Chapter 28.

 "You've never seen what a real loser looks like."

Bai Xunyin remembered the year her family had trouble; she hadn't even finished middle school, and during the crucial months leading up to the final exams, their once warm home inexplicably became a volatile 'battlefield,' with frequent arguments between Ji Huiying and Bai Hongsheng over differences of opinion.

Afterwards, they moved from the southern Jingyuan to the current place not far from Linlan Third Middle School, but it was a remote and old neighborhood, far from being considered 'comfortable' like Ahjun Hutong.

This place was nowhere near as good as their previous home in Jingyuan and even farther from the bustling commercial districts of the city.

Except during peak commuting hours, it was deserted most of the time. Because it was cold and remote, they saved money.

It was only after being with Bai Xunyin that Yu Luoyin learned that Linlan still had such a cramped and quiet neighborhood, this small alley, where there was even a separate bus stop.

Except for the two of them, no one else got off, which was perfect timing amidst the wind and rain.

No one to disturb, just the two of them having a 'private' conversation.

What was the harm in being accompanied by wind, rain, and rustling snow?

After Yu Luoyin reluctantly apologized, there was nearly a minute of silence between them.

In the almost suffocating silence, Yu Luoyin's rain-soaked black eyes struggled to open, staring at the pale-faced girl in front of him without blinking.

Bai Xunyin looked at him expressionlessly, letting herself stand in front of him and block this narrow path.

After listening to Yu Luoyin's apology, there was still no emotion in her eyes, as if she were listening to a cold joke.

Yu Luoyin's originally confident heart seemed like a balloon filled with gas, but it was punctured by this cold gaze, and the hydrogen inside instantly dispersed, leaving only a limp skin.

Gold on the outside, but trash inside.

Bai Xunyin couldn't say a word, but the emotions expressed in her eyes seemed to be understood by him—have you finished speaking?

Yu Luoyin was stunned for a moment, barely pulling up a smile, pretending not to understand and continuing stubbornly, "Can you at least reply to me?"

So Bai Xunyin sighed softly, almost imperceptibly.

She turned her head and ran to a nearby place with a slightly sheltered roof, no longer willing to continue standing in the wind and rain like idiots with Yu Luoyin.

The milky white wool coat was already soaked by the rain, and as she moved, the hem of her coat brushed past Yu Luoyin's fingertips, who came back to his senses and followed.

Running to the roof, Yu Luoyin saw Bai Xunyin take out her phone and wipe the icy rainwater off the screen with red, frozen fingers, then stiffly typed.

Bai Xunyin: [I remember you once told me that in this damn Linlan weather, you always keep an umbrella in your desk.]

Seeing this, Yu Luoyin's gaze flickered slightly.

That was shortly after they confirmed their relationship, after school on a drizzly day, most Linlan residents were used to rain and rarely used umbrellas.

Yu Luoyin insisted on using one, even nonchalantly pulling Bai Xunyin under it, his long arms wrapping around her shoulders as he nitpicked, "Rainy days are annoying, so sticky. If you don't keep an umbrella handy in Linlan, you're a fool. There's one in my desk for all 365 days..."

The memories abruptly halted, in conjunction with the current scene...

Making a ridiculous scene.

Bai Xunyin's eyes narrowed slightly. Whether or not she pulled up a mocking arc at the corner of her lips, she calmly continued typing—

[You're afraid I'll catch a cold, so why didn't you bring out the umbrella?]

Yu Luoyin's fingers hanging by his side awkwardly twitched, his gaze fixed on Bai Xunyin.

He had never noticed before that the quiet girl's words were so clear and profound. He had been foolishly thinking she was simply smart and gentle, without any sharp edges.

Now it seemed he had been completely wrong.

Bai Xunyin was a typical silent but perceptive person.

White Xunyin pursed her lips and smiled, calmly typing line after line on her phone. Finally, she extended it to Yu Luoyin to read:

"You apologize, but you start by deceiving someone. It's really interesting."

"I can no longer judge whether you've ever told me the truth, including this apology."

"Yu Luoyin, there's no need to force yourself to humble."

"It's just a few months until the college entrance exam. Please stop bothering me."

After saying the last sentence, White Xunyin lifted her tea-colored eyes, seemingly washed by water, and glanced deeply at Yu Luoyin before turning and leaving. Her slender figure was straight, walking away swiftly.

This time, Yu Luoyin stood still, watching her leave without playfully chasing after her.

The rain had turned from heavy to light, diminishing significantly. Only the patter of raindrops on the roof had a rhythmic and crisp sound, surprisingly pleasant to listen to.

Yu Luoyin listened absentmindedly, squinting his eyes.

