The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] Chapter 115

It just so happened that everyone was in the midst of exam week, and it had been a long time since they last gathered.

Since it was only a little past three and still early for dinner, Li Rong decided to check in their small six-person group chat before making any reservations.

[Li Rong: How’s everyone doing with finals? Want to grab beef hotpot tonight?]

Fifteen minutes later, Ji Xiaochuan was the first to reply.

[Ji Xiaochuan: Aren’t we all taking the same exams? Boss, you turned in your paper way too fast!]

[Li Rong: The difficulty wasn’t too bad. How did you do?]

[Ji Xiaochuan: Hehe, aiming for a perfect GPA!]

[Li Rong: Excellent~]

[Ji Xiaochuan: Which restaurant? I should be free tonight.]

[Li Rong: I’m still on campus. I’ll pick a place once everyone’s confirmed.]

[Ji Xiaochuan: Alright, I’ll head out to help Aunt Hui pack up her stall first.]

Ji Xiaochuan, who wasn’t exactly doted on by her family, often faced stares because of her stuttering. While she pretended not to care, the lack of privacy at school sometimes overwhelmed her. When that happened, she would go stay with Aunt Hui, who had all but adopted her as her own daughter.

No matter how coldly the world treated you, life always finds a way to bring people into your life who truly care.

[Lin Zhen: I’m free! Just finished recording an episode, feeling so stressed—definitely need to unwind.]

[Li Rong: Don’t forget to save us audience tickets for your next recording. We’ll cheer you on.]

[Jian Fu: Are all of you finishing your exams this fast? What’s going on? Am I the only non-genius here?]

[Cen Xiao: I’m not either. I haven’t taken mine yet.]

[Jian Fu: I just ordered some “pass-without-failing” charms online. Need one?]

[Cen Xiao: No thanks. I’m just worried I won’t win the national scholarship and end up disgraced in front of Teacher Li.]

[Li Rong: Ha.]

[Jian Fu: …]

[Lin Zhen: Maybe if you paid attention in class, you wouldn’t be struggling during exams.]

[Jian Fu: Do you have any idea who campaigned the whole class to vote for you, who runs your fan club under a female alias, and who shows up to support you at recordings?]

[Ji Xiaochuan: Wow!]

[Li Rong: Tsk.]

[Cen Xiao: I asked you to investigate Han Jiang’s son, but you said you were busy. Were you busy chasing celebrities instead?]

[Jian Fu: … My dad assigned me so much work for my internship recently—it’s been actual busy.]

[Lin Zhen: Ahem, I’m heading to A University now to meet you all.]

For some reason, even though the teasing in the group chat was entirely normal and Jian Fu’s complaints were routine, Lin Zhen still felt his ears burning after seeing the class monitor and the others’ reactions.

He took a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks, and fanned his ears with his hand.

That idiot—what nonsense was he spouting? Their fan club had only ten members, eight of whom were just classmates from the film academy joining in for fun. Why would he even need to manage it?

Li Rong had reserved a small private room, and by 5 PM, their group of six was all present.

Aunt Hui, who had always taken her street vending business as it came, became even more indifferent to how much she sold after discovering she could earn money online.

Still, going to A University had become a habit for her. If she skipped a day, she’d feel an emptiness inside.

In the past, when she went to A University, it was because of an unresolved knot in her heart, a fixation on an elusive dream. But now, with the four children she cared about studying there, her love-hate relationship with the place gained an additional layer of attachment.

Xu Tanghui took off her gloves and rubbed her frostbitten, red face in the warmth of the room. “You kids really know how to find nice places. I’d never come this way on my own.”

Li Rong smiled as he poured Xu Tanghui a cup of old white tea. “It’s so cold outside. Try not to stay out too long.”

Taking the cup, Xu Tanghui sipped carefully. “I’m used to it, used to it. How’s the stuff you’ve been working on?”

Li Rong glanced at Cen Xiao and said slowly, “We’ve made some progress. At least now we have a clear direction. Before, we kept saying ‘they,’ but didn’t know who ‘they’ were. Now it’s certain—my dad’s case is definitely tied to Suhe Biotech.”

Xu Tanghui let out a long breath. “As long as you’re making progress. Good and evil always get what they deserve—they’ll pay for what they’ve done!”

Ji Xiaochuan exclaimed, “So it really is Suhe Biotech! They’re already close to becoming the industry leader—why would they resort to such despicable tactics to frame Professor Li?”

Jian Fu sighed. “District Six really is a mess. I tried probing my dad about Jiang Zhong’s background these past few days, and he just snapped at me. Said I’d practically opened District One’s backend for my brother, so why bother asking him? So dramatic—my access is so limited!”

As the others spoke, Lin Zhen quietly poured tea for them. The only thing he knew about Suhe Biotech was that its stock price had soared after the launch of Jia Keting.

Suddenly, Li Rong remembered something and asked Xu Tanghui, “Aunt Hui, do you recall that golden tower yet?”

Xu Tanghui shook her head regretfully. “Not yet. I’m getting older, and my memory really isn’t what it used to be. It must’ve been from a long, long time ago. Sometimes, I even wonder if I’m remembering it wrong.”

Li Rong patted her rough hands gently. “It’s okay, no rush.”

Cen Xiao’s expression grew serious as he turned to Jian Fu. “Taking down Meijiang this time will inevitably drag District One into the mess.”

Jian Fu shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh, please. Old Jian has spent his whole life avoiding trouble and keeping a low profile. He’s nearly retired now; it’s about time he left a bit of a legacy for himself. He’s probably turning a blind eye to this—otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to use District One’s resources so smoothly.”

Cen Xiao nodded. “As long as Uncle Jian is prepared.”

