Chapter 25 (Chapter 25) They were entrapped.
Ye You quickly selected two sharp swords and brought them over. The crowd then stepped back a bit, and several young male servants nimbly moved aside the clutter, leaving enough space for a fight.
Lu Jinlan frowned and quietly asked Yan Wuxin, "What should we do in this situation?"
Yan Wuxin said he couldn't help, "I've never encountered such a situation before. I have only gentlemen here, no warriors. Who told you to specifically provoke the fierce ones? It's not easy to handle, is it?"
"Tsk." Lu Jinlan thought about it and agreed. She always chose tall, strong men with overflowing hormones according to her own aesthetic, only thinking about how their sexual tension would be maximized when they took off their clothes, without considering that the tension would also be at its peak when they met.
Lin Cheng and Lou Yumian each held a long sword and stood facing each other.
Xiang Ruzhen was a straightforward and honest woman, completely oblivious to the subtle tension between the two. She took a flute from her waist and said, "I lost too. I'll play a tune, and we can all be punished together."
Everyone looked at her with surprise, seemingly wondering: What's it to you?
Ru Zhen was unaware that Yan Wuxin, always eager for a good show, said, "Bring me my pipa, and Ru Zhen and I will play together."
Outside, the rain poured down; inside, the flute played a somber tune, while the pipa resonated with emotion.
As soon as the music started, Lou Yumin drew her sword first. Lin Cheng raised his dark eyes slightly and raised his sword to block. The cold blades clashed and made a clanging sound.
The two instantly became locked in a fierce battle, the music tense and urgent, and their moves becoming increasingly intense.
Yan Wuxin pressed down on the pipa and sighed softly, "Not bad. Although he can't compare to a woman, a man's swordsmanship at this level is enough to protect himself."
Lu Jinlan nodded slightly. She could tell that both of them had practiced swordsmanship since childhood. However, their styles differed. Lou Yumin's style was more abstract and practical, with beautiful moves that emphasized stability and more defensive than offensive techniques. Lin Cheng, on the other hand, was the opposite. His swordsmanship was very pragmatic, relying on fierce attacks instead of defense, with each move potentially fatal.
Seeing the two fighting fiercely, the lackeys who didn't know martial arts were too scared to utter a sound. They huddled together nervously, their bodies leaning back involuntarily.
Seeing that Lou Yumin was losing ground, Lu Jinlan couldn't hold back any longer. She really didn't want anyone to get hurt because of her.
But things didn't go as planned. Lou Yumin's movements slowed, and her arm was instantly slashed by a sword. Lin Cheng was taken aback and didn't continue forward. Lou Yumin glanced at her torn sleeve and said defiantly, "Again!"
The two started fighting again, and Lu Jinlan said angrily, "Stop fighting!"
The two acted as if they hadn't heard her, which angered her so much that she had to intervene herself.
Lu Jinlan leaped between the two, just as Lou Yumin was losing to Lin Cheng and falling backward. Lu Jinlan grabbed his wrist and used his internal force to deflect Lin Cheng's sword.
The force of the impact made Rin's arm go numb, and his longsword clattered to the ground.
Lu Jinlan took the sword from Lou Yumin's hand and said to the two of them, "Stop fighting."
She pulled Lou Yumin's arm over, "Are you hurt?"
Lou Yumin whispered, "It's nothing, just that my clothes are torn. I'm so glad you were here, otherwise I really wouldn't know what to do."
"Lin Cheng, you..." Lu Jinlan turned around, "Where is he?"
Yan Wuxin curled his lip. "Of course he ran away in anger."
Lu Jinlan sighed, "I'll go see him."
Lu Jinlan knocked on Lin Cheng's door. "Are you alright?"
The muffled voice inside replied, "None of your business."
A standard, defiant reply. Lu Jinlan stood at the door with her hands on her hips, lost in thought.
The elderly customer service representative said, "Why aren't you leaving? They don't want to see you."
Lu Jinlan: "He's heartbroken because of me, I can't just stand by and do nothing, can I?"
Customer service representative (elderly woman): "Do you feel like you did something wrong?"
