The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] Chapter 31

It took Li Rong about a week to slowly unpack and arrange the items from his boxes.

After his dormitory was completely filled, he realized just how spacious and comfortable his old home had been.

Thinking about it, Li Rong couldn’t help but feel a tinge of melancholy.

When the incident happened, it was already past midsummer, and the nights had grown cooler. Yet, that night, he couldn’t sleep despite tossing and turning under his blanket. For some reason, he felt the room was unbearably stuffy. Before falling asleep, he had gotten out of bed, opened the window, and drawn the curtains across it.

Because of his close relationship with his parents, privacy wasn’t something he cared much about. Most of the time, his bedroom door was left ajar. Gu Nong enjoyed baking desserts late at night, and Li Rong didn’t want to miss the scent of the first batch.

But that particular night, someone—he couldn’t remember who—had closed his door tightly for him.

Thankfully, his house had been large enough. Thankfully, his door had been firmly shut. Thankfully, he had drawn the curtains but left the window open.

That’s why he survived. His life must hold some greater purpose.

Li Rong’s move back to the dormitory caused a bit of a stir at A High School.

Although the incident had happened some time ago and the buzz had largely faded, most people still reacted to him with curiosity. That curiosity, however, often carried a hint of schadenfreude, an unspoken glee in witnessing drama.

For the third-year students, who were under immense pressure and living monotonous lives, any external stimulus was a welcome distraction. It awakened a vitality that should have been natural for their age.

The senior-year dormitories were located on separate floors. News spread quickly, and soon, Li Rong’s dorm room became something of a tourist attraction. It was as if anyone who didn’t pretend to casually pass by and sneak a selfie couldn’t consider themselves a proper dormitory resident.

“Hey, have you heard? Li Rong from the senior experimental class moved into the dorms. He brought his entire household with him.”

“Huh? What happened to his home?”

“He doesn’t have one anymore. He has to live in the dorms now. So sad. I heard he used to live in a mansion.”

“Yeah, even though he acts like it’s no big deal, he must be hurting inside.”

“He’ll just have to make do until graduation. After that, he’ll have to move all that stuff out.”

“Let’s go check it out!”

“Be subtle. Let’s just pretend we’re passing by…”

…

Over the next few days, Li Rong observed the dorm life and noticed there were roughly three types of students who chose to live there.

The first type were those who had been specially recruited or transferred from other cities. Their homes were far away, and they could only return about once every six months.

The second type were diligent students aiming for top universities, needing to immerse themselves in a 24/7 study environment.

The last type consisted of those who wanted to escape their parents’ control and enjoy freedom, using “studying” as an excuse to slack off in the dorms.

Li Rong checked the remaining money he had. Despite his efforts to save, living with constant expenses and no income was becoming increasingly challenging.

With his limited funds, he couldn’t invest in the sure-to-appreciate real estate, skyrocketing stocks, funds, Bitcoin, or the trending sunrise industries that were at their peak.

As for his advanced knowledge of biochemical research and new drug compounds—something six years ahead of his peers—he couldn’t reveal that now. He refused to sacrifice the rightful recognition of countless scientists working tirelessly for the sake of his own benefit.

But he needed to figure out a way to make some pocket money.

Since so many students loved “passing by” his dorm room, why not take advantage of it?

Li Rong went to the dorm supervisor and asked for a large sheet of white paper. With a marker, he wrote in bold:

“Senior Year Subject Tutoring. Intensive Crash Course Sessions. Only ¥200 per session (market price ¥1,000). 

This dorm proudly had star student Cen Xiao, who jumped from ranking dead last to top 10 in the entire grade.

Sessions start at 8 PM after evening study. Limited spots available—sign up now!”

After finishing, he looked over his handiwork, satisfied, and confidently posted it on his door.

The crowd gathered outside: “…”

Immediately, someone snapped a photo and shared it across all the class group chats at A High School.

“Has Li Rong lost his mind? He’s starting a tutoring business in his dorm?”

“Hahaha, told you he’s desperate! Didn’t he already try pitching this in the experimental class last time? Nobody even cared!”

“Hmm…”

“But Cen Xiao did jump from dead last to 10th in the grade. I heard from his classmates he only had one night of tutoring.”

“And Li Rong himself took first place in the last citywide mock exams.”

“Usually, hiring a tutor of his caliber costs way more than ¥1,000 per session outside of school.”

“Isn’t Li Rong supposed to be crushed by despair? How does he even have the energy for something like this? He probably won’t take it seriously.”

“No way anyone’s dumb enough to pay for this, right? Don’t make me laugh.”

“Yeah, people are just enjoying the drama.”

…

After school that evening, Li Rong went to the student convenience store to buy some bottled water and chips.

Carrying his plastic bag, he strolled leisurely back to his dorm and was just about to pull out his key to unlock the door when—

A boy from the dorm opposite peeked out hesitantly. He wore thick glasses, had a patchy buzz cut, and a gray turtleneck sweater. His frame was thin and devoid of much muscle.

The boy glanced around nervously to ensure no one was watching, then mustered the courage to approach Li Rong.

“Um… that thing you posted on your door… Is it real? Can you actually teach well?”

Li Rong gave him a once-over, casually twisted the doorknob, shifted the bag into his left hand, and chuckled lightly.

“Of course it’s real. This isn’t my first time tutoring.”

Though, in the past, he’d taught university students at A University, and the material was far more advanced.

The boy naturally assumed he was referring to Cen Xiao’s case and nervously bit his lip. “I’m Liu Mingxiu, from Class 7. I’ve run into you in the hallway before and seen you on the podium receiving awards. My grades are just below the threshold for top universities, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t break through. I’m really desperate. I don’t expect to improve as quickly as Cen Xiao, but I’d like to at least get into a good university.”

