuckled.
"About what?"
Zhao Wei held up three fingers.
"Possibility one: She's secretly your fiancée."
Lin Xuan said nothing.
"Possibility two: She's XuanTech investor's daughter."
Chairman snorted.
"And possibility three?"
Zhao Wei grinned.
"You've decided to collect a foreign wife."
Chairman Zhao burst out laughing.
Lin Xuan remained perfectly calm.
"You have too much free time."
"Actually," Zhao Wei said, scrolling again, "the interesting part isn't the rumors."
She tapped another post.
The headline read:
Chen Yu Confronts a Foreign Student Outside the Liberal Arts Building
Chairman Zhao's smile faded slightly.
"Chen Yu?"
"The Chen family daughter," Zhao Wei explained.
"Ambitious. Dramatic."
She glanced at Lin Xuan.
"And apparently very territorial."
Lin Xuan's gaze sharpened.
"What happened?"
Zhao Wei leaned back.
"According to the forum? Chen Yu cornered your foreign student before class."
Chairman Zhao looked amused again.
"And?"
"She warned her."
"About?"
"You."
Lin Xuan's fingers paused lightly against the table.
Zhao Wei continued.
"She told the girl to stay away from you."
"That sounds like Chen Yu."
Zhao Wei nodded.
"She also said something interesting."
Lin Xuan waited.
"She told the girl she doesn't understand the difference between being helped…and being claimed."
Silence settled over the table.
Chairman Zhao sipped his tea slowly.
"That was a poor choice of words."
"Yes." Lin Xuan said.
Zhao Wei tilted her head.
"You're not angry?"
"Chen Yu is irrelevant."
"Maybe," Zhao Wei said.
"But the entire campus watched it happen."
She tapped the screen again.
"Which means everyone now believes two things."
Lin Xuan didn't ask.
"First," she said, "Chen Yu thinks the foreign girl is competition."
Chairman Zhao chuckled again.
"And second?"
Zhao Wei turned the phone back toward him.
"That Lu Feng has decided to get involved."
Lin Xuan's gaze flicked back to the first image.
Lu Feng.
Standing very comfortably beside Allie Reed.
Chairman Zhao raised an eyebrow.
"Lu Feng?"
"A prodigy," Zhao Wei said. "Rich family. Louder personality."
She smiled slightly.
"And apparently, escorting your foreign student around campus now."
Lin Xuan said nothing.
But Zhao Wei noticed the subtle stillness in his posture.
Interesting.
"Does that bother you?" she asked casually.
"No."
"Really?"
"Lu Feng talks to everyone."
"Yes," Zhao Wei agreed.
"But he doesn't usually walk girls to class."
Chairman Zhao chuckles.
"Young people."
Lin Xuan picked up his teacup.
"Lu Feng's behavior is irrelevant."
"Maybe," Zhao Wei said.
"But perception isn't."
Chairman Zhao nodded.
"The university believes that the girl is under your protection."
"And now she's walking around with another man? Your best friend, might I add."
Zhao Wei smiled slowly.
"That kind of story spreads fast.
Lin Xuan set the cup down.
"Students will find something else to talk about soon."
Zhao Wei laughed softly.
"You underestimate boredom."
Chairman Zhao finished his tea and stood.
"Well," he said.
"This has been entertaining, but I have a meeting in twenty minutes."
He looked down at Lin Xuan.
"Try not to start a campus war before the semester ends."
Lin Xuan inclined his head.
"I will keep that in mind."
Chairman Zhao left the room, leaving the two of them alone.
Zhao Wei leaned forward immediately.
"Okay," she said.
"Now the real question."
Lin Xuan looked at her.
"What question?"
She pointed at the photo again.
"Why her?"
Lin Xuan didn't answer.
Zhao Wei studied him.
"You don't give your family crest to strangers."
"She needed protection."
"That's not a real answer."
"It is the only one you are getting."
Zhao Wei smiled.
"You're curious about her."
"No."
"You noticed Lu Feng."
"That is obvious."
She laughed.
"You're lying."
Lin Xuan stood.
The conversation was finished.
Zhao Wei watched him walk toward the door.
"You know," she called after him.
"If the forums are right, you've just started the most entertaining semester this university has seen in years."
Lin Xuan paused briefly at the doorway.
Then he said calmly,
"Students exaggerate."
But as he stepped into the hallway, his thoughts drifted briefly back to the photo on Zhao Wei's phone.
Allie Reed.
Standing beside Lu Feng.
Laughing.
Unaware of the attention surrounding her.
Unaware that Chen Yu had already declared her an enemy.
And completely unaware –
That Lin Xuan had now started paying attention.