After the locksmith Lin Shulan called opened the broken lock, Ye Zhou and Su Zhihan, who had been trapped in the bathroom for 15 minutes, finally emerged.
Since the locksmith still needed to repair the lock, the group did not disturb him further. They offered their thanks and moved to the nearby Rehearsal Room.
“I’m really sorry, Senior Lin! I was too willful during the rehearsal and made you angry!”
Su Zhihan gave a standard 30-degree bow, her twin tails swaying with the movement.
Lin Shulan didn’t say much. She simply gave Su Zhihan a hug and gently patted her back.
“Why are you still bringing that up? I’ve already forgotten about it. My tone was indeed too sharp back then, but regardless, the important thing is that you’re both okay.”
“Oh! I was thinking of coming over at noon to check on Junior Su’s rehearsal, but I didn’t expect to see you bullying her the moment I arrived. Despicable Lin Shulan!”
Ye Zhou blinked and looked toward the source of the voice. Standing at the door was Chen Yuhe, her hands on her hips. Her long, slender legs were clad in cream-colored Lolita over-the-knee boots that clicked with every movement, and her face was flushed with indignation.
“No, what on earth are you talking about, Chen Yuhe?”
Lin Shulan rubbed her forehead, at a loss for words.
Su Zhihan also hurriedly waved her hands to explain. “Senior Chen, you definitely misunderstood Senior Lin and me. It’s not what you think.”
“Oh! Junior Su, don’t be afraid. How did she bully you? What did she do? Just say it! Now that I’m here, you just stand behind me. I’ll back you up!” Chen Yuhe swept her right hand through the air, looking quite righteous.
Lin Shulan’s brow furrowed. “Chen Yuhe, if the tiger doesn’t show its strength, do you really take me for a sick cat?”
“You were clearly bullying Junior Su, yet you still sound so certain! I’m telling you, Lin Shulan, you report me to the Drama Club every single time. I’ve been fed up with you for a long while now. Today, you’re definitely finished!”
Chen Yuhe rolled up her sleeves and walked over menacingly.
Seeing this, Ye Zhou grabbed her. ‘What are they doing? Why are they about to start fighting?’
Lin Shulan arched an eyebrow and let out a cold laugh. “Bring it on, Chen Yuhe. Do you think I’m afraid of you? Who told you to always report me behind my back first? You’re just getting what you deserve.”
Su Zhihan tried to mediate, looking frantic.
“Senior Lin, Senior Chen, let’s just let it go. Please don’t fight! Please stop fighting!”
“Let go of me! Little Ye Zhou, I’m going to have a duel to the death with Lin Shulan!”
“Oh, oh, okay, okay…”
Ye Zhou actually let go of Chen Yuhe obediently.
Chen Yuhe’s face stiffened. She quickly covered her mouth and whispered sideways, “Hey, Little Ye Zhou, why did you let go of me?”
Ye Zhou scratched his head, not quite understanding. “Didn’t you tell me to let go of you, Senior?”
“You idiot, that was reverse psychology! Lin Shulan has actually studied Self-Defense Arts. How could I actually fight her?”
“I was just trying to scare her a little. If I really fought her, wouldn’t I be beaten into a Bianbian Brand pancake?”
Ye Zhou covered his mouth and whispered back, “So, what is a Bianbian Brand?”
“That’s for a senior to know and a junior not to ask.”
“Oh, okay. But why did you have to go out of your way to provoke Senior Lin?”
“What do you mean? What kind of talk is that? Our relationship is like fire and water; there will never be a day of peace between us. Hurry up and pull me back! Lin Shulan is about to walk over. Do you really have the heart to watch me get beaten into a pancake?”
“Waaa… I didn’t expect you to be this kind of person, Little Ye Zhou. I totally misjudged you. I’m so sad right now.”
“Fine, fine. You’re really just all bark and no bite, Senior. I just need to pull you back, right?”
Ye Zhou felt a massive headache coming on. He could only follow her lead to quickly end this exhausting farce.
