021 Lu Yun Saves the Day When Lu Yun saw Zhang Yi catching a knife thrown at him with his bare hands, he realized this man clearly had skills. If things continued to escalate, both he and Zhou Quan would surely suffer. With a smile, Lu Yun said to Zhang Yi: “Zhang brother, today’s incident has truly been very unfortunate. We’ll just go now.” Zhang Yi coldly replied: “Lu Yun, seeing that you still manage to speak decently, you’d better take that young girl and leave immediately. As for your companion—ah, he stinks so badly—I’ll have to give him a good cleaning.” “Zhang brother, we’ve already apologized thoroughly. Would you mind if we just…?” Before Lu Yun could finish speaking, Zhang Yi interrupted angrily: “Even if you’d cracked your heads open and turned them into dogs’ heads, I wouldn’t have stepped in back then. But now that you’ve caused such a scene, my business is completely ruined. And your fellow guy has been rude too. If I let him go without any consequences, where will my face be?” “Lu Yun, what are you still talking about? Just go! I’ll see how far you can get before you’re eaten!” Zhou Quan had made up his mind—determined to ensure Lu Yun left first so he wouldn’t suffer both of them. While this delay was taking place, the students who had been hit—the one named Zhou Gao and two others—looked at each other, embarrassed, and slowly shuffled out of the canteen. As they stepped outside, Zhou Gao stormed: “Lu Yun and Zhou Quan, you two wait till I get my revenge!” “Huh! You’re nothing but a trashy piece of garbage! I’ll make sure to get you back!” Zhou Quan shouted back, glaring at Zhang Yi with fiery intensity. “Black Bear, I’m right here—see what tricks you can play off me!” Lu Yun knew that Zhou Quan was one of those stubborn types who wouldn’t be intimidated even if he were knocked out. Seeing his face flushed and eyes blazing at Zhang Yi now, Lu Yun understood the fierce determination in him—he must act quickly before Zhou Quan truly challenged Zhang Yi to a fight. “Zhou Quan, you’re going to kill yourself with all your complaints!” Lu Yun silently muttered. Though the incident started because of Lu Xiaoying being teased, it was clearly now affecting Zhang Yi’s business—so giving someone room to vent made sense. Zhang Yi coldly added: “Lu Yun, you’ve just heard that, haven’t you? This guy has been seeking trouble all along—he can’t blame me anymore.” “Zhang brother, will you just give us a chance for being young and inexperienced? For any future matters, please feel free to tell us. As long as we’re capable of fulfilling your expectations, we’ll always make you satisfied.” Lu Yun persisted, trying once more to convince Zhang Yi to let them go. “Lu Yun, when did you become so girly? Just a good beating won’t hurt—haven’t I taken my fair share already? Do you really have to beg like this?” Zhou Quan stood firm, holding his fists tightly, ready to charge into battle at any moment. Lu Yun was nearly driven mad. He glanced down at Xiaoying, who was shyly tucked safely in his arms, and whispered softly: “Xiaoying, just go ahead. I’ll handle this matter right now and then meet you for breakfast.” Xiaoying shook her head gently, biting her lower lip. “No—I started the whole thing. How can I leave you both and walk off alone? If necessary, I’ll take a beating myself.” Hearing that, Lu Yun hugged Xiaoying even tighter—his broad chest now clearly being poked by two shy little rabbits. “Zhang brother, if you won’t let us go, then we three will just wait for your punishment together.” Lu Yun wasn’t one to back down easily. He stepped aside and stood side-by-side with Zhou Quan, facing Zhang Yi with unwavering resolve. “Well, I didn’t expect you to be so generous. If I don’t give you a good lesson now, then I truly wouldn’t have the heart to repay your efforts.” Zhang Yi looked at the two young boys before him and simply tossed his shiny knife down onto one of the dining tables with a crisp sound. “Lu Yun, are you completely out of it? He’s looking for me—what’s your role in this? You’re just standing around here like a fool! Hurry up and take that young lady and go!” Zhou Quan saw Lu Yun not only refusing to leave but also choosing to stand beside him against the robust Zhang Yi. With one hand, he