The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] Chapter 101

At 6 a.m., the sky remained pitch black. A northern wind carried tiny snowflakes, pelting against the window again and again.

Outside, the cold wind howled, but inside the apartment, it was warm and humid. The temperature control system worked so well that rising early became increasingly difficult for Cen Xiao and Li Rong.

The investigation into Meijiang Pharmaceuticals had been ongoing for nearly three months. 

Today was the day the old drug test results were due.

Li Rong reached out to turn off the alarm, groggily climbing out of bed. Rubbing his face, he tried to force himself awake quickly.

But after keeping his eyes open for a moment, his head drooped again, and he burrowed back into the covers, fidgeting.

He knew full well he needed to get up early on weekdays. Last night, he shouldn’t have indulged in comfort with Cen Xiao. Now, his entire body felt weak, his brain foggy, and he didn’t even want to lift a finger.

Cen Xiao stirred at the noise, opening his eyes.

Unlike Li Rong, he was decisive, throwing off the blanket and stepping onto the floor, leaving the warmth behind entirely.

Li Rong lifted his head, casting an envious glance at Cen Xiao.

He was strict with himself too, but for some reason, today he just couldn’t bring himself to leave the bed.

Even after only four hours of sleep, Cen Xiao quickly shook off the grogginess. “I’ll go wash up first. What do you want for breakfast?”

Li Rong, half-lidded eyes and furrowed brows, realized he didn’t want anything—just more sleep.

He shook his head. “We have to run laps later anyway. I’ll eat at school after that.”

A University required first-year students to run laps every morning on the track—half an hour from 6:30 to 7:00 a.m. Afterward, there was an hour to rest and eat before 8:00 a.m. classes began.

Cen Xiao, with his status in District Nine, was exempt from such requirements since the school knew their physical training standards far exceeded those of typical college students.

Li Rong wasn’t as fortunate.

Many in their class didn’t realize how relaxed Zhang Zhaohe’s homeroom management was, so the PE monitor dutifully recorded attendance every day and reported it to the educational administration director.

The educational administration director, Liu Tanzhi, was well aware of Li Rong’s background as the son of Li Qingli and Gu Nong—and her own involvement in their plight.

This was likely why, despite skipping laps multiple times, Li Rong had yet to be summoned by her.

While Liu Tanzhi clearly didn’t care much about him, she also avoided direct contact with the victim’s family.

Even the most ruthless people feel fleeting guilt when faced with the victims of their schemes.

But guilt has its limits. If Li Rong continued skipping laps, Liu Tanzhi would eventually cause trouble.

Li Rong preferred to avoid unnecessary conflict. With all his focus on the Meijiang Pharmaceuticals case, he had no time to engage in petty games with Liu Tanzhi.

Besides, waking at 6:00 a.m. had once been routine for him.

Yet, by the time Cen Xiao finished washing up, Li Rong hadn’t moved from the bed.

He had managed the first step: getting out from under the covers. But then he just sat there, zoning out.

Cen Xiao glanced at the clock—it was already 6:15.

If Li Rong didn’t get up soon, he’d miss the morning run entirely.

Walking to the bedside, Cen Xiao bent down, propping his hands on the mattress to meet Li Rong’s eyes. “Why so tired today?”

Li Rong caught a faint whiff of clean, fresh water vapor from Cen Xiao, which jolted him slightly awake. Muttering to himself, he said, “Right, I didn’t even move much last night; it was all you… I really need to get up.”

He shuffled to the bed’s edge, swung his legs down, slid into his slippers, and stood.

But as soon as he did, a rush of dizziness and fatigue overwhelmed him—his legs felt weak, and his vision blurred.

Cen Xiao noticed immediately, reaching out to steady him. His expression sharpened with concern as he placed a hand on Li Rong’s forehead.

Li Rong’s face burned unnaturally hot, a faint flush coloring his cheeks.

“Probably caught a chill,” Li Rong admitted calmly.

Extended sleep deprivation had likely weakened his immune system. Unlike Cen Xiao, whose body was far sturdier, he had been pushing himself too hard, and his body was now issuing a warning.

Cen Xiao gently pushed him back onto the bed, wrapping him snugly in the covers. “Stay here. Skip the run. I’ll have the Third District issue an internship exemption for you. You won’t need to go anymore.”

Li Rong lightly smacked Cen Xiao’s arm, a faint smile curving his lips despite his lethargy. “You’re just itching for people to know about us, aren’t you?”

His face was feverishly warm, but his hands felt cool.

Placing a hand on Li Rong’s forehead again, Cen Xiao responded with a quiet intensity, “I wouldn’t mind if everyone knew. Now, take your temperature. We’ll decide if you need medicine or a hospital after that.”

Li Rong blinked slowly, reflecting. “It feels like it’s only about 38°C. No need for a hospital or medicine. I’ll rest today and be fine.”

Since he could stand up and think calmly, it indicated that the fever wasn’t too serious.

Cen Xiao brought over a thermometer, tapped it on Li Rong’s forehead, and indeed, it showed 38°C—exactly as Li Rong had predicted.

Feeling slightly relieved, Cen Xiao put the thermometer away. “I’ll get you an ice pack to cool down.”

Li Rong pushed him away and struggled to sit up. “Isn’t the test result coming out today? Go to District Nine. I’m not so fragile—it’s just a fever.”

Cen Xiao hesitated, suddenly unwilling to leave. “It’s fine if I don’t go to District Nine. Geng An will send me the results.”

Turning his head, Li Rong lifted his gaze with effort. “If you don’t go to District Nine, then I’ll have to head to A University later. There are four major classes today—I can’t skip them all. Some professors haven’t even learned my name yet.”

Cen Xiao brushed away the stray hair from Li Rong’s face and said softly, “I don’t want you to push yourself so hard.”

