Shu Qingqing grabbed the car keys and ran outside.
She drove to First High School, arriving just in time for school dismissal.
The streets were bustling with vehicles waiting to pick up children, and students poured out of the school gates in droves, creating a cacophony of noise.
Shu Qingqing first scanned the entrance, but didn't see that Blondie.
Feeling a bit more at ease, she immediately took out her phone and called Lu Yu.
However, she called several times, and no one answered.
Shu Qingqing frowned and dialed Zheng Binyang's number, but still, no one answered.
Could Lu Yu have already left the school? Where was she supposed to find him?
Shu Qingqing's heart began to panic again. Just as she was hesitating whether to go inside the school to look around first, she saw two familiar figures walking towards her.
She instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
Zheng Binyang spotted her first. "Auntie Shu? Why did you come over again? Did you miss us that much?"
Shu Qingqing angrily smacked them both. "Why didn't either of you answer your phones!"
Lu Yu hurriedly rummaged through his backpack for his phone. "I'm sorry... I put it on mute during class and forgot to change it back."
Zheng Binyang waved his phone. "Uh... me too."
Seeing her nervous expression, Lu Yu quickly asked, "Is there an emergency?"
Shu Qingqing's tension had eased. Not wanting to worry Lu Yu, she said, "It's nothing, I just got a bit anxious when I couldn't reach you. Have you guys eaten yet?"
Seeing that her tone had calmed down, Lu Yu felt relieved.
Zheng Binyang said, "Not yet, Auntie Shu. Lu Yu and I were just debating what to eat. I heard from the girls in our class that the rice noodle shop on the east side is pretty good. How about we go there?"
Shu Qingqing wanted to tell them to go back to school to eat, but on second thought, that wouldn't work.
She couldn't tell Lu Yu about the plot of the novel, so she had no way to keep them from leaving the school grounds.
The incident where Lu Yu gets injured happens around this time, but Blondie hasn't made a move yet, so she couldn't just call the police to arrest him.
However, it wasn't like there was no solution.
She could come over and accompany Lu Yu for meals recently, and escort him back to school afterward. She could also pick him up and drop him off in the mornings and evenings, bringing Xiao Liu along.
Xiao Liu was a retired soldier. With her taking precautions in advance, if Blondie dared to make a move, she would send him straight to jail.
Having figured this out, Shu Qingqing felt even more settled. "Alright, let's go to that one. By the way, Lu Yu, I've noticed that the snack shops around your school are quite tasty. I don't have much going on lately, so I've decided to try all the little shops around here. But eating alone is too boring, so you should keep me company."
Hearing her say this, Lu Yu agreed without a second thought.
Zheng Binyang also clamored to join them.
When they arrived at the rice noodle shop, the three of them each ordered their own food as usual.
The rice noodles were served quickly. While the three were eating, a girl suddenly walked over.
"Hi, Lu Yu. What a coincidence, running into you here."
Lu Yu politely nodded.
The girl smiled reservedly, then placed a bottle of juice in front of Lu Yu. "Here, this is my favorite juice."
After saying that, she jogged away before Lu Yu could refuse.
Zheng Binyang waited until she was gone before wiggling his eyebrows at Lu Yu. "Trust me, Lao Lu, this girl definitely likes you."
Lu Yu's expression remained indifferent. "Don't talk nonsense."
"How is it nonsense? Every time that girl sees you, she's beaming with joy," Zheng Binyang said, then looked at Shu Qingqing. "Auntie Shu, you have no idea. There are so many girls in our school who like Lu Yu, but the others are relatively shy. This girl, however, is very bold and has given Lu Yu gifts several times."
Saying this, Zheng Binyang clicked his tongue. "But it's a pity, Lu Yu returns the gifts every time. Hey Lu Yu, I think this girl is pretty nice. I heard her grades are good too, and she's even our school's campus belle. Do you really not like her?"
Lu Yu pushed away Zheng Binyang's leaning head. "You're so boring."
Shu Qingqing slurped a mouthful of noodles, swallowed, and asked, "Campus belle? Isn't your campus belle Little Cutie, um, Little Cutie Yan Zhuxi?"
Zheng Binyang said, "Auntie Shu, you don't know. Although Yan Zhuxi is also very pretty, she just transferred here after all. But Lin Wanwan is different. She's been studying at our school the whole time, so everyone is naturally more familiar with her, which is why more people voted for her as the campus belle."
Shu Qingqing paused. "Her name is... Lin Wanwan?"
Zheng Binyang: "Yeah, her name is Lin Wanwan. What's wrong, Auntie Shu?"
"Nothing." Shu Qingqing shook her head. She just hadn't expected such a coincidence, to meet the female supporting character from the novel right here.
They continued eating.
Just as they were about finishing, another girl walked over.
"Lu Yu, thank goodness I saw you. Feifei and I are eating next door, but when we went to pay the bill, we realized neither of us brought our phones. Could I trouble you to come next door and help us pay? I'll pay you back as soon as I get back."
Lu Yu agreed, briefly explained to Shu Qingqing that the girl was a classmate, and then followed her out.
"Lu Yu is just that warm-hearted. Auntie Shu, you have no idea." As soon as Lu Yu left, Zheng Binyang pulled Shu Qingqing into gossiping about Lu Yu's class.
While they were talking, Lin Wanwan walked over again. "Huh, Zheng Binyang, where's Lu Yu?"
"Oh, he went to the shop next door to help a girl from his class pay the bill," Zheng Binyang said.
Lin Wanwan curled her lips. "Why do the girls in his class always look for Lu Yu for everything? Zheng Binyang, how long has Lu Yu been gone?"
Shu Qingqing slammed her cup down with a thud.
Lu Yu seemed to have been gone for five or six minutes already. It was just paying a bill, and right next door at that; why would it take so long?
Shu Qingqing stood up and ran to the snack shop next door. She checked the shops on both the left and the right, but there was no sign of Lu Yu.
Could he have run into Blondie?
Suppressing her panic, Shu Qingqing called Lu Yu, but the call couldn't connect.
Seeing her like this, Zheng Binyang was a bit confused for a moment. "What's wrong, Auntie Shu? Did Lu Yu just go buy some water on the way? How about we go sit back down and wait for him?"
Shu Qingqing shook her head. Her intuition told her something was wrong.
She quickly recalled the plot of the novel. In the original text, the place where Lu Yu was cornered was an alley on the east side of the school, and there seemed to be a mountain bike shop nearby.
She immediately grabbed Zheng Binyang. "Where is the mountain bike shop near your school? Take me there quickly."
Zheng Binyang didn't understand why, but he still jogged to lead her there.
As soon as they reached the entrance of the alley, they saw a group of hooligans with variously dyed hair surrounding Lu Yu.
Zheng Binyang froze for a second, then was about to rush forward.
Shu Qingqing grabbed him in time and pulled him back a few steps. "No, there are too many of them, we can't win. Go back to the school right now and get the security guards! And call the police while you're at it! Hurry!"
With a dark expression, Zheng Binyang gritted his teeth and ran off.
Shu Qingqing saw a broom and a helmet at the entrance of the mountain bike shop. She grabbed them, and just as she walked over, she saw Blondie raise his foot to kick Lu Yu's right leg.
