Chapter 2522 — Doused in Filthy Water

"Xiaoshu, you've heard by now about that match between Wei Zhao and me, haven't you?" Zhong Yongliang asked tentatively.

"A match? What match?" Shen Yushu feigned ignorance, putting on a bewildered look.

"Haha, it's like this!" Overjoyed to find Shen Yushu in the dark, Zhong Yongliang hurried to explain. "I set up an arena contest over here—to test whether I'd be a worthy bodyguard for you and Yaoyao, I laid down a rule: anyone who knocks me down gets a thousand yuan as a prize! Of course, that's meant for ordinary folks. Cultivators and the like are another matter—against them I'd naturally have to fight back..."

Having said this much, Zhong Yongliang deliberately dropped a word of caution for Shen Yushu, laying the groundwork for what was to come. What he never expected was that Shen Yushu would actually agree with him!

"Right, right, if you didn't hit back when a cultivator showed up, you'd be an idiot!" Shen Yushu chimed in.

"Uh... yes..." Zhong Yongliang smiled bitterly to himself. So that makes me an idiot, does it? But if it meant smearing Wei Zhao, an idiot he would be. He went on: "But who'd have thought Wei Zhao would suddenly come back, march up onto the stage, and knock me down just like that—then demand a thousand yuan from me! Tell me, isn't that infuriating? He's a cultivator—how can he play by the same rules as ordinary people? Isn't that just cheating? And when I told him to keep fighting me, he took the money and walked off! The nerve of him, the sheer shamelessness!"

"Oh, that business. I've heard about it!" Shen Yushu said. "Neither Yaoyao nor I saw your match, so it doesn't count. Even if the two of you want to fight, it has to be with us present, seeing it with our own eyes—otherwise it can't count for anything!"

"Exactly, exactly!" Zhong Yongliang was overjoyed at Shen Yushu's words. "That's it—a match without the two of you there doesn't count. His cheating was only temporary. When the real match comes, we'll see how he cheats then!"

"But Xiaoliangzi, I don't have time to talk about this and that with you right now. I'm very busy at the moment!" Shen Yushu cut him off.

"Huh? Sister Xiaoshu, what are you busy with?" Zhong Yongliang asked fawningly. "Do you need my help?"

"No need. Sister Yaoyao isn't feeling well—seems she's caught a cold and is lying in bed. I have to look after her!" Shen Yushu said.

"What? Yaoyao has a cold? Is it serious?" Zhong Yongliang's eyes darted about as he pressed on. "Should I come over and see if I can help?"

"No need. It's the girls' dormitory—you can't get in anyway!" Shen Yushu said.

"Ha, others can't get in, but can't I?" Zhong Yongliang curled his lip. He had long since done his homework: the old woman minding the girls' dormitory bullied the weak and feared the strong—slip her a little something under the table, and he could walk right through!

"That won't be necessary either, will it? It's not very convenient, is it?" Shen Yushu said hesitantly. "Sister Yaoyao is only wearing her pajamas..."

Hearing this, Gu Mengyao shot Shen Yushu a exasperated glare. You're the one who made me wear them, she thought. And besides, these pajamas are very modest, all right? Everything that ought to be covered is covered—and I'm lying under the blanket besides!

"Eh? Pajamas?" Zhong Yongliang nearly drooled at the words, but to hide his lecherous look he hastily put on a solemn air. "What's inconvenient about it? I'm about to become your bodyguard—am I supposed to never see you in pajamas at home? Wait there, I'm coming right over!"

"Don't—absolutely don't come..." Shen Yushu's tone suddenly shifted from the earlier coy half-refusal to flat rejection.

But Zhong Yongliang, with his mind in his loins, could no longer catch the change in her voice. He said outright: "Wait for me, I'll be right there!"

"Don't, don't... please don't come..." With that, Shen Yushu hung up.

"Pfft..." Hearing Shen Yushu hang up, Gu Mengyao nearly burst out laughing. "Xiaoshu, that coy little act of playing hard to get was quite convincing! Tell me—do you practice it in your spare time, getting ready to seduce Wei Zhao?"

"Not at all... I'm just practicing on Yaoyao's behalf..." Shen Yushu stuck out her tongue.

"On my behalf? What does it have to do with me?" Gu Mengyao's face flushed as something occurred to her, and she glared at Shen Yushu. "Hurry up and get ready! Zhong Yongliang will be here any minute!"

"Okay, okay, okay, okay, I'll go get ready!" Shen Yushu grabbed the washbasin and dashed out of the dormitory.

Meanwhile, on Zhong Yongliang's end, after hanging up he said to Gao Xiaofu: "Take this stuff back and wait for me—I'm going to see Gu Mengyao!"

"Brother Liang, don't you need me to come help?" Gao Xiaofu asked cautiously.

"You help? Help with what, exactly?" Zhong Yongliang glared at Gao Xiaofu. "Didn't you hear that Yaoyao's in her pajamas? What would you go there for? And it's the girls' dormitory—what's the point of so many people going? We wouldn't even get in the door!"

"Oh, all right..." Gao Xiaofu hadn't actually been hoping to see Gu Mengyao in her pajamas; he just wanted to look around the dormitory for other beauties—maybe he'd stumble into a little romance of his own. But that was certainly out of the question now. Zhong Yongliang wouldn't agree to it at all, so he had no choice but to gather up that pile of banners and head back to the dormitory to wait for Zhong Yongliang's return.

After taking leave of Gao Xiaofu, Zhong Yongliang trotted off toward Gu Mengyao's dormitory building. He had long since found out her room number. At the entrance, he told the old woman on duty that his girlfriend was ill and urgently needed care, and slipped her a hundred yuan on the sly. After checking the room number and name he gave her and finding everything in order, she let him up.

Zhong Yongliang jogged all the way to the door of Gu Mengyao's room. He had been about to knock, but when he looked, the door wasn't locked at all—it was standing ajar. Delighted, he pushed it open and charged inside!

Deep down he was nursing a small hope: bursting in like this, maybe he'd catch some intimate scene!

But wishes are fine things, and reality is cruel. Zhong Yongliang entered the dormitory and saw nothing at all—except a washbasin dropping from above, its filthy water pouring straight over his head and face. Luckily his reflexes were quick and he dodged aside in time; otherwise the dirty water would have run right down his collar!

"What is this? What's going on?" Zhong Yongliang wiped the dirty water from his face, sneezed, and asked, utterly bewildered.