Chapter 163
Chapter 163
After being thoroughly ravaged by Qin Lan… uh, kneaded? Fondled?
None of those words sounded quite right.
Whatever. You get the idea.
After Qin Lan did all that to her, Yin Manqing lost her temper. No matter how he called to her, she refused to say another word.
The old combat suit still looked like an ordinary piece of clothing, yet somehow Qin Lan could sense Yin Manqing puffing up in anger through it.
Then again, the places this outfit puffed out really did puff out…
While Qin Lan was trying to decide how to explain what had just happened, a burst of chaotic noise erupted outside his door.
By a rough count, at least a dozen sets of footsteps were rapidly approaching.
There were confused shouts as well.
“What is–”
Before Qin Lan could react, his door was kicked open.
Xu Minghu flew in feet-first with a cry of “Hi-yah!” and planted a heavy kick squarely in Qin Lan’s chest. It did no damage whatsoever, but it certainly startled him.
Given Professor Xu’s physical condition, that kick felt more like flirting than an attack.
Crack.
“Aaaagh! My foot! My foot!”
Xu Minghu’s expression changed instantly. He collapsed and rolled across the floor, clutching his right leg, his face deathly pale.
Judging from the sound, he had probably fractured something.
A dark mass of people crowded around the doorway to Qin Lan’s dorm. They were all instructors and administrators from Clear Spring Academy.
Every one of them looked tense, but aside from Xu Minghu, not a single person dared step inside. They did not even risk sticking their heads through the door.
Xu Minghu’s screams startled them further, and they began shouting from outside.
“Professor Xu!”
“What happened?!”
“Are you all right, Professor Xu?”
“Someone get help…”
Xu Minghu’s lips trembled. He clutched his foot, every wrinkle on his face bunching together, too overwhelmed by pain to speak.
“Professor Xu, what are you trying to do? Practice Ultraman Leo’s flying kick?”
Qin Lan’s mouth twitched as he looked at Xu Minghu on the floor.
“I’m not some jeep-shaped monster or alien with a crutch. You’re never going to master it like this…”
“He was trying to restrain you and prevent another incident like the one just now.”
Su Xiaoyue’s helpless voice sounded as she walked inside.
She had rushed over the moment she sensed the mental field disappear, but Xu Minghu’s attack had been so sudden that even she failed to stop him.
“Xiaoyue? Why are you…”
Qin Lan looked up blankly and met Su Xiaoyue’s gentle gaze.
“The tournament is over.” Su Xiaoyue walked toward him step by step, speaking softly. “I only just got back… Who would’ve thought I’d hear something had happened to you the moment I reached the school gates?”
“You always do things that make people worry.”
“I thought something had gone wrong while you were studying the Curse Codex.”
Qin Lan merely stared at her.
“No, what I meant was…”
“Isn’t this the men’s dorm? Didn’t the dorm matron stop you?”
Su Xiaoyue’s smile froze.
Only then did she understand why the dorm matron–who had not seemed fully awake–had stared at her wide-eyed when she charged into the building.
And why the woman had shouted after her.
…
“How are we settling this debt, brat?”
Xu Minghu glowered at Qin Lan from his hospital bed. His right leg was wrapped in bandages, and he leaned resentfully on a crutch. “I’m already letting go of the fact that you made Su Xiaoyue hide her strength and cost us the tournament…”
“What was that mental field just now?”
“Do you have any idea how serious it is that so many students were affected?”
“And you injured my leg! Your crimes are unforgivable!”
Xu Minghu ground his teeth.
Qin Lan stared at him speechlessly. “You were the one who kicked me… At most, that counts as self-harm. What does it have to do with me?”
Xu Minghu snorted. “Nothing to do with you?”
“After an incident this serious, the dean is definitely going to come after you. Good luck.”
“Pay whatever compensation they demand and serve whatever sentence they give you. After causing a disaster this big, there’s no chance they’ll let you leave without an explanation.”
Xu Minghu looked positively delighted, as though waiting for a good show.
“Our dean isn’t someone you want to cross. You’re finished, brat…”
“Prepare to lose a layer of skin.”
Qin Lan nodded regretfully.
“So that’s how it is… Well, I suppose I have no choice but to publish every detail of everything I saw.”
“For example, a certain someone posing for glamour shots on a sunny beach, only to get dumped by his longtime partner…”
Qin Lan sighed as he spoke, seemingly reluctant.
Xu Minghu’s gloating expression froze as though someone had hit pause.
Half a second later, righteous solemnity replaced it.
“Come now, Little Qin. Although this incident had serious consequences, that doesn’t mean there’s no room for negotiation.”
“I’ll put in a good word for you with the dean later. Maybe you’ll–”
Qin Lan’s face lit up. He seized Xu Minghu’s hand in gratitude.
“Really, Professor? That would be a huge help!”
“I knew a kind and friendly instructor like you could never create a female character in an online game, give her your ex’s name, then painstakingly reproduce her face one-to-one–”
Xu Minghu went pale with terror. Abandoning his crutch, he lunged forward and clapped a hand over Qin Lan’s mouth.
“Holy shit!”
“What the fuck do you know, brat?!”
“I’ll sue you for slander!”
He hung from Qin Lan’s neck, wishing he could sew the young man’s mouth shut on the spot.
“I don’t know anything.” Qin Lan twisted Professor Xu’s hand away and answered with perfect honesty. “I just had a dream and saw a lot of interesting things in it.”
“Oh, right, Professor. What do you think Aunt Mei’s husband would say if he found out you still–”
Xu Minghu gripped Qin Lan’s hand with both of his.
His smile looked uglier than crying. “Little Qin…”
“We can talk things through.”
“There’s no need to be so impulsive, is there?”
And so, ten minutes later, Qin Lan sat obediently in the dean’s office with a broadly smiling Xu Minghu beside him.
Across the desk sat an imposing middle-aged man.
Li Antu wore a crisply ironed gray shirt, his expression stern.
The wrinkles time had carved into his face resembled the hard edges left by a blade. His gaze was sharp, and he looked extremely difficult to deal with.
Yet even Dean Li struggled to maintain his composure as he listened to Xu Minghu’s report.
“Elder Xu, you’re saying this entire incident was caused by a malfunction in your research equipment?”
“More than a hundred people simultaneously falling asleep, apparently affected by powerful mental force–that was part of your research project too?”
“I don’t remember our academy owning equipment like that.”
“Is this some new project of yours?”
Li Antu found the explanation impossible to accept.
Xu Minghu, however, nodded without hesitation.
“Correct. It was entirely my responsibility!”
“Fortunately, this… this student Qin acted out of a strong sense of justice. He eagerly helped me deal with the equipment malfunction in time, bringing the situation under control.”
Qin Lan cooperatively offered a bashful smile.
Li Antu glanced at him and could not help interjecting.
“But half an hour ago, the version you reported to me was–”
“Dean…” Xu Minghu interrupted Dean Li and forced out an ugly smile.
“I’m begging you. Just treat this as my responsibility.”
“If that’s not enough, I’ll get down and kowtow to you…”