Chapter Five: The Lin Sisters

Who else could it be? The fake bangs, the ponytail, the black leather outfit, the blue lipstick... and that cry of “delinquent girl”... Among all the girls at First High School, who else would dress like that? At last, Zhuonan understood why the Lin Ruijia he saw today felt so different from the one he had met that day. It turned out they were not the same person at all...

“It’s you...” Seeing that the person standing beside Lin Ruijia was the very guy who had made her look foolish the other day, the delinquent girl was seething, wishing she could rush over and punch Zhuonan right there and then.

“Ruyi, why are you so fierce?” Lin Ruijia, standing nearby, had already sensed the misunderstanding between them and quickly spoke up to smooth things over.

Lin Ruyi glared at Zhuonan and said, “Sis, you don’t know this, but this nasty little punk embarrassed me on the first day of school. Today I’m going to have a proper argument with him...”

Lin Ruijia and Lin Ruyi were twin sisters. They studied at the same school, one in Class Three, the other in Class Six. The Lin sisters were both bright and quick-witted. The elder sister, Lin Ruijia, was the very student whom Xia Qianrou had mentioned as the city’s top scorer on the middle school entrance exam, while the younger sister, Lin Ruyi, though poor at her studies, was by no means stupid. She simply had no heart for schoolwork. Lin Ruijia had been admitted to First High School, whereas Lin Ruyi had only qualified for an ordinary high school; in the end, it was their father who paid a sponsorship fee so that she could attend the same school as her sister.

At that moment, Lin Ruijia put on her elder-sister authority. “Ruyi, stop fooling around. I still need to thank Zhuonan, actually. That fellow Lu Zihan was trying to pester me again just now, and luckily Zhuonan stepped in and drove him off.”

Hearing that from her sister, Lin Ruyi’s fury eased, though she now wore a gleeful, schadenfreude smile. “Kid, I won’t trouble you anymore. But the Lu boy is not one to be trifled with. If you’ve offended him, you’re going to have a hard time later...”

“Ruyi...” Lin Ruijia hurriedly interrupted, eyes wide as she fixed Lin Ruyi with a look. Seeing her sister angry, Lin Ruyi obediently fell silent.

Zhuonan thought to himself, So the delinquent girl can actually be kept in line by her sister...

Seeing that her younger sister had settled down, Lin Ruijia’s face showed a trace of concern as she said to Zhuonan, “Zhuonan, thank you just now...”

Zhuonan waved it away. “No need to call me Mr. Zhuonan. Just call me Zhuonan.”

Lin Ruijia nodded and went on, “Zhuonan, Lu Zihan is not someone easy to deal with. His family has quite a bit of influence. Even if you fight him one-on-one, whether you win or lose, you’ll probably end up in a lot of trouble. Besides, this started because of me. How about I step in and try to mediate?”

He had long known Lu Zihan was no good. From Lin Ruijia’s tone, he could tell that Lu Zihan’s family must be formidable. Zhuonan thought, What good is formidable? I have a super brain. Ordinary people really can’t hurt me.

He said with a smile, “Then I’ll just call you Lin Ruijia.” Lin Ruijia nodded in agreement.

Zhuonan continued, “What Lu Zihan is to me doesn’t matter. And I never planned to have you step in and mediate anyway. Why should I be afraid of him? Is he going to kill me, or what?” As soon as Zhuonan finished speaking, Lin Ruyi burst out laughing nearby. “Nasty little punk, you’re pretty interesting. But you probably don’t know how powerful Lu Zihan’s family really is.”

Zhuonan replied, “I’d love to hear the details...”

Lin Ruyi turned her head away with the smug look of someone who had a trick up her sleeve. “You want to know? I’m not telling you.”

Good grief, this girl is still playing childish games... Lin Ruijia, frowning beside her, was about to speak when Lin Ruyi hurriedly grabbed her. “Sis, don’t tell him. Let him stew a while...”

Zhuonan was truly speechless. If I wanted to know what kind of creature Lu Zihan is, I’d still need to ask you? Hmph...

Lin Ruyi had assumed Zhuonan would be terrified, then plead with her to tell him about Lu Zihan, and she could seize the chance to avenge the humiliation from that day. But Zhuonan only smiled at Lin Ruijia and said, “Lin Ruijia, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now. Goodbye.”

Without another glance, he turned and left...

Lin Ruyi’s grand plan had come to nothing. She shouted after him in annoyance, “Hey, stop right there! You stop!” But no matter how she called, Zhuonan never once looked back.

Lin Ruyi stamped her feet in exasperation, while Lin Ruijia found her expression utterly amusing. “Sis, you’re laughing at me too...” Lin Ruyi puffed out her lips and complained angrily.

“It really is funny. Look at you, you’re like a little goldfish,” Lin Ruijia said, laughing until her shoulders shook.

Lin Ruyi was no pushover either. “Sis, you’re the one who looks like a little goldfish!” she shot back, reaching out to tickle Lin Ruijia under the arms.

“Hahaha... hey, stop it, stop it... Ruyi, not here, we’re at school...” Lin Ruijia lost all composure under her sister’s sneak attack.

“Sis, let’s see if you still laugh!” Lin Ruyi paid no mind to where they were and increased her efforts. In the corridor, the two girls put on a lively show, instantly giving the boys who had not yet left quite a feast for the eyes.

“All right, all right, I was wrong, I was wrong. Stop it, let’s go...” Lin Ruijia’s face had gone beet red; she hurriedly admitted defeat.

