The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] Chapter 48

Ji Xiaochuan was dumbfounded.

She hadn’t expected Li Rong and Cen Xiao to be this close.

Cen Xiao could casually feed Li Rong, and even when Li Rong spat out food he didn’t like without hesitation, Cen Xiao wasn’t the least bit upset.

So the rumors were utterly ridiculous. Li Rong wasn’t aloof or unapproachable, and Cen Xiao wasn’t domineering or unreasonable.

The camaraderie between guys could really be enviable.

Li Rong noticed that while they had been analyzing Li Baishou and Liu Tanzhi, Cen Xiao had been feeding him the entire time without eating anything himself.

“Why aren’t you eating? Here, have some!” Li Rong deliberately grabbed a piece of celery from the hot pot and placed it on Cen Xiao’s plate, looking up at him with an innocent expression.

Cen Xiao snorted lightly, glanced at the oil-slicked, vibrant green celery, and then, without a change in expression, stuffed it into his mouth.

He didn’t like it, but it wasn’t as if he couldn’t eat it. Growing up rough, he couldn’t afford to be picky like Li Rong.

After swallowing the celery, Cen Xiao murmured under his breath, “Truly ungrateful.”

Ji Xiaochuan caught on. Li Rong hated carrots, and Cen Xiao wasn’t fond of celery.

She tentatively asked, “Do you guys… know each other’s dislikes that well?”

It was so thoughtful—she hadn’t expected seemingly carefree guys to notice such details.

Cen Xiao’s eyes flickered slightly, and he responded briefly, “Cafeteria.”

Li Rong added almost simultaneously, “We used to eat at the cafeteria together.”

Ji Xiaochuan nodded blankly and said in a small voice, “I like… almost everything.”

Li Rong chuckled and pushed the dish of braised beef and carrots toward her. “Then you can eat more of this.”

They spent over two hours on that lunch.

Ji Xiaochuan noticed that Li Rong was an extreme picky eater with a small appetite. Even when it came to dishes he liked, he’d stop after a few bites.

Cen Xiao, on the other hand, wasn’t fussy and could eat almost anything.

Ji Xiaochuan, meanwhile, ate so much her stomach was round and couldn’t even hold a drop of water afterward.

She turned to Li Rong and offered, “If you want… to know more about the professor, I can ask… my mom.”

Li Rong, aware of her family situation, hesitated. “If Liu Tanzhi has gone out of her way to hide things, your mom probably wouldn’t find anything. Better not act rashly—I wouldn’t want to alert the target.”

Ji Xiaochuan could only nod.

She didn’t fully understand what Li Rong and Cen Xiao were trying to accomplish, but it was obviously very important. She was happy to have been able to provide even a little help, despite the pain the topic had brought her.

After lunch, Ji Xiaochuan decided to head home.

Even if it meant facing unwarranted anger, her things were still there, and she had no choice but to return.

Her unsolvable predicament still weighed on her, yet something seemed to have shifted.

She once thought her world was entirely dark, but as the college entrance exams approached and after meeting Li Rong, she felt as though a crack had formed in the darkness, letting in a sliver of light.

Her suffering seemed insignificant compared to Li Rong’s circumstances, yet he remained hopeful and vibrant.

She had a feeling she was nearing the end of her tribulations. When she turned 18, got into A University, and left home, everything would be full of promise.

***

On Monday, Jian Fu barged in front of Cen Xiao’s desk and plopped himself down. “That pretentious networking event? Even a dog wouldn’t attend!”

His voice was loud enough for half the class to hear. Even Cui Mingyang turned his head, nodding in agreement with Jian Fu.

Jian Fu wasn’t wrong—it truly was the kind of event no one wanted to go to.

The companies affiliated with Hongsuo weren’t part of the United Commerce association, so the two sides had been secretly sabotaging each other for years. Usually, they couldn’t even be bothered to keep up appearances. But at the networking event, they had to act jubilant and harmonious.

Even Jiang Weide, who cursed Hu Yuming’s name at every opportunity, would be forced to clink glasses with him at the event, smiling and praising Hu’s “outstanding contributions.”

