18: save2 A Failed Attempt
Night.
Lu Lele lay on her side beside Liu Lili, looking at Liu Lili's expressionless face, and whispered softly:
"Lili..."
There was no response.
"Goodnight."
Still no response.
Lu Lele didn't say anything about this. She pressed the button by the bed to turn off the light, then got up, preparing to go to another bedroom to sleep.
To prevent Liu Lili from running away, and also so that Liu Lili wouldn't have to wear the uncomfortable handcuffs, Lu Lele had ordered a collar with a built-in chain. She chained Liu Lili to the bed beam and locked it with an iron padlock.
Only when Lu Lele took Liu Lili to the bathroom would Lu Lele use the handcuffs to restrict Liu Lili's movements again.
The room where Liu Lili was imprisoned had its own ensuite bathroom, but the length of the chain on Liu Lili's neck wasn't enough to let her walk directly into the bathroom to relieve herself.
Lu Lele planned to spend some effort later to slightly change the layout of this room, moving the bed closer to the bathroom. That way, Lu Lele wouldn't have to worry about the trouble of Liu Lili going to the toilet.
And precisely because she had unlocked Liu Lili's handcuffs, Lu Lele didn't dare sleep next to Liu Lili at night.
After all, Lu Lele couldn't guarantee what Liu Lili, who no longer liked her, might do. If she made a move while Lu Lele was asleep, Lu Lele might not live to see the dawn of the next day.
Lu Lele returned to the other bedroom. She didn't go to sleep immediately but instead took out paper and a pen, took a notebook from Liu Lili's schoolbag, as well as an exam paper signed by Liu Lili's parents, and imitated Liu Lili's and her parents' handwriting to write a sick leave note.
The leave request model at Tangerine City Public Girls' Middle School had two forms. One was for the parent to send a message to the teacher via mobile phone, or for the student to write a leave note at school and hand it to the class monitor, who would then pass it to the teacher.
Lu Lele planned to imitate Liu Lili's handwriting to write the note, then go to school tomorrow to ask for leave on Liu Lili's behalf.
Lu Lele didn't know if it would succeed, because the situation of asking for leave for someone else had never occurred in Lu Lele's class before. She had no confidence in her heart.
Asking for sick leave was just a method Lu Lele thought of when her brain got hot. Whether it would work or not depended entirely on how much the teacher actually cared about students asking for leave.
Besides asking for sick leave for Liu Lili, Lu Lele also planned to apply to be a day student, commuting daily, taking the bus to and from school.
Otherwise, if she continued living at the school, after a week went by, Liu Lili would probably be long dead. Lu Lele had to prepare water and food for Liu Lili every day.
Buying some compressed biscuits and water to place beside Liu Lili was certainly possible, but Lu Lele wanted Liu Lili to eat things she made herself with her own hands, to eat hot food, even if Liu Lili acted disdainfully toward it.
Lu Lele had actually thought about just asking for sick leave herself too, but one person asking for sick leave for two people at the same time was simply too ridiculous and too conspicuous. Lu Lele decided to ask for leave for Liu Lili first, then ask for herself after a period of time, so she could live the life she hoped for.
Hopefully, everything would go smoothly.
Lu Lele put away the sick leave note with the imitated handwriting, lay on the bed, and soon entered dreamland.
...
The next day, Monday.
Lu Lele got up early, made enough breakfast for Liu Lili to eat two meals, then woke Liu Lili up. Immediately after, following her thought from last night, she moved the furniture in the room a bit, moving the bed next to the toilet.
Liu Lili remained silent the entire time, watching without a word as Lu Lele did these things.
After finishing all this, Lu Lele hastily ate a few bites of breakfast, then changed into her school uniform, washed up briefly, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and prepared to head out.
Before leaving, Lu Lele hesitated for a moment. She placed a few shoujo manga that Liu Lili hadn't read yet on the bed, and also took a few bottles of drinks from the fridge, placing them beside Liu Lili.
