Chapter 54: Post-processing

Two sets of footsteps approached…

Because the hospital bed was in a private cubicle separated by walls, Lin Xinyuan couldn’t see what was happening outside at first.

She made a move to get out of bed, but the moment her left leg touched the ground, a wave of weakness hit her, almost causing her to kneel.

Fortunately, she caught hold of the edge of the bed in time.

After becoming a girl, her body was naturally weak, and not long ago, after intense exercise, she had also endured a brutal beating.

Even now, despite resting for some time, she still felt frail.

While lying down, she hadn’t felt much, but now, after this movement, Lin Xinyuan finally understood why Teacher Xue had suggested she rest here for a night.

“Ah!”

The infirmary was small, and soon after, Li Tang and Zeng Yan had already entered the ward.

Seeing Lin Xinyuan’s unsteady movement, Li Tang couldn’t help but exclaim.

She handed the meal she was carrying to Zeng Yan and hurried over to help Lin Xinyuan up.

“Ah Yuan, what are you trying to do! Didn’t Teacher Xue tell you not to move around?” Li Tang said with some displeasure as she helped the girl back to sit on the bed.

“I just—”

Before she could finish, Li Tang sharply interrupted, “Sit properly!”

“Oh.” Lin Xinyuan didn’t argue, only feeling a warmth rise in her heart.

“Here, let’s all eat first!” Zeng Yan spoke from the side, placing the packed meal on the small table next to the bed.

“Here, Lin,” Zeng Yan took out a portion and handed it to Lin Xinyuan first.

Lin Xinyuan quickly took it and thanked him.

“You should be thanked. It’s our fault that this mess has affected you,” Zeng Yan replied with a gentle smile.

The girl nodded but couldn’t help thinking about what had happened before.

It was hard to imagine what could have made someone who seemed so gentle so angry back then…

But it made sense.

This was no longer the Qingqing Caoyuan—it was the Hulunbuir Grassland now…

Any normal man would become extreme in this situation.

Zeng Yan was actually very gentle…

Seeing it that way, what happened between her and Li Xue’er wasn’t much at all!

It was just a minor scuffle…

She wondered if she hadn’t gotten so worked up wanting to take revenge on that stinky blonde back then, maybe things wouldn’t have escalated like this?

Maybe there was still a chance to turn back in the beginning?

The answer was no.

Perhaps once she was hit by that jade bracelet, there was no turning back…

Eh…

“Ah Li, eat.”

While Lin Xinyuan was still lost in thought, Zeng Yan handed a portion to Li Tang.

Li Tang accepted it and blinked her big eyes, “Thanks, Yan-ge, love you!”

“Gross.” Zeng Yan ruffled Li Tang’s little head.

Li Tang was annoyed and pushed his hand away with her free hand, “Don’t touch me! You just touched the takeout box; it’s greasy!”

“You’re the one who’s disgusted!”

“Yes! Totally disgusted, huh~”

Lin Xinyuan had come back to reality, watching the two interact.

Sigh… hadn’t even started eating, but she was already full…

If it were before, she would have wanted to be a cute girlfriend like Li Tang…

But alas… those days were gone…

“This is… that braised pork rice from the shop on South Street, right?”

Lin Xinyuan sniffed as soon as she opened the lid, catching a familiar aroma, then looked at the dishes inside.

Two meat dishes and one vegetable: garlic white-cut chicken, char siu, a plate of stir-fried choy sum, and underneath the veggies, a generous portion of white rice shining under the indoor incandescent light.

“Yes, Lin, do you often eat there too?” Zeng Yan asked casually.

Lin Xinyuan thought for a moment, then nodded.

She used to order takeout from there often, so it counted. “I used to go there a lot.”

“Oh, really? Sometimes I get tired of the school cafeteria and want to change it up, especially with food from home. This place is pretty good.”

As Zeng Yan spoke, he opened his own box, which had white-cut chicken and roast duck, taking bites one after another.

Li Tang, already starving, started eating eagerly.

Hearing their conversation, she couldn’t help but chime in:

“Yan Yan… bro, you know Hulunbuir, right? That place… Ah Yuan… we’re from the same place…”

“Ah? What a coincidence?” Zeng Yan sounded surprised, his gaze toward the pretty short-haired girl growing warmer, mixing in a hint of guilt.

His guilt deepened—this innocent person from his hometown had also been caught up in this mess…

Such a sin!

But it couldn’t be helped.

Since the breakup, Zeng Yan didn’t want to trouble his ex, but she came looking for trouble herself!

