Although They're Mentally ill, They're Extremely Easy to Comfort - Chapter 19

Ling Xi pressed herself against the tiled wall, the cold touch feeling quite comfortable.

She tried hard to eavesdrop, but no matter how she changed her posture, she couldn’t clearly hear the conversation between the two.

The person who suddenly appeared behind her tiptoed closer, playfully tapped Ling Xi’s shoulder, and spoke in a sweet voice: “Vice Professor Ling?”

“Ouch!?” Being caught red-handed, Ling Xi flinched, stiffened, and exclaimed in surprise, then quickly clamped her mouth shut.

Turning around in a state of embarrassment and panic, Ling Xi didn’t lose her temper. She looked carefully and realized it was a student who had taken her ancient script class before.

However, the lazy professor wasn’t good at remembering students’ names, so she stared at the person for a long time without reacting.

The girl had shoulder-length straight hair with bangs, her round black eyes were bright and clear, her upturned nose was delicate and cute, and she wasn’t tall, resembling a harmless little white rabbit.

Seeing Vice Professor Ling startled by her, the girl slightly curved her eyes and apologized softly: “I’m sorry, did I scare you?”

Ling Xi glanced at the textbooks the girl was holding and tried to make small talk to ease the awkward atmosphere: “It’s okay, it’s okay… Are you here to find a teacher in the office?”

Seeing Vice Professor Ling concerned about her, the girl’s eyes filled with hopeful joy, and she obediently replied: “Yes, I’m here to find Professor Jiang, and I just happened to pass by and wanted to say hello to you.”

“So, you’re Jiang Xingran’s student… Let’s go, the office is up ahead, I’ll take you.”

“Thank you, Vice Professor Ling.”

“It’s on the way, don’t mention it.”

It was rare for the perpetually indifferent slacker to be warm-hearted. She no longer worried about whether Qiao Boer’s denunciation was exaggerated and simply led the girl toward the end of the corridor.

“What’s your name?”

“Yao Miao.”

“I think you might have taken my elective course before.”

When Ling Xi asked, the girl became a little nervous. She hugged the books in her arms and nodded shyly: “Yes, I took it for two semesters.”

Before Ling Xi could respond, Yao Miao hurriedly explained: “I planned to choose it this semester too, but the course selection system had a problem that day, and I couldn’t click on your class no matter what.”

“So that’s what happened… It’s alright, the Ancient Script course welcomes you next semester.”

Ling Xi looked calm on the surface, but her heart was cheering in ecstasy—thank you, campus system, for sparing my life. May you forever have bugs, I’ll kowtow and wish you an early New Year.

Just as they were about to reach the office, Yao Miao suddenly stopped. She presented the bag she had been carrying to Ling Xi: “Vice Professor Ling, please let me buy you a bubble tea.”

The sudden gift made Ling Xi feel embarrassed. She quickly waved her hand to decline: “How can a teacher accept a student’s drink? No need, I appreciate your kindness.”

“You led the way for me, so think of it as a courtesy exchange. It’s just a bubble tea, it’s not expensive. Please take it, Professor Jiang is waiting for me.”

Yao Miao was persistent, and the hand holding the bubble tea remained outstretched. Ling Xi stopped refusing. Instead, she gave the sweet cone Qiao Boer had left her, along with the beloved dry ice, to the girl: “Alright, I’ll take your bubble tea and give you a sweet cone in return. This way, I won’t lose too much face when people talk about it.”

Ling Xi just offered a simple return gift, but a blush appeared on Yao Miao’s innocent face: “No, no, I’ll feel bad if you do that!”

“This sweet cone is really delicious, you can’t buy it outside. Go on, take it.”

Qiao Boer stepped out of Director Chen’s office. Her gaze immediately fell upon Ling Xi, who was holding an insulated bag and happily chatting with the female student in front of her.

She saw the girl wave her hand to refuse Ling Xi’s offer, but finally accepted the bag with a shy hand covering her mouth.

Qiao Boer pressed her lips tightly. The sound of her high heels was loud, echoing with decisive footsteps in the empty corridor, as if venting her displeasure in this way.

Ling Xi didn’t notice Qiao Boer approaching and accompanied Yao Miao directly into the office.

After successfully bringing the student to Jiang Xingran, she tidied up her desk, planning to go back to Director Chen’s office door to eavesdrop again. When she turned around, Qiao Boer was already standing meaningfully at the doorway.

“Oh, did you finish your talk so quickly?” Ling Xi asked with a light smile, but Qiao Boer didn’t respond to her. Instead, she stared intently at Yao Miao, who was discussing a problem with Jiang Xingran.

Ling Xi might be a bit silly, but she wasn’t so dense as to miss the change in someone’s expression.

