Chapter Thirty-Four

nd time I wasted on this matter"You know how hard it was for me to find her; you know the nights I spent tossing and turning in longing. Every single day was a struggle in endless despair and loneline...Chapter Thirty-Four

Ni Xuanyi fell ill when she returned to school from the Li family that night. Many people caught a cold and fever during springtime, and even though the school's clinic was simple and understaffed, it was still overcrowded.

That evening, after returning, Li Yi called to ask her why she had left suddenly; she explained that there would be an activity at school tomorrow which she couldn't miss, so she returned early without bothering him since he seemed busy.

Lǐ Yì's voice was still warm and polite, saying he was glad she made it back safely. He wished her goodnight, and Ni Xuanyi cried herself to sleep under the covers.

The next morning, Ni Xuanyi couldn't get out of bed; she had a fever and headache. In the afternoon, Ji Yan and Cong Lei forcibly took her to the school clinic. Originally, they just wanted medicine, but after the doctor checked her temperature, he insisted on taking an X-ray of her chest. The diagnosis came back quickly: Ni Xuanyi had pneumonia and needed intravenous treatment.

The clinic was crowded with people; Ni Xuanyi had to lie down in the hallway for her IV drip, surrounded by a pungent smell of medical solutions.

Ni Xuanyi's physical condition was usually good, and she rarely fell ill. The last time she was hospitalized was due to staying too long in hot springs, which led to exhaustion and hospitalization. Back then, Lǐ Yì accompanied her and they stayed in a VIP ward.

Now, however, Li Yi had someone else by his side—Qū Wǎngē, leaving Ni Xuanyi feeling like Cinderella after the ball.

The young nurse at the clinic wasn't very pleasant; she looked coldly at Ni Xuanyi and said, "Hold out your hand."

Ni Xuanyi was very afraid of injections, but now she had no one around her who would indulge her; thus, she gritted her teeth and handed her arm to the nurse.

The young nurse wasn't too skilled, and Ni Xuanyi's veins were also extremely delicate, so it took three tries before they succeeded. By then, Ni Xuanyi had bitten her lips in anxiety until they bled, tasting blood inside her mouth.

Across from her was another female patient; however, she was accompanied by a boyfriend who looked worriedly at the girl receiving an injection and frowned deeply as if he were more pained than her.

The clothes of both individuals appeared to be quite ordinary, not those of wealthy or privileged youth. However, the boy treated his girlfriend sincerely well; he kept running to the water room using a Lock&Lock cup to bring back hot water and placed it under the girl’s IV drip hand, continuously asking her with concern: "How are you feeling Are you cold"

Ni Xuanyi felt inexplicably uncomfortable in her heart; she closed her eyes as if pretending to sleep.

Typically, for pneumonia, one would need a seven-day intravenous drip treatment. Afraid that Ji Yan and Cong Lei might miss their classes due to her, Ni Xuanyi later went to the school clinic alone every day to get her injections; occasionally, some close friends would come to visit her as well, but Ni Xuanyi knew they weren't the people she truly wanted.

On this particular day, when returning from the medical room, just as she reached the dormitory building downstairs, the dormitory attendant called out to her: "Ni Xuanyi, someone is looking for you. They've asked about you several times already; there they are!" The attendant pointed with her hand in a certain direction.

A sudden surge of excitement rose within Ni Xuanyi’s heart—was it Li Yi who had learned she was sick and came to see her

With a smile, she quickly turned around. Upon seeing the person standing under the tree not far away, she froze.

"Xuanxuan!" The man looked at Ni Xuanyi with a surprised, excited, and exhilarated smile. He then took large strides towards her.

Ni Xuanyi stood there in a daze as if she had been transported to another world.

The person who came was Meng Mang, Ni Xuanyi's friend from when she was in the Golden Triangle area.

After two years apart, Meng Mang had grown taller. His high nose bridge, firm lips, and healthy bronze skin made him look very handsome indeed; a particularly rugged kind of good looks.

Meng Mang strode over to Ni Xuanyi and regardless of her expression pulled her hand excitedly: "Xuanxuan! It's great, I finally found you... I finally found you. You're such a heartless girl, leaving for two and a half years without even sending the family word. Do you know how worried we were" In his excitement, Meng Mang was somewhat incoherent.

He sized Ni Xuanyi up from head to toe, then smiled awkwardly, unsure whether he should be happy or sad: "You... You've changed so much! Xuanxuan, you're even more beautiful than before. Girls really do change after they grow up. If I saw you on the street now, I wouldn't even recognize you..."

Ni Xuanyi had recovered from her initial shock and slowly came to her senses. It was break time, with many students coming in and out of the dormitory entrance. A guy like Meng Mang, who stood out so much as an exotic handsome man, holding hands with her, would naturally attract attention. Several students were already looking over at them.

"Meng Mang, let's go find somewhere to sit outside," Ni Xuanyi suggested.

"Okay." Meng Mang obediently nodded his head in agreement. He had been searching for Ni Xuanyi for a long time, and now that he had finally found her, even if she asked him to die, he probably wouldn't hesitate.

Ni Xuanyi quickly led Meng Mang out of the campus and to a fine restaurant outside. Since it was not yet peak dining hour, she requested a private room from the waiter.

"Have you eaten Are you hungry" Ni Xuanyi handed the menu to Meng Mang.

Although she had previously felt indifferent towards Meng Mang and even disliked him for always sticking around her, after being away from home for over two years, unexpectedly meeting an old acquaintance who came specially to see her in a foreign place, Ni Xuanyi was still quite grateful.

"I'm hungry." Meng Mang nodded honestly, pushing the menu back to Ni Xuanyi. "You choose the dishes; whatever you pick is fine with me." He then picked up the lemon water served by the waiter and downed two glasses in a row; it seemed he was extremely thirsty.

As Ni Xuanyi looked over the menu, she tried to recall her favorite foods from before. Suddenly, she realized that after living in this city for more than two years, and closely associating herself with Li Yi, she had so eagerly wanted to be assimilated by the city that she had even forgotten what dishes she used to love.

After flipping through the menu a couple of times, she reluctantly ordered curry chicken, sour and spicy soup, sugar cane shrimp, Tom Yum Goong (Thai hot and sour soup), and pineapple rice.

Meng Mang had quenched his thirst and became even more lively. He gazed at Ni Xuanyi with an adoring expression, chuckling foolishly: "Living in this big city is great, going to university is great. Look at how you've changed; it's like a completely different person... You look really good..."

Ni Xuanyi felt uncomfortable under his gaze and blinked before asking, "Why did you come here Isn't there anything for you to do at home"

Meng Mang’s joyful demeanor was dented. He looked at Ni Xuanyi with a hint of resentment: "There are countless things I need to handle at home. But I came all the way here just to see you. You left without telling anyone where you were going, and we didn't know which university you applied for. It took me great effort to find out from your school that you had been admitted to G University. Then I managed my family affairs and specially came here to look for you.mewhat suspicious. Especially when he repeatedly instructed her not to tell anyone about it, especially his stepmother.Rich young masters have their quirks; Sun Lingling had already gotten a taste of...