Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 10
by Little PandaBreaking the Cage
Escape 10
Legal Hunting
Xin Lan had morning grumpiness—a severe, terrible case of morning grumpiness.
This didn’t just manifest in the real world; it followed her into her mission worlds as well.
She hadn’t always been this way. However, back in her original interstellar world when she was still alive, she had once gone nearly six days without closing her eyes during a mission. Even with her physically enhanced body pushed to its absolute limit, she had developed a severe case of morning grumpiness ever since.
Anyone who dared disturb her sleep would end up dead or severely maimed.
This was the first time Shen Shuiyan had ever shared a bed with someone. Xin Lan’s presence made her uneasy, causing her entire body to stiffen unconsciously. She wanted to roll over, but recalling how dead serious Xin Lan’s words had been before going to sleep, she suppressed the urge to move.
The person beside her breathed evenly, already fast asleep.
Shen Shuiyan felt a pang of envy at such high-quality sleep. Since she couldn’t move, she began sorting through her clues1 in her mind.
She had to survive.
This bizarre game, the strange teachers, the forced mutual slaughter, the ghosts in the restricted areas—what else was waiting for them?
Why were they chosen? If they died in this game, would they really die in the real world too?
Shen Shuiyan planned out various scenarios in her mind and, before she knew it, drifted off to sleep.
She woke up the next morning to the blare of her alarm. Opening her eyes, she realized her sleeping position had changed from the night before.
Instead of lying on her side, she was flat on her back. Half of Xin Lan’s body was draped over her, an arm resting across her waist, her brow slightly furrowing at the sound of the alarm.
With a flutter of eyelashes, those eyes snapped open.
Shen Shuiyan’s breath hitched for a moment, unable to find the words to describe the gaze she met.
It held a piercing sharpness, cutting straight to the depths of one’s soul like a blade. It triggered an instinctive alarm, a dangerous urge to retreat.
But that piercing sensation lasted only an instant before vanishing.
Xin Lan spent a peaceful day.
She was on her own, entirely unaware of what was happening on the boys’ side since no one was exchanging information with her.
Everyone had gone into hiding, keeping their discussions to their own small circles.
Xin Lan was excluded, but she didn’t mind.
She was waiting for the night. Tonight, she had something important to do.
It was something she’d wanted to do since the very first day she arrived here.
Xin Lan ran her hand over a wooden chair, her lips curving into a half-smile.
I wonder if destroying school property is allowed. If I use this chair as a weapon, will I face some sort of punishment from the school rules?
Xin Lan tapped the chair. Unfortunately, there weren’t any other handy weapons around.
She only hoped she wouldn’t get too excited when the time came.
Night arrived right on schedule.
Xin Lan arrived at the entrance of the boys’ dormitory and strode inside.
A few boys heading back to their rooms spotted her and stared in utter shock.
Xin Lan had already asked Zero Nine for Zou Yunfei’s room number, so she headed straight for her destination.
Zou Yunfei’s dorm room door was unlocked, hanging wide open. Three people were sitting inside.
The distinct, pungent odor of a boys’ dormitory wafted out, making Xin Lan wrinkle her nose in disgust.
“Xin Lan?”
Chu Lu called out in surprise when he saw her.
Zou Yunfei looked up, furrowed his brows, and stood.
“What’re you doing here?”
“I have some things to discuss with you.”
Xin Lan stepped into Zou Yunfei’s room, the overhead light illuminating her beautiful face, making her look even more radiant.
Zou Yunfei let out a sneer. Behind him, Chu Lu and Zhou Zhou also seemed to catch on, breaking into snickers.
“Coming to curry favor now? You’re a bit too late. Get lost.”
Zou Yunfei felt a momentary flicker of hesitation as he looked at her stunning face. They had dated for several days, but he hadn’t even gotten a taste of her yet.
But then… Zou Yunfei thought of Shen Shuiyan and decided to reject her outright.
Xin Lan was far too clingy. If something actually happened between them, everyone would find out in no time. If that happened, what would Shen Shuiyan think of him?
