Chapter 35: 【No One Can Stop Me Either!】

Lu Sisi recognized him—this Professor Zhao was a teacher at the academy, and had even taught one of her class's required courses.

In the eyes of a slacker student like Lu Sisi, this teacher was already quite impressive—a full professor, a master's supervisor, and even held the title of Associate Dean of a sub-college.

Since the route to the cafeteria passed by the academy's office building anyway, Lu Sisi simply walked along that path.

She arrived at the office building, went up to the second floor, found the office, knocked, and went in.

Inside the office, Professor Zhao sat behind the desk with her head lowered, reading a book, with an exquisite lunchbox placed in front of her. Her silver hair was combed neatly, one hand holding chopsticks, the other holding the book, her posture elegant, completely absorbed in reading.

Hearing the knock, Professor Zhao looked up and saw a delicate, gentle girl walk in.

Hm? Why is there gauze taped to her forehead?

"You are?"

Lu Sisi, timid, swallowed, quickly stepped forward two paces, set the wallet on the desk, then said softly: "I picked up a wallet on the road, it should be yours, so…"

Professor Zhao was startled, then instinctively felt her own pocket; her expression changed, and she quickly picked up the wallet on the desk and opened it for a look.

"Oh my! It really is mine!" Professor Zhao beamed, stood up and walked over to Lu Sisi: "Thank you so much, student. If you hadn't found it, I wouldn't have known I'd lost it—by the time I noticed, I probably wouldn't have been able to get it back.

Although there's no cash in the wallet, the ID documents and bank cards—if I had to report them lost and reissue them, it would all be a real hassle.

You've really done me a huge favor."

Lu Sisi was a little nervous, watching in a daze as Professor Zhao extended her hand, and only then half-consciously shook it.

"Thank you!" Professor Zhao paused: "At this hour, I've kept you from your lunch, haven't I?"

"N-no, no no… I was just heading to the cafeteria."

"Mm, then hurry along! Even though you're young, you still need to take care of your health!"

Lu Sisi quickly bowed, turned to leave, but had only taken two steps when Professor Zhao suddenly called out again.

"Wait a moment!

Miss, you look rather familiar to me—are you one of my students?"

Lu Sisi quickly said: "Yes, I'm from Class 2, Business Administration, Grade 24."

"What's your name?"

"Lu Sisi."

"Mm, a very delicate name," Professor Zhao said with a smile, then nodded: "Go on, hurry and eat."

Lu Sisi took her leave in a daze, then hurried toward the cafeteria.

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In the office, Professor Zhao saw Lu Sisi off, took the wallet, and put it back into her own bag.

Walking back to the desk, she suddenly had some impulse she couldn't name—moved the book aside and pulled a slip of paper out of the drawer.

On it was a grade sheet—the exam results for the required course she had taught a few days earlier.

Given her status, she naturally wouldn't grade papers herself; it was all done by the graduate students she supervised, and once they finished, they sent the grade sheet to her for a look.

This grade sheet had been delivered that morning.

Professor Zhao quickly found Lu Sisi's name on the form and glanced at the score.

"Sigh, such a pretty little girl, but her grades are very average," she said, then looked at the usual marks and attendance—those were all in order.

Emmmm……

Professor Zhao paused, casually picked up a signature pen from the desk, and crossed out the score after Lu Sisi's name.

She wrote in a new number.

Mm, the new number was a few points higher than the old one.

Just barely scraping past.

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Lu Sisi had no idea that this little encounter had unknowingly saved her from a makeup exam.

Sitting at a cafeteria table eating, Lu Sisi had just one thought in her mind.

When dishing out the food, the auntie's hand didn't tremble today!

Two more pieces of meat than usual.

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Miss Gu sat at the entrance of Extreme Internet Cafe, on a small wooden stool.

She rested her chin on both hands, eyes wide, watching the people coming and going on the street.

The door was pulled open from inside, and the proprietress poked half her head out, sucked in a breath of cold air, and shivered: "Little Gu, aren't you cold? It's zero degrees today, and you've been sitting at the front door all morning!

Come inside! If this keeps up you'll freeze yourself sick!"

Miss Gu turned to glance at the proprietress, a faint smile on her face: "I'm fine, proprietress. I can take the cold, I'm not afraid of it."

Her tone was very sincere, and she really wasn't lying.

Zero degrees… is that cold?

