Chapter 4: Youth Campus Romance (III)

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Chapter 4: Youth Campus Romance (III)

Miao Lichen’s ears twitched as the footsteps moved farther and farther away. After confirming that no footsteps remained, he slowly opened his eyes. The hand that clutched the flowers tightened even more, stretching the skin taut enough to reveal the veins underneath the unhealthy pallor. The stems inside the bouquet bent nearly ninety degrees under the force of his grip.

Green sap seeped from the broken stems and stained his hand as he released his grip. He shifted and frowned from the sharp pains, glancing down at his chest which was mottled with bruises. Although they looked terrible, the injuries were not serious. The original owner’s physical condition was truly lacking. Even after deliberately avoiding vital areas, he had still ended up in this state.

Miao Lichen made a mental note not to use this method again until his body was stronger. Otherwise, he might end up breaking himself before he could accomplish anything, and he would have no one to blame but himself.

Miao Lichen looked thoughtfully at the roses. In both his student days and his career as a psychologist, he had always been the one receiving confessions rather than making them. Roses were naturally among the gifts he had received from girls. However, this was undoubtedly the strangest bouquet of roses he had ever received.

He reached out and plucked a petal from one of the red roses. Without sunlight, the flowers looked dull and lifeless. Their original fragrance had disappeared, replaced by a thick metallic scent reminiscent of blood. The smell was enough to make people nauseous. With a sudden movement, he crushed the petal between his fingers, leaving a smear of red across his palm.

Miao Lichen spread his fingers and looked at the color before him. Only then did a faint smile appear. He stood up and walked to the sink, washing away the flower residue. Carefully, he cleaned each finger one by one until no trace remained. Doctors naturally tended to develop certain habits, and cleanliness was one of them.

He tilted his head back at the roses, then thought of something and looked around. After a moment, he spotted something usable in the trashcan. He hesitated briefly, then reached into the trashcan with his clean hands and pulled out a plastic water bottle. From his bag, he retrieved a fruit knife and carefully cut the bottle, leaving only the bottom half. Then he washed the piece.

He carefully shortened the broken stems, leaving only enough to support the blooms. Eleven roses barely fit inside the cut plastic bottle. By the time he squeezed the last one inside, several petals had been scraped loose by the sharp plastic edge. Additionally, some of the water in the bottle spilled out, splashing onto his shirt. Water also trickled down his neck onto his bruised chest.

With his head bowed, he continued to peel the sticker off the plastic bottle with remarkable patience. After peeling, he rinsed it under the water, which wetted some roses. But the water made the roses appear more lively, and even its fragrance seemed stronger.

After doing all that, he peeled off another petal and calmly laid back on the bed. He took out his Beauty Album and placed the petal between one of its pages. Turning to the next page, he resumed reading his psychology book with a small smile. It was important for psychologists to maintain their own mental health, as they were often exposed to the mental struggles of others.

“Do you enjoy studying psychology, or do you like studying medicine?” asked Fu Shuxing, the doctor of this infirmary, as he walked over. He exuded a gentle warmth that naturally put others at ease. At first glance, the unusual cover made him frown. Perhaps someone who loved classical literature would appreciate such a design, but using one’s own portrait on a book still struck him as rather narcissistic. Especially for an older, more traditional man like himself. Yet, when he saw the content of the book, that dissatisfaction was thrown away.

“Medicine.” Miao Lichen continued to read his book. He genuinely liked being a doctor. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have given up his right to inherit the family business to become a psychologist. Whether it was internal medicine or surgery, he had some understanding of both. Mental illnesses were simply more mysterious, and that mystery fascinated him most. So he became a psychologist.

“Psychology is a specialized branch of medicine, and it’s rather complicated for a high schooler like you. If you enjoy studying medicine, you could start with some books on internal medicine.” Fu Shuxing said, unconcerned by his attitude. Compared to the kid from the Dongfang family, this quiet kid was much cuter. It was hard to find a kid interested in medicine at this school unless their family business was already in the industry.

This kid didn’t look like he was from a medical family, mostly because of his physical condition. If his family owned a hospital, he would only be this unhealthy if he had a congenital illness. With his many years of experience as a doctor, this child was fine, although a bit weak. Well, he also didn’t like to talk.

“It’s very interesting.” Miao Lichen’s eyes lit up with genuine passion for this field, making his entire being more lively. The original did not have much contact with this branch of study, but it is what kept him alive. So he did not feel anything was wrong with adding this interest to his character.

