Although They're Mentally ill, They're Extremely Easy to Comfort - Chapter 101

The trip to Florence was postponed, and the fleeting short autumn was replaced by deep winter in the blink of an eye.

Xuan Cheng, the harbor city at the confluence of the Yangtze and the sea, finally welcomed its first heavy snowfall on a special day.

Within the vast campus of Xuanyi University, a romantic Christmas atmosphere was stirring unrestrained, like rich, sweet chocolate, every breath permeated with an unshakeable, cloying sweetness.

In front of the central fountain, a towering Christmas tree, meticulously decorated by the student union officials, pushed the festive atmosphere to its peak.

Ling Xi stood under the tree, gazing up.

Even wrapped in a thick down jacket, she couldn’t hide her tall yet frail frame. She was like a quail covered in breadcrumbs, lacking the substantial meat to ward off the cold, appearing fragile and insubstantial.

Ling Xi looked pensive, as if she were detached from the surrounding hustle and laughter, seemingly preoccupied with a heavy heart.

What was so fascinating about the Christmas tree, she herself couldn’t figure out. She yawned, her eyes welling up with sleepy tears.

Rubbing her frozen hands and cupping them over her mouth to blow warmth, the damp, warm sensation dissipated in the blink of an eye. It came and went as if for nothing, doing little to combat the bone-chilling cold.

The fine snowflakes, like mischievous sprites, stealthily crept into the back of Ling Xi’s collar, the icy, exploding sensation instantly triggering a shudder.

Shrinking her neck, Ling Xi became a cumbersome bread-ball, dragging her feet lazily toward the archaeology department office.

“Hey! Let’s quickly discuss where to have dinner tonight. Reservations are definitely tight today.”

Inside the office, several teachers were huddled around hot tea to keep warm, chatting about where to go to celebrate after work.

Their faces were filled with the excitement of impending revelry, completely unconcerned with work.

Seeing Ling Xi enter, bringing the chill with her, they greeted her casually: “Good morning, Associate Professor Ling.”

The ensuing story, as everyone knows, was a highly popular spectacle—the finger cot killer—

The sudden appearance of a mysterious gift box… candy wrappers, like popcorn, scattering everywhere…

Jiang Xingran opened her cavernous mouth and almost accidentally ingested a fruit-flavored finger cot…

Trying to maintain her composure and boast, she ended up losing face completely…

Thus, everyone knew that Associate Professor Ling, despite her young age, enjoyed various exotic flavors…

Unable to catch her breath, the emotionally fragile Ling Xi instantly rolled her eyes and fainted on the spot. (Loading from Chapter 1’s Prologue checkpoint.)

The camera pans back to the day before—

The morning before sunrise, Ling Xi, wearing a thick coral fleece onesie, was standing outside the door with her butt sticking out.

She held a gigantic red apple in each hand. Who knows what strange mechanism was in her head; she stood motionless like a wooden dummy.

With nothing much to do all day, she was always thinking of quirky little surprises to please Qiao Bo’er.

Sure enough, Qiao Bo’er woke up to find her beloved plump teddy bear missing. Half-asleep, she called out, “Xi Xi?”

Ling Xi remained frozen, only waiting for Qiao Bo’er’s expression the moment she opened the door!

Receiving no response, Qiao Bo’er was fully awake. She quickly threw off the covers and rushed out of bed. She truly felt uneasy if she couldn’t see Ling Xi for even a second.

But the moment the door was opened, Qiao Bo’er was nearly scared out of her wits by the “idiot.”

The Doraemon onesie, covering her from head to toe, usually looked soft and cuddly, making one want to hold her and squeeze her to death. But seen abruptly, it was just a strange, enormous furry monster.

Qiao Bo’er screamed in alarm and instinctively smacked out a palm.

Great force produces a miracle: the apple bounced off Ling Xi’s face, creating a jarring effect that even distorted her mouth.

Ling Xi clutched her face and crouched down in pain: “Hiss!”

Seeing Ling Xi huddled on the floor, Qiao Bo’er belatedly realized what happened. She rushed over to check her face: “Are you okay? Why are you standing motionless outside the door? What are you doing? Let me see your face…”

Ling Xi glared at Qiao Bo’er with resentment: “It’s Christmas Eve, I was giving you an apple, and you gave me a big slap!”

“I… I didn’t hit you on purpose. You’re so mischievous, you deserve it!”

“You’re scolding me? You’re still scolding me!” Ling Xi sat down on the floor and began throwing a tantrum. Qiao Bo’er was helpless and could only try to console her repeatedly: “It’s my fault, sweetheart, get up quickly, be careful not to catch a chill on your butt… Be good…”

“Blow it!” Ling Xi pointed to the cheek reddened by the apple, whining.

Qiao Bo’er humored her, cupping her face and blowing, then giving her a kiss: “Does it still hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore…” Ling Xi wrapped her arms around Qiao Bo’er’s neck, clinging to her like a koala and refusing to let go.

“It’s Christmas tomorrow. You didn’t just prepare this small ‘surprise’ for me, did you? No gift?” Qiao Bo’er teased. Naturally, Ling Xi had to keep her guessing: “Oh, getting an apple is good enough. Christmas isn’t that important; it’s not as good as New Year’s Day. Just make do with it.”

This heartless, zero-score answer, completely devoid of romance, caused the displeasure level on Qiao Bo’er’s face to spike. She pursed her lips in silence, pushed Ling Xi’s arms away, and walked straight to the bathroom.

