Chapter 6: The Cold School Beauty’s Fierce Love
Nangong Yunfei, who had been the center of attention since transferring, had never experienced such a scene. He was momentarily speechless, then sputtered his typical CEO lines at the class monitor.
“How dare you talk to me like this? Do you know who you’re talking to?”
Anyone who could be the class monitor of Class A and control the entire class couldn’t be someone easily pushed around. Both excellent grades and a strong family background were essential. Meng Chunxi was the representative of a small stature but powerful aura.
Meng Chunxi immediately pushed up her glasses, stood on her chair, and retorted to Nangong Yunfei, “And do you know who you’re talking to? I’m the class monitor of Class A. Maintaining classroom discipline and order is my responsibility.”
What she lacked in height, she made up for with a chair.
Tao Ning, who had joined the battlefield midway and backhandedly bombed the enemy’s command center, watched the commotion from the sidelines, a faint smile in her eyes.
Xu Qiuyi, hugging the collected assignments, quietly moved out of the blast radius, looking at the arguing pair with some confusion.
Many girls in the class felt their eyes couldn’t keep up, darting back and forth.
They initially thought the male god looked cool when he acted superior, but arguing like this without regard for his image was really strange.
Some, eager to watch the drama unfold, even secretly took out their phones to record videos, watching with relish.
“What happened to your hand?” A voice from beside her startled Xu Qiuyi, who let out a soft gasp.
Turning around, she saw Tao Ning, who had somehow arrived beside her, looking down at her wrist.
Xu Qiuyi had been holding the assignments, and her neat sleeves had ridden up slightly due to her movements, revealing a large bruise on her right wrist.
It looked like a defensive injury, as if she had instinctively raised her hand to block a hard object, resulting in a large bruise from the back of her hand to her wrist, a deep purple-red color.
Her wrist was naturally fair, making the dark bruise stand out even more, like an exquisite jade carving marred by indelible dark paint.
“I almost dropped you off at your doorstep, and your hand still got injured, your right hand at that.” Tao Ning sighed, saying to 520, “The girl’s skin is thin, it must hurt a lot. She didn’t even apply any medicine before coming to school.”
520, based on the facts: [Perhaps it’s because she doesn’t have money to buy medicine.]
This would sound impossible for anyone else, but for Xu Qiuyi, it wasn’t entirely out of the question.
Xu Qiuyi shrunk back her wrist, trying to cover the bruise with her sleeve.
Seeing that she was just staring at her blankly without answering, Tao Ning took the stack of assignments from her and casually placed them on someone’s desk: “Alright, I’ll see this through to the end.”
Xu Qiuyi: “?”
The student engrossed in recording the argument suddenly turned around: “Eh? What’s this?”
Looking again, the two figures had already walked away, leaving only a distant sentence: “Xixi, please hand in the assignments.”
Lü Xinxi responded with a habitual “Okay,” then realized what Tao Ning had asked her to do, and suddenly bristled: “I haven’t done my homework either! What’s the difference between going to the office and walking into a trap?!”
The bell rang, and many students walked from the corridor to the classroom, only two figures went against the flow, heading outside.
A teacher holding books stopped them: “Xu Qiuyi, Tao Ning, where are you going? The bell has already rung.”
Tao Ning lifted Xu Qiuyi’s arm through her sleeve: “Teacher Liang, the class representative bruised her wrist, I’m taking her to the infirmary.”
Teacher Liang: “Oh, is that so… If her wrist is injured, she can go by herself, does she need someone to escort her?”
The words were spoken naturally, and by the time Teacher Liang reacted, the two figures were already far away.
The second bell rang. Teacher Liang, holding her books, stood there for a moment before turning and entering the classroom.
She wasn’t worried that Tao Ning would bully anyone. Having taught her for two years, she understood her character and simply considered this another one of Tao Ning’s tricks to skip class.
Xu Qiuyi didn’t know how things had developed to this point.
She sat in the school infirmary, the school nurse applying medicine to her bruise with a gentle smile.
After applying the medicine, the nurse said, “Keep it still for a while to let the medicine absorb. Don’t touch it with water for an hour.”
