Chapter 43

Xiao Jian already knew he was suffering from myasthenia gravis and had only a few days left to live. He had learned of his current condition by overhearing a conversation between Lin Xiaoxin and the doctor while pretending to be asleep.

His face was a mask of helplessness and despair. Lin Xiaoxin’s words about the hope of recovery were merely meant to comfort him, out of her fear that he would give up treatment if he knew the truth.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I am already prepared to face the terror of death," Xiao Jian muttered to himself. To him, there was nothing left in this world worth lingering for. His legs had been amputated without his consent, and he couldn't help wondering why he hadn't just gone through with jumping from the building in the first place—then none of this would have happened. Right now, the Tianyuan Team was completely leaderless.

Because of Xiao Jian's absence, the team's training had also come to a halt, and everyone was staying home. Wang Tianqi was in Japan; Zhang Yi and Huang Feifan had matters to attend to; Yu Li was tied up with filming a movie and had no time for practice; Chen Siyu was preparing for her senior high school entrance examinations; and finally, Lin Zimo was busy helping him find the best doctors to treat his illness.

Just who on earth was Lin Zimo's boyfriend? It was starting to look as though Yu Xingyue was the other woman.

"Would anyone care if I just vanished? Probably not. Perhaps death is my true destination. I haven't been a good team captain, but maybe someone more capable will emerge to take my place," Xiao Jian thought to himself as he slowly closed his eyes, a tear escaping the corner of his eye.

Having left the hospital, Lin Xiaoxin could not shake her worry for Xiao Jian and kept wanting to turn back. Yet, not wanting to disturb his rest, she forced herself to wait until the next day to visit him again. When she came tomorrow, she hoped to see a happier side of him. She couldn't quite fathom why she cared so deeply about Xiao Jian.

"Could it be that I've actually fallen for him?" Lin Xiaoxin wondered, before quickly shaking her head. "I'm just taking care of him, I don't have romantic feelings for him. What is wrong with my brain?" After giving herself a light tap on the head, she suddenly noticed Lin Zimo standing right in front of her.

"Sis! When did you get here? Why didn't I hear you walking?"

"Sigh, someone stubbornly refused to leave the hospital, so I had to drag her back, and that someone is standing right in front of me," Lin Zimo said flatly.

"Big sister, you know how it is. It's my responsibility."

"Responsibility? I wouldn't be so sure. Actually, I can tell you've got a soft spot for that Xiao Jian." Lin Zimo was merely guessing, but seeing Lin Xiaoxin wake up early every morning and leave the house—either to exercise or to visit Xiao Jian—doing the exact same routine day after day made it easy to deduce.

Lin Xiaoxin’s face flushed crimson. "Sis, don't talk nonsense. We're still young."

Lin Zimo pinched Lin Xiaoxin’s cheek. "Young? I'm around the same age, but when I talk about romance, you never say I'm too young."

"That's different! You're precocious, but I'm still a minor," Lin Xiaoxin stammered in a rush, growing more flustered by the second.

"Then why are you panicking? Could it be that I hit the nail on the head?" A look of smug satisfaction crossed Lin Zimo's face.

"I was just..." The words died on Lin Xiaoxin's lips, leaving her with no choice but to shake her head helplessly.

"Whether it's true or not, as your older sister, I still support you," Lin Zimo said, patting Lin Xiaoxin's shoulder. "Let's head back. There are too many creeps out at night, and we're drawing entirely too much attention standing here."

Lin Zimo wasn't wrong. Both of them possessed the ethereal looks of middle school goddesses, and they could already feel the roving, predatory gazes of men fixing upon them.

"You're right. I can practically feel those leering eyes." Feeling deeply uncomfortable, Lin Xiaoxin broke out in goosebumps.

"Let's go. Let's get out of here." Taking Lin Xiaoxin's hand, Lin Zimo led her away. Lin Xiaoxin was genuinely astonished; for all these years, they had never held hands, not even when they were younger.

Deciding not to break the fragile spell of the moment, Lin Xiaoxin kept silent.

***

"Long time no see, class. Due to the unexpected emergency at the school, we haven't seen each other for a long time and have fallen behind on a lot of coursework. Today, we need to pick up the pace and catch up," complained Yuriko Yanagi. Normal classes had finally resumed a week after the suicide-jump incident.

Yu Xingyue thought to himself, *To be honest, after not going to school for a week, it felt like a long holiday, and I've gotten a bit lazy and don't want to do anything.*

"I know you all haven't done much this past week and have grown a bit sluggish, but everyone needs to readjust their mindset to welcome this new day," Yuriko encouraged the class. Though she lacked experience as a newly appointed teacher, the students all nodded in agreement, marking a fresh beginning.

