Lu Ran held his fencing gear and followed them into the locker room.
As soon as they stepped inside, there was a loud “click”—the sound of the door locking. Jiang Nuan turned around and saw Lu Ran leaning against the door.
Coach Shen, who had been analyzing the three rounds of practice matches with the other coaches, looked up and realized the main participants were missing. He asked, “Where did they go?”
“They went to shower in the locker room.”
“And Jiang Nuan?”
“Huh? Jiang Nuan?”
A seven or eight-year-old boy, munching on the chocolate Jiang Nuan had given him, answered, “I saw Jiang Nuan-jiejie being pushed into the locker room by a few of the older boys. They said they were going to shower together!”
Coach Shen was flustered. “Shower? What kind of nonsense is that?”
Meanwhile, Xu Zitian and Mu Sheng were sitting on the bench, chatting and stripping off their clothes. Since they had been sweating inside their fencing uniforms, even their T-shirts were soaked, so they pulled them off as well.
Jiang Nuan backed away in shock, wishing she could pull a curtain over herself. But unfortunately… there were no curtains in the men’s locker room.
Please don’t take off your pants!
I don’t want to see this!
Xu Zitian and Mu Sheng had already lowered their heads and were pulling off their outer pants.
Jiang Nuan quickly turned around. This was burning her eyes! Even with a free ticket, she wouldn’t want to see this!
“Hey, are you not changing? Or do you have more practice?” Xu Zitian asked.
Jiang Nuan shook her hand to signal that she wasn’t changing.
She turned her head slightly and saw Lu Ran had only taken off his mask, holding it casually in one hand. His other hand brushed back his slightly sweat-dampened hair, and as his chin lifted slightly, the tension in his shoulder and arm muscles radiated a subtle but palpable sense of danger.
At this moment, Lu Ran was still watching her.
Jiang Nuan swallowed nervously. She had a feeling Lu Ran had seen right through her.
Xu Zitian was still looking at her, so Jiang Nuan waved her hand, signaling that she wasn’t changing, and lowered her head, walking to the door. But unfortunately, the great deity Lu Ran was blocking the way.
She gently tapped Lu Ran’s arm, indicating she wanted to go out, but Lu Ran didn’t move at all.
“If you don’t speak, how would I know what you want me to do?”
Maybe because he had just been exercising, Lu Ran’s voice had a touch of warmth and hoarseness, unlike his usual cold tone.
Lu Ran slightly lowered his head, as if trying to peer through the fencing mask to see Jiang Nuan’s eyes.
“Hey, Lu Ran… You’ve already won the practice match, but now you’re blocking the door and not letting anyone out? That’s full-on bully behavior, oppressing the innocent!” Mu Sheng joked, sensing that Lu Ran’s attitude seemed a bit strange today.
Jiang Nuan nodded quickly and made a “please” gesture.
But Lu Ran still didn’t move. Xu Zitian was already wrapped in a towel, heading toward the shower. He added, “I get it, you’re upset about a middle schooler scoring more than ten points on you, but this kid is really talented! Let him out, or his coach might scold him!”
Jiang Nuan was about to turn her head to look at Xu Zitian when Lu Ran suddenly reached out and turned her head back.
“There’s nothing worth seeing after he’s stripped down.” Lu Ran said in a calm tone.
But within that calmness, there seemed to be invisible threads winding around Jiang Nuan’s heart, pulling taut before slowly slipping away.
“My body’s in great shape!” Xu Zitian protested.
“Yeah, right!” Mu Sheng laughed, but his attention was more focused on Lu Ran’s expression—he was slightly lowering his head as if trying to take a closer look at something that intrigued him.
There was a bit of greed.
And a lot of determination.
Jiang Nuan was truly anxious now. She really wanted to shout, “I’m Jiang Nuan! Go ahead and strip down if you dare!” But if word got back to her father, she didn’t know how she would explain it. She could already picture her father and Coach Shen sitting side by side, analyzing her fencing techniques, and then her father launching into a lecture about how she needed to focus on her studies. What if Coach Shen refused to teach her after that?
She pushed hard against Lu Ran, but he stood firm, unmovable.
Suddenly, she felt a light flick on her ear, delivered by Lu Ran’s finger.
“Did you really think that wearing this thing would stop me from recognizing you?”
Jiang Nuan froze.
No way! She was completely wrapped up in her fencing gear, and yet Lu Ran still recognized her? Were his eyes made of X-rays?
“Jiang Nuan.” Lu Ran softly said her name.
Jiang Nuan’s heart skipped a beat.
“What? Jiang Nuan? The daughter of our grandmaster, Jiang Nuan?” Xu Zitian stopped on his way to the shower, running over to them.
Before he could get any closer, Lu Ran shot him a sidelong glare, filled with warning.
