The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] Chapter 46

Faint footsteps on the marble tiles outside the restroom broke the silence.

Li Rong cleared his throat and glanced at Cen Xiao with feigned irritation. “Ahem. I’m going to dry my pants now. Are you staying?”

His pants were completely soaked; he’d have to take them off to dry them.

Not that he minded Cen Xiao seeing, but they weren’t in the same no-strings-attached mode as in their past life. A little decorum seemed appropriate.

Cen Xiao’s gaze dropped, lingering for a moment before he lightly retorted, “Am I not allowed to stay?”

Li Rong swallowed, sitting down on the wooden chair behind him and placing a hand on Cen Xiao’s wrist. Tilting his head back, he teased, “The lesson’s not even sold yet—twenty thousand.”

Cen Xiao glanced at Li Rong’s pale fingers, unaffected. “I’m not particularly stingy.”

Li Rong couldn’t help but laugh, nudging Cen Xiao’s wrist. “What are you planning to do on someone else’s turf?”

Cen Xiao had no real plans. The place wasn’t secure, and Tang He would undoubtedly come looking if he delayed. 

But he couldn’t resist teasing Li Rong, especially since the latter had flaunted himself so provocatively more than once in the past.

Without moving, Cen Xiao looked down at the figure wrapped in layers of cotton. “Never used this dryer, have you? Want me to help?”

Li Rong pulled his hand back, exasperated. “You think I’m an idiot?”

If he hadn’t used it, couldn’t he figure it out himself?

Cen Xiao was about to reply when his phone buzzed. Tang He had lost patience and was calling directly. 

For someone charging such a high hourly rate, Tang He prided himself on professional integrity—wasting time sipping tea during sessions wasn’t an option.

Cen Xiao glanced at the phone and frowned.

Li Rong quickly caught on and urged, “The boss has worked in District Nine, so he dares charge this much. Meanwhile, I’m the top of my class, and I only charge two hundred. If you don’t feel bad, I do.”

The words carried a hint of ambiguity. Both understood its implications. 

If someone wasn’t close—intimately close—they wouldn’t feel the pain of spending money on them.

Cen Xiao took the call briefly, then hung up, signaling that he was aware.

Before leaving, he turned back and advised, “You only need twenty minutes to dry that amount of water. Lock the door and be careful.”

Li Rong, mid-motion to remove his clothes, paused in surprise. “Careful of what?”

They were in a training facility, where even the employees likely knew some self-defense. Besides, he wasn’t exactly fragile—what could possibly happen?

Cen Xiao hesitated for a moment before turning away. “Just casually saying.”

Still, as he left, he made sure to lock the door behind him.

Li Rong paused, his actions stilled, and quietly stared at the closed door, his brows furrowing.

Cen Xiao’s attitude struck him as odd in two ways: his hostility toward Du Mingli and his reaction to that last remark.

“I’m leaving? Coming with me?”

This sentence wasn’t anything special—it was something he’d said countless times before.

He’d said it to colleagues in the lab, to students at A University, and even to mentors who were like guiding lights in his career.

It wasn’t so much an invitation as it was a polite gesture when he was ready to leave.

But…

He’d never said it to Cen Xiao.

In their previous life, Cen Xiao would often drive him to work at Hongsuo, so there was no need for him to say those words.

And when he left the house alone, it was usually after they’d had a falling-out—hardly a time for polite invitations.

Li Rong couldn’t quite figure out why he’d said it this time.

Perhaps when the time was right, he could ask Cen Xiao directly.

***

Drying his pants didn’t take long—indeed, just twenty minutes. Once done, the warm pants felt surprisingly comfortable against his skin.

When Li Rong stepped out of the drying room, Du Mingli was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he’d gone to train with someone else or simply left. Li Rong didn’t care.

Cen Xiao, meanwhile, was still locked in an intense sparring session with Tang He. After watching for a while, Li Rong grew bored and wandered around the training center with a cup of water in hand.

At the reception desk, the attendant suddenly called out to him:

“Hey…”

Li Rong paused and looked over. “Yes?”

The receptionist’s cheeks turned a faint red, her excitement barely concealed. She glanced around before whispering to Li Rong, “That client who wanted to switch classes with Mr. Cen came by earlier and asked if you were a student here. I didn’t tell him, but… be careful around these middle-aged men. I don’t think they mean well.”

Li Rong chuckled, his eyes curving into crescents. “Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.”

The receptionist probably thought Du Mingli was romantically interested in him, but Li Rong knew better—Du Mingli was trying to figure out his identity.

It was unexpected, though, that Du Mingli would take such a keen interest in him.

For sharp people, the harder you try to hide something, the more obvious it becomes.

***

Three hours later, Cen Xiao finally finished his training.

After resting with Tang He for a bit and applying some ointment, he changed into fresh clothes, ready to leave.