He blamed himself too—dating Wu Xiaoyue for a year and never seeing her true colors…

But it was good in a way, as it made him see clearly who truly cared for him.

It was funny how he used to disdain this kind of childhood friend’s affection.

Zeng Yan glanced at Li Tang still eating heartily, with no trace of the ladylike grace a girl might have.

Her cheeks puffed up like a little squirrel…

So delicious!

“Let’s hang out together during winter break; it’s boring at home.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” Li Tang nodded rapidly, rice still not chewed, agreeing with her boyfriend.

“Eat already, don’t act like you’re about to be reborn.

If you choke, just stay quiet!” Zeng Yan joked.

“Hmph!” Li Tang’s grumble was full of defiance, but she said no more.

“If there’s a chance, definitely,” Lin Xinyuan nodded, agreeing for now.

Whether she would go or not was another matter…

“Ah Yuan, get some rest early!”

“Lin, get plenty of rest.”

“Goodbye… Ah Tang, Zeng…”

Two figures, one tall and one short, disappeared from sight.

After the door clicked shut, their footsteps gradually faded.

Because Lin Xinyuan’s body was weak, before leaving, the two not only turned off the light for her but also locked the door from outside.

“Beep beep~”

Lying in bed, though she had just woken from unconsciousness, the exhaustion in her body still made her drowsy.

Just as she was about to close her eyes, her phone suddenly vibrated.

Picking it up, she saw it was a message from Li Tang.

They had both added her on WeChat before parting, each with the little green chat bubble.

Lin Xinyuan opened the message to see a dog head emoji.

She was a little puzzled and about to type back to ask Li Tang, but more messages came in.

Li and Tang Can Have Both: “Ah Yuan, I’ll come see you again tomorrow, okay!”

Ru Yuan: “Come see me for what? Don’t you have class tomorrow?”

Lin Xinyuan used her main account to add Li Tang and Zeng Yan.

That ‘Yuan An’ secondary account hadn’t been used in a long time…

Li and Tang Can Have Both: “No! How about you? Question.JPG”

Ru Yuan: “Only in the afternoon.”

Li and Tang Can Have Both: “Then that’s fine. Aren’t you living off-campus? Then I’ll drop by where you live! I want to see what your place looks like. Next semester, I want to live outside too. Starry Eyes.JPG”

Ru Yuan: “Isn’t it better to live in the dorm?”

Li and Tang Can Have Both: “Can’t stand those people anymore, especially Wu Xiaoyue. Luckily, she’s being expelled, or else I wouldn’t survive this semester. pout.JPG”

Lin Xinyuan had heard that the girls’ dorm had multiple cliques, so she wasn’t surprised Li Tang wanted to live elsewhere.

Then, seeing the message about Wu Xiaoyue being expelled, she quickly typed:

Ru Yuan: “Expelled?”

Li and Tang Can Have Both: “Yeah! Didn’t I tell you that bitch is gone for good? She’s already been “asked to leave” by our college. A big part of it is because of you! They’re handing it over to the authorities for further action!”

Me?

Lin Xinyuan was stunned for a moment but then understood.

Disturbing the peace and injuring others—either one would warrant severe punishment, let alone both together…

If it were worse, it could be intentional homicide, right?

After all, Tianbei University was a key university.

While it tried to minimize the incident’s impact, it still maintained basic public order and morality.

At least it wouldn’t be like some schools that shield perpetrators and even give them perks…

They said this quick action was thanks to the current Principal Cheng, who cracked down hard on such issues.

But this no longer concerned her much.

Wu Xiaoyue getting what she deserved meant her own suffering wasn’t in vain.

Otherwise, if she stayed bedridden, and someone else got recommended for graduate school, who would speak up…

Li and Tang Can Have Both: “Oh, right! Forgot to tell you, your counselor came to visit you while you were unconscious! They might call you tomorrow or come to find you directly?”

That’s right, she had been through so much…

She wondered who had informed the counselor since she looked so different now.

Would anyone really recognize her?

Lin Xinyuan asked Li Tang about this and learned it was Li Tang who had told the Student Affairs Office teacher who came to handle the situation, and then they contacted her counselor.

As for why Li Tang knew her before…

According to Li Tang, it was only after the last PE class that she had gotten an impression of her—remembering her face and name.

Seeing her on friendly terms with Qin Nanfeng, attending class together, Li Tang guessed they weren’t just classmates but had a close relationship.

Learning the name Qin Nanfeng, a well-known person, made it easy to track her down…

No wonder Li Tang had called her Lin, the student, from the start…