Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 3
by Little PandaBreaking the Cage
Escape 03
Legal Hunting
There were many people in the cafeteria. Between those waiting in line and those who had already started eating, if one didn’t look closely, it would seem no different from a normal school campus.
The cafeteria aunties still suffered from their habitual hand tremors1. The only upside was probably that they didn’t need to swipe meal cards to eat.
Xin Lan lined up at the made-to-order stir-fry section. In fact, this side had the most people.
The stir-fry was considered quite good by cafeteria standards. Although it was likely cooked by the same head chef, it still tasted better than the cheap meals over on the other side.
Given the circumstances, and since it didn’t cost any money, everyone chose to let themselves eat a little better.
As Xin Lan moved forward with the line, she saw the ex-boyfriend and the Top Student walk past her, carrying their trays.
The Top Student wore a school uniform jacket that revealed a small stretch of fair neck. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail. She was indeed exceptionally pretty. When she walked past, Xin Lan even caught a faint whiff of fragrance.
When it was Xin Lan’s turn, there weren’t many dishes left. She randomly ordered two, took her tray, and walked over to one side of the tables.
Zero Nine: Lan-jie, aren’t we going to sit over by the ex-boyfriend?
There were still empty seats near the ex-boyfriend. Whether everyone just didn’t want to sit too close to other teams or they were wary of the school bully ex-boyfriend, there weren’t many people around him.
This cafeteria could hold a thousand people, so with only 399 individuals inside, it felt extremely spacious.
Xin Lan: I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to resist smashing my food into his face. That would be a waste of food. Not good.
Xin Lan knew without thinking that if she walked over wearing the identity of his ‘ex-girlfriend,’ she would definitely be mocked or glared at by that trash of an ex-boyfriend. Xin Lan was never someone who lowered her own worth. To prevent her violent temper from making her smash her food into someone’s face, it was best they stayed out of each other’s way for now.
Zero Nine fell silent. She had forgotten once again that Xin Lan was a sweetie who never played by the rules.
Everyone finished their dinner without lingering for long.
During this rest period, they were absolutely safe.
Everyone was free to go anywhere on the school grounds. Whether it was the teaching building, the dormitories, the library, the sports field, or the auditorium, they could explore it all—provided they left before the hunting time began.
The hunting grounds were limited to the five-story teaching building and the dormitory buildings. All ten classes had been arranged on the third floor. During the hunt, they could hide anywhere within those two structures.
Little Glasses Cai Yang suggested going to the library to see if they could find anything.
He spoke vaguely, afraid of being ‘silenced.’ Exchanging glances, everyone understood his meaning.
“What could possibly be in there? Isn’t it just a bunch of books?”
Dark and Stout Chen Zhihong frowned. He normally hated reading the most.
“It can’t hurt to go. I agree.”
Little Shorty Zhou Mingfang nodded. Who knew, there might be some clues hidden inside the books. How would they know without looking?
Xin Lan had no objections, so the five of them headed to the library.
On the way there, they bumped into another team. When they arrived at the library, they found that a different team was already inside.
Not every team had grouped up into fives. Of the teams Xin Lan’s group encountered, one was a trio and the other a quartet. No one exchanged greetings. They passed each other in silence, even carrying a hint of hostility.
Inside the library, the only sound was the rustling of turning pages. Chen Zhihong sat off to the side, bored out of his mind, holding a tattered manga volume in his hands.
“Nothing seems to have changed. I came here just the day before I entered this place. Our class had a reading session.”
Zhou Mingfang set down the book in her hands, speaking in frustration.
“I told you we wouldn’t find anything.”
Chen Zhihong curled his lip, continuing to flip through his manga.
“You have the nerve to say that when you’re the only one not putting in any effort.”
Acne Guo Ming spoke coldly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Chen Zhihong slammed his book against the table, his expression turning cold.
He was dark and stocky, and looking like this, he appeared rather fierce and threatening.
Guo Ming didn’t speak again, and Cai Yang quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
Xin Lan busied herself flipping through a book, having Zero Nine scan all the texts in the room.