However, it seems that this old doctor was unaware that he was autistic, and had not fully recovered. Nevertheless, he had no reason to be concerned. The previous owner of this body and this doctor should not have been close. If they were, this doctor wouldn’t have disclosed his medical history to the supporting male lead, and ignored him when he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

“That’s right. Learning about medicine is very interesting. If you’d like, you can come here more often. I have a lot of medical books here.” Fu Shuxing extended the invitation out of his appreciation for talent. For a senior, cherishing talents was normal. Showing favoritism towards those who shared your interest was normal. It was favoritism toward the field, not toward the student himself.

“Thank you, uncle.” Miao Lichen did not care about the invitation. The Beauty Album could provide him with any reading material he wanted. Famous works, obscure texts, even forbidden knowledge. Everything was available. Despite the slightly strange cover, the content was one hundred percent authentic.

Fu Shuxing nodded and didn’t say much else. He grabbed a medical book from his shelf and started reading as well. Every now and then, he would check on Miao Lichen and saw no sign of confusion. It almost looked as though he were simply flipping through the pages. Could it be that he misunderstood, and this kid was just killing time? But the way he responded earlier didn’t seem fake. Fu Shuxing could tell that Miao Lichen was genuinely interested in medicine. Kids these days are so hard to figure out. Each one is more precocious than the last.

Following that was a long silence, only interrupted by the sound of pages flipping. After finishing the last page, Miao Lichen stretched and placed the Beauty Album back into his bag. He gathered his clothes beside him to start getting dressed.

“Ready to leave? How are you feeling now?” Fu Shuxing asked as he looked over, checking on the injuries. Those bruises weren’t going to disappear anytime soon. Girls these days can be just as dangerous as boys when they get physical.

“I will probably stay a little longer. Senior asked me to wait for him. These injuries look scary, but they’re nothing.” Miao Lichen said as he took out his phone to check the time. When he saw the screensaver, he was momentarily stunned. Okay, this was the first unusual thing he’d discovered about the original owner. The phone itself was black, but the lock screen was bright green… a very lively color. This color would have been fine if it wasn’t in the shape of a heart.

‘Oh, Song Qingxin…’

“Even if it’s minor, it can’t be ignored.” Fu Shuxing said as he handed him a bottle of ointment.

“Sorry, the student union had some things to do, so I came late.” Lin Moxi clearly ran over in a hurry as he was still panting when he made it. As expected of one of the two hunks of the school; his clothes were a bit messy from running and he was sweating a bit, but it did not detract from his handsome image. Unlike his usual elegant and almost untouchable appearance, he looked more relatable now. Though the slowly setting sun cast a dazzling halo over him.

Miao Lichen packed the ointment into his bag and got up. This dramatic backlighting and these special effects that only appeared when an important character showed up, could only be the work of a novel world.

“Now then, Junior Miao, I will send you home!” Lin Moxi said with a faint smile as he took Miao Lichen’s bag, exuding gentlemanly elegance.

“Ok.” Miao Lichen accepted and followed him out.

“Kid, you don’t want your roses anymore?” Fu Shuxing asked, looking at the bottle of roses on the bedside table. They had clearly been taken care of.

“Mhm. She never intended to give them to me. Keeping them serves no purpose.” Miao Lichen answered. The corner of his lips rose slightly, and paired with his pale cheeks, he looked fragile but also strong. As the setting sun sprinkled its dying light on him, it magnified this fragile feeling.

In Miao Lichen’s opinion, failing to make use of the tools available to him was simply wasteful. After all, the sunset was beautiful, wasn’t it? No one could resist appreciating beauty.

“Let’s go.” Lin Moxi said as he grabbed his arm, feeling the urge to sigh. ‘ It’s only a girl. Is she really worth all this? You’re from a wealthy family, yet you act like a child that has never seen a woman before. Isn’t it embarrassing?’ As he criticized this child that failed to live up to the image of a rich kid, youngster Lin Moxi completely forgot that he was also a child.

“Why did you stay so long today?” Fu Shuxing asked after he watched the two leave. He placed that bottle of roses on the bookshelf in case someone knocked it over.

“Yawn~ Nothing.”

Dongfang Yi entered from another room, his usual arrogant expression still in place as his gaze fell upon the roses. For some reason, he felt inexplicably unhappy.

At first, he thought it was because Miao Lichen liked the roses. But the real reason was that Miao Lichen liked them because they had been given to him by Song Qingxin.

That woman was someone he had already decided to pursue. And now someone like Miao Lichen actually wanted to compete with him?

He was clearly overestimating himself.

It was only natural that someone like Miao Lichen would get beaten up by a group of girls!

∇ Capture Target Dongfang Yi Favorability: 30. Please continue working hard, Challenger.

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