The infirmary was especially lively today.
First, four students from a regular class, who had been severely beaten, were brought in, followed by another unconscious student from the Super Brain class.
The medical staff were overwhelmed with work.
Tang You, along with the homeroom teacher, carried Yang Jin Zhen into a special examination room designated for awakened students. They sat side by side in the waiting area, waiting for results.
Tang You nervously fiddled with her fingers. "Teacher, I didn't mean to burn your book. I lost control."
The old man glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "I have plenty of books, one isn't a big deal. But you really should learn to control your emotions. You usually seem like such a well-behaved child, how could you suddenly spew fire when agitated?"
Tang You lowered her head, her tone sincere. "I'll be more careful."
The old man turned his face away, not saying anything more.
The door to Treatment Room 3 opened, and both Tang You and the old man looked over. A middle-aged, balding man, drenched in sweat, was helping a student with a yellow buzz cut, who was leaning on a crutch, walk out.
Thanks to Yang Jin Zhen's legendary gossip, Tang You recognized the teacher as the homeroom teacher of Class 2 from Grade 12.
When Chen Lishu saw them, he froze for a moment, then awkwardly smiled, supporting the student as he walked out to meet the waiting parents outside.
The parents' scolding could be heard, their voices loud enough to reach the waiting room. It wasn't until ten minutes later that Chen Lishu returned.
Wiping sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, he hesitantly approached the old man, forcing a smile as he asked, "Director Yan, what brings you here?"
The old man was Yan Qianlin, the director of the Ability Department at Renxi High School.
"A student overexerted their abilities and fainted, so we brought her here for an examination," Yan explained.
Upon hearing this, Tang You glanced at the homeroom teacher, realizing that with his many years of experience teaching ability classes, he was no stranger to such situations.
But… how could Jin Zhen have overexerted herself?
"Director Yan's students are truly exceptional," Chen Lishu instinctively praised.
"Not as impressive as your class," Yan replied dryly.
Chen Lishu, beads of sweat visibly increasing on his forehead, felt like the entire school's faculty was already aware of the events from his class today.
He silently lamented his situation.
Wei Yuyu was a costly and troublesome individual.
As an ordinary person without abilities or any background, he couldn't afford to offend this powerful figure. He could only hold onto him, enduring the blisters as they kept rising.
He had initially thought that since it was the last year, if he just turned a blind eye, everything would pass smoothly. But now, unexpected complications had arisen with Song Shi.
He let out an awkward laugh, remaining speechless, and quietly sat down in a corner.
"Yang Jin Zhen's homeroom teacher is coming," the doctor called as he exited the examination room. Yan slowly stood up, supporting his knees, and walked toward the doctor's office. Tang You naturally followed him.
"The overexertion of her abilities caused her mental energy to deplete, so she's in a temporary sleep-like state. No need to worry, she'll be fine after resting. Please advise her parents to provide her with brain-nourishing food in the next few days and consider giving her some mental energy restorative potions. She's showing signs of breaking through to D-class."
Hearing that Yang Jin Zhen was fine, Tang You sighed in relief. The mention of her potential breakthrough made her happy for her.
Yan, who had seen it all, remained calm, only nodding in acknowledgment. "Then let her stay here for now. Once she wakes up, have her contact me."
"Understood." The doctor entered the information into the system and hurried off to the next treatment room.
"Time to go back to class," Yan glanced at Tang You and began walking toward the classroom.
Before leaving, Tang You quickly scanned the light screen on the doctor's desk, spotting Song Shi's name on the patient roster.
...
When Song Shi opened her eyes, only one thought occupied her mind.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the impulse, and reached to touch the injury on the back of her head.
She recalled the scene before losing consciousness—she had lost a lot of blood, so the wound must have been deep.
However, when she touched the area, there was no bandage, and she couldn't even find the wound.
Her fingers pressed all over her skull, but she felt no pain.
Lifting the blanket, she tugged at the patient gown. She remembered that she had been kicked in the ribs on her right side, and even through the layers of flesh, she had felt her ribs crack.
But now, there wasn't even a bruise in that area, and pressing her fingers there caused no pain.
A healer must have treated her!
Song Shi sat up suddenly and pulled open the collar at the back of her neck to check for any wounds.
Nothing—her skin was as smooth as if the fight this morning had been a mere dream.
Her hand slowly dropped, her thoughts momentarily empty.
The subtitles in her mind appeared.
[Abuse Resistance Progress: 20%]
[Abuse Suffering Progress: 15%]
The progress growth surprised Song Shi.
When someone died in the bus explosion earlier, her progress hadn't increased this quickly.
Could it be that indirect injuries don't count? Song Shi glanced down at her right hand.
She could still remember the feeling of her hand covered in the viscous, scalding substance that had spilled from the burst eyeball.
That direct injury had only burst someone's eyeball.
So, the progress growth was minuscule.
Realizing this, Song Shi refocused her mind.
She glanced at the electronic clock on the bedside table: it was 14:34.
She got out of bed and put on her shoes.
As she was heading out, she ran into Tang You, who was carrying a large bag.
Tang You froze for a moment, then lifted the bag. "My dad asked me to bring this to you."
Looking into the bag, Song Shi saw it was filled with food, including a familiar-looking milk carton—probably the one Tang You had given her this morning.
Her stomach rumbled twice—she was indeed in need of some energy.
"Thank you."
Song Shi took the bag from her, returned to her bed, and placed it on the bedside table before quickly devouring the contents.
