They all want to control me!

Chapter 7 Speak Civilly, Be a Civilized Person, Avoid Abstract Concepts

【Ding! 】

[Teamwork +4]

[Compatibility with Jiang Qiaoqiao: 30]

Lin Ran was woken up by the sound of the door closing.

I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling.

Hmm? Why does the back of my hand feel damp?

Lin Ran turned his head and saw Tao Zhiyao asleep on the hospital bed, her hands wrapped around his arm, her chubby face resting on the back of his hand, her mouth slightly open, and drool dripping down.

"Young man, the infirmary isn't a place for flirting," the female nurse organizing medicines said with a smile.

Lin Ran sat up and found that she could control her body again; Jiang Qiaoqiao was naturally gone.

He shook Tao Zhiyao awake.

The girl was dazed and confused, clutching Lin Ran's clothes as she followed him out of the infirmary.

The silly girl's appearance is a target for creepy uncles with lollipops. If you underestimate her, she'll punch you into mincemeat.

Speaking of which, Lin Ran met Tao Zhiyao when he first arrived in Jiangning City because of a fight.

He was passing by a middle school when he saw a thin girl being blackmailed by a young man in an alley.

He called the police and secretly observed the young men, fearing they might harm the girl before the police arrived.

Justice delayed is still justice... but the damage caused is irreparable.

The other side outnumbered him, so he couldn't act rashly. He took a brick and prepared to find an opportunity to ambush her, rescue the little girl, and escape.

Just as they were about to take action, a petite figure rushed in.

One kick, two punches, a sweeping leg strike—several cracking sounds echoed as five energetic young men collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain.

That figure was Tao Zhiyao.

Later, the police arrived and asked the two to go to the police station to give statements. They discovered that the other person was also a freshman in the Department of Clinical Medicine at Jiangning University, and that's how they got to know each other.

Recalling the past, Lin Ran couldn't help but squeeze Tao Zhiyao's soft little hand:

"Tao Zhiyao, teach me martial arts."

"Huh?"

The dazed Tao Zhiyao instantly perked up, blinked her big eyes, and looked up at him.

Why did you suddenly want to learn martial arts?

"To protect myself," Lin Ran said. "Although I'm a man, there are so many perverts in this world. I've heard that the United States has as many as double digits of people of the same gender, and I feel very dangerous."

He certainly couldn't say he was provoked.

He could understand not being able to beat Tao Zhiyao, since the "Golden Girl" was far from human but very close to the divine. However, after witnessing Jiang Qiaoqiao's instinctive whip kick, he realized that he might not be able to beat a healthy Jiang Qiaoqiao either.

This won't do! We need to step up our stance!

"My family's martial arts are passed down through generations and cannot be taught to others," Tao Zhiyao said. "However, you can train your body and improve your physical fitness, which will also help you protect yourself better."

Lin Ran thought for a moment:

That makes sense.

"Tomorrow is Friday, I'm going for a morning run, are you... coming?"

Tao Zhiyao spoke cautiously, with a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

She exercises every day, day after day, year after year. Over time, she inevitably feels a little lonely.

Her roommates are all lazybones and don't get up until 7:50. She usually exercises alone and longs for someone to keep her company.

"hiss."

Lin Ran was willing, but Jiang Qiaoqiao would have to control her body tomorrow morning. Oh, right... she could ask the system if the control time could be adjusted.

[Do I want to use up one extraction attempt to permanently gain the authority to adjust the controller's time?]

"yes."

【Ding! 】

You have permanently gained the authority to adjust the controller's time!

[Under Jiang Qiaoqiao's rule of controlling your body for six hours every day, you can choose to start at any time.]

The synergy value is 30. You can use one extraction of the talent "Photographic Memory" and one exchange for time adjustment permissions. There is one last extraction opportunity left, so use it carefully.

Lin Ran's thoughts returned to reality, and she smiled as she said:

"I'll train with you tomorrow."

"Thank you, Lin Ran, you're so kind to me~"

Tao Zhiyao grabbed Lin Ran's arm with both hands and smiled sweetly.

She said it, and that's what she really thought.

She felt that, apart from her parents, no one in the world treated her better than Lin Ran.

Suddenly, Tao Zhiyao recalled the late-night chat in the girls' dormitory a few days ago:

"Yaoyao, are you and Lin Ran dating? During military training, you two were inseparable. He bought you water, and you gave him watermelon. It made us girls feel so sad. Why isn't there a handsome guy who treats us this well?"

"No, no, Lin Ran and I are friends. How could he like someone like me? I'm short, I'm afraid to speak loudly, I'm very strong, and I'm clumsy. Lin Ran wouldn't like me..."

"That's hard to say. I've heard some guys have a particular fetish—they like loli-type girlfriends. By the way, speaking of lolis, I found a pretty good loli-themed movie on the little blue plane. Want to check it out, ladies?"

Finally, the women's late-night chat turned into a large-scale appreciation event.

Tao Zhiyao blushed, huddled under the covers, pondering her roommate's words, feeling sullen and resentful that she had been overthinking and had tainted the precious friendship between them.

Why don't I grow taller? Lin Ran is so tall, when I stand next to him I look like a little sister.

Going back to reality.

Recalling those shameful memories, Tao Zhiyao's chubby cheeks instantly turned pink.

"Ah, ah, I..."

She managed to utter a few words intermittently.

Lin Ran asked in confusion:

"Why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?"

"No, no!" she waved her hands in a panic.

