Time rewound slightly further back. Su You Yan quietly waited outside the chancellor’s office for Zhi Li. Before long, the office door opened, and Zhi Li walked out. His expression and mood were impossible to read. Su You Yan handed him a bottle of hot milk.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re about to do something physically exhausting later,” Su You Yan said. Afterward, she briefly explained the entire situation to Zhi Li. While drinking the milk, Zhi Li merely nodded faintly.
“Are you going to the library now?”
Zhi Li shook his head and curled his lips upward. In Su You Yan’s eyes, that expression looked downright evil.
“Since their main force has already left the nest, now’s our chance.”
Su You Yan quickly understood what Zhi Li meant.
“You’re not worried about Ke Bu?”
“Don’t underestimate him.”
Su You Yan stared at Zhi Li’s profile and suddenly understood. Between Zhi Li and Ke Bu existed an intense trust. No matter how others slandered him, Ke Bu never once wavered, while Zhi Li understood better than anyone how strong Ke Bu truly was. Between the two of them, it was not about protecting and being protected, nor about binding and being bound. It was about needing and being needed.
This side of Zhi Li gave Su You Yan a strange sense of comfort. Within her dark, cold body and heart, she had entrusted the tiniest bit of warmth hidden deepest inside herself to Zhi Li.
“What did my dad say to you?”
“You wouldn’t want to know.”
The two walked while talking.
“He investigated you, didn’t he? Did he tell you to stay away from me? Heh… Because my mother died early, he’s always been overly protective. He hopes the friends I make are people with good personalities, good grades, good morals—people who are good in every way—and to remove anyone who might influence the course of my life. Look what he’s turned me into.”
Su You Yan let out a bitter laugh and spoke those sorrowful words, yet she would never tell anyone what kinds of humiliation and pain she had suffered. She had always been alone, ostracized because of others’ jealousy.
Zhi Li said nothing and merely walked ahead of Su You Yan. Su You Yan stopped walking.
“Zhi Li, will you become like everyone else too? Will you leave me behind?”
Zhi Li turned around and reached out to pat Su You Yan’s head.
“Aren’t you usually pretty smart? Ke Bu noticed it too, didn’t he? Looking at you feels like looking at his former self. Who would abandon themselves? Just obediently follow me.”
“Even if you say something gentle like that to me, in my eyes you’re still just like an elementary school student.”
Su You Yan returned to her usual cold demeanor.
“Out of all your good qualities, the thing I like most is that you’ll never fall for me,” Zhi Li replied.
Both of their words carried not-too-subtle sarcasm!!
The place they arrived at was the Taekwondo Club.
Zhi Li pushed open the door and walked in under everyone’s astonished gazes. He surveyed the clubroom, tossed the empty milk carton into the trash bin, pulled over a chair, and sat down.
“So, which one of you is going first?”
“Who the hell are you?”
“If you lose, this place belongs to me.”
“You’ve got guts. You actually dare come challenge us with a woman? Just the two of you?”
“One person. She’s just sitting over there reading.”
“Don’t underestimate us. We’ll show you what real strength is.”
“What?”
“Can’t you understand human language or something?”
“What?”
“Get him together!”
Soon afterward, miserable screams constantly echoed throughout the Taekwondo Club, mixed together with Su You Yan’s calm commentary from the side:
“The one on your left is the guy who harassed Gong Zhu. The second one in the back is the boyfriend of the girl who dumped food on Xin He. And the one in the hat—that’s the one who framed Ke Bu for stealing money.”
Time passed quickly. All the women escaped unharmed, but their boyfriends—who failed to properly discipline them—as well as the others, were beaten terribly. The one who suffered most miserably was the guy in the hat.
Su You Yan closed her book.
“If you’ve lost, then get out. We still have things to do. I’m locking the door.”
This was the “detour” Zhi Li had taken.
Ke Bu steadied himself and tugged at his clothes.
“I could’ve lasted a little longer.”
“You already got thrown flying.”
Zhi Li bluntly stated the truth, leaving Ke Bu deeply embarrassed. Ke Bu pouted at him.
“Then you go.”
“Oh right, did he force himself on you?”
“You think everyone’s like you?!!!”
At a time like this, Zhi Li still had the leisure to joke around without any regard for the tense atmosphere.
Xue Fang laughed.
“So you’re Zhi Li? Good timing.”
Qiu Shui walked up to Zhi Li.
“President, you’re too cruel. You actually forgot about me. So you’re Zhi Li? You really do look exactly like my type. If you lose to me, how about becoming my man?”
“So shameless.” Ke Bu spat bitterly with obvious jealousy.
“I don’t hit women.”
“At a time like this, stop trying to act like a gentleman.”
“Women can’t take a beating.”
So that was the reason!!
Actually, Ke Bu also refused to hit women, though for different reasons from Zhi Li’s.
“If you won’t fight her, then who will?”
Ke Bu’s gaze drifted toward Su You Yan.
No way. No way!
He had never once seen Su You Yan fight before. Besides, Qiu Shui was from the Taekwondo Club. He could not let Su You Yan take such a risk.
Zhi Li stepped back. Su You Yan stepped forward.
Qiu Shui laughed so hard she nearly lost her breath.
“I’m not seeing this wrong, am I? You’re making this woman fight me? Are you trying to get her beaten up again? She’s been getting bullied her whole life.”
“Then try it and see.”
Zhi Li leaned casually against a desk.
Next
Futile Devices Scans 
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