Chapter 19 I didn't take my medicine today.
The scene fell silent instantly, and even the birdsong in the trees seemed unusually loud.
School supervisor Miao Jin scrambled to her feet, clutching the back of her head, and shouted frantically, "What's going on?"
Lu Jinlan hurriedly said, "The student council was collecting fees without our consent and wouldn't let us into the dormitory if we didn't pay. They started it."
Han Li immediately denied it: "We were just charging according to the rules. They forced their way in, and they started the fight first, didn't they?"
The student council members, always quick to chime in, "Yes!"
"Nonsense!" Yan Wuxin said angrily, "You were the ones who attacked first, everyone saw it, we can all testify, right?"
There were four or five student council members present, and the rest were all freshmen. Even if others remained silent, the dozen or so out-of-town students who had lived with them for three days would not stay silent. They were eager to raise their arms and shout: "Yes! The student council started it, we'll be your witnesses!"
Supervisor Miao's face turned ashen. "Shut up, all of you!"
She glanced at Lu Jinlan with displeasure. "It's you again. Why is it always you who causes trouble?"
Lu Jinlan said confidently, "Where there is injustice, there will naturally be people who complain. If things are fair, just, reasonable, and legal, no one will cause trouble."
Supervisor Miao snorted and said to everyone, "It's a long-standing tradition for the student council to charge accommodation fees, and it's something I've authorized."
No sooner had he finished speaking than someone behind him said, "So what?"
All around, there were tense gasps. Miao Xuejian turned around in disbelief, his eyes wide with astonishment. "Xiang Ruzhen, are you crazy? I'm the supervisor."
Xiang Ruzhen said firmly, “So what if you’re the school supervisor? You’re afraid to write down the fees, and when asked, you stammer and can’t give a clear answer. The fees are illegitimate and the destination is unknown. There are no receipts, no proof, and just a few people blocking this place demanding money. What’s the difference between this and highway robbery?”
She questioned him righteously and sternly: "Does the school supervisor's permission make it reasonable? Does it mean that it has always been the case, and therefore it is right?"
Supervisor Miao was so angry he laughed, and he couldn't even feel the pain in the wound he was tightly covering. "Heh heh, I'm the supervisor, and you're the students. If you don't listen to me, who do you want to listen to?"
"Listen to the law!" a student who had been watching from the sidelines for a long time finally spoke up.
Everyone turned to look, and saw that the person appeared to be seventeen or eighteen years old, but he was mature beyond his years and had a sharp and imposing aura. His phoenix eyes were slightly upturned, making people afraid to look directly at him.
Yan Wuxin quickly tugged at Lu Jinlan's sleeve and whispered, "Isn't this the one who tried to steal your man..."
Lu Jinlan nodded slightly. The man strode forward, cupped his hands, and said to the school supervisor, "Student Yan Yu is well-versed in the law. Article 167 of the Da Hua Code states that no one may levy private property from the people under any pretext. Violators will be punished as thieves. Those who levy less than 500 coins shall be punished with forty strokes of the cane. Those who levy more than 500 coins shall be imprisoned for three months."
Upon hearing this, Jin Yihuai and the others looked flustered and anxiously glanced at the school supervisor.
Yan Yu added, “Last March, the Ministry of Rites issued the ‘Imperial Edict Prohibiting Public Schools Nationwide from Unauthorized Collection of Miscellaneous Fees’ to the Seventeen Prefectures. It requires all schools to report any items they collect and obtain approval from the Ministry of Rites before collection. Schools are not allowed to create pretexts to extort money from students. All fees must be publicly posted and records kept. Violators will be punished according to the ‘Great Law’ for privately collecting money from the people.”
Miao Xuejian was jolted, whether from a headache that made him unsteady on his feet or from fear that made his legs weak, he staggered back two steps.
Jin Yihuai and Han Li quickly supported her from both sides. Miao Xuejian steadied himself and said, "Ignorance is no excuse, and besides, no fees were collected today, so let's drop this matter. But we can't just let it go like this if someone hurts another person. Who threw that person out just now?"
Xiang Ruzhen and Lu Jinlan stepped forward, "We threw it."
Looking at the bloodstains on his hands, Supervisor Miao gritted his teeth and said, "You're all punished by having to clean the classroom for a month."