—The most beautiful thing isn't the rainy days, but the eaves under which we once hid from the rain together.

Perhaps human nature is inherently base; the more White Xunyin disliked him, the more he found the faint fire hidden in her cold eyes strangely attractive.

The young girl was firm in mind but still immature, unaware of what truly defines a 'degenerate'.

She also didn't know how intense a boy who piqued her interest could become 'perverse'.

...

The rain stopped.

The next day in class, for some inexplicable reason, Yu Luoyin didn't come.

Yu Shen didn't receive any leave request call. Walking into the classroom and seeing his empty seat, he furrowed his brow. Not knowing whom he was asking, he shouted, "Where's Yu Luoyin? Has anyone seen him?"

The classroom fell silent, with no one speaking.

—In fact, Yu Shen realized belatedly that by noon break, Yu Luoyin still hadn't shown up... He hadn't attended since the morning self-study session.

After nearly a minute of silence, Zhou Xin lazily chimed in, "Teacher, Yu Luoyin didn't bring an umbrella yesterday and seems to have caught a bit of a cold."

Yu Shen frowned at him. "How do you know?"

Zhou Xin shrugged. "Because he gave me his umbrella."

...

Amidst a suppressed chuckle of private whispers, one could faintly hear the gnashing sound of Yu Shen's teeth.

With a dark expression, he muttered 'Let's look at the papers first,' then walked out of the classroom to call Yu Luoyin.

He reluctantly dialed two or three times, the ringing continuing until it ended without anyone answering.

The anger in Yu Shen's mind surged suddenly, and he forcefully dialed Yu Luoyin's mother, Gu Yuan's number—unsurprisingly, no one answered there either.

Yu Shen took a deep breath, rubbed his weary temples, feeling somewhat despondent.

Nowadays, most parents who considered themselves successful were in the prime of their careers, often as busy as they could manage, treating family matters as routine. Yu Shen was accustomed to such things.

Especially at the age of sixteen or seventeen, in the final year of high school, during the crucial stage of college entrance exams, some parents always used the look of 'you're already an adult' and forced responsibilities upon their children, comforting themselves about their own negligence.

Many students were affected by family reasons during this period.

Yu Shen knew about Yu Luoyin's family situation, and knew that Gu Yuan was currently a prominent figure in the Academy of Sciences. But... if the child was reportedly catching a cold from being caught in the rain, shouldn't the parents at least give him a leave or answer the phone?

Absurd. It seemed that even the most outstanding parents nowadays struggled when it came to educating their children.

Considering his own child at the age of sixteen or seventeen, Yu Shen couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated, empathizing with the situation.

When he returned to the classroom for lessons, Yu Shen was visibly irritated, which startled all the students present. No one dared to breathe loudly—everyone was eagerly anticipating the end of the morning's last class so they could finally go eat.

However, what really angered this group of rebellious youngsters was what came next: Yu Shen conducted a ruthlessly extended class session.

"Wait a moment before leaving... What kind of expressions are these? Does staying a couple of extra minutes mean you'll lose a piece of meat? Each and every one of you is so spineless—Zhou Xin Sui, do you know where Yu Luoyin lives?"

The sudden change of topic caught the classmates off guard.

Zhou Xin Sui pushed his phone away and calmly replied, "Uh-huh."

"Good, take some time during lunch break to visit Yu Luoyin's home. Neither he nor his mother are answering the phone. I'm worried he might faint at home without anyone calling an ambulance." Yu Shen cracked a rare joke, which was met with chuckles from the students below the podium, though his expression quickly returned to stern.

"And while you're at it, bring the notes from this morning's physics lecture to Yu Luoyin. We're about to have our first mock exam soon, and there's no need to rush or panic, right? Does anyone else have a problem with that? All of you!"

"Teacher," Zhou Xin Sui pondered for a moment, recalling the WeChat message Yu Luoyin had sent earlier. With a slight turn of his phoenix eyes, he spoke slowly, "My notes from this morning aren't very comprehensive, and my physics isn't as good as Bai Xunyin's... Should I really go? I can give her the address."

Yu Luoyin's message read: "Find a way to get Bai Xunyin to come over and bring me the notes."

Knowing he had deliberately skipped school without notifying anyone or answering calls, Zhou Xin Sui couldn't help but feel a bit disdainful.

Bai Xunyin hadn't expected this matter to somehow involve her. Her hand holding the pen froze momentarily.

Yu Shen didn't particularly care who went on this 'home visit' to deliver notes to the sick student. Whether it was Zhou Xin Sui or Bai Xunyin, they were the same in his eyes.

He simply said, "If Bai Xunyin's notes are comprehensive enough, let her go," then ordered, "Class dismissed," causing the surrounding students to rush out like unruly horses, clamoring and chattering, leaving Bai Xunyin no chance to refuse.

