Ch. 1241..1250
Chapter 1241: 1240 stands by your side
Tan Rou looked down and said, “Scold me.”
Li Li expressed her confusion. “Why should I scold you?”
Tan Rou sighed. “I stole the person you liked; you should be angry.”
Li Li suddenly laughed; she said, “Oh, if I had known he liked you, I wouldn’t have bothered him. Don’t you know me? Usually, I don’t like someone for more than a week. Although this time was quite long, he didn’t like me, so I had already decided to give up.”
Tan Rou was still very conflicted, “But… but you really liked him…”
“Alright,” Li Li affectionately slung her arm around Tan Rou’s shoulder and said, “Although Wu Hao’s face did match my standards, it’s not like he’s the only guy for me. There are so many handsome guys in the world, and I wouldn’t keep my focus on just one person. If you like him, I could help you chase him.”
“No, no, no!” Tan Rou vigorously shook her head, “I don’t like him at all, please don’t help me pursue him, and besides, I clearly rejected him, but it seems like he hasn’t given up yet.”
“Oh, you rejected him?” Li Li asked, “When did that happen?”
Tan Rou recalled the timing, saying, “It was last time he got hurt; we went to see him at the hospital, and then I bought him a fruit basket. After he returned to school, he found me and wanted to treat me to dinner, but I didn’t agree. He then bought me things and said he liked me, but I rejected him. Yet, he still keeps sending me gifts.”
Li Li disliked this approach. “Although my usual method is not to give up until I achieve my goal, I wouldn’t keep sending gifts to someone. Isn’t that just plain dumb?”
Tan Rou said, “Li Li, actually I think his character isn’t as good as you imagined. I didn’t dare tell you when you still liked him. Now that you know, let me tell you what happened to me.”
Li Li pointed to the nearby chairs, “Let’s sit down and talk about it.”
Four chairs, just enough for one each, Liang Lu and Tan Rou sat together; Li Li and Lan Ning sat together.
Tan Rou said, “He told me when he was giving me gifts that if I didn’t accept his gifts, he would tell you about his feelings for me to make you angry, asking you not to hang out with me anymore.”
Li Li’s mouth fell open in surprise as she asked, “Did he really say that?”
Tan Rou raised her right hand and swore, “I swear I haven’t told a single lie. If I did, may lightning strike me dead.”
“No need to swear, I definitely believe you,” Li Li stopped her, “I just didn’t expect him to be this kind of person. Looks really can be deceiving, huh? Just like that younger student we know who smokes, he looks so respectable, but turns out he has so many bad habits.”
Tan Rou nodded continuously, “Li Li, please don’t be tricked by him. Although he’s good-looking, he can be threatening. What would you do if he threatened you in the future, telling you not to hang out with us anymore?”
Li Li laughed, saying, “Silly Tan Rou, I would definitely stand by your side. If anyone prevents me from hanging out with you guys, then I absolutely must flatten him.” After saying that, she raised her right fist, making a punching gesture, “Just like this, I’d flatten his face with a punch!”
Tan Rou finally breathed a sigh of relief, “I was afraid this matter would make you angry with me.”
Li Li said, “That’s impossible. No one can break our relationship, not even future boyfriends; they can’t keep me from hanging out with you all. If you don’t believe me, just ask Tan Rou and the others if they’ve ignored us because they got partners?”
Liang Lu straightaway answered, “If Lu Qing dares to stop me from hanging out with you guys, I’ll go home tonight and give him a thrashing.” If a real fight happened, Lu Qing probably wouldn’t be able to beat Liang Lu, because she’s really skilled from actual combat training.
Tan Rou thought for a moment, then answered, “I would also stand by your side. If Zhuang Liu stopped me from being friends with you, I’d seriously reconsider marrying him.”
Unbeknownst to them, Presidents Zhuang and Lu felt a chill down their backs; they almost got dumped by their own wives.
Chapter 1242: 1241 Who sent the gift?
Lan Ning, having heard Li Li’s words, felt much better. She said, “Li Li, I won’t like senior Wu Hao. If you still like him, I’ll definitely help you pursue him.”
Li Li had had a good feeling for Wu Hao, but after listening to Lan Ning’s words, the last bit of her fondness also faded away, “Forget it, from the moment he threatened you, I stopped liking him. Don’t worry, I will never be angry with you over him. We are good friends, and he can’t break our friendship.”
Lan Ning said with a smile, “Li Li, thank you.”
Li Li took Lan Ning’s hand, urging, “Let’s not think about these things anymore. Weren’t we supposed to have fun today? Let’s go! I just saw a few sets of clothes that I liked. You have to help me decide which one looks good on me.”
Lan Ning nodded, “Alright, then let’s go buy clothes first.”
Li Li and Lan Ning walked away hand in hand, while Tan Rou and Liang Lu were trailing behind. Liang Lu said, “Are they really okay?”
Tan Rou countered, “What do you mean by ‘okay’?”