Compared to the gale winds on the Prison-Suppressing Platform that could scrape the flesh right off a person's bones, the wind here was practically warm and intoxicating…

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The proprietress thought for a moment, then simply pulled the door open and came outside, a hand warmer clutched in her hand, hunching her shoulders: "What's been going on with you these past two days? You don't go out during the day anymore, just sit at my shop's door—do you think you're a lucky cat?"

Miss Gu shook her head, thought for a moment: "I just felt stuffy inside the shop, so I'm sitting at the door to get some air."

The proprietress looked at the girl, then said softly: "The search for the person not going well? Still haven't found them?"

"Mm, but it should be soon," a flash of resolve passed through the girl's eyes.

The proprietress sighed, but suddenly stared at Miss Gu's face and hair for a couple of seconds.

"Little Gu… how many days has it been since you washed up?"

"Uh…"

A faint blush rose on that fair, clean face of Miss Gu's.

The proprietress thought for a moment, then fished a key out of her pocket and pressed it into Miss Gu's hand.

"Go to the third floor. The room at the very end is mine — there's a bathroom inside.

Go wash up in my room. There's a set of underwear hanging on the balcony that I just bought — I've rinsed it once, never worn it.

You're about my height, so try those on first."

Miss Gu's face reddened at the words, and her eyes grew hot. In a soft, thin voice she said, "Proprietress, how could I possibly?"

"Don't be shy — the clothes aren't expensive, I get them on sale at the supermarket. Go on, go on!"

Though Miss Gu felt shy inside, she couldn't help being tempted after all.

For a girl… the lure of a bath was still very strong.

Who doesn't want to be clean and pretty?

Miss Gu was still hesitating, but the proprietress, an open and frank sort, simply pulled her up, dragged her into the shop, and shoved her up the stairs: "Go on, go on — the hair dryer's hanging right by the wash basin!"

Miss Gu went upstairs in a mincing, awkward way. The proprietress returned behind the counter and went back to watching her variety show.

About an hour later…

The proprietress looked up and saw Miss Gu already standing in front of her, face flushed all over.

Most of the redness on her face was from the steam of the hot water; her hair was still damp, with little beads of water clinging to it.

"Oh look, isn't it nice and clean after washing!" The proprietress laughed, then said in surprise, "Why didn't you blow-dry your hair? In this cold weather, if you don't dry it, you'll get a headache later!"

Saying so, she simply got up — at this hour there wasn't much business anyway; the nearby schools were all in exam season, and the internet café's trade had started to thin out.

"Third Bro!!"

The proprietress shouted at the top of her lungs.

From behind the second row of computers in the shop, a huge head poked out — a buzz cut, a fierce, brutish look on his face — and growled, "Sis?"

"I'm going upstairs for a bit. You come mind the counter!"

Buzz-cut grunted "Oh," got up and ambled over, a cigarette dangling from his lips, walked behind the counter, and slumped into a chair.

"We're doing business here! Be polite to the customers!"

"Got it, Sis, go on — I promise I won't hit anyone or curse anyone." Buzz-cut forced a smile. "Is this smile okay?"

The proprietress glanced at her little brother — that smile was the kind that could scare a child into tears at midnight.

She sighed, too lazy to say more.

The proprietress simply took Miss Gu upstairs and back into her own room.

She sat Miss Gu down, told her to take off the black cotton-padded coat first, and tossed it straight into the washing machine.

"That outer coat needs washing too. Wear mine for now."

Saying so, the proprietress rummaged through the wardrobe and pulled out a few items: a fitted sweater, a down jacket, and a pair of jeans.

After a moment's thought, she asked, "What shoe size do you wear?"

"…………"

Miss Gu pressed her lips together and said nothing — she actually didn't know what "size" meant.

The proprietress didn't mind; she just assumed the girl was too shy, so she simply grabbed a pair of her own sneakers.

"You're about my height, so your shoe size shouldn't be far off. Try mine first."

Then the proprietress pressed Miss Gu down into the chair in front of the dressing table, brought over the hair dryer, and began drying Miss Gu's hair.

The whirring sound of the hair dryer startled the girl at first, but she quickly got used to it. With a look that was three parts curious and three parts comfortable, she slowly narrowed her eyes, savoring the feel of the warm breeze on her hair.

"Xiao Gu, you've changed into the underwear, right?"

The proprietress asked as she blew the hair.

