Smelling the faint smell of disinfectant in the air, Tang Ning sat by the hospital bed, looking at Xu Xingbo lying there, his brows furrowed even in his unconscious state. She subconsciously reached out and tucked the blanket around his feet, her gaze never leaving the large purple characters above his head.
Xu Xingbai.
System score: 95.
The current level of affection was constantly changing, so she couldn't tell how much affection he had for her in the short term. She asked 54088, who said it had never encountered this situation before. Helpless, Tang Ning had no choice but to wait.
Looking at the boy's thin jaw and almost bloodless lips, she couldn't help but recall the descriptions of this Xu Xingbai, the academic genius, from the plot.
It is said that he was abandoned by his biological mother in an orphanage when he was young, and was later adopted by a couple who could not have children. But who could have imagined that a few years after the adoption, the man of the family died in a car accident, leaving only the woman to raise Xu Xingbai.
Unfortunately, that woman was always lazy and loved to eat. Since getting married, her husband had taken care of everything at home and outside. All she had to do every day was play mahjong and occasionally cook some food for herself when her husband was busy.
The death of her husband was like the sky falling down on her. Fortunately, his death brought her a large sum of compensation, and the two of them still had a house. If the woman was a little more frugal and went out to find a job, she and Xu Xingbai could survive.
But no one could have imagined that while the man was around, there were people to restrain her. But once the man was away, some unscrupulous people, knowing that the woman had money, deliberately lured her into gambling more and more. In the end, in less than half a year, the woman gambled away all of her husband's compensation money and the family's house.
Not only did she lose money, but her addiction grew stronger and stronger.
So she turned her crooked ideas to her adopted son. She made Xu Xingbo steal things from various stores for her, including food, household items, and clothes. She would keep what she could use and sell what she couldn't, thus maintaining their lives.
Xu Xingbo didn't steal? Ha, how could a five or six-year-old child possibly beat a fat and strong thirty-year-old woman?
Even if he doesn't steal, she'll beat him until he does.
Xu Xingbo had been caught before, and his parents were called in, but his wife never went. After that, his wife used all his belongings, but Xu Xingbo bore all the bad reputation. Almost all the neighbors knew that the Xu family had a petty thief who was usually gloomy and very unlikable.
No one at school wanted to play with Xu Xingbo, and they always bullied him, calling him a thief.
However, this nickname probably disappeared when Xu Xingbo entered junior high school. On the one hand, he was older, and if he really stole something, the shopkeepers wouldn't hold it against him like they did when he was a child. On the other hand, Xu Xingbo showed extremely high mathematical and gambling talents. He had a very good memory, and he could almost know exactly where each card was just by looking at it.
On one occasion, the woman asked Xu Xingbo to play a game of mahjong for her when she needed to urinate. After Xu Xingbo single-handedly defeated everyone, she was as if she had seen a ghost, because the tiles in her opponents' hands were practically transparent to him.
When asked how he knew, he said he had memorized it all.
Upon hearing the news, the woman showed Xu Xingbai affection and... flattery for the first time since the man's death.
Xu Xingbo was led by the woman down the path of becoming a gambling god who dominated the nearby casinos. But the more you walk the dark road, the more likely you are to encounter ghosts. Some local thugs don't care if you remember the cards or not. If you make them lose money, you are definitely a cheat. Those people tied up Xu Xingbo and forced the woman to go on stage and lose nearly two million to them before finally releasing them.
But who could have imagined that after losing all her money, the woman would run away that very night, taking all the remaining money from the house and leaving Xu Xingbai alone to face those wolves and tigers?
If Tang Ning remembered correctly, it should have been recently that Xu Xingbo was cornered and beaten in an alley by that group of delinquents. Those people were indeed hired by the local bullies. After all, beating an adult too badly could land them in jail, but these kids under the age of eighteen were much easier to rescue.
But Xu Xingbo is never one to back down. His initial forbearance was partly to distance himself from the situation, and partly to wait for the most opportune moment.
With the crackdown on organized crime so intense right now, he was sure he'd get his chance. Sure enough, after seeing the news about an uncle who was driven to suicide by this group of people, he immediately sent all the illegal materials he had collected on his computer to the police station without hesitation, and brazenly posted another set online.
Finally, the criminal gang was successfully eradicated. He was called to the police station for a few questions, but was released unharmed and continued to be a top student.
It's fair to say that if someone hadn't met Yin Yuqing in the story and been saved by her, and instead saw her as their savior, then this kind of life experience would definitely be a villain's life story.
Thinking of this, Tang Ning looked at the other person, who was covered in cold sweat as if he had had some kind of nightmare, and took out the little cat handkerchief from her pocket and slowly stretched it towards the boy's forehead.
Although Yin Yuqing is no longer here, she still has this other person. She believes that she will do a more thorough and clean job than Yin Yuqing's so-called redemption and transformation through love.
