Chapter Two: Being On Time Means Being Late

At this point, if Lu Anru actively acknowledged her own issues and promised to strictly adhere to the combat club's principles of fair competition in the future, things could have been resolved.

But the way the men and a cute soft girl stubbornly made a fuss, both emotionally and logically, seemed undignified.

However, according to what Ella learned, after this incident, Lu Anru became exceptionally humble, refusing all challenges and directly admitting defeat.

This move was like a slap in the face to everyone in the combat club, including President Huang. But there was no way to blame her directly, which irritated many people.

In the same club, in the same grade, in the same class, it was inevitable to encounter each other frequently. Whenever people saw Lu Anru's 'modest' hypocrisy, their anger deepened, and they started sending challenge letters frantically in the group chat.

Thinking about this, Ella's gaze towards Lu Anru became even more 'admiring', and she added, "How can you have the nerve to say there are over a thousand people?"

Lu Anru pointed to the numbers on the screen, her innocent deer-like eyes revealing a simple demeanor, and replied matter-of-factly, "The data speaks for itself."

Innocently deflecting the blame back to Ella, as if blaming her for not explaining in time.

Ella suddenly understood that in the art of brazenly pestering, Lu Anru had far more experience than her.

No longer dwelling on the details, Ella lowered her head, murmuring dispiritedly, "One person can send multiple challenges, you clearly know the rules."

Perhaps seeing her genuine distress, Lu Anru's conscience spoke up, "Alright, let's do this. Next week, at a suitable time, gather them in our study group meeting room, and I'll give a unified response."

Ella's heart pounded more than it did on a roller coaster ride, and she got up, holding Lu Anru's face, and kissed her fiercely a few times.

In the early morning, the first rays of sunlight peeked through the clouds, casting mottled spots of light on the ground through the pale pink lace curtains.

As the sun rose, the flickering spots of light gradually invaded the room, slowly spreading a golden halo over the sleeping fair cheeks.

The slightly dazzling light made the sleeping person uncomfortable, so they rubbed their eyes, turned over, and wrapped themselves tighter in the blanket to continue sleeping.

Just five minutes into the snooze, they suddenly remembered something crucial.

The weekend was over, and they had class today!

Jumping out of bed with a start, they stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds, then glanced at the old-fashioned digital clock on the bedside table. It read 7:10.

Shouting 'Oh no!', they jumped out of bed, slipped on slippers, and rushed downstairs.

The school was quite far from home, taking 45 minutes to an hour by car, and taking a spaceship was a bit overkill. Besides, the spaceship docked at the West Ferry Port was equally far from the school, requiring a shuttle ride, which took about the same amount of time.

The first class started at 8:10, leaving them with just about fifteen minutes to spare.

They could eat breakfast in the car, but the first class was with the tyrant club president, Huang Qizhao. If they were late, they would probably have to endure additional physical training.

Without wasting any time, they finished washing up in five minutes, hastily grabbed the lovingly prepared breakfast prepared by the kitchen, and ran to the front yard to get in the car.

Sitting in the car, they took a moment to calm down, their heart racing wildly finally calming down after ten minutes, and their breathing returning to normal rhythm.

Opening the thermos, the thoughtful housekeeper handed them chopsticks.

They took them and quickly started eating, ignoring any concerns about their appearance.

Once their stomach was satisfied, they set the thermos aside, wiped their mouth with a wet tissue, and casually glanced at the trash can with their eyes closed, accurately tossing it into the bin with automatic lid opening.

Their playful actions captured the housekeeper's radiant smile, who awkwardly withdrew their hands that were resting in front of Lu Anru. They carefully peeled the pomegranate for Lu Anru, arranging them neatly in the compartment, and closing the lid of the thermos.

Under the leadership of President Huo Yu, the director of the Institute of Moon Soaring, quantum mechanics had made breakthroughs. Thanks to his contributions, various technologies emerged, allowing the transfer of people, objects, and even entire cities to fixed locations with ease, down to everyday items.

This included Lu Anru's thermos, which could keep fruits, vegetables, and cooked food fresh and cool until they were ready to eat.

While the thermos might not be representative, having a storage bag on hand could help understand the greatness of this technology.

The developed storage bag had a hidden multi-dimensional space, capable of storing over a hundred pounds of items without any issues, while only displaying the original size of the bag. The weight displayed corresponded to the price, reducing by more than half.

The powdered bag provided by Lu Anru's parents was currently the most high-end product available, regardless of how much it contained, it only weighed as much as the bag itself.

The powdered bag played a crucial role in the mid-term exams, not only helping Lu Anru's companions carry their heavy exam luggage, but also rescuing many extinct animals from the ruins under the exam venue.

"Uncle He, pay attention to the edges of the thermos lid, clean up the rice grains there."

Lu Anru's careful handling of her bag showed how much she cherished it, making sure it was completely clean before carefully tucking it into her bag.

After zipping up the bag, they caressed it a few more times before placing it by their side.

Looking up at the housekeeper, they said lightly, "Uncle He, you don't have to pick me up anymore. I don't want people to point fingers at me again."

"But, Miss,..." The housekeeper wanted to argue further, but seeing the serious expression in Lu Anru's lively eyes, he had to hold back.

Lu Anru no longer paid much attention to the housekeeper's sensitivity, leaning back in the seat and closing her eyes to rest.