Liang Lu, furrowing her brow, said, “I feel that Wu Hao will still come looking for Lan Ning. If Li Li still likes him, or if Lan Ning likes Wu Hao, then their friendship might come to an end.”
Tan Rou then said, “They are both adults; they should be able to resolve their own issues. If they fall out over a guy, then they probably shouldn’t be friends in the first place.”
“Ah, but if they do fall out, whose side should we take?” Liang Lu was very conflicted, “To tell the truth, I’d like to be on Li Li’s side, since we’ve known her longer. But Lan Ning is a good person too. It’s always better to have one more friend than one more enemy. I don’t want to fall out with her either.”
Tan Rou laughed a little and replied, “If they fall out, then I’ll stay right in the middle and not take sides.”
Liang Lu agreed, “Good, I’ll do the same.”
After shopping, the group had dinner together, and then each returned to their respective homes, with Li Li and Lan Ning heading back to the university.
Li Li moved out of Tan Rou’s house. The accommodations for graduate students were very good, with two people sharing a dorm room. All it took was a simple application to live with anyone you wanted to room with. However, in principle, cohabitation between men and women was not allowed, as the dormitories for male and female students were separate.
Li Li and Lan Ning applied for a double dorm room. Although they weren’t directed by the same professor, their research directions were similar, and they were both in the same college, so applying to share a dormitory was quite straightforward.
“The restaurant we ate at tonight was really good, and the prices were very cheap. We should go there again,” said Li Li, “But it is a little far away, so we can’t go too often, only on Saturdays.”
Lan Ning said, “Sure, let’s go there again next Saturday. Tian Tian will be coming back by then. We can go eat with her.”
The two chatted and laughed as they went upstairs. Just as they stepped out of the elevator, they ran into an upperclassman living next to them, “Li Li and Lan Ning, you’re back. Someone delivered something for you, but you weren’t here, so I hung it on your dorm room door.”
“What is it?” asked Li Li.
The upperclassman said, “It’s a kraft paper tote bag with a label on it and no logo. I don’t know what’s inside. You should check it out for yourselves.”
Li Li and Lan Ning were both puzzled. It wasn’t the season for gift-giving, so why would someone send them gifts? It couldn’t be research topics from their advisor, could it?
That was unlikely. If it were research topics prepared by their advisor, they would have been informed in advance on their phones, and no one would have been sent to deliver the items directly to their dormitory.
“Who sent us this?” Li Li asked again.
The upperclassman thought for a moment and answered, “It was a very cute girl who delivered it. She was just passing the gift along as well, so I didn’t feel it was right to ask who sent it. You’d better check it out yourselves; there should be a note inside.”
After saying this, the upperclassman entered the elevator, “I’m off to have dinner. I’ve been busy all day and I’m starving.”
Li Li waved, “Alright, go have your meal.”
After the upperclassman left, Li Li stroked her chin in thought, “Who could have sent us a gift?”
Chapter 1243: 1242 Naive Gift
“Maybe it’s a gift from Li Li’s fans,” Lan Ning speculated, “Didn’t one of your fans send you cupcakes last time?”
Li Li felt it was unlikely, “I’m not Tan Rou, how could I have so many fans? Forget it, I won’t guess anymore, let’s hurry back and check it out.”
The two of them sped up and returned to their dormitory door.
Sure enough, there was a kraft paper tote bag hanging there, looking quite heavy, with the handles of the bag stretched taut. But there wasn’t a single word on the bag, nothing was written at the seal either; they had no idea who had left the item there, nor what was inside.
Li Li reached out and took down the bag; it really was quite heavy as her hand dropped slightly, barely holding it steady.
“Could it be filled with stones?” Li Li struggled to lift the bag, “Luckily, this paper bag is sturdy enough, or it might not have held up with something this heavy inside.”
Lan Ning asked anxiously, “It’s not a bomb in there, is it? Haven’t there been news reports about people intentionally stuffing timing bombs into bags or boxes, then randomly choosing someone to deliver it to?”
Li Li thought Lan Ning’s imagination was too rich, “If it really were a bomb, none of the people on this floor could escape.”
Lan Ning grabbed Li Li’s hand, “Let’s not bring something of unknown origin into the dormitory, better hand it over to the dorm manager and let her deal with it.”
But Li Li wanted to see what was inside, “Don’t worry, if there’s really a bomb inside, I’ll hold it down and you can run first.”
Lan Ning asked, “Do you really want to see what’s inside?”
“Of course,” Li Li said with certainty, “I definitely need to check out what others have sent me, it might just be something I need.”
“Then I’ll take a look with you,” Lan Ning said.
Together, they brought the item in and put it down on the floor.
Li Li, looking at her red-marked right hand, asked curiously, “Could it really be a bomb or stone inside? Why is it so heavy?”
Lan Ning squatted down, “Let’s open it up and take a look.”
Li Liyi tore off the outer kraft paper, revealing a black box tied with a red ribbon and sprinkled with gold powder, looking rather expensive.