“Seriously? You’re getting mad so easily?” Ling Xi hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation and followed Qiao Bo’er, trying to be good: “Want an apple? The one that hit me just now, it must be super sweet…”

“Hmph…” Qiao Bo’er sneered arrogantly, ignoring her, and slammed the bathroom door shut fiercely.

Ling Xi leaned against the door, continuing to try to be good: “Wifey, wifey, wifey… are you really mad?”

Inside, there was only the sound of rushing water from the faucet.

“Um… breakfast is ready, and I have important things to deal with today, so I’ll be leaving first!”

“Are you really not going to talk to me?” Just as Ling Xi was about to leave, the bathroom door opened.

Qiao Bo’er, wrapped in a thick bathrobe, peeked out half her body. She covered her chest with one hand to avoid revealing too much, a small gesture that actually caught Ling Xi’s eye: “You…”

“What is so important that you have to leave before dawn?” Qiao Bo’er finally asked the real question. Ling Xi giggled foolishly: “Just that boring work stuff, you know…”

“Ling Xi, you’re acting weird today.”

“I am not! You’re the petty one. Christmas is tomorrow. Giving you an apple today is perfectly reasonable, isn’t it?”

Hitting a nerve! Ling Xi was practically engaging in a head-on confrontation, adding fuel to the fire, fearing Qiao Bo’er wouldn’t throw a fit.

Who cares if it’s Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? As long as there’s no gift, I have to be angry and make a scene!

Qiao Bo’er said nothing, and with a clang, she slammed the bathroom door shut again.

“Then I’m leaving!” Ling Xi remained nonchalant, informed her, and left the house quickly without even changing her clothes.

Qiao Bo’er, however, was keeping an eye out. After Ling Xi left, she quickly changed clothes and followed her out of the house.

Ling Xi furtively got into her car, meeting up with Director Lu in the underground parking lot at the prearranged time.

As soon as she walked out of the elevator, they met face-to-face.

“President Ling, this is the first time I’ve had such a mysterious handover. Although the items are valuable, there’s no need to be so secretive…”

Director Lu held two exquisitely packaged boxes in his hands. Ling Xi didn’t reply but pulled him into her car before finally letting out a sigh of relief: “It’s better to be mysterious, of course. If the surprise is ruined, my hard work will be for naught.”

“Then please inspect the goods first.”

Director Lu handed the gifts to Ling Xi and took out the corresponding inspection tools from his briefcase. The two heads bent close, meticulously checking the items. An uninformed person might think they were engaged in some kind of illegal criminal activity.

Ling Xi, wearing gloves, caressed the shape of the brooch. She loved it, truly loved it. Sure enough, her own design came with an added filter.

“Amazing, absolutely amazing! This is too beautiful!” Ling Xi praised lavishly. Director Lu naturally beamed with pride: “I’m glad President Ling is satisfied. No adjustments needed, right?”

“No need, I fell in love with this brooch at first sight!”

The perfect transaction concluded. Ling Xi retrieved the jacket from the back seat and carefully wrapped the gift boxes, finally hiding them in the trunk before breathing a sigh of relief.

“Then I wish President Ling’s Christmas surprise a smooth success, and happy cooperation.”

“Thank you, Director Lu. I am very satisfied with this collaboration.”

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries by the car, unaware that a pair of eyes hiding by the elevator entrance was intensely watching them with malice.

Qiao Bo’er squinted, ready to devour someone. She didn’t know what Ling Xi was up to, but having a tryst with a strange man, and having the audacity to do it downstairs from their home, was going too far!

Qiao Bo’er fiercely wrote a note in her mental ledger of grudges: “That idiot, playing quite the game, huh!?”

Ling Xi woke up groggily, and the smell of disinfectant instantly cleared her head: “Where am I?”

“The infirmary.” Jiang Xingran, peeling an orange next to her, replied curtly.

“Why did I faint?”

“Low blood sugar, of course… Did you not eat properly again?”

“Yeah… I didn’t sleep all night, and I didn’t have an appetite this morning…”

“Did you and Qiao Bo’er fight?” Jiang Xingran didn’t forget to gossip.

Thinking of the various flavored finger cots, Ling Xi couldn’t help but roll her eyes: “I don’t know what kind of temper she was throwing yesterday; she ignored me all day… Then today, as soon as I arrive, she springs this huge ‘surprise’ on me… I really appreciate it…”

“Anyway, you don’t have any classes today. Now that you’ve been given glucose, why don’t you go find her? Turn a big problem into a small one, right? After all, it’s not good to fight on Christmas,” advising people was what Jiang Xingran was good at.

Ling Xi’s pale face gradually flushed as she thought of something: “I was planning to go find her today. I had a gift ready a long time ago. Who knew she would pull such a stunt? And sending finger cots… this is her challenging me, provoking me! Just because I lied to her that I wasn’t giving a gift today, does she have to make me repeatedly suffer public humiliation?”

“That just shows that President Qiao really cares about spending Christmas with you, so… stop being angry. Besides, the various fruit flavors… um… it’s quite creative, hahaha…”

Hearing Jiang Xingran’s death-seeking teasing, Ling Xi kicked her legs wildly on the hospital bed: “Haven’t I lost enough face? All my colleagues in the office are laughing at me. How can I still live? Qiao Bo’er!! It’s been so long, why is she still so petty?!”

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