Cheng Juan slammed his fountain pen into the table.
The person who'd just told Lu Zhaoying not to get flustered had lost his cool too.
He quietly shifted the pen aside and reached for a cigarette, but did not light it. When he'd calmed down, a fog seemed to mask his face like a veil.
He tipped his chin up slightly. "Are you sure? That person doesn't seem that helpful."
"Flat Face already got it checked. He specially looked into the case of the seven undergraduates who'd lost contact three months ago, the traces are very similar." Lu Zhaoying found it unusual too. With one hand resting on the keyboard, he turned around to look at Cheng Juan. "It's unlikely for anyone else to be able to clamp down on Black Eagle, I think it must be that Q. You really don't know who that is?"
Cheng Juan spun a lighter in his hands and looked through the glass pane as a girl walked towards the office door.
Her cheeks were unusually red and brought out the paleness in the rest of her face. She seemed to be dragging her feet restlessly, and her zip went all the way up despite it being pretty warm and humid outside.
In her state now, she seemed a lot less distant and unapproachable.
She always seemed a little cold usually. But today, as she came teary-eyed, she seemed a little more delicate. Cheng Juan kept the cigarette between his lips and did not say a thing.
Lu Zhaoying shut his laptop and kept his words when he saw Qin Ran coming.
Qin Ran knew what they'd been talking about before she came and that they were somewhat avoiding her. But she wasn't bothered, especially with this headache now.
She went to the pantry first.
Cheng Juan kept his documents and knocked on the tabletop. "You're sick?"
"Mm." Qin Ran slowly made her way further into the kitchen. She sounded weak. "A little."
"Qin Ran, how did you fall ill? Come, have a rest here, I'll take your temperature." Lu Zhaoying immediately stood up and let Qin Ran take the seat.
He went to get a thermometer for her.
"It's no big deal. I took some meds in the morning, I'll get cooking first," she casually said.
Well, she was still as cool as usual.
"No..." Lu Zhaoying shook his head.
"You're already sick, don't put up a front. Sit down first." Cheng Juan got up and let her have the couch seat. "Lu Zhaoying? Get En Yu Hotel to send some food here."
Lu Zhaoying was taken aback to see that Cheng Juan had given up his couch seat. But he went ahead to make the call anyway.
"Don't head to the canteen anymore, it's too crowded." Cheng Juan got a thermometer and handed it to her. "Take your temperature first."
Qin Ran didn't think a fever was anything to fuss over? It wasn't as if she broke a limb anyway.
She took her temperature—39.5°C.
Cheng Juan knitted his brows together and quickly prepared the IV bag to put her on a drip. He then got her a glass of warm water and even added some syrup as ill people usually felt very dry in the mouth.
The couch was very comfortable to lean back in. She drank the sweetened water and felt drowsy as the sounds of Cheng Juan flipping his documents faded into the background.
He could hear slow steady breathing from his side.
Cheng Juan put his documents down and turned to look at her instead. Perhaps it was because she was sick, the headstrong vibe she usually exuded had dissipated. Her lashes were pointing downwards, and there was a pale green area beneath her eyes, emphasizing just how thin and fragile she looked. She was all curled up into a tiny ball in the corner of the couch as she didn't want to disturb him.
Her arm that was resting on the side of the couch was pale and skinny as well, and the spot at which the needle had been injected was beginning to bruise.
He looked at her for a while and felt something skip in his heart.
It was rare for Qin Ran to sleep so soundly. When she woke up, the IV bag would've been empty and the afternoon self-revision sessions would be almost over. Meanwhile, some porridge was being heated up on the stove.
Lu Zhaoying gathered some medicine for another student.
Seeing that she had taken some of the porridge and was eating at the table, he asked, "Do you want me to help you apply for leave from classes?"
"No need." Qin Ran shook her head and smiled. She spoke casually and without the distant tone that she had when she last met them. "Thank you for today."
Cheng Juan furrowed his brows slightly. He'd prefer if she stayed and rested well for the afternoon, but he did not voice his opinion.
When she'd left, he put his documents down and finally lit the cigarette.
Cheng Juan was getting frustrated.
Lu Zhaoying seemed to think about something as he looked at him and stroked his chin.
**
Qin Ran recovered quickly and, by the afternoon, her fever had subsided. She was still a little weak but was in way better condition than in the morning.
"12 marks for Physics, 18 marks for Chemistry." Lin Siran helped Qin Ran get her scripts. "Ran Ran, you're amazing!"
If she rounded it off, it would be considered a pass.
Qin Ran looked at Lin Siran but didn't say a thing.
They received their English scripts in the last period.
Xu Yaoguang did not leave immediately and didn't stop Qiao Sheng from going over to look for Qin Ran either. But his eyes were on them.
"Has your fever subsided?" Qiao Sheng furrowed his brows slightly. "Why didn't you apply for leave?"
Qin Ran nodded, picked up her books and sniffled. "I'm alright."
"Rest more and drink warm water." Qiao Sheng thought for a bit before returning to his seat and getting a lollipop from under his desk. He handed it to Qin Ran and raised his eyebrows cheekily. "Eat this."
At this point, Qin Yu had already arrived outside the Ninth Class and was waiting for Xu Yaoguang and Qiao Sheng. She was shocked to witness the scene before her.
She turned away, not looking at Qin Ran.
But she couldn't help but peek in that general again. Qiao Sheng always acted like a bratty Young Master; he sounded playful even when talking to her. It was rare to see him speak so gently to anyone.
A while later.
Qiao Sheng carried his bag and left with Xu Yaoguang through the back door.
The first thing he said was "Young Master Xu, Qin Ran's English scores improved. 30 marks!" He was mocking her.
30 marks. Xu Yaoguang furrowed his brows. He was really overthinking it when Qiao Sheng approached her.
"30 marks?"
"Yup, that's a huge improvement. She had a score of 0 the last time." Qiao Sheng placed his hands in his pocket.
Qin Yu saw that Xu Yaoguang still looked cold and disinterested. He simply smiled but did not say anymore.
She felt relieved.
The three of them were influential figures in school. Anyone of their appearances could get schoolmates whispering in one another's ears, not to mention when they appeared together.
Some students would even stop at the foot of the stairs to wait for them, so they could walk together.
Fifth Class of the new students.
"Mu Ying, let's go off together." Mu Ying's deskmate was a bubbly girl with a ponytail. She was from the affiliated stream too and was called Li Yuhan.
Both of them did not live on campus.
Easygoing as she was, Li Yuhan casually hooked her arms around Mu Ying's.
With the arrival of new students today, the campus was bustling with crowds everywhere.
There was some commotion further up in front of them.
From a distance, they saw that a line of three people was the source of the commotion. There was a girl in a dress and not in the school uniform. Beside her were two guys whose looks were rather outstanding.
"Ah ah ah! Mu Ying, look, that cool-looking guy over there is our nerdy School Hunk! He's a Year Three student, Xu Yaoguang! The other guy is Qiao Sheng, the heir of the Qiao mandate!" Li Yuhan squeezed Mu Ying's arm in excitement. "And the girl beside them, do you know who she is?"
"I do, she's the School Belle of First Middle School..." Mu Ying looked towards Qin Yu in some envy. She was having some mixed feelings as she saw the fine-looking guys beside the beautiful girl.
"Pfft, what School Belle? What era is your information from?" Li Yuhan looked away from Qin Yu. "Don't you know that the School Belle has changed since the day the Year Threes started having lessons?"
"The School Belle has changed?" Mu Ying heard about this news only during the summer break and was stunned at this new information. "Who is it now?"