A Young Woman's Heart

He scratched his head, somewhat troubled, but felt it was better to go at noon. That way, if anything happened, there would still be teachers around. If he went outside the school gate, things would get complicated again.

Even if the school would hold me accountable later, I would still be beaten up back then.

Moreover... they might say he also bears some responsibility—otherwise, why would others target him instead of others?

After hesitating for a long time, Lu Bolun decided to go and discuss it with Mr. Xue.

Firstly, he has many ideas, and secondly, he is tight-lipped and won't reveal secrets.

Thirdly, he is naturally the most reliable person to ask for help for both boys and girls.

Having made up his mind, Luberon stuffed the letter into his pocket, walked out of the classroom, and patted Mr. Xue, who was leaning against the railing in the corridor, enjoying the breeze.

"Little Snow."

"Are you in trouble?" Mr. Xue turned around and asked with a half-smile.

A petal landed on his head. He raised his white, slightly reflective hand, picked it up, blew on it gently, and let it drift away in the wind.

"Yes." Lu Bolun nervously took out the letter. "Look, Xiaoxue, this is a challenge letter. Should I respond or not? Well, I think it's better to settle this at school, at least there will be teachers there. You can testify for me that they started the trouble."

"No rush, let me take a look first." Mr. Xue nodded, leaned closer to him for a glance, and then his smile deepened. "Hmm, this character."

What's wrong with the words?

"It's nothing, it just feels somewhat familiar."

"Xiaoxue, do you know who wrote it?" Lu Bolun asked hurriedly. "Who? Was it Jun Ruohuan?"

Mr. Xue shook his head, then just smiled and sighed, "But I can't remember."

"Damn, there's something else you haven't remembered!"

"Well, you can go at noon. If you're really worried, I'll go with you."

"But he said no one else can come along!"

"I'll be waiting for you downstairs. If anything happens, just shout."

"Isn't it a little... embarrassing?"

“It’s better than getting beaten up.” Mr. Xue seemed completely unconcerned, but still offered him a suggestion: “Call Li Hongran along too, so we won’t be short-handed later.”

"Yes, yes, and let Zhou Yong and Gao Yuan come too, the more people, the more help!"

"Ah."

"Then it's settled! I'll go talk to them!"

"Okay." Mr. Xue looked at Lu Bolun, who was turning around to leave, hesitated for a moment, then gently patted his shoulder and smiled, "However, don't be too nervous, just be natural."

Luberon smiled wryly, "I'll try my best... To be honest, I've never been in a fight before..."

Afterwards, he told Li Hongran and others about it. Upon learning this, they immediately said that they would do anything to help their brother in his time of need.

However, it seems that Liu Xiaowei is just looking for a place to fight.

Don't let his small size and sleazy appearance fool you; he got into quite a few fights back in junior high.

Junior high school is probably the most untamed stage of a student's life.

At this point, the students were closer to wild animals than to 'humans' in civilized society.

The law of the jungle forces them to fight each other, and those who show weakness will be bullied by more other students. Those students who are bullied by a group of people are basically the result of their initial weakness.

Therefore, people like Liu Xiaowei, who are thin and easily bullied, need to know how to fight.

This is normal.

In fact, it's probably people like Li Hongran who haven't been in many fights yet. After all, people wouldn't go looking for trouble just because of his size; otherwise, they'd only be the ones who end up unhappy.

A big guy may not necessarily be able to beat a small guy, but at least he can make people talk to him politely as soon as they see him.

As noon approached, Luberon's heart pounded with anxiety.

This was the first time he had ever encountered something like this in his life. If it weren't for so many brothers willing to stand up for him, he wouldn't know what to do.

Of course, besides him, there were others who were nervous and expectant...

……

Chapter Sixteen: See you on the rooftop

At midday in spring, the sun lazily shines on the earth, and the early spring flowers are in full bloom, filling the air with the fragrance of flowers and soil.

With such great weather, the playground was naturally bustling with activity. Even from inside the laboratory building, one could hear the sounds of shooting and cheers coming from the basketball court in the distance.

Several boys were already standing downstairs, and Lu Bolun walked inside, turning back every three steps.

"Hurry up and go in, what are you being cowardly for? Shout if anything happens, and I guarantee I'll be there right away!" Li Hongran patted his shoulder hard, looking exceptionally reliable, which immediately put his mind at ease.

"Thank you very much."

"We're all brothers, why be so polite?"

"Yeah, hurry up, kid!" Gao Yuan chimed in, walking downstairs to the vending machine. "Maybe you can handle it all by yourself, and then you can come down and have a drink with us!"

“Go ahead.” Mr. Xue smiled and nodded at him. His eyes were gentle and calm, which naturally gave people the courage to face anything.

So Luberon straightened his back and walked up the steps one by one.

The closer he got to the rooftop, the slower he became.

