"Hey, student, why are you crying? Are you feeling sick? Do you want me to call your teacher and get you excused?" the security guard said, walking over to Gu Muxue.
"I'm fine." Gu Muxue wiped her eyes and gave the guard a sweet smile.
She slowly stepped through the gates of No. 2 Middle School, but her eyes seemed to have a mind of their own, subconsciously glancing in Xue Rui's direction.
'How could I be so stupid?'
Xue Rui slapped his forehead. How could he believe something like "I'll be right there"? That meant at least an hour!
The school doctor would probably show up right on the dot at the start of her shift, and by then, it would already be 8:00.
He picked up Lin Ruoxi, intending to go to the security guard to call for an ambulance, when he suddenly realized the girl in his arms had gone rigid. The way she felt was noticeably different from when he'd first lifted her.
Anxiously, Xue Rui ran a few steps. Seeing Gu Muxue, he yelled out, "Muxue, call an ambulance, quick! She's going stiff!"
When Gu Muxue saw Xue Rui approaching, she instinctively turned her head, not wanting him to notice she was upset. But when she suddenly heard him call her name, she felt an inexplicable flicker of joy.
'But, why an ambulance?'
'Could it be that Xue Rui wasn't flirting with her just now? Was there something else going on?'
"Xue... Classmate Xue, you can put me down," Lin Ruoxi stammered. Seeing the situation escalating, she mustered the courage to speak up and explain.
"You're awake?" Xue Rui let out a sudden sigh of relief.
He'd just thought Lin Ruoxi was about to die in his arms, and his heart was pounding uncontrollably.
If he was living his life over again and still couldn't save Lin Ruoxi, he would truly lose sleep over it.
Just then, the school doctor finally arrived. Seeing that the girl Xue Rui was holding was already awake, she slowly rolled down her car window and said, "Wait for me at the infirmary entrance. I'm going to park the car."
Xue Rui helped Lin Ruoxi stand steady and started walking toward the infirmary.
But halfway there, he suddenly remembered something important. He turned back and said to Gu Muxue with a cheeky grin, "Muxue, lend me some money."
The school infirmary wasn't free, and he only had a few dozen yuan in his pocket, which was nowhere near enough.
Gu Muxue was very smart. She instantly guessed the gist of the situation. After all, a fainted student, the infirmary entrance, the conversation with the school doctor—all these clues quickly wove together into a complete story.
For some reason, Gu Muxue suddenly breathed a sigh of relief as an unexpected sense of ease washed over her.
But then she remembered that Xue Rui hadn't come to see her all of yesterday afternoon, and she decided she couldn't forgive him that easily.
The corners of her mouth curled into a smirk, and she crossed her arms. "Why borrow from me?"
"If you like a girl, you should borrow money from her. It deepens your bond and adds a layer of a debtor-creditor relationship," Xue Rui said, completely shameless.
But in reality? In his memory, Gu Muxue was the richest person he knew, and more importantly—she was very generous!
Gu Muxue's eyes gradually widened. She had never heard of such a thing.
"Fine, don't lend me any." Xue Rui thought for a moment. 'I can probably get credit at the infirmary and have my aunt pay for it later…'
"How much do you need?"
"Eight or ten thousand wouldn't be too much; three to five hundred wouldn't be too little."
...
In the end, Xue Rui received two red bills and one green one, for a total of two hundred and fifty.
In the infirmary.
The school doctor was a mature woman in her thirties with long, wavy hair. Even her white lab coat couldn't conceal her graceful figure. She wore low heels, and the faint glimmer of her black silk stockings gave her a unique sort of allure.
"Dr. Liang, the male students at our school aren't in very good shape, are they?" Xue Rui asked casually.
"Hmm... It does seem like the male students' physical fitness is a bit worse." Dr. Liang thought about it. It seemed to be true; most of the patients who came to see her were indeed male students.
"Of course. When I see you, Dr. Liang, I feel dizzy and light-headed too."
Xue Rui held back a laugh. 'The way you dress…' he thought, 'for male students who are in the throes of puberty but still inexperienced, just a few extra glances are enough to inspire sweet dreams at night. Of course they have to be "frail and sickly" so they have an excuse to come here and see you more often.'
Noticing Xue Rui's blatant stare, she finally realized what he meant by his words. She feigned anger and scolded, "So young, and with no sense of propriety!"
Xue Rui chuckled. "At least I'm open about it. That's much better than the ones who sneak peeks."