Tang Ning's lips curled up slightly. The handkerchief had just touched the boy's forehead when her wrist was immediately gripped tightly by a strong hand.
Tang Ning lowered her head, and her eyes met the other person's deep and calm eyes. It was at this moment that she noticed that under the warm sunlight outside the window, Xu Xingbo's pupils had a faint purple hue, like the finest crystal, extremely beautiful.
He probably has some mixed-race genes.
After thinking about all these random thoughts, Tang Ning paused for a moment, then quickly showed a look of surprise on her face.
"You, you're awake?"
She quickly raised her other hand, pressed the call button by the bedside, and excitedly shouted to the nurse behind the bell, "Doctor, the patient has woken up! Can you come and see him now? He's awake..."
Xu Xingbai stared blankly at Tang Ning's smiling profile from the bed, his hand holding her wrist unconsciously loosening.
she is……
The girl who saved him in the alley earlier.
And this is...
Before he could finish thinking, Xu Xingbo heard footsteps coming from outside the door. A moment later, several doctors and nurses in white coats pushed open the door and came in.
Seeing this, the girl standing in front of him quickly stepped aside and whispered, "He had a lot of cold sweat on his forehead earlier, is that serious? Also, when he was brought in, I noticed that one of his legs was bent at an odd angle, should we take an X-ray...?"
Before the doctor who was examining Xu Xingbai could even speak, the two nurses who followed him in couldn't help but burst out laughing. Tang Ning was a little confused by their laughter.
One of the younger nurses turned to Tang Ning with a smile and reassured her, "Don't worry, young lady, it's alright. We've checked him over. Your boyfriend is perfectly fine. Apart from some minor injuries and a little low blood sugar, he's perfectly healthy. There's no need to worry so much!"
Upon hearing this, Tang Ning's eyes widened in disbelief, then her face flushed crimson, and she frantically shook her hands, "No...no...he's not with me..."
"Oh, I know, I know, you know what friends are! I've been that age before, I understand!"
Seeing that she had made the young girl blush, the nurse quickly tried to smooth things over, but judging from the satisfied smile on her lips, she was still secretly teasing her.
Seeing this, Tang Ning awkwardly lowered her hands, feeling that explaining was not an option, nor was not explaining.
Fortunately, her embarrassment didn't last long, as the doctor's examination was nearing its end.
"There's nothing seriously wrong, but it's best to stay in the hospital for observation overnight before leaving."
"No……"
As soon as the doctor finished speaking, Xu Xingbo's slightly hoarse voice rang out, "If there are no problems, I hope I can be discharged immediately."
“But…but I already paid your hospital bill tonight while you were unconscious. This kind of thing can be serious or minor, so it’s safer to observe you for a while,” Tang Ning said hurriedly.
Then, seeing the doctors and nurses about to leave, she quickly saw them to the door. Just after saying goodbye, she turned around and saw Xu Xingbo lifting the blanket covering him and about to get down. But as soon as his feet touched the ground, everything went black, and he swayed for a moment. If he hadn't grabbed the bedside table, he probably would have fallen to the ground.
"careful!"
Tang Ning quickly took two steps to his side, reached out to support his arm, and helped him to the bed.
"What are you doing? Why did you come down all of a sudden? The doctor told me that you haven't been eating properly for several days, so your low blood sugar is quite severe. An IV drip will be good for you. I also bought you some porridge. It should be here soon. Why don't you just lie down and rest? Even if something terrible happens, nothing is more important than your health!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than there was another knock on the door. Hearing the sound, Tang Ning quickly let go of Xu Xingbo's hand, ran to the door, and took the food from the delivery person standing outside. After thanking them profusely, she turned to look at Xu Xingbo, whose face was deathly pale. "Look, they're here as soon as I mentioned it..."
Then Tang Ning placed the takeout on the dining table on the bed, glanced at the clock on the wall, and said, "It's getting late, I might have to rush home soon. Remember to eat all of this properly, it's all light porridge and the like, just right for you right now. Oh, and these medicines, this one is for external use, this one needs to be changed once a day, and this one is two pills twice a day. I wrote it all down on this piece of paper, remember to take them..."
As she spoke, Tang Ning stuffed the paper in her hand into Xu Xingbai's hand.
"Why?"
Just then, the boy suddenly raised his head and looked straight at her face.
"Um?"
His seemingly random question left Tang Ning somewhat bewildered. She tilted her head, a puzzled expression on her face.
"I don't know you, and you probably don't know me either."
The implication is, does one really need to go to such lengths to treat a stranger? He doesn't think he has anything about him that would make others want to take advantage of him, so he's particularly puzzled.
Hearing Xu Xingbai's words, Tang Ning laughed immediately, "Well... I can't just watch you faint on the ground and not do anything, can I? What kind of person would I be? Besides, our teachers have always taught us to be helpful. It's just a small favor, not a big deal. I'll help if I can..."
