Chapter 42 - Group Leader
Cheng Xiyue showed some rare guts and hung up the phone.
“Just you wait!”
15 minutes?
He would be there even if he had to take a rocket!
…
At a private shooting range on the west side of the city, it was 3:00 a.m. and the place was empty. It was spacious but quiet.
Cheng Xiyue arrived at the shooting range in a hurry and spotted that tall figure at a first glance.
Bang!
His eyes twitched helplessly after looking around.
Lu Huaiyu must have arrived some time ago because there were two empty magazines beside him. There was only a single hole in the center of the shooting target.
The Lu family had been in stratocracy for three generations. Old Master Lu had even sent Lu Huaiyu to a military camp to practice his shooting, hence it was natural for him to have outstanding shooting skills.
However, ever since he came to Yunzhou to treat his condition, he had never been near a shooting range.
Cheng Xiyue walked up to him and sized up the man. “What’s with the temper?”
Lu Huaiyu did not answer.
Cheng Xiyue clicked his tongue. “Are you still bothered by what happened earlier?”
He thought Ning Li had calmed Lu Huaiyu down, so why would the man be this angry at this hour?
“Little Ning Li broke Dai Li’s thumb easily. I didn’t expect a quiet girl to be so strong and swift.”
Cheng Xiyue got himself a gun. He believed that he should regard Li differently from now on.
“Besides, your kick must have at least broken two of his ribs. He would have to spend some time in the hospital. I really have to give it to you guys.”
He took aim at the target and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
It missed the bullseye.
Lu Huaiyu threw a quick glance at Cheng Xiyue’s target.
Cheng Xiyue awkwardly cleared his throat. “What are you looking at? I was woken up by some b*stard in the middle of the night! The least I can do is clear my mind!”
Lu Huaiyu moved his gun a little and took aim at Cheng Xiyue’s target.
Bang!
Bullseye!
Cheng Xiyue was speechless. It seemed like this b*stard had woken him up in the middle of the night just to insult him. Just as he wanted to argue or even lash out at Lu Huaiyu, when he thought of the promise, he swallowed his complaints back forcefully.
Life had been difficult, especially in recent years.
Lu Huaiyu fired all the remaining bullets in his gun. He finally felt a little better as the raging fire in him diminished.
“Has Dai Li met Ning Li before this?” Lu Huaiyu asked suddenly but sounded flat.
Cheng Xiyue found his question strange. “I don’t think so. I thought Little Ning Li is new in Yunzhou.”
The two of them should not have crossed paths.
Lu Huaiyu squinted his eyes. If Ning Li did not know Dai Li before this, why would the girl be so fierce towards the man?
The charming and clear eyes of hers appeared in his mind again, and he could see the complete trust in that determined gaze.
Lu Huaiyu grinned softly. She trusted him, but he did not trust himself.
“I want to know more about Dai Li.”
…
Ning Li had a rough weekend.
Ever since she returned from the Cheng family, Ye Ming and Su Yuan had been trying to find out about her relationship with Lu Huaiyu, but she simply brushed them off.
The next morning, when Ning Li opened her eyes, she reached out to her phone. She remembered Lu Huaiyu’s strange reaction from last night and was thinking whether or not she should send him a message.
Knock, knock.
Ning Li got up. She opened the door and saw a well-dressed Su Yuan.
Su Yuan said succinctly, “Get dressed. We are going to the hospital. The Dai family has always been our friend, and after what happened last night, it’s not appropriate for things to continue like this. You and I are going to apologize to the Dai family.”
Ning Li looked at him with a plain expression. “I didn’t do anything wrong. Why must I apologize?”
Su Yuan raised her brow. “You didn’t do anything wrong? Dai Li was just being friendly. Why did you react like that?”
It was originally a trivial matter, but now, the entire Yunzhou knew about it.
As a result, the Dai family was deeply embarrassed. They dared not offend Lu Huaiyu, so they shifted the blame to the Ye family.
Ning Li scoffed, curling her lips into a soft grin. “I can apologize to that guy, but I’ll have to call Second Master Lu together. We both hit him, and since the Dai family isn’t happy with us, we should go there by ourselves.”
Su Yuan was shocked.
Dai Li was still alive because Lu Huaiyu had held back yesterday. If Lu Huaiyu were to apologize to the Dai family on behalf of the Ye family, it would be asking for trouble.
“What are you talking about? You are not the same as Lu Huaiyu.”
Ning Li looked at Su Yuan and asked, “What if it was Ye Ci?”
“What?”
“What if it was Ye Ci who was harassed last night? Would you ask her to apologize to Dai Li?”
Su Yuan reacted poorly to Ning Li’s question. “What are you trying to say?”
If it was Ye Ci, none of this would have happened!
“I’m telling you, no more next time.”
Before Su Yuan could recover from her bitter expression, Ning Li added, “I can’t say for sure either. If there’s a next time, he might lose more than just a finger.” She sounded soft and flat as if she was a cold and merciless machine with an indescribable ruthlessness.
Su Yuan’s heart skipped a beat. She started to feel nervous for unknown reasons. “You—”
However, Ning Li shut the door once she was finished.
Just when Su Yuan wanted to knock on the door and call Ning Li to come out again, Ye Ci came up to Su Yuan and saw the tightly shut door.
“Mom, Sister Ning Li might not be in a good mood now. Why don’t I go with you?”
Su Yuan felt aggrieved. “This is her fault. What are you planning to do there?”
Ye Ci curled her hands around Su Yuan’s arm and tried to dissuade her. “We are family anyway, and I know Dai Li as well. He should understand if I talk to him.”
Su Yuan tapped her hand. “You are really an understanding child. I really have no idea how Ning Li became like this.”
Ye Ci chuckled. “We still have time ahead of us. Don’t worry.”
…
Ning Li did not send the message to Lu Huaiyu.
Since Gu Tinglan was in Yunzhou, it should not be a problem. Moreover, she seemed to have an unusual relationship with Lu Huaiyu, and it was not appropriate.
However, in order to keep her promise to Lu Huaiyu, she had to finish the test papers.
…
On Monday, even though Ning Li and Lu Huaiyu caused a scene at the Chengs’, the news did not spread far.
Everything in school seemed to be normal.
The first class of the day was English.
The teacher, Kong Rou, used to study abroad. She was open-minded and had many ways of teaching. She would choose an English play to show the class every Monday and ask the students to get into a group of four to act out the play themselves. The students would have to perform the play the following week.
The play was not long—only 5 to 8 minutes—and the purpose was to train the students’ speech apart from training them to work together as a team.
The short play was considered one of the entertaining activities throughout the boring and tense third-year curriculum, thus most of the students liked it.
After the class, Kong Rou got the name list and wanted to pick the next group. However, a name caught her attention.
“Ning Li.” She looked at the corner of the classroom. “Can you be the group leader for next week?”
The classroom went quiet as everyone turned to Ning Li.
Ning Li’s English textbook was on the table, but it was only on the first page.
Cheng Xiangxiang scoffed, “Ms. Kong, I don’t think it’s suitable. I heard people in Lincheng only start English lessons during middle school. If Ning Li can’t recite the lines, she’ll end up as a joke.”