That night, I had a dream.
I dreamed that I became a majestic female knight, dressed in red, holding a long sword, galloping through the rivers and lakes, taking revenge with pleasure. The bandits were beaten to a pulp by me, and the people carried me to a sedan chair out of gratitude. Just as I was sitting in the sedan chair and proudly accepting everyone's praise, a man in black suddenly jumped out of the crowd, landed steadily in front of the sedan chair, and blocked my way.
I smiled nonchalantly, "Are you here to challenge me?"
The man in black didn't answer. The weapon in his hand suddenly shone with a cold light. He pointed at me with a murderous look on his face.
"I've been released from prison, and now I'm here to settle accounts with you!"
I was startled and my heart started beating like a drum. I jumped out of the sedan and tried to escape. The man in black was approaching, and the weapon in his hand was flashing a frightening cold light, just like the murderous intent in his dark eyes.
"Humph, I know you are a student of Tianyin Academy, you can't run away!"
“Ah…ah! Ouch!”
The first "Ah" was my scream when I woke up in shock, the second "Ah" was my scream when I found that half of my body had rolled out of the bed, and the third "Ouch" was my scream when I unfortunately fell off the bed...
My "screaming trio" successfully elicited a series of knocks on the door.
"Xiao Tong?" It was his brother's voice. He knocked on the bedroom door and sounded a little worried. "What's wrong?"
The sun shone through the gaps in the curtains. It was already daybreak. I rubbed my head, breathed a cold breath, and got up from the ground. I answered loudly, "Oh, no, nothing!"
There was silence outside for a while, and then my brother's calm voice came: "But I have something to do."
"ah?"
"Can you tell me what time it is now?"
I looked up at the wall clock in confusion, and a few seconds later, the fourth scream of the morning rang out in the bedroom.
"Ah! Why is it so late?"
When I rushed out of the house with a piece of bread in my mouth, I felt both pain and happiness in my heart - the pain was that I got up late and would probably miss the morning self-study class, and the head teacher would definitely criticize me; the happiness was that in this way, I could "legitimately" skip my brother's "10 math quick calculation questions in the morning", and weighing it this way, it was actually a good deal, oh haha...
But soon I couldn't laugh anymore.
Just as I rushed out of the building and bathed in the sunshine, I suddenly realized - how should I get to the college? My brother Ling Hanfeng is a teacher at Tianyin College. He usually drives me to the college. Today, in order to avoid math practice, I rushed out in a fit of excitement, only to find that I didn't even know which bus to take to get to the college! If I took a taxi, I didn't have enough money...
I stood there in a daze, petrified by the wind, when my brother, who I had "abandoned" at home, had already packed up and walked downstairs leisurely.
"Oh? Xiaotong, you haven't left yet?"
My brother, Ling Hanfeng, looked at me with an expression of "surprise" as I stood pitifully at the door, but I swear, the smile that flashed across his eyes clearly said "Just as I expected."
"I'm just waiting for you, brother!" I tried to force out an innocent smile, "How could I leave alone, hehe..."
"Oh." The brother nodded with satisfaction, "I thought you wanted to use the excuse of being late to skip the math practice this morning."
I tried very hard to keep a good smile.
"If you really run away, according to the clause in the treaty that punishes you ten times the amount of money you have to pay for your escape, you will have to do 100 questions tomorrow morning." My brother's smile seemed to be even brighter. "In fact, I'm looking forward to putting this clause into practice once."
I continued to smile until my face was almost frozen.
I am absolutely sure that I must have been sleepy to think that I could escape this disaster - you can fight against the heavens and the earth, but you cannot fight against my brother who is so treacherous and sinister. This is absolutely an irrefutable iron rule of the Ling family!
The sun was still shining, but my heart was cold. I got into my brother's car with a droopy head, and watched him look through the folder for the exercises to be done today with a sad face.
My brother searched for a while and frowned slightly: "Uh, I seem to have forgotten the test questions I prepared for you in the office..."
"Oh...what should I do then?"
"What are you doing with your face covered?"