Just as she finished speaking, Tang Ning's phone vibrated in the pocket of her down jacket.
Immediately, she didn't even care about Xu Xingbo in front of her, and quickly swiped her phone to answer, "Mom, yes, I'm out. Okay, I'll be back soon. Um, something happened, it's nothing, just a small thing. Yes, okay, I'll be back soon."
After saying that, Tang Ning shook her phone at Xu Xingbai in front of her, "My mom called and urged me to go back. I have to go back right away. I wrote down all the precautions on this piece of paper. You can take a look. If you have any questions, just press the call button to ask the nurse to come and help. Also, eat your food quickly. I'm leaving. Bye!"
After saying hello, Tang Ning turned around and walked towards the door without hesitation.
"Wait a moment……"
"Um?"
Tang Ning, who had already grasped the doorknob, quickly turned her head and met the gaze of someone with long bangs and beautiful eyes that were so obscured that they were almost impossible to see.
"Leave me your contact information, and I'll pay you back," Xu Xingbai said, emphasizing each word.
Hearing this, Tang Ning chuckled, "No need, really no need, you go ahead and eat, I'm leaving now!"
After saying that, she didn't give Xu Xingbai a chance to stop her and immediately ran out.
Whether they repay the money or not, they'll see each other again sooner or later anyway.
She wouldn't give him her contact information; what she wanted was for him to have been constantly on Xu Xingbo's mind these past few days. For a so-called academic genius like Xu Xingbo, who didn't seem to have much else in his mind, leaving such a deep impression on him on their first meeting was enough.
As Tang Ning stepped into the hospital elevator, she thought to herself.
The elevator doors slowly closed in front of her, completely obscuring the slight upturn of her lips.
Xu Xingbo's current favorability rating: 25.
As soon as Tang Ning left, another nurse came into Xu Xingbai's ward carrying a tray. Seeing that Xu Xingbai was alone, she chuckled and teased, "Hey? Did your little girlfriend leave? Why did she leave so early? Ah, isn't this takeout from Jinshuzhai? Wow, that's incredibly rich! I heard a single takeout order there often costs seventy or eighty yuan. This much must be several hundred! Well… 508, your little girlfriend is really rich!"
The nurse clicked her tongue in amazement, then put down the tray and began to change Xu Xingbai's IV fluids.
"no."
Just then, Xu Xingbai's somewhat indifferent voice slowly rang out.
Fearing the nurse might not have understood, he looked up and repeated himself, staring into her eyes, "She's not my girlfriend."
Looking into Xu Xingbai's dark eyes, the nurse, who could still tease Tang Ning, suddenly felt a tremor in her heart for some reason. After laughing awkwardly twice, she quickly finished changing the medicine for him, picked up the tray, and hurriedly retreated.
Xu Xingbo was left alone in the quiet room, staring at the takeout in front of him. He didn't know how long he had been looking at it, but suddenly he chuckled and picked up the takeout to throw it into the trash can next to him.
But when he smelled a faint floral fragrance, he paused, turned his head, and saw that a bunch of white lilies had been placed in the transparent glass vase on the bedside table. The fragrance he had just smelled came from this bunch of lilies.
This flower...
Xu Xingbo tightened his grip on the takeout bag slightly.
Earlier in the alley, he vaguely saw the girl holding a bouquet of flowers like this, but now...
Then his gaze fell on a neatly folded handkerchief under the vase. In the corner of the handkerchief was embroidered a sleeping little orange cat. After looking at it for a long time, Xu Xingbai slowly, slowly took the handkerchief into his hand.
Feeling the soft touch of the handkerchief, he slowly placed the takeout box back on the dining table in front of him.
Gently opening the bowl, Xu Xingbo silently picked up one of the bowls of congee and side dishes and began to eat. The more he ate, the faster he ate, his head bowed low. Soon, a tear fell from his eye into the congee in front of him. He didn't look again and drank the whole bowl down. When he looked up again, there wasn't even a trace of red in his eyes.
Meanwhile, in Tangning—
Xu Xingbo's current favorability rating: 30.
Prices have gone up again? Are they eating, or what happened?
As Tang Ning, already in a taxi heading home, looked at the gradually darkening sky outside the car and thought to herself.
When Tang Ning got home in the evening, she had already missed dinner, so she ate a delicious bowl of noodles that Tang Qing had specially prepared for her before returning to her room.
Upon hearing the sound of her door closing, Ye Jinyan immediately went to the door, his hand already on the doorknob. After hesitating for a long time, he withdrew his hand and lay back down on the bed.
Because Tang Ning's learning ability is so strong, the tutoring they originally planned for 15 days was completed in just 12 days. That means that starting tonight, he will no longer need to tutor Tang Ning.
Ye Jinyan stared at the ceiling above his head.
She didn't know how long she stared at it before she suddenly chuckled. Shouldn't he be more relaxed without her tutoring? It's as if he really wanted to tutor her. Time to sleep.
After saying this to himself, he quickly closed his eyes, completely putting Tang Ning out of his mind.
For the next two days, even though the "brother and sister" were under the same roof, one of them would go out for something, and the other would go out for something. In the end, the two of them didn't meet even once in those two days.
The day finally arrived—the start of the school year. Ye Jinyan, sitting on the sofa in the downstairs living room, waited for Tang Ning, his face filled with annoyance.
Ye Jinyan glanced at his watch, already quite impatient, and was about to tell his father that he would leave first when Tang Ning's footsteps echoed on the stairs.
Good morning, Dad and Mom!
She shouted this while laughing.
Upon hearing this, Ye Jinyan slowly turned his head and saw Tang Ning, dressed in a female version of the Jinsheng Boys' High School uniform, slowly walking down from upstairs.
She wore brown-black leather shoes, white knee-high socks, a dark red pleated skirt, and a blue-black suit jacket. Unlike their ties, she wore a bow tie in the same color as her skirt. Her long, smooth, black hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her neat bangs covered her forehead, not even revealing her eyebrows. She smiled slightly at him, radiating a gentle and elegant aura.
He had never seen Tang Ning dressed like this before. Some people look silly and unsophisticated when they wear bangs, but Tang Ning was different. Her bangs actually softened her originally somewhat aggressive appearance, making her look gentle and soft.
Ye Jinyan stared blankly at Tang Ning. Perhaps sensing his gaze, Tang Ning turned her gaze directly to the boy below, who was wearing the same blue-black Jinsheng High School uniform as her, and gently smiled, "Good morning, brother."
Upon hearing Tang Ning's greeting, Ye Jinyan quickly turned his head to the side as if to cover it up.
"Hmm."
He responded softly.
He appeared calm on the surface, but only he knew that his heart had just skipped a beat.
Because of... Tang Ning.
Ye Jinyan clenched his fist tightly. Current favorability rating: -20.
Upon hearing this notification sound, Tang Ning's smile widened even further.
"Hey, have you heard? This semester, our Monk High School is finally getting a transfer student from Saint Ying High School! Saint Ying! I'm drooling with excitement just thinking about it!"
"Waaaaah, Mommy, I'm finally going to see a girl, and a live one at that, waaaaah!"
"We've had it tough, so tough! The school anniversary celebration is just around the corner, and this time at least we're not some sissy dancing in a skirt on stage! Ugh!"
"What are girls? Can you eat them?"
"I don't know if it will look good or not. If it does, that would be great. If it doesn't look good... I won't be picky if it doesn't look good. As long as it's a woman, that's fine. Yes, my requirement is that I have no requirements!"
...
Tang Ning's arrival almost instantly ignited the entire Jinsheng Boys' High School. Early in the morning, the boys formed small circles and began to discuss it intensely.
Hearing their discussion, Yin Yuqing felt a strange sense of loss rise in her heart for some reason.
What's wrong with her? Wouldn't it be better if a girl came over? That way, she wouldn't be the only girl left in the school, and she wouldn't have to hide so hard!
But I heard that the new girls don't need to wear boys' school uniforms like her, nor do they need to cut their hair short!
That's great!
Yin Yuqing bit her lip hard, then patted her face to wipe away her feelings of disappointment and envy before turning to look at Jiang Yao sitting next to her.
It was then that she noticed something was off about Jiang Yao; his eyes were glazed over, as if he were thinking about something.
Then she watched as he suddenly stood up, pulled out a chair, and was about to walk out.
Yin Yuqing's question was already on the tip of her tongue when, just then, cheers erupted from outside the classroom.
The cheers grew closer and closer until the homeroom teacher slowly pushed open the front door of the classroom from the outside, and a girl with bangs wearing the same style of girls' school uniform as Jinsheng High School slowly stepped in.
The moment she stepped in, even Yin Yuqing felt her breath catch in her throat.
She couldn't hear anything the homeroom teacher was saying with a smile anymore. All she could hear was the girl's sweet voice introducing herself on the podium, "Hello everyone, my name is Tang Ning. I'm an exchange student from Sheng Ying Girls' High School. I hope you'll all take good care of me during this time!"
"Aaaaaaaahh ...
"Aa ...
...
As soon as she finished speaking, the entire classroom, and even the area outside, erupted in a deafening roar.
The sounds of banging on tables, knocking on chairs, and throwing books were incessant.
Amidst this heart-wrenching scene, only Tang Ning on the podium maintained a smiling expression, then looked directly at Yin Yuqing.
Hearing these excited shouts, Yin Yuqing's face inexplicably paled.
At that moment, she had no idea what she was thinking...
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