Somewhat annoyed, she turned back to look at Zhou Xin Sui.

He shrugged, ignoring Bai Xunyin's gaze and Amo's disdainful mutterings, leaving a note with the address on Bai Xunyin's desk before departing.

"What's he trying to pull here? He's just like them!" Amo watched Zhou Xin Sui's tall, thin figure disappear, venting through his nostrils, "Yinyin, don't go. Let Yu Luoyin deal with it himself."

That was exactly what Bai Xunyin was thinking, so she put down the note in her hand and planned to go to the cafeteria with Amo to eat.

But who knew Yu Shen couldn't let her go without a final word.

"Bai Xunyin, take this to Yu Luoyin while you're at it." Yu Shen turned back into the classroom, still seeing Bai Xunyin there. He was pleasantly surprised to hand her a worn-out practice notebook, panting slightly, "Page 37 has a difficult chemistry question that even the senior science teacher couldn't find the standard answer to. Let Yu Luoyin show it to his mother."

Yu Luoyin's mother? Bai Xunyin furrowed her brows slightly, flipping through the practice notebook after Yu Shen left. On page 37, there was a chemistry question circled in red.

At first glance, it was obviously a very challenging problem.

But... wasn't Yu Luoyin's mother a physics teacher?

Bai Xunyin remembered the practice notebook he had bound for her earlier and felt a bit disappointed as she lowered her eyes.

After a while, she texted Amo to go ahead and eat by herself.

Yu Shen had repeatedly emphasized her going there himself, and now she had no choice but to make a trip.

---

The note Zhou Xin Sui gave her had the address "Lanjiang Community," which was within the school district and not far from the school, just one bus stop away.

Bai Xunyin, draped in her coat and carrying the practice notebook and notes Yu Shen had given her, found Yu Luoyin's residence easily.

Standing before the door labeled "2103," she knocked for a while without response, furrowing her brow—there was ample reason to suspect Yu Luoyin had fainted at home.

After a minute of indecision whether to enter or call an ambulance directly, she finally entered the password written on the note by Zhou Xin Sui.

With a click, the door opened slightly.

Whether Zhou Xin Sui was meticulous or 'had anticipated this,' he hadn't forgotten to write down the password for her.

Inside the silent and spacious room, Bai Xunyin hesitated for a moment. The apartment was large and clean, but strangely devoid of signs of habitation. Even the furniture in the living room, like the sofa and TV, was covered in dust cloths...

It looked like a temporarily rented place, lifeless.

Unable to speak, Bai Xunyin tapped lightly on the nearby wooden furniture to make some noise, which was jarringly loud in the quiet space.

However, after tapping for a while, there was still no response from the bedroom.

Bai Xunyin deliberately made a sound as she approached the bedroom door, reaching out to gently push open the half-closed door—

In the dim bedroom, with the curtains drawn halfway, faint sunlight seeped in, allowing her to see clearly. Yu Luoyin lay listlessly on the large bed.

His slender body was barely covered by a thin sheet, haphazardly draped like wrinkled cabbage leaves.

The sleeves of his gray pajamas had ridden up, revealing a pale and slender forearm resting limply on his forehead, pressing against his finely chopped bangs.

Under his long, slender fingers, his clear and handsome face was flushed with an abnormal crimson.

Although the room was dimly lit, Bai Xunyin's sharp eyes could vaguely discern—Yu Luoyin seemed to be running a fever.

It seemed that yesterday's icy rain and snow had taught him a lesson.

Bai Xunyin observed quietly with a complex gaze for a while, then gently placed the book she was holding aside and turned to leave.

However, just as she was about to turn away without wanting to see Yu Luoyin any longer, she shouldn't just leave him lying here alone, burning up like this.

Bai Xunyin bit her lip, bent down beside the bed in the bedroom.

She leaned forward slightly, gently touching Yu Luoyin's forehead, which was hidden behind his messy black hair—burning hot. Bai Xunyin was taken aback.

Maybe because of her leaning forward, the fringe of her coat collar inadvertently brushed against Yu Luoyin's face, causing his neatly arched eyebrows to furrow slightly. He slowly opened his tightly closed eyes in an extremely sluggish manner.

In Yu Luoyin's jet-black eyes, there seemed to be a thin mist.

Moist and wet, like a young, ignorant creature just beginning to sprout.

Bai Xunyin's icy fingers resting on his forehead unconsciously shrank back halfway, intending to withdraw slowly.

But halfway through, Yu Luoyin's hot hand clasped her wrist tightly. His voice, usually low and clear, was now weak and murmuring, "Don't go..."

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