Chapter 26 Don't let her get away
Lu Jinlan took the note and walked to a corner. She unfolded it in her palm and her expression changed immediately.
Xiang Ruzhen and Yan Wuxin followed, and Lu Jinlan hurriedly closed her hands.
Yan Wuxin craned his neck and asked, "What did you write?"
Lu Jinlan smiled. "Love letter. I have an appointment later, so don't bother me."
"Tch!" Yan Wu said bitterly, "Only you can still meet men in the academy. None of my servants can endure hardship, otherwise if the cafeteria were hiring, I would have brought them in too."
Xiang Ruzhen disagreed, "What kind of heroine or good mother spends all her time chasing after men? She's on a date, let's go practice martial arts. Let's go."
As dusk settled, the three walked along the tree-lined path, heading towards the back of the mountain.
An unfamiliar senior student suddenly ran over and said, "Lu Jinlan, the academic supervisor wants you to go to the auditorium."
Lu Jinlan nodded. "I'll go with her. You guys go ahead."
Xiang Ruzhen and Yan Wuxin practiced their skills in the woods for a while when they ran into Lin Cheng, who was there to fetch water.
Seeing that only the two of them were there, Lin Cheng couldn't help but ask, "Where is Young Madam Lu?"
Yan Wuxin: "The school supervisor was looking for her, but she went to the auditorium."
Lin Cheng said anxiously, "I already told her that the entire student council would ambush her in the auditorium, why did she still go there?"
The two were startled: "What?"
*
An unfamiliar senior student led the way, glancing back every now and then, afraid that Lu Jinlan might become suspicious.
But Lu Jinlan didn't ask anything. Instead, she took out a bunch of small white pills from somewhere and stuffed them into her mouth.
Feeling guilty, the person leading the way quickened his pace, his voice quite tense: "We're almost there, I'll go in and tell the supervisor first."
“Okay.” Lu Jinlan clapped her hands calmly and looked towards the entrance of the auditorium.
The door was wide open, but the inside was pitch black, like a black hole that could swallow everything. Figures seemed to flash past the windows on either side; there appeared to be quite a few people.
Lu Jinlan tightened his belt and strode forward.
She stepped through the door, and the hall was silent. Lu Jinlan walked up the steps one by one, when she suddenly felt a gust of wind behind her head. She nimbly dodged it, snatched the wooden stick from the man's hand, and kicked him in the chest.
The man screamed and was sent flying.
Immediately, someone in the auditorium shouted, "Guard the doors and windows! Don't let her escape! Let's all attack together!"
The door slammed shut with a creak, and the bolt was quickly bolted in. Wooden boards were even nailed to the windows, creating the impression of trapping a dog in the door.
Lu Jinlan recognized the voice giving the orders as belonging to Jin Yihuai, so she decided to strike first and capture the leader of the group, rushing towards the source of the sound.
The auditorium was pitch black, and the student council members rushed toward her, shouting and yelling, but stopped awkwardly when they got there, realizing she was nowhere to be found.
Han Li: "Where is he?"
Everyone said, "We can't see it."
"search!"
They couldn't see Lu Jinlan, and Lu Jinlan couldn't see them either.
There are many tables and chairs here; if you shrink back, only ghosts can see them.
She heard breathing sounds approaching her, and Lu Jinlan had a sudden idea. She asked in a high-pitched voice, "President, where are you?"
A nearby voice answered, "Here."
Lu Jinlan mustered all her strength and slapped him hard across the face, yelling, "Go to hell!"
With your IQ, you think you can outsmart me?
With a loud crack, the people around immediately rushed over and a chaotic fight broke out.
The advantage of Lu Jinlan coming alone is that he's not afraid of accidentally hurting his teammates. He grabs a stick and beats anyone he can, and screams fill the auditorium instantly.
Han Li, holding the wooden root, dared not step forward, but kept giving orders: "Go! Don't be afraid! Use a relay race, she'll run out of strength soon!"
