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Join the Server[yzy: Sorry, I’m not feeling well.]
[yzy: I can’t come to work this afternoon. Can I switch it to tomorrow?]
[Kui Furen: Of course. Your health comes first.]
[Kui Furen: Was yesterday too exhausting?]
[yzy: No, I caught a cold. I woke up with a headache and a fever.]
[Kui Furen: I was worried the work at the flower shop might be too much for you to adjust to.]
[Kui Furen: Then get some proper rest.]
[yzy: Thank you, Manager.]
[Kui Furen: ^ ^]
After reading the reply, Lin Zhiyan happily opened her locker in the changing room and carefully examined herself in the mirror again.
It was early morning. Brilliant sunlight poured into the corridor while students came and went.
As soon as Lin Zhiyan stepped out of the changing room, she spotted Aiwen waving at her together with several classmates from her department. Smiling, she walked over.
Today was the Cultural Department’s Tea Gathering Day, a once-per-semester event held near the end of each term.
The activities were simple enough: faculty and students gathered in the Garden Library for tea and conversation.
Topics ranged from coursework and campus life to personal matters. Officially it was called a tea gathering, but in reality it was just a seemingly small but actually strong talk session between teachers and students.
Yesterday, Lin Zhiyan had originally planned to use her “I’m sick” excuse to skip the morning tea gathering.
But after receiving those emails, she immediately changed her mind.
Not only had she accepted the invitations, she’d also arranged a visit to the Denna Pioneer Post this afternoon—and without the slightest guilt, she had ditched her flower shop shift.
Come on.
A mainstream newspaper had invited her to visit and potentially write for them.
She was busy showing off in front of her classmates. Who had time for flowers?
While mentally rehearsing how to casually and effortlessly reveal this information during the tea gathering, she chatted with Aiwen and the others.
Soon enough, however, the topic shifted to her.
“You didn’t sleep well?” one classmate asked. “You look a little tired.”
“A bit.” Lin Zhiyan couldn’t deny it. “I stayed up late thinking about some things, and my dreams were all over the place.”
“What could possibly stump you?” another classmate teased. “Even Professor Luoyona—the nightmare professor—seems pretty satisfied with you. Whatever kept you up this long definitely wasn’t coursework.”
Lin Zhiyan’s nose practically grew from the praise.
Suppressing her smugness, she replied, “That’s because I’m still reading academic papers at midnight every day.”
She smoothly redirected the conversation, though inwardly she felt a little embarrassed.
After all, she couldn’t exactly admit that she’d spent the entire night researching the Denna Pioneer Post, stalking every editor and columnist she could find, and updating her fantasies accordingly.
Their group arrived at the Garden Library.
The Garden Library was an enormous open-air structure. Countless flowers and vines spread from the exterior deep into the interior, wrapping around the architecture and bookshelves.
The shelves were packed with books bearing elegant, antique-looking covers, though the glowing gold identification codes on their spines made it obvious they were merely data-storage devices.
The Cultural Department’s banner fluttered above the building.
The maze-like library had been built using imitation ancient materials. From a distance, it resembled an old castle slowly being consumed by flowers and vegetation.
It was one of the Literature Department’s landmark buildings and was frequently rented out by various student clubs and departments for events.
Ironically, Literature students themselves were rarely invited.
The garden was already filled with long tables, round tables, and glass tables.
Students and professors had arrived early, holding teacups and smiling as if they were posing for magazine photoshoots.
Lin Zhiyan took one glance and immediately looked away.
She couldn’t stand it.
Why did everyone at this school constantly look like they were waiting to be secretly photographed for the perfect life-changing candid shot?
One guy was leaning casually against a table, long legs crossed—but his waist was still tense enough to show off the lines of his back muscles through his shirt.
Was that even a posture a normal human being could relax in?
Unable to understand but determined to assimilate, Lin Zhiyan sat elegantly on a velvet chair, legs together and angled to one side, holding a teacup while chatting with the people around her.
At some point during the conversation, however, her face suddenly twisted.
Aiwen immediately noticed.
“What’s wrong?”
Lin Zhiyan’s expression remained distorted.
Nothing.
Her leg had cramped.
Seriously, how were all these people enduring these ridiculous poses?
Taking a long breath, she pushed herself up, intending to stretch.
A mocking voice suddenly sounded a few steps away.
“Did you go lame?”
Lin Zhiyan: “…”
She turned and immediately spotted a familiar head of blond hair.
The man was tall and broad-shouldered. His security insignia was still pinned to his arm, while a sword and firearm hung visibly at his waist.
His gray-blue eyes glittered beneath the sky like transparent gemstones.
