Chapter 042, 042 Li Hongyu's Thoughts, 042 Li Hongyu's Thoughts Chapter 041: The single bed that had been crushed under the weight of Lu Yun and Tie Xinlan was only slightly damaged—its leg bent, but otherwise intact. This content comprises the textual material of Chapter 042 of "Rural Beauty." Lu Yun brought several wedges and secured them firmly, and in no time the single bed was restored to its original condition. "Miss Lan, the bed is now repaired. With this, even if more people climb on it, it won’t collapse anymore." Tie Xinlan snapped, "How do you mean that? What are you implying? Do you treat me as if I'm just a mere guest? This bed—besides you—no man or woman has ever used it!" Lu Yun had originally intended to showcase his skill, but instead ended up making Tie Xinlan angry. Holding the hammer in his left hand and the iron nails in his right, he stood there dumbfounded, trying to explain: "Miss Lan, I didn’t mean to imply that. I simply wanted to say that the bed is now strong Tie-xin Lan glared at him, but still sat down on the bed to test it out. Seeing that the bed indeed was as Lu Yun had described, she set aside her anger and smiled, saying, "Don't blame me for getting upset—some things simply can't be said casually. You should know the saying: 'misfortune comes from the mouth, and illness from the mouth.' " Lu Yun nodded in agreement and promised he would never make such a mistake again. "Well, what brings you here, then?" Tie-xin Lan asked, a bit urgent as class time was drawing near. After thinking for a moment, Lu Yun said, "Miss Lan, my homeroom teacher seems to have a prejudice against me. He always deliberately finds fault with me during class. In the morning, he even asked me to leave the classroom and stand outside as punishment—had it not been for the new art teacher who pleaded on my behalf, I would have been kept standing all day. Since the next class is his, he assigned me to recite the lesson first. But with me standing outside, how could I possibly focus on memorizing it? So I'd like to ask Miss Lan to kindly ask him to give me a break." "Tie-xin Lan hummed softly, pressed her lips together, and said, 'It's exactly this. I thought you'd—'" She paused, but Lu Yun, observing her tone and expression, instantly grasped what she was about to say. A thirsty widow indeed! As the saying goes: "After a long drought, the arrival of sweet rain makes one truly appreciate its flavor." Tie-xin Lan, once a dry desert, now, under Lu Yun's constant nourishment, has grown more graceful and alluring—so thirsty, in fact, that she can hardly bear it. This content is from Chapter 042 of "Rural Beauty in Bloom." "Always stubborn, no matter when he speaks, he's always awkward and vague. Iron Heart Lan blushed slightly and decided not to argue with him over this matter anymore. She turned around, picked up her textbook, and headed for class. "Lan姐, what about the homeroom teacher?" "Don't worry. I'll go see him right away. But if I catch you deliberately misbehaving during class, I won't just help you—I'll make him punish you even more. Understand?" Lu Yun nodded eagerly, thinking: Even if you go to the class and ask around, you'll find the class president Liang Hongyu, who's not very good at lying. But 'not very good' doesn't mean 'not good at all.' And indeed, it's that old man, the one with the crooked neck and the chicken, who's deliberately making things difficult for me. You'll just have to wait until I climb back onto your bed again. After leaving the office together with Iron Heart Lan, Lu Yun went straight back to the classroom. Seeing that Liang Hongyu wasn't there, he felt a bit disappointed. Liang Hongyu, who was about to lose her composure, ended up getting so excited that she ended up giving herself a little pep talk—only to find herself engaged in a series of fierce battles with Liu Guofu and Tie Xinlan, eventually dozing off on her desk, missing out on a splendid moment, which was absolutely ridiculous. Lü Yun stared moodily at several girls memorizing their lessons, then sighed, pulled out his textbook, flipped through it randomly, and finally slammed it down on the desk. "Where on earth is Zhou Quan now?" Man, he'd fought two battles already today and still feels a burning pain all over his body. After stretching his arms, he found himself wondering about what Zhou Quan had said when he left—full of questions. Lü Yun and Zhou Quan had always been close—so close that they'd only truly become friends after a few clashes. When they first enrolled, Lü Yun had been so new to everything, always wandering around like a freshly castrated young ox, constantly exploring. It was no surprise they'd been destined to meet. As Lü Yun was strolling around the playground, feeling bored, he suddenly kicked a stone with his foot— Zhou Quan was always fiery and stubborn—now he'd just be wasting his efforts. He stepped forward to confront Lu Yun, who wasn't exactly easy to deal with either. The two argued fiercely and soon ended up clashing physically. By the time they'd exhausted each other, both were as tired as dead dogs, gasping heavily. This content is from Chapter 042 of "Rural Beauty." Seeing Lu Yun's darkened eyes and breathing like a bull, Zhou Quan chuckled and said, "Hey, what's your name? You're quite tenacious—after all this time, I still can't get the better of you." Lu Yun imitated the lines from wuxia films, coolly replied, "By name, I am Lu Yun—no change of name, no alteration of character." Impressed by Lu Yun's sense of humor, Zhou Quan smiled and said, "I'm Zhou Quan, a first-year student. I think we should stop fighting now. If we keep going, there won't be any resolution. Why not just smile at each other, put our differences aside, and become friends?" Hearing his words sincere and heartfelt, Lu Yun immediately nodded in agreement. When they were assigned to the same class, two rivals who should have been mortal enemies became nearly inseparable, like brothers-in-arms sharing the same clothes. They went through it all together—good times and bad—stealing glances from the walls of the girls' restrooms, and gradually, their shared experiences made them true friends. Indeed, that's exactly what true friendship is. Though their relationship was close and unbreakable, Zhou Quan never once revealed where he was from or what his family did. No matter how many times Lu Yun pressed him, he never managed to get a clear answer, so Lu Yun eventually gave up. Thinking back to the words Zhou Quan had said before he left, Lu Yun instinctively sensed that Zhou Quan must not have grown up in the countryside—otherwise, how could his cousin have been a socialite? He just couldn't figure out why, if Zhou Quan had some family connections, he would have come to study in this remote town. When Lu Yun felt particularly down, the sharp classroom bell rang, and a rush of students poured into the classroom. Liang Hongyu returned to her seat and glanced at Lu Yun, asking, "Lu Yun, have you memorized the lesson?" Lu Yun shook his head, his face full of worry. "Class president, you can't possibly not know—I'm not made of memorization material, can you? Either it's a blessing or a curse; if it's a curse, I can't avoid it. Now I'm just going with the flow. I hope the homeroom teacher will be kind and not make things too difficult for me." Liang Hongyu's face was full of concern, and she remained silent, beginning to review her textbook. Yet inside, something felt restless—her mind couldn't settle. She kept glancing at Lu Yun, wondering: What's wrong with me? Why am I worried about him? Can it be...? After all, this person is both unprincipled and crude, often teasing her. How could she possibly...? Liang Hongyu dared not think any further, blushing slightly and flipping through her book carelessly.