“Okay, thank you.” The scent of Yunnan Baiyao filled Xu Qiuyi’s nose. After the medicine was applied, she quickly withdrew her hand. She truly disliked being touched.
The nurse shook her head: “It’s alright. But there’s something I want to ask. This bruise from a hard object, was it…?”
As she spoke, she glanced towards the curtained-off area.
Xu Qiuyi immediately denied it: “No, it happened last night at home when I… was cleaning.”
The nurse stared at Xu Qiuyi for a few seconds before nodding: “I see. Be careful next time. Did you get an X-ray? It wouldn’t be good if it’s a fracture.”
Xu Qiuyi said, “No need, it’s fine like this. It doesn’t hurt much when I move it.”
“Is that so?” The nurse stopped, stood up to pack her things. A teacher hurried over and spoke to her through the window, “Doctor Liu, come over for a moment, there’s a meeting.”
“Coming.” The nurse replied, leaving a note before heading out. She saw the girl sitting at the table staring blankly at the white curtain.
Sitting with a straight posture like a bamboo, her side profile calm, the cinnabar mole between her eyebrows giving her a classical air, the nurse suddenly understood why the school newspaper issue with Xu Qiuyi’s photo had spread so far.
Feeling a pang of sympathy, the nurse patted Xu Qiuyi’s shoulder and said, “Come back anytime to apply medicine after it’s absorbed. The infirmary is here to serve the students, it’s free.”
Xu Qiuyi was startled by the pat, and after hearing the nurse’s words, she responded with a somewhat flustered “Thank you.”
The campus was unusually quiet after classes started. This was the first time Xu Qiuyi wasn’t in the classroom during class time.
She thought she should return to the classroom and continue with her lessons, instead of sitting here in a daze, but unusually, she really didn’t want to go back to the crowded classroom.
She had thought she didn’t care about anything, but in reality, she did care. For example, right now, Xu Qiuyi just wanted to take a breather in a quiet place.
She had tried her best to avoid trouble, so why did it still find her? Hadn’t she made herself clear enough? What kind of words should she use next time to make her refusal more obvious?
Lost in thought, Xu Qiuyi stared at the bruise on her wrist.
Just then, the sound of someone turning over came from behind the curtain, the bed in the infirmary creaking slightly.
This slight sound reminded Xu Qiuyi that there was another person here.
Her thoughts shifted with the sound, and a question emerged in her mind – what was Tao Ning’s motive?
Tao Ning slept through two classes. When she woke up, it was already the third period. Her well-rested brain finally booted up successfully.
Sitting up and stretching languidly, Tao Ning murmured, “That’s better.”
Suddenly realizing something, she abruptly turned to look at the bedside, surprised: “Why are you still here?”
Xu Qiuyi was taken aback by the question, as if just realizing this herself.
Right, why was she still here and not in class?
Tao Ning automatically filled in the reason for her: “I get it, you’re using me as an excuse to skip class. I didn’t expect the day would come when a top student like you would skip class. Aren’t you afraid of missing five minutes of a class and falling behind forever?”
Xu Qiuyi said, “I’ve already learned the new material. The review stage is just icing on the cake. Missing a class or two doesn’t make much difference.”
“…” Tao Ning raised two fingers and pointed them at her. “You top students are so smart it’s annoying.”
Although she said “annoying,” Xu Qiuyi didn’t sense any real annoyance in her tone, it sounded more like a tease.
Tao Ning slumped back onto the bed like she had no bones: “It’s much better with Doctor Liu. The comfort level has doubled. The previous male school doctor rarely came here. The bed in the infirmary is much more comfortable than a desk.”
Doctor Liu had only started working this year. The previous one had retired to go fishing.
Because of her gentle personality and cleanliness, she was highly praised by the students. Xu Qiuyi rarely came here, but she had a good impression of her.
Tao Ning had roughly analyzed Doctor Liu’s character from the worldline. She was one of the few people who held pure goodwill towards Xu Qiuyi during her last year of high school.
However, in the end, Doctor Liu was fired by the school for repeatedly protecting Xu Qiuyi and even anonymously reporting the bullying incidents.
Years later, Xu Qiuyi, now the fiancée of the Nangong family heir, met Doctor Liu again at the hospital. Years had passed, and things had changed.
