Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 4
by Little PandaBreaking the Cage
Escape 04
Legal Hunting
The girl didn’t dare move. Given how ruthless Xin Lan had been just now—and with that foot planted firmly on her body—she had no doubt Xin Lan would follow through.
But even thinking that, when Xiao Chun came to strip off her pants, she still kicked wildly, trying to resist.
Xin Lan found her annoying and simply kicked her unconscious.
The move was so practiced, so brutal, that Xiao Chun shuddered all over.
Zhou Mingfang was equally dumbfounded, pulling her blanket up until only her eyes remained visible.
She hadn’t expected their class flower1 to look like such a delicate vase yet be so terrifying in a fight.
Alongside her fear, she felt a bit lucky. At least they were teammates. When it came time to sleep, they would have to separate anyway, and having a girl with such high combat ability in the group was practically a security guarantee.
Zero Nine had grown accustomed to her host’s brutality and no longer even shivered.
Xiao Chun already loathed the girl on the ground intensely. She stripped off her pants without mercy and even snuck in two kicks.
“The underwear too.”
Xin Lan ignored Xiao Chun’s petty kicks, lifting her chin to signal her to continue.
Xiao Chun was a bit surprised, but immediately stripped off the underwear as well and saw the clue fragment fall out.
Xiao Chun picked it up and handed it to Xin Lan.
Xin Lan glanced at it. The edges didn’t match her own clue, so she stuffed it into her pocket.
Xiao Chun had expected Xin Lan to use the opportunity to demand hers as well, but Xin Lan didn’t. She couldn’t help but feel a bit grateful.
Xin Lan had stepped in to help her out in the beginning, after all. Looking at the girl lying naked from the waist down on the floor, she remembered her own experiences of being bullied and clenched her fists.
Xin Lan took clothes from the wardrobe and gathered her toiletries.
“Xin Lan, are you going to shower?”
Zhou Mingfang was worried. Who knew what might happen if she went out at this hour?
That inexplicable rule—no one knew what triggered elimination. The first person had died inexplicably in their dorm bed. Why him? No one understood.
“Mm.”
Xin Lan bent down to grab the facial cleanser and put it in her basin.
“But what if you get selected…”
“If someone gets selected, they’ll die no matter where they are. After I leave, if you’re scared, just lock the door. I won’t be coming back tonight.”
“Where are you going?”
Zhou Mingfang sat up, asking in surprise. Even Xiao Chun turned to look at Xin Lan.
“You don’t need to ask about that.”
Xin Lan packed her things, changed into slippers, and put her athletic shoes in a plastic bag to take with her.
“But aren’t we teammates?”
Zhou Mingfang was panicked, afraid Xin Lan was going to abandon her.
Xin Lan opened the door and turned back. The light from the hallway made her expression hard to read.
“Don’t be so naïve. Teams can change at any time. This is only the second day.”
Xin Lan closed the door behind her. The sound of it shutting seemed to strike at the heart, giving everyone a jolt.
Xin Lan headed for the bathroom at the end of the hall.
Each floor had one toilet and one bathroom, located at opposite ends of the hallway.
The bathroom was on the left side of the corridor; the water room and toilet were on the right.
There were five shower stalls. Under normal circumstances, you’d need a water card to activate the lights and water.
But in this alternate dimension, no water card was needed. Every stall’s light was on. It looked rather eerie.
Xin Lan’s dorm was on the left side, fairly close to the bathroom. She carried her things into one of the stalls.
Dim yellow light fell on her skin. The silence around her was terrifying.
Xin Lan removed her clothes, revealing a young body still developing.
“Not bad at all.”
Xin Lan turned on the faucet, running her hand across her front.
Zero Nine only saw a mosaic. Visually, it felt like she was watching some kind of 〈Girl in the Bathroom〉2.
Water droplets splashed onto the floor and drained away.
Xin Lan let the water run down her back. Amidst the sound of the spray, she heard something else.
She turned off the water. The moment the splashing stopped, that faint noise became clearer.
The air was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Xin Lan squeezed out some body wash and spread it over herself.
Zero Nine: Lan-jie, there’s someone outside! Sneaking around, all suspicious-like!
Xin Lan didn’t stop rubbing in the body wash. She continued washing, unhurried.
Zero Nine knew Xin Lan couldn’t possibly have missed it. She pushed up her glasses and waited for the show.
Xin Lan finished applying the body wash and turned the faucet back on, letting the water rinse away the foam.
The faint sound of someone tiptoeing was perfectly masked by the water. Xin Lan scrubbed her neck, washed every part of herself thoroughly, then turned off the water and began drying off and dressing.
Xin Lan preferred to sleep unrestrained, but conditions didn’t allow for that now. She had to put on a bra, wiped the water from her face, and began patting on toner.
After all this, Xin Lan finally looked down.
At the same time, she turned on the faucet.
The water splashed loudly. Xin Lan fixed her gaze on the gap under the door.
A pair of eyes appeared there—black and white, starkly defined. The effect was like something out of a horror movie.
Those eyes met Xin Lan’s. The person outside immediately stood up, trying to flee.
Xin Lan threw open the door and hurled the body wash. It struck precisely into the person’s knee hollow. The figure stumbled; Xin Lan’s arm shot out and dragged them back.
It was a girl. She looked utterly guilty.
Since it was a girl, that was negotiable. If it had been a guy, Xin Lan would have beaten the crap out of him first.
“Didn’t your mother teach you not to go around peeking at people in the shower?”
“I… I’m sorry. I…”
The girl twisted her fingers anxiously, stammering and lowering her head.
She didn’t know what had possessed her. Seeing someone showering here, she’d thought they would be completely defenseless. Maybe she could ambush them when they came out and snatch some clue fragments. But she hadn’t expected to be caught so quickly.