She ate rapidly, as if something urgent awaited her.
Tang You stood there for a moment before silently leaving.
The sound of the class bell echoed from outside, and Song Shi sped up her eating.
When she was seven-tenths full, she wrapped up the remaining food, jumped out of bed, grabbed the door handle, and was about to open it when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror on the back of the door.
Her hair, which had been neatly tied up this morning, was now disheveled. The once-smooth hair was now tangled with dried blood clumps, and as she yanked, a piece of dried blood came loose, still attached to a few strands of hair.
Song Shi rubbed her sore scalp, threw the clump in the trash can, and briefly surveyed the room. Her gaze finally settled on the laundry basket in the corner.
Her school uniform was crumpled inside.
Song Shi walked over, rummaged through it, and found that the clothes were too dirty to wear. Thankfully, they were undamaged. She grabbed the tie at the bottom and used it to quickly tie up her hair in a messy knot.
With that done, she pushed open the door.
To her surprise, Tang You hadn't left but was leaning against the wall with her legs crossed.
As soon as the door opened, Tang You turned her head, her clear eyes reflecting the figure in the hospital gown.
"Wei Yuyu's father, Wei Hong, is the deputy captain of the 11th District City Defense Team," Tang You quickly said.
Song Shi paused in the middle of closing the door. She hadn't expected Tang You to guess what she was about to do. She quickly regained her composure and gently closed the door.
"You should get back to class."
With that, she turned and started to walk away.
Tang You bit her lip, then stepped forward to block her path.
"While it's admirable to resist, I'm just a bystander and have no right to judge you. But I must say, don't be so blatant. Wei Hong holds immense power in the outer city. If he decides to cause you trouble, neither you nor your parents will have a way to survive in District 11."
Song Shi lowered her gaze, seemingly lost in thought. Tang You's eyes sparkled with hope, but before she could speak, Song Shi said, "Can he kill at will?"
Tang You shook her head. "The Federation's laws are still in place. He's not powerful enough to kill without consequences."
Song Shi raised an eyebrow. "Then what am I afraid of?"
"What about your parents..." Tang You hesitated, realizing her mistake. She suddenly remembered that during the past two years, when Song Shi had been bullied, her parents had never appeared.
"Song Shi?"
A sudden voice interrupted their conversation.
Both of them turned toward the sound, seeing the sweaty, balding middle-aged man approaching them.
Song Shi glanced out the window, where the harsh sunlight almost blinded her.
Chen Lishu stood before them, his face flushed, sweat trickling down
from his brow. His voice was tinged with urgency. "I need to speak with you."
"Good day, Teacher Chen," Song Shi said, her head slightly lowered.
"Didn't expect you to wake up so soon. How are you feeling? Are you experiencing any discomfort?"
"No, I'm perfectly fine."
"That's a relief," Chen Lishu sighed deeply, finally able to wipe the sweat from his brow. "I'm glad I arranged for a healer to attend to you."
"Thank you, Teacher Chen."
Song Shi's tone was excessively polite.
It was a politeness that sent a chill down Chen Lishu's spine.
Even in the past, Song Shi had never been so formal with him. Now, having reached her breaking point, her emotions had fully erupted, and yet, this detached manner had taken its place.
"As long as you're fine, that's good." He nervously tucked his handkerchief back into his clothes.
He quickly shifted the topic of conversation, his gaze landing on Tang You. "This face looks somewhat familiar. You came here with Director Yan earlier today, from the Special Abilities Class, right? Why are you still here? Isn't the student from your class already back home?"
Just as Tang You was about to speak, Song Shi cut in smoothly, her expression unchanged. "She's someone I hired to bring me food. I was a little hungry after waking up."
Chen Lishu didn't suspect anything, nodding in understanding. "It's convenient that our school offers such services now. It's good to make some pocket money, but you're in your senior year—"
"Teacher Chen," Song Shi interjected, noticing his attempt to steer the conversation, "Have you contacted my parents about today's incident?"
Chen Lishu's smile faltered for a moment before he quickly regained his composure and said in a serious tone, "I have."
"Then why haven't I seen them?" Song Shi asked knowingly.
Chen Lishu glanced carefully at her face.
"Your mother said... as long as you're still alive, there's no need to contact her."
Song Shi had already anticipated this response. Her question wasn't for herself but to make sure Tang You understood this point.
Her parents were not worth worrying about, nor should she endure for them.
She glanced at Tang You, who, as expected, was nervously twirling her fingers, looking somewhat distressed.
"I understand," Song Shi replied, turning back to Chen Lishu. "Teacher Chen, I need to return to the classroom. Would you like to accompany me?"
"Return?" Chen Lishu visibly panicked. "What for? You've just recovered, you should rest properly. I'll arrange for you to take a leave of absence, no need to attend class—just go home and rest for two days."
"I need to pick up some books. Since it's senior year, I'm worried about falling behind." Song Shi smiled.
Chen Lishu stared at her face, momentarily stunned. It was strange—she was smiling, yet he couldn't shake the feeling of something sinister.
"I..." He opened his mouth to say more, but Song Shi had already walked past him toward the door.
Chen Lishu hastily followed. "Then I'll go with you to get them."
"Thank you, but don't you have any classes today?"
"There's quite a bit going on today. I asked another teacher to cover my classes for two periods..." He explained awkwardly.
"…"
Tang You watched their retreating figures, then glanced at the closed hospital door. After a brief pause, she went inside, gathered the dirty laundry, and took it along with the food on the table.
(End of chapter)