As Li Rong glanced outside, he noticed it had started snowing.

It was the first snowfall of the year in A City. The flakes were big and fluffy, tumbling about in the wind as if reluctant to land on the ground, where they would be swallowed by the muddy streets.

Li Rong’s chat app avatar was a snowflake. He did have a fondness for snow.

When he was younger, every winter, Li Qingli and Gu Nong would take him outside to build snowmen.

Gu Nong, who grew up in the southern regions where snow was rare, had loved the snow. Later, when she studied abroad in a snow-bound city, she could finally indulge herself fully in snowy adventures.

Perhaps Gu Nong’s special fondness for snow had influenced him. Winter snow, to him, meant his parents would turn into kids and play wildly with him.

His parents seemed to have no concept of growing up. Every time it snowed, they were more excited than he was.

It was like this when he was four or five, the same when he was eleven or twelve, and even a year before he was about to become an adult, they were still like this.

But not this year.

Li Rong braced against the wind, pushed open the glass door, and stretched out his hand to catch the falling snowflakes.

As soon as the snowflakes touched his skin, they were cold for a moment but quickly melted into water droplets.

“Not cold?” Cen Xiao quietly walked to Li Rong’s right side, blocking the wind blowing from that direction.

Before he finished speaking, Li Rong couldn’t help but cough. His throat tickled slightly.

Perhaps when the heart is fragile, the body involuntarily follows suit.

Li Rong quickly cleared his mind of memories, pulled back his hand, and shook his head. “I’m fine.”

Cen Xiao: “Go sit inside. I’ll start the car.”

Li Rong: “I’ll wait in the car with you. It’s snowing, but it’s not that cold.”

The training center had its own backyard parking lot. Cen Xiao led Li Rong to the back, got in the car, and turned on the heater.

Coming out from indoors, it did feel chilly, but fortunately, the car warmed up quickly, and Li Rong soon didn’t have to rub his hands inside his sleeves anymore.

The snow was heavy and dense, the sky a constant gray, and traffic moved at a snail’s pace.

Cen Xiao planned to take Li Rong for something to eat, but before they reached the bustling part of town, Li Rong suddenly knocked on the car window. “Pull over. I see someone I know.”

Cen Xiao glanced at the blurry rearview mirror and pulled over to the side.

On the sidewalk, a figure was walking slowly ahead.

The person wasn’t very tall and wasn’t dressed warmly—just a grayish-yellow coat. Snowflakes clung unabashedly to her neck and face, melting into water and seeping into her collar.

Her ears were bright red from the cold. Although she’d tied her hair into a ponytail, her bangs were a messy tangle from the wind. Luckily, her thick glasses frames blocked some of the stray hair and snow, allowing her to keep her eyes open.

Ji Xiaochuan.

Why did she always look so pitifully messy whenever he saw her?

Li Rong shook his head silently, pushed open the car door, and called out, “Ji Xiaochuan!”

Ji Xiaochuan, startled by someone suddenly calling her, jumped and missed her step, stumbling off the curb.

Fortunately, she reacted quickly and didn’t fall headfirst into the roadside slush.

Ji Xiaochuan gathered her messy hair, turned back, and said, “Ah… me you.”

She recognized Li Rong but hadn’t expected to see him here.

She’d heard he lived on campus now, and students who lived on campus usually didn’t go out much on weekends.

Li Rong raised his sleeve to shield against the wind. “Where are you headed? I’ll give you a ride.”

Ji Xiaochuan quickly waved her hands, flustered. “I’m not going anywhere. Just… taking a walk. You don’t have to… worry about me.”

The wind blew her thick bangs aside, revealing a fresh scab on her forehead—clearly a recent injury.

Li Rong sighed. “Get in the car. It’s too windy out here.”

Ji Xiaochuan hesitated, torn between not wanting to trouble him and wishing he hadn’t seen her at all.

But Li Rong wasn’t inclined to pretend otherwise. The longer she stalled, the longer he’d have to stand in the cold wind.

She had heard from Song Yuanyuan and the others that Li Rong had a particularly weak constitution.

Ji Xiaochuan bit her lip and reluctantly ran over to open the back door of the car.

The moment she got in, she saw Cen Xiao in the driver’s seat.

“Y-y-y-you’re… Cen… Xiao?”

She already stuttered a bit normally, and her nervousness made it worse.

Shrinking against the car door, she wished she could disappear into the gap between the seat and the backrest.

Cen Xiao glanced at Li Rong, puzzled, and asked, “What unforgivable thing did I do in high school for this kind of reaction? What kind of reputation do I have out there?”

He thought for a moment. He had never bullied any honest classmates and was often reasonable in his dealings.

Li Rong shook the snow off his hair and chuckled lightly.

If he thought about it, high school was Cen Xiao’s period of restraint. Without any real authority back then, Cen Xiao had avoided being too ostentatious.