“This box is ugly,” Li Li commented, “If it wasn’t for the red ribbon tied on top, I’d believe you if you said it was an urn.”
Lan Ning laughed at the square box and its side decorations, “It does resemble an urn.”
Li Li removed the ribbon and then discovered that the opening of the box was sealed with a loop of plastic tape, tightly adhered as if someone was afraid that the box would be opened.
Lan Ning brought over a small knife to cut along the edge, then carefully opened the box, but to their surprise, there was colored paper inside which wrapped around whatever was hidden within.
“I really dislike people who overwrap things like this, it’s such a waste of resources,” Li Li commented.
Lan Ning removed the layer of colored paper to reveal a series of objects each about the size of a fist, still wrapped up, and each object’s coverings were different, colorful like a rainbow.
Li Li, looking at the rainbow-colored packaging, couldn’t help but complain, “Help, whoever sent the gift didn’t think this wrapping looked good, did they?”
Lan Ning did not dare to agree with that aesthetic, the urn-like outer box was shocking enough, but compared to the box and the packaging inside, it seemed quite normal.
Li Li picked one out and carefully unwrapped it, revealing a glass flower with little colored flowers in the center; it looked very upscale.
Li Li burst into laughter at the sight of the glass flower, “When I was three years old, I would have been very happy to receive a gift like this.”
Lan Ning chuckled, “This gift is pretty, it just doesn’t really suit our age. I wonder who sent it; is there a message below?”
She took out all the glass flowers, and from the very bottom, she pulled out a greeting card, “There’s a card here, there should be a name inside.”
Li Li said, “Quick, open it and see.”
Chapter 1244: Go back to 1243.
After opening the greeting card, Lan Ning’s expression changed. She quickly closed the card and said, “You better wrap this gift back up quickly!”
Li Li asked, “What happened? Could it be that there really is a trap inside this gift?” Holding the glass flower above her head and looking at it against the light, she wondered, “Is there a bomb inside this?”
Lan Ning said nervously, “The thing inside is even more terrifying than a bomb.”
More terrifying than a bomb? It couldn’t be a bacterial bomb, could it?
Li Li, in a panic, put the glass flower down, “No good, I have to wash my hands with disinfectant to avoid being poisoned.”
Lan Ning was taken aback, then said, “There’s no poison in it, it’s just that the person sending the gift isn’t very nice.”
Li Li stopped in her tracks, “Who sent the gift?”
Lan Ning hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she still handed the card to Li Li, “After you read the card, you mustn’t get angry.”
Li Li scanned the card briefly, then said with disdain, “Does he think he can win you over by sending some lousy flowers?”
Lan Ning said, “I’m not going to be with him, so you can rest easy.”
Li Li said, “That’s not what I mean. What I want to say is Wu Hao’s taste is really bad. Despite being so good-looking, he has such poor taste. It’s such a waste of his good looks.”
Lan Ning couldn’t understand why “good looks and taste” were linked, but now was not the time to argue with Li Li. The priority was to deal with the gift.
“Li Li, let’s go return the gift to Wu Hao,” Lan Ning said, picking up the wrapping paper and rewrapping it as it was before, “Although we opened it to take a look, we didn’t damage it, so I hope Wu Hao can take it back. If he thinks we tampered with his gift, then I’ll just buy him a new one.”
Li Li said with disdain, “Why would you buy another one of those ugly things? Don’t waste the money. If he refuses to accept it, just throw it on the ground. After all, you’ve already returned it to him, whether he wants to take it back is his own problem.”
True to Li Li’s style, she always had a simple and brutal way to deal with problems, but Li Li’s methods were effective. If Lan Ning and Wu Hao kept going back and forth over the gift, there’s no telling how long it would drag on.
Lan Ning sealed the box again with tape and then placed it back in the brown paper bag, “He should be in his dorm right now, let’s just go and wait for him downstairs.”
Li Li said, “I have his roommate’s WeChat, if he doesn’t come down, then we’ll get his roommate to come down to collect it.”
Previously, Lan Ning had also returned gifts this way, mentioning it to Wu Hao afterward, and no matter what Wu Hao said, Lan Ning would simply ignore him.
Carrying the very heavy bag, Li Li and Lan Ning arrived at the entrance of the boys’ dormitory, where there were many people, mostly couples reluctant to part.
Lan Ning sent a message to Wu Hao, saying she had something to give him and asked him to come down to collect it. This was Li Li’s suggestion; if Lan Ning directly mentioned returning the gift to Wu Hao, he definitely wouldn’t come down. But if she mentioned giving a gift to Wu Hao, he might come down to take a look.
As expected, Wu Hao came down. His legs seemed to have wheels on them as he ran quickly; just now he was at the gate, and in the blink of an eye, he was in front of them, not looking like someone with an injured leg at all.
Seeing Li Li, Wu Hao’s expression became unnatural for a moment, but he greeted her anyway, “What a coincidence, Junior Li Li, to bump into you here.”
