For a time, Ji Yun became the most talked-about person on campus!
Even his good buddy Wu Kai was taken aback; he had no idea how Ji Yun had done it!
Could it be that Fang Tianmiu's feverish heatstroke somehow boosted his IQ??
Mainly, how did he win over two girls in such a short amount of time!!
Even doping wouldn't work that fast!
"Alright, alright, there are so many people watching," Ji Yun gently consoled Qiu Mo.
"Let them watch, I don't mind," Qiu Mo whispered, wiping away a tiny tear.
"But I mind…"
"Hmm?"
"What I mean is, I mind you being pointed at and talked about. In our class, in our school, there are too many gossipmongers," Ji Yun said.
He's too understanding!
Qiu Mo never realized before that Ji Yun was such a delicate and considerate boy, always thinking of others.
Many girls actually have boys they like, and sometimes those boys even confess to them, but often girls won't accept because the boys' actions can cause them too much trouble.
It's school puppy love after all; you're supposed to date in secret.
But once boys get a girlfriend, dating often becomes a tool to show off to other classmates, and girls have to deal with the mental pressure from parents and teachers.
If something goes wrong, the boys continue doing whatever they want, while girls get pointed at and talked about by others.
So once they receive a confession, after deep consideration, girls will not accept it.
Qiu Mo did have feelings for Ji Yun; she liked the carefree and sunny aura about him.
She could chat with Ji Yun, happily join a weekend trip with classmates if he was going, and was willing to meet up privately for small talks and heart-to-heart chats, but she simply couldn't accept Ji Yun making their slowly developing relationship more than friends known to everyone.
So today, Qiu Mo was determined to reject him.
Out of compassion, she gave herself three days to see what she really thought, whereas she would have rejected anyone else immediately.
However, after more consideration, she still had to make this decision.
What she never expected was how things would unfold.
First, Ji Yun inexplicably got heatstroke.
Then he cleverly helped Lou Yu clear those rumors.
To be honest, Qiu Mo had to take her hat off to Ji Yun for that.
Reputation is incredibly important for girls, and they love sitting together to gossip, and the tales grow more preposterous as they spread, often turning the whole story hideously distortive with a smattering of personal bias during idle chat!
Ji Yun's efforts to safeguard Lou Yu resembled the chivalrous knights described in Western literature—brave and decisive like a knight, yet with the gentlemanly demeanor of a noble!
"Ji Yun, you have to hang in there, okay? Work hard on your recovery, because in the future we will graduate together, go to the same university, then move to a new city and work together..." Qiu Mo mustered her courage and delivered an inspiring speech to Ji Yun.
Ah?
I only thought about where we'd end up buried together.
I hadn't thought about much else. Does it have to be that specific??
"Okay... okay, for you, I will persevere," Ji Yun barely squeezed out these words.
What does Qiu Mo mean by this?
Is she accepting me??
But I just wanted to come up here on impulse, enjoy the moment and then bolt. I hadn't thought about what comes next at all!
Where's Vice Principal Wang??
Where have you gone!
Students are openly engaging in puppy love on the field, hugging and cuddling in front of everyone, and you just don't care!
What kind of vice principal are you!!
"Ahem~"
Suddenly, the broadcast system crackled to life once again.
"The earlier performance was just an impromptu act for Lü Jing and the members of the drama club. Please don't take it seriously, folks, and let's give a round of applause for the drama club's outstanding performance! Also, I'd like to remind all students that spreading rumors is wrong, and if it's serious, criminal liability can be pursued, so everyone must be careful with what they say!"
Vice Principal Wang's voice came through the speakers.
So he'd gone to give Lü Jing a talking-to?
Indeed, compared to students falling in love, spreading rumors was far more harmful!
Vice Principal Wang still had his priorities straight!
And he even gave Lü Jing a way out by turning that live incident into a supposed planned performance.
But the students weren't fools; they weren't likely to believe Vice Principal Wang's words, it just prevented the situation from worsening and gave the rumor-spreading girl a bit of leeway!
Ji Yun wasn't that kind.
If Vice Principal Wang was, that was his business.
"Also, to those two under the banyan tree, aren't you involved in any extracurricular activities? In such a sacred place as our campus, you should focus on your studies and devote your enthusiasm to society. Go do what you're supposed to do, and if you want to be sweet to each other, come to my office!" Finally, Vice Principal Wang's threatening authority descended.
Naming and shaming!
Broadcasting a naming and shaming across the whole school!
Vice Principal Wang was resolute not to overlook any trace of indiscipline on campus!
Vice Principal Wang's voice over the broadcast also snapped Qiu Mo back from getting lost in the touching literary story.
"Then… then I should go," Qiu Mo said.
