“Miss Su!”
Just before Su Wanli could have a brutal, intimate encounter with the cold floor, a swift figure flashed past her side like the wind. The next second, Su Wanli’s body tumbled into a soft, warm embrace.
“……?”
Su Wanli blinked groggily and opened her eyes. What she saw was Meng Wange’s delicate face, inches away, etched with a hint of tension and lingering fear.
The afternoon sunlight slanted through the tall windows of the music classroom, casting a soft halo of light over them. The dust particles stirred up by the commotion were dyed into fine, glittering specks of gold by the sunlight.
In order to catch her at that critical moment, Meng Wange had unhesitatingly used her own body as a cushion, falling flat onto the solid, cold wooden floor.
At this moment, Su Wanli could clearly hear the rapid breathing in Meng Wange’s chest, feel the searing warmth of her embrace—so different from usual—and the faint scent of gardenias radiating from her, a fragrance that both soothed and unsettled her heart.
Su Wanli’s cheek pressed against Meng Wange’s not-so-broad chest, completely defenseless and perfectly flush against it. Through the thin layers of school uniform and shirt, she could even clearly feel the other girl’s heart pounding fiercely for her.
In that instant, the translucent data panel before Su Wanli’s eyes suddenly underwent an unprecedented, violent shift.
(4): 69→48(-21)→24……
(5): 0→12(+12)→25(+13)→38(+13)……
Su Wanli blinked hazily, trying to get a clearer look at those madly jumping numbers, but they suddenly settled down again in an instant, returning to their original values.
(4): 69
(5): 0
“……Miss Su, I’m just glad you’re alright.”
After confirming that Su Wanli in her arms hadn’t suffered any substantial injury, Meng Wange finally let out a long sigh of relief. Her body, tense from anxiety, relaxed at last, and even the arms wrapped around Su Wanli’s waist loosened their grip somewhat.
“……Mm, mm……”
Su Wanli instinctively opened her mouth, wanting to say something to her, but only a couple of incoherent monosyllables came out of her throat.
“Boss Su! Are you okay!?”
“I knew that chair wasn’t any good—it looked all wobbly. Xiao Fen should’ve paid more attention……”
“Don’t fight among yourselves! This is already the best-quality chair we could find together. What matters most right now is whether Boss got hurt!”
It wasn’t until Xiao Fen and the others crowded around, chattering tearfully in her ear, that Su Wanli realized she was currently pressed tightly against Meng Wange’s body in a most ungraceful posture.
Th-this is bad!? My dignity as the villainess, it……!?
“Shh, stop your yapping. You’re giving me an earache.”
Su Wanli, her cheeks flushing crimson, shot a fierce glare at the girls gathered around her, then tried to scramble out of Meng Wange’s embrace.
However, the moment Su Wanli tried to put in strength, a sharp, unbearable pain suddenly shot through her left ankle.
“Hiss—!”
The searing pain made Su Wanli’s vision go black. Her body instantly lost its balance again, and she flopped right back down into Meng Wange’s arms.
In the medical room of Baiying Academy, the air was filled with a distinctive scent blending disinfectant and medicine.
“Teacher Liu, I already have a general understanding of Su Wanli’s situation.”
At the other end of the medical room, behind a white curtain, Meng Wange was quietly conversing with Teacher Liu Xiaohua, who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
“The school doctor just examined her. Her ankle is only mildly sprained—no damage to the bone—and the doctor has already applied medicine for her. As long as she rests well today and avoids strenuous activity, she should be able to walk normally by tomorrow.”
Liu Xiaohua patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief, then looked with lingering fear toward the blurry figure behind the curtain.
“That’s good…… Whew, that scared me to death. As long as she’s fine, as long as she’s fine.”
Just moments ago, when Liu Xiaohua heard that a student had fallen from a chair in the classroom, her heart had already started acting up. When she heard the student’s name was Su Wanli, it wasn’t just anxiety anymore—her soul nearly flew out of her body.
Good heavens, Su Wanli was the sole heir of the Su family. If anything happened to her in her class, her career as a head teacher—or even her career as a human being—would probably be over……
“Mm, Miss Su merely fell by accident during rehearsal. It’s nothing serious.”
Meng Wange stated with a smile, then gently rubbed her chin.
“However, for the sake of Miss Su’s health, she may need to rest in bed for the remaining classes today, as well as some of tomorrow’s classes. I’d also like to stay with her as much as possible, so I’ll leave it to you to request leave on our behalf.”
“Oh, of course! I’ll pass the word along to the other teachers!”
Liu Xiaohua quickly nodded.
Having Su Wanli, that big troublemaker, quietly holed up in the medical room or her own home instead of stirring up mischief all over the school—that was simply a godsend for Liu Xiaohua.
She glanced at Su Wanli once more, then waved directly at Meng Wange.
She hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn’t pull the curtain aside to check in person.
“I’ll leave things to you from here, Classmate Meng Wange. I need to head back to the classroom to prepare for class. I hope Miss Su—ahem, I mean, I hope Su Wanli recovers soon.”
“Mm, thank you for your kind words.”
“Oh, right, speaking of which……”
Before turning to leave the medical room, Liu Xiaohua seemed to suddenly remember something. She looked back and scratched her temple at Meng Wange.
“Will this injury affect Su Wanli’s drama performance next Tuesday? If needed, I could also talk to other classmates about having them step in as emergency leads, though would there be enough time? It’s fine if they don’t perform from memory either—after all, we’re kind of winging it as we g……”
“Don’t worry, Teacher Liu. As long as Miss Su rests properly, she should fully recover by tomorrow.”
Upon receiving the affirmative reply, Liu Xiaohua gave Meng Wange a grateful smile, then scurried out of the medical room as if fleeing.
Watching Liu Xiaohua’s hasty retreating figure, Meng Wange shook her head helplessly, then pulled aside the curtain and walked over to Su Wanli’s side.