Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

On the night of the welcome party, the backstage area of ​​the student activity center was in complete chaos.

Students dressed in all sorts of performance costumes moved back and forth, with the sounds of urging the audience to perform, reciting lines, and tuning instruments all mixed together.

The air was filled with a peculiar smell of cosmetics, hairspray, and sweat.

Li Chen was conscripted by Yan Xi to guard the most important batch of props.

He leaned against the mountain of prop boxes, watching the figure weaving through the crowd and directing.

Yan Xi wore a smart black suit today, her long hair was tied up, revealing her slender swan neck.

She held a walkie-talkie in her hand, her face expressionless, and every instruction she gave was clear and decisive.

"Lighting crew, there's a problem with follow spot number three. Repair it immediately!"

"Hey, the next performance is classical dance, get ready in five minutes!"

"Host, let's go over the script again, and pay attention to the sponsors' announcements. Don't mispronounce them!"

She was like a general strategizing and calmly controlling the rhythm of the entire battlefield.

But Li Chen could tell from her occasional furrowed brows and the subconscious rubbing of the back of her neck that she was deeply tired.

She's been exhausted these past few days.

As Li Chen watched, a pang of heartache inexplicably welled up in his heart.

He got up, walked through the chaotic crowd, went to the vending machine in the corner, and bought a bottle of hot coffee.

Then, he walked behind Yan Xi and, in the brief moment when she stopped giving orders, pressed the warm coffee can against her cheek.

Yan Xi was startled and turned around abruptly, her eyes still holding a sharp edge.

When he saw that it was Li Chen, his sharp edge melted away instantly.

"Why did you come here?"

Her voice softened, "Don't we need to keep an eye on the props?"

"It's okay, it won't get lost."

Li Chen unscrewed the coffee lid and held it to her lips. "Have some, it'll wake you up."

Yan Xi looked at him, said nothing, and took a sip from his hand.

The bitter liquid slid down my throat, carrying a subtle, almost imperceptible sweetness.

How did you know I like it without sugar?

She asked.

"you guess."

Li Chen smiled.

Of course, he wouldn't say it was because he saw her order black coffee at the coffee shop last time.

Yan Xi smiled as she looked at his deliberately mysterious expression.

"Idiot."

She muttered a curse under her breath, but the smile in her eyes was unmistakable. "Now you know how to care for people."

She took the coffee, held it in her hand, and felt a warmth in her palm.

"Alright, let's go up ahead."

Yan Xi tapped his shoulder with the walkie-talkie, "The party's about to start, go hang out with your lively roommates."

"And what about you?"

"I have to stay backstage and keep an eye on things; I can't leave."

"I'll stay with you."

Li Chen said.

Yan Xi glanced at him but did not refuse.

The party officially began.

Li Chen moved a box and sat in the shadows backstage, watching the radiant figure on the monitor.

Wang Qiang and his team's performance indeed became the highlight of the entire show.

Zhao Zixuan played the guitar fairly well, but Chen Mo's hypnotic recitation, combined with Wang Qiang's burly physique and honest smile, created a strange chemical reaction that drew continuous laughter from the audience.

Li Chen took out his phone, recorded a short video, and prepared to send it to Yan Xi later.

The two-hour gala came to a close amidst thunderous applause.

All the cast and crew members went on stage for a curtain call.

Yan Xi, as the chief director, stood in the center of the stage and delivered the closing remarks.

Under the spotlight, she remained composed and elegant.

But only Li Chen, who was closest to her, could see that her hand holding the microphone was trembling slightly.

Her face was unnaturally pale.

"Thank you, teachers and classmates..."

She spoke fluently, but her voice sounded weak.

As the last word was uttered, the lights in the entire venue blazed on, and confetti rained down from the sky.

Yan Xi's tense nerves finally relaxed.

Her body swayed, and her vision went black for a moment.

"Yan Xi!"

A gasp of surprise rang out from the side.

Liu Xu, the head of the Literature and Art Department, had somehow squeezed next to her, his face showing undisguised joy and concern.

Seeing his chance, he opened his arms and stepped forward to embrace the swaying body.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the hem of Yan Xi's suit.

A tremendous force slammed into us from the side!

"Bang!"

Liu Xu was thrown back as if he had been hit by a bull, staggering several steps before landing hard on his backside, looking utterly disheveled.

When he stood up, grimacing, he saw a pair of indifferent eyes looking down at him.

Yan Xi had fallen into a broad embrace.

Li Chen held her waist firmly with one hand and protected the back of her head with the other, letting her lean on his shoulder.

He didn't even glance at Liu Xu, but simply lowered his head and softly asked the person in his arms.

"Are you alright?"

"I feel a little dizzy."

Yan Xi's voice was soft, with a hint of dependence.

"Kid, what do you mean?!"

Liu Xu was both shocked and furious, and he pointed at Li Chen and roared.

Li Chen then raised his eyes, his eyes, which were usually full of smiles, were now completely indifferent.

"Senior."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to every corner of the backstage area.

"Were you trying to take advantage of my girlfriend just now?"

As soon as he finished speaking, an invisible pressure instantly enveloped Liu Xu.

That was the aura that Li Chen hadn't fully unleashed even when facing Yan Zhen.

It was a genuine, murderous rage.

Liu Xu froze under that gaze, and all the words he wanted to say stuck in his throat; he couldn't utter a single one.

Li Chen ignored him.

He bent down, slipped his arms under Yan Xi's knees, and lifted her up in his arms.

"ah--"

A chorus of soft gasps rose from the backstage area.

Yan Xi instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her face in his chest, and a subtle smile appeared on her lips.

Li Chen held her in his arms, ignoring all the shocked gazes around them, and strode through the crowd toward the exit.

As he passed by Liu Xu, who was stunned, he paused slightly, turned his head, and spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Stay away from her."

"Otherwise, next time it won't be your thoughts that get cut off."

After saying that, he left without looking back.

Only after Li Chen's figure disappeared through the door did the frozen air backstage begin to move again.

……

Downstairs in girls' dormitory building number 7.

Li Chen gently placed Yan Xi on the ground.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Um."

Yan Xi leaned against him and nodded.

Just then, the glass door of the dormitory building opened.

A girl wearing pajamas and a face mask came out; it was Yan Xi's roommate, Leng Qingge.

She looked Li Chen up and down, her eyes filled with ambiguity.

"Hey, isn't this our Linjiang University's newest heartthrob?"

Leng Qingge reached out and took Yan Xi, who was still a little weak in the legs, from Li Chen's arms.

"Kid, you've got some skills."

She leaned close to Li Chen's ear and whispered, "You actually managed to win over my sister."

Li Chen felt a little embarrassed by her overly familiar manner and touched his nose.

"Take good care of her."

"rest assured."

Leng Qingge winked at him, "I promise I'll raise you to be plump and healthy."

After saying that, she helped Yan Xi turn around and waved.

"Go back, junior, the older girls want to whisper something."

Li Chen stood there, watching the two walk into the dormitory building, until the light in room 505 came on, before he turned and left.

The night breeze blew by, dispelling the tension and anger from just now.

Li Chen looked down at his hands.

It seemed as if the warmth and softness of holding her still lingered on it.

He smiled.

Your man.

This identity seems pretty good.