The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] Chapter 141

Li Rong, after a night of heavy drinking, didn’t wake up until noon the next day.

Cen Xiao was already reading, one hand holding the book and the other wrapped around Li Rong’s back, keeping him nestled in his arms.

Li Rong reluctantly opened his eyes. The dizziness was gone, but his body felt slightly swollen.

He sniffed the lingering alcohol on himself and immediately wriggled out of Cen Xiao’s embrace, rushing to the bathroom in disgust.

After soaking in the bathtub for an hour, Li Rong came out with wet hair, sat cross-legged on the bed, and grumbled, “Why didn’t you wash me up last night?”

Cen Xiao put down his book, reached out, and pulled him closer. “You were too tired. Does your stomach hurt?”

Li Rong shook his head. Thanks to Cen Xiao making him drink milk beforehand, his fragile stomach had survived the hangover unscathed.

Sliding his legs under the blanket, Li Rong playfully teased Cen Xiao’s knees with his toes, now soft and damp from the bath. “Why aren’t you reading in the study?”

Cen Xiao’s muscles tensed from the tickling, but he restrained himself and replied calmly, “Lack of self-discipline.”

“Huh?” Li Rong raised an eyebrow, momentarily stopping as he dried his hair.

Did he hear that right? Cen Xiao claiming to lack self-discipline?

Cen Xiao caught Li Rong’s mischievous toes under the blanket and squeezed them firmly, speaking plainly, “With you asleep in the bed, I couldn’t bear to leave, even just to go to the study.”

Li Rong’s lips curled into a smile, his eyes sparkling. He wiggled his toes provocatively in Cen Xiao’s palm. “Oh really? Let’s see how reluctant you are.”

Cen Xiao casually tossed his book onto the nightstand, pulled Li Rong closer, and pressed him beneath him.

By the time they were both exhausted, Li Rong laid on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling, panting.

Cen Xiao finally spoke. “By the way, isn’t it time for you to select courses?”

Li Rong turned his face, blinking at Cen Xiao. “Next semester is all core courses. The school assigns them; we don’t get to choose.”

The new semester was approaching, and though course selection had opened, it wasn’t relevant for them. Still, Li Rong wanted to look up information on his professors, given that he wasn’t in the top class anymore. His assigned professors were likely to be relatively unknown.

After mulling it over, Li Rong took a deep breath, got out of bed, and went to the study to turn on his computer.

When he logged in with his student ID, he saw his schedule was already full.

One course, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, had an unexpected instructor: Jiang Weide.

Given Jiang Weide’s status, he shouldn’t have been teaching any classes. Even with his collaboration with A University this year, he should have been teaching the top class, not the class of Zhang Zhaohe’s students.

Li Rong was stunned for a moment and searched for Jiang Weide in the course system. He found that he only taught two classes—one for the top students and one for his class.

Li Rong wasn’t prone to overthinking, but he was certain Jiang Weide’s presence was intentional. With Song He out of the picture, Jiang Weide likely resorted to teaching to stay informed about Li Rong’s situation.

Pressing his temples, Li Rong closed the computer.

This enigmatic mentor of his—was he truly an ally, or was he something else?

***

March arrived, with magnolias beginning to bloom, and the start of the new semester came quickly.

The pace of multiple investigations temporarily slowed due to the heavy workload at the start of the term. After all, focusing on the present was essential for the long game.

Back at his dorm, Li Rong heard that He Changfeng’s belongings had already been moved out.

After He Dayong received a suspended sentence, it wasn’t long before He Changfeng applied for a leave of absence as well.

This outcome was expected. He Dayong’s punishment had been light, and the fines he owed could eventually be repaid.

But He Changfeng’s life had inevitably been affected. Even if he had no knowledge of his father’s crimes and hadn’t been involved in harming others, as He Dayong’s son—spending the money he provided—he could never entirely escape the connection.

Human impulsivity knows no bounds. When people begin to judge a flawed individual, no one stops at the right moment. Even if someone tries, no one listens.