Zero Nine: Reporting to Lan-jie, there’s nothing here recording the contents of this place. But there are some books on male and female reproductive health. Oho, there’s even a dirty magazine hidden here. Tsk, tsk, tsk. I wonder who put that in.
“Looks like there’s nothing. Let’s go.”
Xin Lan put her book back on the shelf, and Chen Zhihong immediately agreed.
The remaining three exchanged a look and decided to leave as well.
“Where are you going?”
Zhou Mingfang asked, seeing Xin Lan walk a few paces ahead.
“The dorms.”
“Then I’ll go too. I can use the chance to move my things and ask if I can switch rooms.”
Their dormitory assignments were entirely random; the room numbers had simply appeared in their minds when they arrived.
On the first day, no one dared to wander around, so they slept in their designated beds. What terrified them was that the beds and lockers already contained their own personal belongings—even for the day students2.
Zhou Mingfang and Xin Lan were not in the same dorm, but since they had formed a team, she naturally wanted to sleep in the same room as her teammate.
When Xin Lan returned to her dormitory, none of her roommates were back yet.
Not wanting to separate from her teammate, Zhou Mingfang sat down in Xin Lan’s room.
The accommodation conditions at this school were actually quite good. The dorms featured bunk beds with desks underneath, though there was no en-suite bathroom.
Ten minutes later, one of Xin Lan’s roommates returned.
Zhou Mingfang mentioned her dorm number and asked if they could swap rooms. By coincidence, that girl had a teammate assigned to Zhou Mingfang’s room.
Xin Lan climbed down from her bed to help Zhou Mingfang move her things over.
When the other two roommates finally returned, they didn’t say anything about the new arrival and simply went to their own beds.
Xin Lan lay on her bed, fiddling with her disconnected phone and watching the time. Just as the rest period ended, the resounding toll of a bell echoed across the campus.
Everyone involuntarily tensed up. Zhou Mingfang hid under her quilt.
Hunting time had begun.
The dorm door remained shut tight. No one showed any sign of moving.
Zhou Mingfang stared at the doorway, terrified that a monster would smash through it at any second.
Xin Lan cast her a glance before looking away. As long as they didn’t open the door, the greatest danger right now wasn’t outside—it was inside, hidden in the unknown.
In winter, the sky grew dark early. It was only past seven o’clock, but outside it was already pitch black.
The wind howled, rattling the glass windows.
Xiao Chun took out her diary and began writing in it with a pen.
But suddenly, the diary was snatched right out of her hands.
“Give it back!”
Xiao Chun kept her voice low, glaring at the person across from her.
Drawn by the commotion, Xin Lan looked up.
“Let’s see what our little bitch wrote in here. Tsk, tsk, her deep thoughts…”
The drawn-out female voice carried a piercing mockery, as if intent on pulverizing the girl’s self-esteem.
“Shut up!”
Xiao Chun looked frantically at the other two roommates, her face turning pale.
“What, I’m not allowed to read it? ‘Fear submerged me like lake water.’ Tsk, tsk, tsk. How melodramatic.”
“It’s none of your business! Give it back!”
“‘We changed roommates today. Roommate A is very pretty, and Roommate B is on her team. If only the other one could die.’ What do you mean by that, you little slut? You’re cursing this daddy3 to die?”
The girl read the diary in an amused, mocking tone, but by the end, her expression twisted. She smashed the diary back against Xiao Chun’s head. Xiao Chun’s forehead immediately swelled bright red.
“You fucking stinking whore, it looks like I haven’t taught you enough of a lesson on normal days, huh? You dare curse this daddy to die? You could die, you little bitch, and I still wouldn’t die. Give me your clues!”
The girl stood up, trying to climb across the beds to Xiao Chun’s side.
“I won’t give them to you.”
Xiao Chun tried to push her away, only to be grabbed by the hair and slapped across the face.
Zhou Mingfang didn’t dare intervene. She shrank under her quilt, trembling.
Annoyed by the noise, Xin Lan frowned and looked over at the girl throwing the punches.
The girl wore several ear studs, her expression brimming with malice, her mouth spewing filthy curses. Judging by what she had said earlier, this school bullying had clearly been going on for a long time.