Li Rong chuckled. “This isn’t hard. You care about me, so it feels hard to you. If others heard this, they’d think it’s just being overly dramatic.”

Frowning, Cen Xiao clearly disagreed. “You’re my baby—what do other people have to do with it?”

Yet, Li Rong still firmly pushed Cen Xiao to head off to work.

Skipping classes at A University was easier, but District Nine’s work couldn’t be neglected.

Han Jiang had been waiting for a chance to catch Cen Xiao slipping, aiming to promote Du Mingli. 

Rumor had it that Du Mingli had shifted his strategy, trying to convert insiders at Meijiang Pharmaceuticals.

Before leaving, Cen Xiao said to Li Rong, “I’ll be back as soon as possible. Keep checking your temperature. If it rises, I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Li Rong nodded. “When the results come out, send me a copy to my email.”

After Cen Xiao left, Li Rong laid back down with the ice pack on his forehead, retreating under the covers.

Although the fever wasn’t severe, it was still uncomfortable. Running morning exercises was out of the question. But if he didn’t go to the hospital, he wouldn’t be able to get a medical excuse slip from the campus doctor.

He wasn’t even staying in the dormitory, which made it even trickier.

After some thought, Li Rong finally replied to a message from Zhang Zhaohe that he had ignored twice.

[Li Rong: I’m sick today and can’t attend morning exercises. Can I request leave?]

About ten minutes later, Zhang Zhaohe finally responded.

[Zhang Zhaohe: You’ve already skipped so many professional classes. Why bother about this?]

Zhang Zhaohe had always been critical of Li Rong’s lackadaisical approach to studying. Yet, Li Rong couldn’t understand why someone who had never been mentioned by his parents had attended their funeral and was now fussing over his academics.

[Li Rong: I’m really sick this time.]

Zhang Zhaohe called directly.

Over the phone, Zhang Zhaohe’s voice sounded slightly hoarse and fatigued, as if he had just woken up.

“It’s almost exam week, and you’ve been slacking off the entire semester… I hope you’re prepared. If you want to change majors, you’ll need to be in the top 10% of your grade.”

Li Rong gave a faint smile, his voice weak. “Thanks for the reminder, but I’m really just asking for sick leave.”

Zhang Zhaohe paused, seemingly picking up on the raspiness in Li Rong’s voice.

“Are you really sick?”

Li Rong replied, “38°C. My body feels sore and weak. Morning exercises are out of the question. Once my fever subsides, I’ll attend class.”

After a moment of silence, Zhang Zhaohe advised earnestly, “It might not just be a cold or fever. You should go to the campus doctor. Do you get along with your roommates? Ask someone to go with you. If you’re really sick, get a medical slip and rest today.”

Li Rong raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

He immediately perked up. Zhang Zhaohe didn’t know he wasn’t staying in the dormitory.

Oblivious, Zhang Zhaohe seemed to adjust his reading glasses as he asked, “What is it?”

Li Rong coughed lightly, his voice faint. “Nothing. If my fever doesn’t drop, I’ll go to the campus doctor.”

Zhang Zhaohe sighed. “Alright. Still, take your A University classes seriously. With the relationship I had with your father, I sincerely hope you succeed.”

His tone was genuine, and when mentioning Li Qingli, his voice grew heavier. He likely avoided bringing up painful memories around Li Rong but resorted to it when faced with his apparent indifference.

Li Rong chuckled softly. “Thanks.”

But his attention had already drifted away from Zhang Zhaohe’s so-called connection.

After hanging up, Li Rong set aside the ice pack, pressed his fingers to his temples, and began recalling the subtle changes in Song He’s behavior.

Initially, Song He had shown aversion to He Changfeng. Back then, he had even attempted to form an alliance with Li Rong to ostracize the flashy and showy He Changfeng.

Li Rong didn’t take the bait, leaving Song He deeply disappointed.

But disappointment was fleeting. Song He didn’t plan to rely on dorm relationships to make friends. For a while, he remained independent and indifferent, paying no attention to He Changfeng’s ostentatious behavior or Li Rong’s laid-back attitude.

Then, one day, Song He stopped his early departures and late returns and started cozying up to Li Rong.

His attempts were awkward and obvious, and Li Rong quickly caught on to his ulterior motives.

Since then, Song He had no chance of extracting any information from Li Rong.

Yet, someone still funded Song He, freeing him from the need to work part-time so he could attend classes and interact with Li Rong.

What could Song He possibly report after all this time?

Which days Li Rong didn’t return to the dorm, which classes he skipped, his mood, study habits, challenges, and social circle—none of it was critical information. This only proved Song He wasn’t the right person for this task.

The person funding Song He wasn’t Zhang Zhaohe, nor the disdainful Li Baishou, nor the cunning Han Jiang or Liu Tanzhi.

Then who could it be?

At that moment, Li Rong received a message from Cen Xiao.

[Cen Xiao: The test results are out. I’ve sent them to your email. How are you feeling?]

Li Rong snapped back to focus and didn’t immediately reply to Cen Xiao. Instead, he opened his email to review the test results.

This time, twenty pills were tested—ten “White Horse” pills and ten “Gray Horse” pills. Brother Yan had specifically instructed that the two types of pills should be compared.

Li Rong quickly skimmed through the comparison results.

Although both types of pills had expired and lost a significant amount of their activity, the White Horse pills were still much closer to the original drug’s efficacy. The Gray Horse pills, however, were no better than trash.

In addition, the results revealed something alarming: nylon fibers—typically found in clothing—were detected in the White Horse pills, the supposedly better-quality batch.

This discovery indicated that even the so-called reputable White Horse-produced Yuanhesheng pills failed to meet cleanliness standards.