A University doesn’t just consist of the biochemistry department. Once the news spread, it quickly made the rounds across the entire school, and He Changfeng became the public enemy. Anyone could criticize him, yet He Changfeng had no grounds to defend himself.

Such an impact—Li Rong had endured it dozens or even hundreds of times before. He understood exactly how it felt.

It could only be described as enduring a lifeless existence.

He still remembered that to make sure his mother ate, he once went to pack food from a private restaurant Gu Nong loved.

The owner knew their family. Before the incident, the owner proudly displayed a photo of himself with Li Qingli and Gu Nong on the wall. Whenever new employees arrived, he would boast about it with pride.

After the incident, the photo was, of course, the first thing taken down. To avoid being mistaken by his regulars for a lackey of the “corrupt scientist,” the owner practically became a leading anti-Li figure.

Overnight, the chef frying dishes suddenly seemed more knowledgeable about pharmaceutical research than the scientist himself. Armed with half-baked online information, they hurled slurs and insults at Li Rong’s parents, afraid that if they didn’t, they’d somehow be implicated.

Since then, just walking past that restaurant and smelling its food made Li Rong nauseous.

Eventually, he came to understand that neither a chef nor a well-read student from A University could escape the shackles of human nature.

Despite his mental preparation, Li Rong still felt a little melancholy when looking at the suddenly spacious dormitory living room.

So, He Changfeng’s belongings had taken up that much space. Now that he had left, it was as if no one had ever lived there.

Song He, who had spent most of his vacation in the dormitory, handed Li Rong a glass of plain water now that He Changfeng’s stash of bottled water was gone.

“Will you not be staying in the dorm this semester either?”

Li Rong took the glass but only held it without drinking. “Probably not.”

Song He nodded. “Well, I won’t be watching over you anymore. If you’re not here often, I’m thinking of putting a desk in the living room. He Changfeng left the power strip behind.”

Li Rong simply replied, “That’s fine.”

They had little else to say.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Song He turned back to his room.

It was still awkward. Having once made money by spying on Li Rong, Song He still found it difficult to face him.

Li Rong not being around much was better for everyone.

Today, Cen Xiao hadn’t accompanied Li Rong to school—he had gone to District Nine instead.

District Nine was busy reviewing the operations of Blue Pivot across districts, wishing they could squeeze every minute for work.

Han Jiang hadn’t given up on Du Mingli. This time, he gave Du Mingli a mission in the south, leaving Cen Xiao to stay in A City.

Field assignments in District Nine were highly prestigious and a quick path to making a name. If Du Mingli completed it successfully, it would be enough to offset his setbacks in the Meijiang Pharmaceuticals case.

Cen Xiao was just as happy to stay in the city. After all, he still had his coursework, and Li Rong was also in A City.

When Cen Xiao stood waiting for the elevator, he didn’t expect the doors to open to reveal Du Mingli inside.

Du Mingli froze for a moment before putting on a polite, surface-level smile. “Team Leader Cen, long time no see.”

Du Mingli had recently changed his hairstyle. Previously, his slightly longer hair lent him a gentler demeanor, but now, with it cut shorter, he appeared younger, more capable, and better suited to his darker complexion.

Cen Xiao, however, maintained his usual cold demeanor, giving Du Mingli nothing more than a brief glance without even a nod.

Fortunately, there was no one else in the elevator, so no one witnessed the underlying tension between the two leaders.

Du Mingli seemed accustomed to Cen Xiao’s hostility, no longer even feeling uncomfortable about it.

“Team Leader Cen, though we’re competitors, we work in the same organization. There’s no need to strain relations too much. How about a talk?”

Cen Xiao glanced at his phone. Geng An was sending a flurry of messages to Yu Fuyan in the group chat. Over the past few months, the shutdown of District Six had caused a domino effect, leading to major corporate withdrawals and delivering one of the most significant blows to Blue Pivot in decades.

