Chapter 29: Under My Protection

Hearing the two girls’ blatant insults, Gu Mianmian’s chopsticks stopped in her hand.

She lowered her head, and the hand holding her rice bowl trembled uncontrollably.

Lin Ci instantly saw red.

She grabbed the free soup in front of her, stood up, and strode toward the two girls.

The two girls were about to continue their mocking, but when they looked up, they met Lin Ci’s furious eyes.

Bang.

Lin Ci raised her hand and slammed the bowl of soup onto the table in front of them.

Hot soup splashed onto their clothes and faces. They screamed and jumped up, frantically patting their jackets and dodging.

“What are you doing!!!”

The girl in the yellow jacket shouted in panic as she stood up and tried to dodge.

“What am I doing? You tell me what I’m doing.”

Lin Ci glared down at them, her voice cold.

“Which of your eyes saw that she has a bad character? Which of your ears heard it?”

Lin Ci was already burning with anger. She had been holding this in since last night.

Without realizing it, her voice was much louder than usual.

The students eating nearby all looked over when they heard Lin Ci’s voice.

“Well? Say it. Why so quiet now? Cat got your tongue?”

“Or did you hear it from some shameless person gossiping behind her back?”

Lin Ci’s eyes grew colder.

“Sour grapes. You’re trash yourselves, so everyone else looks like trash to you.”

The two girls, scalded and embarrassed, and scolded in public, turned pale.

They opened their mouths to retort, but met Lin Ci’s fierce glare and that oppressive aura, and were completely intimidated.

Besides, they were in the wrong for spreading rumors. The onlookers pointing and whispering made them flush red, and for a long moment they couldn’t speak.

Lin Ci clearly wasn’t going to let them off so easily. She scanned the crowd of onlookers and continued forcefully.

“It’s the ones who gossip behind people’s backs who truly have no morals.”

“Gu Mianmian is my roommate. She’s under my protection.”

“If anyone dares to gossip about her again, it won’t just be soup on the table.”

“I’ll dump the cafeteria’s slop bucket on your heads. If anyone doesn’t believe me, feel free to try.”

Her words carried weight.

The students in the dining area turned to look, even the auntie at the serving window nearby craned her neck.

The two girls saw they’d messed with the wrong person. They couldn’t stand the stares, so they grabbed their trays and slunk away without eating.

Lin Ci didn’t spare them another glance and turned back to her seat.

She picked up two orders of braised chicken and rice, and wrapped her other arm around Gu Mianmian’s shoulders.

“Come on, let’s eat over there so we don’t have to smell this stench.”

Lin Ci led Gu Mianmian to an empty seat in the corner of the cafeteria and sat down.

She pushed the braised chicken with the meat picked out toward Gu Mianmian.

“Eat up. You need to eat more meat to get stronger, otherwise you’ll keep getting bullied for being so skinny.”

Lin Ci picked at the vegetables and potatoes in her own bowl with her chopsticks, still muttering curses.

“A bunch of people with nothing better to do. They don’t do anything useful all day, just watch others and make up stories.”

Gu Mianmian, however, kept her head down, holding her chopsticks with both hands, poking at her bowl without taking a bite.

Lin Ci looked up in confusion and saw Gu Mianmian’s head was bowed very low.

Tears slipped through the gaps in her bangs, landing on the rice with a soft patter.

Then a second drop, and a third.

Lin Ci sighed and silently cursed herself. Maybe she had been too rough and scared the girl.

She pulled a pack of tissues from her pocket, yanked one out, and roughly wiped Gu Mianmian’s face.

“Stop crying. I already chased those two off. What are you still upset about?”

Gu Mianmian shook her head, her voice choked with tears.

“Senior, it’s not because of them.”

“Then why?”

Lin Ci looked at her, baffled. She couldn’t figure out what was going on in this girl’s head.

Gu Mianmian, her eyes red, slowly lifted her head and stared at Lin Ci without blinking.

“It’s because you spoke up for me, Senior.”

Lin Ci felt uncomfortable under her gaze, that awkward feeling creeping back.

She looked away unnaturally and rubbed her warm ear.

“It’s no big deal. I said I’d protect you, so I can’t just watch people walk all over you.”

Then Lin Ci urged her on, trying to sound tough.

“Hurry up and eat. It won’t taste good cold. And no wasting food today.”

Gu Mianmian obediently agreed and began shoveling rice into her mouth.

She ate quickly, her cheeks puffed out.

As she ate, her tightly pressed lips slowly curved into a smile.

Only then did soft murmurs start up again in the cafeteria.

“That senior from 302 has a really explosive temper, but she’s seriously good-looking.”

“Let’s not mess with them anymore. That senior looks like trouble.”

Zhou Yan’an passed by with his tray from the nearby aisle and witnessed the whole thing.

He stopped, pushed up his glasses, and watched Lin Ci’s back, a faint smile on his lips.

But when his gaze swept over Gu Mianmian, who was sticking close to Lin Ci, his brow furrowed slightly.

This girl who usually didn’t dare raise her head, in the moment she lowered her head to eat, he had caught something off.

Zhou Yan’an gave Gu Mianmian a deep look, then quietly left with his tray.

On the way back to the dorm after eating, a fine rain began to fall.

Gu Mianmian stayed close to Lin Ci, not leaving her side for a step.

Their shoulders bumped repeatedly as they walked, the fabric rustling.

Lin Ci thought she was still scared, so she reached out and patted Gu Mianmian’s hair.

“Don’t be scared. From now on, if anyone bullies you at school, just tell me.”

She stuffed her hands in her pockets, looking indifferent.

“Don’t keep it to yourself. I’ve got a short fuse. I’d rather fight than talk.”

Gu Mianmian lowered her head obediently, letting Lin Ci’s hand mess with her hair.

“Okay. From now on, I’ll listen to you, Senior.”

Her voice was soft, but it hid a sick satisfaction.

Back at the dorm, Lin Ci felt sticky and went into the bathroom with a change of clothes.

Gu Mianmian sat at the desk, listening to the sound of water from the bathroom.

She slowly pulled open the drawer and took out the diary with a combination lock.

Holding a pen, she wrote down word for word what Lin Ci had said in the cafeteria today on a new page.

Gu Mianmian is under my protection.

She traced every word many times.

Closing the notebook and putting it back in the drawer, Gu Mianmian looked up, her gaze landing on the closed bathroom door.

Light shone from inside, outlining Lin Ci’s silhouette.

Gu Mianmian’s lips curved into a dark smile.

Senior said it in front of everyone. She belongs to Senior.

Since Senior stamped her claim, then for this lifetime, Senior can only belong to her. No one else is allowed to look at her.

Just as Gu Mianmian was lost in thought, the bathroom door was suddenly pushed open from inside.

Lin Ci, wearing only a loose tank top and shorts, rushed out in slippers.

Her wet hair hung messily over her shoulders, her face full of despair.

“f*ck, I can’t take this anymore!”

Lin Ci held up her phone and let out a wail.

Gu Mianmian immediately wiped the gloom from her face and stood up with concern.

“Senior, what’s wrong?”

Lin Ci desperately slapped her phone on the desk, pointing at the academic affairs notice.

“I just remembered!!!! The final French intensive reading exam is at 9 a.m. the day after tomorrow!”

Lin Ci scratched her hair in frustration.

She was going crazy.

“But I’m only on chapter three of my review. Isn’t this just killing me?!”

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