Chapter 81: Chapter 80: “It seems to be the case.

Neither of their families was particularly well-off, and they had no idea how much a hospital visit would cost.

They were now overcome with regret and remorse.

Qian Jia had recovered a little from the initial pain. She got off Qiu Kai’s back, and Xu Su quickly helped her over to a single bed in the corner.

Qian Jia said, “I feel a little better. I probably don’t need to go to the hospital. It might just be bruised red.”

The school nurse pulled the curtain shut, blocking the view of the three boys outside. “Let me see the injury.”

Xu Su helped Qian Jia take off her school uniform jacket. Then, Qian Jia lay face down on the bed, pointing through her shirt to indicate where it hurt.

Xu Su slowly lifted her shirt to the spot she had pointed to. A pang of sympathy hit her—a shocking, horizontal red mark streaked across the girl’s back.

From the looks of it, a bruise would probably form soon.

The school nurse put on a pair of gloves, gently pressed the red mark a few times, and asked a few questions before taking the gloves off.

After Xu Su pulled Qian Jia’s shirt back down, he opened the curtain and said, “It doesn’t look like any bones are injured, but it’s a severe contusion. Rub it with medicinal wine for a few days until the bruise fades. Be careful not to bump it again for the next few days.”

He added, “If it hurts, don’t sit for long periods. A couple of days of bed rest will help you heal faster.”

Just as the school nurse finished preparing the medicinal wine, Teacher Wu finally arrived.

He first walked over to Qian Jia. After confirming that it was nothing serious, his tense expression relaxed slightly.

Then, he turned to Deng Hui and Qiu Kai, waving a hand to stop their explanation.

Teacher Wu’s expression was grim. “I’ve already called your parents. We will discuss the consequences tomorrow morning after they arrive.”

Qian Jia, Deng Hui, and Qiu Kai’s families weren’t in Chang City. Since it was already afternoon, the earliest they could get to the school was tomorrow.

The color drained from Qiu Kai and Deng Hui’s faces. Xu Su watched from the side, feeling no sympathy.

’Thankfully, Qian Jia wasn’t seriously hurt this time. Otherwise, it would’ve been such terrible luck to get caught in the crossfire of their fight.’

Teacher Wu said to Qian Jia, “I’m approving two days of leave for you. Just rest in your dorm. If it still hurts after two days, keep resting. Don’t be in a hurry to come back to class. It’s all just practice tests anyway—you can do those anywhere. You don’t need to worry about falling behind in your studies.”

Qian Jia nodded earnestly.

In the end, Qiu Kai carried Qian Jia back to the dormitory on his back again, with Xu Su and Xi Zirong accompanying them.

This was the first time any boys had come into their dorm room, and two had come at once.

Xu Su noticed that as soon as Xi Zirong entered, his gaze fell directly on her bed, which made her feel a little awkward.

Her bed was a tiny bit messy. She had gotten up in a hurry that morning and hadn’t folded her quilt neatly, and a few of her clothes were lying on top of it.

She couldn’t say anything to him in front of their two classmates, so she could only give him a fierce glare.

Xi Zirong faltered, then awkwardly touched his nose and stood blankly to the side.

By this time, the last class of the afternoon was about to end, and the cafeteria was already serving dinner.

Xu Su sat by Qian Jia’s bed. “What do you want to eat? I’ll go get it for you.”

Qian Jia sat up with difficulty. She was too embarrassed to lie down in front of the two male students. “Just get me a meat pie and a grilled sausage.”

The cafeteria had recently added a new item to the menu: a beef pie. It was savory, aromatic, and spicy—and it was also Xu Su’s new favorite.

Xu Su nodded, then got up and looked at the two boys standing there blankly. “Let’s go.”

At the cafeteria, a guilt-ridden Qiu Kai offered to pay, but Xu Su refused him. “Leave it for Teacher Wu to handle tomorrow morning. There’s no need for this now.”

After Qiu Kai left, Xu Su ordered a beef pie and a bowl of pork bone soup, then picked a place to sit.

She usually didn’t eat in the dorm, so she planned to finish her meal in the cafeteria before bringing food back for Qian Jia.

Less than a minute later, someone sat down across from Xu Su.

Xi Zirong.

His tray was similar to Xu Su’s, but with an added order of fried noodles. ’Is that even enough for a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy?’ she wondered with some concern.

Just then, she heard Xi Zirong’s voice from across the table. “Were you scared this afternoon?”

Xu Su froze. They hadn’t really spoken in over a month, and her first instinct was to ignore him. But then she thought that no matter what, they were still classmates. There was no need to avoid him like the plague.

’It’s been over a month. He should have snapped out of his love-struck daze by now, right?’

As she mulled it over, she took a sip of her soup and said, “A little.”

This was the first time she had seen classmates fight. She vaguely recalled something similar happening in middle school, but that was a memory from over ten years ago and had long since faded.

And the one who got hurt was her good friend. Thinking of the mark on Qian Jia’s back made Xu Su’s heart ache.

’How innocent was she in all this? A fight in the back row ends up hurting the poor girl in the front row.

What kind of grudge could be so deep that two desk mates, who usually got along pretty well, would actually start fighting in class?’

Mulling it over, Xu Su just came out and asked him.

Xi Zirong ate his noodles slowly. Hearing her question, he hesitated for a moment before answering, “You’re probably too focused on your studies to pay much attention to class gossip. To put it simply, they’re rivals in love.”

As soon as he said that, Xu Su understood instantly.

Although Xu Su didn’t care much for her classmates’ private lives, she was a boarding student now. She spent all her time with Huang Feng and Qian Jia, so even if she wasn’t interested in the news, she still heard bits and pieces.

Xu Su’s eyes widened with curiosity. “I think I heard a little something about that. They were fighting over the class beauty from Class 18? That’s intense!”

The Class 18 beauty was named Gu Yunjia, a name that already sounded quite extraordinary. Huang Feng had once pointed her out to Xu Su from a distance, and she was indeed a pretty girl.

According to Huang Feng, Gu Yunjia had also been a strong contender for school beauty last year, but Xu Su had ended up taking the title.

When Huang Feng said this, she had an expression of shared glory.

Because Xu Su was completely focused on her studies and had been tangled in romance rumors with the “study god” for half a semester, how many of the first-year boys were confident enough to compete with Xi Zirong?

And since Xu Su didn’t even seem interested in Xi Zirong, other male students were even more hesitant to get close to her.

As a result, Xu Su had been basically unapproachable to the opposite sex, while the various class beauties, in contrast, were more popular with the boys than Xu Su herself.

And among all the class beauties, Gu Yunjia of Class 18 was especially popular; several boys from the “rocket class” had even given her love letters.

Gossiping is human nature. As long as the gossip wasn’t about her, Xu Su was more than happy to indulge.

Being watched by Xu Su like that, Xi Zirong paused for a moment before saying softly, “I guess that’s what happened.”

He looked like he didn’t want to say any more.

’Boring…’

Xu Su dropped her gossipy expression and silently began to eat her beef pie.

’No matter. She could ask Huang Feng later. Xu Su had yet to find a piece of gossip that Huang Feng didn’t know.’

She finished her food in a few bites, then got back in line to buy a beef pie for Qian Jia. As she turned to leave the cafeteria, Xi Zirong also followed her out.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep