Volume 15
Chapter 14: Lu Li Says (Part 1)
The temperature in the Capital City rose much earlier than in Mulan. The moment May revealed the sky, one could see the grass grow and the orioles fly, the scorching sun hanging high. Chu Jingyi sat in the classroom, listening to the laughter of her classmates during the break, and suddenly fell into a daze. She rested her chin on her hand and began to wonder what Lu Li was doing at this moment. Who was he with? Mmm… she really wanted to go to Mulan University as an exchange student right away. That way, she could snatch Lu Li over. Right, she would have to pull Baili along too… The young girl’s thoughts were fine and scattered, like a string of silver beads dripping and sliding down.
“Miss Chu, Miss Chu…” a voice called from her ear. Only then did Chu Jingyi come back to her senses. She was actually not used to being called Miss Chu. Since starting university, the distance between her and the people around her seemed to have suddenly widened even further.
The one speaking was her roommate—she lived in a two-person student apartment. This roommate had always been very respectful to her, so respectful and deferential that it made Chu Jingyi feel uncomfortable.
“Miss Chu, Bai Luochuan from the School of Liberal Arts wrote you a poem on the confession wall, and he also said that after school…” The roommate didn’t finish, because she saw the look of disgust on Chu Jingyi’s face. After living with this Miss Chu for half a year, she actually knew that Chu Jingyi was a girl who seemed unapproachable but was actually gentle and considerate. She rarely showed such an expression so directly.
“Will they ever stop? I’ve already rejected him so many times and even said not to confess again. Why are they still so…!” Chu Jingyi was very angry, angrier than ever before, because now her relationship with Lu Li had been affirmed by her parents. She was full of hope for the future, and she didn’t want anyone else to come and destroy this hard-won little happiness. She was afraid that if Lu Li found out about this, he would be angry and unhappy.
“I’m already engaged! Why are they so shameless!” When Chu Jingyi said “shameless” to Lu Li, it was flirting. When she said it to others, it was a complete reprimand.
“Miss Chu, you’re already engaged?” The roommate covered her mouth. It seemed Miss Chu was very satisfied with her engagement, otherwise she wouldn’t have had such a big reaction.
Chu Jingyi took out her phone, found the Capital University confession wall, and angrily typed a line under Bai Luochuan’s latest message: “Shameless!” If Baili had been here, she would have remembered that this was the word An Baili had used to curse Wen You back then. For the Silly Goose, this word was already radical enough.
But unfortunately, her scolding did not make Bai Luochuan retreat. This dissolute talent from the School of Liberal Arts was even passing Chu Jingyi’s comment around among his friends. He said, “A good woman is afraid of a persistent suitor. Chu Jingyi has finally taken the initiative to leave a comment. It shows that I’ve still left a deep impression on her!”
Among scholars, besides looking down on each other, there was only mutual flattery. Today I praise you as a talent, tomorrow I’ll praise you as a master. You praise me, I praise you, and this circle of scholars is considered orthodox.
“Luochuan, your methods are really amazing! The great love saint!” someone gave a thumbs-up. “So many people in our school have launched an offensive on her and she’s never paid them any mind. The moment you make a move, it’s extraordinary! Your methods are truly amazing!”
“Haha, you flatter me, you flatter me. Let me tell you, to deal with a woman, one must be considerate, and two, one must be persistent. They are the most likely to say one thing and mean another. The more they say no, the more it means they want it.” Bai Luochuan was very smug. A few female students from the School of Liberal Arts showed looks of admiration. It had to be said that this reputation as the number one talent of the School of Liberal Arts had earned him quite a few fans.
“You all just watch this evening. I will definitely make Miss Chu remember me anew, and after today, she will never forget me!” Bai Luochuan was full of confidence.
A new student was puzzled. “Senior Luochuan, aren’t you afraid of retaliation from Miss Chu’s family…”
Bai Luochuan snorted with disdain. “This is a society ruled by law. I am pursuing Miss Chu openly and honorably. What can anyone do to me? Besides, I, Bai, am not without talent. My family has opened a few factories back home, so I have some capital. I’m not someone who can be easily pushed around!”