"Mm."

"Does it fit?"

"Mm…" Miss Gu lowered her head, thought for a moment, and said earnestly, "It's all right, but the pants are a bit big and the top is a bit small…"

Hearing this, the proprietress's hand holding the dryer stiffened slightly.

She instinctively glanced down at little Gu sitting in front of her.

This girl — younger than me!

Better-looking than me!

As if that weren't enough —

She's thinner than me too! And yet bigger than me?!

A little sourness welled up inside…

There really is no justice!

The thought flashed through her mind — Liu Yihua — and the proprietress went on drying Miss Gu's hair.

"Xiao Gu, you've been here with me for quite a few days now and I haven't asked — where are you from back home? From your accent, you sound like you're from the Eastern Three Provinces, right?"

"Mm-hm."

Miss Gu nodded. Dongsanzhou Provinces, eh… well, the boundary opening was indeed there, so in the eyes of the people of this world, she would count as being from the Eastern Three Provinces.

"So what did you do back in your hometown?"

"Mm… slaughtering."

The proprietress's hand gave a jerk.

Slaughtering? Such a delicate-looking Miss — doing that?

"Oh, your family runs a livestock-raising business?"

"…Not really, we don't raise any at home. It's all killing… wild ones."

"That is… a hunter?"

People still make a living by hunting these days? Hmm… maybe still in the East Three Prefectures?

Heard that over there, in the deep mountains and old forests, plenty of locals still do this for a living.

And there are also forest rangers — heard it's tough, but they have an official post and draw a salary from the government.

Stable!

The proprietress perked up a bit: "You don't look that young anymore — do you have a boyfriend back home?"

"No."

"Then…" The proprietress's eyes lit up: "You're this pretty — you don't think about finding one?"

The girl surnamed Gu fell silent.

The proprietress rallied herself: "Look at you — good-looking, the pick of the bunch among Misses, you've got everything going for you. And your temperament is soft, quiet, inwardly refined, and you know how to work. Any man who landed a wife like you would simply be…"

The girl surnamed Gu kept her head lowered; hearing this far, she suddenly said softly.

"Proprietress, I have a husband."

"…Huh?"

The proprietress froze, the hairdryer in her hand stopping mid-motion.

"I have a husband… the family arranged the betrothal, we just haven't married yet." The girl surnamed Gu answered in a very serious tone, lifting her head as she spoke to look into the proprietress's eyes: "So I won't take a fancy to any other man."

The proprietress felt a bit awkward; the thought she'd originally been nursing of picking one out from her three younger brothers to play matchmaker with vanished.

However…

"You're betrothed?" The proprietress looked at the girl surnamed Gu curiously, then thought it over in her mind and suddenly saw the light: "I get it! You…"

At this point she lowered her voice: "You didn't run away from the wedding, did you? What era is this — still arranged marriages!

You're not happy with the person you're betrothed to? The other party isn't a good person?"

The girl surnamed Gu pressed her lips together, a flash of killing intent crossing her eyes: "The other party really isn't anything good. I've heard that whole family is heartless and ungrateful, of low and vile character."

Got it!

The proprietress sighed, her tone somewhat regretful: "Then you really do have to run! This marriage has to be fled from!

For us women, when it comes to marriage, you absolutely must not pick the wrong person!"

"I didn't run, and I didn't flee the wedding." The girl surnamed Gu shook her head: "It was the other family's side that ran."

The proprietress: "…"

She lowered her head to look in the mirror at the girl surnamed Gu's face, and her figure.

The man's side ran?

No way! What was this man thinking?!

With this face, this figure!

And he still didn't want her?! What more could he possibly want?

That doesn't add up, does it?

"No, then — you came all the way to Jin Ling Prefecture, this is…?"

"I came to find him, drag him back to marry me." The girl surnamed Gu ground her teeth: "In this life — alive he is my husband, dead he is my widower-husband. No one can stop me."

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【Hit the new-book rankings — begging for some votes, bookmarks, chapter comments, section comments, all that data is pretty good, but there are no votes — missing one leg.

Said I wouldn't beg for monthly tickets or the monthly-ticket rankings, so at the start of the month every book is rushing the rankings begging for monthly tickets, I didn't speak up,

Now if you have spare tickets in hand and no particular book you especially want to support, toss some my way. Not forcing it, zen about it. Best case I make the rankings, if not then — well, alright~】

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