The old housekeeper had taken a long sick leave, and his nephew had been recommended to replace him. If it weren't for last night's competition with Shen Ming to see who could eat more seafood porridge, perhaps she could inherit her mother's kindness and comfort the housekeeper who was familiar with the job.

After spending half the night with a stomachache, barely managing to stop it, and sleeping for less than five hours before having to rush to school, she just wanted to take care of herself.

In a daze, they heard a call.

"Miss, we've arrived."

Lu Anru opened her eyes, looked at the housekeeper dazedly, her mind blank.

"Sister, a message came."

Only when she heard the familiar voice uttering the familiar prompt did memories flash through her mind like dots of light. Nodding lightly to the housekeeper, she slung her bag over her shoulder diagonally, got out of the car, and walked into the towering building of the Moon

Soaring Institute.

As soon as they stepped through the gate, they would see a scene of another world, with expanding spaces on different levels and sides, leaving novice newcomers in awe.

But! Lu Anru had no interest in admiring it. For someone like her who was always running late, only time mattered.

Finally stepping into the classroom as the bell rang, Lu Anru propped the classroom door with one hand. Before they could even exclaim 'It wasn't easy', they heard a chilling reminder from behind.

"Don't block the door. I've said it before, in my classroom, being on time means being late. Being half an hour early counts as clocking in."

Lu Anru didn't need to turn around to know how terrifyingly ugly President Huang's face must have been, it must have been stretched quite long.

Feeling sorry for herself for a second, they sighed deeply: Ah, how unlucky.

Dragging their sour steps back to their seat, they sat down, allowing their injured spirits to rest for five minutes, only to hear the cruel arrangement.

"Gather in the sandpit training room within ten minutes."

Lu Anru immediately perked up, and as soon as President Huang's last word fell, they dashed out of the classroom and headed for the elevator. They couldn't escape the punishment for being 'late', but they mustn't incur any additional penalties for being the last to arrive at the training room.

Standing in the elevator, pressing the door open button, waiting for Gao Ying and several other quick responders to arrive, Lu Anru relaxed her hand and pressed the third floor button. The elevator doors closed amid a mournful wail.

Don't think that getting on the elevator meant everything would be fine. The potential of a person under pressure is infinite.

Just as Lu Anru and the others got off the elevator, they saw a person with a flushed face running out from the stairs, glaring at them and yelling loudly.

"You guys have no manners at all! The elevator hadn't reached its weight limit yet and the doors closed. I could have died waiting, I had to run from the seventh floor to the third floor. Besides when I stole apples as a kid and was chased by a farmer's electronic dog, I've never run this fast before."

Lu Anru ignored them and grabbed Gao Ying, running towards the training room, focusing on the task at hand.

She had to be among the first five to arrive at the training room. The top five received rewards, like an extra 20 minutes of break time. She didn't care much about the break time; she just hoped that the punishment for being late could offset each other.

Gao Ying was quite loyal. Ever since she knew that Lu Anru had no interest in the Sun Prince, she started spending time with her, pouring her heart out.

Seeing that they were in fifth and sixth place, with three people close behind them, ready to overtake them at any moment, Gao Ying didn't hesitate to push Lu Anru with all her might, giving her a significant advantage over the pursuers, only a breath ahead of them.

Lu Anru stumbled but managed to regain her balance, turning back to give a thankful look to her unexpected savior.

At first glance, she didn't see Gao Ying but instead met the furious gaze of Li Yilan, who was in sixth place.

Lu Anru blinked innocently with her doe-like eyes, acknowledging the other's emotions truthfully. Normally, there were few soft girls in the combat club, and the macho men couldn't handle the 'daily invasion' of a sweet girl.

Before the monthly exam, Lu Anru had deceived many macho men with her petite stature of 5'2", receiving a lot of attention in both academic guidance and daily life.

It wasn't until the day of the monthly exam that the macho men witnessed the striking contrast in her performance, feeling a blow to their self-esteem.

The men in the combat club were indeed macho, with their straight male attributes bursting forth. Therefore, they decided to pick themselves up from where they fell and make defeating Lu Anru their goal.

Their set goals could be achieved slowly, but Li Yilan was different.

In Li Yilan's openly angry gaze lay accumulated grievances and hatred. As for the old grievances, there was no need to think too much, as they stemmed from the monthly exam.

Using the term 'meeting old enemies' to describe their situation was quite fitting. According to reliable statistics, Li Yilan had sent out the most challenge letters, making it clear that she wanted to confront Lu Anru head-on.

After a few seconds of eye contact, Gao Ying squeezed out of the crowd, acting as a barrier.

Taking advantage of the distance created by Gao Ying's push, Lu Anru whispered her thanks and turned back towards the group.

Gao Ying took the opportunity to advise her in a low voice, "President Huang is about to arrive. Don't be angry with Li Yilan. He's a year ahead of you in school, and he's also a mecha enthusiast. Losing to you naturally breeds deep resentment."

The combat club was divided into two factions: mecha enthusiasts and martial arts practitioners. As the name suggests, mecha enthusiasts could choose weapons and armor, while martial arts practitioners focused on pushing their bodies to the limit, breaking through the boundaries of invincibility.

So far, only Huang Qizhao had achieved this among the martial arts practitioners, earning the well-deserved title of club president. He shared teaching duties evenly with the instructors each week.

With everyone present, the last two, Luosa and Lu Anru, were called out together, receiving their punishment.

They had to do three extra sets of squats compared to the others and four fewer sets than the punishment for being late. Lu Anru was quite satisfied with the outcome.