“Good!”
“You have backbone!”
“This is the backbone of a scholar! I feel like I’ve seen the epitome of the great poets of Shenzhou for thousands of years in Senior Luochuan!”
While this group was making a ruckus, another group of people from the School of Liberal Arts was watching coldly from the sidelines. This group were all descendants of powerful clans. Hearing Bai Luochuan’s words over there, someone sneered, “Where did this greenhorn come from? Let’s not even talk about the Chu family. He can’t even get past Lu Li. To speak so arrogantly, he’s truly a country bumpkin!”
“Shh, don’t say too much. I heard that Lu Li secretly arrived in the Capital City today… I estimate Bai Luochuan is going to run right into a gun barrel…”
“Let’s go eat in the west city tonight. It’s better to be far away from Capital University.”
“I agree.”
Lu Li probably didn’t expect that his name had changed from a string of characters that no one cared about to a symbol that the scions of the powerful clans had to pay attention to at all times. He had only mentioned to the prince that he was going to the Capital City, and the news had already spread in the second-generation circle of the Capital City before he even arrived. The members of the son-in-law gang had even prepared to welcome this honorary gang leader.
…
After Chu Jingyi had reprimanded Bai Luochuan, she had originally thought there would be a war of words, but Bai Luochuan had no response at all, which made Chu Jingyi feel as if she had punched a ball of cotton, and she became even angrier. She was aggrieved and, for a moment, didn’t know how to punish the other party… Tattle on him to her father? With her current understanding of her father, Bai Luochuan might be forcibly sent to Africa. Chu Jingyi had a soft personality and felt that although Bai Luochuan was despicable, his crime was not worthy of that. Tattle on him to Lu Li? This was the idea she was most inclined toward in her heart, but she was worried that Lu Li would be angry because of this. Or tattle on him to others in the family? They would probably have someone break Bai Luochuan’s legs, which was also not very good… After thinking about it sullenly by herself for a long time, she finally decided to seek Lu Li’s advice when she had a video call with him tonight.
After school, she planned to go back to the student apartment, but when she was leaving the school gate, she was stopped by the crowd from the School of Liberal Arts that Bai Luochuan had gathered. Bai Luochuan was in a white suit, his hair specially styled, looking glamorous. In his hands, he held a large bouquet of roses, not bright red, but a pale pink.
The anger Chu Jingyi had managed to suppress flared up again. She had never been so angry. “Bai Luochuan! What on earth are you doing!”
Bai Luochuan was unmoved. “Miss Chu, I’m here to apologize to you!” As he spoke, he held the flowers and half-knelt before Chu Jingyi. “Miss Chu, I apologize for my words during the day. Can you forgive me?” He didn’t mention the confession at all, just offered the flowers as an apology. But Chu Jingyi knew that this was clearly an act of confession. Bai Luochuan was just despicably using the pretext of an apology to confess, forcing her to agree. This was not a confession; it was a complete mockery, a clever trick.
Chu Jingyi’s eyes were red. “You’re simply shameless!”
Bai Luochuan feigned deep affection. “Miss Chu, are you unwilling to forgive me even when I’m sincerely apologizing? Miss Chu, you shouldn’t be so petty, right?” As he spoke, he held the flowers up high, as if to hand them to Chu Jingyi.
The crowd from the School of Liberal Arts all shouted, “Forgive him! Forgive him! Forgive him!”
Chu Jingyi was swept up by the crowd. She shouted a few times, but her voice was drowned out by the voices of the people from the School of Liberal Arts. Seeing this, the bodyguards had already taken out their electric batons, preparing to give this group of ignorant students a lesson. Just then, a strange man’s voice came through a loudspeaker. “Make way, make way!”
“?”
Bai Luochuan heard the car’s reversing sound, “Reversing, please be careful!” He turned his head and saw three large trucks parked behind him. The trucks were loaded with roses. He was just about to shout when he saw the trucks tip their containers, and three full truckloads of rose petals poured down, burying Bai Luochuan.