“Hey, Yunfei, even if you don’t like her anymore, there’s no need to treat a pretty girl so harshly. It’s not like our team is full yet, right?”
Chu Lu’s words carried a double meaning, prompting Zhou Zhou to give him a heavy slap on the shoulder.
“You’re the one with all the ideas, kid. What, are you interested?”
Zou Yunfei shot him a glare. Even if he no longer liked Xin Lan, the thought of his own buddy picking up his worn-out shoes2 felt incredibly bizarre no matter how he looked at it.
“Well, she’s a massive beauty after all. It’s not strange for Chu Lu to feel that way. Why don’t you just grant the girl’s wish?”
Zhou Zhou winked suggestively at Zou Yunfei. Zou Yunfei remained silent for a moment, thinking that wasn’t a bad idea either.
Xin Lan found the expressions on their faces deeply amusing as they wallowed in their own delusions.
“The word ‘get lost’ has always been my line to others. Who the hell do you think you are?”
Xin Lan smiled at Zou Yunfei, her expression dripping with mockery and disdain.
Zero Nine: “Keys copied, three for ten yuan! Is he worthy? No, he’s not!”3
Chu Lu and Zhou Zhou’s laughter cut off instantly. They stared at Xin Lan in astonishment.
“I came to tell you that I’m taking Shen Shuiyan with me. A piece of trash like you doesn’t deserve to be her teammate.”
Xin Lan spoke with a smiling tone, yet her words belittled Zou Yunfei to the absolute extreme.
Zero Nine watched the scene unfold, figuring her host was probably suffering from another sudden onset of her villain occupational disease.
“What do you mean?”
Zou Yunfei’s face darkened as he looked at the young woman standing before him.
Casting aside his preconceived notions, the Xin Lan standing before him now seemed entirely different from the girl who had once cried in front of him.
“It means you’re a good-for-nothing.”
Xin Lan flashed a bright smile, and the moment the words left her mouth, she moved.
She delivered a merciless kick straight to Zou Yunfei’s lower abdomen. Reeling from the heavy impact, Zou Yunfei collapsed onto the floor with a low groan.
Her sudden strike left them utterly stunned, but they quickly snapped out of it. Had Zou Yunfei really just been kicked to the floor by Xin Lan?
Zou Yunfei cursed, stood up from the floor, and looked at Xin Lan, sizing her up with a new look in his eyes.
The kick he had just received had nearly made him throw up. That was absolutely not the kind of strength a delicate, fragile girl could muster.
Xin Lan beckoned Zou Yunfei with her finger. She formed a claw with her hand, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him forward, simultaneously driving her knee toward his torso.
This time, Zou Yunfei was prepared and blocked with his arm. Xin Lan withdrew her leg. The force of the block rattled Zou Yunfei, sending him back a few steps as his arm went numb.
“Don’t think I won’t hit a woman.”
Zou Yunfei gritted his teeth, shaking out his arm.
“You say that as if you could actually beat me.”
Xin Lan curved her lips, her voice dripping with amusement.
This was the final straw. Tossing aside all regard for her gender, Zou Yunfei threw a punch straight at Xin Lan.
Xin Lan sidestepped to dodge. Their elbows collided, and they began trading blows in the cramped dorm room.
Zou Yunfei was indeed a formidable fighter, but against Xin Lan, he was completely outmatched.
She threw him over her shoulder onto the floor, but he grabbed her leg and dragged her down with him, pinning one of her feet and flipping her onto the ground.
Ignoring the pain in her body, Xin Lan’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. Grabbing Zou Yunfei by his collar, she delivered a barrage of heavy, bone-deep punches to his abdomen before tossing him back to the ground.
Though she was panting, her face split into a wide grin.
“Get up, do it again.”
Anyone could see the sheer thrill in her smile. An involuntary shiver ran down Zou Yunfei’s spine, and his body throbbed with agony.
His face was ruined. He had a black eye, a split lip, and bruises blooming across his face—and the parts covered by his clothes weren’t faring any better. He could feel sharp, throbbing pain radiating from his legs and abdomen.
Did she eat spinach and turn into Popeye? She was a complete lunatic.
“Aren’t you supposed to be good at fighting? Get up.”