pushed Lu Yun toward the exit of the canteen. “Just rest assured—whenever he hits me, I’ll make sure he regrets having been born.” Lu Yun and Zhou Quan had known each other for less than two months. He knew only that Zhou Quan’s father held a government position—not exactly clear what level—but given that Zhou Quan had enrolled in the town middle school, Lu Yun assumed his father couldn’t be too high-ranking. So he didn’t take much notice of what Zhou Quan said now. “Nonsense! Can you really keep me here while you yourself escape?” Lu Yun pushed past Zhou Quan’s arm and took another step forward. “All right—both of you stop whining! I’ll give each of you two solid punches, and then you can go!” Zhang Yi grew impatient. He needed to get these two out of his way so he could keep selling breakfast—he couldn’t let the hot dishes turn into mush in such a blazing summer day. “Two solid punches? Then you take your own first! Dead black bear—first I’ll give you a punch before you even get a chance to speak!” Zhou Quan finally gave up, though he still pushed his words out before launching forward with a strong motion of his arm and punching straight at Zhang Yi’s broad face. Zhang Yi let out a fierce laugh, speaking calmly: “Young guy—do you really think you can take on someone like me?” With one quick flick of his eyes, his large palm shot out swiftly, seizing Zhou Quan’s fist firmly. “From now on, keep your mouth clean.” Zhang Yi then swung his big hand and cracked a solid punch across Zhou Quan’s shoulder. Seeing Zhou Quan about to be hit, Lu Yun immediately flushed with emotion, opened his eyes wide, and stepped forward to intervene—only to suddenly shout: “Sister-in-law! Zhang brother has been treating us unfairly!” Lu Yun’s words had an immediate effect—the moment Zhang Yi heard this, he stopped the punch just one inch from Zhou Quan’s left cheek. He looked at Lu Yun with a puzzled expression, then turned around and grasped Zhou Quan by the arm, turning to look behind him. “Lu Yun—you’ve dared to trick me?” Zhang Yi searched for Li Yun but couldn’t see her anywhere—realizing he had been deceived, he lifted his fist again and swung it hard at Zhou Quan’s back. “Zhang Yi—you’ve really grown quite capable! A man of your age now learning how to bully children? Have you forgotten what you promised earlier?” As the words came out, Li Yun appeared suddenly in the room—her graceful, slightly curved eyebrows arched like willow branches, her eyes narrowed and fixed firmly on Zhang Yi. Zhang Yi nearly jumped with surprise—he quickly retracted his fist, released Zhou Quan’s arm, and turned to smile warmly at Li Yun: “Wife, I was only playing around with them—Lu Yun, don’t you agree?” Li Yun’s sudden appearance had surprised Lu Yun as well. Seeing that Zhang Yi now stopped, she didn’t want the situation to escalate further, so she added softly: “Sister-in-law, Zhang brother truly just played around with us.” “Then why did you shout all of a sudden? You’ve ruined my pancakes!” Li Yun scolded, yet she glanced at Lu Yun with an especially charming look. Lu Yun scratched his head, pretending to be embarrassed: “Oh—sorry about that, sister-in-law. Shall I compensate for your loss?” “Compensate? Just go already! How could it have been so unlucky to meet such a mess this early in the morning!” Zhang Yi grumbled as he pushed Lu Yun and Zhou Quan toward the door. “All right then, Zhang brother and sister-in-law—we’ll just be going now.” Lu Yun pulled on Zhou Quan’s sleeve, held Xiaoying’s hand tightly, and stepped out of the canteen without looking back. Several students had been watching from outside—many had seen how fierce both Lu Yun and Zhou Quan were, especially how Lu Yun gently held Xiaoying close with such intimacy. As they emerged together, several female students whispered among themselves: “Lu Yun looked so handsome just now—I’d love to be his girlfriend.” Someone else added: “Don’t count on it—did you see the girl beside him? She’s one of the top campus beauties in our school. As for you, a typical campus boy, you’ll have to wait until next life!” Xiaoying kept her head down and walked closely behind Lu Yun, her face flushed with bashfulness. …… Country Beauty 021 – 021 Li Yun Saves the Day — Completed!