Because I am so happy that I can't stop smiling! Of course, only a fool would tell the truth -
"I am grieving over not being able to do the test."
Perhaps shocked by my "eagerness to learn", my brother was stunned for a moment before he spoke: "When did I say you couldn't do today's test?"
I quickly put my hand down: "Huh?"
"Come to my office later to make up for it."
"But, but..." I protested, "I still have to go to class!"
My brother suddenly smiled, fastened my seat belt, turned his head and started the car.
"Have you forgotten what day it is today?"
My eyes widened.
"The college is holding a sports meeting today, so there will be no classes."
I was stunned for a long time, and when I realized the meaning of this sentence, I instantly got furious.
"What? Then why did you lie to me and say you were going to be late for school?"
My brother looked straight ahead, his expression calm: "When did I ever tell you that you were going to be late?"
Well... it seems that he did just tell me to check the time, and then I put on my clothes and rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a piece of bread, and rushed out of the house ...
"But..." the elder brother asked quietly, "You usually don't get up late, did you not sleep well last night?"
"I guess so..." Thinking of that horrible dream, I subconsciously covered my chest and said with lingering fear, "Brother, do you still remember walking alone at night?"
The elder brother nodded: "The unlucky guy you accidentally stabbed to death yesterday?"
I twitched my lips. "Yes... it's him. I heard that he is vindictive and has a strong desire for revenge. And he knows that I'm a student of Tianyin College. Will he..." I swallowed, "Will he come to the college to cause trouble for me?"
"He dares?" The elder brother snorted coldly, "Go ahead and try."
I didn't say anything. All that came to my mind was the cold knife light in my dream and the words "You can't run away" that were still ringing in my ears. I was feeling panic-stricken when I suddenly felt a pair of hands gently stroking my head. The warmth from the hair warmed my heart.
"Brother?" I looked at the person next to me with gratitude.
"Don't worry too much." The brother withdrew his hand and continued to drive attentively. His voice was calm, but it had a magic that made people feel at ease. "As long as I am here, no one will hurt you."
He paused and continued, "The Internet is just the Internet after all. I allow you to play games, but you cannot confuse the virtual world with the real world, and you must not let it affect your real life. Do you understand?"
I nodded slowly.
"I understand... Brother is the best, thank you."
The fog that had enveloped my heart gradually dissipated. Now thinking back, my worries were ridiculous. Yes, with my brother by my side, what else did I have to be afraid of? Looking at the scenery passing by outside the car window, I couldn't help but smile in a good mood.
The car was driving along and was about to arrive at the college when my brother's cell phone, which was in the briefcase, suddenly rang.
"Please press the hands-free button for me." My brother gestured while driving.
"Oh." I hurriedly helped my brother find his cell phone and saw the name on the caller ID was "Han Yebin".
Han Yebin...this name seems familiar.
I muttered, then pressed the speakerphone button—
"Ling Hanfeng! Where are you? I've been waiting for you for a long time!"
The roar that broke out on the phone scared me so much that I almost dropped the phone. Who is this person? How dare he talk to my brother like that!
Compared to the anger and anxiety over there, my brother was so calm it was shocking.
"Why are you in such a hurry? There's a traffic jam on the road." My brother said slowly, "Just wait."
I was in awe! He is indeed my eldest brother, and he can lie so confidently! There was no traffic jam on our way, it was just because I got up late that I wasted time...
"Wait for your sister! People are coming soon! What do you think we should do?"
"Then you just wait for my sister to get better." The brother said lightly.
"Hey!" The other end got mad and yelled in frustration, "Ling Hanfeng, I know you're not a man who doesn't keep your word. This matter is of great importance, you have to fly over here even if you can!" As he was yelling, he didn't know what happened on the other end. The background sound suddenly became noisy, as if a lot of people were making a fuss, and then a voice interrupted, sounding very anxious.
"Yebin, Mujin is here..."
The person on the other end of the phone wailed immediately, said hurriedly, "Ling Hanfeng, bring the things over quickly," and then hung up.
The world is quiet.
