The Pitiful Guy I Saved Is a Possessive Big Shot - Chapter 38

It was a rare weekend off, but Shi Qingning spent the entire day wilting in bed because the medicine he took made him vomit. Most of what he took now was traditional Chinese medicine, which had far fewer side effects than his previous medications. However, the liquid was so bitter that when he tried to swallow, the back of his tongue went into an uncontrollable spasm from the taste, causing the medicine to spray into his nasal cavity.

The sensation in that moment was beyond words. It felt as if even his breath was pickled in bitterness. Instantly, his mouth and nose went numb. For a few seconds, he lost touch with his surroundings until he coughed up the trapped liquid. Slowly, his awareness returned, and he realized he was being held by Bai Yexi, who was gently patting his back to help him breathe.

Thanks to Bai Yexi’s quick help, Shi Qingning coughed up most of the medicine, avoiding more serious choking or suffocation. Even so, the experience left him nauseous and dry-heaving, and he couldn’t even manage to eat.

Shi Qingning had a sensitive palate; besides being afraid of hot food, he was more sensitive to flavors than others. He hated bitterness, yet he had to deal with bitter medicine every day.

He spent almost the entire day in bed. Outside, the weather was exceptionally beautiful, with bright spring colors perfect for going out. Shi Qingning had told Bai Yexi earlier that since it was a rare break, “Mint” should go do whatever he liked. While he wanted to ensure Bai Yexi’s safety, he didn’t want to restrict him.

While resting after the choking incident, Shi Qingning told him he was going to sleep for a while and that Bai Yexi should go attend to his own business. However, each time he woke up dizzily, in addition to feeling his mother and father checking on him with quiet movements, he would see Bai Yexi by the bed.

The weather was so nice that only a thin layer of curtains was drawn. Sunlight filtered through the gauze, painting the room in warm, hazy, and dreamlike colors. Half of Bai Yexi’s body was bathed in light. Occasionally, he would reach out a finger to check Shi Qingning’s temperature behind his ear, feed him a little water, or pull the soft quilt back over him when he kicked it off in his sleep.

Sometimes Shi Qingning would open his eyes and watch him for a while; other times he would drift back to sleep. In his daze, he didn’t know why, but he felt as if this scene had happened many times before. But how long had he actually known “Mint”?

Before he could figure it out, he had slept enough, and it was time for school. Originally, Mrs. Shi wanted to ask for leave for him to rest one more day, but Shi Qingning felt fine. At least the burning bitterness in his breath had faded. He went to school with Bai Yexi.

Fortunately, after resting for a day, he was indeed fine. The morning passed peacefully. During the afternoon break, Shi Qingning and Wei Yingkai were called away by Jie Chuxia, who notified them about the upcoming math competition selection.

Although there hadn’t been any formal exams since they started school, Shi Qingning’s daily performance was clear to everyone, and Jie Chuxia was obviously very optimistic about him. When Shi Qingning returned, he noticed the atmosphere in the classroom seemed off. Many students looked angry, and Fang Anran, sitting in the front row, had red eyes.

When Shi Qingning and Wei Yingkai entered, everyone looked like they wanted to say something but hesitated. Bai Yexi was not in the classroom. Later, Shi Qingning heard the general story from Song Qianqian.

The school was currently holding a “Discipline Week.” Besides strict uniform checks, they were now doing general discipline inspections. The inspectors included teachers from the political education office and students on rotation. This week, it happened to be Class 5’s turn.

Ever since they were caught wandering between classes by the grade director, those boys from Class 5 held a grudge against Class 3. Among the students on duty this time, one happened to be a friend of Liu Xin and Wang Zhe. So, when the inspection started, he headed straight for Class 3.

Since Shi Qingning and Wei Yingkai were out, the boy started flipping through their desks, claiming to look for prohibited items. When he reached Shi Qingning’s desk, Bai Yexi stopped him. In fact, Shi Qingning’s desk was perfectly tidy and simple. But the boy was determined to cause trouble. Seeing that he couldn’t push Bai Yexi aside, he turned his focus onto him.

“This hairstyle doesn’t follow the rules, does it?” The boy finally found a flaw and insisted on marking Bai Yexi as failing the inspection. Classmates argued that Bai Yexi had a special reason for his long hair, but the boy wouldn’t listen and asked with a sneer, “What reason? Can you just ignore school rules?”

Since starting school, Bai Yexi had always seemed mysterious. But after spending time together, the students of Class 3 had accepted him into their group. They had heard rumors that Bai Yexi had been kidnapped as a child and kept his hair long to honor someone important. To explain this to the inspector’s face would mean reopening Bai Yexi’s wounds.

