Chapter 28: Returned to the Infirmary
“Hiss…”
After an unknown period of unconsciousness, Lu Zhiyin’s eyes fluttered open, and a throbbing pain continued to radiate from her entire body.
“Huff… huff…”
She sat up, gasping for breath, her heart still pounding. It was as if she had experienced a deeply imprinted nightmare, but the pain in her body told her it was not a dream.
She seemed to have been pushed downstairs by that Qin An, that *thing* from her birth.
Fortunately, her memory was intact. Lu Zhiyin remembered how she had passed out.
“…”
Lu Zhiyin extended her hand. She remembered that before she fainted, the palm of her hand had been bloody and mangled. Now, it was wrapped in a clean bandage, bandaged by someone.
Although the wound had been treated, it still hurt.
Lu Zhiyin suddenly felt like crying again.
Why? She hadn’t done anything heinous before. Why did she have to suffer like this?
“Huff… I can’t cry anymore…”
Wiping her eyes with the back of her bandaged hand, Lu Zhiyin tried her best to compose herself.
After slowly regaining her senses, she looked around.
The air was filled with the smell of disinfectant. Beneath her was a hospital bed covered with a white sheet, and next to the bed was a light blue curtain.
“Hmm… this must be the infirmary…”
Thinking this, Lu Zhiyin tried to sit up.
It wasn’t just her hands hurting; her back, abdomen, and lower body ached all over, with pain emanating from countless spots.
Her school uniform was somewhat tattered. Lu Zhiyin’s first thought wasn’t about how badly her flesh was injured beneath the uniform, but rather about how much money it would cost to buy a new one.
“…”
Pressing her lips together, Lu Zhiyin seemed somewhat dejected.
She carefully rolled up the sleeve of her school uniform, revealing fair skin on her forearm marked with many bruises. Some of the more severely injured areas were covered with medical tape and gauze.
“Hiss…”
Lu Zhiyin poked the gauze-wrapped spot, and a piercing pain made her cry out involuntarily.
In her previous life, she had rarely been injured, and her tolerance for pain was so low that even she couldn’t understand it.
Sitting on the hospital bed, Lu Zhiyin sniffled. She suppressed the urge to cry once again and reached out to touch her forehead.
It was very hot; she had a fever.
It made sense. She was already sick, and instead of resting properly, she had been beaten. Her condition was bound to worsen.
She didn’t know who had brought her to the infirmary, but it certainly wasn’t that scoundrel Qin An.
Leng Qing Qiu? Or perhaps Long Qinxin? These were still unknown.
Unknowingly, she had been here for a long time. How was her body in the other world doing? Her parents must be very worried seeing her unconscious, wouldn’t they?
…Or perhaps, her body had already been cremated and buried?
Having been raised by her parents for most of her life, she was now leaving without a word. Lu Zhiyin began to worry about her parents’ feelings.
“I have to go back quickly…”
She clenched her fist and tapped the sheet beneath her. The resulting pain made her grimace again.
“Achoo… Achoo…”
Sneezy, Lu Zhiyin began to scan the parts of the room within her sight, but she couldn’t find her wheelchair.
This made her feel a surge of panic.
She started to worry if her wheelchair had been dragged away and sold by that scoundrel Qin An for money. Life was already difficult, and without her wheelchair, Lu Zhiyin didn’t know how she would survive…
As she worried about her wheelchair, Lu Zhiyin’s emotions grew increasingly somber.
The infirmary was as empty as the last time she visited, eerily quiet.
Sitting blankly on the bed, Lu Zhiyin didn’t know how much time had passed when footsteps were finally heard outside.
“…”
Snapping back to attention, Lu Zhiyin tightened her grip on the sheet beneath her. She looked towards the direction from which the person might appear, her heart pounding with each passing moment.
She didn’t know who it would be. If it was someone she didn’t know, it could be dangerous…
One of the conditions for a perfect ending was to preserve her chastity. Lu Zhiyin kept this firmly in mind; her chastity was very precious.
She stared intently at the curtain by the hospital bed, barely daring to breathe.
Soon, the footsteps grew closer. The first thing that appeared in Lu Zhiyin’s field of vision was a black braid, and then, Lu Zhiyin clearly saw the person’s full appearance.
It was Long Qinxin, wearing a neat school uniform, her hair still in pigtails, holding a small box.
“Classmate Lu Zhiyin.”
Long Qinxin had also clearly noticed Lu Zhiyin, who had woken up on the hospital bed.
The white-haired girl sat on the bed, her hands nervously clutching the bedsheet. Her long, grayish-white hair fell from the side of her face, and her cheeks were flushed with a captivating redness due to the fever.
Vulnerable, beautiful, and pitiable.
Lu Zhiyin’s vigilant expression caused Long Qinxin’s breath to catch, and she felt an inexplicable touch.
She lowered her head and thought that Lu Zhiyin was different from her; she was bullied simply because her parents were not favored, whereas Lu Zhiyin… well, was it just because she was too beautiful and aroused jealousy?
Holding the box in her arms in silence, Long Qinxin walked to the bedside and sat down.
She opened the box to reveal rice soaked in oil, with broccoli and shredded meat piled beside it.
“Classmate… Long Qinxin?”
Unsure of how to address Long Qinxin, Lu Zhiyin’s voice carried a hint of inquiry.
Upon noticing that it was Long Qinxin, Lu Zhiyin became less nervous.
“I-I’m very sorry today. You were found by Qin An because you helped me, right? I’m sorry, truly sorry.”
Apologizing profusely, Long Qinxin took out chopsticks and offered the lunchbox and chopsticks together.
She kept her head lowered, not looking at Lu Zhiyin’s face.
This unusual behavior puzzled Lu Zhiyin. She didn’t know much about the female leads in the game. After all, all she had to do was click and swipe, raise their affection, and unlock various CGs.
She thought that perhaps Long Qinxin was a very kind and easy-to-get-along-with person?
Blinking, Lu Zhiyin hesitated for a moment. She extended her hand and solemnly accepted the food offered by Long Qinxin.
As she took the things, Long Qinxin also looked up.
Blinking her green eyes, Long Qinxin stood up.
“Classmate Lu Zhiyin… actually, your friend sent you to the infirmary. I only found out about your injury not long ago.”
As Long Qinxin spoke, Lu Zhiyin recalled Leng Qing Qiu, who had let herself be taken away by Qin An.
Although she knew Leng Qing Qiu didn’t have to help her, she couldn’t help but feel a little resentful.
Due to her slight dissatisfaction with Leng Qing Qiu, Lu Zhiyin didn’t reply and began eating the meal sent by Long Qinxin on her own.
“Thank you.”
After eating, Lu Zhiyin thanked Long Qinxin.
Long Qinxin didn’t say much more, but took the lunchbox and prepared to leave.
“Classmate Lu Zhiyin, in a while, your friend should come to see you.”
As she left, she reminded Leng Qing Qiu not to forget to come.