Li Li rolled her eyes, saying irritably, “What coincidence? I came here specifically to find you.”
Wu Hao took a step back and said, “Junior Li Li, we really aren’t suitable for each other, please don’t come to harass me anymore.”
Li Li crossed her arms, impatiently retorting, “Don’t flatter yourself. Although I liked you before, you’ve already rejected me, so why would I continue liking you? There are so many attractive people in the world, I’ll just go find someone else.”
Wu Hao breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Lan Ning and asked, “Junior Lan Ning, did you see the gift I sent you?”
Lan Ning chuckled awkwardly, “I saw it, thank you for the gift. But I feel it’s not quite suitable for me, so it’s better to return it to you.”
Finishing her words, she handed over the tote bag she was holding, “Here, it’s for you.”
Chapter 1245: 1244 has a mental problem
“No, my gift has already been given, there’s no way to take it back now. If you don’t want to accept it, just throw it away,” Wu Hao said very firmly, “Besides, it’s just a small gift, not something very precious, so just take it.”
Lan Ning refused, “No, I really can’t accept the gift, you should take it back.”
Wu Hao placed his hands behind his back; he felt that by doing so, Lan Ning wouldn’t be able to return the gift to him.
Li Li said, “Ning Ning, throw it to him, and let’s go back.”
Lan Ning placed the item on the ground and turned to leave with Li Li. Wu Hao, fuming, dragged his injured leg forward, running until he blocked their way.
Li Li glanced at his leg and asked, “Can you run so fast even with an injured leg?”
Wu Hao didn’t answer her question. His gaze was fixed on Lan Ning, “Junior Lan Ning, why are you returning the gift? Don’t you like it? Just tell me what you like, and I’ll buy it for you next time.”
Lan Ning gently shook her head, replying, “Senior Wu Hao, I don’t like any gifts. Please don’t buy them for me anymore. I won’t accept your gifts.”
Wu Hao furrowed his brows, then turned to Li Li with a very unpleasant tone, “Is it because she spoke to you that you refused my gift?”
Li Li was speechless, “You are not blind. Can’t you see Ning Ning doesn’t like you? Just like you don’t like me, Ning Ning also has the right not to like you. Don’t act as if you’re the only man in the world, are you that popular?”
Li Li was furious. Indeed, one should never judge a book by its cover; good-looking people are somewhat problematic in the brain. Of course, Tan Rou’s family is an exception. They are all intelligent people, and their son-in-law is exceptionally outstanding.
Wu Hao, incredulous, pressed on, “Junior Lan Ning, what don’t you like about me? Can I change it?”
Lan Ning said, “Senior Wu Hao is excellent in many ways, but I don’t want to date now. I just want to study well. So, senior, please don’t waste your time on me. I believe with your qualities, you can definitely find a better girl.”
Wu Hao exclaimed, “But I like only you! From the moment I first saw you, I fell in love with you. You were preparing for your postgraduate exams during that time, sitting by the window every day. As soon as you came in, you started reading and taking notes until 11:45 in the afternoon when you would pack up and leave. Moreover, many people like to use items to reserve seats, but you never used such methods to reserve seats, such good qualities in a girl are not common anymore.”
“It’s not your turn, even if they aren’t common,” Li Li couldn’t stand it anymore. Grabbing Lan Ning’s hand, she shielded her behind her body before speaking, “Just because a girl has good qualities doesn’t mean she must marry you. Don’t be so full of yourself.”
“What does this have to do with you?” Wu Hao glared at Li Li, saying, “I was talking to Junior Lan Ning. Don’t interrupt! It’s because of you that Junior Lan Ning has a negative opinion of me. With a girl like you, no guy would like you.”
Li Li retorted, “Joking, right? Guys who like me could line up from the male dormitory to the female dormitory, you just don’t know it.”
Indeed, many guys liked Li Li, but she had high standards. If she didn’t like someone, she would never even glance at them.
But her ability to judge people wasn’t great. Although the people she liked were really good-looking, their character was lacking, like Wu Hao in front of her, who appeared refined usually but turned out to be so volatile.
“Guys like you?” Wu Hao scoffed, “If there are guys who like you, why are you pursuing me then?”
Li Li was rendered speechless, “What does my pursuing you have to do with this? Just because I don’t like them, must I be with them? Just like Lan Ning, she doesn’t like you, so stop harassing her.”
Wu Hao turned to ask Lan Ning, “Junior Lan Ning, I want to hear your thoughts. Do you really feel nothing for me? Then why did you go to see my competition, and why did you bring me fruits?”
Chapter 1246: Grab a passerby
Lan Ning really had nowhere to cry, she explained, “Senior Wu Hao, it wasn’t me who wanted to see your game, it was Li Li who took me there. Going to the hospital to see you was the same, Li Li said she felt embarrassed to go alone, so she wanted me to accompany her, but you can’t visit a patient empty-handed, so I bought a fruit basket from downstairs.”
