Chapter 59: Zhu Qing, who thinks for others without being asked
In the hospital, after playing a game with Zhu Qing and Leng Qing Qiu, Lu Zhiyin lost interest in playing any further.
Although Leng Qing Qiu wouldn’t do anything to her for now, Lu Zhiyin still felt annoyed.
She disliked Leng Qing Qiu, which was normal. No one would like someone who abused them.
“Sigh…”
Lu Zhiyin sighed.
After the game, she had been watching videos non-stop, without saying a word.
There was nothing proper on this world’s video apps, nor were there any suggestive streamers, because the content didn’t need to be concealed.
Most short videos were no different from watching movies. Lu Zhiyin could only pick out the few that were somewhat interesting from a pile of explicit videos and watch them repeatedly, trying to cheer herself up.
It didn’t work at all.
“…”
Beside Lu Zhiyin, Leng Qing Qiu also felt bored. She had only played one game with Lu Zhiyin, and then Lu Zhiyin had disbanded the room.
After that, Lu Zhiyin ignored her. Leng Qing Qiu didn’t know what she had done wrong.
She was gradually getting annoyed, but then she remembered that she had promised not to treat Lu Zhiyin the same way as before, so she suppressed her anger.
Lu Zhiyin seemed to be blinded by Leng Qing Qiu’s gentleness, temporarily forgetting that she still needed to appease Leng Qing Qiu.
It wasn’t until the phone’s battery ran out and it automatically shut down that Lu Zhiyin came back to her senses.
She realized what she had done.
She had neglected Leng Qing Qiu for the entire afternoon for some unclear reason.
When she looked at Leng Qing Qiu’s face, it was, as expected, full of displeasure.
“Sorry… I got engrossed in watching videos by accident.”
Making a flimsy excuse, Lu Zhiyin reached out and touched Leng Qing Qiu’s hand.
“…It’s okay, no big deal.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Leng Qing Qiu lay on her side next to Lu Zhiyin, sniffing the pleasant subtle fragrance from her.
At the same time, in the hospital lobby, a nurse was observing the girls in the ward through a camera she had placed in the door crack.
There was no other way; quite a few hospital staff had left recently. The hospital’s maintenance was already difficult, and with another batch of staff leaving, resources were stretched thin.
The shifts had become longer, and the nurse couldn’t constantly monitor Lu Zhiyin’s condition, so she had to resort to this measure.
Anyway, a sponsor was reimbursing the cost of the pinhole cameras, so the nurse didn’t mind.
“…Um, excuse me, is there a patient named Lu Zhiyin here?”
While lost in thought, Zhu Qing walked into the hospital lobby.
She knocked on the glass.
“…Ah? Another one?”
Sizing up Zhu Qing, who was wearing a school uniform, the nurse heard a familiar name from her.
Was this person also Lu Zhiyin’s girlfriend? she asked herself.
“What do you mean, another one? I’m Lu Zhiyin’s classmate. I heard she was in a car accident, so I came to visit.”
Frowning, Zhu Qing didn’t quite understand the nurse’s question.
“…Oh… Oh, I see, I understand.”
Touching her head, the nurse was about to ask Zhu Qing if she was also Lu Zhiyin’s girlfriend, but Zhu Qing cut her off, making her a bit awkward.
However, she quickly recovered.
“Pay up, give me the money, and I’ll take you to see her.”
The nurse habitually held out her hand.
“…”
Silently, Zhu Qing’s frown deepened.
She didn’t like being extorted, but in a hospital like this, the staff’s wages wouldn’t be high, and they needed ways to earn extra money.
She didn’t argue with the nurse, but instead patted her pockets.
She hadn’t brought much cash with her when she left. After buying milk and biscuits for Lu Zhiyin, she had twenty yuan left.
Since she could pay for a taxi home by scanning a code later, Zhu Qing decided to give all twenty yuan to the nurse.
“Follow me.”
Having received the money, the nurse was all smiles. She knew very well that not everyone was as generous as Long Qinxin. Twenty yuan was enough.
“…”
Unlike the nurse, Zhu Qing remained calm. She said nothing and quietly followed behind the nurse.
…
When Zhu Qing and the nurse arrived outside the ward, Leng Qing Qiu was still lying on her side on Lu Zhiyin’s hospital bed, gently stroking Lu Zhiyin’s face.
Lu Zhiyin just looked at her softly.
The subtle fragrance in the air grew stronger, igniting a hidden desire deep within her heart.
Leng Qing Qiu got on top of Lu Zhiyin’s waist. She wanted to kiss her childhood friend again.
“…Lu Zhiyin, classmate, are you there?”
Outside the ward, Zhu Qing knocked on the metal door with her knuckles.
The crisp sound of metal being struck echoed in the room, startling Lu Zhiyin.
She pushed Leng Qing Qiu off her.
Leng Qing Qiu’s burning passion was like being doused with a basin of cold water, abruptly extinguished.
She hurriedly got off the bed, tidied her clothes, and turned to open the door.
What appeared in her eyes was someone who looked somewhat unfamiliar, but not entirely.
Zhu Qing. Leng Qing Qiu knew her name.
She was academically excellent and a role model for almost everyone in the upper grades. She was often seen on the awards podium.
Leng Qing Qiu didn’t really like this person. She was too dazzling, too out of place in this decadent world.
“…? Ah, Senior Zhu Qing? Why are you here?”
Propping herself up and slowly sitting up, Lu Zhiyin was a little flustered.
Why was the other female lead here?
“…Your book is overdue, and I heard you were in a car accident, so I came to visit.”
Glancing around the ward, Zhu Qing couldn’t find an extra stool. The only stool by Lu Zhiyin’s bed was likely occupied, and her relationship with Lu Zhiyin wasn’t close enough for her to sit on the bed.
Placing the milk and biscuits on the bedside table, Zhu Qing stood straight.
“…Sorry… I can’t do what we planned before.”
Lowering her gaze, Lu Zhiyin’s words were full of apology.
She really should apologize for not being able to do what she had promised.
“If the book can be returned sooner, the sooner the better. The penalty for overdue books is high.”
Not knowing what else to say, Zhu Qing and Lu Zhiyin had little to talk about.
She touched her empty pockets. She hadn’t brought a marker pen when she left today, so she couldn’t punish Lu Zhiyin for the overdue book.
“Um… I’ll return it early, and I’ll pay the overdue fine.”
Clenching the bedsheet beneath her with both hands, Lu Zhiyin felt excessively awkward, especially thinking that Leng Qing Qiu had just been on top of her, which made her unable to stop panicking.
Zhu Qing saw Lu Zhiyin’s clenched hands and mistakenly thought Lu Zhiyin was in distress.
“Don’t worry about the fine, you can take your time… Can you pay your medical expenses? Disabled person plus orphan… theoretically, you should be able to apply for some subsidies, and it shouldn’t be too much. If there’s a shortfall, I can lend you some money to cover it.”
The school charged high fines to exploit students, though this was only high for students without income. If their families were normal, it wouldn’t be much.
Clearly, Lu Zhiyin’s family was not normal.
The school rules were terrible, but rules were rules.
Zhu Qing wanted to help this pitiful junior, but she also didn’t want to break the school rules.
As for giving money directly… Zhu Qing wasn’t that rich, and besides, giving money wouldn’t solve much.
She looked at Lu Zhiyin’s frail body and considered finding Lu Zhiyin a job to support herself.
“When you’ve recovered, I’ll see if I can find you an easy job at school. It’s getting late, so I’ll leave now. I’ll visit you again when I have time.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the girl turned and left.
Zhu Qing was always like this, always thinking for others without being asked.
