After that, Xia Rou braced herself and continued studying alongside Qin Yuanyuan.
…
At night, after they finished studying, the two of them took a bath together. Once they were done washing up, they sat back down to study again.
Seeing the sweet smile constantly on Qin Yuanyuan’s face helped ease the heavy feeling in Xia Rou’s chest.
Cough…
But shortly after they finished brushing their teeth, Xia Rou began to feel unwell again.
“Yuanyuan, I’m going to the bathroom…” she quickly got up, hand braced against the desk, forcing a calm expression onto her face.
Qin Yuanyuan sat beside her, nodding her little head vigorously. She looked silly and adorable.
Once she got a response, Xia Rou quietly slipped out of the room, making sure to close the door behind her.
By now, her condition had worsened. Her consciousness was beginning to blur. If she didn’t take her medicine soon, she’d probably pass out like last time.
“It hurts…” she hunched over as she walked, finally collapsing face-down on the living room sofa.
Frowning in pain, Xia Rou rummaged through her pockets. There were so many candies stuffed inside that it took her several seconds just to find the medicine.
Ugh…
With no time for water, she swallowed the pills dry.
Several minutes passed before she managed to lift her head from the couch.
Huff, huff…
Xia Rou panted heavily, her breathing labored. Her condition looked anything but stable.
Yuanyuan… I’m sorry.
She didn’t want Qin Yuanyuan to see her like this—that’s why she ran out as soon as she could.
…
Her condition had been deteriorating quickly lately. The medication only gave her temporary relief, and the day she’d been dreading had arrived far sooner than expected.
Sigh…
Xia Rou used to think she wasn’t afraid. Her older brother was amazing—he’d definitely find a good wife someday, build a family, and take care of their parents.
She wouldn’t need to worry about anything. She had no burdens. As long as she was happy, that was enough.
But now… she was starting to feel like she didn’t want things to end like this.
That surgery—less than a 5% success rate—maybe she should still give it a shot?
But it was probably too late now, after dragging things out for so long.
Kneeling on the floor, despair crept into her eyes. Her weakened body couldn’t even lift itself up.
Cough! Cough!
A fit of violent coughing shook her, and—
“Hm? What’s wrong with you?!”
Just then, Qin Yao happened to come downstairs. She heard the coughing and looked down to see Xia Rou kneeling in front of the sofa.
Qin Yao immediately sensed something was wrong and rushed down the steps to help her up.
“What’s going on? Are you feeling sick?” She carefully supported Xia Rou onto the couch and asked urgently.
“…I’m fine.”
Asked about her health, Xia Rou instinctively gave the same answer she always did.
Cough! Cough!
But just as she said that, another harsh cough came out of her, and she nearly doubled over from it.
“You call that fine? I’m taking you to the hospital right now.”
Qin Yao didn’t believe her for a second. She stood up, ready to call Qin Xuanxuan to help carry her to the car.
“No, don’t… I’ve already seen a doctor. My body’s just not in great shape, but it’s nothing serious. The meds help.”
“?”
Right before Qin Yao could shout, Xia Rou reached out and tugged on her sleeve with all the strength she had.
“You have the medicine with you?”
“Yeah.”
Xia Rou pulled out the pills from her pocket and handed them over for Qin Yao to inspect.
Qin Yao looked at them carefully, noting the name and watching Xia Rou closely.
The label mentioned heart-related issues.
Just earlier, Xia Rou had been kneeling on the ground from the pain.
She was still so young—wasn’t this a bit too cruel?
Qin Yao wasn’t a medical student and didn’t fully understand it, but she knew heart treatments were usually expensive.
And judging from Xia Rou’s simple clothes, it didn’t seem like she came from a wealthy family.
“Are you getting treatment? If it’s a money problem, I can help you.”
“…There’s no need.”
“I’m serious. If the only reason you haven’t gotten treatment is because of money, I’ll cover it. You just help me make sure Yuanyuan and Qin Xue study hard.”
“You can see it too—this place is really just for Qin Xue and Yuanyuan. I have my own house. Our family’s pretty well-off, really. Don’t worry.”
“…”
Hearing the genuine concern and anxiety in her big sister’s voice, Xia Rou didn’t know what to say.
“Sister Yao, I’m okay, really. You don’t need to worry about me. It’s just a normal illness. A few more months of medicine, and I’ll be fine.”
“…Alright.”
Faced with Xia Rou’s firm tone, Qin Yao chose to believe her—at least for now.
They continued chatting for a bit, mostly about how the day had gone and whether Qin Xue and Qin Yuanyuan had been seriously studying.
Xia Rou, having prepared for this, smoothly gave all the right answers.
“Oh, right. Did you help me apologize to Qin Xue?”
Just as the conversation was winding down and Qin Yao was getting ready to leave, she suddenly remembered something.
“Ah… I forgot.” Xia Rou looked a little embarrassed.
“It’s fine. I’ll tell her myself later.” Qin Yao didn’t blame her—after all, it was her own responsibility.
“Wait, no! I’ll go tell her right now. I was just too focused on studying and forgot.”
“Oh? Alright, then.”
“Bye-bye, sister.”
Xia Rou pushed herself up, hastily walking toward the bedroom, a bit flustered.
Qin Yao watched her sudden urgency with some confusion but didn’t overthink it.
Sick and still working so hard on her studies… Qin Xue really ought to learn from this girl.
Qin Xue had promised her mom she’d focus on studying, but when Qin Yao came to check on her, the girl was still slacking off.
If she hadn’t come by to supervise, and Qin Xue actually flunked her finals, their mom definitely wouldn’t let it slide.
Sigh…
…
Summer End University. December 31st. Sunday.
It was supposed to be a rest day, but Shi Lezhi sat wearily in his office.
He was a man of action—once he set his mind on something, he moved fast. Hesitating never did him any favors. Opportunities were for the prepared.
And the same applied when it came to finding a girlfriend.
Shi Lezhi had been suspicious about Su Yun and Su Xiaoyun for a while now, so today, he came to the school to do some digging.
One person searching was too slow, so by afternoon he’d brought in a few others to help look.
Su Yun was easy—he’d already dug up information on his before.
Today, his target was Su Xiaoyun.
White hair. That keyword should’ve made it easy.
But after an entire afternoon, Shi Lezhi and his helpers couldn’t find a single girl at school registered as “Su Xiaoyun.”
There was one with white hair, but she looked awful—half black, half white, the classic try-hard look. No way that was Su Xiaoyun.
Just when he was about to give up and assume she wasn’t a student here, Shi Lezhi opened up some surveillance footage…
And stumbled upon something unbelievable.
(End of Chapter)