The inspector was relentless. Even though people told him that the homeroom teacher and grade director had permitted the hair, he still said, “I don’t care. I’m representing the school for this inspection. This just doesn’t follow the rules!”

In the end, he actually reported the matter to the inspection team. Bai Yexi was called away by the teachers and didn’t return until well into the lesson. After class, he was called away again by Jie Chuxia, making everyone worry.

“Can the teacher convince the leaders? They won’t really make Brother Bai cut his hair, will they?”

“Honestly, I cut mine short in 9th grade. Look, the school doesn’t regulate girls’ hair, but there aren’t many girls with long hair either because everyone knows it’s a hassle to maintain.”

“Exactly. Without a special reason, would Brother Bai keep it this long?”

“We can only hope the teacher can handle it…”

Regarding the fact that No. 29 Middle School didn’t restrict girls’ hair, some students recalled the past. “Actually, a few years ago, the school did regulate it. Girls weren’t allowed to have hair past their shoulders. Do you know why that rule was canceled?”

“I think it was because of… a legendary student back then?”

“Yes, a senior named He Jiao. At first, the school told her to cut it. She refused and asked why. The school said it was to ensure she focused on studying. Then Senior He Jiao said, ‘Does long hair affect my studying?’ She made a bet with the school: if she ranked in the top ten in the city, she wouldn’t cut it. If she didn’t, she’d cut it immediately.”

“What happened?”

“She was first in the school and top ten in the city for three years straight. She completely convinced the school.”

“Whoa, that’s amazing!”

“Right? She ended up in the top ten of the entire provinces for the college entrance exam. Admissions offices from Yan City University and Mizuki University were fighting over her.”

“Yes, and it wasn’t just her. Other seniors who made the city top ten also made the same request. Eventually, the school couldn’t control it, so they just stopped trying. They opened it up and stopped restricting hairstyles for girls.”

“Those seniors feel like pioneers… so cool!”

Someone had a sudden idea. “Hey, since they could make requests back then, we can too, right? Isn’t our monthly exam a city-wide joint exam?”

Fang Anran, listening nearby, pursed her lips. “I’ll try my best! I hope I can make the ranking and help Brother Bai make a request.” Fang Anran was always first in the class and usually stayed in the top ten of the school. However, to rank in the top ten of the entire city, she would really need to fight for it.

But… Fang Anran looked at Shi Qingning. “Maybe Xiao Shi could directly rank in the top ten?”

Everyone saw Shi Qingning’s daily performance. He often helped explain problems to others. When the exams came, his grades would certainly not be bad.

Coincidentally, in the next English class, the teacher brought out the papers from a recent quiz and handed them out. The quiz was taken a while ago and the answers were already discussed, but because there were so many papers, the teacher had forgotten to return them until now. Originally, the students didn’t care much about this quiz, but because they wanted to help Bai Yexi, everyone subconsciously focused on the scores.

To everyone’s surprise, Shi Qingning’s grade was not on the score list. Yet he had clearly taken the test that time. Shi Qingning was also surprised because there were no corrections on his paper—only a question mark.

After class, he was called by the English teacher. For the second time that afternoon, he went to the office. The first time, Jie Chuxia had given him an important task. This time, the English teacher asked, “Xiao Shi, did you have some difficulties during the last test?”

Shi Qingning was surprised and said honestly, “No.”

The teacher’s expression was strange. After a pause, he said, “Then why did you get everything wrong?”

Shi Qingning was stunned. “Weren’t my answers correct?”

If it weren’t for Shi Qingning’s usually great classroom performance, the teacher would have thought this well-behaved student was playing a prank. He pointed at the paper. “Look, these spellings are all wrong. And in English, we don’t put dots over letters like this.”

Shi Qingning took a closer look and was suddenly shocked. The meaning of his answers was indeed correct. The problem was, he was looking at English, but what he had written was entirely…

German.

He had written the English test in German. And Shi Qingning himself hadn’t realized anything was wrong until just now.

“I’m sorry, teacher! I…” Shi Qingning was dazed for a moment. “I think I mixed up the alphabets.”

“It’s also my fault for returning the papers so late. I’ve looked at your recent homework, and it’s all fine,” the teacher said kindly. “Was your state of mind not quite right during that test?” After comforting him and telling him not to feel too much pressure, the teacher let him go.

As Shi Qingning walked back, he thought it over and finally remembered what was different about that test. At that time, Bai Yexi had gone to pack his belongings and hadn’t returned for nearly five days.