I was stunned: "Who is this person?"
"abnormal."
"What?" I was shocked.
"Didn't you always say before?" The elder brother smiled faintly, "Students who can enter the Olympiad class are all super abnormal."
"Well……"
"This guy is called Han Yebin. He's in the same grade as you and is a student in my Mathematical Olympiad class." My brother explained, "He asked me to buy him something before. You heard it, and he's in a hurry to use it now. I'm going to the office building later. Please give it to him for me."
As they were talking, the car had stopped in front of the gate of Tianyin College, and my brother pointed back.
"It's a gift box, it's in the trunk, and he's in the lake square in front of the teaching building."
"OK, no problem." Since it was on the way, I readily agreed, quickly took the gift box from the trunk, and immediately ran to Lakeside Plaza.
The Lake Square is built by the lake, with blue sky, clear water, willow trees and beautiful scenery. It is one of the most popular attractions in the college. But when I arrived, I was shocked - the square was full of people, surrounded by three layers inside and outside.
"What's going on?" I was shocked. "Has the venue of the sports meet been changed to here?"
There are actually no big deal about having a lot of people, but it is very troublesome to find a stranger among so many people. I looked at the gift box in my hand distressedly, and after thinking for three seconds, I decided to use the most direct and effective way to find someone.
"Han Yebin!" I shouted at the top of my lungs in the square, "Han Yebin! Which classmate is Han Yebin?"
Countless eyes were immediately cast towards me. This was something I had expected, but what I didn’t quite understand was – why were those people looking at me with sympathy and compassion?
I gave it my all and continued to shout as hard as I could, when suddenly a hand patted my shoulder hard. I turned around in surprise, and was immediately yelled at.
"Hey! Are you here to mess things up, woman? No matter how thick-skinned you are, there should be some limits!"
I was stunned.
The man stared at me impatiently and said in a bad tone: "If you are here to cause trouble, don't blame us for being rude later!"
I was sure I didn't understand what this person was saying, so I patted the gift box in my hand and said, "Do you know Han Yebin? Teacher Ling asked me to give him something."
The man's attitude immediately changed 180 degrees: "Why didn't you say so earlier! I've been waiting for you!"
Before I could react, he bravely made his way through the crowd and dragged me to the center of the square. When I saw the scene clearly, I was stunned - what was going on?
The center of the square was filled with roses , and a huge flower array formed the words "I Love You". A tall, black-haired young man stood in front of the flower array. His strong and neat lines outlined his handsome face, and his tall and straight eyebrows made him look heroic. His dark eyes also sparkled as if the sun was shining in them.
It was him! I suddenly remembered - no wonder the name sounded familiar, wasn't Han Yebin one of the top ten handsome guys in the college ? He really looks pretty good.
The sun was shining brightly and the roses were gorgeous. Amid the exclamations and cheers of the onlookers, Han Yebin smiled slightly and handed a bouquet of roses with crystal dew in his hand to the girl standing in front of him, his voice soft and affectionate.
"Hibiscus, do you like what I made for you?"
Hibiscus? I was stunned. Could that girl be the legendary most beautiful girl in the school, An Hibiscus?
I quickly opened my eyes and looked, and saw that the girl had a face like a bright moon, skin like white jade, and long flowing hair. She was indeed a rare beauty. I was amazed when I suddenly heard a few girls around me whispering.
"Wow, I can't believe that the person Han Yebin likes is actually An Mujin!"
"It's easy for a hero to fall in love with a beautiful woman. I didn't expect that a proud man like Han Yebin would confess his feelings without any hesitation and make it so grand. I'm so envious!"
"This is what true love is! Deeply devoted to the one you like, and completely cold to the one you don't like! Have you heard about this? Just now, a girl who failed in her pursuit of Han Yebin couldn't stand the stimulation and was shouting Han Yebin's name from behind, but unfortunately the handsome guy ignored her!"
I:"……"
In the center of the square, An Mujin looked at the rose handed to her, then looked at the densely packed crowd of onlookers. A blush appeared on her fair face and her eyelashes drooped, slightly covering the charming eyes.