Xin Lan narrowed her eyes, clicked her tongue, and let go.
The girl gained her freedom and ran off like a wisp of smoke.
It was only the second day. Who knew how much worse things would get.
Zero Nine: Host, why did you let her go? Wouldn’t it have been better to take her clues?
Xin Lan: No rush. What’s meant to come will come. Why make myself a target? Better to sweep everyone up all at once later.
Zero Nine: You’re right!
Only the clues from the dead get scattered to who-knows-where. The living—you always know where to find them.
Whoever has the most clues on them becomes the priority target. Xin Lan didn’t want to be a walking bullseye just yet.
Xin Lan asked Zero Nine for the Top Student’s dorm room number. Clutching her basin, she picked up the body wash that had served as her weapon, and headed toward that room.
Zero Nine: Host, you’re going just like that?
Xin Lan: What else? As a qualified villain, I can’t be without underlings. Since no one’s developing my network for me, I have to do it myself.
Zero Nine: Host, you’re the protagonist now!
Xin Lan: …Force of habit. Protagonist. Right. Needs companions. Still has to develop a network.
Zero Nine fell silent. Her host’s vocabulary and methods always made this upstanding, moral system feel like she was part of some illegal organization.
Xin Lan knocked three times. No response.
Xin Lan knocked three times again. Still no answer.
The people inside were startled by the sudden knocking. They stared at the door, but no one went to open it.
They hadn’t expected the knocker to be so persistent. Another three knocks: dong dong dong.
After a while, the knocking stopped.
The people inside breathed a sigh of relief. But before they could relax for even two seconds, the knocking started again.
Dong. Dong dong. Dong dong dong. Dong dong. Dong.
It was almost rhythmic.
Xin Lan was happily knocking along to the BGM Zero Nine was playing, when the door was suddenly yanked open. She found herself face-to-face with an obviously angry expression.
“Are you crazy?”
“Sorry. I’m looking for someone.”
“Who?”
The girl was very guarded, opening the door only a crack.
Xin Lan: What was the Top Student’s name again?
Zero Nine: Shen Shuiyan.
Xin Lan: Good name.
“Shen Shuiyan.”
“You’re looking for her?”
The girl looked suspicious. She turned and called into the room.
Before long, Shen Shuiyan appeared before Xin Lan.
She opened the door a bit wider, revealing a smile.
“Classmate, is there something you need from me?”
Her manner was relaxed and composed, but she subtly maintained a safe distance.
Xin Lan could tell at a glance this was no simple person. That smile was familiar—she’d seen it on her strategist back when she worked in the Villain Department.
Seemingly kind, but actually calculating.
That was good. In a world like this, dealing with smart people was the most comfortable option.
“Hello. I’m Xin Lan.”
Xin Lan’s smile was bright and generous. Shen Shuiyan raised an eyebrow, almost imperceptibly.
Of course she knew who Xin Lan was. The ex-girlfriend of Zou Yunfei—fairly famous in their original class. That face of hers drew people in.
“I came to ask—do you want to team up?”
“Sorry. I already have a team.”
Shen Shuiyan couldn’t figure out what this person’s angle was, so she politely declined.
“Classmate Shen is a smart person. Surely you know that teams can change at any time.”
“I’ll be waiting whenever. I’m more reliable than whoever you’ve chosen.”
Xin Lan said it with a smile. Though Shen Shuiyan didn’t believe her, she still politely agreed.
The door was closed in front of her. Xin Lan took her basin and returned to her own dorm.
Zero Nine: Just like that?
Xin Lan: What else did you expect?
Xin Lan had been prepared for rejection. This scenario was already better than expected. Shen Shuiyan was a smart person—leave a door open, make contact, nothing more.
Zero Nine: I thought she’d bow before your overwhelming aura3 and swear eternal loyalty.
Xin Lan: Watch too many Mary Sue dramas?
If Shen Shuiyan had agreed, Xin Lan would have suspected something was off.
Either she was brainless, or she had her own schemes.
And the second type—behavior that clearly didn’t fit the ongoing plot—was usually a ‘peripheral character.’
Either a colleague from some other department, or someone possessed, body-snatched, reincarnated, or transmigrated.
The first two cases were manageable. The latter two were troublesome.
Fortunately, Shen Shuiyan had normal intelligence—even above average—which Xin Lan was quite happy about.
“I really hope my ex-boyfriend isn’t stupid either.”
Xin Lan’s murmur echoed strangely in the empty hallway, ghostly.
Zero Nine: But Host, didn’t you say you weren’t going back?
Xin Lan had no intention of going back to sleep. At her dorm door, she changed from slippers to athletic shoes, set her basin aside, and did some stretches.
Xin Lan vaulted onto the balcony with one hand, prompting a soft cry from Zero Nine.
Zero Nine: Host, this is the fourth floor…
Before she could finish, Xin Lan had already landed firmly. Her movements were light as a cat’s.
A mere four floors.
The author has something to say:
Xin Lan: Leave comments, or I’ll fuck you until you bleat!
Top Student: [covers mouth] No, you don’t.
Author: I do!
Footnotes
- Class Flower (bān huā) — a Chinese school term for the prettiest girl in a class. The implication is that Xin Lan's beauty makes her seem delicate, like a decorative vase, concealing her combat ability.
- Japanese: お風呂場の少女 (Ofuroba no shōjo). A meta-reference to censorship in Japanese adult media, where 'mosaic' blur obscures explicit content. Zero Nine is humorously complaining that the system blocks her view.
- 'King's Aura' (wángbà zhīqì) — a trope from cultivation/xianxia novels referring to a protagonist's commanding, majestic presence that naturally makes others submit. Zero Nine is being sarcastic.
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