Chapter 21: The Brutal Apology
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
“Ga…. cough, cough…” Tang Meng startled as he almost had a bone stuck in his throat.
He had not expected that.
Cao Shanshan and my girlfriend look so different. Who would possibly mix them up? Tang Meng thought to himself.
Meanwhile, Ling Yun continued acting as if he did not know who Cao Shanshan was. Cao Shanshan was infuriated and the hair on her head bristled.
Even Ning Lingyu felt his brother’s joke had gone too far. After all, the two of them had been cla.s.smates for close to three years. However, Ling Yun actually professed that he did not know who Cao Shanshan was and that really hurt her.
Zhang Ling could not stand Ling Yun’s actions anymore.
She stood up enraged and went to stand beside Cao Shanshan.
“Ling Yun, everyone knows that you have a crush on Cao Shanshan. First, you do not dare to confess to her, then you resort to rumors to shamelessly attract her attention. Now you trying to act like you do not know her? Don’t you think you are going overboard?” Zhang Ling ranted rapidly.
Cao Shanshan was held back by Zhang Ling after she tried to run away from embarra.s.sment. However, she started to tear in sorrow as Zhang Ling carried on fulminating.
“This guy has something wrong with his brain. She is the one and only Cao Shanshan. Who in this school dares to say he does not know her?”
“Exactly! He probably ran till his brain malfunctioned earlier today to make that statement”.
“Maybe he thinks he can get her attention this way? And that eventually backfired”.
“Let’s see what’s will happen now that Ling Yun has made our school belle angry…”
The students gossiped enthusiastically in their commotions, keeping tabs on the updates.
“Hmm…Cao Shanshan? Oh, was that her name you mentioned to me outside your hostel the other time?” Ling Yun asked Ning Lingyu.
All of a sudden, Ling Yun recalled what had happened. That night, Ning Lingyu had been walking out of her hostel where she met Ling Yun and asked him a question, “Do I look better than Cao Shanshan?”
“No matter how pretty she is, you are definitely prettier than her!” Ling Yun suddenly remembered his reply.
Throwing a few awkward glances at Ning Lingyu, Ling Yun shook his head slightly before looking up to Cao Shanshan. “So, you are Cao Shanshan? Sorry, I’m not interested in you. Please get out of the way and don’t disturb my meal”.
“A*shole, such an arrogant a*shole!” Cao Shanshan refuted.
Meanwhile, Tang Meng felt blessed for receiving the kinder treatment from Ling Yun for his misdeed. It was fine if he didn’t have her reciprocate his love, but did he really have to act like he did not know Cao Shanshan? After all, none of her suitors dared to confess to her but he daringly insulted her this way.
Wanting to take revenge, Cao Shanshan decided to teach this arrogant b*stard a lesson in front of everyone. However, she could not reveal the fact that she knew martial arts in public.
“Cao Shanshan, my brother has been acting weird since noon. It is most probably due to fatigue from the run earlier. Please do not hold it against him,” Ning Lingyu uttered all of a sudden.
Tang Meng added, “Yeah…Don’t be angry at him. Look at me, I’ve also suffered at his hands just now. You can double check with Zhang Ling. Ling Yun is acting out of the ordinary so do not believe his r.e.t.a.r.ded comments.”
Ling Yun did not give a d*mn about his surroundings and continued eating his food. On the other hand, all that was roaming in the mind of Cao Shanshan was Ling Yun’s remark on being uninterested in her.
She reminisced clearly when Ling Yun uttered those words, he had said it in a composed tone without any resent. His tone made Cao Shanshan bitter.
How dare you! A poor and stupid creep who sneakily followed me last night and talked sh*t about me. Now, you daringly claim that you have no idea who I am?
Overcoming your own physical limit is just pure luck and does not mean anything to me. I can still take on ten of you at one go…with ease!