"I need to examine this student again. Be quiet," Dr. Liang said, putting on her stethoscope.
But this Dr. Liang was rather oblivious; she didn't even ask Xue Rui to step out while she examined Lin Ruoxi.
Although Xue Rui didn't see anything he wasn't supposed to, it still made Lin Ruoxi blush.
"It's nothing serious. She just has a weak stomach, and she didn't rest well last night." Dr. Liang took off her stethoscope and spoke seriously to Lin Ruoxi. "It's fine for girls to diet, but you have to do it in a healthy way. You're already severely malnourished. I suggest you get a nutrient IV for a few days."
Xue Rui gave a wry smile. Lin Ruoxi hadn't gotten this way from dieting; she had gotten this way from starving.
"Why did she faint?" Xue Rui asked.
He suddenly realized that in his previous life, he had also been the PE representative, and he had no memory of any student fainting like this.
"She's been malnourished for a long time, so her digestive functions have partially degenerated. Plus, she said she ate a lot yesterday. Simply put, her system was too weak to handle the nourishment," Dr. Liang explained patiently.
"I don't need an IV," Lin Ruoxi said in a small voice.
Xue Rui saw right through her. An IV drip would cost a lot of money, and she couldn't bear to spend it.
"She's getting one. Put her on one for a week," Xue Rui insisted, trying desperately to signal Dr. Liang with his eyes.
"Student, what's wrong with your eyes? Should I take a look? It could be an eyelid spasm," Dr. Liang said with a serious expression.
Xue Rui was speechless. How could anyone be this dense?
He grabbed Dr. Liang's arm, pulled her a short distance away, and whispered, "Lin Ruoxi isn't malnourished because she's dieting. It's because she's poor."
"I'll pay for the nutrient IV. If she asks, just tell her it's free. Don't put any psychological pressure on her."
"Because she's poor?" Dr. Liang covered her mouth in surprise. She found it hard to believe that a student like this could exist in this day and age.
Dr. Liang subconsciously glanced over the tall, thin, pretty girl again. Beneath her clean school uniform was a pair of cheap, white canvas shoes—the kind you could buy for ten yuan from a street stall, usually meant as disposable shoes for a performance.
Even back when she was a student, she wouldn't have been willing to wear shoes like that; the soles were just too hard.
Besides, there was a culture of comparison among students these days. With everyone in the same uniform, the only thing left to compete over was shoes, and they often tried to outdo each other with more and more expensive brands.
To wear shoes like these meant her family was truly struggling to a significant degree.
"Classmate Lin Ruoxi, please lie down first." Dr. Liang gave Xue Rui a deep look before turning to prepare the nutrient IV. She was starting to think this smooth-talking male student was actually quite thoughtful.
"Get the drip for a few days. Dr. Liang's nutrient solution is about to expire, so she's not charging for it," Xue Rui said, sitting on the hospital bed opposite Lin Ruoxi, kicking off his shoes, and lying down.
In truth, Xue Rui felt very guilty. He was the most direct cause of Lin Ruoxi's fainting.
He had forced her to eat so much yesterday, completely failing to consider the problem of a weak system being unable to handle sudden nourishment.
"I... I'll give you the money," Lin Ruoxi said weakly.
She had bought medicine from the infirmary before and knew it charged for services; there was no way it would be free for a reason like "it's about to expire."
Xue Rui must have said something to the doctor just now. He had most likely already paid. She was determined to pay him back.
"I already told you, it's free," Xue Rui said with a frown.
Lin Ruoxi ignored him and pulled the curtain by the bed, blocking his view.
The curtain wasn't transparent, but it was translucent. Lin Ruoxi's shadow was cast onto the pure white fabric, and Xue Rui could see it clearly from the other side, just like watching a shadow puppet show.
Lin Ruoxi rustled around inside her oversized school uniform for a moment before slowly pulling back the curtain and stuffing a roll of small bills into Xue Rui's hand.
There were red and blue bills, adding up to nearly two hundred yuan.
Xue Rui felt the warmth of the banknotes. For some reason, on a sudden impulse, he lifted them to his nose and took a sniff.
Lin Ruoxi's face instantly flushed red to the tips of her ears. Her small hands clutched the corner of her shirt, and she looked completely flustered.
'Damn it! Don't tell me she hid this money in her underwear? That's probably a trick some old grandma taught her.' Xue Rui had already guessed the answer.