"Here, take this." Ji Yun handed over a tissue, waved his hand like a cad, and signaled that Qiu Mo could leave.
However, in Qiu Mo's eyes, this was Ji Yun choosing to be melancholy on his own.
Vice Principal Wang's voice echoed once more, and Qiu Mo could only leave with reluctance.
The sun was missing a small fraction of its disk, and its light wasn't as intense as before.
Even the dry, hot air felt inexplicably cooler.
Ji Yun glanced at the time; it was already 10:11 AM.
Nice!
He had broken his previous record for staying!
This meant, the longer he managed to hang on during the rescue process, the more time he could spend in the past!
He wouldn't have to hastily get thrown back into the ER after messing around anymore.
There was still time to savor this moment carefully!
Tsk, tsk.
Lou Yu was the kind of girl with a delicate, petite frame, as if holding her too tightly might crush her.
A typical unripened, immature girl, completely different from how she looked ten years later, fitting perfectly into my peculiar... oh, aesthetic preferences!
Qiu Mo, on the other hand, had a slender, refined figure with obvious better development. Her skin was very springy and smooth, like a little fairy among girls, which explained why she had been especially dazzling and charming during middle and high school. Ten years later, she was even more stunning and had an air of noble grace and beauty.
Both were really nice, really nice.
Only kids make choices.
It's only when you grow up that you realize you can't have either of them, and they don't have much to do with you!
Perhaps only when I was younger, somewhat spirited, and literarily inclined could I have captured their delicate and lovely hearts.
Thinking about all this, Ji Yun couldn't help but reach for his pocket.
Hey, where's my cigarette?
Did Wu Kai swipe it again?
"Could my own illness be related to these bad habits, or rather, if I maintain a healthy lifestyle, even if I still fall ill later on, is there still hope for the doctors to save me?"
While pondering this question, Ji Yun longed for a cigarette to spark the brainstorming in his brain.
The snack bar wouldn't sell cigarettes.
But there was a place that did.
It was a concealed corner southeast of the school.
Almost instinctively, Ji Yun's most memorable part of high school life had been this smoking corner.
A student would sell them.
Also a kid from Craftsman Street, Jiang Hua began doing business with students at a very young age.
Every morning, before coming to school, Jiang Hua would hide several packs of cigarettes in his backpack. Once break time came, he would silently wait for those delinquent students to show up.
He'd open a pack of cigarettes, then split it, carefully placing them one by one.
"What do you mean, what's this count for?" a boy with brown hair demanded.
"Sorry about that, Brother Xin, I sell them by the stick," Jiang Hua explained apologetically.
"Take it away, take it away. If others from different grades saw this, they'd think I couldn't afford my own. One pack per person, you hear me? A pack for each of the brothers I brought!" the one called Brother Xin decreed.
"Brother Xin, so generous!"
"Thanks, Brother Xin!" A few brash boys exclaimed joyously.
Soon, these rowdy teenagers were shrouded in smoke and uttering filthy language, discussing which girl was well-endowed, who had been with whom, and which boy's mom had allure.
Ji Yun approached and saw the dense smoke.
To be honest, a sense of disgust emerged.
Especially considering his illness ten years later might be connected to this second-hand smoke, Ji Yun stopped in his tracks.
Forget it.
Maybe it's time to quit now.
I'm still in high school.
Smoking for ten years, claiming it hasn't affected my health is impossible.
Society doctors earnestly urge me to focus on health.
Even the male doctors and nurses in the hospital did everything they could to save me, but my body just gave up too soon, leaving them with such a traumatic experience.
I should nip these bad habits in the bud now.
Who knows, in ten years, I might just have a healthy body!
After much deliberation, Ji Yun decided not to come here anymore.
If he craved a cigarette, he would have to resist.
To tell the truth, repeatedly being rushed to the ER, even without feeling any pain or sensation, was enough to severely traumatize him.
I've got to quit smoking!
"Hey, Ji Yun, I've got a good gig for you!" Just then, Jiang Hua called out to Ji Yun, who was about to leave.
"No, thanks." Ji Yun waved his hand dismissively.
"Come on, I've gotta take a dump. Can you watch this for me? You know I rely on this money to pay tuition." Jiang Hua explained.
Jiang Hua's family was poor, so he had been fending for himself since middle school.
He collected scrap during the summer and winter breaks, and sold cigarettes and beer during school, doing anything he could to make money.
Ji Yun paused and pondered. For some reason, he sniffed out something shady.
With a laugh, Ji Yun approached Jiang Hua and said, "Alright, but if you sell a lot, toss me a few."
"No problem! Oh man, I can't hold it anymore!" Jiang Hua immediately dashed toward the restroom.