Yan Wuxin quickly raised his hand and said, "Me too! I'll help too."
Actually, Yan Wuxin was busy moving the table and didn't get involved at all. But she thought to herself, she's always a step behind. She missed the chance to chime in during arguments, she missed the chance to help in fights, so now she can only try to grab a chance to help punish someone.
Supervisor Miao glared at her fiercely, "Then you three will be punished by cleaning the classroom for a month."
Miao Xuejian really lost a lot of blood, and her face grew paler and paler. Jin Yihuai and others helped her to see a doctor, and the student council members also left in a sorry state.
As soon as those people disappeared around the corner, nearly a hundred freshmen burst into enthusiastic cheers. Lu Jinlan kicked aside the table that was in the way, "Let's go to the dorm!"
Xiang Ruzhen finally smiled and excitedly picked up the three people's luggage, saying, "I'll go save some seats first."
Everyone rushed in and headed to their respective rooms.
Lu Jinlan asked Yan Wuxin in a low voice, "This Yan Yu shares your surname, is he a relative of yours?"
Yan Wuxin shook his head repeatedly, "In the capital, Ling, Yan, Zhao, and Chu are all common surnames, just like the Lu surname in your Yunzhou. How could I possibly know them all? If we're talking about connections, maybe we're only remotely related. But we have a grudge against her. Isn't it a bit late to try and claim kinship now?"
Lu Jinlan's eyes darted around. "She definitely won't admit that she went to Fengchun Pavilion. Let's just pretend we didn't recognize her and get away with it."
Yan Wuxin nodded, and the two of them tacitly stepped forward to start a conversation.
Lu Jinlan: "Student Yan, thank you so much for what you did just now. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Lu Jinlan."
Yan Yu smiled slightly, "I've seen you before."
Lu Jinlan was taken aback. "Huh?"
Yan Yu said, "I was there watching the martial arts competition and have already witnessed the skills of several of you. Lu, you are a talented writer with outstanding martial arts skills, and you always strive to be the best. Your name is already well-known. Besides, we are freshmen in the same year, so how could I not know you?"
Yan Wuxin smiled. "You know her name, so you naturally know me too. I've even been mentioned in a poem. Come on, let's go to the dormitory, and I'll introduce you to Ruzhen."
It just so happened that Yan Yu was also assigned to 106, and the three of them traveled together. Lu Jinlan pushed open the door of 106 and was stunned when she saw the people inside. She truly understood the meaning of "enemies meeting on a narrow road".
Room 106 has eight roommates. Besides Lu Jinlan, Xiang Ruzhen, Yan Wuxin, and Sun Lewen, the remaining four are: Yan Yu, who had a falling out with Fengchunlou over the kidnapping and speaks in a sarcastic tone; Wu Qiongmeng, a local student from Shenjing, who was kicked twice by Lu Jinlan after she raised her arm and the examiners ordered the candidates from Shenjing to capture her; Chu Yishu, who provoked Xiang Ruzhen the day before the martial arts test and was severely humiliated by Xiang Ruzhen; and Ling Zhaoren, who fought Xiang Ruzhen to the death on the day of the martial arts test and ended up drawing blood from each other.
Being assigned to this room, Lu Jinlan felt like she had to sleep with one eye open.
At this moment, Ling Zhaoren's old habit resurfaced. Even though Xiang Ruzhen had already occupied three lower bunks, she insisted on taking the bunk where Lu Jinlan's luggage was placed, instead of the one where she would occupy the other.
Yan Wuxin got angry just looking at her. "Ling Zhaoren, don't you understand the concept of first come, first served? If it weren't for Ruzhen showing mercy that day, you would be in your coffin today. What more do you want?"
Ling Zhaoren sneered: "Nothing much, I just want to sleep next to Xiang Ruzhen's bunk. I want to learn from her, is that wrong? As for Lu Jinlan, if you want to compete with me, you'd better beat me first."
Before Lu Jinlan could speak, Yan Wuxin chimed in, "You can't even beat Ruzhen, yet you want to compete with Jinlan? Our Jinlan can kick a pillar to pieces; you'd better watch out for your neck. Seriously, fine, let's compete. Jinlan, teach her a lesson."
Lu Jinlan thought to herself: Are you trying to kill me? I didn't take my medicine today. If I fight Ling Zhaoren, I might get beaten to death.
