The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] Chapter 84

Cen Xiao froze.

In an instant, all his dark, restless emotions drained away.

For the first time, he realized there was another way to resolve his feelings—he didn’t need to prove his presence, force anyone to stay, or demand constant attention.

All it took was Li Rong’s calm and candid acknowledgment, and he felt completely at ease.

Acknowledging one’s identity wasn’t easy, but Li Rong seemed unfazed by any potential fallout.

Cen Xiao quietly stood still, holding the tray, without stepping closer.

The girl was visibly startled by Li Rong’s straightforwardness.

After studying him for a few seconds, she awkwardly said, “Sorry about that.”

Li Rong’s eyes held a smile. “No problem.”

The girl quickly covered her mouth and dashed back to her seat.

Li Rong didn’t give the girl another glance, treating the encounter as a minor and insignificant episode. He lowered his head and stared at his phone, lost in the announcements on the screen.

Ji Xiaochuan carried over a bowl of sweet rice wine soup with glutinous rice balls and a plate of stir-fried instant noodles. She stopped next to Cen Xiao and asked curiously, “Cen Xiao, what… what are you looking?”

Cen Xiao snapped out of his thoughts, replying lightly, “Nothing.”

Li Rong overheard Ji Xiaochuan’s voice and instinctively turned his head, noticing Cen Xiao standing not far behind him. He had no idea how long Cen Xiao had been there.

Their gazes met. Li Rong’s lips curved into a slow smile.

Resting one hand on the back of the chair, he asked with pointed interest, “What are you doing standing there? Why not come over?”

Ji Xiaochuan hurriedly placed her dishes on the table and muttered softly, “Right… right, I saw Cen Xiao standing there for a while when I came over. I thought… something happened.”

Only then did Cen Xiao carry the shrimp wonton soup over, placing it on the table. “Your wontons. I also got you a cup of sago coconut milk.”

Li Rong’s smile didn’t waver. He picked up his chopsticks and stirred the soup. “Tsk, you stood back there for so long. I wonder if my noodles have gone mushy.”

He lifted some noodles with his chopsticks, inspecting them seriously.

Cen Xiao understood the teasing tone. “Well, what do you think? Is it satisfactory, young master?”

Li Rong set the chopsticks down and cast a sly glance at him. “It’s decent, I suppose.”

Cen Xiao chuckled and said, “In that case, I’ll go grab something else to eat.”

He turned, intending to leave.

Before he could, Li Rong caught his wrist, his expression turning more serious. “You heard everything, didn’t you?”

Cen Xiao didn’t bother lying. He nodded, his voice low. “I did.”

Li Rong chuckled softly and tapped Cen Xiao’s inner wrist with his index finger. “Are you satisfied with my response?”

Cen Xiao paused briefly, then leaned down close to Li Rong’s ear. His warm breath brushed against Li Rong’s earlobe as he murmured, “Satisfied. More than satisfied.”

The warmth made Li Rong’s ear tingle, and he shrank back slightly, releasing Cen Xiao’s wrist. “Go get your food, then.”

Ji Xiaochuan, utterly confused, picked at her stir-fried noodles with her chopsticks. “What… response?”

As Cen Xiao left, Li Rong rubbed his earlobe to dispel the lingering heat on his face. Calmly, he replied, “A girl just asked for my contact information earlier. I refused. No interest in romance at the moment.”

Ji Xiaochuan’s eyes lit up with admiration. “Wow… boss, you’re so focused and driven!”

In her mind, Li Rong was like the sun—calm, composed, and in control of everything, inspiring a sense of security.

Of course, such a person wouldn’t waste time on trivialities. He was surely plotting his revenge step by step!

Li Rong couldn’t help but laugh at her expression. He tapped his bowl lightly with his chopsticks, the porcelain ringing out a crisp sound.

Li Rong: “Just teasing you. I refused because I wasn’t interested. If I liked someone, I wouldn’t refuse.”

Ji Xiaochuan: “…”

Even Li Rong is joking with me now!

Frustrated, she stuffed her mouth with stir-fried noodles. The slick strands coated with spicy oil and sauce filled her mouth, and the rich flavor and satisfying texture immediately cured all her woes.

***

Placement exams were scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, resembling the college entrance exam but with a higher difficulty level than those in City A.

Whenever Li Rong returned to the dorm, he found Song He’s door locked, the latter still studying in the self-study room.

He Changfeng, however, preferred studying in the dorm. Since neither Li Rong nor Song He were around often, he had the place to himself.

Even so, He Changfeng couldn’t sit still. He would pop out now and then for a bag of chips or a can of soda, consuming what seemed like hundreds of yuan’s worth of snacks in a day.

At eleven in the evening, after Li Rong had finished washing up, He Changfeng was still in the common room eating greasy fried pork chops. Song He finally returned from the self-study room, looking exhausted.

Li Rong glanced at Song He. At this hour, it was too late for a shower.

The school only provided hot water from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Song He left for the self-study room at 5:30 a.m. daily and returned just before the dorms closed.

Li Rong hadn’t seen him shower in three days. In this sweltering summer, the smell was inevitable.

Still, dorm life was about tolerance.

Li Rong calmly carried his water cup toward his room.

But He Changfeng wasn’t as patient.

He was the type to wear his emotions on his sleeve. The smell ruined his appetite, making it impossible for him to enjoy his once-delicious pork chop.

He Changfeng sneered, “So dedicated to studying you don’t even have time to shower. Guess you’ll definitely make it to Class 1.”