A waiter broke the tension as she served the Sichuan boiled fish and sliced beef and ox tongue in chili sauce onto the table. Zhang Ling took this opportunity and dragged Cao Shanshan away. “Let us not waste our time on this worthless jerk. We have more important matters to settle”.
Cao Shanshan knew that if Zhang Ling and Ling Yun broke out in a fight, Zhang Ling and herself would be at the losing end. Therefore, Chao Shanshan opted for another solution.
“Ling Yun, is this your manner of showing your masculinity? Is this how you’re gonna portray that you are no longer a weakling or coward? If you are really so brave, I’ll see you alone tomorrow night and let us settle this once and for all!”
The students in the canteen started an uproar as Zhang Ling reckoned that Cao Shanshan must have been horn-mad to speak without thinking.
If someone were to twist the truth about their meeting at night, it would result in another consequential hoo-ha about Ling Yun and Cao Shanshan.
“I’ll let you have a taste of offending the wrong person!” Cao Shanshan promised begrudgingly. Having no mood to consume her meal, she slammed a hundred dollars onto the table before dragging Zhang Ling away with her.
“But..but..my boiled fis.h.!.+” Zhang Ling blubbered pitifully while looking at the plate of boiled fish, with her hatred towards Ling Yun growing stronger.
“What…? He made Cao Shanshan walk away fuming with anger just like that?”
“Yeah, that is true. She didn’t even touch her food!” The students engaged in their commotion after a moment of bewildered silence.
“This dude must be nuts to provoke Cao Shanshan this way!” A handsome dude who seemed to understand her exclaimed.
“You have really offended her this time,” Ning Lingyu warned his brother precautiously. Meanwhile, Tang Meng stared at Ling Yun helplessly, knowing he was dead meat.
Ling Yun let out a burp after finis.h.i.+ng his meal. He wiped his mouth and smiled at his sister, “Eat your food, it’s getting cold. Do not bother about what is not important”.
“What about tomorrow night with Cao Shanshan…?” Ning Lingyu raised up the topic worryingly.
“I won’t be going. I have no lessons tomorrow night, I’ll send you home,” Ling Yun a.s.sured his sister. He felt that Cao Shanshan was ridiculous for getting so provoked by something so minor.
Ning Lingyu felt warmhearted from his brother’s words and hurriedly tucked into her meal. She wanted to tell their mother about how brave Ling Yun had become.
Tang Meng showed his support by giving Ling Yun a thumbs up and warned him that he could never hide away from Cao Shanshan.
“Hide? Why do I need to hide? What’s wrong with having no knowledge of somebody?” Ling Yun laughed.
“But you do really know her! Is it necessary to act like you don’t?” Tang Meng replied with a tinge of angst at Ling Yun.
Ling Yun smirked and did not bother to explain further. “I just want to stay low-profile, but that does not mean I’m afraid of trouble. If she wants to cause trouble, bring it on!”
“Oh, what is the name of the dude that tried to stop me today on the track?” Ling Yun proceeded to ask.
“Fatty, you have to be careful of that dude. He will take revenge for the hit you gave him. His name is Li Lei, he practices Sanda (Chinese kickboxing),” Tang Meng answered.
“Are you serious? Li Lei? Why did you provoke him?” Ning Lingyu asked her brother frantically.
“Li Lei is one of Xie Junyan’s loyal thugs and it is not funny if you offend them!”
Looking at Ning Lingyu’s frightened expression, Tang Meng patted his own chest. He a.s.sured her that he would use his relations with Xie Junyan to ensure the safety of Ling Yun. She thanked Tang Meng in response and that got him very exhilarated. He had waited very long for this day.
At the side, Ling Yun snickered as he uttered, “It’s okay. You just have to tell me how I go about finding him.”
“Huh, Ling Yun are you crazy? You sneakily a.s.saulted him earlier today and you should be glad he hadn’t found any trouble with you. Why do you want to meet him? To apologize?” Tang Meng inquired as he could not believe his ears.
“Yup. I’m going to apologize. Mercilessly,” Ling Yun agreed with a grin.