Framing

Yang Chen carried Ji Ran towards Area Four. He didn't catch up to Zhu Xi and the other two along the way. When he reached the living quarters of Area Four, he started to worry, as he didn't know where Ji Ran lived.

"Senior Sister, wake up! Where do you live?"

"Senior Sister! Senior Sister?"

He shook her for a long time, but the Ji Ran on his back showed no reaction whatsoever.

Yang Chen cursed inwardly and scanned his surroundings, picking a direction at random. After turning two corners, he saw someone ahead and immediately jogged over.

"Senior Brother, please wait!"

A male disciple with a cold expression turned back, his gaze sweeping over Yang Chen and Ji Ran.

Yang Chen immediately said, "Apologies for the intrusion, Senior Brother. Do you happen to know this Senior Sister? Could you tell me her residence?"

The cold-faced male disciple said indifferently, "Room Seventy-Eight!"

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

After thanking him, Yang Chen immediately began searching Area Four with Ji Ran. Before long, he arrived outside Room Seventy-Eight. After confirming no one was inside, he pushed the door open and went in.

He tossed Ji Ran onto the bed and was about to leave when he found his hand being held. He finally managed to pull his hand free, and then heard the sound of hurried footsteps approaching outside.

He shook his head and walked towards the door.

Just then, a sudden change occurred.

The wooden door was violently kicked open, and three men and one woman filed in. The leader was a burly man whose eyes seemed to spew fire as he stared fixedly at Yang Chen. "You scoundrel, how dare you take liberties with Junior Sister Ji!"

Yang Chen looked around and thought, I don't see any scoundrels here.

But he quickly came to his senses and thought, This is bad. These people were talking about him!

With that thought, he looked closely at the approaching group. One of them was the cold-faced man who had given him directions.

"I believe there must be some misunderstanding," Yang Chen said, raising his hands to his chest. "She was drunk, and I was just bringing her back. Please believe me."

After explaining, he cupped his hands with a fawning smile and prepared to walk out the door.

In his mind, this was just a well-intentioned misunderstanding, but he had underestimated the situation. The four people who entered blocked the door, giving him no chance to leave. Their expressions were unfriendly, as if he had committed some heinous crime.

Yang Chen smiled and asked, "Senior Brothers, what do you mean by blocking the door?"

"What do we mean?" the burly man asked with a furious laugh. "When you were seducing Senior Sister, didn't you bother to find out if she already had someone?"

"Ji Ran is my woman! Who gave you the guts to touch her?"

"What!" Yang Chen was struck by lightning. He had kindly brought someone back, who would have thought there would be such trouble involved?

"It's a misunderstanding! All a misunderstanding!"

"I have absolutely no improper intentions towards Senior Sister Ji. Senior Sister Ji can prove this when she wakes up."

The burly man's expression was furious, like a man whose home had been invaded. The hostility in his eyes was almost undisguised.

Yang Chen's heart sank. He took out his Sound Transmission Bamboo. "Zhu Xi, where are you?"

"I, I... Junior Brother..."

Zhu Xi stammered. Indecent sounds could be heard from the Sound Transmission Bamboo. "Old Yang, I'm a bit busy here. Let's talk later!"

With that, the voice from the Sound Transmission Bamboo immediately disappeared. Yang Chen's face showed a hint of anger.

"Senior Brothers, I am Yang Chen, a new disciple this year. I can swear to the heavens that none of this is what you think it is!"

"Whether it is or not is not up to you. You're not going anywhere until this is explained clearly!" the burly man snorted coldly and said to the female disciple beside him, "Junior Sister, go wake Ji Ran up!"

The female disciple walked towards the bed, but before she could do anything to wake her, Ji Ran groggily opened her eyes.

"Junior Sister Ji is awake."

Hearing this, Yang Chen breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that she was awake; the misunderstanding could be cleared up now.

"Ji Ran, explain to me what this means!" the burly man said angrily, pointing at Yang Chen. "Why is he in your room!"

Yang Chen shrugged and reminded her helplessly, "Senior Sister Ji, you were drunk earlier, and I carried you back. Do you remember? Please explain."

Ji Ran looked confused, as if she had just woken up from a hangover. However, upon seeing the burly man, she immediately exclaimed joyfully, "Senior Brother Lei, why are you here?"

As if just noticing everyone else in the room, she frowned. "What are you all doing here? Why are you all in my place?"

Senior Brother Lei's face was grim. He pointed at Yang Chen again. "You ask me? I want to ask you, who is this person! Why is he in your room?"

Yang Chen pointed at himself. "You were drunk, and I brought you back."

"Senior Brother Lei, have you misunderstood something?" Ji Ran frowned and looked at Yang Chen. Without hesitation, she said, "I don't know him. Isn't he with you guys?"

Yang Chen's expression froze. They had been quite familiar when they ate at the restaurant earlier. Denying it now would surely put him in trouble.

"You don't know him?" Senior Brother Lei clearly didn't believe it. He then laughed furiously. "If you don't know him, how could he carry you back? How could he enter your room? Ji Ran! Are you involved in some illicit affair with him?"

"Hey! Wait!" Yang Chen knew this was no laughing matter and interjected, "Senior Sister Ji might be drunk and have a poor memory, but I have someone who can prove this. Senior Sister Wu Menglan, you should know her, right? I can ask her to testify that there is truly no relationship between us!"

"Shut up!" Senior Brother Lei's eyes widened with anger. He glanced coldly at Yang Chen, then looked back at Ji Ran. "Speak! Who exactly is he!"

"Senior Brother Lei, don't you believe me?" Ji Ran stood up from the bed anxiously. "I really don't know him. I only remember going for drinks with Menglan, and then I passed out. Besides, if I had really done anything improper with him, I could have come up with a much more reasonable excuse!"

"I don't know why he's here, and I don't know who he is at all. You have to believe me!"

"Really?"

Lei Wu questioned coldly.

"I can swear to the heavens!"

Seeing Ji Ran's decisiveness, Senior Brother Lei's anger dissipated by more than half. He turned to look at Yang Chen, his face like frost, and said, "Trespassing into a female disciple's room with malicious intent, do you know what crime you have committed?"

"How did I trespass... Forget it, I can't be bothered to explain further to you. Just wait, I'll call someone to testify right now."

Yang Chen was in a terrible mood. He had kindly sent Ji Ran back, only to be inexplicably dragged into this ridiculous situation. He couldn't explain himself.

He glanced at Ji Ran, who looked pitifully at him. He couldn't help but sneer and took out the Sound Transmission Bamboo from his bosom again, preparing to send a message to Zhu Xi.

But soon his face turned ashen. Zhu Xi, that scoundrel, had actually turned off the Sound Transmission Bamboo, and his message couldn't get through at all.

"Do you have anything else to say now?" Senior Brother Lei stared at him fiercely and said to the others, "Several junior brothers and sisters, please help me apprehend this person and escort him to the management office. Such a person with impure intentions must not be let off easily!"