Mu Sheng, who had already put his clothes back on, stepped in front of Xu Zitian. “Lu Ran, are you talking about the little junior sister we saw at the Babylon buffet?”
“Yeah.” Lu Ran responded softly.
What! You’ve known all along? Then why didn’t you say anything! Do you know how tiring it was to keep this mask on and not take it off?
A second ago, Jiang Nuan had been unsure of what to do. But in the next second, her “devil-may-care” attitude kicked in, and she yanked off her mask.
“That’s right! I’m Jiang Nuan!”
Jiang Nuan lifted her chin high, her confidence soaring as if she had been the one who won that practice match.
Lu Ran didn’t look angry at all. Instead, he took a step closer.
Jiang Nuan, committed to not backing down, stood her ground. But Lu Ran casually lowered his head, and in the glassy, dark depths of his eyes, Jiang Nuan clearly saw her reflection.
“Are you an idiot?”
Lu Ran’s voice was gentle. Though he was often sharp-tongued, there were times like this when his tone was soft, as if he was speaking only to her, just for her to hear.
It made her heart tingle.
Jiang Nuan finally took half a step back, retreating from Lu Ran’s presence.
But then Lu Ran’s hand reached out, his fingertips slipping into her collar. His nails lightly brushed against her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. Just as she thought he might lift her like a little chick, Lu Ran let go.
“You’re soaked through. Did you bring a change of clothes?”
“I… I did…”
“Then are you going to shower with us?”
Lu Ran’s voice was calm, but the slight rise at the end of his sentence hinted at teasing, something only Jiang Nuan could detect.
“Who’d shower with you, you jerk!” Jiang Nuan finally pushed Lu Ran hard and stormed toward the door.
But Lu Ran was standing so close—he was probably laughing at her a thousand times in his mind!
Why was even the door latch working against her!
Suddenly, Lu Ran’s hand slid past her waist, reaching for the door lock. Startled, Jiang Nuan jumped back as if she’d been burned, only to bump into Lu Ran, who remained as steady as ever.
“Having trouble with the lock?”
With one hand, Lu Ran easily flipped the latch open.
“Thanks!” Jiang Nuan muttered without looking at him as she rushed out.
“Alright, alright, you’ve already stripped down. Why are you still standing around?” Mu Sheng gave Xu Zitian a shove.
Xu Zitian finally snapped out of it.
“Hey, next time don’t act like that in front of our junior sister, or Master Lu might turn you into a stick and plant you in the ground!” Mu Sheng playfully tapped Xu Zitian on the back of the head several times.
Meanwhile, Lu Ran casually walked over to the bench and began taking off his gear.
Mu Sheng wasn’t in a hurry. He leaned against the locker with his arms crossed, watching him.
“Aren’t you going to shower? Or are you here for an exhibition?” Lu Ran asked.
Mu Sheng responded, “You’re too mean.”
“How am I mean?”
“You were teasing our junior sister just now. If Xu Zitian and I hadn’t been around, you’d probably have kissed her!”
“What nonsense have you been watching lately?” Lu Ran stood up and shut his locker door.
Mu Sheng laughed lightly, unfazed by Lu Ran’s distant attitude. “You recognized Jiang Nuan as soon as she struck her first blow against you, didn’t you?”
Lu Ran didn’t answer. He just grabbed his things and headed into the shower.
Mu Sheng followed him, continuing, “When Jiang Nuan’s long lunge nearly knocked you down, I thought it was just your sportsmanship to help up your opponent. But you wrapped your arm around her because you wanted to hug her, didn’t you?”
“So you accompany girls to practice, pretending to instruct them while thinking about all this stuff?”
Lu Ran stepped into the shower stall and efficiently closed the door behind him.
Outside, Mu Sheng rubbed his nose, still wearing a faint smile.
Meanwhile, Jiang Nuan was practically stomping her feet, so close to tripping over herself.
When she emerged from the locker room, she found Lu Ran and the others standing at the door, waiting for her like debt collectors.
Jiang Nuan wanted to just barrel through, pretending not to know any of them!
“Wow, our junior sister is quick!” Mu Sheng laughed.
Xu Zitian nodded in agreement. “Yeah! Not like other girls who take forever, as if they’re trying to scrub off an entire layer of skin!”
Jiang Nuan stood there with her bag, unsure whether to move forward or retreat.
Lu Ran spoke up, “I told Mu Sheng and Xu Zitian that we wouldn’t mention your fencing club activities to Coach Jiang. You did well in today’s match, but I can’t promise that Coach Shen and the others won’t tell your dad.”
Hearing this, Jiang Nuan let out a sigh of relief.
She had thought Lu Ran would report everything to her father, but then again, Lu Ran was someone who had his own way of doing things.
Still, she felt a bit frustrated, knowing that Lu Ran had something to hold over her again…
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