With Jiang Weide’s temper, this was likely his least favorite job—“a grind that pays cr*p but still has to be done.”

Li Rong had always disliked noisy, insincere gatherings. In the past, when Li Qingli and Gu Nong tried to get him to attend, he’d always refused.

So he had no firsthand experience of how dull and tiresome those events really were.

Jian Fu described it vividly, venting his frustrations. “They bring out a roast turkey, then make someone from Hongsuo and someone from Blue Pivot carve it down the middle to symbolize ‘reconciliation.’ It’s tradition for everyone to cut a piece and eat it—you can’t imagine how bad it tastes. Dry and salty as h*ll.”

“Then your parents drag you around like a broken record, introducing you to people you’ve never even seen before, forcing you to exchange pleasantries you don’t mean. You can tell from their eyes they don’t care about you either. It’s like gathering a bunch of important people just to stage an absurd play.”

“Hongsuo and Blue Pivot, friendly? Yeah, right. Some old-timers must be really bored.”

Li Rong listened to Jian Fu ranting, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “Not necessarily. If I represented Hongsuo, wouldn’t you want to eat the turkey I carved?”

Jian Fu opened his mouth to retort but couldn’t find the right words. After a long pause, he finally mumbled awkwardly, “That’s… different.”

He wanted to say that they wouldn’t have to pretend.

But then it struck him—if Li Rong joined Hongsuo Research Institute in the future, and he and Cen Xiao joined Blue Pivot, they’d still be friends.

Jian Fu muttered, “That’s a problem for years down the line. Let’s talk about it later.”

Lin Zhen came back from the water station, carrying freshly washed cherry tomatoes. He paused by Li Rong’s desk and glanced at Jian Fu. “What’s this about ‘years down the line’?”

Jian Fu tilted his head and glanced at the small cherry tomatoes in Lin Zhen’s hand. He beckoned with a finger, and when Lin Zhen passed the box to him, he casually grabbed two and stuffed them into his mouth.

“So sour!” Jian Fu grimaced, barely managing to swallow the tomatoes.

Lin Zhen, puzzled, quickly grabbed one himself and chewed on it. “Sour? It’s not that bad.”

These cherry tomatoes were Lin Zhen’s go-to snack for dieting; whenever he was hungry, he’d eat a few to maintain his figure—it worked wonders.

Jian Fu sneered. “What kind of lousy fruit are you eating? Tomorrow, I’ll bring you a durian instead.”

Lin Zhen couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “No one told you to eat them.”

Only Li Rong seriously answered Lin Zhen’s earlier question. “We were talking about the Hongsuo and Blue Pivot joint event. I don’t qualify to attend this year, but Cen Xiao and Jian Fu do.”

When he mentioned his own disqualification, his tone was calm, as if the topic wasn’t tied to the pain of losing his parents.

Cen Xiao shot Li Rong a deep look but refrained from showing any emotion in the classroom.

Jian Fu, lacking sensitivity, said bluntly, “Spend New Year’s Eve acting instead of eating, drinking, and having fun? No thanks.” Then, turning to Lin Zhen, he asked, “Hey, how are you spending New Year’s Eve?”

Lin Zhen, though often exasperated by Jian Fu’s bluntness, still replied, “Our performing arts class has mock interviews. No time for celebrations.”

Jian Fu: “Mock interviews? Like putting on a show?”

Lin Zhen hesitated. “Kind of, but it’s pretty formal.”

Jian Fu tapped the desk enthusiastically. “Then I want to watch! Every year, there’s news about acting school disasters during interviews.”

Lin Zhen: “…”

Cen Xiao, growing irritated, said to Lin Zhen, “Take him away, will you?”

Lin Zhen had been ready to refuse but swallowed the words before speaking. 

He didn’t really want to take Jian Fu away…

***

On New Year’s Eve, the city’s roadside greenery was adorned with string lights, creating a festive atmosphere. The last remnants of snow had melted away, leaving the air crisp and faintly earthy. Gray tree trunks, painted white up to a meter high, alternated with dark gray streetlamp posts, resembling zebra stripes from afar.