For f*ck’s sake.
Was he working as security twenty-four hours a day?
Lin Zhiyan laughed in disbelief.
“Oh. It’s you.”
Lu Weixi strode toward her.
Several campus security officers instantly grabbed him.
Struggling wildly, he shouted,
“LIN ZHIYAN! I STILL HAVEN’T SETTLED THINGS WITH YOU! YOU—GET OVER HERE!”
The security officers were built like walls and immediately restrained him.
Several professors turned to look as well.
Help.
She’d been planning to show off today.
Now she was about to embarrass herself in front of everyone.
With a resigned sigh, Lin Zhiyan stood.
“I need to handle a personal matter.”
Once she approached, Lu Weixi finally stopped thrashing like a hog being hauled to slaughter and instead glared at her viciously.
The security officers released him.
“Mr. Lu Weixi,” one officer warned, “your disciplinary period ends soon. Please don’t create more trouble.”
“How am I causing trouble?” Lu Weixi snapped. Even his eyebrow piercing seemed offended.
“It’s you people who are too tolerant. You see assholes every day and just swallow your anger.”
One officer replied,
“That still doesn’t justify kicking down a student’s dorm room door this morning.”
Lu Weixi looked genuinely confused.
“The guy was practically overdosing inside! Was I supposed to respect privacy regulations while he died in there? If I hadn’t kicked the door open, what then?”
“…Fair point,” the officer admitted after a pause.
“But you kicked him straight into the emergency room.”
“If he wasn’t going to the ER today, he’d have ended up there eventually. I just let him familiarize himself with the process early.”
The security officer had no response.
Nearby, Lin Zhiyan instinctively clenched her buttocks.
She already knew Lu Weixi had a violent streak.
But hearing stories like this still made her worry about getting punched.
Especially since his unanswered DMs were still sitting in her inbox.
The security officers tactfully withdrew, giving them privacy.
Arms crossed, chin raised, Lu Weixi looked down at her as though preparing to settle every grievance between them.
“What? Surprised?” he asked coldly. “Did you think you could avoid me forever?”
Lin Zhiyan paused.
“No.”
“Then explain.”
He lowered his head slightly. Though still looking down at her, the pressure in his gaze intensified.
“Do you know how much damage you’ve caused me? I never did anything to you, but you’ve just kept pushing your luck. I didn’t even hold it against you when you hit me before, and now you’re provoking me again?”
One gloved hand grabbed her chin.
There was nothing remotely flirtatious about it.
Only intimidation.
“Believe it or not,” he said, staring down at her, “I could crush your jaw and make sure you never speak again.”
Upon hearing that, Lin Zhiyan actually tilted her chin further into his grip, as though inviting him to try.
Her black eyes stared directly into his.
Lu Weixi froze for a second.
Then he released her and frowned.
“Say something! Do you understand Universal Standard? Hello? Ciao? Bonjour? Hola?”
Lin Zhiyan nearly broke character.
She had been aiming for a cold, stubborn heroine image, but his random barrage of Old Era languages almost made her laugh.
After several seconds, she finally replied,
“What I don’t understand is what you don’t understand.”
She continued,
“You cost me the grade for an elective course. I didn’t just substitute for you in class. I helped with your business with Jiang Yi, and I worked hard as a teaching assistant. All of that effort disappeared because you and Jiang Yi decided to have a fight.”
Lu Weixi raised an eyebrow.
“So? That’s why you deliberately targeted me at the event? I offered compensation and you refused. How is that my fault?”
A spark of anger ignited in Lin Zhiyan’s chest.
Yet she smiled.
“Exactly.”
Lu Weixi blinked.
“Huh?”
“You offered compensation I didn’t want, so I refused. Then I used the event to obtain compensation in a way I preferred. What’s wrong with that?”
Blinking innocently, she added,
“The fact that you wanted to compensate me means you knew you owed me. I simply collected payment in the form I liked.”
“Wait. Hold on.”
His face went blank.
“You are completely unreasonable! You can’t reject my compensation and then turn around and do this!”
Growing increasingly irritated, he pressed on.
“And if that’s really how you felt, why didn’t you answer my messages? Stop making excuses!”
“Rejecting your compensation doesn’t mean I stopped needing compensation.”
Lin Zhiyan spoke with absolute seriousness.
“And if you think about it, you actually got a bargain.”
“A bargain?!”
“Of course.”
She continued,
“Even if you hadn’t attended that event, I still would’ve asked those questions. I’m poor, and I know what they were saying was nonsense, so I would’ve challenged them anyway.”
Lu Weixi immediately grabbed her cheeks and squished her face together.