Song He’s lips tightened as he gripped the strap of his bag nervously.

He took a couple of steps back to create distance and muttered, “I… I’ll shower tomorrow morning.”

He Changfeng scoffed, clearly unsatisfied. “Wow, with such hardworking roommates, the pressure’s on. If I’m the only one who doesn’t make it to Class 1, I’ll be too ashamed to stay here.”

Li Rong raised an eyebrow, his tone calm and indifferent. “When have I ever been hardworking?”

He Changfeng: “…”

He hadn’t seen Li Rong study once.

Either Li Rong was a genius who didn’t need to study or he had completely given up after getting into university.

Song He cast Li Rong a glance.

He could tell that Li Rong bore no hostility toward him—perhaps even subtly helped defuse the tension to avoid further awkwardness.

Of course, Li Rong also showed no animosity toward He Changfeng.

Sometimes, Song He felt that Li Rong observed everything as an outsider, coolly detached from it all.

Li Rong’s striking looks made him impossible to ignore. Yet beneath his polished exterior laid an impenetrable mind.

He seemed to understand everything but never truly embraced anything.

Song He had heard that Li Rong had friends at A University, people he often spent time with. Song He couldn’t imagine what kind of person would earn Li Rong’s genuine trust.

Song He asked, “Aren’t you afraid of not making it into Class One?”

Li Rong replied casually, “Nope.”

Song He couldn’t understand.

Everyone feared ending up in Zhang Zhaohe’s class. Nobody wanted a momentary lapse in effort to cost them their future.

He Changfeng chimed in, “Wow, confident much.”

Monday marked the beginning of the class placement exams.

Li Rong exhibited the same performance as during physics classes at A High—barely scraping through the day.

On Tuesday, he answered randomly, ensuring his effort didn’t appear too obviously lacking.

The class placement exams weren’t as strict as college entrance exams. Once the answer sheets were submitted, students could take their question papers with them.

As soon as the exams ended, impatient freshmen started comparing answers.

Ji Xiaochuan clutched her paper and rushed over to Li Rong’s desk, her face scrunched with worry. “Boss… I’m a little n-nervous. I’m not confident about the last big question.”

Li Rong, surprisingly concerned about Ji Xiaochuan’s results, glanced over her paper. “Let me estimate your score for you.”

He Changfeng, whose seat was right behind Li Rong, had been planning to compare answers with a fellow townsman. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but scoff internally.

Seriously? He didn’t study for even a day, and now he’s estimating scores for others?

Li Rong reviewed Ji Xiaochuan’s answers while trying to recall the previous life’s cut-off scores for Class One in the placement exams.

This was challenging for him. Back then, he’d scored a perfect score and hadn’t bothered to look at the cut-off. He could only piece together the scores of his past classmates.

“Roughly, you should make it into Class One.”

After some thought, Li Rong offered Ji Xiaochuan a comforting reassurance.

In the previous life, Ji Xiaochuan hadn’t made it into Class One. Back then, she was still trapped in the emotional scars left by her family, timid and overly sensitive, easily overwhelmed.

He Changfeng couldn’t roll his eyes harder. Tossing his backpack, he walked away.

Good-looking people are all a bit weird.

Four days later, the exam results were released, and the teachers in charge of welcoming new students posted the placement results in the grade group chat.

The freshmen swarmed the chat to check their scores.

This year, the Biochemistry Department had seven classes. Unsurprisingly, Zhang Zhaohe was assigned to teach Class Seven.

The results were announced at 8 a.m., with most students still in their dorms.

Song He hadn’t gone to the study room early today; instead, he went downstairs for a meticulous shower.

When he returned, he saw He Changfeng slamming his fist on the small dining table in the dormitory’s common area. “D*mn it! How am I in Class Two?”

He Changfeng ranked first in Class Two, just one point shy of Class One.

His face flushed red, beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and his temples throbbed with frustration. 

Every breath he took made his frame quiver, and the table groaned under his pounding fist.

Song He quickly checked his own scores. When he found his name, his face paled. “I’m in Class Two as well…”

Even though he knew A University was filled with talented individuals, seeing his name ranked lower than expected was still a blow.

Li Rong, on the other hand, remained composed. After glancing at the placements, he confirmed Ji Xiaochuan was in Class One and he himself was in Class Seven, feeling entirely at ease.

Song He turned to Li Rong. “Which class are you in?”

Not finding Li Rong’s name in Class One or Two, he hadn’t had time to check further down the list.

“Me? Class Seven,” Li Rong answered lightly.

Song He looked slightly surprised.

He hadn’t expected Li Rong to truly not study, prepare, or care about being placed in the lowest class.

He Changfeng couldn’t resist making a sarcastic remark. “What, did that girl you were helping with answers also end up in Class Seven?”

Li Rong chuckled lazily, his peach blossom eyes curving. “You mean Ji Xiaochuan? She’s in Class One.”

He Changfeng: “…”

He couldn’t understand how Li Rong had the confidence to estimate someone else’s score.

Once the placements were announced, the grade chat was muted, and each class teacher created a new group chat for their respective students.

Li Rong joined the Class Seven group automatically but wasn’t particularly interested in figuring out who his new classmates were.

Tomorrow, Cen Xiao was heading to District Nine to report in. Today, Li Rong didn’t plan to stay at school but wanted to spend the evening at the apartment with Cen Xiao.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed.

Li Rong paused at the dorm entrance and checked his private messages.

[Zhang Zhaohe: Li Rong, please come to my office.]

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