Chapter Nineteen
Lu Nan's high school life was not going well.
He used to be taken care of by Cheng Xiangbei, and there were many things he didn't know how to handle.
It took him three trips to complete just the registration process. When he finally arrived at his dorm with his luggage, everyone else had quickly made their beds, but he was busy past lunchtime before he finally managed to haphazardly tidy his own bed. Having missed lunch, he had to make do with a piece of bread.
Just as she was feeling down, someone came looking for her. Lu Nan looked up and saw that it was Zhou Pu.
"My dear family!" Lu Nan exclaimed excitedly, staring at Zhou Pu as if she were about to pounce on him. Zhou Pu was so frightened he backed away; if the boss found out Lu Nan had hugged him, he was doomed!
"Bao Si!" Lu Nan asked loudly, "You got into this school too? I've never heard you mention it before!"
A muffled laugh came from the dormitory. Zhou Pu glared at Lu Nan with a dark expression and whispered, "Don't call me by my nickname!" Then he said in a normal voice, "I was talking to you when I got my admission notice, but who knew what you were thinking, you just drifted away."
Lu Nan gave a dry laugh. She had just received the admission notice and was feeling upset, so she didn't notice who was talking to her.
"Have you packed your things yet?" Zhou Pu went to Lu Nan's bedside to check, pulling up the sheets and straightening the blankets. "Have you had lunch?"
Lu Nan held up the bread in her hand. "Here, I'm eating it."
Zhou Pu rolled his eyes. "Master Lu, oh Master Lu, it would be so much better if Boss Cheng took care of you. Why did you have to come out and suffer like this?" That evening, Zhou Pu reported to the impatient Cheng Xiangbei: "Master Lu has barely finished tidying up his room. He didn't get to eat, so he was given bread." Less than two minutes later, Cheng Xiangbei replied: "Couldn't you have bought him some too?!"
Zhou Pu was frustrated, thinking to himself, "I'm not you."
Cheng Xiangbei stared at Zhou Pu's text message and sighed.
Everyone in the dormitory was asleep, but he still couldn't fall asleep.
When he first learned that Zhou Pu had been admitted to the provincial high school, he was quite happy for his brother, but felt it had little to do with him. It wasn't until Lu Nan declared independence that he remembered he should plant an informant. Once he calmed down a bit, he approached Zhou Pu, said nothing, and simply tossed him a brand-new mobile phone.
Bro, I'm begging you!
Zhou Pu took the phone and nodded. "Boss, don't worry. I'll report every move of Master Lu to you in detail!"
"I'm still worried," Cheng Xiangbei said, frowning.
Boss, what do you want? Do you want me to take care of Master Lu like you did? I'm not you! I don't have that kind of patience or attention to detail... Besides, Master Lu and I are just friends!
If you dare to steal from me, I'll destroy you!
No, no, I don't have the guts, and besides... Zhou Pu muttered under his breath, I don't like men either!
Cheng Xiangbei rolled over and laughed. If Bao Si liked men, she would have deposed him long ago; he wouldn't have had the chance to be a spy.
Lu Nan and Zhou Pu were assigned to classes next to each other.
Lu Nan followed the group into the seating area, still somewhat bewildered. Zhou Pu, seeing the adjacent classroom, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
There were quite a few people in the class, but it felt much the same as in junior high. Lu Nan looked around curiously, and tried to listen attentively when someone spoke to him. However, his tendency to daydream hadn't changed at all, and he often gave people the wrong name after a long time. Everyone was at a loss for what to do with this quirky classmate.
Aside from minor issues like giving irrelevant answers in class and only getting unwanted cold dishes at the cafeteria, Lu Nan's day passed peacefully. However, problems arose in the evening. Usually, Cheng Xiangbei would prepare hot water and toothpaste for him, and would urge him to go to the washroom as soon as evening self-study ended. Back then, there were fewer people, and Lu Nan could quickly and easily take care of his hygiene. After washing his feet, it was even easier—he could just roll barefoot onto the bed, and Cheng Xiangbei would take care of the rest!
So, Lu Nan rushed to wash up when it was busiest, and the crowded throng almost pushed him out of the washroom. He didn't know how to squeeze in, nor did he know how to be polite, so he just stood there dumbly until his roommate spotted him and squeezed him in when there was a gap.
After washing his face and brushing his teeth, Lu Nan's face darkened the moment he put his feet in the cold water. It was just a few everyday habits, yet Cheng Xiangbei had done so much for him. He reluctantly washed his feet with the cold water and sat cross-legged on the bed, lost in thought. A classmate walked over and smacked him on the shoulder: "Hey! Lu Nan! Lights out soon, hurry up and pack up this mess!"
Lu Nan snapped out of his daze and quickly scrambled downstairs to clean up. By the time he frantically poured out the dirty water and returned to the room, the lights were already off. His eyes were glazed over as the lights went out, and he stumbled, tripping over a stool in the center of the room! "Ah!" he cried out, falling to the ground with a thud.
His roommates were chatting and laughing when they heard his scream. Those with flashlights quickly shone them over. Lu Nan was sprawled in the middle of the dorm room, his palms scraped and his knees bruised and swollen. Someone jumped off their bed and helped him up. The guys on the upper bunks burst into laughter, saying, "Lu Nan, you're something else! You managed to fall so badly on such a small patch of ground."