Only then did Lin Ruyi stop and return to normal. “Sis, let’s go. Look at you, you’ve got everyone staring at us.”

“What are you staring at? Never seen beauties before? Get lost!” Only a girl like Lin Ruyi, a true delinquent, could say something like that. A quiet, gentle girl like Lin Ruijia would never in a million years do anything so unladylike.

The delinquent girl’s威力 was indeed extraordinary. With one roar like a tigress of the river east, the boys fled the scene in a hurry. Lin Ruyi lifted her chin, her face full of contempt, as if to say: So? Pretty impressive, huh?

Lin Ruijia saw it all and sighed. “You... come on.”

As they walked, Lin Ruyi seemed to remember something and turned back to ask, “Sis, you said that guy just now wants to challenge Lu Zihan one-on-one. When are they going to fight?”

At the mention of Zhuonan, Lin Ruijia’s mind immediately conjured his image: tall and handsome, with a rather striking face, though that roguish air about him was simply too strong. She wondered what his academic performance might be like. Suddenly, inspiration flashed. Right—he’s called Zhuonan. I remember the runner-up in this year’s middle school entrance exam in Deqing was also called Zhuonan. It must be him. No wonder when Lu Zihan said they would compare total exam scores, he agreed without even thinking.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

That slight smile, however, was caught by Lin Ruyi beside her. “Sis, you’re in love,” she teased.

Lin Ruijia was startled and blushed furiously. “You wretched girl, what nonsense are you talking?”

Lin Ruyi showed no fear at all. The more her sister acted that way, the more it proved there was something to it. In the tone of someone who had seen it all, she said, “Sis, just now when I mentioned that guy, the corners of your mouth lifted. You know, that’s the kind of smile only girls in love have.”

Lin Ruijia’s face went even redder, of course this time from anger. In a stern voice she said, “Ruyi, don’t talk nonsense. I won’t date anyone before I go to college.”

Hearing that, Lin Ruyi knew her sister was truly angry and quickly changed the subject. “Sis, you still haven’t answered the question I just asked.”

“Isn’t this all your fault, dragging the conversation everywhere? Zhuonan and Lu Zihan will compete by comparing their total scores in next month’s exam.”

“Oh, so it’s that kind of one-on-one. I thought you meant fighting. But Lu Zihan’s grades are pretty good. I heard he’s already basically mastered the high school curriculum.” Though it wasn’t a fight, Lin Ruyi’s interest did not lessen.

Lin Ruijia nodded. “But Zhuonan doesn’t seem bad either. If I’m not mistaken, he should be this year’s runner-up in the middle school entrance exam.”

Lin Ruyi’s face filled with disdain. “Hmph, sis, you must be mistaken. That guy is obviously a thug. Just look at the way he talks—he’s probably from the underworld too. Another day I’ll get a couple of friends to ask around about him.”

For no reason at all, Lin Ruijia suddenly felt a pang of tension and quickly said, “Don’t do anything rash. Zhuonan may have a bit of that roguish air and seem somewhat indifferent to the world, but I can tell he’s actually a good person.”

“Oh?” Lin Ruyi made a strange noise beside her and pointed at Lin Ruijia. “Sis, you’re not denying it this time. Look how nervous you are. I’m only asking people to find out about him, not to beat him up.”

Lin Ruijia herself did not understand why she had suddenly become so nervous. But if anyone said she had taken a liking to Zhuonan, that was absolutely impossible. She defended herself, saying, “Say whatever you like. I’m not going to fall in love. I just don’t want you causing trouble. You know Mom and Dad have been abroad for so long, and there are only the two of us at home. If you stir up trouble, how are you going to explain it when they come back?”

When Lin Ruijia was truly angry, Lin Ruyi was still rather afraid of her. Although her sister was only ten minutes older, she had always exercised her authority well, taking care to discipline her seriously from a young age. Over time, that had become a habit.

“Sis, don’t be mad. I was only joking,” Lin Ruyi said in a much smaller voice, realizing she had gone a little too far. After all, offending her sister would make life miserable later on. The pocket money their parents gave them was under her sister’s control, and in ordinary times she even had to copy her homework...

How could Lin Ruijia possibly quarrel with her over such a small matter? She had only wanted to scare her a little and get her to shut up. Now that the effect had been achieved, she still did not forget to educate her younger sister. “Ruyi, I have a bad feeling about this. This time, when Lu Zihan’s family moved here from the south, it definitely wasn’t just for business. As for the real reason, I haven’t figured it out yet. But our sisterly pair must be extra careful. Even if Lu Zihan doesn’t dare to do anything to us, there are many things we should guard against. From now on, you’d better not be so high-profile.”

Lin Ruyi was only playful, not brainless. Of course she understood what her sister meant. Though outwardly she looked down on Lu Zihan, in her heart she knew the Lu family’s background and could not help but feel somewhat worried. She replied seriously, “Sis, I understand. Don’t worry. It’s just that I’m a little concerned about that guy now. If he really offends Lu Zihan, I’m afraid life will not be easy for him later.”

Mentioning that made Lin Ruijia deeply vexed. After all, the one-on-one between Zhuonan and Lu Zihan had ultimately begun because of her. If Zhuonan really beat Lu Zihan, Lu Zihan would surely come looking for trouble with Zhuonan. But if Zhuonan lost, would he even be able to accept it himself?

At that moment, Lin Ruijia made the most correct decision of her entire life...

Recent family matters have caused some instability in updates. Please forgive the inconsistency. Once these domestic affairs are settled, I will resume steady updates without fail. Thank you all for your understanding and support.