Xin Lan pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth, feeling her entire body heating up.
Blood rushed to her brain, her adrenaline surged—this feeling couldn’t be better.
Zero Nine: “Host, don’t beat him to death! Think of the mission! Think of the mission!”
Zero Nine screamed herself hoarse, feeling like she could no longer reason with her. She was just afraid that Zou Yunfei wouldn’t be able to take the beating; if her host slipped up, their mission would end in failure.
Xin Lan was fully in control of the situation. If she had actually wanted to kill Zou Yunfei, would he still be drawing breath?
Having been thrashed like this in front of his buddies, Zou Yunfei had lost all face. Since Xin Lan was still baiting him, backing down now was simply out of the question.
His eyes swept around. The moment he scrambled to his feet, he grabbed a wooden chair and hurled it at Xin Lan.
Xin Lan blocked with her arm, snatched the chair away in one swift motion, and swung it back down onto Zou Yunfei.
Zou Yunfei was sent flying, and the wooden chair shattered into pieces.
Seeing this, Chu Lu and Zhou Zhou finally sprang into action—one rushed to help Zou Yunfei up, while the other threw himself between Xin Lan and their friend.
“Xin Lan, you’ve gone too far! Are you trying to beat him to death?”
Chu Lu saw Xin Lan’s combat strength clearly and swallowed hard. Remembering his earlier words, he deeply regretted them. Although he stood blocking her, he was feeling extremely nervous inside, terrified that Xin Lan would smash that broken chair over his head.
He had no idea what was going on with Xin Lan to suddenly become so psycho.
“Even if I beat him to death, so what? It’s hunting time right now. I won’t face any punishment anyway.”
Xin Lan spoke with complete nonchalance, a carefree attitude that made them even more terrified.
“But murder is against the law! If you get out of here, won’t your conscience feel uneasy?”
“Don’t forget our relationship status. He’s the one who dumped me. Why should my conscience feel uneasy if I kill him? Doesn’t a scumbag who plays with people’s feelings deserve to die?”
Xin Lan narrowed her eyes as she threw the question back at him, all traces of her smile replaced by cold indifference and disgust.
Chu Lu opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
“I haven’t even disdained him for being dirty, yet he dares to disdain me?”
Xin Lan said this on behalf of the original host of this body, even though the original host had never actually thought that way.
The original host had indeed dated a few times and had been the one to initiate the breakups every single time, but she had never entered those relationships with the intention of playing with people’s feelings.
Putting that aside, when Zou Yunfei broke up with the original host, was what he said even human speech?
So, finding a girlfriend was just to find a free fuckbuddy?
If she wasn’t willing to spread her legs, she was being ‘lofty’? If she were willing, he probably would’ve called her a whore instead, right?
Xin Lan shoved Chu Lu aside and dragged the broken chair over to Zou Yunfei.
The chair scraped against the floor, sounding like a prelude to death.
Zou Yunfei was a battered, pathetic mess, his mind too dazed from the beating to think straight.
Xin Lan stood before him and leaned down.
“Do you yield?”
Zou Yunfei gritted his teeth, staring at Xin Lan with eyes full of gloom.
“Not convinced?”
Xin Lan murmured, a troubled expression on her face.
“Then I’ll just have to beat you until you do.”
Xin Lan spoke with a sweet smile, raising the shattered chair high above her.
The author has something to say:
Sexy Lan-jie, beating people up online.
Zero Nine: “Selling melon seeds, beer, and sodas! Make way, make way, watch your feet!”
Footnotes
- 线索 (xiànsuǒ) are the itemized clues hidden throughout the alternate dimension campus space. Fifty of these are required for a student to escape the hunting game.
- 破鞋 (pòxié) is literal 'worn-out shoes', a highly derogatory slang term for a woman who is considered sexually promiscuous, loose, or discarded by a former partner.
- A popular Chinese internet meme based on a pun. The word pèi can mean 'to cut a key' or 'to be worthy'. The phrase 'Keys cut, three for ten yuan' is used to mock someone's self-importance by asking, 'Are you worthy?'
0 Comments