Su Yao came out of the restroom and let out a long sigh, lamenting her own misfortune.
She walked back into the classroom and sat down in her seat, flinging her hands onto the desk, then rested her head on them and closed her eyes, waiting for class to start.
Today, Luo Yu was especially energetic. When she saw Su Yao, she leaned over and whispered into her ear, “Let me tell you a juicy bit of news—Jiang Xiaoxiao and the vice class monitor are together!”
“?”
Jiang Xiaoxiao? Su Yao couldn’t recall who that was for a moment.
“It’s only been a month and you already forgot? The one who transferred to another department from our class, remember? Did you really forget?”
“……”
Thanks to Luo Yu’s reminder, Su Yao finally remembered who it was. It was honestly strange that the two of them got together. They were supposed to be arch-enemies who’d never speak again. The world really was full of oddities.
But what did it have to do with her? Right now, her whole body was uncomfortable, and she didn’t want to use her brain at all. She just wanted class to end quickly so she could go home and get some rest.
“Hiss~”
A faint pain in her abdomen made Su Yao furrow her brow, her pale lips bitten by her teeth as she tried to endure the waves of pain that came and went.
She withdrew a hand from under her head and pressed it to her lower abdomen.
Beads of sweat began to appear on her forehead. As a fellow girl, Luo Yu naturally understood what Su Yao was going through, but seeing Su Yao looking so miserable, she couldn’t suppress her curiosity and asked, “Does it really hurt that much?”
Su Yao turned her head, squinting at Luo Yu, and retorted, “You… don’t it hurt for you?”
“Me? When my time comes, it’s not much, just a bit more irritable than usual.”
As she spoke, Luo Yu puffed out her utterly unremarkable chest, as if very proud of it. Su Yao rolled her eyes at her.
Finally, morning classes were over. It was lunchtime, but Su Yao still sprawled on her desk as if she had no intention of leaving. Luo Yu saw her with her eyes closed and thought she was asleep, so she poked Su Yao’s arm and reminded her, “Lunch break is here. Let’s go eat.”
“No… I don’t want to eat.”
Her eyes were watery and pitiful, making people feel sorry for her. Luo Yu was a bit worried and said, “Want me to ask for leave for you?”
“No need. I’ll go change a pad later. You go eat first. There are only two classes in the afternoon—it’ll be over soon.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Don’t worry. Just go eat.”
Seeing that Su Yao wasn’t interested in her help, Luo Yu didn’t insist. She said goodbye and left the classroom. There weren’t many people left by then, so she quickly walked out, leaving Su Yao alone in the classroom, unmoving.
Having not eaten, she couldn’t possibly do any exercise. As soon as school was over, she went home, didn’t even bother changing her clothes, lay straight down on her bed, pulled up the covers, and fell into a daze, soon drifting off to sleep.
By the time she woke up, several hours had passed. Looking at the time on her phone, Su Yao realized she needed to get up and attend evening self-study. But as soon as she sat up, her internal organs throbbed, bringing a new wave of pain.
“I’m dying, I’m dying!”
Su Yao whimpered tearfully. Sleeping had made her feel even worse than not sleeping at all. She felt like she was about to throw up, but her stomach was empty, so she could only gag on sour bile.
Struggling awake on the bed, she found that she hadn’t even taken off her shoes…
She turned off the stuffy air conditioner, made her way into the living room, and remembered she’d made plans with Mu Nanqiu for the evening. But in this state, her mind was foggy—how could she possibly study?
She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. It was soon picked up, and a gentle female voice came through.
“Yaoyao, what’s wrong?”
“I… I don’t feel well. Can I skip tonight?”
“Mm, don’t come then. What’s wrong with you? Catch a cold? Fever?”
Mu Nanqiu was considerate of Su Yao and agreed without hesitation. Su Yao frowned tightly, her small hand clenching into a fist to lightly knock her own head, hoping she could come up with a good enough excuse to avoid being questioned further.
“Yeah, maybe I caught a cold.”
She was talking in circles—her brain must be burnt out.
Mu Nanqiu urged her to rest well, not to drink cold water, and not to exercise. She said to skip evening self-study and ask for leave. Besides that, she didn’t say much more. After hanging up, Mu Nanqiu got up from her own bed, changed clothes and shoes, and got ready to head out.
Bei Zhi, who was watching TV, noticed her older sister’s hurried manner and was curious.
“Jie, you’re leaving now?”
“Watch your TV.”
Mu Nanqiu glared at her, gave her a sharp retort, put on her coat, and left without another word.
Bei Zhi shrank back into the sofa.
