That Girl Who Skipped Class — You're In Big Trouble! - Chapter 26

Chapter 26

At three o’clock in the morning, An Qingyang awoke from a dream, finding that she had fallen asleep beside the bed. The light from the living room, still on, cast a soft glow. Xiao Xuan was awake, watching her quietly.

“Can’t sleep?” An Qingyang reached out to touch Xiao Xuan’s forehead, her heart tightening. “We need to go to the hospital immediately. If you keep burning up like this, you’ll turn into an idiot tomorrow.”

Xiao Xuan caught An Qingyang’s hand resting on her forehead: “I’m fine, just a little uncomfortable.”

An Qingyang grew anxious: “Fine, my foot! That bowl of egg soup I made messed things up. It would be terrible if your smart brain got damaged. I still need your guidance later.” She grabbed the sweater by the bed and started to pull it onto Xiao Xuan. This time, Xiao Xuan didn’t struggle, hooking her arms around An Qingyang’s neck and letting her dress her. An Qingyang wrapped her in two full sweaters, only to hear Xiao Xuan chuckle softly: “You’re really trying your best for the sake of my brain.”

An Qingyang meticulously wrapped the scarf around her and glared at her: “I’m thinking of myself. I can’t do anything fun if you’re sick.”

An Qingyang helped Xiao Xuan downstairs to catch a taxi and went straight to the hospital. It was winter, and the emergency room was filled with feverish patients. The on-duty doctor took Xiao Xuan’s temperature—it was a high fever of 40°C, requiring immediate hospitalization and an IV drip. Since the wards were full, they had to add a bed in the hallway.

Just as Xiao Xuan started her IV drip, a middle-aged woman taking care of the patient in the next bed came over to talk. She was wearing a deep red down jacket, and her eyes showed a hint of sleepiness: “Oh, little girl, with this awful weather, there are so many sick people. Is this your sister? She’s so pretty. You two sisters look quite alike.”

Xiao Xuan looked at the woman, touched An Qingyang’s head, and replied “Yes,” then said to An Qingyang: “You should go back first. Don’t you still have a competition?” An Qingyang was about to answer when the middle-aged woman next to them interrupted: “It’s not safe for a young girl to go home alone so late. You might as well sleep here. You two are so thin, sister, you sleep on the inside and make do. Go back in the morning.”

An Qingyang said seriously: “Auntie makes a lot of sense. I’ll sleep here tonight.” With that, she took off her shoes, climbed in, and lay down. Finally, she seemed to remember something and whispered to Xiao Xuan: “Are you uncomfortable? Am I lying on you?”

“Yes, you’re lying on my hair.”

An Qingyang pouted. A scorching hot hand silently reached out and held hers. She looked at Xiao Xuan, who had already closed her eyes. An Qingyang began observing the long eyelashes on those eyes and fell asleep shortly after.

…

Early the next morning, Zhang Xiaoxiao appeared at the hospital entrance. She carried an insulated food container and walked past the beds in the hallway to the end, where she saw the two of them nestled together.

With a “Bang,” the insulated food container in her hand hit the bed railing, and Xiao Xuan opened her eyes.

“Teacher Xiao, the two of you are being so lovey-dovey this early in the morning. Won’t you feel nauseous when you eat lunch?” Zhang Xiaoxiao placed the food container on the stool and sat down.

An Qingyang also woke up. She touched Xiao Xuan’s head. The fever had broken. Relieved, she asked Xiao Xuan: “Do you still feel uncomfortable?” Xiao Xuan shook her head, her face seemingly regaining its usual radiance.

“I swear, am I here to watch you two flirt?”

An Qingyang glared at Zhang Xiaoxiao, stepped out of bed, and snapped: “She’s sick. Can you speak a little more gently?” She opened the insulated food container. Inside was a bowl full of chicken soup, with a few mushrooms floating in the clear broth, the aroma tempting. An Qingyang immediately picked up the soup spoon and started drinking. Zhang Xiaoxiao watched in astonishment: “Hey, that’s for the patient!”

An Qingyang turned, adopting the tone of a superior instructing a subordinate: “Don’t you have any common sense? You can’t eat chicken or eggs when you have a cold.”

Xiao Xuan smiled, a very happy smile, so much so that she didn’t notice a young man appearing by the bed. He wore a camouflage shoulder bag, a hoodie mixed with a leather jacket, and simple jeans that accentuated his long legs. He lightly called out “Sis” to her.

Xiao Xuan deliberately ignored him and turned to An Qingyang: “Yáng Yáng, you should go back now. Don’t you still need to prepare for the competition?”

An Qingyang, drinking the soup, casually said: “I already forfeited. I didn’t go to the Imperial Capital when I saw you were sick yesterday.”

Xiao Xuan was startled. One hand grabbed the bed railing, and she abruptly sat up: “What? You didn’t go? Who told you not to go? Didn’t I say I was fine?”

“But the competition is starting soon. It’s too late for me to go now,” An Qingyang explained, seeing Xiao Xuan get a little agitated, and put down the spoon.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? You had such a great opportunity right in front of you and you didn’t cherish it. Do you know what you’ll miss out on!”

“It’s just a competition. What’s the big deal?” An Qingyang shrugged.

“It’s not a big deal,” Xiao Xuan’s voice trembled slightly, “but you also know how hard we prepared for this. To withdraw right before the end. Didn’t I tell you before that you are not allowed to forfeit halfway through?”

An Qingyang heavily closed the lid of the food container: “Teacher Xiao, you had such a high fever yesterday. How could I feel safe leaving?”

“You don’t need to explain to me. Those aren’t excuses. It just shows that you didn’t take the competition seriously at all. If you had cared about the competition, why would you be here today!”

This sentence was a little loud. The eyes of the patients and visitors around the corridor all focused on them. An Qingyang noticed the attention and felt her face flush, her voice also rising: “Teacher Xiao, in my opinion, your health is much more important than the competition.”

“Is that so?” Xiao Xuan lifted her chin, appearing somewhat aloof. “I’ve taught many generations of students, and I’ve never seen anyone who doesn’t know how to seize an opportunity like you. That product was the result of all our hard work over many days, and you just dismiss it with a simple ‘What’s the big deal’? If you continue like this, you might never accomplish anything.”

Zhang Xiaoxiao saw the situation getting a bit out of control and pulled An Qingyang, trying to drag her away, but she couldn’t stop An Qingyang from speaking: “Yes, yes, I’ll never accomplish anything. Of course, I’m not like you, abandoning Eileen for your future. Even so many years of feelings couldn’t outweigh Cheng Fei’s money.”

The air seemed to still.

Xiao Xuan smiled and uttered a few words: “So that’s how you interpret me.”