She chuckled, picked up her luggage and placed it on Xiang Ruzhen's upper bunk, then said to Ling Zhaoren, "From today onwards, we're roommates, so why be at odds? If you want it, take it; I'll just sleep on the upper bunk."
"Wow!" Yan Wuxin was greatly shocked and couldn't help but exclaim, "Jinlan, you are so tolerant and generous. I couldn't stand it."
Xiang Ruzhen patted her shoulder with satisfaction, "Jinlan, you've improved. Manager Ping even asked me to give you some pointers. I think you're more tolerant and patient than I am."
Lu Jinlan smiled without saying a word. This was truly unexpected. Not only was Ling Zhaoren stunned, but even Yan Yu came over and said, "Maybe I'm wrong. You don't have to argue about everything."
Lu Jinlan maintained his pretense to the end, saying calmly, "Well, when it comes to life, there's no need to fuss over small things. You can always let bygones be bygones with a smile."
Yan Yu murmured, "To forget past grievances with a smile? What a magnanimous heart."
Lu Jinlan put on a big act. Everyone thought she had at least a 90% chance of defeating Ling Zhaoren, and that she had let Ling Zhaoren off the hook today. Even Ling Zhaoren herself thought so. Only she knew that she was still using drugs.
However, given her current life force and her nightly cultivation, she'll be invincible sooner or later. While others age day by day, she grows stronger. She'll live for hundreds of years, old, strong, and immortal—even she herself is afraid of that.
For now, it's best to play it safe.
After everyone tidied up their bunks, they went to listen to the freshmen's address. Miao Xuejian, whose head was already wrapped in thick bandages, glared fiercely at Lu Jinlan and the others and said, "Fighting is strictly prohibited. Anyone who fights again will have to clean the latrines."
The three of them quietly clenched their hands, almost bursting out laughing.
After a long day of lectures and distributing books, it was finally time for dinner.
Before even heading to the cafeteria, Yan Wuxin warned everyone, "The food at our college is notoriously bad."
Xiang Ruzhen said, "You've never experienced hardship. If you lived a life of simple porridge and cabbage for a while, everything would taste delicious."
Lu Jinlan advised, "Go eat first, and we'll figure something out if you really can't eat anymore."
They paid a monthly food fee, and the money wasn't refunded if they didn't eat. They weren't allowed to go out without a day off, so they had no choice but to eat in the cafeteria.
As soon as you enter the cafeteria, you can tell the quality of the food just by looking at everyone's faces. Ling Zhaoren was already cursing at the food on his plate.
Xiang Ruzhen said, "She has never experienced hardship either."
Xiang Ruzhen was at the front of the line. She first got a bowl of meat soup with no meat in it, and almost spat it out after taking a sip.
Yan Wuxin: "What do you mean?"
Xiang Ruzhen held back for a while, and said, "Even cabbage and tofu are better than this. I'm afraid there's nothing in the world that's worse than this meat soup."
She asked for another spoonful of fried mushrooms, and as soon as she put it in her mouth, her whole face scrunched up.
Xiang Ruzhen: "I was wrong, there are things that taste even worse than meat broth."
The three of them exchanged a glance, their faces showing wry smiles.
Lu Jinlan, carrying an empty plate, stood at the back of the line with little interest. Suddenly, Yan Wuxin, who was in front of her, turned around and said to her with shining eyes, "Look! The man serving rice at window number eight is quite handsome. Even though only his eyes are visible, you can tell he's a dashing young man with a great physique."
Although Lu Jinlan possessed a male-oriented system, she still subconsciously resisted every time she heard someone speaking in a fatherly tone. She couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Are you out of your mind? Haven't you ever seen a man before? You even go after the old man in the cafeteria."
She walked over casually, "A spoonful of rice."
The person inside hesitated for a moment, "You're only eating this little bit?"
That voice sounds a bit like...
Unable to see clearly through the bamboo curtain, Lu Jinlan leaned down slightly and saw a pair of unforgettable eyes at the rice serving opening between the counter and the bamboo curtain.
Just like her, the man gazed at her through the narrow window, and quietly removed his face mask under her watchful gaze.
Lu Jinlan's eyes widened suddenly. "It's you!"
A note from the author:
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I really want to crawl under bed number 106; it feels like there's going to be a show every day.
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