The Three Rules and a Misunderstanding

Those three rascals, barely suppressing their laughter, began tidying the utterly chaotic dorm room I had messed up. All the while, they were desperately coaxing me, who was still fuming slightly and sitting stubbornly to the side.

It wasn’t until about an hour before the dorm lights-out and lockout that I finally felt my anger subside a little. I then rose and bid them farewell.

“Oh, Fourth Brother, you’re leaving? It’s the middle of the night, where are you going? Why not just sleep here? I guarantee, on my honor, that I won’t do anything to you!” Yang Laoer exclaimed the moment he heard I intended to leave. “If you’re scared, Second Brother can even sleep with you and tell you stories!”

“Oh, please. Trusting your ‘honor,’ Yang Laoer, I’d probably even mess up Chinese New Year!” I retorted, pursing my lips without mercy.

“Damn it, you don’t trust your Second Brother? Have you no regard for our long-standing brotherhood?” Yang Laoer grew a little agitated as he spoke.

“Well, Second Brother,” I sighed, adopting a grave and patient tone. I held up a fair finger and waved it before his eyes. “First, no matter how it was before, I am a girl now!”

Yang Laoer nodded vigorously, his sly eyes constantly darting towards my not-so-impressive chest with ill intent.

After glaring at him fiercely, I held up a second finger.

“Second, precisely because we’ve shared such a long brotherhood, my understanding of you makes me incredibly uneasy!” I stated with a serious expression.

Yang Laoer stiffened his neck, about to retort, but then he saw Guo Hao and Linghu Ruoxu both nod in profound agreement. He immediately deflated, mumbling to himself without a comeback.

“Third…” I continued, holding up all three fingers before him.

“There’s a third?” Yang Laoer protested, clearly displeased.

“Of course there is, and it’s the most important point. Second Brother, do you still consider us brothers?” I asked with a solemn expression.

“That… naturally we are. No matter what you, Fourth Brother, become—male or female, even if you were something in between right now—we will always be good brothers!” This time, Yang Laoer’s reply was swift and direct, his earlier lewdness gone from his words and expression.

I let out a slightly grateful breath, then glanced at Guo Hao and Linghu Ruoxu. I saw them both nod subtly in agreement with Yang Laoer’s words.

“Good, then. Since we’re still brothers, let’s continue interacting as we always have. With you all, just continue to treat me as a guy…” I paused, feeling a little embarrassed, as though my words were too blunt. However, given that Yang Laoer, a lecherous scoundrel, was among these three, it was better to be clear. “Let’s not end up with me treating you as a brother, only for you to try and get into my pants…”

My face instantly flushed, my ears burning red.

The three exchanged glances for a moment. Finally, with Guo Hao leading the way, they all nodded gravely. Yang Laoer, in particular, nodded with an air as if he were being tortured by an enemy, forced to sign a deed of servitude.

****

Much later, during another one of our casual chats, we recalled my actions and words from that day. Guo Hao smacked his lips, savoring the memory. “To think, Fourth Brother, when you first turned into a girl and laid down those three rules for us, tsk tsk, that was truly fierce and explicit!”

“Exactly, exactly! Not only Guo Hao and I, but even Second Brother was stunned by you back then!” Linghu Ruoxu chimed in, seizing the opportunity to flatter.

Only Yang Laoer remained silent for a long time before honestly admitting, “Actually, at the time, it wasn’t mainly because Fourth Brother’s words were explicit. It was because of the look in their eyes. I figured if I didn’t agree, they might actually castrate me…”

At this, the three of us were utterly bewildered.

“Second Brother, why would you think that? Although my words were serious at the time, it wasn’t to that extent…” I, as the person involved, immediately refuted him.

“It’s true, but at the time, I thought since you’d joined the Dongfang Bubai lineage, it’s common for your sect to… well, cut off that thing. I don’t know why, but that thought suddenly struck me, and then I was terrified…” Yang Laoer replied, his face red.

****

From this, it’s clear that everything has two sides. The saying, ‘To practice divine功, one must wield the blade upon oneself,’ is not entirely a bad thing after all. For lechers like Yang Laoer, it certainly has a deterrent effect!

As we chatted, I realized it was getting late. I also remembered that nothing had been sorted with the girls’ dormitory bed. Even though Secretary Feng Tian’er had already sent the bedding to the dorm, the thought of making the bed and putting on the covers this late at night felt truly troublesome. So, I decided to return to the inn where I’d stayed yesterday for another night; after all, I hadn’t checked out yet.

Thus, when Guo Hao later asked where I intended to go, I told them openly that I planned to stay another night at an inn outside the school and deal with the dorm issue tomorrow.

Upon hearing that I was leaving the school gates again, Yang Laoer’s spirits immediately lifted. Then, in a tone usually reserved for telling ghost stories to three-year-olds, he said with great concern, “Fourth Brother, it’s so late. You, a girl, are leaving the school gates? Aren’t you afraid of encountering lecherous bandits who might rob you and assault you?”

“Hmm, you make a point. So, Second Brother, what do you suggest I do?” Knowing this fellow was about to come up with some terrible idea, I humored him. “But let me be clear: I will not be staying in this dorm tonight!”

“That’s simple! Second Brother here will personally escort you to the inn, won’t I?” Yang Laoer declared righteously, putting on a heroic expression of noble self-sacrifice.

However, our reaction to his selfless offer was uniformly dismissive. We all scoffed at him.

“W-what’s wrong? Second Brother is being so kind and willing to escort you back, how can you look at me like that?” Yang Laoer, evidently unaware of his own reputation, still argued stubbornly.

“Well, Second Brother, don’t you think that if you were to escort Fourth Brother back to the inn, you, Yang Laoer, would be even more dangerous than a lecherous bandit blocking the road in the middle of the night?” Linghu Ruoxu said with a sneer.