Hurry up and think of a way to change the subject, you stupid brain! You're actually thinking of those embarrassing things now. If Lin Ran finds out, she'll definitely blame me for tarnishing our friendship.

Tao Zhiyao's brain cells were working furiously when suddenly a brilliant idea struck her:

"Lin Ran still hasn't told me what kind of girl Jiang Qiaoqiao is."

"???"

Girl, you change the subject so quickly.

Lin Ran couldn't understand why she mentioned Jiang Qiaoqiao.

"...It's hard to explain Jiang Qiaoqiao in a short time, so...let's eat first."

"what?"

It's getting late, and there are very few people in the cafeteria; most have already eaten lunch.

Lin Ran bought a spicy hot pot, sweet and sour pork, a chicken leg, a meatball, and two large spoonfuls of rice.

"15 yuan received via WeChat".

"35 yuan received via WeChat".

Lin Ran turned his head in surprise. Tao Zhiyao was holding a plate in each hand, and each plate was full of food and rice.

Tao Zhiyao blushed, lowered her head, and murmured:

"I...I think I ate a lot. Did I scare you?"

"...People who practice martial arts consume a lot of energy, so they eat a lot, which is normal."

Lin Ran gave a thumbs up, expressing his genuine admiration.

Tao Zhiyao used to eat with her roommates, and this was the first time he had seen the amount of food a girl could eat, which shocked him greatly.

The cafeteria lady was so happy when she saw that she ate the equivalent of two people's meals. Her face lit up with a wide smile.

"Daughter, it's a blessing to be able to eat. Eat more so you can grow taller."

"..."

Tao Zhiyao glanced at Lin Ran and, seeing that his eyes didn't seem to be mocking her, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Auntie, do you still have steamed buns?"

"That's all, we don't sell steamed buns at noon."

"Hmm, I can't buy Lin Ran any steamed buns... then get me a steamed bread instead, that should be enough to fill me up about 80%."

"?"

"???"

Are you only 80% full after eating so much?

The cafeteria lady was so shocked that her mouth dropped open.

Lin Ran silently helped her carry the tray.

I think I underestimated this legally petite 1.6-meter-tall girl. Speaking of which, if Tao Zhiyao feels this food isn't enough, will she skin me alive and eat me?

His head was full of random thoughts.

After sitting down, Lin Ran buried himself in his rice.

"Lin Ran..."

"Um?"

"Jiang Qiaoqiao," Tao Zhiyao reminded her.

Although there are only two people now, there are actually three people – Jiang Qiaoqiao lives in their conversation.

Jiang Qiaoqiao, that girl, portrayed herself as a sadistic girlfriend, but ended up making me clean up her mess and explain things.

Lin Ran said, "She's alright looking, alright figure, alright personality, that's all."

"How tall?" Tao Zhiyao asked.

"1.7 meters tall." Lin Ran had seen her 3D model, which contained her body information.

Are your eyes big?

"It's quite big."

"Is your skin fair?"

"Um, white."

"Where's your hair? Long hair or short hair?"

"Waist-length hair".

"chest?"

"Outwardly, it's a C+..."

"She's clearly a great beauty!" Tao Zhiyao sighed, feeling utterly inferior to Jiang Qiaoqiao.

She thought, "Lin Ran can tolerate Jiang Qiaoqiao forcing him to take off his clothes and film a dance video, so he must really like this type of girl. I was just fantasizing. How could Lin Ran like me? His feelings for me are purely platonic."

Tao Zhiyao channeled her low spirits into her appetite, devouring lunch in a whirlwind. She left alone, head down, back bent, looking dejected, as if a dark cloud of thunder and rain was hanging over her head.

Lin Ran's eyelids twitched a few times. Looking at her lunch, which was still half-eaten, she couldn't help but sigh:

"If I marry Tao Zhiyao, won't she eat me out of house and home, leaving me destitute and starving?"

After lunch, a senior from the Hanfu club called to ask if Lin Ran could participate in the welcome party rehearsal that afternoon.

"Senior, I have a full afternoon of classes."

"Haha, I understand, that's how medical students are. Yao Yao doesn't need to ask anymore, she takes the same classes as you. When are you two free?"

Lin Ran joined the Hanfu club because Tao Zhiyao was interested in Hanfu—the fact that the club was full of girls was also a reason.

"I have no classes on Friday afternoon."

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you tomorrow at 2 PM."

Tomorrow morning I'll accompany Tao Zhiyao to exercise, followed by two professional classes in the morning and rehearsals for the welcome party in the afternoon.

Some things are getting busy.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Ran glanced at the class schedule.

The afternoon has two long classes, so it's definitely full.

The first session is College English, and the second session is a public lecture on college psychology.

Lin Ran skipped the second class because she had something more important to do.

Before she knew it, it was 3:30 in the afternoon. Lin Ran asked her former roommates Wang Jiahao and Xiao Nan to sign her in for the next class, in exchange for spending the weekend playing King of Glory with these two noobs to rank up.

"Leave it to the two of us, and we'll get you through the psychology class the counselor gave you, no problem!"

"Wrong!"

"?"

"We don't say 'bao de' (包的), we say 'zhi zai zhi jie' (志在必得), let's speak politely and be civilized modern people," Lin Ran said earnestly.

"???"

"Ran-ge, is everyday language the same as formal written language?"

Lin Ran patted the two brothers, whose faces were full of question marks, on the shoulder, smiled, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and left the lecture hall.

Looking down at the unethical map for location navigation.

"Jiang Qiaoqiao, I'm here to show you my true self offline!"