That's how it should normally be, but Lu Jinlan came tonight after taking medication, and her strength was even greater than on the day of the martial arts test. She even had to be careful when she made a move, for fear of accidentally killing someone.
After a chaotic battle, the siege was broken, and the student council members lost their target again.
Han Li was watching nervously when she suddenly felt someone approaching from behind. Sensing something was wrong, she was about to scream when she was instantly silenced by acupuncture.
To her even greater despair, Lu Jinlan pressed close behind her and shouted, "I'm here! You useless thing, if you have the guts, kill me!"
About forty students from the student council rushed over with a roar.
Lu Jinlan pushed Han Li out and quietly hid under the table to watch the show.
The sound of the sticks being swung around was so powerful that Lu Jinlan couldn't help but grimace; he knew he'd be covered in bruises after a few blows.
After the group vented their anger by hitting and kicking, they heard Jin Yihuai say, "Don't let her die! Light a lamp, let's see if she's still so imposing."
Lu Jinlan frowned, just about to hit the person who lit the lamp, when suddenly there were two loud bangs outside the door. Before anyone could react, the door collapsed with a crash.
It was pitch black inside and out. Everyone could only sense someone rushing in, but they couldn't see where the person was at all.
Without saying a word, the two dark figures instantly engaged the student council members in combat.
Jin Yihuai knew this was Lu Jinlan's reinforcements and hurriedly said, "Keep an eye on Lu Jinlan!"
She shouldn't have said anything, because as soon as she did, the two figures rushed straight towards the person lying on the ground.
Seeing that she was still silent and that the people coming to rescue Han Li were about to take her away, Lu Jinlan quickly said, "I'm here!"
As soon as she spoke, people immediately surrounded her.
Han Li was lifted up, only to be immediately thrown back to the ground.
In the chaos, Jin Yihuai shouted urgently, "Light the lamps! Light the lamps now!"
Outnumbered and outgunned, and these people weren't to be trifled with, how could we dare let them light the lamps?
The three of them, in perfect unison, rushed toward the person who had lit the fire, kicking away countless tinderboxes in the process.
After a brief but fierce battle, Lu Jinlan seized the opportunity amidst the chaos to grab Jin Yihuai and throw him into the crowd, whispering, "Retreat!"
The three of them ran all the way to the back of the mountain, and when they saw that no one was following them, they finally stopped.
Lu Jinlan had just lain down on the ground, panting heavily, when Yan Wuxin roared, "Why didn't you call us when you were fighting?"
Lu Jinlan waved her hand wearily, "Let's rest for a while...we can argue again after a rest."
Xiang Ruzhen refused, grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up, coldly demanding, "Do you consider us friends anymore?"
Lu Jinlan: "Thank God, you are my only two friends here."
Xiang Ruzhen: "Do you think we are cowards who are afraid of death?"
Lu Jinlan: "Wu Xin and I might be, but you, Xiang Ruzhen, are definitely not."
Yan Wuxin retorted softly, "Who said that? I'm just slow to react."
Xiang Ruzhen gritted her teeth and said, "We agreed to advance and retreat together, so why did you abandon us?"
Lu Jinlan said urgently, "It is precisely because you are my friends that I do not want to ruin your future."
She took a deep breath. "We've been at odds with the student council for so long, and today's confrontation will only escalate the conflict further. Nobody knows how far things will go; if things get out of hand, it won't be as simple as just cleaning classrooms and toilets. I don't care about myself, but I don't want to cause you to lose your opportunity to study!"
Yan Wuxin muttered, "I don't care."
Lu Jinlan looked at Xiang Ruzhen, "And what about you? Ruzhen, your lofty ideals can only be realized by becoming an official. I don't want you to regret it for the rest of your life because of these trivial matters."
Xiang Ruzhen was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "You're wrong. It's no small matter if a friend is betrayed. If I were a treacherous and wicked person, what right would I have to talk about lofty ideals? I won't regret being expelled from school for the rest of my life, but if something happens to you, I really will regret it for the rest of my life."
