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墨書 Inktalez
Outside the window was a deep blue night sky. In Room 305, several women sat on the bed chatting, smoking, and talking among themselves.
"Idiot," said the woman with short curly hair mockingly. "She says her friend was playing in our room at night, but I don't believe it."
Her companion agreed, "Are today's students really that naive? Haha."
Another woman, slightly skeptical, whispered, "You two should just let it go after a few words. Why resort to violence? Besides, I think her friend really thought she was coming to play cards that day."
"Play cards? Is she a pure little elementary school student? It's all an act."
Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and a draft swept into the room. Everyone turned to look.
Zhou Yao stood at the doorway, her gaze quickly scanning the room before finally landing on the group of women.
She asked, "Who hit my friend?"
For a moment, no one responded.
Zhou Yao stepped inside and looked down at the three women on the bed, repeating herself: "Which of you hit my friend?"
The woman with short curly hair raised her head defiantly and raised an eyebrow. "It was me. What's it to you?"
Zhou Yao smiled lightly and said, "Please go apologize to my friend."
"Apologize for what? Your friend insulted me; shouldn't I have hit her?"
Zhou Yao understood Sulianlin's character well—she wouldn't bite unless pushed to her limits. Zhou Yao asked, "What did she say to you?"
"She said I have no shame."
Zhou Yao was momentarily confused; she did not understand why such a trivial matter warranted violence.
After a brief silence, she said, "You really didn't."
"You—" the Curly-Haired Woman shot up, glaring at her.
Zhou Yao asked, "Are you going to hit me now?"
"Are you all crazy?" the Curly-Haired Woman retorted. "Get out!"
Zhou Yao clenched her fists and calmly replied, "Regardless, hitting someone is wrong. Please apologize to my friend. Let's just pretend nothing happened—"
"I won't!"
"Please apologize to my friend." Zhou Yao repeated her request.
"Dream on!" she said in front of Zhou Yao. "I won't go, and what can you do about it? Come on, let's fight and see who wins."
Zhou Yao's face instantly flushed red. A flicker of astonishment crossed her eyes; she had never encountered someone like this before—someone completely unreasonable and shameless.
She had never had a falling out with anyone in her life.
But now, the other person was throwing down the gauntlet, saying, "I don't care anymore; do what you want." She felt an unprecedented humiliation wash over her, leaving her powerless and frustrated, soon followed by a strange anger. It was a feeling of annoyance and rage she had never experienced before.
Zhou Yao's eyes lost all emotion, resembling the deep night outside. She asked, "Aren't you going to apologize?"
"No. Apologize."
Zhou Yao walked away, then picked up a chair and turned to throw it at her. Everyone in the room gasped in shock and screamed as the Curly-Haired Woman covered her head and crouched down. However, the chair did not fall; instead, it was gently placed back on the ground by Zhou Yao.
The woman sat on the floor, still in shock.
Zhou Yao coldly said, "With your courage, you dare to hit someone?"
"I say you've had enough of a scene—" The man beside her finally made a move, pushing Zhou Yao's shoulder. Zhou Yao quickly turned to look at the hand on her shoulder, grabbed one of his fingers, and forcefully bent it outward.
"Ah!!" The man immediately knelt on the ground, twisting his hand. "It hurts, it hurts!"
Zhou Yao still didn't let go, warning him, "Sir, regarding our women's matters, please just watch from the sidelines and don't interfere, alright? If you manage to bully me, it won't be glorious for you either, will it?"
The man turned beet red but remained silent. The people around him didn't dare to step forward recklessly; they only complained about how they had encountered a ghost, realizing that everyone in this inn was not to be trifled with.
Zhou Yao actually felt uncertain but fixed her gaze on the man's face, competing with him. She didn't know any martial arts; she had only learned a bit of self-defense from television. Now it was a matter of who could intimidate whom.
Finally, the man nodded vigorously.
Zhou Yao released his hand and looked at the Curly-Haired Woman coldly. "Are you going to apologize now?"
The Curly-Haired Woman was both embarrassed and angry, glaring at her fiercely. The people around urged, "Just let it go and apologize."
Unexpectedly, she pushed everyone aside and threw herself to the ground, looking at Zhou Yao with raised eyebrows. "Pretty impressive, huh? If you have the guts, come over and step on me!"
