RWWAI 15

Chapter 15: In the Previous Life, the Assassins Showed Up Right at This Moment!

While I was chatting happily with the noble matrons, the memories of my past life abruptly resurfaced, completely uninvited.

I finally figured out what Qi Lu had specifically done back then to leave Liang Jingjing's heart utterly crushed and filled with utter despair.

Simply put, during the prefecture governor's farewell banquet in her past life, assassins had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Qi Lu's very first instinct was to rush over and protect Qin Miaomiao.

At the time, he hadn't even bothered to glance back in Liang Jingjing's direction.

Liang Jingjing had subsequently been rescued by the governor's estate guards; though she emerged unhurt, seeing everyone present witness Qi Lu's choice left her feeling profoundly humiliated and her heart shattered into a million pieces.

My eyes lit up instantly!

Because this exact move was practically tailor-made and perfection itself for our current situation!

Only problem was...

I glanced at the dozens of paces separating me from Luo Fan, and abruptly realized this wasn't going to work!

If the assassins popped up right now, Luo Fan protecting Qin Miaomiao—who was standing much closer to him—would be completely natural and logical, failing utterly to project any favoritism!

So, with resolute strides, I marched right over to Luo Fan's side.

Seeing me suddenly sidle up next to him, Luo Fan looked somewhat surprised and asked:

"What's up?"

I was dying to share the upcoming battle plan with him, but the moment I opened my mouth, my peripheral vision caught Qin Miaomiao still standing nearby, forcing me to swallow my words back down in a hurry.

Who would have thought Qin Miaomiao was actually quite good at reading the room? With just a single look, she instantly sensed I had private words for Luo Fan, offered a gentle smile, and slowly drifted further away.

Luo Fan drooped his mouth and complained:

"Hey, do you even want me to love you or love her? Can you please have some behavioral consistency for once?"

I immediately reassured him:

"Don't worry, consistency is coming right up! The farther she is from you right now, the better."

Luo Fan:

"Huh?"

I put on the facial expression of a treacherous imperial advisor and whispered:

"Let me tell you, assassins are about to show up. This time, you need to follow the script of the previous life—ignore me completely, and put everything you've got into protecting your Qin Miaomiao."

A flash of intense panic instantly washed across Luo Fan's eyes.

I hurriedly added:

"Don't worry about me; in the last life, the governor's estate guards rescued Liang Jingjing. Even if you completely ignore me, I'll be fine."

Yet Luo Fan just kept staring at me fixedly, his jaw slack, utterly speechless.

A strange, unexpected warmth stirred deep within my chest, softening my tone as I said:

"Are you really that worried about me? You're honestly turning out to be way better than Qi Lu."

I watched as Luo Fan extended a slightly trembling finger, pointed right at his own chest, and stammered:

"Me? Protect Qin Miaomiao? Against actual assassins?!"

"Yeah! Two assassins! Dropping down from the roof rafters..."

I started to say, but before I could finish, the harsh reality of the situation hit me like a truck.

Luo Fan had zero access to Qi Lu's cheat-code abilities!

Now it was my turn to panic as I blurted out:

"Can... can you actually fight in real life?!"

Of course, right as Luo Fan was going wild shaking his head in denial, glowing bullet comments flashed right across my vision:

[In the previous life, the assassins showed up right at this moment!]

Damn it!

Over a dozen masked men in black suddenly swarmed out from every single direction!

Piercing, blood-curdling screams erupted from the surrounding guests.

I spotted one of the assassins gripping a longsword, thrusting it straight toward Qin Miaomiao.

No way! If Luo Fan didn't save her, she was going to die!

Without thinking twice, I reared back my leg and kicked Luo Fan straight in the direction of Qin Miaomiao.

Whether it was main-character plot armor or sheer luck, Luo Fan successfully collided with and shoved Qin Miaomiao out of harm's way, while managing to narrowly graze past the assassin's flashing blade by the skin of his teeth.

How should I put this?

Luo Fan was a great guy in almost every way, except for the minor detail that he was a total coward.

I watched as he stumbled backward a few steps, finally regained his footing, and immediately twisted around to check his own back just to make sure he hadn't actually been sliced open.

Fortunately, he still had a shred of human decency left in him; even though he was scared completely pale, his hands remained tightly locked onto Qin Miaomiao so she wouldn't trip over herself from the impact of his shove.

Even though half of that stunt was forced out of him by my kick, it still achieved the exact visual effect we were aiming for.

Because I precisely caught a subtle, stirring shimmer of genuine emotion flashing through Qin Miaomiao's terrified eyes.

Except the very next second, the assassin's blade whipped around in an arc, slashing straight toward Luo Fan!

I saw Luo Fan try to draw his sword, but I also saw that since he had never practiced a day in his life, his hand fumbled and completely failed to find the hilt!

Naturally, the assassin wasn't going to wait around for him; watching that longsword come crashing down directly overhead, Luo Fan tried to duck backward, but he was a fraction too slow.

A long, crimson trail of blood instantly bloomed across Luo Fan's arm.

His brow knitted tightly together in a wince of pain, yet he still tried to yank his sword free!

Idiot! Didn't I just tell you the governor's estate had guards?

What are you trying to hero-play for? Why aren't you dodging?!

Without a second thought, I lunged forward at him, intending to tackle him flat to the ground so the professional bodyguards could handle the assassin.

Never did I account for the fact that even though Luo Fan inherited none of Qi Lu's martial arts mastery, he had perfectly inherited a seasoned military commander's peak physical body.

With Liang Jingjing's delicate little frame—plus the ill-timed, cushiony buffer of the two pillows stuffed down my front—I failed completely to knock him down.

A silent panic screamed through my mind!

If he didn't fall over, wouldn't that sword end up chopping right into my back instead?!

"Ah—!"

"Clang!"

The agonizing pain I anticipated never arrived.

I looked back over my shoulder, only to realize Luo Fan had managed to yank his sword free at the very last fraction of a second.

He might not have known a single proper sword form, but thanks to Qi Lu's immense baseline physical strength, he managed to brute-force block the assassin's downward slash.

Holy crap! I genuinely just scraped my life back from the jaws of death!

Collapsing limply straight into his arms, my heart pounded wildly against my ribs.

Within moments, the governor's estate guards swarmed forward and pinned the assassins to the ground.

Yet a thoroughly shell-shocked Luo Fan kept one hand hoisted high gripping that sword, while his other arm locked around my waist in a death grip.

Several seconds later, he finally relaxed his grip on the weapon.

"Clatter!"

Accompanied by the sound of the sword hitting the stone pavement, his free arm wrapped tightly around me, pulling me flush against his chest.

"We... we actually survived..."

he whispered in breathless disbelief.

"Yeah..."

I murmured back, still riding the adrenaline wave of lingering terror as my own hands instinctively crept up to hug him back.

He pulled me even tighter into his embrace, as if entirely lost in the dizzying shock of cheating death.

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