Both of them had tears in their eyes as they spoke and fell silent.
Yan Wuxin quickly tried to ease the tension, saying, "Alright, thankfully everyone's alright. Tonight, we fought three against forty-something and escaped unscathed; we should definitely celebrate."
Lu Jinlan looked at their faces and said, "It was a narrow victory, don't be too proud."
As they spoke, footsteps approached, and the three of them quickly stood up, then breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Cheng, holding a lantern, asked anxiously, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
*
Under the cover of night, the three of them and Rinjitsu sneaked into the deserted cafeteria. In the dim light, they lit a candle, and Rinjitsu boiled water to cook eggs. After they were cooked, he peeled them and gave them to them to rub on the bruises on their faces.
Lu Jinlan was the least injured; she had taken a powerful remedy beforehand and had been avoiding attacks, so she wasn't hit much. Xiang Ruzhen and Yan Wuxin, on the other hand, rushed in recklessly to rescue her, ending up with bruises all over their faces and bodies.
Lu Jinlan mixed up a few painkillers and gave them to the two of them, saying, "These will relieve the pain. In the future, don't worry about me in this situation; I have a backup plan."
Yan Wuxin: "What kind of gown?"
Xiang Ruzhen: "Where should it be hung?"
Rin Cheng: "There's nothing you shouldn't have done. Are you out of your mind?"
Lu Jinlan smiled and squeezed Lin Cheng's hand. "Luckily you reminded me today, so I was able to prepare. How did you know?"
Lin Cheng said, "I overheard some student council members discussing something while I was getting food. They were thinking of telling you so you could avoid it, but I didn't expect..."
Lu Jinlan laughed and said, "Some things can't be avoided. I like to face difficulties head-on and see what this guy can do to me."
As everyone was talking and eating eggs, they suddenly heard a cracking sound and the earthenware pot on the stove broke in two.
Lin Cheng panicked and said, "Oh no! I didn't put in enough water, and I burned the chef's earthenware pot. He's going to scold me to death tomorrow."
Lu Jinlan said, "How much is a pot worth? Just compensate him double."
Lin Cheng shook his head. "This pot is from Lin Ji Restaurant in the north of the city. It's a new treasure that the chef just bought and has only been used for one day. What bad luck! I happen to have the cafeteria key today, so I can't deny it even if I want to."
Lu Jinlan stroked his chin. "Lin Ji in the north of the city, right? I'll go there now and put an identical new pot here before dawn. Then he won't have any reason to scold you."
Yan Wuxin was startled: "You're going out? Leaving the school without permission is a serious offense. If the school supervisor catches you, you'll be suspended from school for at least a month."
Xiang Ruzhen advised, "Why don't we think of another way? Going out is too risky."
Lin Cheng also said, "It's just a pot. At worst, I'll get a scolding. It's not worth taking such a big risk."
Lu Jinlan looked at him with a half-smile, "I think it's worth it. You're so good to me, I can't bear to see you get scolded."
Lin Cheng glared at her. "Who knows if what you're saying is true or false?"
"You don't believe me? If you don't believe me, I'll go out and never come back. Sigh, I risked my life for you, and not only do you not believe me, you're angry with me. I might as well not come back and just drop out of school."
Lin Cheng gritted his teeth, knowing full well that she was saying this on purpose, but still said helplessly, "If I were still angry with you, I wouldn't have informed you and would have waited for you to fall into my trap."
Lu Jinlan's lips curled up slightly. "You're really not angry with me anymore? You've moved on?"
Lin Cheng nodded reluctantly. Xiang Ruzhen couldn't bear to watch the two of them arguing like that and said, "Hurry up and go, it'll be dawn soon!"
So Lu Jinlan slung the old pot over his shoulder and leaped onto the wall. Xiang Ruzhen suddenly remembered, "Lin's shop doesn't open at night, how are you going to buy anything?"
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you to reader "Sanqian" for the +20 nutrient solution donation.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