“Chen Yuhe, why are you running? Weren’t you acting all tough? Don’t wimp out now. If you chicken out, I’ll really look down on you.” Lin Shulan crossed her arms and smiled faintly.
“Chicken out? There is no word for chicken in my dictionary!” Chen Yuhe immediately retorted unhappily.
“If you don’t even know the word chicken, doesn’t that just make you a big idiot?”
“What? You dare call me a big idiot? Despicable Lin Shulan, this is the final straw! If it weren’t for Little Ye Zhou holding me back, believe it or not, I’d let you taste my fists the size of sandbags right now!”
Chen Yuhe raised her small, pink fists high. They weren’t intimidating at all; in fact, anyone looking at her would think she was an easy target. Lin Shulan was certainly amused.
“Then Little Ye Zhou, let go of Chen Yuhe. I want to see if her fists taste like sand or steamed buns. Heh, personally, I’m leaning toward steamed buns.”
“Vile! Lin Shulan, it’s one thing to bully Zhihan, but you won’t even let Little Ye Zhou go. You even gave him such an ugly nickname. ‘Yezi’… Ugh, is that even human speech? Is there any difference between that and a dog’s name?” Chen Yuhe rolled her eyes and complained mercilessly.
Ye Zhou’s lip couldn’t stop twitching. He really was getting caught in the crossfire. In fact, he really wanted to tell Chen Yuhe, ‘Actually, Senior, I quite like that nickname.’
But after thinking about it, he decided to stay quiet for now.
If he said it out loud, Chen Yuhe would definitely say something like, ‘Ugh, I didn’t expect you to have such unique tastes, Junior.’
Lin Shulan’s lips curled upward, intentionally going against Chen Yuhe.
“Oh, I’m going to keep calling him that. Not only will I call him Yezi, I’m going to call him Zhouzi too. Yezi, Zhouzi…”
“Gah! Despicable! I absolutely can’t stand this anymore! Little Ye Zhou, let go of me! I’m going to settle the score with Lin Shulan!” Chen Yuhe was like a cat with its fur standing on end—cute, but not even slightly threatening.
Ye Zhou was stunned for a moment and whispered, “Wait, Senior, are you for real?”
“Of course I’m for real! Think about it, Lin Shulan is treating you like a dog. As the person in question, if you can stand it, I certainly can’t.” Chen Yuhe nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Ye Zhou pursed his lips, speechless.
Whether he said he could stand it or not, wouldn’t he be indirectly admitting that he was—er…
He had been an innocent bystander, but with Chen Yuhe and Lin Shulan stirring things up, he had become the sole victim.
“Senior, don’t fall for it. She’s clearly using a provocation tactic to bait you.”
“When the enemy’s general comes, use your own to block him; when the water comes, use earth to dam it. Military Counselor Ye, The Commander can no longer worry about that much! You just wait at home for the news of my victory.”
Chen Yuhe put her hands on her hips and raised her head with supreme pride and confidence.
“Lin Shulan, do you dare to have a fair contest with me? We’ll arm wrestle. One round to decide the winner—simple and crude! Whoever loses has to apologize solemnly to the juniors!”
“Fine. Although this is getting more and more nonsensical, I don’t really mind. I can even give you the advantage of one hand.” Lin Shulan glanced at the front and back of her hand, her expression neutral.
“Arm wrestling is done with one hand anyway! Are you trying to cheat already?”
“Stop shouting, Chen Yuhe. How about I give you the advantage of one foot as well?”
“Lin Shulan, you b—”
At some point, Su Zhihan had bought four bottles of mineral water from a nearby vending machine and handed one to Ye Zhou.
“Ye, please have some water. The seniors should be okay, right?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Ye Zhou took a sip, and only then did his headache begin to fade.
“Don’t worry. They’ve known each other longer than we have. At most, they’re just playing around. They won’t actually get genuinely angry.”
“Of course, I shouldn’t speak too soon.”
“But I think… it should be fine, right?”
—