Finally, she managed to shove Lu Ziqing away, though the girl was still sniffling and sobbing.
“Hey! Watch out!” Mo Qingrou suddenly shouted from behind her.
Before anyone could react, she had grabbed the sharp knife poised at Lu Ziqing’s back.
Blood dripped steadily from Mo Qingrou’s hand, but she didn’t even furrow her brow.
Hana’s expression was utterly twisted at that moment. She glared viciously up at Mo Qingrou. “Mind your own business.”
With a sickening squelch, the knife was yanked free, sending blood spraying from Mo Qingrou’s palm. Still, her face remained impassive.
Su Ze stood there stunned. Before Hana could swing again, he slapped the side of her neck, knocking her out cold.
“Sister Qingrou!” Su Ze grabbed her injured hand. “Are you okay? You need to get that wound treated right away!”
Mo Qingrou coldly pulled her hand back. “I can handle it myself. I don’t need your help. I don’t like being touched.”
“Sister Mo Qingrou, you’re bleeding too much.” Liang Sheng’s face had gone deathly pale. She was truly frightened this time—this yandere was far too dangerous.
“It’s fine. Stay back.” Mo Qingrou dodged Liang Sheng and glanced up at the school building.
“Looks like only that one classroom is on fire?” She pointed at the burning room.
No one answered. Liang Sheng, her face ashen, frantically rummaged through her pockets for gauze or anything useful, but all she found were a few Band-Aids—utterly worthless.
Lu Ziqing had been scared witless, clutching desperately at Liang Sheng’s clothes and refusing to let go.
The bodyguards who came rushing over were equally dumbfounded. They had seen Hana lunge at Lu Ziqing with the knife, but they were too far away to intervene. Only after Mo Qingrou caught the blade barehanded did they breathe a sigh of relief.
One bodyguard scooped up Lu Ziqing and bolted toward the car, nearly dragging Liang Sheng along since the young miss still had a death grip on her clothes. A few others jogged alongside.
Of the remaining two, one hurried to Mo Qingrou and efficiently produced gauze, painkillers, and antiseptic.
Mo Qingrou didn’t stand on ceremony. She silently held out her hand and let him work. But when he tried to apply the painkiller, she stopped him coolly. “I don’t need it. Thank you. Put it away.”
The bodyguard insisted, so she said flatly, with a cold expression, “I have no sense of pain. It doesn’t matter if you apply it or not—I won’t feel a thing.”
He paused, then obeyed and put the medicine away.
The scene was chaotic for a moment. Another bodyguard hoisted the unconscious Hana over his shoulder and carried her off. Liang Sheng felt like her mind was reeling in the wind. What a day this had been! And why had Lu Ziqing’s bodyguards arrived so quickly? It didn’t make sense. Wait—hadn’t she transmigrated into a brainless harem romance novel? Oh, right. Never mind, then. Totally normal.
In truth, Lu Ziqing had called her family the moment the small fire started. She had wanted to run, but her feet wouldn’t obey, rooted to the spot. She was furious, even wondering if she was possessed, but she couldn’t take a single step until she lost consciousness and fainted.
Sigh. Now Hana would be invited back to the police station for tea. Why couldn’t this girl learn from her mistakes and wise up after getting burned once?
Hold on—Liang Sheng tensed up again. Where was Senior Sister Gu Yuqi?
Sure, given the nature of this book, a key member of the male lead’s harem like Gu Yuqi would never come to harm, but Liang Sheng couldn’t help worrying.
What about Song An’an, Senior Sister An Hua, and Teacher Dong Yue? Were they okay?
As she fretted, the firefighters finally doused the flames. That’s when she spotted Gu Yuqi darting around like a headless chicken.
“Senior Sister Yuqi!” Liang Sheng waved and jogged toward her.
Gu Yuqi turned at the sound, her tense face lighting up with joy at the sight of Liang Sheng running over. She charged forward, scooped up her little junior sister, and spun her around twice in pure human nonsense before pressing her head against her own neck.
“You scared me to death. Thank goodness you’re okay…” Gu Yuqi’s voice grew thick with tears. “When I heard it was your class’s room on fire…”
She had rushed straight in, only for Teacher Dong Yue to drag her out.
Gu Yuqi had asked Dong Yue where Liang Sheng was.
“Your teacher told me the surveillance showed you never went back to the classroom…” Hot tears smeared across Liang Sheng’s cheek.
Oh no! This, this…
“Senior Sister Yuqi~ Don’t cry~ Senior Sister Yuqi, don’t cry~” Liang Sheng reached up to stroke her head, comforting her gently.
Teacher Dong Yue spotted Liang Sheng too and let out a relieved breath. She shouted from afar, “Liang Sheng, are you alright?! Stay right there and don’t move!” She paused, then changed her mind. “No—go help the teacher find the rest of our classmates and have them line up at our assembly spot.”
“Got it!”
Liang Sheng flashed an OK sign at Teacher Dong Yue, gently pushed Gu Yuqi away, and took her senior sister’s hand. “Come on, Senior Sister Yuqi. Help me look for the rest of our classmates.”
“Okay.” Gu Yuqi wiped the tears from her face.
No sooner had one crisis ended than another arose. Song An’an popped out from somewhere and latched onto Liang Sheng’s neck, refusing to let go. She whimpered and whined, her “nyan nyan” cries blending with the surrounding buzz into a discordant duet.
Buzz-whine, whine-whine.
Damn it, so noisy! Liang Sheng’s head was about to explode from the racket, and she nearly veered into someone while dragging Gu Yuqi along.
“Come on, An’an, let go first.” Liang Sheng kept her patience, convinced her temper was saintly. “I need to organize the other students. Be good—no fussing. I’ll comfort you properly once we’re done, okay~ Good girl~”
“Okay…” Song An’an reluctantly released her but hooked onto Liang Sheng’s other arm.
This left-right embrace… Liang Sheng rolled her eyes dramatically. She really didn’t want it! (Su Ze: Fck, you’re in the lap of luxury and don’t even know it. Let them go and give me a turn!)
The farce finally ended with Hana heading back to the police station. Alas! When would the yandere’s trips to jail ever cease?
For days afterward, Lu Ziqing didn’t come to school. The knife incident had left her with a psychological scar.
Su Ze stayed on his best behavior too—whether plotting something sinister or lying low to observe, who knew? He still occasionally flirted with the girls, inching up their favorability and heartthrob values.
As for Hana, she was out of jail after a few days (the power of money in a brainless novel). Her parents immediately arranged a transfer school. The Lu family had pressured them, and while Hana’s folks had cash, they couldn’t match the Lu clan’s influence.
Liang Sheng figured it was for the best. With Hana around, romancing the other girls had been way too difficult.
A month later, though, Su Ze’s family returned to working for the Lu household—thanks to him saving Lu Ziqing. Everything seemed to snap back to the starting point.
(End of Volume 3)
Volume 4: Three Systems Clash
