93 Punished to Stand
It was not until around five o’clock next morning, when they saw Lu Ning get off the helicopter. They felt relieved again.
But at the same time, they also saw clearly that the person with her was Song Wenqi.
Where did Song Wenqi take Lu Ning? What did he do? What was his motive? They knew nothing about these; if they wanted to know, they could only approach them.
…
Lu Ning went in through the window as before, and washed up in time for Lu Zhi, who had again returned with breakfast.
No one noticed anything amiss, and she continued to study and work as usual.
However, her abnormal lethargy aroused Lin Ci’s suspicion.
Lin Ci asked her about it twice during their cla.s.ses, but it was obvious that Lu Ning was avoiding the questions and not telling the truth, so Lin Ci did not probe further.
However, her behavior over the past two days had been quite abnormal; Lin Ci had no intention to let it slide just like that.
When morning cla.s.ses ended, Lu Ning went to her part-time job as usual. Then, she went to the infirmary to translate doc.u.ments. In the afternoon, she appeared slightly more energetic, but it would not be long before she was overcome by drowsiness.
Then, Huo Jinyan caught her red-handed.
“… Jot this down.”
As soon as Huo Jinyan finished speaking, he tapped his fingers on Lin Ci’s desk. No one else noticed as they were busy taking notes, but Lin Ci felt his overwhelming presence and gave the sleepy Lu Ning a jostle with her elbow.
Lu Ning did not wake up. Her head swayed from side to side, and actually began to fall forward towards her desk.
Lin Ci was too focused on Huo Jinyan’s expression to notice Lu Ning’s condition, but Huo Jinyan, who was looking down at her, noticed it; right away, he reached his hand out to catch her head before she hit the desk.
Lu Ning’s smooth, soft cheek pressed against his palm intimately; Huo Jinyan was surprised for a moment and he reflexively jerked his hand upwards. Lu Ning’s head was tossed up alongside, and she almost fell back.
This time, she finally woke up; when she spotted Huo Jinyan’s stony face through her sleepy eyes, she jolted right awake.
“Teacher… Huo…”
Huo Jinyan glanced at her sternly, but did not say anything else. He raised his hand, signaling for her to stand up.
Lu Ning stood up obediently. Then, Huo Jinyan pointed at the door.
n.o.body quite understood what he meant by that. However, Lu Ning did; indeed, she understood much too well what he meant, and was very compliant. She walked out of the cla.s.sroom and stood outside without saying a word.
Indeed, she had been punished to stand.
While everyone was stunned and did not dare to even breathe loudly, Huo Jinyan continued with his lesson as if nothing had happened.
Lin Ci: “…”
Quietly, she took down notes with more detail than she usually would. She might not be able to understand them, but it’s better than nothing.
…
As soon as Huo Jinyan finished speaking, the bell rang.
He walked out and stopped at the doorway, and turned to look at the wall on his right.
“…”
Huo Jinyan walked off in a huff. His footsteps were brisk and his expression grim.
Lin Ci tiptoed out and looked at Huo Jinyan’s back as he paced off; then, when she looked at Lu Ning, who was standing by the door, she finally understood why Huo Jinyan was so angry.
Lu Ning was leaning against the wall, fast asleep!
“…! Good heavens, you can fall asleep even while standing?!”
Her cla.s.smates also sighed, one after another.
Lin Ci woke her up with a slap.
“The next time you fall asleep in cla.s.s, I suspect that he’ll simply throw you out the window on the spot.”
Lu Ning rubbed the spot where Lin Ci hit her, and asked in a daze, “Who?”
Lin Ci: “… Great. When the time comes, you’ll experience too well what it means to die without even knowing why.”