Mr. Zhang covered his mouth and chuckled, his shoulders twitching with laughter; he was growing fonder of this student by the minute.
"School regulations clearly stipulate that dating is not allowed on campus. You’ve broken the rules."
Oh, give it a rest, darling.
Everyone understood the way Lan Tian looked at the girl.
Lan Tian leaned on the podium, propped up his chin with his hands, shook his head, blinked, and made an innocent face with a cute pout. These little gestures were indescribably charming, and the students, eyes shining with starry light, were in a quandary—they found Lan Tian very adorable!
"As for me, I may not have many strengths, but I have one quality, and that’s honesty and diligence. I always remember that I am a student," Lan Tian straightened up, "To be a good student, to love and respect my classmates, to respect my teachers, to unite with my peers, I’ve done it all. Three years of high school life, and my performance has been remarkable."
"..." The whole class in Room 302 was bewildered by Lan Tian’s indirect self-praise; it was embarrassing for them to admit in front of the whole school that Lan Tian never participated in group activities or socialized with classmates; he always kept to himself.
"I’ve always been a good student and never done anything against school regulations. As for dating, which blatantly violates school rules, I’ve never even contemplated it. A student should prioritize their studies above all else." Lan Tian spoke so righteously that she skipped dating and went straight to marriage.
The girl was so angry her chest heaved, and she bellowed, "Stop beating around the bush with this useless talk. All said and done, you just don’t dare admit you got married."
"I got married, so what?" Lan Tian’s light words stunned the girl and the students, puzzling them. Weren’t we just talking about not dating? How did it turn into marriage? Wasn’t this a contradiction, a self-inflicted blow to one’s own face?
"Show me where the school rule that states a student cannot marry, or where national law prohibits students from marrying."
Isn’t not allowing dating the same as not allowing marriage?
Lan Tian gently waggled her index finger, "NoNoNo, dating and marriage are two different concepts. The school indeed has explicit rules against dating, but I haven’t dated, so where have I violated the school’s regulations? Marriage is legal, and I haven’t broken any school rules, so the person spreading rumors has ill intentions. I believe my classmates all have clear sight and won’t distort the truth."
The students felt his reasoning was sound yet also found it strange.
"I’ll analyze the intentions behind the student who started the rumors. A great person once said that mediocrity does not provoke envy. There aren’t many students like me who combine beauty with intelligence, and as everyone has seen, I’ve topped my grade every year. The college entrance exams are coming up, and if I were to fall apart because of rumors, well, heh..."
Lan Tian’s "heh" was indeed thought-provoking. The students began to exercise their wild imaginations; this wasn’t the first such incident. Excellent students suddenly become enveloped in all kinds of rumors; those with poor resilience seek death, some unable to withstand the rumors simply drop out of school, and others never recover, becoming invalids.
The students began to look at the girl with hostility—most of them were from poor families who had managed to get admitted to one of Dragon Country’s top institutions, and the sweat and effort they put into getting there was beyond the imagination of city folks.
Lan Tian’s gaze turned icy, and the Cultivator’s imposing force swept across the entire assembly hall. A dense murderous aura enveloped everyone, making them catch their breath with fear as they looked at the girl on stage burning like a fierce flame. Her voice was cold as ice, "If you’re jealous, if you’re unwilling to accept it, come and challenge me."
That suffocating feeling lasted only a moment; the classmates below were sweating profusely, looking at Lan Tian on stage with reverence as she declared dominantly, "Be it a battle of words or martial arts, pick whichever you please, this lady will oblige to the end."
How did things end up , the girl thought bitterly, the critique meeting turned into Lan Tian’s personal showcase, which then became a challenge contest.
Many female classmates looked at Lan Tian with stars in their eyes, their idol, no doubt—this was their ultimate pursuit, so majestic and overwhelmingly impressive.
Even more male classmates regarded Lan Tian as a goddess.
The girl was still struggling desperately, enduring the ravenous gazes of her classmates, and with tingling scalp, she asked, "How do we compete in a battle of words? And how about a battle of martial arts?"
Lan Tian waved her hand boldly, "Pick any subject from the arts or sciences, and as for martial arts," she picked up the shocking wood from the lectern, and right before the eyes of the students below, she squeezed it. The students in the front row saw tiny wood splinters fall from the palm of her hand, bit by bit, and then, she opened her hand, and a large amount of wood dust fell down.
"Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, hooks... staves, crutches, meteor hammers, choose from any of the eighteen types of weapons; this lady will accompany you in each one."
Real martial arts battles!
A collective gasp rose from below, and the students gazed at Lan Tian with even more reverence. It’s not that there were no heroines in life, just a lack of the vision to recognize them.
Lan Tian on the lectern looked as if she stood on a divine altar, looking down on everyone, giving off an unattainable aura.
"By the way, just a reminder, I’m a Military Wife. My marriage is protected by the country. Anyone attempting to spread rumors to destroy it, or intending to disrupt a military marriage, can be sentenced, you know!" Lan Tian paused, her face serious, "As for this matter, I will report to the military, to see if there are foreign spies infiltrated into the school, disrupting the school’s peace, or if there’s some other goal."
So, military marriages are protected by the state!
The students below suddenly realized. Forgive their ignorance; they actually did not know this.
Things escalated quickly.
With a few light words from Lan Tian, a small squabble amongst students in the school became a national issue. It wasn’t just the trivial matter of school rumors anymore; even spies were brought up.
Two girls were pale and trembling non-stop. They didn’t know about Lan Tian’s military marriage or the legal consequences. No one had told them. If they had known it would turn out , they wouldn’t have slandered her even if it killed them.
They told them, just corner Lan Tian at the monthly meeting, and each person would get one hundred yuan afterward. Oh no, what should they do? For one hundred yuan, they might have to spend the rest of their lives in a dark prison. No, she didn’t want to go to jail! No, she didn’t! What should she do?
Lan Tian’s words were intended to scare them off, so they wouldn’t always be fixated on her for no reason.
Huanhuan turned pale and then flushed as she thought of something. The soldier who picked up Lan Tian every week couldn’t possibly be her man, could it? Thinking of her own foolish expression in front of Lan Tian, her eyes began to well up. She considered Lan Tian a friend, but to Lan Tian, she was just a laughingstock like a jumping clown.
She forgot that when she initially clung to Lan Tian, she had her own ulterior motives. If her own intentions weren’t pure, why should she expect others to treat her with sincerity?