Lu Jinlan: "I must have done something wrong, otherwise..."
"Ouch!" She was punched by the system for the first time in a long time.
Reason: Excessive self-reflection seriously violates the fundamental principle of male protagonists in male-oriented online novels that "the father is never wrong."
Lu Jinlan rolled her eyes, clutching her shoulder. She had actually been entrapped by the system.
Okay, okay, she exploited a system bug, and the system used a entrapment tactic. While other hosts and the system worked together, she was outsmarting and outmaneuvering the system.
Fine, I'm never wrong.
She turned and left, repeating the male-oriented mindset over and over: "I'm not wrong, it's all other people's fault. Even if I'm wrong, I have my reasons. Even if I don't have my reasons, I'm wrong, so what can they do to me?"
Lu Jinlan silently repeated it three times, her mental state better than ever before. Actually, after calming down, she still felt that she was not used to this kind of complex emotional relationship with multiple people. It was more tiring than attending classes at the academy. She should reduce her burden.
That night, Lu Jinlan made up his mind and went to Lou Yumin's room, getting straight to the point: "I have to tell you something. I redeemed you from your servitude not to possess you."
Lou Yumin was stunned. Before the smile on her face could spread, it quickly turned into astonishment.
"Wh...what do you mean?"
Lu Jinlan sighed and sat down in a chair, carefully choosing her words: "I think you are a good person. You are literate and know some martial arts. You are proud and have no ability to flatter or be charming. You are not suited to live in that kind of place. I redeemed you because I hope you will have freedom, and then you can do whatever you want. You can go to Cheung Chau to find your family."
Lou Yumin's pupils dilated, and she asked in a trembling voice, "Are you really going to kick me out of the capital?"
"No, you've misunderstood me again." Lu Jinlan said anxiously, "I'm trying to help you find a way out. You can stay in the capital if you want. The capital is so prosperous and has a large population. You can marry a kind family, have children, and live a happy life."
Lou Yumin sneered, "The solution you've come up with for me is to marry someone else?"
Lu Jinlan was taken aback. "Isn't this wrong? Otherwise, you want to do business? It seems that this world doesn't allow men to show their faces in public..."
"Lu Jinlan!" Lou Yumin's eyes reddened, and for the first time, she called out her name with anger and sadness. "What kind of person do you take me for? I am your man, I gave you my first time, how can I marry another woman?"
Seeing his strong reaction, Lu Jinlan stood up in alarm, trying to hug him and gently comforting him, "Don't get agitated, this kind of thinking is wrong. What do you mean by giving or not giving? You are not an object, you will always belong to yourself, listen to me..."
"I won't listen!" Lou Yumin broke free from her hand and fell to the ground.
The room was so quiet that only their breathing could be heard. His tears fell one by one onto the floor, as if each drop was a question to her heart.
After a long while, he looked up, grabbed her hem, and choked out, "Just because I once fell into prostitution, do you think I'm available to any man?"
Lu Jinlan gazed at his tear-streaked face and sighed deeply. She reached out and gently stroked the corners of his reddened eyes, then leaned down and embraced him.
"Okay, stop crying. I never thought that way, you're overthinking it. I just... can't handle it, and I don't want you all to feel neglected."
Lou Yumin pleaded, "You don't need to deal with me. You can ignore me. I don't ask for anything. As long as you occasionally give me a look or a little comfort, so I know you haven't forgotten me, I'll be content."
Lu Jinlan was silent for a moment before finally replying, "Okay."
Lou Yumin's tears stopped abruptly. She wiped her face haphazardly with her sleeve, revealing a smile that was both joyful and embarrassed.
Lu Jinlan smiled and shook her head. "You're happy now?"
She finally understood the status of male protagonists in romantic relationships. It was as if they held the other person's heart in their hands, then toyed with it without any regard for its value.
A casual word or action, a random gesture, can dominate the other person's emotions.
However, she did not feel proud of being the one who held the heart in her hands.
When the other person cries in her arms, she feels a pang of heartache.