The standoff continued. The girl gripped Xiao Chun’s hair, her hands groping wildly over Xiao Chun’s body to find the clues. Xiao Chun bit her, shoving her away.
The cries of pain and the cursing were truly annoying. Xin Lan threw a half-empty water bottle, striking the violent girl with flawless precision.
“Where did this chicken4 come from, crowing before dawn? Other people are trying to sleep. Got it?”
Xin Lan sneered. She hated it most when people made a racket.
“You’re the fucking chicken! You look exactly like a young miss5, who knows how many men have already played with you, and you’re here acting pure? Who doesn’t know you’re a broken shoe6 who offered herself up to Zou Yunfei, and he didn’t even want to play with you!”
The girl spat, letting go of Xiao Chun’s hair to sneer back at Xin Lan.
Zou Yunfei was that trash of an ex-boyfriend.
Xin Lan climbed down from her bed and stood beneath the girl.
“What? Still want to raise a hand against me?”
Xin Lan didn’t waste breath. She simply grabbed one of the girl’s ankles and dragged her right off the top bunk. The girl slammed onto the floor, curling up in pain.
“You fucking son of a bitch, how dare you…”
Before she could finish her curse, Xin Lan grabbed her by the head and smashed it against the desk, producing a loud crack.
“Say it again.”
Xin Lan raised an eyebrow.
“This daddy said you’re…”
—Thud!
“Say it again.”
“You fucking…”
—Thud.
“Say it again.”
Xin Lan’s tone was mild, but it sent shivers down the spine.
After being dragged and bashed against the desk several times, the girl’s head was bleeding. Beads of blood slid down her face. Her eyes glared at Xin Lan with pure hatred, but she didn’t dare open her mouth again.
“Gone mute? You sure had a lot to say a moment ago.”
“If you have the guts, let me go!”
Xin Lan released her grip, dusting off her hands in disgust.
The girl scrambled up from the floor and tried to lunge at Xin Lan, only to receive a swift kick to the lower abdomen. Clutching her stomach, she collapsed back onto the floor.
Xin Lan licked her dry lips and viciously ground her heel into the girl’s hand a few times.
“Actually, I was wrong earlier. You aren’t a chicken, you’re a dog. Otherwise, why would your mouth be spewing so much shit?”
Xin Lan squatted down leisurely, her fingers searching through the girl’s pockets.
When the girl tried to struggle again, Xin Lan delivered an elbow strike directly to her face. Pinning her by the throat with one hand, Xin Lan asked Zero Nine to tell her where the items were.
Zero Nine: …Ew, in her pantsu7.
She sure knows how to hide things.
Xin Lan stood up and beckoned with a finger toward Xiao Chun, who had just been taking a beating on the bed.
“Get down here and help me take her pants off.”
Not daring to disobey, Xiao Chun scrambled down from her bed, trembling.
The girl tried to thrash around, but Xin Lan planted a foot firmly on her chest.
“Isn’t someone supposed to die tonight? Move again, and that person will be you.”
The author has something to say:
Emitting the System’s voice: The Host is so amazing! The author is so dominant! 【crunch crunch】
Footnotes
- A common joke among Chinese students regarding cafeteria workers, who notoriously 'shake' their ladles while serving to drop pieces of meat back into the tray, giving students less food.
- Students who commute to school daily and do not normally sleep in the dormitories.
- Original: lǎozi. An arrogant self-referential term used to assert absolute dominance over the listener. Though literally meaning 'this daddy' or 'your father,' it is occasionally used by tough, vulgar female characters to sound exceptionally aggressive.
- The Chinese word for 'chicken' (jī) is common street slang for a prostitute. Xin Lan is playing on both the literal meaning (a bird crowing before dawn) and the vulgar insult.
- While 'xiǎojiě' traditionally means 'young miss' or 'lady,' in modern vernacular it is frequently used as slang for a female sex worker.
- Literally 'broken shoe' (pòxié). A derogatory slang term for a promiscuous woman, implying she is worn out and easily discarded.
- A phonetic loanword from the Japanese 'pantsu,' meaning panties or underwear. It is common in internet and otaku slang.
What a… good hiding place