Although Wu Hao had already known the truth, he was unwilling to believe it, “Is it because Li Li is here that you can’t tell the truth? I’ll ask her to leave, can you tell me the truth then?”
“Are you annoying or what?” Li Li said angrily, “Our Lan Ning already said she doesn’t like you, can’t you just let us go?”
She wasn’t afraid that Wu Hao would do anything to them, after all, they were at the dormitory entrance, and there were so many people around, so they were very safe.
It’s just that she found it annoying, it was already dark, and if they didn’t go back now, they would miss the update of Liang Lu’s TV series.
“If you want to leave, then leave, I’m not stopping you,” Wu Hao said, “Hurry up and go, don’t disturb Lan Ning and me talking.”
“Lan Ning doesn’t want to talk to you.” Li Li pulled Lan Ning’s hand, “Let’s go quickly, don’t bother with this lunatic.”
Wu Hao stretched out his hand to block them, and loudly said, “I know you and Lan Ning are good friends, but you can’t stop her from liking me! I’ve clearly rejected you already, so let’s not trouble each other, okay? It’s your own issue that you can’t find a boyfriend, don’t drag others into not being able to be in a relationship.”
After hearing that, Li Li felt so angry she could explode, she suddenly rushed in front of Wu Hao and shouted, “Who did you say can’t find a boyfriend? I think you’re the one who can’t find a girlfriend and just yells nonsense! You wait, I’ll find a boyfriend right now to show you!”
Wu Hao mocked, “Go on, find one, I want to see what kind of boyfriend you can get!”
Lan Ning saw that the situation was getting out of hand and hurriedly came over to stop Li Li, “Li Li, it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have come up tonight to return the gift, don’t argue, and don’t get agitated, let’s go back first.”
“Don’t move!” said Li Li and Wu Hao at the same time.
Lan Ning was startled, “Okay, okay.”
Around them, a lot of onlookers had gathered, and those who came earlier had already figured out the context of the situation, feeling that Li Li was in the wrong, that she shouldn’t destroy someone else’s love because they didn’t like her back.
Someone advised, “This student, I’ve been listening for a while and feel that what you’re doing is wrong. This student has clearly rejected you; you shouldn’t keep sabotaging it.”
Another person said, “Lucky that you’re a girl. If you were a boy, you would have been beaten up by now.”
Li Li really wanted to shut them up, if they didn’t know the whole story, they shouldn’t comment, where did they get so much nonsense from?
There was a boy who said with a smile, “Girl, stop fixating on someone else’s boyfriend. Why not take a look at me? I’m quite handsome and haven’t had a girlfriend yet. If you became my girlfriend, I would definitely treat you well.”
Li Li was about to explode with anger, “It has nothing to do with you, shut up!”
That boy said, “You’ve got quite the temper; no wonder you don’t have a boyfriend. I think a girl like you will never have a boyfriend in her life.”
Lan Ning defended, “There are many people who like Li Li; she just doesn’t fancy them, that’s all.”
That boy continued, “Who could fancy her?”
At the entrance of the male dormitory, where there was no shortage of boys, Li Li was extremely angry. She randomly grabbed a boy from the crowd and asked, “Do you have a girlfriend?”
The boy, holding books in his hand, immediately answered upon being asked by the girl, “Sorry, I don’t have a girlfriend…” and he didn’t plan to be in a relationship right now.
But he hadn’t finished speaking when Li Li interrupted him, “Good, now you are my boyfriend.”
The boy still had an indifferent expression, “Sorry, I don’t intend to be in a relationship right now, please let go of my hand, I have to go back and study.”
“No, you can’t go back,” Li Li was also furious, otherwise, she wouldn’t randomly grab someone to be her boyfriend.
With things having come this far, she definitely wouldn’t let him go.
Chapter 1247: Li Li takes action in 1246
The boy who was grabbed was a rather mild-mannered and calm person. Even when someone suddenly confessed to him, he could respond with composure, “Fellow student, if you’re playing a game of Truth or Dare, I can play along for a bit. If not, please let go of your grip; I need to go back to reading my book.”
Li Li did not let go, instead, she insistently said, “I think you’re great, how about becoming my boyfriend? I will treat you well.”
The corners of the boy’s mouth twitched as he replied, “I really don’t want to play your games, but I must advise you, it’s normal for couples to argue. Don’t involve others when you’re having a dispute. I don’t want to become a casualty of your conflict, especially since we don’t even know each other.”
“My name is Li Li, a first-year master’s student in the physics department. What’s your name?” Li Li gave a brief introduction.
The boy, frowning, answered, “Junior, I’m genuinely not interested in your affairs. Please, let me go.”
Li Li said firmly, “No, I won’t let you go until you tell me your name.”
The boy sighed softly and answered, “Ye Sheng, a second-year master’s student in applied chemistry. I’ve introduced myself; can you let me go now?”
“Oh, so you’re a senior,” Li Li said, not loosening her grip but her tone shifted, “Hello, Senior!”
