You Ran handed the gleaming fruit knife to Xiao Xin: "Go and kill it for me."
Shin-chan glanced at her silently, then lowered his head and continued drinking his beer.
"Don't worry, I'll go back to prison to see you, and I'll even buy you the best value lubricant." You Ran felt that she was still very loyal.
"Lubricating...oil?" Shin-chan slowly raised his eyes, demanding an explanation.
"Your type should be quite popular with the bosses in prison... pretty boy and gangster boss, strong top and strong bottom, what a great BL story." You Ran was immersed in his own world.
As soon as she finished speaking, the fruit knife flashed through the air with a "whoosh," pinning You Ran's sleeve to the ground with perfect accuracy.
Just one millimeter off, and a chunk of You Ran's skin and flesh would be lost.
Shin-chan is indeed a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong. With a sigh, I wonder why they became drinking buddies.
"Will you be hungry at noon tomorrow?" Shin-chan suddenly asked a very strange question.
"As long as I'm alive, I'll be hungry every noon." You Ran pulled the knife from the ground and, incidentally, untied her own sleeve.
Goodness, there's a huge hole in it. You Ran decides to steal Shin-chan's credit card later and buy him a new outfit at the mall.
"Then, I'll treat you to lunch tomorrow," Shin-chan said.
"Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious." You Ran carefully put away the fruit knife, stared at Xiao Xin, and said, "Tell me, do you have feelings for me?"
Shin-chan blushed, his chain eyebrows immediately changed from a "—" to a "ㄧ", and he roared, "Grandma Li, please don't let your lustful thoughts fall on me! Who would be interested in you?!"
"Then why are you famous?" You Ran leisurely sipped her beer: "Xiao Xin, don't be obsessed with me, I'm just a legend."
Xiaoxin took a deep breath, and with a stiff, trembling motion, changed his eyebrows from a "ㄧ" to a "—", trying to get back to the previous topic: "Tomorrow at 11:30 a.m., at the back gate of the school, see you there."
After saying that, Xiaoxin got up and left.
"Hey, it's so late, let me take you back to your dorm," You Ran said.
"Grandma Li, don't worry, you look perfectly safe." After saying that, Xiao Xin patted his bottom and left.
There was nothing I could do; as a single woman, I had to go back to my dorm by myself.
It was nearly one o'clock in the evening. The tennis court and You Ran's dormitory were quite far apart, with a tree-lined path in between. It was eerie even during the day, let alone at this deserted time of year.
I've heard irresponsible rumors that a woman's body was found on this road ten years ago, and the case remains unsolved.
Normally, You Ran would never dare to walk alone, but tonight, having had a few drinks, she became a bit bolder and, without any worries, strode confidently along the tree-lined path.
Although there were streetlights, their light was eerie and gloomy. The shadows of the tree branches on the ground flickered from time to time, like jagged ghostly claws.
It was extremely quiet all around, with only the sound of the cold wind blowing. The terror there was so profound that it could seep into one's very bones.
A cold wind blew, dispersing some of the lingering smell of alcohol, and she began to feel a little timid.
You Ran wanted to finish the journey quickly, but perhaps it was just her imagination, the journey suddenly seemed to grow longer, as if it would never end.
Just then, footsteps sounded ahead. You looked closely and saw a man with a gloomy face, his hands in his pockets, walking towards him.
With a growing suspicion, You Ran walked along the left side of the tree-lined path, hoping to avoid the other way around.
To everyone's surprise, when the man saw her do that, he also moved to the left and seemed to be about to take something out of his pocket, which at first glance appeared to be a knife.
Now, You Ran was completely sober. Alarm bells rang in her mind, and she instantly realized that this man was the legendary robber, bandit, or even a pervert.
You Ran realized that although he usually shouted loudly, he was nothing but a coward in times of crisis.
She tried to shout for help, but her throat was too sore with fear to make a sound.
She wanted to run away, but her feet were frozen in place because of fear.
The man quickly walked up to You Ran, and pulled the knife out of his pocket.
You Ran glanced at it briefly; although it wasn't long, it was enough to kill her.
However, You Ran discovered that the man had already taken out his weapon. After glancing behind him, the man hesitated for a moment, then sheathed the knife, turned around, and walked quickly back, disappearing into the darkness shortly afterward.
Once she was sure the man was gone, she slowly caught her breath. Only then did she realize that her hands and feet were ice-cold, her back was covered in cold sweat, and her calves were trembling uncontrollably.
She quickly leaned against the sycamore tree next to her to avoid losing her balance and falling over.
As she leaned against him, her body turned ninety degrees, and naturally, she saw the person behind her.
Although the streetlights weren't very bright, to put it bluntly, after sleeping with him so many times, even if he were hit by a truck and then run over by four cement trucks, You Ran would still recognize that the person was Qu Yun.
Could it be that the man didn't attack me just now because he saw Qu Yun?
You Ran was hesitating whether to thank him when Qu Yun spoke first: "I've said it before, drinking can easily lead to trouble."
It was actually a very ordinary sentence, but for some reason, You Ran felt unhappy, so she changed the subject: "Teacher, what are you doing here so late?"