Although it was imprisonment, Lu Lele didn't intend for Liu Lili to pass the day in boredom. Lu Lele knew Liu Lili liked reading shoujo manga, so she took over a few that she thought Liu Lili would like.
"Lili, see you later. Be a good girl at home, and wait for me to come back."
After leaving these words with a smile, Lu Lele left home in a rush.
Only after Lu Lele had walked completely away did the silent, expressionless Liu Lili finally make a move.
She used her left hand to pick up a shoujo manga from the bed, feeling the residual warmth on it with her fingertips.
"Lele..."
Tears silently slid down Liu Lili's cheeks, pattering onto the cover of the shoujo manga.
Liu Lili softly chanted Lu Lele's nickname, her right hand stroking the cold collar around her neck, murmuring to herself:
"Why..."
...
Lu Lele stepped into the school amidst the sound of the bell, nearly getting stopped for being late.
Lu Lele calmed her mood a bit. First, she went through the motions of handing in her homework. Then, holding the sick leave note, she went to find the class monitor, a girl with a tall figure and a pointed chin named Luo Liuli.
Luo Liuli glanced at the sick leave note Lu Lele handed over and asked:
"Liu Lili wants to take leave?"
"Mm, that's right." Lu Lele nodded. "She's sick and needs to go home to rest."
"Then where is Liu Lili? Why is it you delivering the note?" Luo Liuli asked casually.
Lu Lele tensed up immediately, but she had considered this situation and had a plan ready, answering:
"She... her stomach hurt just now so she went to the bathroom. It might be diarrhea. She entrusted me to help her deliver it."
"Is that so?"
Luo Liuli nodded and didn't ask anything else, accepting the note:
"Alright, I'll hand it to the teacher later."
"Mm."
Lu Lele smiled politely at the class monitor and secretly let out a sigh of relief.
The class monitor side was settled. Next, as long as the teacher didn't cause any trouble, asking for sick leave would be considered a success.
It would definitely go smoothly.
Lu Lele prayed silently in her heart.
But sometimes, things just go against one's wishes.
Just as morning exercises ended, Lu Lele was called to the office by the homeroom teacher.
When the class monitor found her and told her to take a trip to the teacher's office, Lu Lele realized that the plan to ask for sick leave had already failed.
Oh well. I'm done for.
Inside the office, the homeroom teacher frowned as she looked at the sick leave note Lu Lele had handed in and asked:
"Lu Lele, was it you who asked for leave for Liu Lili this morning?"
"Mm."
Although Lu Lele knew that paper could no longer wrap the fire, she still nodded arrogantly.
"But Liu Lili's mother sent a message saying she doesn't know about Liu Lili being sick at all. She also said that Liu Lili spent the last weekend at your house, Lu Lele, and asked me to ask you about the situation."
The homeroom teacher paused slightly here, then suddenly slapped the sick leave note onto the table and said:
"Lu Lele, this sick leave note was actually written by you, right? Although you are deliberately imitating Liu Lili's handwriting, I can still tell the difference."
The homeroom teacher looked straight at Lu Lele and asked seriously:
"Lu Lele, tell me, where exactly did Liu Lili go?"
"..."
Lu Lele had nothing to say and could only maintain silence.
She knew that this attempt had completely failed.
...
The events that followed weren't worth talking about.
The homeroom teacher directly called Lu Lele's sister, Lu Yanyan. The latter rushed back home and discovered the kidnapped Liu Lili.
Liu Lili didn't recount the truth of the matter in full detail. Instead, she said that Lu Lele did it because they got into an argument while playing together on the weekend and got angry from embarrassment. It was merely a momentary impulse.
Lu Lele thus escaped a disaster. Under Lu Yanyan's efforts, she only received a disciplinary action of a serious warning, and wasn't even expelled.
However, Liu Lili refused to acknowledge Lu Lele afterwards, unwilling to say even a single extra word.
Just like that, Lu Lele's Acting Value dropped to a negative number, and she could only restart from the nearest save point.