When Cen Xiao informed Cen Qing he would be attending the joint event, Cen Qing nearly dropped his teacup. 

Fortunately, years of practice as a district president had sharpened his reflexes, and he quickly regained composure.

“What did you say?” Cen Qing asked again.

Cen Xiao rarely visited District Three, so much so that the gate guard nearly turned him away as an outsider. It was only thanks to Xu Feng, who happened to pass by, that he was let in.

Since his last deep conversation with President Cen, Xu Feng couldn’t shake a vague sense of unease when looking at Cen Xiao. He couldn’t explain the feeling, but as President Cen had said, Cen Xiao was no longer a child.

Cen Xiao smiled and calmly replied, “Of course, I want to broaden my horizons with you and Mom.”

Cen Qing was speechless. 

Cen Xiao didn’t even bother coming up with a plausible excuse anymore.

Signaling Xu Feng to close the door, Cen Qing adopted a serious tone. “What exactly are you planning?”

Despite his stern words, he felt uncertain. 

No matter how distant Cen Xiao seemed, he was still his son. But he couldn’t decipher his son’s intentions.

Cen Xiao nonchalantly seated himself on the sofa in Cen Qing’s office. “If I want to secure my footing in District Nine, I’ll need a token of allegiance. I’m going to pick one out, see who fits.”

Cen Qing, still standing by his chair, glared coldly. “And you made me monitor Li Qingli’s investigative team for this so-called allegiance?”

“No.” Cen Xiao met his father’s gaze without flinching under the pressure of both a president and a parent. “It’s for something more important.”

What this “something more important” was, he didn’t intend to share. How much Cen Qing uncovered or guessed didn’t concern him. 

Though his feelings toward his parents were complicated, one thing was clear: they wouldn’t want him dead.

Cen Qing warned, “You’d better not drag your mother and me down with you.”

Cen Xiao stood up and said indifferently, “Don’t worry. Even if I die, I won’t involve you.”

After Cen Xiao left, Cen Qing collapsed into his chair, rubbing his temples wearily.

Xu Feng quickly poured him a glass of warm water. “President, are you all right?”

Cen Qing shook his head, taking a sip to calm himself. “I don’t know why, but I felt a sudden pang in my chest just now.”

Xu Feng said, “You’ve been overworking yourself. Take tonight’s event as a chance to relax.”

Cen Qing smiled wryly. “Relax? Managing my wife is already headache enough, and now I have to deal with him too. Keep an eye on Cen Xiao during the event. I want to know what he’s up to.”

***

The Hongsuo and Blue Pivot joint event was scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Seven Star Hotel, with attendees required to arrive an hour early. 

The weather was clear that night, and the city’s sporadic fireworks displays added bursts of light to the skyline. Most citizens gathered in commercial districts, creating an air of peace and celebration.

Yet amid this vibrant pixelated world of dazzling projections, the sorrowful cries of a few remained muffled by the cheers of fireworks.

The once-sensational event from months ago had faded from the public’s memory. But for those still affected, the journey continued beneath the colorful night sky.

At the front desk of the Changheng Inn, across from the Seven Star Hotel, Li Rong handed over his ID and politely said, “One room, please.”

The receptionist glanced between Li Rong and Cen Xiao, then extended a hand toward Cen Xiao. “Sir, I’ll need your ID too.”

Even though no one was monitoring them at the moment, Li Rong still preferred to avoid leaving any traceable connections to Cen Xiao.

Li Rong: “He’ll stay for just an hour.”

The receptionist gave a knowing smile but firmly refused. “I’m sorry, sir. Even for half an hour, we need to register him. You know how it is—New Year’s Eve, lots of people and chaos. For safety, we have to treat every customer equally.”

Cen Xiao took a deep breath, unwilling to waste time on such a trivial matter, and reluctantly handed over his ID.

Once the registration was complete, the receptionist returned both IDs along with the room key, adding considerately, “By the way, our hotel provides those things in the bedside drawer, free of charge. No need to bring your own. Thanks for your cooperation.”

Li Rong’s eyelid twitched, feeling a headache coming on. “We’re not here to… Forget it.”

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