Li Chunhua worriedly peered at Li Caiyi's pale face, which was almost identical to hers.

When she found out that her sister had been brought to the infirmary, she wasted no time ditching her class and rushed to her side.

She had already heard about that rumor and thought it was all bullshit. No one knew better than her how hopelessly in love her sister was with that stoic, heartless guy. She was sure that someone must have set her sister up on purpose.

"Lu Ruan, if this is also your doing, then be prepared to face the consequences." Li Chunhua grudgingly muttered.

"Ugh.." Li Caiyi groaned as she tossed and turned on the bed. Her face scrunched like she was in pain, and she sweated a lot. But the school doctor said nothing was wrong with her.

Li Chunhua couldn't bear to see her like this. She wasn't used to waiting on someone. Li Caiyi always had been by her side, waiting for her when she was sick. Now their role was reversed, and she realized how difficult it must have been for her all this time.

Li Chunhua insisted on staying with her and refused to return to class. The trio who brought her here had already returned to their class, and the school doctor was currently out. So there were only the two of them inside.

Carefully to avoid disturbing her sleep, Li Chunhua dabbed a towel on her sweaty forehead. She had been doing this for hours, and her hand was tired. But Li Caiyi never once complained about it when she had to take care of her, so Li Chunhua wouldn't do that either.

"Please..believe me..."

Her sister moaned some words again in her sleep. Li Chunhua's body shook in rage.

This was all because of that stupid rumor circulating around the school! She swore she would get to the bottom of this and dragged the culprit who spread the slander about her sister for everyone to see.

'But Xiaoyi doesn't like it when I get involved.'

The thought of their last fight emerged in her mind, and Li Chunhua slumped forward. She wanted to help, but what if her sister hated her for it?

"Hmm, then, as long as it's not me, it should be fine, right?"

Li Chunhua hadn't talked with that person for a while; she wondered if he had gotten better.

With a hushed voice, so she wouldn't wake her sister up, Li Chunhua made a phone call.

***

Li Caiyi felt hot. And there was a blinding light falling upon her face, rousing her from her deep slumber.

She squinted for a moment before faintly feeling that the light on her face had disappeared.

"Xiaoyi?"

Li Caiyi heard someone calling her name and forced herself to open her heavy eyelid. She needed a few moments before she could finally adjust.

Once her drowsiness left her, she was astonished to find Meng Renshu sitting beside her, with a relieved expression and the light of dusk veiling his face like a halo. His hand was outstretched in front of her as though he was trying to block the light from hitting her face.

"Why?" That was all she could utter from her dry throat. After her nightmare, his face was the last thing she wanted to see.

Meng Renshu smiled softly. "I will explain. Drink something first."

Li Caiyi forced herself to sit and reluctantly accepted his offered glass of water. She was very thirsty and gulped everything in one go. After drinking, her head felt much lighter.historical

"So, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital right now?"

"Xiaohua contacted me. She said you were in deep trouble. I couldn't stop worrying, so I left the hospital and came here."

Li Caiyi's mouth gaped in surprise. "You left the hospital just because of that?"

"What do you mean just 'because of that'? You don't know how panicked I was when Xiaohua told me what happened."

"She is just exaggerating. You still have yet to fully recover. Worry about yourself first." Li Caiyi sighed, entirely at a loss on what to say. She furtively glanced at him and noticed how haggard he was. The bruise on his face didn't make it look better, either.

'Anyone can see he is not in the right condition to help another. Why is he so stubborn?'

"Xiaoyi, I have heard about the rumor about you. You were in so much shock that you collapsed. If you want, I can—"

"Don't even think about it," Li Caiyi had a vague idea of what he wanted to bring up. Still, everything would just become messier if he got involved in this.

"I appreciate you are coming all the way here for me, but I think it's about time you return to the hospital, no? You don't have to care about my affair. As I have repeatedly said, I can take care of them alone."

Meng Renshu clenched his fist. "But they spread a terrible slander about you. I want to help you."

"Please don't make me repeat myself again. I said I don't need your help." Li Caiyi started to get annoyed by his pestering.

"Xiaoyi, rest assured because I don't mean anything by doing this. I just want to help my childhood friend. Is that wrong?"

'Ah, I hate this so much. You are the one who pushed me away first. Now you feel wronged when I do the same?'

Li Caiyi had just had the most terrible nightmare. It was already bad that Meng Renshu's face was the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes, but seeing him acting like this made her stomach crawl in disgust.

"Do you feel bad for me now? Do you want to make up for when you gave me the cold shoulder when I needed you the most?" She sneered mockingly, making Meng Renshu flinch.

He looked down, clearly flustered for getting seen through. His pupils dilated everywhere but her face.

"Please save the benevolent act for yourself because you made me sick, honestly."

Meng Renshu's expression dimmed, making him look even more haggard. His figure seemed so fragile, like a gust of wind could blow him away.

Li Caiyi felt her conscience prickled a bit, considering how hard he defended her last time. She took a deep breath and held back the harsh words on the tip of her tongue.

'Let's be patient here. I still need his help to uncover the mystery from the past and for Xiaohua's cure too.'

She awkwardly cleared away her throat before peering at him. It seemed her words caused massive damage to him because he silently accepted her hurtful words like a sinner.

"Sorry, I was out of line just now. But I stood my ground. We are not bound to each other anymore, so there is no reason for you to force yourself like this."

"I'm not forcing myself. I sincerely want to help you." He laughed bitterly, "But you are right. This is only my selfishness speaking. Even if you hate me, I want to somehow become a part of your life. I don't care if I look pathetic, as long as you don't completely cut me off from your world."

Li Caiyi could feel a lump in her throat again. Talking about this made her extremely uncomfortable, like scratching on her old wound, but she couldn't escape it forever.

"I don't understand. Weren't you the one who cut me from your life first? Why are you talking like I'm the one at fault here? You are the one who left me behind and divorced me first."