Following Qiao Boer’s gaze, she noticed that Qiao Boer was very focused on the insulated bag in Yao Miao’s hand, so she quickly put on her satchel and walked straight to the doorway: “Let’s go, I’m skipping work.”

“Aren’t you afraid Director Chen will hang you up and break your legs?” Although Qiao Boer’s words sounded like a joke, her cool tone betrayed dissatisfaction.

“Break them if he breaks them, as long as he doesn’t kill me.” Ling Xi answered playfully, trying to ease Qiao Boer’s sudden sour mood, and presented the bubble tea Yao Miao had given her to Qiao Boer, with a slightly fawning and servile air: “Want some bubble tea? A student gave it to me.”

“No need.” Qiao Boer glanced dismissively at the bubble tea, clearly looking down on the cheap item, and turned to stride toward the stairwell.

Ling Xi wondered what sudden tantrum this woman was having, and quickly followed her: “Hey, don’t walk so fast!”

Qiao Boer had asked Qu Ye to run back to the residential area to get the sweet cone, and even specifically went to an ice cream shop to find dry ice, all so Ling Xi could have a fresh one.

This scoundrel was so good at playing the role of a philanthropist, completely failing to understand her intentions.

Her petty jealousy instantly flared up. Qiao Boer suddenly stopped short, and Ling Xi almost bumped into her back.

“I didn’t expect Vice Professor Ling to have such a good relationship with students, casually exchanging food and drinks. Unlike me, who is so stingy it’s like asking for your life to eat a meal with three meats and two vegetables in the cafeteria. You’re quite the artist of double standards.”

“The student gave me bubble tea, so it’s normal for me to return the favor with a sweet cone… An artist of double standards… I think you’re quite the artist of passive-aggressiveness!”

The two childish individuals started bickering again over a trivial matter.

If Ling Xi’s attitude had been a little better, Qiao Boer wouldn’t have continued to nitpick. But how could the slacker know what she truly cared about?

Qiao Boer pulled out her phone and called Chu Xi. In front of Ling Xi, she directly instructed: “Cancel the dinner reservation tonight, we’re not eating.”

Qiao Boer’s attitude suddenly became more hostile, after something Chu Xi said on the phone: “I said we’re not eating, cancel it. I’m going back to the company immediately.”

The stubborn Ling Xi was also annoyed, and she snapped: “Fine, don’t eat, who cares!”

The atmosphere plummeted to freezing point. The two stopped interacting and walked separately toward the parking lot.

Ling Xi walked behind Qiao Boer, tutting at her swaying figure: “She looks like a decent person, but she’s so petty. Bah, she has no heart at all!”

“Call out to me quickly, I don’t need your apology, just open your mouth and I’ll turn around immediately. I’ll take you to eat something delicious, I’ll buy you a new sweet cone… Please… call out to me quickly…”

However, Ling Xi remained indifferent.

When they entered the parking lot, by coincidence, their cars were parked side by side.

Qiao Boer sat in her small tank with a dark face, her queenly posture looking down upon the Beetle next to her.

Ling Xi angrily buckled her seatbelt, intending to spend her freely gained free time at Su Yunjin’s coffee shop. She couldn’t care less whether the crazy woman had lodged a complaint; let fate be sealed!

Turning her head sideways, their eyes met across the distance. Ling Xi gave Qiao Boer a challenging raised eyebrow, floored the gas pedal, and sped out, leaving behind a trail of defiant exhaust fumes.

Qiao Boer’s hands gripped the steering wheel tighter and tighter. That scoundrel was truly infuriating!

The uncontrollable anger made Qiao Boer’s face pale. The hand holding the steering wheel suddenly began to tremble uncontrollably, finally escalating into repeated pounding.

Qiao Boer shook her head, trying to rely on steady breathing to ease her pathological emotional state, but it was futile.

The remaining pitiful bit of rationality drove her to frantically search her purse for the medicine bottle. Her excessively trembling hand made even opening the cap extremely difficult, let alone taking out the pills.

In the end, she could only miserably aim her mouth at the bottle, and the dose of pills that spilled out was severely excessive.

Without mineral water, she could only swallow them down with difficulty. The intense bitterness pulled Qiao Boer out of her lost-control emotion, and her rapid breathing gradually calmed down.

Prostrate on the steering wheel with her hair disheveled, Qiao Boer’s unfocused eyes lost their sharpness, appearing as if she was already accustomed to everything, having been tormented by illness. Her muddled body seemed devoid of life.

Qiao Boer spent her entire life trying to hide her most vulnerable and helpless side. Yet, she also seemed to have accepted the fact that she would be controlled by her out-of-control emotions for the rest of her life.

Qin Yun was right; she needed to go for a follow-up visit.

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