Li Rong nodded in understanding. After switching on the light, he placed the chips and water on the desk and said calmly, “I don’t know much about you yet. You can bring me your test papers and assignments for me to review, or ask me any questions you’re struggling with. If you need me to summarize key points or map out knowledge structures for any subject, I can do that too.”

Looking at Li Rong’s back, Liu Mingxiu couldn’t explain why, but he felt that despite being the same age, Li Rong exuded a sense of trustworthiness.

Before long, there was another quiet knock at the door.

“Uh, is Li Rong here? That thing you posted on your door—is it real?”

Liu Mingxiu glanced over his shoulder and quickly stepped back to make room for the newcomer, forcing a smile. “Dude, you too?”

The other boy awkwardly replied, “Haha, just curious, really. Thought I’d check it out.”

Scratching his head, Liu Mingxiu muttered softly, “I think your name’s Xu Song, right? We’re about the same academically—we’re always near each other on the grade rankings.”

Xu Song let out a forced laugh. “Hahaha, really? What a coincidence. I hadn’t noticed.”

Li Rong unscrewed a bottle of water, poured it into a thermos, and added some hot water from the dorm’s faucet. He blew on it to cool it down and took a slow sip. “Two of you? Sure, I can manage that.”

Xu Song stubbornly said, “I… I haven’t decided yet.”

Li Rong tilted his head, furrowing his brow in mild confusion. “Then are you leaving?”

Xu Song: “…”

If his competitor was taking extra lessons, how could he not? 

Sure, the group chat was mocking anyone who signed up, but Xu Song knew better. If those lessons got someone into the top ten in the grade, people would be begging Li Rong for tutoring on their knees.

Li Rong put down his cup, casually brushed his bangs out of his eyes, and remarked to himself, “Looks like my grades still carry some weight.”

When he put up the notice, it was partly to make some living expenses and partly to annoy the crowd loitering outside his door. Two students for tutoring was manageable—spacious enough for the dorm and easy for him.

But half an hour later, staring at the dozen-plus people crammed into his room, Li Rong was deep in thought.

The newcomers were equally embarrassed. Each had thought they were the only brave one sneaking in for a bargain. To their shock, everyone had the same idea.

The room was filled with an awkward silence, but no one volunteered to leave.

Li Rong stood lazily by the window, leaning against the sill with his jacket open. He scanned the room, unable to suppress a serious question: “Don’t you all hate me?”

The crowd immediately erupted into a chaotic chorus of excuses:

“I never said I hated you! I’ve never even spoken in the class group chat.”

“Those rumors have nothing to do with me. Why would I care?”

“I’ve never badmouthed you.”

“Me neither.”

“I’m so busy studying every day—I don’t have time to follow gossip.”

…

Li Rong smiled faintly, lowered his head slightly, and raised an almost imperceptible eyebrow, his mood visibly lifting. “Oh, is that so?”

Cen Xiao, meanwhile, had only joined the official group chat run by the class teacher, Yang Fenfang, and wasn’t part of the private student-run chats.

The fact that Li Rong was running a bustling tutoring business in the dorm only came to his attention days later when Jian Fu, bored, stumbled across it on the school forum.

On the forum, someone had posted a picture of the flyer Li Rong had long since taken down, along with a snarky caption:

[Everyone said only fools would pay that tutoring ‘tax,’ but I heard there are more than a dozen fools now?]

“Are they talking about that experimental class guy? I heard the dorm was so full they moved to the pantry.”

“No way. There are that many fools? Who lied to me about our school’s average IQ being high?”

“Knowing how to ace exams doesn’t mean you can teach. I thought everyone knew that.”

“Honestly, though, he’s really good at explaining.”

“I can confirm—it works.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, the 200-yuan price is actually worth it. He’s like a professional teacher.”

“And surprisingly… gentle. Totally different from the cold, aloof image people spread about him.”

“Yeah, the rumors were ridiculous. He’s actually pretty decent.”

Cen Xiao frowned as he finished reading the thread. He scrolled back up to look at the elegant script on Li Rong’s flyer.

Then, setting his phone down, he turned to Li Rong and slowly repeated, “‘Outstanding student from my class’?”

Li Rong, in the middle of preparing lesson materials, had just finished writing a chemical equation. Hearing Cen Xiao’s words, his pen paused mid-air.

Propping his chin on one hand, Li Rong’s eyelid twitched slightly before he turned his head a little, raising his eyes. “What did you say?”

Cen Xiao smirked faintly. “When did I become your student?”

Li Rong felt a pang of regret. He’d scribbled that line casually, never expecting it to reach Cen Xiao’s ears.

Still, why was this what Cen Xiao chose to focus on? Shouldn’t the bigger takeaway be that the grades were real and impressive?

Li Rong straightened up, scooted a little closer to Cen Xiao, and smiled innocently with narrowed eyes. “Thirsty? My treat. What do you want to drink? Milk tea, soda, juice?”

Cen Xiao, fully aware of the deflection, paused briefly before replying nonchalantly, “Milk tea.”

“You drink that?” Li Rong muttered under his breath, then pulled a 100-yuan bill from his pocket, placing it in front of Cen Xiao. Nodding toward Jian Fu, who was engrossed in a game, he said, “Tell Jian Fu to grab four cups. I want the crystal grape flavor.”

Cen Xiao squinted at him, displeased. “Didn’t you say you were treating me? I thought it was just for me.”

Li Rong’s gaze softened as he patted Cen Xiao’s shoulder, his tone teasingly ambiguous. “Then… you can have my cup too.”