Finally, he placed one hand on the doorknob of the rooftop, hesitated for a full half minute, and then slowly pushed it open.

A warm spring breeze blew in his face, rustling the trees downstairs. The noisy sounds of students on the playground seemed somewhat distant to him at that moment.

"Uh...where is he?" Luberon looked around and moved to the other side of the ventilation shaft.

“Here…!” However, a familiar female voice came from behind him.

He turned around in confusion and saw Lu Chengyuan hiding quietly behind the door, only peeking out with half her head. After a few seconds, she mustered up the courage to come out and took a deep breath.

"Hey? Lu Chengyuan? What are you doing here?" Lu Bolun scratched his head. "Was a boy here just now? Did he leave?"

"No, actually that letter was from me to you, cough!" Lu Chengyuan's face was slightly red, and she coughed lightly with her right fist in front of her lips.

The rooftop terrace seemed to connect to the vast sky, leaving Luberon momentarily disoriented.

"……what?"

"Today is...Valentine's Day!" Lu Chengyuan took two more steps forward, bringing the two of them closer. "Ordinary, ordinary...love letters are too cliché! Isn't this more interesting?"

After saying what she wanted to say, Lu Chengyuan's face became even rosier, and she straightened her chest, as if she felt much better.

"what?"

"What? Stop pretending! It's Valentine's Day, so it's... well... I... like you?"

Lu Bolun stood there awkwardly, unsure how to respond.

Seeing that the other person didn't speak, Lu Chengyuan became a little nervous. She quickly explained her reasons: "Because you have a cheerful personality, are very patient with others, have a good temper, and are quite humorous and witty, not rigid at all. And then, and then... over time, I fell in love with you, um... that's it?"

Even though he was stating his reasons, he still spoke with a somewhat insecure tone.

Luberon looked up at the sky, wiped his face vigorously, and gave a polite smile: "Thank you..."

"So...you agreed?" Lu Chengyuan asked in surprise, and took two quick steps forward. Now, the two were very close, and they could almost feel each other's breath.

Lu Chengyuan's gaze was intense, while Lü Bolun's was somewhat evasive.

"Bang—!" The door was slammed shut by the wind with a loud thud.

She seemed to have already found the answer in her heart.

“But I don’t have the romantic feelings you have for someone I like in a relationship.” Lu Bolun’s smile became increasingly embarrassed. “We’re great as friends, but maybe as lovers… it’s a bit lacking?”

"Why not! It's okay to start getting to know each other properly now! There has to be a beginning! We're already so familiar with each other... we're not strangers, you think it's abrupt."

"It's just... I've never thought about it that way."

"Why? Do you think I'm not good-looking? Or that I have a bad personality? Or is there something about me that you don't like?"

"No, no, don't misunderstand." Lu Bolun took a half step back and shifted his gaze to the ventilation shaft. "I just like this kind of thing, you can't force it... Haha, I learned this from Le... Wang Jiale, so, rather than forcing it, it's better not to start at all, right?"

How do you know that being together is forced?

"At least for now, there's nothing... I don't feel anything?"

Lu Chengyuan bit her lip tightly, lowered her head, and didn't say a word for a long time.

The sky above was a clear, deep blue, but it seemed unusually quiet at that moment.

Both of them felt like each day was an eternity.

The air was stiff, as if it had solidified.

"I... I'm just afraid that if it doesn't work out, you'll get hurt even more. Although if we get to know each other, we might actually be surprisingly compatible..." Lu Bolun tried to ease the awkwardness in the atmosphere. "I'm not saying I hate you or don't like you. Actually, you're a pretty good girl. You're lively, understanding, and you're also... quite good-looking."

Lu Chengyuan still did not answer.

Perhaps it's no use saying anything now. Even if Lu Bolun agrees immediately, she will still harbor nine-tenths of doubt in her heart.

Then a relationship that might have gone the distance will definitely not go the distance.

At least not now.

"Well, if there's nothing else, I'll go first...?"

"Old Lu, are you alright!" Just then, the thick wooden door that had been blown shut by the wind was suddenly kicked open, and Li Hongran rushed in with Gao Yuan and a few other boys.

However, the imagined fight did not happen, and the person who "challenged" them was not a boy at all, but a girl from the same class.

Everyone's brains went blank for a moment, and they couldn't figure out what was going on.

……

Downstairs, Mr. Xue slowly walked upstairs. From the band room on the fifth floor, the sound of electronic keyboard practice could be heard. He paused slightly and then walked towards the band room.

Only Mo Xueyao was in the classroom. The others probably hadn't finished lunch yet, or they had other things to do, so they hadn't come yet.

Hearing footsteps in the corridor, Mo Xueyao removed her hands from the black and red electronic keyboard, turned her head and looked towards the door: "Hey, Xueyao, are you here to practice?"

"Hmm?" However, Mr. Xue frowned. "That's not right."