161: Chapter 161 Wait for Me

Wang Lin stood up and walked toward the door.

The hallway was empty; most students had gone to the cafeteria or returned to their dorms.

Wang Lin stood in the hallway and glanced at the Rooftop.

On the Rooftop, Zhao Meng leaned against the railing with his hands in his pockets, five or six people standing behind him.

The evening breeze fluttered their clothes, and the figures stood out sharply in the twilight.

Zhao Meng saw him too.

Separated by several floors, their gazes locked.

Wang Lin looked at Zhao Meng.

Zhao Meng looked at Wang Lin.

Then—

Wang Lin's lips moved slightly as he softly said two words: "Idiot."

Zhao Meng was stunned for a moment, then looked at Wang Lin and nodded.

"Brother Meng... what did he say?" a lackey nearby leaned in and asked cautiously.

Zhao Meng smiled and said, "He said two words to me."

The lackeys looked at each other: "What words?"

Zhao Meng looked at them and spoke two words: "Wait for me."

The Rooftop fell silent for a moment.

The lackeys looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

Wait for him? That's what Wang Lin said?

Zhao Meng smiled and said, "I didn't expect Wang Lin to have such guts, actually telling me to wait for him. Fine, I'll wait for him to come up."

On the Rooftop, the few people looked at each other, their expressions full of surprise.

"Brother Meng, did that kid really say that?"

Zhao Meng leaned against the railing with a faint smile on his lips: "He did. I heard it with my own ears."

"Damn..." a lackey scratched his head, "I thought he wouldn't dare to come."

"Yeah, looking at how cowardly he was—sleeping in class, skipping combat training—I thought he'd already snuck back to his dorm."

"Didn't expect him to actually have guts."

"Daring to tell Brother Meng to wait for him means he's genuinely planning to come up."

They chattered away, the contempt in their tone fading, replaced by a bit of admiration for Wang Lin.

Zhao Meng chuckled: "Alright, since he told me to wait, I'll wait for him. I want to see how capable he is once he gets up here."

"Brother Meng, what if he never comes?"

Zhao Meng glanced at the man: "He said 'wait for me,' so he will definitely come. How could a man's word not count?"

The lackeys nodded one after another.

"That's true."

"Then we'll wait."

"Waiting is fine, it's not like we have anything else to do."

The Rooftop quieted down.

They leaned or stood around; some played on their phones, some chatted, and some stretched their muscles.

Ten minutes passed.

Twenty minutes passed.

Half an hour passed.

The sky gradually darkened.

The wind grew stronger, chilling them to the bone.

A lackey hunched his shoulders and tucked his hands into his sleeves: "Brother Meng, it's been half an hour..."

"What's the rush?" Zhao Meng didn't turn his head. "How long has it even been?"

Another hour passed.

The sky turned completely dark.

There were no lights on the Rooftop, only the faint glow leaking from the windows of the distant teaching building.

The wind howled, chilling everyone to the bone.

The lackeys were no longer standing as they were before; some were squatting on the ground, others were leaning against the corners, all huddled up.

"Brother Meng... it's been almost two hours..."

"Yeah, Brother Meng, is that kid not coming?"

"How about we head back first? It's too cold."

Zhao Meng's expression didn't look too good either.

He gritted his teeth and glanced at the stairwell.

It was pitch black, and there was no one there.

"Brother Meng..." another lackey spoke up.

"No." Zhao Meng's voice was firm. "He said wait for me, so I will wait for him."

"A real man keeps his word. This is a promise between men."

The lackeys looked at each other, and no one dared to speak again.

Since Zhao Meng had said that, what else could they say?

They could only keep waiting.

Another hour passed.

The wind grew even stronger, making the iron railings on the Rooftop wail.

One lackey had already started sneezing.

Another lackey was hugging his arms and squatting on the ground, his face almost buried in his collar.

Zhao Meng himself wasn't doing much better.

He was wearing a training uniform, which wasn't thick to begin with; now, he was chilled to the bone by the wind, and the tip of his nose was frozen red.

After who knows how long, a lackey finally couldn't take it anymore: "Brother Meng... it's been three hours... he's really not coming..."

"Yeah, Brother Meng, that kid is definitely just messing with us."

"He never intended to come up at all."

"Brother Meng, let's go back. If we keep waiting, we're going to catch a cold."

Zhao Meng's fists clenched, cracking audibly.

Three hours.

He had been standing on the Rooftop, blown by the cold wind for three hours.

That Wang Lin had said "Wait for me" and then vanished.

Was he messing with him?

Or did he never intend to come from the very beginning?

Zhao Meng took a deep breath, but the cold air rushed into his lungs, making him cough twice.

"Brother Meng..."

"Let's go." Zhao Meng turned and strode toward the stairwell.

The group went downstairs and entered the hallway.

Warm air rushed toward them, and the lackeys all let out long sighs of relief.

"Finally back. I was freezing to death."

"That Wang Lin, damn it, he said wait for him, but we didn't even see a shadow."

"Exactly, is he messing with us?"

"Brother Meng, we can't just let this slide."

There were still a few students in the lobby; seeing Zhao Meng's group come down from upstairs, they cast curious glances.

Zhao Meng ignored them and continued walking forward: "Wang Lin... damn you, you actually played me."

A lackey leaned in: "Brother Meng, should we go to his dorm and find him now?"

Zhao Meng was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "Forget it."

"Just forget it?"

"Go back for today." Zhao Meng's voice was low. "Tomorrow, we'll block him at the school gate."

Wang Lin had indeed not gone to the Rooftop; he had absolutely no interest in Zhao Meng.

Zhao Meng? Strength enhancement? Could break a wall with one punch?

Wang Lin chuckled to himself.

He had seen true power in the Mist Forest.

A full-force strike from an adult Mist Beast could directly blast a building into ruins.

He had also killed Mist Beasts with his own hands.

Not just one, but many—that was what you called combat.

Zhao Meng's kind? School combat drills, with teachers watching, rules for protection, and medical teams if you got hurt.

That was playing house.

These students were flowers in a greenhouse.

Protected by the walls of the Holy City, protected by the rules of the academy.

They didn't know what the outside world was like.

They didn't know that outside the Holy City, there was mist everywhere, strange beasts everywhere, and dead people everywhere.

The next day, the news spread throughout the entire academy.

"Did you hear? Zhao Meng waited for Wang Lin on the Rooftop all night."

"Did he show up?"

"Show up my ass, Wang Lin never went."

"Then why did Zhao Meng keep waiting?"

"He said Wang Lin told him to wait, and he promised, so he had to wait. A real man, you know."

"Hahahaha, doesn't that make him an idiot?"

"Who's to say it doesn't."

When Zhao Meng was walking down the road and heard these words, his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

So Zhao Meng decided that after school, he would go straight to the school gate to block Wang Lin and see how he could run this time.