Could it be that they're stalking me? The thought had barely formed in my mind when You Ran forcibly suppressed it.
What are you even following? What relationship do they have now?
Qu Yun replied, "I came here for a walk."
"Would anyone go for a walk this late?" You Ran asked suspiciously.
"It's so late, and someone is still drinking and returning to the dormitory alone. This shows that anything is possible at this school, isn't it?" Qu Yun replied.
“Yes, especially with oddballs like you.” You Ran said sarcastically.
Qu Yun smiled but remained silent.
You Ran then realized that she had wasted her breath talking to him again.
But since we've already started, I won't mind rambling on for a bit longer.
"You're the one who dumped the trash in the storage room, aren't you?" You Ran questioned.
“That’s not trash, just some forgotten things that need to be sorted out. I’m just kindly bringing them to you,” Qu Yun replied.
"And you kindly dumped it in the place I just painstakingly tidied up?" You Ran's tone was unfriendly.
"Because that's the only place that's convenient to put things in." That was Qu Yun's answer.
You Ran felt there was no need to drag this out any longer, so she decided to be frank: "Qu Yun, do you remember what you promised me that day?"
"I'm letting you go, I won't bother you anymore," Qu Yun stated calmly.
"So do you think your current actions count as fulfilling your promise?" You Ran asked.
"I've already agreed to break up," Qu Yun said.
Yes, he nodded leisurely.
“I didn’t pester you to get back together with me,” Qu Yun said.
"That's right," he nodded leisurely.
“Then I should consider myself to have kept my promise,” Qu Yun said.
Indeed, he nodded leisurely... Three seconds later, he immediately shook his head like a rattle drum.
Li Youran, you idiot whose brain capacity is smaller than a rat's, you almost got tricked by Qu Yun.
You Ran rallied her spirits and immediately retorted with her hands on her hips: "Then why did you still mess with me? You framed me and made me do that thankless job. And why did you keep coming to the storage room to talk to me?"
“I thought your wish was for us to forget that we were once boyfriend and girlfriend, and from now on, just be ordinary teacher and student,” Qu Yun said.
“That’s right, that’s my wish,” You Ran admitted.
"So now, I'm going to act as your teacher, just as you wish," Qu Yun explained. "You are my student, just like my other students. You were just one of the few who were chosen to be in charge of this cleaning. In other words, you just happened to be the one chosen."
"So, what are the rules for drawing lots?" You Ran pressed for details.
“The rule is,” a gust of wind blew, ruffling Qu Yun’s hair, which fluttered before his eyes, “whoever is the first student I see is the person in charge.”
"..." You Ran began to hate her own relentless pursuit of the truth.
"The reason I went to the storage room several times was to check on your work progress. I was just doing what a teacher should do."
Qu Yun's expression was calm, his voice was composed, and his attitude was indifferent.
You Ran had no way to refute it; she couldn't possibly cling to Qu Yun and insist that he did these things for her own benefit.
The only thing You Ran could do was turn around and walk forward quickly.
After walking more than a hundred meters, I turned around and found that Qu Yun had been following me silently the whole time.
So it's very likely that Qu Yun had been following her all along before that dangerous man arrived.
So, when she and Xiaoxin got drunk at the table last time, it was Qu Yun, who had followed them, who took her home?
Or perhaps, Qu Yun has been stalking her all this time.
When You Ran doesn't want to think about something, she shakes her head vigorously, as if she's on drugs, trying to shake that unwelcome thing out of her mind.
So, Qu Yun, who was behind, saw a strange scene: his ex-girlfriend and student, Li Youran, was standing there, as if possessed by a ghost. Suddenly, she hugged her head, trembled all over, and shook herself violently. The scene was so dramatic that even her sturdy ponytail was broken.
Qu Yun: "..."
After shaking like this for half a minute, You Ran suddenly took a step and ran forward.
Her original intention was simple: to get rid of Qu Yun, that tagalong.
Unfortunately, not long after she started running, You Ran stepped on something and fell to the ground with a thud.
Because it had rained in the afternoon, the soil was still damp, and You Ran's face, hands, and knees were covered in wet mud.
This is truly embarrassing, even on Pluto's planet. You Ran felt ashamed, angry, and anxious all at once.
"Get up quickly, the ground is damp." Qu Yun rushed over, stretched out his hand, and handed it to her.
His hands, as always, gleamed with a quiet light under the moonlight, exuding a jade-like allure.
But You Ran didn't answer.
Since I decided to let go back then, I won't take it back.
Qu Yun understood her thoughts, so he stepped forward, grasped her arms, and tried to lift You Ran up.
She swayed her body leisurely, breaking free from Qu Yun's hand, looked up at him coldly, and said, "I don't need your help."
“It’s perfectly normal for teachers to help students,” Qu Yun said.
“That’s normal, but I can get up by myself,” You Ran said.
After saying that, she tried to get up, but the mud under her feet was too slippery. Her bottom finally lifted off the ground, but she fell back down, splashing mud everywhere.
"It's cold, don't be stubborn. Catching a cold is no joke." Qu Yun frowned slightly and reached out again to help You Ran up.