Living Only For Myself: Make Those Who Hate Me Regret It-Chapter 31: Help! She Thinks She’s Being Flirted With
"It’s okay. I’ll just go lie down in my dorm for a while."
Xu Su’s voice was a little hoarse, and her throat throbbed with pain every time she spoke. She put her keys into her pocket and got up to leave, only to find Xi Zirong standing stock-still in front of her, blocking her path.
She looked up at him and said with forced patience, "You should go eat. I know the way to the dorms."
Xi Zirong didn’t budge. Instead, his brows knitted together as he stared at her. "Your cold is pretty bad. You need medicine. Just trying to tough it out is a bad idea."
The boy’s clear voice sounded very serious. Xu Su didn’t get it. They barely ever interacted. In the two or three months since the semester started, they had hardly exchanged more than a few words. Why was he suddenly so fixated on her for no reason?
’Plenty of classmates have caught colds since the temperature dropped recently. It’s not like I’ve seen him nagging every single one of them to take their medicine!’
Xu Su fished a few crumpled bills from her pocket, the largest of which was a five-yuan note. "Are you really going to police whether I take medicine or not, Class President?"
She unfolded the bills and counted them right in front of Xi Zirong. Nine yuan and fifty cents.
Her expression showed none of the self-consciousness about being poor that was typical for her age. "See this? This is all the money I have to my name. Do you think I can afford any medicine? Right now, I just want to go lie down and sleep for a while. So would you please get out of my way?"
Already sleep-deprived, and now sick with a sore throat, the long speech left Xu Su feeling drained. Her body swayed, and an arm instantly shot out to steady her.
Xi Zirong held her by the arm, only letting go once she’d regained her balance. "You probably don’t know this, but medicine from the school infirmary is free. Even if you want to sleep, you should get your medicine first."
Xu Su had no idea. Her eyes went wide. "Really?"
Perhaps it was the fever from her cold, but the girl’s cheeks were flushed, and her gaze was a little hazy.
Xi Zirong averted his gaze and turned sideways to clear a path. He nodded in confirmation. "Yeah. Fu Jun went just last week. With the flu going around, the school is offering this as a perk... Can you walk by yourself?"
As he spoke, he hesitated, his hand already moving to support her again, clearly worried she was still unsteady on her feet.
Xu Su waved his hand away, refusing his help. "Don’t. If you walk out of this classroom supporting me, Teacher Wu will be calling us in for a ’chat’ by this afternoon at the latest. I can manage. It’s just a little cold."
Xu Su felt a little happy. She hadn’t realized that First High School not only had beautiful buildings but was also so considerate of its students. ’I love this place,’ she thought.
Knowing Chen Shulan and her husband, they would never think her minor symptoms warranted medication. Now that she could get cold medicine instead of just toughing it out with hot water, Xu Su wasn’t about to be difficult and argue with her own well-being.
Xi Zirong retracted his hand. Seeing that she could, in fact, manage on her own, he said no more. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
The two of them walked out of the classroom. It was breakfast time, so the academic building was deserted.
The late autumn sunlight wasn’t very bright. As they walked side-by-side, their shadows overlapped. Xu Su glanced down at them and, for some reason, felt it was inappropriate. She subconsciously put a little more distance between them.
"You haven’t had breakfast yet either," she said. "Why don’t you just tell me how to get to the infirmary? I can go by myself."
Xi Zirong didn’t break his stride. He shook his head. "The infirmary is in a remote spot. I can’t explain it in just a few words. I’ll take you there."
Only then did Xu Su notice that he was still holding her water bottle.
As if he’d noticed her stare, Xi Zirong handed the water bottle to her. "Want some water? I just filled it for you. Figured you’d need it for your medicine later."
"..." Xu Su stiffly took the water bottle from him, her mind too preoccupied to even wonder when he had taken it from her desk to fill it up.
’Even I’m not that dense. Something is definitely off.’
"You..." She stammered for a moment, but was too embarrassed to voice her question.
A strange atmosphere settled around them, and by unspoken agreement, neither of them spoke again.
The school infirmary was, indeed, in a remote location. ’In my past life, I attended First High School for three years and never once came here.’ If Xi Zirong hadn’t led the way, she honestly might not have found it.
Along the way, they even ran into two of their classmates. The moment they saw them walking together, the pair acted as if they’d stumbled upon some major scoop, furtively taking a detour from a distance to avoid them.
"..." Xu Su was rendered speechless.
’I really want to call them back and tell them how ridiculous they look, skulking around like that.’
’Why did they look like they’d just caught us in the act?’ Xu Su felt a strange pang of embarrassment and glanced at the boy beside her.
It wasn’t clear if Xi Zirong hadn’t seen their classmates or simply didn’t care if he had. His expression was unreadable. Noticing her gaze, he even offered a reassuring, "We’re almost there. It’s just around this next corner."
’His completely unruffled demeanor made Xu Su question herself. Why was she, a woman who was mentally thirty years old, less composed than this high school kid? It seemed that returning to her sixteen-year-old body had made her mindset susceptible to the high school environment as well.’
Finally, they reached the infirmary.
It was a small office. A metal rack holding various medicines stood against one wall. In the far corner, a single bed was partitioned off by a curtain.
Though it looked a bit spartan, it had all the necessities.
The school medic was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties. He was holding a bowl of what looked like porridge and was just about to dig in when they arrived.
He set down his bowl, pointed to a stool opposite him, and said, "Which of you is sick? Have a seat."
Xu Su sat down and touched her throat. "I woke up with a stuffy nose and a sore throat. No cough. The main issue is that my throat really hurts, and my voice is a little hoarse."
The medic took out a clean cotton swab and a small flashlight. He leaned in. "Open your mouth."
"Your tonsils are a bit inflamed," he said. He then took a thermometer from a glass jar on his desk, gave it a couple of shakes, and handed it to her. "Let’s check your temperature."
The water bottle was taken from her hand. The boy stood beside her, lifting his chin in a gesture for her to focus on taking her temperature properly.
Seeing this exchange, the medic simply raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"..."
Xu Su had never been this speechless in her life. Except for maybe five minutes ago.
Ten minutes later, after confirming she didn’t have a fever, Xu Su left the infirmary with three boxes of cold medicine from the medic.
She was about to head back to her dorm to rest when she saw that he still intended to follow her. Xu Su had finally had enough. "Class is starting soon. You should go back."
"Yeah, I’m going to grab some breakfast." The dorms and the cafeteria were in the same direction.
It belatedly dawned on Xu Su that he hadn’t even eaten breakfast and had spent all this time taking her to the infirmary. She felt a little sheepish. "What do you want for breakfast? Let me treat you. Consider it a thank you for taking me to get medicine."
"I can’t let a sick person treat me," Xi Zirong said, a hint of a smile in his voice. It was soft and held a trace of amusement. "No need to thank me. Just not getting angry at me all the time would be thanks enough."
’Oh god! I think he’s flirting with me.’
’She’d never been in a serious relationship, but Xu Su wasn’t an idiot. Their esteemed Class President was always so cool and detached; she’d never seen him give anyone special treatment. Why was he acting so weird today? It was like he’d taken the wrong medicine or something.’