But in every school, there was always a figure with a powerful background, abundant wealth, and enough influence that even the principal wouldn’t dare cross them.

Most students never interacted directly with such people, so rumors—often only partially true—would spread widely. And students, being naturally drawn to rebellious narratives, were quick to embellish.

Cen Xiao fit the archetype for those fantasies perfectly. Even if he did nothing, the rumors did the work for him.

“Ji Xiaochuan, Cen Xiao is my friend,” Li Rong turned his head and looked at her through the gap between the seats.

“Oh… okay. Hello,” Ji Xiaochuan greeted Cen Xiao nervously.

She wasn’t sure how Li Rong had become friends with such a big shot like Cen Xiao from Blue Pivot, but she did recall Song Yuanyuan mentioning that no one in their class was allowed to bring up Li Rong and Cen Xiao’s names together.

“Where to?” Cen Xiao asked.

Of course, he wasn’t asking Li Rong—they already had a destination.

Ji Xiaochuan, sharp as she was, understood and kept her head down, murmuring, “I don’t… have anywhere to go.”

She had been wandering the streets for hours, too cold to stop moving.

She had left in a rush, without her phone or any money, so even hiding out in a café wasn’t an option.

The car’s heating made her feel warm all over. It was then she realized her limbs had gone numb from the cold, and her ears were painfully raw.

“Then come eat with us,” Li Rong offered.

Ji Xiaochuan wanted to refuse, but the words got stuck in her throat.

In front of Li Rong, all her attempts at pretense felt futile.

For some reason, she always felt like his clear, bright eyes could see right through her. He could infer her true thoughts from her reactions alone.

The truth was, she was cold and hungry.

Ji Xiaochuan hesitated and mumbled, “I… forgot my phone. I’ll pay you back… on Monday…”

She couldn’t afford to split the bill right now, so she wanted to explain up front.

Li Rong cut her off, “Once the Talented Students results are published, I’ll have some free time. I’ve been thinking of raising my tutoring fees after seeing the market response. You can be my teaching assistant.”

Tang He could charge 20,000 yuan per hour after two years working in District Nine. As a current employee of Hongsuo and someone who had personally participated in the national entrance exam, Li Rong could charge at least as much.

“Thank you…” Ji Xiaochuan whispered.

She knew Li Rong was giving her a chance to earn her own living expenses. Asking her parents for money was truly painful for her.

Luckily, she was a good student and could genuinely help Li Rong without holding him back.

Li Rong turned back, adjusted his seatbelt, and looked out the window.

After a brief silence, he said unexpectedly, “Covering your forehead all the time isn’t good. It traps bacteria and increases the risk of infection. Don’t worry—we won’t ask questions or tell anyone about it.”

Ji Xiaochuan realized he had noticed her injuries and guessed the general situation.

Her eyes filled with tears as she bit her lip, her voice trembling. “They… didn’t mean to. My mom’s employer always argues with their family and takes it out on her. When she gets home, she has to vent too. My little brother… had a fever, and it’s snowing outside, so they couldn’t get a taxi. The hospital was crowded. They’re just… very tired and irritable.”

It was rare for her to speak this much in one go. Usually, her stutter made her avoid long sentences, and she preferred not to speak at all.

But she trusted Li Rong deeply. She believed that no matter how awkwardly she expressed herself, he would never mock her.

This was also the first time she had shared her family situation with anyone—perhaps because Li Rong had noticed her forehead injury and reminded her about the infection risk.

Most people wouldn’t have cared or bothered to mention it.

Cen Xiao, who had a complicated relationship with his own parents, seemed to feel some resonance with her story. For once, he chimed in on something he would normally ignore.

“Then they should find another employer,” he said.

Logically, the root of Ji Xiaochuan’s troubles seemed to stem from her mom’s workplace.

Ji Xiaochuan hadn’t expected Cen Xiao to address her directly. She quickly replied, “This one… pays well. There’s not much work, either. My mom only has to cook, and she’s not allowed into other rooms.”

Li Rong replied coldly, “Doesn’t sound like a good person to me.”

Ji Xiaochuan retorted softly, “They’re… good people. Actually, it’s… a professor from Hongsup Research Institute. I want to work at Hongsuo someday too.”

Li Rong sensitively countered, “Which professor?”

Ji Xiaochuan replied, “Professor… Professor Li Baishou.”

Li Rong’s expression sharpened, and he instinctively glanced at Cen Xiao.

Although Cen Xiao was driving and kept his eyes on the road ahead, he unconsciously slowed down upon hearing Ji Xiaochuan’s response.

Ji Xiaochuan looked utterly confused, unsure why Li Rong seemed to have such a strong reaction.

Frowning, Li Rong turned to Cen Xiao and said, “Do you remember me telling you that Li Baishou seemed unaware of those media stories from Liu Tanzhi?”