Ye Sheng still replied with an expressionless face, “Hello. Can you let go of me now?”
“No,” Li Li tightened her grasp a bit, “I haven’t finished speaking; let me finish, then I’ll let you go.”
Ye Sheng, truly, just stood there holding his book, waiting, “Alright then, make it quick.”
Lan Ning was shocked by Li Li’s behavior, tugging at the hem of Li Li’s clothes and whispered, “Li Li, let’s not trouble the senior anymore; he seems really busy.”
Li Li knew she shouldn’t be troubling Ye Sheng, but she had already caught him, and now if she let him go, wouldn’t that mean she had lost?
Wu Hao scoffed from the side, “Look at you, you don’t care if others are willing or not, you just impose your wishes onto them, causing them trouble without correcting yourself. Do you think I’d like someone like you?”
Li Li snorted, “I feel the same. I must have been blind to have fancied you. Now I realize that you’re trash, unworthy of anyone’s affection.”
Wu Hao grew angry, raising his fist, “Say that one more time!”
Li Li glared, facing Wu Hao’s fist, “Are you planning to hit me? Then go ahead and try, let’s see whose punches are faster?”
Wu Hao wasn’t a calm person either; hearing Li Li provoke him, he couldn’t hold back. He switched his fist to a slap, aiming to hit Li Li across the face.
Li Li had studied self-defense techniques with Tan Rou for a long time. Now, without claiming to be invincible, she was quite accomplished. She could boldly say that there weren’t many in the university who could beat her. Despite her slim and weak appearance, she actually had a lot of muscle on her arms and legs.
Upon seeing Wu Hao’s slap coming, Li Li immediately raised her hand to block it, then with a lift of her leg, she swept it across Wu Hao’s left ribs, causing him pain that made him clench his teeth.
Li Li didn’t give him a chance to recover. She let go of Ye Sheng, whom she had been holding, and turned towards Wu Hao. His pain not yet subsided, Wu Hao saw Li Li charging at him again.
He reflexively wanted to retreat, but Li Li did not give him the chance. She grabbed the collar of his shirt; the weather was still a bit chilly and Wu Hao was wearing a lot of layers—convenient for Li Li to grab him.
Li Li clutched his collar and, before he could struggle, “Slap, slap,” she struck him two more times across the face and said, “You still want to hit me? The person capable of hitting me hasn’t been born yet. Today, since you’re in my hands, I’ll show you we girls aren’t to be messed with! If you dare to harass our Lan Ning again, I’ll break your legs so you’ll never stand again.”
If Wu Hao’s leg hadn’t been injured, he might have been able to exchange a few blows with Li Li, but his leg hadn’t healed yet, and even standing was an effort, let alone fighting.
Chapter 1248: 1247 injured
The bystanders were all stunned; they originally thought this was just some melodramatic love triangle, but it turned out to be an action-packed fight scene instead.
They also felt some regret. Just a moment ago they were criticizing the girl’s behavior, wondering if they would be the ones getting punched in the collar if she decided to settle scores with them.
With that thought, the onlookers stepped back a few paces—after all, the further away they were, the less likely the conflict would spread to them.
Li Li delivered another punch to Wu Hao’s stomach, then asked, “Are you ready to admit defeat?”
How could Wu Hao possibly concede defeat? No matter what, he was a guy with the advantages of both strength and height. Even if his leg was injured, he still had the ability to fight back. When Li Li started hitting him, he was simply too slow to react, but now that he had calmed down, he had to fight back.
“You little bitch, you dare hit me; you must be tired of living!” Wu Hao retorted as he grabbed Li Li’s arm, forcing her to release her grip, “If I don’t teach you a lesson today, then my last name isn’t Wu!”
Li Li was not scared at all; a fight was just a fight, and it wasn’t like she had never seen one before. During her high school days, she had witnessed Liang Lu fighting—she was truly ruthless, swinging a thick stick straight at someone’s thigh. One hit, and the leg was incapacitated.
Although Liang Lu no longer engaged in such behavior, she had passed on her fighting skills to Li Li and the others. After all, girls often find themselves at a disadvantage in fights, so to come out on top, they had to resort to certain tactics.
With the self-defense techniques taught by Tan Rou, coupled with the fighting experience shared by Liang Lu, Li Li felt that she could not possibly lose.
Since she was lacking in strength, Li Li decided to use speed to her advantage, especially since Wu Hao’s leg was also injured, which made it even more convenient for her to deal with him.
The two were fighting fiercely at the school gate, with kicks and punches flying—I hit you, you hit me, looking quite painful.
Lan Ning was extremely anxious on the side. She didn’t know how to fight, let alone break one up, so all she could do was keep shouting, “Li Li, Senior Wu Hao, can’t you stop fighting? Can’t we just sit down and talk this through?”
The two in the midst of the conflict were too heated to heed Lan Ning’s words. To some degree, they were quite suited for each other. One must never say this in front of them, though; otherwise, one might end up getting beaten up.