Yu Xingyue mused, *It seems Riko actually has the demeanor of a true teacher. Even if she's still a bit green, she's bound to become a fine educator in a few years.*

Suddenly, a poke from behind interrupted his thoughts. Knowing it had to be Wang Tianqi—who always found ways to make trouble out of nothing—Yu Xingyue turned his head out of sheer politeness and whispered, "Can't whatever you want to say wait until after class? Why does it have to be right now?"

Wang Tianqi shook her head. "There's no important matter. I just wanted to see your reaction."

"You... tch." Yu Xingyue let out a dissatisfied scoff. Always stirring up trouble when she had nothing better to do. At least she kept him from causing chaos during class, which was already a blessing.

However, Yu Xingyue's petty little movements did not escape Yuriko's notice.

"Xingyue-kun, stop looking around during class and disturbing the other students' studies. Stand outside," Yuriko said, pointing toward the classroom door.

A barrage of question marks filled Yu Xingyue's mind. She had been able to hear him whispering, but Wang Tianqi had been talking too—why was he the only one being punished?

Perhaps it was because he was the sole male student in the entire class, making him stand out like a sore thumb. As Yu Xingyue wondered how he had ended up in such a bizarre class, he noticed that aside from Natsumi Natsukin and Wang Tianqi, every single female student in the room was staring right at him. A flush of heat rose to his cheeks; for seventeen years, this was the first time he had ever blushed in such a setting.

Obediently, Yu Xingyue walked out and took his station in the hallway. He had heard that punishments involving standing outside in Japanese television dramas often featured students holding buckets of water, but to his dismay, it turned out to be entirely true. The buckets were filled to the brim with water, and to make matters even more absurd, Yuriko instructed him to balance one directly on top of his head without spilling a single drop.

Bitterness welled up in Yu Xingyue's heart. This was an entirely unprecedented experience, and the first time was certainly no charm. While the weight of the bucket itself was manageable, placing it atop his head was an entirely different story. His sense of balance vanished, and his head kept wobbling. Forcing himself to regain equilibrium, he froze in place, terrified to make even the slightest movement.

After standing like this for half an hour, his arms and neck began to ache fiercely.

He didn't even dare to speak loudly, but eventually, Yuriko stepped out of the classroom to check on him. "Are you alright? Are you still not used to this teaching method?"

"It's not that, Teacher. It's just that my balance isn't great, and I was afraid of dropping it. I've always been a bit of a perfectionist," Yu Xingyue whispered, intentionally lowering his voice to avoid any sudden movements that might upset the bucket.

Walking right up to him, Yuriko offered, "Well, seeing as you've worked so hard, I'll let you off work tonight so you can get some proper rest."

"How could I do that, Teacher? I'd better still go to work," Yu Xingyue murmured back in a hushed tone, conscious of the fact that his teacher was also his boss at the internet café—a secret that had to be kept strictly under wraps.

"Whenever I offer you rest, you turn it down. Just what do you want? I can't just let you stand out here being punished for nothing," Yuriko insisted, demanding that he name his reward, though Yu Xingyue genuinely had nothing he wanted.

After a moment of thought, Yu Xingyue replied, "In that case, Teacher, could you just make sure Natsumi Natsukin isn't seated next to me tonight? We had a bit of a falling out recently, and my mood hasn't been great."

"What kind of fallout could the two of you possibly have? You both seemed to be in fine spirits. Are you lying to me?" Yuriko questioned.

"Just... let's say I'd rather not see her for now," Yu Xingyue said flatly. "So please, I'm counting on you."

After pondering for a moment, Yuriko relented. "Alright. I'll speak with her tonight and see if she agrees." With that, she turned and walked back inside. Left in the hallway, Yu Xingyue sighed deeply—could someone please come take this bucket off his head already?!

Inside the classroom, Natsumi cast a glance toward Yu Xingyue. Though his back was turned to her, she could tell how exhausted he was.

As normal lessons resumed, Wang Tianqi was busy reviewing a logbook. It wasn't her own, but rather a daily report compiled by bodyguards whom she had assigned to monitor Yu Xingyue's every move so she could better understand him. Every detail of Yu Xingyue's daily life was under Wang Tianqi's surveillance, yet he remained completely oblivious to it. While Yu Xingyue's attention was fixed on Haoyun Honda, he had no idea that countless other pairs of eyes were secretly locked onto him.