Lu Nan stood up, straightened his chair, and silently went to the washroom to wash his hands. His knees throbbed with pain, and he limped along. When he reached the washroom, he turned on the tap and rinsed his hands. The cool water flowed over his palms, and he felt the cool water travel up the lines of his palms, across his slightly aching heart, and down to his eyes.
Her eyes stung, and Lu Nan told herself to be strong, not to cry. She absolutely couldn't cry. Her eyes grew increasingly wet, and Lu Nan raised her dripping hands to cover them.
Although her leg was bruised, she still had to run the morning exercises as usual.
Lu Nan was out of breath running with the group. The swelling and redness on his knees were causing him great pain, but with an indomitable spirit, he gritted his teeth and persevered. After the exercise, he was almost collapsing to the ground.
Zhou Pu remained the class's sports representative, leading the team closely behind Lu Nan's class. He searched for Lu Nan as he led the group. Watching Lu Nan stumble and fall, he sighed inwardly. Lu Nan was never athletic; he and the class leader had always let him off easy during morning exercises. Now he was paying the price, wasn't he?
He shouted slogans while sighing, his voice growing weaker with each word. Someone nearby joked, "Hey! Haven't you eaten yet?"
Zhou Pu glared at him and laughed, scolding, "Of course we haven't eaten yet!"
As soon as the group disbanded, he ran to Lu Nan, who was slumped on the ground. "Master, do you have to be this pathetic just from running?"
Lu Nan, panting, rolled up her trouser legs.
Zhou Pu gasped when he saw the large bruise. "How did this happen?"
"He fell down!" Lu Nan was about to pull down his trouser leg when Zhou Pu quickly stopped him, taking out his phone and snapping two pictures.
"What are you doing?" Lu Nan asked curiously.
Zhou Pu chuckled dryly. "Just keeping it as a souvenir, hehe."
Lu Nan shook his head and said, "Bao Si, you've gone mad." He then stood up and limped away. Zhou Pu quickly stopped him, saying, "Let's have breakfast together?"
"No need." Lu Nan gritted her teeth and forced a smile. "I need to learn how to integrate into group life."
Zhou Pu stared blankly as he stumbled away, hesitating whether or not to send the photo out.
Cheng Xiangbei was indeed furious!
The large bruise in the photo sent by Zhou Pu almost made Cheng Xiangbei faint.
How do you take care of people? (Roar)
Zhou Pu protested: "Boss! He fell down by himself in the dark at night! How could I possibly take care of the immortal's bed?"
Cheng Xiangbei was speechless and hurriedly sent someone to buy the best blood-activating and stasis-removing ointment and deliver it in. Within half a day of the ointment being delivered, Zhou Pu received at least three text messages asking if Lu Nan had applied it.
Zhou Pu wept bitterly. "Boss, oh boss, this should at least be done after class and back in the dorm, right?"
At noon, Cheng Xiangbei was fidgeting in the cafeteria, eating half-heartedly, when he ran into Zhou Mu and Lin Cong. Both Zhou and Lin were in their final year of high school, busy with their studies. Zhou Mu, carrying his plate, sat down imposingly in front of Cheng Xiangbei and said with a grin, "Brother, what are you doing?"
"Go to hell! I'm thinking! Thinking, understand?" Cheng Xiangbei glanced at him sideways, trying his best not to look at the pair of lovebirds bubbling over each other. Seeing their happiness only annoyed them.
"Tch, thinking about the immortal again, huh?" Zhou Mu had already heard from Zhou Pu about Lu Nan getting into the provincial high school, and chuckled, "The duck that was about to be eaten flew away, no wonder you're depressed."
"Damn it, shut up! If you keep nagging, I'll steal your boyfriend!" Cheng Xiangbei roared.
Zhou Mu nervously clung to Lin Cong, baring his teeth at Chao Cheng to the north! "You dare!"
"Do you think I dare?!"
The two glared at each other with intense anger. Lin Cong broke free from Zhou Mu's arm, quietly moved three inches to the side, and pretended not to know these two childish guys.
Lu Nan stumbled and struggled as she welcomed the new students.
The welcome party was basically the same old routine: the principal spoke, the dean of students spoke, a freshman representative spoke, and finally, the student council president spoke. For the first three-quarters of the time, Lu Nan was fast asleep. He only woke up slightly when the new student council president took the stage. The buzzing around him was just too loud!
Wow! So handsome!
"Look how elegant his walking posture is!"
"He's even more handsome than a celebrity!" The chattering never stopped, and Lu Nan groggily opened her eyes. Looking up, she saw a blurry figure standing on the platform, introducing himself in a steady voice. "Hello everyone! I am the new student council president, Long Jiu Mo."
"Ninth Sister? What Ninth Sister?" Lu Nan scratched his head and asked, puzzled.
The audience fell silent as soon as the person on stage began speaking, so Lu Nan's words carried far. Someone nearby chuckled, "Ninth Sister? Hahaha..."
His smile sparked curiosity, prompting people to ask him what he was laughing at. Word spread like wildfire, and by the end of the welcome party, "Sister Long Jiu's" fame had spread far and wide.
The snickers from below grew louder and louder. Sensing the commotion below, the person on stage paused, his narrow eyes sweeping across the audience, his focus gradually settling on the area of fluctuation centered around Lu Nan.
Lu Nan didn't notice what everyone was laughing about. After uttering that sentence, she drifted off to sleep again.
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