The freshly sliced beef and hand-shaped meatballs began arriving at the table. Jian Fu, already adept at this, dumped two large plates of meat into the strainer, letting them cook in the boiling broth.

Ji Xiaochuan took the opportunity to ask Li Rong, “Boss, the… information you gave me… should I… still give it to He Changfeng?”

Li Rong paused mid-bite, lowered his gaze slightly, and shook his head. “No need. If he wants to know, he should find out on his own. Let’s hope it doesn’t mess up his finals.”

These past few days had been exam week, yet He Dayong had chosen this exact time to report to the relevant authorities.

While the news hadn’t reached the general public, it had already spread widely within professional circles—even many of their professors had caught wind of it.

Though Meijiang Pharmaceuticals might survive for a while longer thanks to Qingrui, He Dayong’s scandal involving substandard Yuanhesheng had drawn immense public outrage.

Li Rong couldn’t imagine how the proud and arrogant He Changfeng was dealing with the scrutiny from both his professors and classmates, or how he was grappling with his crumbling worldview.

But this disaster, brewing for so long, was also an inevitable trial.

Everyone has their own path to walk. There are countless pitiable souls in this world. Compared to them, He Changfeng was already quite fortunate.

Seeing Li Rong fall into another ethical spiral, Cen Xiao nudged his knee gently and said in a low voice, “Let’s talk about something lighter.”

Li Rong snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Cen Xiao. “Hmm?”

Cen Xiao’s gaze rested on the corner of Li Rong’s eye. “Don’t move. Eyelash.”

Li Rong’s lashes fluttered slightly, but he stayed perfectly still, waiting for Cen Xiao.

Cen Xiao naturally leaned closer to Li Rong’s eyes and gently blew at the eyelash stuck at the corner of his eye.

Li Rong instinctively closed his eyes, his hand resting on Cen Xiao’s thigh for support.

It took three soft blows from Cen Xiao to remove the eyelash, and neither of them realized just how close they had gotten to each other.

Lin Zhen blinked as he watched, still holding a single chopstick without noticing.

He couldn’t help but think to himself, The class monitor and Cen Xiao have such a great relationship. Since high school, Cen Xiao has always stood firmly by the class monitor’s side. This bond… it’s deeper than brotherhood, isn’t it?

But what exactly is deeper than brotherhood?

Jian Fu noticed Lin Zhen zoning out and casually placed a few slices of beef tongue onto his plate. Then he looked up at Cen Xiao and Li Rong and teased, “Blowing away an eyelash, and you two almost kissed.”

Before Li Rong or Cen Xiao could react, Lin Zhen suddenly jolted, and the single chopstick he had been holding awkwardly slipped to the floor.

Lin Zhen: “…”

Jian Fu, puzzled: “Was I too loud?”

Lin Zhen quickly covered his mouth with his fist, coughing heavily, and said seriously, “It’s fine. Just… stay farther away from me.”

He lightly pushed Jian Fu, who was holding a slotted spoon in one hand and beef tongue in the other. To reach Lin Zhen’s plate, Jian Fu had leaned in close, shoulder to shoulder. Now, with the push, there was suddenly a fist-sized gap between them.

Jian Fu stared at the gap and, for some reason, felt a little down. He muttered under his breath, “Ungrateful. I was giving you meat.”

Meanwhile, Lin Zhen ducked under the table to retrieve his chopstick.

Li Rong rubbed his eye corner, a cheerful smile playing on his lips as he watched Lin Zhen trying to keep calm and Jian Fu looking sullen.

To Li Rong and Cen Xiao, Jian Fu and Lin Zhen had always felt like kids—barely adults. 

Let them stay in that hazy stage for a while longer.

Leaning back in his chair, Li Rong looked at Jian Fu with a lazy grin and said, “And so what if we kissed? We’re all men here. Who’s losing out?”

Cen Xiao gave Li Rong a meaningful glance and replied lightly, “If only you had this mindset back then.”

He was, of course, referring to their past life.

Ji Xiaochuan, with her cheeks stuffed full of meatballs, gave Li Rong a thumbs-up and said with a muffled voice, “Boss, that’s broad-minded of you.”

Then she returned to her fried rice noodles. 

As usual, she was the one who ate the most at their gatherings. She had gone from being shy about it to completely giving up on restraint.

Of course, the downside was that the issue of dieting troubled only her.

Even as Lin Zhen bent down to pick up his chopstick, he heard every word Li Rong said loud and clear.

Lin Zhen had always had boundless admiration for Li Rong, to the point that every word Li Rong spoke became etched in his mind.

In that instant, his inner fan surfaced, and he thought, What Li Rong said makes total sense. No one loses. It’s the same for me and Jian Fu too.

Jian Fu, meanwhile, ducked under the table to help him, lightly poked Lin Zhen’s back with a finger. “Still haven’t found it? Forget it—just grab a new pair.”

Feeling the finger on his spine, Lin Zhen’s scalp tingled, and his thoughts turned into a jumbled mess.

“Alright, alright.” 

Ji Xiaochuan interrupted, lifting her head from her plate of noodles. Her cheeks were puffed, and she spoke with a mouthful of food. “Why are you guys… just chatting… instead of eating?”

Xu Tanghui grabbed a napkin and naturally wiped some grease off Ji Xiaochuan’s face. “Afraid us girls won’t get enough to eat.”

Ji Xiaochuan grinned, her round eyes curving as she laughed sheepishly. “Hehe.”

Li Rong deliberately didn’t eat too much.

He knew that later, when they got back to the apartment, he and Cen Xiao would have some “intense activity.” Eating too much might cause a cramp.

While calculating this, he placed two oysters on Cen Xiao’s plate.