Zhou Yao felt a surge of anger; her body instinctively wanted to rush over, but she clenched her fists tightly to control her forward-leaning posture.
What a rogue!
Tang Shangri-La Duo rushed in. "Yao Yao!"
Zhou Yao angrily turned around and saw Luo Yi and Sulianlin following closely behind Tang Shangri-La Duo.
Upon seeing Luo Yi, Zhou Yao froze for a moment, her expression changing slightly.
The woman slowly stood up from the ground.
Luo Yi had already understood the situation and asked that woman to apologize to Sulianlin, hoping to put the matter behind them.
The Curly-Haired Woman had no intention of apologizing.
Zhou Yao's rationality was overtaken by anger as he gritted his teeth, "Apologizing would be letting her off easy."
Luo Yi said, "Things have come to this; let's downplay it. Do you really want to retaliate?"
Zhou Yao's expression was as cold as ice.
The Curly-Haired Woman's companion immediately nudged her, signaling her to quickly apologize while Boss was still around to calm things down. The Curly-Haired Woman rolled her eyes and looked at Zhou Yao, "What are you so angry about? If you want an apology that badly, fine, I'll give it to you." After saying that, she lazily glanced at Sulianlin and said, "Sorry~~"
Her words dripped with mockery and provocation, but since she had already apologized, there was nothing they could do about it.
Tang Shangri-La Duo remained silent.
Zhou Yao stayed silent.
Sulianlin also remained silent, holding back tears that threatened to spill over again.
Luo Yi coldly stared at the short-haired woman for a moment in silence before finally restraining himself and looking at Zhou Yao, "Are you done?"
Zhou Yao did not look at him but continued to lock eyes with the mocking woman.
"Sulianlin!" Zhou Yao called out, and Sulianlin in the corner looked up.
Luo Yi suddenly froze and rushed to grab her, but Zhou Yao quickly stepped forward and slapped the Curly-Haired Woman across the face.
Luo Yi pulled her back forcefully, while Zhou Yao tilted his chin at the woman with a provocative smile, "Sorry~~."
Luo Yi yanked her back angrily and shouted, "Zhou Yao!"
It was the first time he called her by name, and it was under such circumstances.
With her short curly hair covering her face, she was shocked, screaming, and lunging forward to grab him. Luo Yi didn't care about settling scores with Zhou Yao; he quickly pulled Zhou Yao behind him for protection. The man's friends also came up to pull her back.
The room was in chaos.
Luo Yi yanked Zhou Yao fiercely and coldly scolded, "Stand still!"
Zhou Yao was dazed, struggling against his grip.
Luo Yi said in a chilling voice, "Do you have any manners left?!"
That struck her like a blow, and Zhou Yao fell silent, staring at Luo Yi in disbelief. In an instant, she felt a pang in her heart and shouted at him with all her grievances, "She started it—"
"Are you saying that if she has no manners, you should be the same as her?!"
The room fell into silence.
Zhou Yao glared at him hatefully, her lips trembling.
The Curly-Haired Woman felt as if she had been slapped in the face, but at that moment, Luo Yi wasn't even looking at her or talking to her, leaving her with no chance to interject.
For a while, no one spoke.
Finally, a somewhat reasonable man said, "Let's just end this here, okay?"
Tang Shangri-La Duo nodded and said, "Okay." He reached out to pull Zhou Yao, but she remained motionless.
Luo Yi coldly spoke up, "Wait a minute."
Everyone turned to look at him.
"You group of enemies, what are you planning to do for the next three days?" Luo Yi's face was calm, but his eyes were cold and stern. "Are you going to keep finding trouble for me? I didn't come here to clean up your mess. If anything like this happens again, pack your bags and get out."
The people in the room dared not speak first, tacitly agreeing with him.
Zhou Yao turned and walked outside, with Luo Yi following her into the corridor. He said in a low voice, "Stop right there."
Zhou Yao did not look back.
Luo Yi quickly stepped forward and grabbed her arm. "Did you hear me when I told you to stop?"
Zhou Yao struggled but couldn't break free from his grip.
