Chapter 20 Honest women are most easily deceived
The person inside smiled and recognized him as the white-robed gentleman he had first met upon arriving in the capital.
Lu Jinlan was utterly surprised. "What a coincidence! What are you doing here? Why did you leave without saying goodbye that day?"
"Actually, I was also running away from an arranged marriage at that time, so my family caught me, but I managed to escape. I knew you would pass the exam, congratulations."
"I'm so glad you're alright. I was worried something might have happened to you. Or maybe you were just playing a trick on me. By the way, you..."
Lu Jinlan had a million things to say, but the students behind her couldn't stand it anymore and started urging her, "Are you getting food or not?"
Lu Jinlan: "Kick, kick, kick! Give me another spoonful."
The person inside smiled and scooped up another spoonful of rice, saying in a low voice, "I already had someone return that book. I even made a copy. Would you like to see it?"
"Sure, when is a convenient time? I'll come to you to get it."
The two talked on and on, and this time not only did the students behind complain, but even Yan Wuxin came back to urge her.
"You just said I'd never seen a man before, how come you're chatting with someone? Aren't you going to eat?" Yan Wuxin said, subconsciously bending down to peek inside. "Sure enough, he looks... Hey? Isn't that the guy who tricked me the other day? Come out here!"
Lu Jinlan quickly stopped her, "Don't get upset! Let's talk this out, there's been a misunderstanding."
The people inside were also unhappy, saying, "How can you still be friends with such a frivolous person?"
Lu Jinlan was at her wit's end and hurriedly said, "This is also a misunderstanding. I'll explain it to you later."
She dragged Yan Wuxin back to the dining table, whereupon Yan Wuxin immediately confronted her: "Lu Jinlan, you're not being fair. You can't steal a friend's man. Ruzhen, you should talk to her."
Xiang Ruzhen swallowed her steamed bun and asked Lu Jinlan calmly, "Are you eyeing Wuxin's man again?"
"What...what do you mean 'again'? I admit I glanced at her a few times last time, but I didn't have any other intentions. Besides, this time it's not some unlucky guy. She just chatted with someone on the street and got dumped. He's not interested in her."
Yan Wuxin: "Not interested in me, but interested in you?"
"Yes, I helped him borrow books, and we chatted all the way, from poetry and songs to the philosophy of life. We even got chased by dogs and yelled at together. At least we have a story. You and him, there's only misunderstanding."
"What misunderstanding? I think it's just that he has character issues. He inexplicably made me search for him all over the place."
Lu Jinlan quickly explained, "I asked him about it. He was afraid you would pester him, so he didn't dare to refuse you directly. He just came up with a way to get away."
Yan Wuxin shrugged. "Do I look like the kind of scoundrel who would harass a respectable married man?"
Lu Jinlan stuffed a mouthful of rice into her mouth but did not answer.
Xiang Ruzhen decisively said, "This man has provoked both of you. He's a womanizer and not a good man. It's not worth ruining your relationship over a man. Neither of you should have any contact with him."
Yan Wuxin: "I agree."
Lu Jinlan: "I disagree."
She looked at Xiang Ruzhen with mixed feelings. "You are the most reasonable person I have ever met. You could say you are a tough person who is fearless and insists on your principles. But you are really biased on gender issues. It was Wuxin and I who took the initiative to provoke him. How did it become that he was flirting? In this society where women are superior to men, a man's integrity is so important. Don't just casually label someone as morally corrupt."
Xiang Ruzhen was taken aback for a moment. "What you said makes sense, but no matter what, you two shouldn't let this hurt your sisterly bond."
Lu Jinlan: "Anyway, I don't know how. How about a fair competition? I have no objection."
Yan Wuxin rolled her eyes at her, "Competition my ass, he called me frivolous, I have no chance of winning at all."
Lu Jinlan chuckled, "I'll explain for you later; he also misunderstood you."
Yan Wuxin sighed, "Forget it. Sisters are like limbs, men are like clothes. I'm too lazy to fight you for them."
Lu Jinlan beamed with joy, "Thank you! If I get married to him in the future, you all have to come to our wedding banquet."
Xiang Ruzhen calmly said, "Don't you still have an engagement? Would your mother let you marry a cook?"
Lu Jinlan: "..."
Yan Wuxin: "I'm not trying to discourage you out of jealousy. We're best friends, that's why I'm reminding you. A kind and honest woman like you is easily deceived. Don't be fooled by his good looks. He's a cunning man, not as simple as you think. Think about it, he looks like a young master from a wealthy family, how could he end up working as a cook in a canteen? He might be approaching you with some ulterior motive, so you need to be careful."
Lu Jinlan felt complicated as she listened to these familiar words.
Oh no! I've become a kind and naive young woman who frequents brothels but is easily deceived by scheming men.
Upon reflection, she realized that she had indeed done many things in this world that she had never done before and dared not do.
She stole money from home, drank herself to death the day before an exam, caused the school supervisor to bleed from the head on the first day of school, drank, fought, caused trouble, and frequented brothels, yet no one criticized her. Wherever she went, people praised her as a great heroine, a woman with a daughter's spirit, and a pure woman.
Even her friends think she's incredibly wonderful and are afraid she'll be deceived by a man.
He was simply good-looking and did nothing wrong, yet he attracted unwarranted speculation.
My God! The treatment in male-oriented content is indeed great, but the thought that this is a world converted from a romance novel makes me feel incredibly bitter.
She opened her mouth several times, unsure of how to express herself, and finally only managed to say, "Let's eat."
Actually, Lu Jinlan was also curious about why the young man in white was here. Even if he had run away from his arranged marriage, he wouldn't be doing such hard work.