“Shut up. You’re doing it again. You keep distracting people with ridiculous logic and making them forget the actual issue. You think I don’t know what you’re doing? I just couldn’t be bothered arguing before!”
He squeezed harder.
“And you still have the nerve to say I benefited from this?”
“It’s twue!”
With her cheeks squashed, her words came out distorted.
Standing on tiptoe while trying to pry his hand away, she continued,
“Originally I would’ve challenged them and demanded compensation from you afterward. Maybe I would’ve made outrageous demands too.”
“But now all that happened was that you got criticized alongside them. You don’t have to compensate me anymore.”
“So of course you got a discount!”
Lu Weixi stared.
The nonsensical logic left him dizzy.
Finally he let go.
“Stop talking. You’re giving me a headache. Let me think.”
As Lin Zhiyan rubbed her face and prepared another rebuttal, a faint chuckle sounded nearby.
Both of them turned.
A young man stood beside them.
Long hair draped over his shoulders. The strands near his temples were tied into a small tuft behind his head.
Amber eyes gleamed beneath his bangs.
He wore a black jacket over a loose shirt, and his chest muscles were clearly visible beneath the fabric.
A silver tassel earring hung beside his ear, half-hidden in his hair.
Lin Zhiyan: “…”
Oh no.
Why was Kui Furen here?!
Kui Furen smiled teasingly.
“The way young people bicker is quite entertaining.”
And why, exactly, was he dressed like that and still—
Lin Zhiyan forcibly prevented herself from staring at his chest.
So instead she glanced at Lu Weixi’s chest.
Lu Weixi immediately narrowed his eyes, grabbed her by the collar, and physically moved her elsewhere.
“Later,” he said coldly. “I’m not finished with you.”
Then he walked away, abandoning her with Kui Furen.
Lin Zhiyan felt only despair.
She decided she’d scam Lu Weixi through her terminal later.
“Are you feeling better?” Kui Furen bent slightly, concern written across his face.
“Coming to class while sick must be exhausting.”
Lin Zhiyan immediately launched into several exaggerated coughs.
“I’m okay… cough cough… But Manager, why are you here?”
“Oh, a friend invited me to attend the tea gathering.”
He smiled.
“I also graduated from the Cultural Department, so technically I’m your senior.”
“Graduated?”
Kui Furen raised an eyebrow.
“I skipped grades too.”
Lin Zhiyan: “…”
Was he seriously still holding a grudge about last night?
And besides, the age gap was still there!
“I see, hahaha.”
Suddenly regretting that she’d spent last night fantasizing about her future career instead of pestering Zephy, she added,
“That’s interesting, because Senior Zephy doesn’t seem to have graduated yet.”
Kui Furen’s lips curved.
“He stays because he likes it here. He enjoys making friends everywhere.”
“I prefer peace and quiet. Simple social relationships.”
What a smooth way to throw shade.
Lin Zhiyan’s eyes shifted.
Her fingers closed around the terminal in her pocket.
“Ah, excuse me for a moment. I need to reply to a message.”
She coughed again.
Kui Furen casually plucked a few flowers from a nearby wall and offered them to her.
“You could try these. They help with coughing.”
“Manager, your knowledge of flowers extends to both aesthetics and medicinal value.”
Smiling, she didn’t dare take them.
“We can chat more during the tea gathering later. Cough cough cough—”
She transformed herself into a violently vibrating eight-drum washing machine and bounced away.
The moment she was out of sight, Lin Zhiyan immediately called Zephy.
Three seconds later, he hung up.
She called again.
He hung up again.
She called a third time.
He hung up a third time.
By the fourth attempt, Zephy finally snapped and sent a message.
[Zephy: If you can’t explain the problem within three minutes, I’ll send someone to pick you up.]
[Zephy: Trust me, you do NOT want to meet me in person.]
Lin Zhiyan clicked her tongue and called again.
This time, he answered.
She could practically hear his hurried breathing from the other side.
“Talk.”
His voice was icy.
For some reason, Lu Weixi’s earlier nonsense suddenly came to mind.
So Lin Zhiyan opened her mouth and said:
“Hello? Ciao? Bonjour? Hola?”
The next second—
Zephy hung up.
A message immediately appeared.
[Zephy: You’re dead.]
[Zephy: Someone will be coming to pick you up shortly.]
Lin Zhiyan: “…”
Damn it.
This was all Lu Weixi’s fault. He infected her with his stupidity.
The excitement doesn't stop here! If you enjoyed this, you’ll adore I Just Wanted An Ordinary Life This Time. Start reading now!
Read : I Just Wanted An Ordinary Life This Time
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