"I want to know if you have any—" Luo Yi started to speak but swallowed his words. She lowered her head, and a few drops of tears fell to the ground. He was momentarily stunned, and after a brief pause, his tone softened considerably. "Do you have any ambition? Hm? — Stop crying. — I didn't say—"
"How dare you scold me in front of so many people? Who taught you manners? My parents raised me well!" Zhou Yao looked up at him, her eyes red and glaring, tears shimmering as they fell.
Luo Yi's expression shifted from tolerance to seriousness. "You still think it's honorable, don't you? Did your parents teach you to hit people? You're just like that woman; she doesn't reason with anyone, and neither do you? You learn the bad things quickly but ignore the good ones. Is becoming like her your idea of winning? — Hm? — Speak up. Weren't you just very talkative?"
Zhou Yao hated his harsh words but knew he was right. With a nasal tone filled with shame and anger, she shouted, "You're so annoying!"
After saying that, she tried to run away, but Luo Yi pulled her back, his voice slightly deeper. "Stand still!"
Zhou Yao stood there motionless, as if being punished.
"How can you cry after hitting someone? You're a college student! With how you acted just now, don't you look like a little thug?"
Zhou Yao wiped her tears with the back of her hand and stopped retorting, feeling utterly embarrassed.
She wasn't normally like this, but she had been influenced by that woman earlier and had acted out of character in front of him. She couldn't believe she had stooped to competing with someone like that; the more she thought about it, the more ashamed she felt, and the tears kept falling.
Is it true that people who love to laugh are also particularly prone to crying?
Luo Yi looked down at her, and he could tell that she was feeling regretful and upset. After a moment of silence, he decided to ease up, wondering if he had been too harsh. Hesitating for a moment, he gently comforted her, "Alright. No more crying."
She was still in tears, covering her eyes with the back of her hand. "You're really annoying! Are you done? I want to go back."
He had never made anyone cry before and didn't know how to handle it.
He put his hands in his pockets, slightly spread his legs, squatted down, and leaned forward to look at her face. "Alright, no more crying."
He didn't let her leave, so she stood there stubbornly. The more he tried to comfort her, the more tears fell from her eyes, as if they would never stop.
He felt helpless.
How did such a little troublemaker end up staying in his inn, causing problems every few days?
He looked at her damp little face and raised his hand as if to do something. That hand hovered in the air for a moment before he pulled it back into his pocket, took out a cigarette, and bit it between his lips while glancing at her again.
It was true; it was easy to make her laugh but also easy to make her cry.
...
Knock knock knock, the door sounded.
The men and women in Room 305 exchanged glances. "Who is it?"
"Boss."
The door opened, and Luo Yi walked in.
The people in the room looked displeased. "Luo Boss, is there something else?"
With smoke curling between his fingers, he got straight to the point. "I think you won't settle down anytime soon. Someone might still be looking for trouble with those students."
No one spoke. This is how it is when you're out and about; every little detail is scrutinized, and even minor frictions can easily be magnified.
"Is Boss Luo here to drive us away?" the Curly-Haired Woman scoffed. "We’re not changing inns for the next three days; we’re staying here."
Luo Yi smiled and said, "You can't drive away persistent guests."
The Curly-Haired Woman's expression darkened; was he implying they were being stubborn?
Luo Yi's dark eyes flickered: "Staying here is fine, as long as you follow the rules. I won’t interfere with how you all have fun, but don’t provoke the other guests."
The Curly-Haired Woman retorted, "Why don’t you say anything about them?"
Luo Yi exhaled a puff of smoke, sounding somewhat helpless. "I told her, but she didn’t listen. There’s nothing I can do."
"Why should we listen to you?"
Luo Yi smiled lightly, though there was no warmth in his eyes. "I’ve registered your IDs; you’re not young anymore. A few of you should be married by now."
The expressions on the faces in front of him changed dramatically.
Luo Yi continued, "The order left a phone number, but the name on the order doesn’t match the one checking in. Is the bed reserved by your partner?"
The situation took a sharp turn.
"For the remaining days, enjoy yourselves and behave. After this, don’t ever come back."
He walked to the door, raised his finger holding the cigarette and pointed in the air, then turned back. "I advise everyone, when you're out and about, don’t create trouble for yourselves."
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