Living Only For Myself: Make Those Who Hate Me Regret It-Chapter 32: What Is This Contemporary Fantasy Drama
By the time they reached the cafeteria, there were hardly any people left. A few of the cafeteria staff were cleaning the stoves and clearing away the empty food trays.
Xi Zirong looked down and asked, "How about some black rice porridge? It’s better to eat something before taking your medicine."
Xu Su certainly had no objections. In reality, there wasn’t much left to choose from anyway. Besides the porridge, there were only some steamed buns and fried noodles.
When it was time to pay, the boy beat her to it.
He handed over the take-out porridge with a smile and said, "You’re sick, so of course it’s my treat."
Xu Su looked at him but didn’t reach out to take it.
"Hey, don’t look at me like that." Xi Zirong finally felt his face grow warm under her gaze. He said, "If you don’t want me to treat you, then just give me the money for the porridge."
Xu Su took out a one-yuan coin and said, "I know you mean well, but even though I might be a little poor, I’m not so broke that I can’t afford breakfast."
Only after Xi Zirong took the money did Xu Su accept the porridge. "You should head back to class. If the teacher asks, just tell them I’ve taken leave."
She turned to leave, but he called out to her again.
Xi Zirong took the watch off his wrist. "It’ll be inconvenient for you in the dorm alone without a watch. Take this and use it for now."
Xu Su didn’t own a watch, so it was true that she would have no way of knowing the time in her dorm, or even which class period it was.
After hesitating for a couple of seconds, Xu Su took it. "Thanks, Class Monitor. I’ll return it as soon as I get back."
Xi Zirong finally left. Xu Su let out a sigh of relief, put the watch in her pocket, and made her way to dorm room 215 as if on autopilot. She ate the porridge, rested for a bit, and then took her cold medicine as instructed.
She collapsed onto Qian Jia’s bed and immediately fell asleep, sleeping for nearly two hours straight.
When she woke up, still groggy, her throat felt much better. A glance at the watch showed that the second period was about to end.
She hastily washed her face, made the bed, and cleaned up her trash before locking the dorm room door and hurrying to class.
It was the break between classes, and many students were up getting water or using the restroom, so nobody paid much attention when Xu Su walked in.
Once she sat down, she saw that neither Xi Zirong nor his deskmate was in their seats. Xu Su turned and placed the watch on Xi Zirong’s desk.
She asked Chen Huiyu for the notes from the two English classes she had missed and started copying them.
Chen Huiyu leaned closer, asking with concern, "Susu, are you feeling any better?"
She had a typically quiet and introverted personality and a delicate appearance. Her grades were middle-of-the-pack; she wasn’t a top student, but she didn’t fall behind either. She was the kind of classmate who didn’t have a strong presence.
Since both she and Xu Su were from Kang County, the two had hit it off as soon as they became deskmates, quickly becoming good friends.
Xu Su glanced at her, then leaned in with a smile of her own. "Thanks for your concern, Chen. I’m much better now. But if a certain classmate were willing to get me a cup of water, I’d probably get better even faster, you know."
Struck by this sudden charm, Chen Huiyu’s face began to flush. Her eyes sparkled. "You... you’re fighting dirty!"
But despite her words, she still took Xu Su’s cup and went to the back of the classroom to fill it with hot water.
Xu Su was about to say something else when she sensed someone suddenly standing beside her desk.
Fu Zichen had walked over at some point. With a very serious expression, she asked directly, "Xu Su, where were you for the two periods this morning?"
Xu Su was confused by the almost interrogating tone. ’Didn’t Xi Zirong tell them I was taking leave?’
It was nothing to hide, so Xu Su answered promptly, "I have a bit of a cold. I was sleeping in my dorm."
Fu Zichen said, "Why didn’t you ask me for leave?"
This time, Xu Su was truly surprised. Seeing Xi Zirong just as he returned, she stood up and asked, her voice a bit frantic, "Xi Zirong, didn’t you tell the teacher I was taking leave?"
Xu Su’s first reaction was to assume Xi Zirong hadn’t told the teacher she was taking leave. That must be why Fu Zichen, the vice class monitor, had come to ask where she’d been for the first two periods.
Xi Zirong froze for a second, unsure of what was going on. Seeing Xu Su’s urgent expression, he quickly answered, "I did. When Teacher Li asked, I told her you had a cold and went to the dorm to rest."
Xu Su sighed in relief, then gave Fu Zichen a strange look.
Unexpectedly, Fu Zichen looked as if she had suffered a great humiliation, her eyes turning red as she glared at Xu Su. "You just love asking boys for leave, don’t you? It was the same way during military training, and now you’re doing it again just because you’re sick. Didn’t you know? When Teacher Wu was choosing the class officers, he said that all the girls in class are supposed to ask me for leave!"
’What kind of bizarre soap opera is this?!’
Xu Su was dumbfounded. She honestly didn’t know what she’d done wrong by simply asking for leave. Was it just because she hadn’t let Fu Zichen get her fix of being the vice monitor?
’She’s getting this worked up over it?’
For a moment, Xu Su was actually at a loss for words.
The commotion had gotten pretty big, and many of the surrounding students were now watching in complete silence.
Xi Zirong’s expression darkened. He parted his lips, about to speak, but the bell for class finally rang, shattering the awkward silence.
Fu Zichen shed two tears, shot Xu Su another glare, and finally returned to her seat.
Chen Huiyu returned to her seat. She had been getting water, but Fu Zichen’s voice had been so loud that she’d heard a little of the exchange. "She’s just a bully," she said, indignant. "When Old Wu was picking the class officers, he never said girls could only ask her for leave."
She gave Xu Su, who was still standing, a little tug. "Susu, just ignore her. You’re already sick, so you need to take care of yourself. Don’t get angry."
Xu Su let herself be pulled back into her seat by Chen Huiyu. By now, she had snapped out of her daze, her eyes red with anger. But before she could say a word, the teacher walked in.
This period was math with their homeroom teacher, Teacher Wu. When he walked in carrying two thick stacks of papers, the class didn’t let out a single groan. On the contrary, they looked almost eager to get started.
It was Xu Su, however, who suddenly remembered that Teacher Wu had told her yesterday that as the math class representative, she was supposed to go help him carry the papers during the break.
As he handed the papers to the first student in each row, Teacher Wu said, "This isn’t an in-class test. You each get four sheets, so take yours and pass the rest back. Work on them after class when you have time. If you get stuck on a problem, help each other out. If you’re really stumped after that, then come ask me."
"I’m telling you, the midterms are right around the corner, and pretty much everything you’ll be tested on is on these papers. I’m practically spoon-feeding this to you. If you don’t take advantage of it, you’ll only have yourselves to blame!"
A rustling sound filled the classroom as, very quickly, everyone had their four sheets in hand.
Xu Su glanced at the papers in her hand. The problems had all been carefully selected by Teacher Wu, and she basically knew how to solve every one. It seemed that, at least for now, she had completely mastered the current math curriculum.
Finally understanding her own level, Xu Su was filled with confidence. All her hard work hadn’t gone to waste. ’I guess I do have a knack for studying after all.’
For the moment, she even forgot all about the little bit of friction with her classmate from earlier.
Once the papers were handed out, Teacher Wu began his lecture as usual. If he said they were for after-class work, he would absolutely not use class time to let the students do them.