"Yebin, why do you have to be so...high-profile."
Han Yebin's smile deepened, and the corners of his mouth turned up, revealing a bit of arrogance and pride: "I'm not like those useless guys who only love secretly. My feelings have always been aboveboard."
As he spoke, he glanced around inconspicuously, and then I felt someone push me hard.
"Hurry!" The person who pushed me whispered, "Go and give Han Yebin a gift."
I'm here to be a flower girl! I was so upset, but I could only walk over there under everyone's gaze.
Han Yebin should have received a tip from others a long time ago that the things he wanted had been delivered, so he was eagerly waiting for my brother to show up. But when he saw that it was me walking over, he was visibly startled.
Who are you? He gave me a puzzled look.
I'm here to give you something! I shook the gift box in my hand and gave him a firm look.
Teacher Ling asked you to come? He continued to look at me with a "suspicious" look.
You talk too much nonsense! Do you want something else? I glared at him with a look that said "forget it".
Han Yebin and I had a "close" eye contact, and Sister An, who was left aside, looked at me and then at him.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah! Nothing." Han Yebin immediately turned his head and showed a friendly smile. The speed at which his expression changed made people wonder if he was suffering from schizophrenia.
"Mujin, I picked a gift specifically for you. In my mind, only you deserve it." Han Yebin said as he glanced at me and winked at me - what are you standing there for? Hurry up and give the gift to An Mujin!
Damn it! This guy is really good at ordering people around!
Although I really wanted to storm off, I also understood the principle of "helping others to achieve their goals". So, forget it - I comforted myself - after delivering the gifts, my mission would be completed. Next time I meet this arrogant guy, I will just avoid him.
I handed the gift box to An Mujin, and her face seemed to get even redder. Anyone with eyes could see that she was actually attracted to Han Yebin. If the situation continued like this, when An Mujin opened the gift, Han Yebin would take the opportunity to express his feelings, and then the two of them would be in love with each other, and from then on, a story of a talented scholar and a beautiful woman would spread throughout the academy...
"ah!"
A scream woke me up from my fantasy. When I came to my senses and saw the situation clearly, I immediately gasped like the onlookers -
A huge prank fist popped out of the open gift box, swinging back and forth happily on the spring support, and An Mujin's forehead was red and swollen, obviously hit by the "killing blow" of the fist when it came out of the box. Although the prank fist would not cause much damage, in front of everyone, the perfect image of the school beauty goddess had been shattered by this punch.
As everyone was stunned, I looked at the gift box and my body began to tremble slightly - this, isn't this the prank gift that a close friend gave me on my birthday last month? I was wondering why I couldn't find it before, it turns out I forgot it in the trunk of the car. I accidentally took the wrong one just now, and I thought it was the gift that my brother asked me to help deliver...
I turned my head to look at An Mujin again. Her expression went through shock, shame, sadness, and finally turned into anger.
"Is this the gift you said, that only I deserve?" An Mujin slowly raised her head and stared at Han Yebin coldly, her face as red as her swollen forehead - this was already a sign of an angry outburst.
Han Yebin was speechless, obviously still in shock. Although I didn't like him, the current embarrassing situation was entirely caused by my mistake. If I didn't save it properly, this budding relationship would be strangled by me. Thinking of this, I had no choice but to step forward.
"An, An!" I looked at her sincerely. "As the saying goes, spanking is love, scolding is care! This gift is a surprise, and it is also a sincere expression of Han's love for you!"
"Oh?" An Mujin raised her eyebrows, "Is that so..." She smiled slightly and looked into Han Yebin's eyes, "So, you're going to scold me in front of all the classmates in the school?" After that, she threw the gift box at Han Yebin and turned away angrily.
"Hibiscus!" Han Yebin finally reacted and hurriedly chased after him.
I stood there stupidly, with only one thought in my mind: I seem to have messed things up even more...
I was just daydreaming when a loud shout suddenly broke out from the silent crowd.
"This woman is here to mess things up!"