Cen Xiao had no interest in wasting a second of his time on Du Mingli. Just as he was about to press the button for his floor, Du Mingli raised a hand to block the elevator door. “I know who that beauty by your side is.”

Cen Xiao froze, raising his eyes to meet Du Mingli’s sharp gaze.

Du Mingli shrugged. “I just want to talk.”

The library in the lobby was an ideal place—quiet, with no one around at this time since everyone else was busy in their offices.

After shutting the glass door, Du Mingli got straight to the point. “The person by your side is Li Qingli and Gu Nong’s son, Li Rong. Funny enough, I’ve seen him so many times but only just realized.”

Cen Xiao smirked faintly. “Team Leader Du’s intelligence is quick.”

Du Mingli laughed, the corners of his eyes creasing. “Don’t mock me. It’s just that I have a habit of analyzing every failed case. After the Meijiang Pharmaceuticals incident, I reflected over and over. I figured I might be missing a capable confidant.”

Cen Xiao wasn’t surprised that Du Mingli had pieced it together.

During those months, Du Mingli had dug deeply into Meijiang Pharmaceuticals. Although he never breached the core team, lower-level personnel were easy to sway.

After all, Li Rong had appeared in person, and it was he who discovered the issues with Qingrui’s raw data. Even though He Dayong had taken precautions afterward, it still couldn’t prevent prying eyes from digging deeper.

Du Mingli quickly noticed that Cen Xiao neither looked surprised, worried, nor intimidated, so he awkwardly wiped the smile off his face.

“Honestly, I don’t understand your hostility toward me,” Du Mingli said. “I thought about it carefully. When the Li family ran into trouble a couple of years ago, I don’t recall kicking them while they were down. In fact, I was even willing to believe there was malicious competition involved.”

Cen Xiao replied, “Team Leader Du, I don’t understand either. Where does your confidence come from, thinking you’re the only one with integrity?”

Du Mingli’s expression stiffened.

He had once firmly believed that about himself. After all, Cen Xiao had even said to his face that he wasn’t a good person.

But after the Meijiang Pharmaceuticals incident, Du Mingli began to question whether achieving good results without good intentions or having good intentions but failing to deliver was the better approach.

Not wanting to dwell on the topic, Du Mingli averted his gaze and said slowly, “I’m guessing you’re trying to clear the Li family’s name, right? I’ve looked into the matter—it’s full of strange details. If Li Qingli was truly wronged, we shouldn’t be enemies. Who knows, I might even be able to help you.”

This time, Cen Xiao finally turned his full attention to Du Mingli, his expression laced with mockery. Instead of addressing Du Mingli’s suggestion directly, he asked, “You once asked me this: as the driver of a runaway trolley, with one person tied to one track and five to the other, which way would I steer? What if it were one versus a hundred? One versus a thousand?”

Du Mingli frowned, eyeing Cen Xiao warily. “That’s the Trolley Problem proposed by Philippa Foot. It doesn’t have a definitive answer. People have debated it for decades, and even world-renowned professors don’t give a single solution. Besides, when did I ever ask you that?”

He didn’t believe his relationship with Cen Xiao was close enough to discuss such classic theoretical dilemmas.

Cen Xiao let out a disdainful chuckle. “It’s been debated for decades, and there’s no definitive answer—nor is there supposed to be one. But when you’re actually in the driver’s seat, you’ll naturally make a choice.”

It’s an instinctive, primal decision—not one that requires thought or the lessons of professors. When it comes down to the moment when you have no choice but to turn the wheel, your body will decide.

That day, with a blade hidden in his belt buckle pressed against Du Mingli’s throat, Cen Xiao had demanded to know why he targeted Li Rong. Du Mingli, realizing he was on the brink of death, didn’t seem afraid.

Instead, his face turned ashen as he let out a bitter laugh and asked Cen Xiao the same question.

Then he said, “When you’re in that seat, you’ll naturally know what to choose.”