Shi Qingning remembered his sleep was very poor then and his memory was a bit messy, but he hadn’t realized it was messy to this extent. He thought about his recent discovery. Could it be that I not only trigger memories by being near “Mint,” but also suffer from memory confusion when he isn’t around?

He had considered memory issues after his “transmigration” a long time ago, so he didn’t panic too much. What made him think more was another question. Since there was such an obvious mix-up with the English quiz, were the “memories” he thought he recalled actually correct?

Shi Qingning already had a feeling. During this time with Bai Yexi, he was no longer dealing with thin descriptions on a flat page, but a three-dimensional, truly living person. In his memories, the Bai Yexi in the novel was tricked out of his heart and lost his life.

However, looking at Bai Yexi’s current attitude toward him—where even a little warmth is repaid a hundredfold—was he really tricked during the heart transplant? This question gripped Shi Qingning’s heart like an invisible hand. Could he have willingly donated it just for that little bit of companionship?

Shi Qingning didn’t dare to think about it. Just how much had Bai Yexi suffered to be willing to throw himself into destruction for a tiny bit of kindness?

After the last class of the afternoon, Bai Yexi was called by the teacher again. Shi Qingning went downstairs to wait for him outside the building. Jie Chuxia said she would try her best to talk to the leaders, but if someone insisted on reporting it, it could be difficult to handle.

Perhaps she was still struggling with it, because she kept him there to discuss it for quite a while. It wasn’t until the sky was pitch black that Shi Qingning finally saw Bai Yexi. The temperature was rising, and today was fairly warm. They didn’t rush home, walking slowly together along the school path.

The streetlights came on, casting a warm glow on Bai Yexi’s dark long hair, giving it a strange luster. Shi Qingning’s heavy thoughts suddenly paused. In this moment, he was instinctively drawn to reach out and touch those smooth black strands.

Bai Yexi didn’t move. He looked at the boy’s captivated expression and lowered his head slightly, letting his hair fall like a waterfall into Shi Qingning’s fingers. Just as he expected, the boy seemed enchanted and couldn’t help but touch it a few more times.

Bai Yexi’s eyes flickered. “Do you like long hair that much?”

The boy raised his hand but didn’t nod. He helped tidy the slightly messy strands and said, “What I care about is you as a person.”

Bai Yexi was slightly taken aback.

“I don’t want you to do things you don’t like. Whether you keep it long or cut it short, I hope it’s according to your mood, not because you’re forced by others,” Shi Qingning said seriously.

They happened to reach a flower bed at a corner where there were no streetlights, making it a bit dark. Shi Qingning stepped up onto the ledge so he was at the same height as Bai Yexi. He reached out and gave his “Mint” a full hug.

“I want you to live your own life and be happy forever.”

From a long time ago, Shi Qingning felt Bai Yexi was too repressed and lacked vitality. He hoped that at this age, Bai Yexi could throw away his worries and think only of himself. Shi Qingning gently pressed his cheek against Bai Yexi’s neck. Their skin touched, and the embrace brought comfort.

“I want you to be a Happy Mint.”

Don’t carry so much on your back. No one lives just for others.

Shi Qingning didn’t know if his full sincerity reached the other person. He only felt the person in his arms stiffen slightly for a long time. Then, he raised his arms and gently hugged him back. Shi Qingning silently smiled until his eyes curved.

The timing was perfect, and he wanted to hug him a bit longer, but this warm moment was suddenly broken by a flashlight beam.

“You two students over there! What are you doing?!”

It was a teacher from the political education office on patrol. It was completely dark now, the time when teachers checked school discipline at night. One teacher walked quickly in the lead, sweeping the light directly onto their faces.

“Stop right there! The school has said long ago that dating is not allowed…”

Bai Yexi raised his hand, quietly shielding the boy beside him from the blinding light. The flashlight fell on Bai Yexi’s face. After a pause, the teacher’s tone suddenly changed.

“Oh… it’s boys?” The teacher cleared his throat and muttered, “Fine, fine. Hurry back to the classroom, evening self-study is starting soon!”

The other two teachers caught up a moment later. “What’s going on? Is it a couple?”

“No, it’s two boys. I told them to get back.”

The youngest teacher hesitated before saying, “Two boys, it’s also possible…”

Another teacher slapped his thigh. “Even two boys shouldn’t be that close! Is it bullying? They must be picked on!”

Young teacher: “…”

Shi Qingning, who was pulling Bai Yexi away, happened to hear this. He laughed and squeezed Bai Yexi’s hand. It was late, and he couldn’t see the other’s face in the twilight, but the night breeze still clearly brought their scents to each other.

Shi Qingning smiled, as sweet as the long-awaited spring. “Don’t worry, I definitely won’t bully you.”

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