Out of curiosity, she messaged Luo Yu to ask what was going on. After reading Luo Yu’s reply, Bei Zhi opened her eyes, poked her head out from the sofa, and glanced toward the door, but Mu Nanqiu had already left.
Su Yao sat on the sofa, leaning against the back, breathing in shallow little gasps.
Her forehead was covered in tiny beads of sweat, and her body felt sticky and uncomfortable. She wanted to shower, but all her muscles ached, and her arms and legs felt rusty and hard to move.
Not only had she skipped lunch, she hadn’t eaten breakfast either. Now she was both hungry and had no appetite.
So she just continued to lie there, planning to wait until she felt a bit better before doing anything else.
She didn’t know how long she’d been lying there, but a knock at the door pulled her out of her stupor. Forcing herself to stand and walk to the door, her mind a haze, she didn’t even look through the peephole—just opened the door straight away. Upon seeing who it was, she wondered if she was dreaming, and curiously asked, “Nanqiu, are you real or fake?”
Mu Nanqiu looked at Su Yao’s weak state and was worried, but hearing Su Yao’s words, her lips twitched and she said, a little annoyed, “Fake.”
“Oh.”
Su Yao blanked for a second, then opened the door wider and stepped aside. Mu Nanqiu entered Su Yao’s home.
Watching Mu Nanqiu come in, Su Yao lifted her head and asked, her expression silly, “Then why did you come?”
“Because you’re sick.”
“I’m sick?”
Su Yao was puzzled. Wasn’t she just on her period? How could she be sick? So, this must be a dream, right? If it’s a dream, then she could do anything she wanted, couldn’t she?
With this thought, she directly hugged Mu Nanqiu.
“I want to kiss you. Let me kiss you, please? Just once!”
Mu Nanqiu heartlessly pressed her hand to Su Yao’s forehead. Su Yao frowned and said, “Nanqiu, Nanqiu, what are you doing?”
“Checking how sick you are.”
“Oh, so how is it, Doctor Mu?”
“You’re seriously ill.”
“Should we go to the room for treatment? Do I need an injection?”
Su Yao pressed her head tightly against Mu Nanqiu’s chest, looking up at her with a face full of expectation.
Seeing her so clingy and coquettish, Mu Nanqiu couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation. Even now, she was thinking about injections?
Like injections, huh? There will be plenty of chances for those in the future!
“The almanac says no injections today. Better take medicine instead.”
“Mm, I’ll listen to the doctor~”
“Have you eaten dinner?”
Su Yao said proudly, “Can’t eat!”
As if she had expected this, Mu Nanqiu pinched Su Yao’s feverishly pink cheek and scolded her sternly, “Even if you can’t eat, you still have to try. How can a little baby skip meals?”
“Wu…”
Under the gentle scolding, Su Yao hung her head and buried her face in Mu Nanqiu’s arms. Mu Nanqiu bent down a bit and carried her to the sofa, placing her down, then set the things she’d bought on the coffee table.
Mu Nanqiu went to the water dispenser to try to get some hot water, only to find it was cold. She sighed.
Young people these days—insist on drinking cold water, even in winter.
She plugged in the power and turned on the heater, then glanced at Su Yao, whose head was peeking up from the sofa, looking at her. She was angry—angry that Su Yao hadn’t told her she was sick, angry that Su Yao wasn’t taking care of herself!
She mixed the cold medicine for Su Yao, blew it cool, and brought the cup to feed her.
Seeing Su Yao’s reluctance, she figured if she didn’t feed her herself, Su Yao would surely find a chance to spit it out.
Pinching her nose, Mu Nanqiu made Su Yao swallow, who inhaled through her mouth in protest. Honestly, with her nose already stuffed up, pinching it made no difference. Su Yao felt a bit aggrieved, but when Mu Nanqiu glared at her, she immediately tucked away her unhappy expression and snuggled up to her with a silly smile.
Seeing a spoonful of porridge coming closer, Su Yao finally realized she needed to open her mouth to eat. The sweet, warm congee made her feel better, and the sweetness made her more willing to eat.
Mu Nanqiu patiently fed her spoon by spoon, and Su Yao swallowed each mouthful until she’d eaten half the bowl. Instinct told her she was full, so she glanced up at Mu Nanqiu and said, “Can’t eat anymore~”
“What do you mean, ‘can’t eat anymore’? Talk to your jie properly!”
At first, Su Yao was at a loss, but after realizing what she meant, she burrowed into Mu Nanqiu’s arms and said in a soft voice, “I really can’t eat anymore…”
Mu Nanqiu smiled, set down the bowl, and didn’t force Su Yao to eat further.