She thought this was the fundamental difference between her and the male protagonists in male-oriented online novels. She would never take pride in toying with the opposite sex; at least, that was not her original intention.
That night, Lu Jinlan had no intention of staying overnight at Lou Yumin's place, so she went to find Xiang Ruzhen to drink and chat.
Xiang Ruzhen: "See what I told you? Men are just troublesome."
*
When Lu Jinlan woke up the next day, Xiang Ruzhen had already gone to the garden to practice her martial arts.
She quickly washed up and then called Wuxin to have breakfast together.
As the two crossed the stone bridge, they suddenly saw Rinjou rushing towards them angrily, holding a fan.
Lu Jinlan: Where are you going?
Lin Cheng snorted coldly, "I found this fan and originally intended to return it to its owner, but since I happened to meet you, I'll give it to you. I suppose it's the same thing."
Lu Jinlan took it and saw that it was the same one Lou Yumin had held yesterday. Sure enough, it contained a copy of the poem Lou Yumin had written that night, along with an inscription.
Lin Cheng said coldly, "I've long heard that you spent a fortune on a courtesan at Fengchun Pavilion, but I never imagined you would even write a poem for him and redeem him from his servitude. Such deep affection! But since you two are so intimate, why hide it from me?"
Lu Jinlan said helplessly, "I'm afraid you'll get angry and won't listen to my explanation."
Lin Cheng smiled wryly, "You're wrong. I'm not angry at all. What right do I have to be angry? What right do I have to be angry? Suddenly I remembered I have something to do at school, so I'll go back first."
Lu Jinlan gritted her teeth, caught sight of the figure in the shadows, and said unhappily, "Yumian, come out!"
Lou Yumin walked up to her guiltily, "What's wrong?"
Lu Jinlan: "Don't think I can't see through your little schemes. You did it on purpose, deliberately letting him see this fan, didn't you?"
Lou Yumin lowered his eyes and did not deny it, but he immediately explained, "I just wanted to imply to him that you don't belong to him alone, and he shouldn't possess you. If he cares about you, he shouldn't make things difficult for you."
Lu Jinlan said angrily, "Why do you always argue with him? Do you know how much he has sacrificed for me? He works in that shabby cafeteria and finally gets to relax, and you have to make things difficult for him."
Lou Yumin explained in a low voice, "I know he's better than me in everything—his swordsmanship is superior, his looks are more outstanding, and his family background is more respectable. I know you like him more, I just wanted to help you..."
Lu Jinlan: "Now that he's ignoring me, are you happy? I never knew you were so jealous."
"No..."
Lu Jinlan was too lazy to listen anymore, so she threw the fan at him and said, "I don't want to see you. You should go back too."
Lou Yumin turned and left dejectedly. Qing'er, who had come to deliver something, witnessed this scene and couldn't help but ask, "Young Master, Young Master Lou came to see you so happily, why did you let him leave with tears in his eyes?"
Lu Jinlan asked curiously, "How do you know him?"
Yan Wuxin couldn't help but ask, "Lou Yumin's rented courtyard is right next to Jiu'an Hall. Qing'er and Young Master Lou must be quite familiar with each other by now, right?"
Qing'er nodded, "Young Master Lou is a very nice person, he..."
Lu Jinlan waved her hand, "I don't want to hear about him right now. Can't we eat? I'm starving."
The three of them spent two days wandering around outside, and on the third day they got up early to rush back to the academy.
At the entrance of the academy, all the freshmen returned to class with heavy expressions. The upperclassmen had gone back to the academy last night, but they had dragged it out until the very last moment before the end of their break. Going to school felt like going to a funeral.
Upon entering the school gate, I learned of an unexpected situation. The dean and instructors couldn't return today, so only the academic supervisor was in charge of school affairs and arranged for everyone to study on their own.
The three of them brought back a lot of food this time, so they didn't have to go to the cafeteria today. But thinking of Lin Cheng, Lu Jinlan decided to go see him anyway.
She didn't take a tray, but lined up at his window. She smiled and tapped the table with her knuckles, "Still angry?"
Lin Cheng nervously glanced around and quickly stuffed a note into her hand.
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