# 1530
Chapter 1526: Did You Know I'm Divorced?
After six or seven consecutive sword strikes were dodged by Cao Yuan, Lu Menglei had already realized something was wrong.
Lu Menglei had started learning kendo, though only a few years ago, there weren't many people her age who could evade her attacks—let alone dodge so many in a row. Looking at Cao Yuan's composed demeanor, Lu Menglei was utterly shaken!
How could this guy be so skilled?
What on earth is his background!?
Just as Lu Menglei faltered, Cao Yuan, who had been continuously retreating, suddenly stepped forward half a pace. He struck her wrist with a backhand flick, then tapped a spot on her forearm with the tree branch. The bamboo sword in her hand was instantly knocked flying.
Whoosh—!
The slender branch sliced through the air like lightning, emitting a sharp whistle, and came to an abrupt stop beside Lu Menglei's fair neck. The latter's face went deathly pale.
Cao Yuan gripped the branch, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "You lost, senior."
Lu Menglei hadn't yet recovered from that lightning-fast strike. She stared at the man before her in a daze. Only after a long while did she suddenly step back several paces, looking at her knocked-away bamboo sword in disbelief:
"You... how did you do that? Who exactly are you?"
"I told you, I'm a philosophy major freshman..."
"That's not what I meant!" Lu Menglei's eyes sparkled brightly. She gazed at Cao Yuan as if looking at a rare treasure. She rushed up to him, grabbed his hand, and examined it carefully.
"You've studied swordsmanship, haven't you? There are very thick calluses on your hands—from using a sword or a knife! You're definitely not an ordinary philosophy student!"
Feeling the delicate warmth in her palm, Cao Yuan cleared his throat. "I only learned a little as a child..."
Lu Menglei also realized something was off and quickly released Cao Yuan's hand, her cheeks flushing slightly. But she still stared into his eyes, her gaze growing more fervent.
The Kendo Club... they've truly found a gem!
"Again!" Lu Menglei wasn't defeated by a single failure. She swiftly picked up the bamboo sword from the ground, assumed her combat stance, and her slightly flushed cheeks returned to normal as she wore an expression of utmost seriousness.
"Alright."
Lu Menglei let out a soft shout and charged forward with all her strength!
Across the way, in the building corridor.
"Picking on a young lady like that." Jiang Er floated in the air, sticking her tongue out at Cao Yuan on the training ground.
"He's already holding back a lot. Otherwise, even with just that branch, Lu Menglei wouldn't have lasted a single move." Lin Qiye smiled as he watched the two on the training ground, finding the scene amusing.
"That said, Lu Menglei's skills and temperament are both excellent. She'd be a great candidate for Night Watch. It would be perfect if she also had Forbidden Ruins."
An Qingyu pushed up her glasses and said.
"Cao Yuan would never agree to that." Lin Qiye shook his head. "What man would want the girl he likes to put herself in danger?"
"True."
Time passed bit by bit. By the time Lu Menglei and Cao Yuan finished their "sparring," it was nearly midnight.
As the training ground lights went out, the two walked out of the building. Lin Qiye and the others, who had been watching the two-hour match, finally regained their energy.
"Late at night, no one on the roads, a junior walking a senior back to the dorm—perfectly reasonable." An Qingyu couldn't help but applaud Cao Yuan. "If only he could time it perfectly to when the dorm gates close, making her unable to get back, that would be even better."
"Unfortunately, Shangjing University's dorms have no curfew. You can enter at any time." Jiang Er had long since memorized Shangjing University's rules and regulations inside and out. She sighed helplessly, wearing an expression of having missed out on good entertainment.
An Qingyu pondered for a moment. "I just think it would be a waste if they just went back like that?"
"What do you mean?"
"You see, after that exchange just now, Lu Menglei already has a sense of admiration for Cao Yuan... I think we should strike while the iron is hot, and turn this admiration of hers into a sense of security."
"Security... how would we do that?"
Lin Qiye rubbed his chin with one hand, as if having thought of something. His gaze drifted to a teaching building not far away, shrouded in darkness, and a smile curled at the corner of his mouth:
"I have an idea..."
"It's gotten this late without me realizing?"
Lu Menglei slung the bamboo sword over her shoulder, looking at the empty, people-less road before her. A few streetlamps stood scattered along both sides, their dim, faint light making the entire campus deathly still.
"It's past twelve." Cao Yuan glanced at his watch, asking as if by chance, "When does your dorm curfew start?"
"Curfew? Shangjing University's dorms don't have curfews."
"Oh..."
The disappointment in Cao Yuan's eyes was hard to hide.
"Cao Yuan, do you live off campus?" Lu Menglei seemed to have remembered something and asked.
"Mm." Cao Yuan nodded slightly. "The direction out the school gate is the same as to your dorm. Let me walk you back."
"Uh... is it really the same direction?"
"Isn't it? I'm a bit tired from the exercise anyway. I might as well take a walk."
"...Alright." Lu Menglei gave Cao Yuan a suspicious look, her expression somewhat strange.
Lu Menglei and Cao Yuan walked side by side along the small path, neither speaking. Under the dim streetlamps, their shadows overlapped, and the air suddenly fell into a subtle silence...
After some time, Lu Menglei gritted her teeth and finally spoke up:
"Cao Yuan."
"Mm?"
"Senior has been divorced before. Did you know that?"
"I know."
Cao Yuan nodded decisively without hesitation, causing Lu Menglei to freeze for a moment. She glanced at him complexly.
"You... ha, good that you know."
The two fell silent once more.
Meow—!!
At that moment, a tiny figure suddenly darted out from the side path, lightning-fast, and clamped its jaws onto the small bag Lu Menglei was carrying, yanking it clean off her arm!
The cat had appeared so suddenly that Lu Menglei didn't react in time. She turned her head in astonishment, only to see a black cat standing at the edge of the flower bed, her bag clamped in its jaws. It turned and nimbly bounded toward a teaching building in the darkness.
"My bag..." Lu Menglei exclaimed anxiously at the sight, immediately giving chase.
Cao Yuan stood where he was, watching the departing cat shadow with a suspicious expression. His expression was somewhat subtle as he glanced around, then finally broke into a run, following closely after Lu Menglei.
Though Lu Menglei's speed wasn't slow, compared to the nimble cat, she was still far behind. She chased the black cat all the way to a dark teaching building, where the shadow flashed and darted up the exterior pipes to the sixth floor, disappearing through a window.
Lu Menglei stood gasping beneath the teaching building, about to rush inside, when she suddenly stopped.
She stared blankly at the teaching building before her, as if having thought of something. Her expression turned flustered, and she murmured to herself:
"Oh no, this building is..."