Seeing that the person who opened the door was Shen Ruqing, not Mu Wannuo, the assistant was a bit stunned at first, but her professionalism quickly helped her recover.
“Let me introduce myself. I’m Lu Ci, Assistant to Miss Lin Wan, Vice President of the Student Council.”
Every position in the Student Council usually has a lot of documents to process, so they need someone to assist with the work. Handling it alone would consume a lot of time and energy.
The people who assist these individuals are collectively called Assistants.
Shen Ruqing nodded, signaling her to continue.
Seeing this, Lu Ci first handed the documents to Shen Ruqing.
“This is the backup record from the meeting. Please pass it along to Teacher Mu when you have time.”
“I understand.”
Shen Ruqing took the yellow envelope containing the documents.
“Is there anything else?”
Shen Ruqing’s tone carried a hint of dismissal.
She wanted to get this Student Council member out quickly—making too much noise might wake Ning Chuxue.
Hearing the order to leave, Lu Ci stopped beating around the bush and came straight to the point.
“Do you have any preparations for Miss Shen Ruqing’s competition the day after tomorrow?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Shen Ruqing frowned.
She thought Lu Ci was provoking her.
The competition Lu Ci mentioned was a national-level event, and Shen Ruqing’s name was on the list.
But the list was managed by the school administration. Even the Student Council would have to go to great lengths to get their hands on it.
Moreover, apart from the school administration, Teacher Mu, and Wen Yasheng, basically no one else knew about Shen Ruqing’s participation in the competition.
That included Ning Chuxue.
But now, being called out like this in front of her—the implications were obvious.
Seeing Shen Ruqing’s increasingly hostile attitude, Lu Ci quickly explained,
“I don’t mean to provoke you! I just wanted to confirm—if Miss Shen Ruqing needs help, the Student Council has competition materials from previous years.”
“Trying to get close?”
Shen Ruqing saw through it without any courtesy.
Lu Ci wasn’t embarrassed.
“Yes. Miss Lin Wan has always wanted to invite Miss Shen Ruqing to join the Student Council.”
“Go back and tell her—I have no intention of joining the Student Council. I don’t need the competition materials either; I can handle it myself.”
Without giving Lu Ci a chance to persuade her, she turned around and closed the door.
There was a clicking sound as it locked.
Helpless, Lu Ci had no choice but to leave.
Shen Ruqing returned to her desk and carefully checked that the delivered file was properly sealed before placing it on the edge of the desk so Mu Wannuo would notice it when she came back.
Shen Ruqing was now certain that the Student Council had investigated her—and very thoroughly at that.
It was invasive, but she didn’t really care.
As long as they didn’t spread her business around, anything was fine.
***
The office fell quiet again, leaving only the scratching sound of Shen Ruqing’s writing and the hum of the air conditioner’s outdoor unit.
Ning Chuxue groggily opened her eyes and yawned.
‘What time is it…’
Ning Chuxue muttered to herself as she picked up the phone next to her pillow.
15:54
“What time!?”
Seeing the clock on her phone, her still-sleepy mind instantly snapped awake.
“Did I not sleep well? Am I hallucinating?”
She tried again, turning off the phone and looking again.
15:55
“…”
It’s over! Completely over!! I overslept!!!
Sure it wasn’t a hallucination, she hurriedly sat up, put on her white short socks, and threw on her yellow and white jacket.
Her movements were flustered and frantic. When putting on the jacket, she even got it inside out.
She had to take it off again, adjust the sleeves, and then put it on properly.
“Shoes, shoes.”
After getting dressed and putting on her socks, she turned around by the bed but couldn’t find her shoes.
‘Did they get kicked away?’
Unable to find her shoes, Ning Chuxue grew more anxious. Finally, seeing that the floor was clean enough, she chose to get out of bed barefoot.
The floor was a bit cold, but luckily her socks were thick.
Pushing open the bedroom door, she saw Shen Ruqing still writing at the desk.
It was like grabbing at a lifeline.
She poked her little head out and asked frantically,
“Sister Ruqing, help me find my shoes—I overslept…”
“Don’t you want to sleep a little longer?”
Shen Ruqing found Ning Chuxue’s shoes from the shoe rack and handed them to her.
Ning Chuxue lifted her foot, slipped it into the shoe, and pulled up the heel.
“It’s three o’clock. If I sleep any longer, I’ll miss the afternoon class!”
“I already asked for leave for you.”
Seeing that her shoes were on the wrong feet because of her panic, Shen Ruqing helplessly pulled her back onto the bed.
“Let me help you put them on.”
“Huh?”
Shen Ruqing ignored the shocked Ning Chuxue and took off the left shoe again.
Looking closely, Shen Ruqing noticed that her feet were especially small.
Small enough to fit in one hand.
If she were wearing white stockings, it would only be more enticing.
But unfortunately, the socks were thick and not see-through at all.
“Sister Ruqing…”
Ning Chuxue looked at Shen Ruqing, who was staring at her foot, and whispered timidly.
“There’s a mosquito on your sock.”
Shen Ruqing forced an explanation, showing no embarrassment at being caught.
As long as I’m not embarrassed, it’s the other person who’s embarrassed.
Ning Chuxue now completely dared not meet Shen Ruqing’s eyes, her gaze darting around.
“All done.”
After helping Ning Chuxue put on her shoes, Shen Ruqing stood up and walked toward the door.
When she came back, she had a slice of watermelon and a glass of milk.
“Eat something first to tide you over.”
“Thank you, Sister Ruqing.”
Seeing food, Ning Chuxue’s tense expression finally eased a bit.
She took the watermelon from Shen Ruqing and took a small bite off the tip.
The moment it entered her mouth, it turned into sweet juice.
When she finished eating, Shen Ruqing took out a tissue she had prepared in advance and wiped the leftover watermelon juice from the corner of her mouth.
Then, while Ning Chuxue was drinking her milk, she secretly folded the tissue and carefully put it into her pocket.
Just as she finished with the tissue, the milk box in Ning Chuxue’s hand made a gurgling sound.
So Shen Ruqing took the empty box from Ning Chuxue.
“What plans do you have for this afternoon, Chuxue?”
“I’m going to the classroom.”
Ning Chuxue had gotten used to being taken care of so meticulously, so she didn’t have much of an emotional reaction.
“I’ll go with you.”
Ning Chuxue wanted to decline, but considering they were in the same class, she couldn’t think of a good reason to refuse…
Since the class was PE, Ning Chuxue didn’t head toward the classroom but instead went to the playground.
Because Ning Chuxue’s body was quite weak, Shen Ruqing initially refused, but she couldn’t withstand Ning Chuxue’s repeated assurances that she would only watch from a distance and not participate.
So she had no choice but to go along.
When the two arrived at the playground, it was break time.
Seeing two girls playing badminton in the distance, Ning Chuxue looked at Shen Ruqing with envy.
But her request was mercilessly rejected.
She could only turn away in disappointment and continue watching others revel in their youth under the sun.
After a few days of contact, Ning Chuxue felt very confused.
She found that Shen Ruqing’s protection was extremely meticulous, extinguishing any hint of danger before it could arise.
But this meticulous protection felt more like a cage, cutting her off from any social interaction with others…