The cooks had to prepare three meals a day, working around the stove from morning till night, inhaling the fumes. Their living conditions were also terrible; the support staff's dormitories were located on the back hill of the college, near the woods. This was the season with the most mosquitoes, and snakes, insects, rodents, and all sorts of other pests were lurking around.
The cooks lived in a large dormitory with more than a dozen people, and they had to fetch water from the stream to wash themselves. Lu Jinlan was guarding the only way from the cooks' dormitory to the stream when he saw the man and pulled him into the grove.
"Stop pulling and tugging. If people see us, they'll think we're doing something shady."
Lu Jinlan smiled and let go of him, asking with concern, "Are you too tired? You look very unhappy."
The man remained silent with a cold expression, so Lu Jinlan quickly said, "Oh, right, I brought you some beef jerky. The food at the academy is inedible. Let's sit down and eat while we chat."
She found a bluestone, spread out the bag of dried meat, and began to introduce herself: "My name is Lu Jinlan, I..."
“I know,” the man suddenly interrupted her. “I just found out.”
A sense of foreboding washed over Lu Jinlan. "Did anyone say anything bad about me to you?"
The man shook his head. "Actually, I've heard quite a few stories about you these past few days. Your name, Lu Jinlan, is legendary. But I only just found out that you are Lu Jinlan. You're from Yunzhou, and your mother is Lu Jinzhao, a wealthy merchant from Yunzhou, right?"
Lu Jinlan: "Yes, you've heard about my family background too?"
Do you have any sisters in your family?
"Yes, I have a younger sister and two younger brothers."
"How old is the little sister?"
Three years old.
"Oh." The man lowered his eyes and didn't ask any further questions. His face wasn't cold anymore, but his expression was gloomy, and he looked very dejected.
Lu Jinlan chewed on the dried meat, smiling rather ambiguously, "So concerned about me? Ask me anything else, I'll tell you everything."
She regretted saying that as soon as she finished speaking.
What am I saying? Why am I being so greasy? Why am I acting like I'm flirting with someone? Ah! He mustn't think of me as a frivolous person, like he does with Wu Xin, or I'll have no chance.
She quickly changed the subject, "Um... let's talk about you, I don't even know your name yet."
“My name is… Rinjo.”
Lin Cheng wrote his name on the ground with a twig and said slowly, "My hometown is Lingzhou. Last time I ran away, my mother sent people to look for me everywhere. Last time, when I was waiting for you on the street, I was unfortunately caught. They wanted to take me to my future wife's house to apologize, but I thought of many ways on the way and finally escaped again."
"And then you came to Shenjing?"
Lin Cheng gave a wry smile. "Yes, but I wasted a lot of time on the way and didn't get to see you participate in the martial arts test. I bet your name was on the list, but unfortunately I didn't know your name at the time. I wanted to tell you that I had returned the book, but I didn't know where to look for you. So I came to the vicinity of the academy every day to try my luck, and I happened to see the recruitment notice for cooks, so I applied."
Lu Jinlan's heart seemed to stop for a moment. "You...you came to work just to see me?"
Her words were so direct that Rin's long eyelashes trembled, and he hurriedly denied it: "No... not entirely. The Royal Academy was originally the place I wanted to come to."
Lu Jinlan excitedly grabbed his arm, "Not entirely, then it's partly my fault too?"
He hadn't realized she was so close, and the unfamiliar scent filled his nostrils. Lin Cheng panicked and said, "Don't misunderstand..."
"Hmm?" Lu Jinlan asked, somewhat puzzled. "What did I misunderstand?"
Before she could say anything more, Xiang Ruzhen's voice came from outside the woods: "Jinlan, freshmen, emergency assembly! Let's go!"
"Coming!" Lu Jinlan replied, then said to Lin Cheng, "I'm leaving now. If there's anything urgent, come find me in room 106. See you here again tomorrow."
Lu Jinlan left as soon as she finished speaking, and Lin Cheng said anxiously, "You still misunderstood. I only came to tell you about the book."
Lu Jinlan turned around with a smile, "Then come tomorrow, and we'll talk about the book again."
"I won't be coming tomorrow."
"I don't believe it!"
"..."
Xiang Ruzhen watched as Lu Jinlan strode out of the woods, full of vigor, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's making you so happy?"
Lu Jinlan: "Lin Cheng came here to work as a cook for me."
Lu Jinlan was so proud of herself that she immediately boasted to Yan Wuxin, "Now I know why Lin Cheng is a cook."
Yan Wuxin: "Why?"
Lu Jinlan: "For me."
Xiang Ruzhen coughed twice. "Let's stop chatting for now. The student council will have all the freshmen go to the auditorium. Let's not be late and avoid another conflict. Especially you, Jinlan, just bear with it for now."
Lu Jinlan smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm in a good mood today, I can tolerate anything."
When the three entered the auditorium, most of the freshmen had already arrived. The three stood in the last row, and soon their roommates Yan Yu and Ling Zhaoren also rushed over. Everyone stood together, and some began to whisper among themselves.
Chu Yishu: "It's those student council guys again. They act all high and mighty just because they enrolled earlier than us. I really want to fight them."
Ling Zhaoren cursed and said, "I've been tormented all day, and they won't even let me rest at night. What kind of shit is this?"
Yan Yu: "Stop talking, the people on stage are watching you."
Before he could finish speaking, a loud crack rang out as Jin Yihuai slammed his pointer on the table and pointed sharply at the last row, yelling, "Step out of line and be punished!"
A note from the author:
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The character 忮忌 (zhì jì) means jealousy. However, I think 忮忌 is better than 妒忌 (dù yì), mainly because it doesn't have the "woman" radical. After typing it a few times, the input method will remember it.
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