My heart skipped a beat, knowing that something was wrong, and I ran out of the crowd with my head in my hands, regardless of the commotion. Along the way, I heard countless explanations of "courtship failed, love turned into hate". When I was finally about to run out of the square, a strong force suddenly grabbed my wrist and dragged me for several meters before stopping.
"My friend, where are you going in such a hurry?"
I raised my head tremblingly and took a breath of cold air - Han Yebin's face was dark, and he looked furious as if he wanted to eat me. Looking at him like this, it was obvious that he failed to catch up with An Mujin, and now he came back to settle the score with me.
"'Beating is love, scolding is care', that's a nice saying..." He sneered, the low pressure around him made it difficult to breathe, "Then I'll 'love' you well, how about that?"
"Yes, you must be loyal to your feelings!" I admired myself very much for being able to say a complete sentence, "That kind of blessing should be left to classmate An Mujin..."
"How dare you talk back!" He yelled fiercely, and my ears were buzzing. "It's fine if you just sent me that broken thing, but you're adding fuel to the fire! Are you looking for death?"
“Let me go, I’m going to find someone to save you right away…” I was dizzy from being yelled at and murmured in a low voice in grievance.
"You..." Han Yebin seemed to be so angry at me that he couldn't speak. He glared at me for a while, then suddenly increased the strength in his hands, grabbed me and dragged me to the center of the square.
"You made me lose face in front of the whole school today..." He gritted his teeth and said, "I don't mind letting you have a taste of this, too!"
Of course I struggled desperately, but unfortunately I was not as strong as him, so I was dragged over bit by bit. Han Yebin's grip on my wrist tightened, and just as I was crying out in pain, a figure suddenly stepped between us, grabbed Han Yebin's hand and shook it, immediately separating the two of us.
"Teacher Ling?" There were several screams from the crowd. I rubbed my red wrist and stared blankly at the young man standing in front of me - my brother, Ling Hanfeng.
"Are you okay?" My brother asked softly, protecting me behind him calmly.
I nodded in shock, and then I felt a little scared. Han Yebin looked like he was crazy. If he dragged me to the center of the square, in front of everyone, I really didn't know what embarrassing thing he would force me to do.
"What? You're going to do something as useless as bullying a girl?" Seeing that I was fine, my brother seemed relieved. He pushed his glasses and looked at Han Yebin expressionlessly.
"Ask her what she did!"
I don't know whether Han Yebin was so angry that he lost his mind, or whether his relationship with his brother was so good that he didn't need to care about the difference between teacher and student, because he did not restrain his temper like other students did because of the appearance of the teacher.
"Also, why did you come now? As a result, this woman took advantage of the opportunity and caused me to..."
"I asked Xiaotong to come." His brother interrupted him.
Han Yebin was stunned.
"I never encourage students to fall in love too early." My brother glanced at the huge flower formation in the center of the square and said, "It won't do you any harm to learn a lesson."
Han Yebin was even more surprised. He stared at his brother for a long time, as if he was a stranger.
"You're actually like those old-fashioned people, meddling in students' private affairs?" Han Yebin frowned and muttered softly, "How bizarre..."
"Brother." After all, I was in the wrong, so I pulled my brother's clothes and whispered, "Let's go."
Han Yebin was stunned when he heard this: "Brother?" He looked at his brother who had been protecting me, then looked at me, and cried out in disbelief.
"Are you his sister?"
Is it really necessary to be so surprised? I admit that my brother and I don't look alike, but we are siblings after all, so the difference in our looks shouldn't be so outrageous that it would shock people, right?
"So you are..." Han Yebin muttered to himself with his eyes wide open, his face gradually becoming gloomy. He looked at me without blinking, with an ambiguous dark light in his eyes.
I quickly pulled my brother away from him, but even though we were far away, I could still feel his gaze on me. The cold and terrifying feeling made me feel like I was being stared at by a terrible poisonous snake.
The moment I left the square, I subconsciously turned around. Through the crowd, I saw Han Yebin had a sneer on his face and he was speaking to me silently with his lips.
——Let’s wait and see.