Not long after Zhao Rong followed Xuelian into the grove, he lost her. Staring into the vast woods, Zhao Rong thought, Xuelian is certainly no ordinary person. How could she have given me the slip when I'm this fast?
Just as he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard the sound of movement not far behind him. Quick as a flash, Zhao Rong spun around and, with the speed of the wind, came face to face with the person. When he saw it was none other than Lili, his eyes widened in shock.
"Lili, what are you doing in the grove this late?" Zhao Rong asked in surprise.
Faced with Zhao Rong's sudden appearance, Lili was just as startled. "I came to stop you and Yu Lan from... you know... in the grove."
Hearing this, cold sweat beaded on Zhao Rong's forehead. He said awkwardly, "Miss Lili, you've misunderstood. Yu Lan and I are just ordinary friends. We haven't developed to *that* point."
Unconvinced, Lili pressed, "If you're not here with Yu Lan to... then what are you here for?"
Zhao Rong told her the truth. "I heard that Xuelian is a very strange girl, so I followed her to see what she's doing in here."
When Lili heard that Zhao Rong was following Xuelian, a chill ran down her spine. "Everyone says that Xuelian keeps a little ghost in the grove and comes here every night to walk it. And you dared to follow someone like that? I think you've got a death wish."
Hearing that Xuelian might actually be walking a ghost, Zhao Rong's curiosity was piqued even more. "I've never believed in superstitions. I refuse to believe ghosts exist."
"Since you don't believe it, let's walk a little further," Lili said. "Maybe you'll see it for yourself."
Lili's roommate had once accidentally witnessed Xuelian walking the ghost, so Lili was firmly convinced the rumor was true.
So, the two of them continued forward. After just a few steps, they spotted a girl walking alone up ahead. Trailing behind her was a man, skulking about suspiciously. Because it was so dark in the grove, neither Zhao Rong nor Lili could make out that the girl was Yu Lan or that the man following her was the Assistant.
Lili watched the pair and whispered, "Zhao Rong, there have been several attacks near our training center recently, and all the victims were women. The killer still hasn't been caught... You don't think that man could be the perverted killer, do you?"
Zhao Rong eyed the man's sneaky behavior and nodded. It's possible... Otherwise, a man wouldn't be following a girl this late. Something's definitely wrong.
As he spoke, Zhao Rong casually picked up a brick from the ground. Seeing this, Lili picked one up too.
"Should we step in and help?" Lili asked.
"What kind of question is that? Of course we have to," Zhao Rong whispered back, closing in on the man.
With that, Zhao Rong and Lili charged, bricks in hand. Before the Assistant could even react, they knocked him unconscious with a few hard blows from their bricks.
Up ahead, Yu Lan heard the scuffle and spun around. When she saw Zhao Rong, her face lit up with excitement. "Zhao Rong, I finally found you! I've been looking all over for you. To think I'd just run into you here of all places!"
Seeing that the lone girl was Yu Lan, Zhao Rong asked curiously, "What are you doing in the grove all by yourself so late? It's a good thing I spotted you in time. Otherwise, this guy definitely would've..."
"Yu Lan, you shouldn't come here late at night. It's too dangerous," Lili added. As she spoke, she raised her brick and smashed it on the Assistant's head a few more times.
It was only then that Yu Lan realized she had been stalked by a pervert. A wave of fear washed over her. "Thank God I ran into you two. Otherwise, I might have been the next victim."
Finished speaking, Yu Lan also picked up a brick and cracked it against the Assistant's head a few times. After delivering the final blow, she looked at Zhao Rong and Lili in confusion. "What are you two doing in the grove behind the training center in the middle of the night?"
Zhao Rong explained he was following Xuelian, and Lili explained she was following Zhao Rong.
Just then, the unconscious Assistant began to stir. His head dripping with blood, he groaned, "You two just... hit me with bricks... for no reason... Is it really so hard to like a woman?"
Everyone was stunned to see that the person they had beaten, assuming he was a perverted killer, was in fact the Assistant.
"Ah! How is it you?" Lili exclaimed.
Yu Lan was even more shocked that the Assistant had been following her. "Assistant, why were you stalking me?"
Looking at the Assistant's battered face, Zhao Rong said sheepishly, "Assistant, what are you doing here? If I had known it was you, I wouldn't have hit so hard."
The Assistant weakly replied, "Sigh... I came here tonight to confess to Yu Lan. I like her."
Hearing the Assistant's confession, Yu Lan immediately rejected him. "I'm sorry, I don't like you. I like Zhao Rong."
Upon hearing Yu Lan's confession, Zhao Rong was taken aback. This is the first time in my entire life that a girl has confessed to me.
Zhao Rong smiled. "You can like me, but you'll have to wait until I complete my company's mission and earn the hundred-thousand-dollar bonus."
The implication was clear: he couldn't accept Yu Lan's confession until he had succeeded in his pursuit of Lili.
Suddenly, the atmosphere became incredibly awkward. The Assistant liked Yu Lan, who liked Zhao Rong, who was pursuing Lili, who already had a boyfriend.
As the four of them stood in an awkward silence, Xuelian glided past behind them, as silent and unnoticed as a ghost.
In front of Yu Lan, Lili deliberately prodded Zhao Rong. "Since you're trying to pursue me, how come it feels like you haven't made a single move these past few days?"
Lili's words annoyed Yu Lan. "He doesn't even like you," she retorted. "He's only pursuing you because his company is making him."
Lili shot Yu Lan a look and said, trying to provoke her, "Whether he's being forced by his company or has some other motive, the fact is, he came to this training center for me."
Yu Lan immediately fired back, "Even if he is trying to win you over, I'm confident I can get him into my bed before you succeed. Can you say the same?" As she spoke, she broke into a confident laugh.
While the two women bickered jealously over him, Zhao Rong stood to the side, feeling secretly delighted. My luck with women is finally turning around! This is the first time in my life two stunning beauties have fought over me.
In stark contrast to Zhao Rong's smug satisfaction, the Assistant lay on the ground, half-dead from the brick-bashing, drowning in a pain no one could comprehend. We're both men, so why is there such a huge difference in how women treat us? he lamented internally.