Ye Sheng silently watched from the side, hugging his books and feeling a bit scared. Luckily, he hadn’t angered the girl earlier, or else he would have been the one getting hit now.
But what should he do now? The girl didn’t seem to have any time to spare for him. Maybe he should go back to the dormitory? It certainly seemed like a good idea at the moment, but if the girl turned around and realized he was gone, might she come looking for him at the dormitory to cause trouble?
Ye Sheng didn’t like to invite trouble upon himself, so he continued to stand there. Since he had already promised her, he couldn’t just walk away. He hoped that the girl would keep her promise and let him go after they had finished talking.
Finally, Lan Ning mustered the courage to intervene. She stood between them, using her body to block their punches, “All of this is my fault; if you have to hit someone, hit me. Please stop hitting each other.”
How could Li Li possibly hit Lan Ning? As soon as she saw Lan Ning step in, she instantly withdrew her fist, “Okay, okay, we’ll stop.”
However, Wu Hao didn’t retract his fist. His eyes were bloodshot, fixated only on Li Li, completely oblivious to Lan Ning’s presence. So when Lan Ning stepped into the middle, his first instinct was to see it as an opportunity.
Wu Hao exerted all his strength and lashed out with a kick. Lan Ning was facing away from Wu Hao and couldn’t see him; she was still talking to Li Li when she suddenly saw Li Li rush in front of her, pulling her out of the way.
“Uh…” Li Li clutched her stomach in pain, feeling as though her spleen and stomach were about to burst, but fortunately, Lan Ning was unharmed.
Lan Ning was so delicate; if she had taken that kick, she probably wouldn’t have been able to get up.
Li Li slowly sat down on the ground, her face immediately beading with sweat, “It seems… it seems to hurt a bit… hiss…”
“Li Li!” Lan Ning’s eyes widened as she asked tearfully, “Where does it hurt? We should go to the school clinic… no, let’s go straight to the hospital!”
Chapter 1249: 1248 unfamiliar
The audience all around were dumbstruck. They initially thought it was just a fight between two people that would end quickly, but they hadn’t expected the quiet girl to suddenly rush to the middle, nor had they anticipated that the girl starting the fight would block it for another girl.
The kick was extremely forceful, and even though they were not close, just hearing the sound of the kick landing on the stomach, even a robust man would not withstand such impact, let alone a young girl.
Lan Ning was crying while making a phone call, and her hands were shaking. She could not speak clearly, only managing to say she was at Capital University, that someone was injured, but as for the exact location at the university and the condition of the injured person, she could not articulate it clearly.
“Calm down a little…” Li Li managed a smile. When she smiled, her stomach hurt, so she could only maintain her original expression, “Let me talk, don’t be nervous, I won’t be in any trouble.”
Crying, Lan Ning said, “Li Li, I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have come to return things at this time, nor should I have let you come with me. If you hadn’t come with me, nothing would have happened.”
Li Li replied, “We’re friends, aren’t we? If something had happened to you, I would be heartbroken. It’s good that I was with you tonight. If you were alone, you might not have been able to get away.” She took the mobile phone from Lan Ning’s hand and calmly reported her condition and location to the doctor.
After hanging up the phone, Li Li clutched her stomach and gasped for air. The pain in her stomach wasn’t constant; it came in waves.
After Wu Hao delivered that kick, his leg and foot injuries worsened. He sat on the ground and called the doctor, apparently reaching the same hospital. The other party replied that they had already dispatched an ambulance.
Wu Hao said, “Could you send another ambulance? The person who called just now and I are not the same person.”
At this moment, Wu Hao’s roommate came down from upstairs, who was also the dorm leader Hong Tao, a rather kind person, often helping the other roommates. After Wu Hao got injured, it was Hong Tao who took care of him.
Their dorm room accommodated four people, being relatively cheaper and suitable for students from modest backgrounds. However, Lan Ning was different. With her excellent grades, she was exempt from accommodation fees at the school, and given a choice, she would certainly prefer a double room.
Wu Hao said he needed to go downstairs to fetch something. Hong Tao didn’t think much of it and even asked if he should accompany him, but Wu Hao, not wanting to trouble him, declined the offer. Hong Tao also had laundry to do, so he didn’t accompany him downstairs.
When Hong Tao returned to the dorm after doing his laundry, he found Wu Hao hadn’t come back and hadn’t replied to his messages, so he went downstairs to look for him.
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Wu Hao sitting by the roadside, and about three meters away, another person was sitting, who looked somewhat familiar.
Hong Tao hurriedly went over to Wu Hao and squatted down to check on him, “Is your foot hurting again? No, what happened to your face?”
Wu Hao, recalling being slapped twice, then said, “My face is fine, I just accidentally got hit.”
Hong Tao asked, “Did you accidentally run into someone’s hand? Why are there two handprints?”
Wu Hao touched his face and then said, “My face is really fine. But my leg and foot injury probably got worse. You’re going to have to take me to the hospital again soon.”