Hearing the people around her address Xu Qiuyi, Doctor Liu’s first words were: “What happened? Are you in trouble?”
At the end of the broken storyline, the Nangong family was investigated for their illegal business, and Xu Qiuyi, sentenced to death by injection, was visited by Doctor Liu one last time.
It was this meeting that revealed the last straw that broke the Nangong family – the villa on Rose Island became public knowledge.
By then, the original owner had long since died on the streets, with no one to save her. Xu Qiuyi also died before turning thirty.
Xu Qiuyi glanced at the sun-warmed, soft blanket: “Did you come here just to sleep?”
Tao Ning smiled: “Yes, you’re welcome. I just wanted to sleep.”
Xu Qiuyi said, “Don’t you usually sleep in the lounge?”
Tao Ning snuggled under the soft blanket, her eyes half-closed: “It’s too far, I’m too lazy to go.”
Xu Qiuyi: “…Far?”
She looked out the window at the building opposite. Tao Ning’s exclusive lounge was in that building, directly accessible by elevator.
Tao Ning refused to look at the window, her sleep-flushed face saying, “It’s quite far. I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep on the way.”
Xu Qiuyi: “…” Just keep making things up.
As if afraid to meet her gaze, Tao Ning buried her face further into the blanket, finally dissuading Xu Qiuyi from asking further.
Tao Ning pretended to rub her eyes.
Inwardly, she thought Xu Qiuyi was truly too wary. She probably spent the two classes staring at her, wondering about her motives for helping her.
Thinking too much at such a young age wasn’t good, it was mentally taxing.
520: [How do you know she stared at you for two classes? It’s creepy. I resisted the urge to wake you up several times.]
Tao Ning was surprised: “Is her concentration that good? Just sitting there staring at me for two classes?”
Was that the point?
520: [Host, your obliviousness is truly admirable.]
Tao Ning said earnestly to the system: “Zero Zero, you’ve seen the information too. She’s been betrayed so many times and met so few genuine people. It’s normal for her to be like this, very normal.”
520: [Host, I didn’t say she wasn’t normal.]
Tao Ning was an agreeable person. She said, “Then I misunderstood you, my good partner. My bad, my bad.”
The phrase “good partner” turned 520 into a blushing mess, the entire system squirming: [Hee hee, it’s nothing, really. Am I really that good?]
Tao Ning’s flattery came easily: [You’re the best… you know… system I’ve ever bound with.]
520: [???] I don’t know, explain it clearly.
Tao Ning suddenly threw off the blanket, revealing her now clear eyes: “Are you hungry? I’m hungry, I want to eat.”
Xu Qiuyi’s train of thought was interrupted: “Isn’t it class time? The cafeteria isn’t ready yet.”
Tao Ning ignored all her questions and simply asked, “Just tell me, are you hungry or not?”
Actually, the dinner table had been smashed by Xu Zhihong last night. He even used the table leg as a club. There were no leftovers, not even a single grain of rice.
Her mother had left for work crying this morning. Xu Qiuyi had placed her sister’s medicine by her bedside. She had rushed to school by bus without having breakfast. So, from yesterday until now, she hadn’t eaten anything.
Xu Qiuyi nodded: “Hungry… I guess?”
Tao Ning immediately threw off the blanket, got out of bed, and put on her shoes: “Then let’s go eat.”
She tidied her slightly tangled hair as she walked out. She had felt a bit unaccustomed to the color before, but now she thought it was quite cool.
Following behind her through the wisteria-covered walkway was a beautiful girl with a red mole between her eyebrows, her black hair reaching her waist, her clear eyes reflecting the figure in front of her.
As if sensing something, Tao Ning stopped, looked around, and took two steps back to Xu Qiuyi’s side, saying, “Do you have any dietary restrictions? Like not eating ginger, onion, garlic, chili, or things like that?”
Xu Qiuyi shook her head: “No.” As long as there was food, she wasn’t picky.
If Xu Qiuyi’s inner thoughts were visualized, it would be:
Xu Qiuyi’s favorability +10, current favorability 25.
Excluding the highest score, Tao Ning (25), and the lowest score, Nangong Yunfei (-16), Xu Qiuyi’s average favorability was 0.
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