Hong Tao was not one to shy away from trouble, and he liked to take care of others. Seeing Wu Hao’s leg injury worsen, he couldn’t help asking, “What exactly did you do just now?”
Wu Hao pointed towards Li Li and then said, “You can go ask that crazy woman. She’s the one who caused my injuries.”
Hong Tao carefully looked at Li Li and Lan Ning, and asked in surprise, “Aren’t these Li Li and Lan Ning? How did you guys end up fighting?”
Lan Ning glared fiercely at Hong Tao and Wu Hao, angrily saying, “Don’t try to get chummy with us. We’re not close with you!”
In fact, Lan Ning had a good impression of Hong Tao, as he was a gentle and amiable person, always very caring towards Wu Hao and the other roommates, much like a mother, so Lan Ning was quite willing to talk to him.
Chapter 1250: The injury was not minor
Hong Tao also didn’t understand where he had offended Lan Ning, “Lan Ning, what’s going on? How did you guys start fighting with Hao Zi?”
Lan Ning replied irritably, “I’ve said it before, I told him not to bring me any more gifts, I can’t possibly accept them. But he wouldn’t listen, and today he brought me a gift box with an extremely ugly glass flower inside. I didn’t want it, so Li Li and I went to return it. Unexpectedly, Wu Hao started arguing with Li Li, and when he tried to hit her, Li Li couldn’t hold back, and they started fighting.”
Hong Tao said with great regret, “I told you that you shouldn’t have given her a glass flower, how could any girl possibly accept such an ugly thing?” Obviously, he had missed the point.
An onlooker who couldn’t listen anymore spoke up, “You can’t blame the girl for this, it was the guy who provoked first. He said that she would never get a boyfriend and was trying to stir up trouble between the two girls. If I were her, I’d definitely be angry too.”
A girl who brought her boyfriend back said, “I really look down on such boys. When they can’t win an argument, they resort to hitting, and when they can’t win the fight, they go for a sneak attack. The girl had already stopped fighting, so why did he keep on attacking the other girl? Luckily, I blocked it for her, or she would be the one lying on the ground now.”
Hong Tao was shocked, and he demanded from Wu Hao, “Hao Zi, did you start the fight?”
Wu Hao couldn’t deny it, but he didn’t want to admit that he had the intention to hit first, so he said, “I wanted to hit her, but I didn’t actually do it. She came at me first, grabbing my clothes and slapping me twice. I just couldn’t hold back and had to fight back.”
Li Li sneered, “You couldn’t beat me and resorted to a sneak attack. I had already stopped, so why did you still kick Lan Ning? Thankfully, I blocked it for her, otherwise she would be the one on the ground.”
Lan Ning was not as physically strong as Li Li, who was already in so much pain that she was sweating; if Lan Ning had been kicked, she would probably have fainted on the spot.
Hong Tao angrily accused Wu Hao, “Hao Zi, you’re too impulsive. Last time when we went running, if you hadn’t insisted on continuing, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt. It’s the same with this incident; if you hadn’t first intended to hit, she wouldn’t have fought back.”
While Hong Tao accused Wu Hao over there, Lan Ning knelt beside Li Li, crying as if Li Li were about to meet God the next second.
“Stop crying…” Li Li wanted to wipe away Lan Ning’s tears, but she couldn’t move; any movement caused severe stomach pain as if all her internal organs were mixed up, “Pain, pain, pain!”
Lan Ning felt terrible, “I’ll call Tan Rou right now to find the best doctor for you, you’ll be okay.”
Li Li stopped her from calling, “Let’s not bother Tan Rou, she must also be tired from walking with us for so long today, let her go to sleep earlier.”
Lan Ning hesitated for a moment, then decided to send a message to Tan Rou, who would reply if she hadn’t gone to sleep yet.
Tan Rou hadn’t gone to bed yet, and upon receiving Lan Ning’s message, she immediately made a video call, “What’s going on? You were fine when we parted tonight, how could you end up fighting and getting hurt now? Where are you? Who did you fight with? Have they left?”
The barrage of questions confused Lan Ning. She gathered her thoughts and replied, “Li Li got into a fight with Wu Hao to protect me, and in the end, he kicked her in the stomach. I’m still at the entrance of Building 18. I called the hospital just now, but I’m worried that we can’t find a good doctor so late, so I wanted to ask you to refer a doctor for us.”
Tan Rou seemed to be dressing, “Wait there, I live nearby in the university town, I’ll drive over right now. Do not move Li Li at all. Based on your description, she might have injured her organs, so she can’t be moved carelessly, nor can she do any excessive movements.”
Lan Ning nodded, “Okay, I won’t move her. Please hurry over, I’m really scared being here alone.”
What she was really afraid of was Li Li suffering a serious injury; if Li Li’s stomach was really damaged, Lan Ning would never be at ease again.
Tan Rou reassured, “It’s okay, I’ll be there soon.” She grabbed her car keys and went to the underground garage to drive over.