Chapter 22: Going Upstairs to Get Medicine

In the end, it took Lin Hexi repeatedly promising him that there would be no more intimate physical contact between them, almost to the point of writing a formal agreement. Only then did You Chong finally relented with a cold expression.

Lin Hexi borrowed You Chong’s phone to call Yang Juan back and asked him to also sign him up for the CET-6 English exam. He then transferred the registration fee from his phone to You Chong, who would forward it on his behalf.

Honestly, Lin Hexi wasn’t very keen on signing up for the exam. However, the counselor had repeatedly urged them in the group chat and had even called him directly, explicitly requiring anyone who passed the CET-4 exam to register for CET-6.

Irritated by the counselor’s persistent calls, Lin Hexi thought it was just a matter of paying a few dozen yuan for the registration fee. Knowing that he wouldn’t actually take the exam, he reluctantly agreed to sign up.

After all, on the day of the CET-4 exam, the person who appeared at the test center with Lin Hexi’s ID and admission ticket wasn’t him.

As for how he ended up passing the CET-4 exam with a high score, the story traces back to Ning Nan.

At the time, the college administration had mandated that everyone must register for the exam. Lin Hexi paid the registration fee but had no intention of actually taking the test. When the test room and seat numbers were assigned, it turned out that he and Ning Nan were seated next to each other in the same exam room.

Ning Nan not only planned to take the exam but also intended to cheat on his score. Hiring someone to take the exam for him carried the risk of being caught and facing disciplinary action, so Ning Nan opted for a different approach. He decided to find someone to take the exam for Lin Hexi and then use their adjacent seating to cheat during the test.

The consequence of getting caught with a substitute test-taker would have been the cancellation of that exam session and a ban from the next. Given Lin Hexi’s level of English, he figured he would never need those chances anyway, so he didn’t give it much thought and handed over his documents.

Unexpectedly, not only was the substitute not caught, but by some stroke of luck, they managed to pass the CET-4 with a high score on Lin Hexi’s behalf.

After putting his scattered thoughts aside, Lin Hexi hung up the phone and handed it back to You Chong.

As expected, You Chong’s face was full of curiosity and doubt. “You passed the CET-4?”

Upon hearing this, Lin Hexi slightly curled his lips and responded with a question instead of an answer, “You don’t believe I could pass?”

You Chong scoffed lightly, “Then tell me, how did you pass?”

Lin Hexi replied concisely, “Someone else took the exam for me.”

You Chong didn’t respond further, but a faint trace of disgust crossed his face.

Lin Hexi noticed this but didn’t bother to explain. He just lazily thought to himself that You Chong’s impression of him had likely worsened even more.

Clearly disgusted by such behavior, You Chong didn’t want to linger any longer. He stood up, untied the dog leash from the armrest of the bench, and said a cold farewell to Lin Hexi before leading the drowsy Alaskan Malamute away.

Lin Hexi’s words had indeed reset You Chong’s opinion of him back to square one. Later, around 7 PM, when You Chong returned to school for an elective class, Yang Juan suddenly transferred a sum of money to him via WeChat.

After asking about it, You Chong learned that Yang Juan had mistakenly entered the wrong amount for the exam registration fee and was now refunding the extra amount.

You Chong glanced at the refund and noticed that Yang Juan had returned double the amount. He was about to remind him of the mistake when Yang Juan sent a voice message: “This is the fee for two people. I don’t have Lin Hexi’s WeChat, so could you forward his share to him for me?”

Just seeing Lin Hexi’s name brought an unpleasant feeling. You Chong’s gaze darkened as he transferred Lin Hexi’s portion of the money back to Yang Juan.

Zhou Xuan, sitting beside him, overheard everything and asked in surprise, “Since when do you owe him money?”

You Chong replied, “Yang Juan helped him register for the CET-6 exam. This is the extra registration fee.”

Zhou Xuan looked utterly incredulous, “Is he planning to have someone take the exam for him again this year?”

After a brief pause, You Chong asked, “You know about him hiring someone to take the exam last year?”

“Who at this school doesn’t know Lin Hexi?” Zhou Xuan scoffed. “Word got to the leadership of their department afterward, but they turned a blind eye because of the Ning family’s influence. No disciplinary action was taken.”

You Chong asked, “Ning Nan?”

Zhou Xuan nodded, “It was Ning Nan who arranged for someone to help him cheat. But,” he added with a blank expression, “it doesn’t really matter who arranged the substitute. After all, Ning Nan and Lin Hexi are in it together.”

You Chong felt a mix of complex emotions, his mind unsettled as he recalled Lin Hexi’s unbothered expression from the afternoon, making no attempt to explain himself.

Before going to bed that night, Yang Juan sent a friend request on WeChat. Lin Hexi added him as a friend and received the money that had been returned by You Chong.

It didn’t take much thought for Lin Hexi to figure out that You Chong must have refused to transfer the money on his behalf. After placing his phone on the bedside table, Lin Hexi turned off the lights and lay down. Just then, he suddenly remembered that the medicine prescribed at the hospital was still with You Chong.

The bandages and medication on his arm needed to be changed every three days. By the next evening, Lin Hexi, dressed in pajamas and slippers, went upstairs to get the medicine from You Chong.

But You Chong wasn’t home. The doorbell rang for a long time without anyone answering. All Lin Hexi could hear was the faint sound of the big dog inside, scratching at the door with its paws.

Lin Hexi lowered his head, took out his phone and called You Chong on WeChat voice. There was no answer. Of course, it was also possible that You Chong was deliberately ignoring the call or simply didn’t want to answer.

Determined to wait for You Chong to return, Lin Hexi sat down against the wall by the door, holding his fully charged phone and scrolling through short videos.

Fortunately, his luck wasn’t too bad. About half an hour later, You Chong came back.

When he saw Lin Hexi sitting by the door, with head down and engrossed in his phone, You Chong’s gaze silently dropped to his crossed legs.

Unlike earlier in the day when Lin Hexi had worn jeans that covered his legs completely, he was now dressed in loose, oversized shorts. His pale legs were exposed to the air without any hint of modesty.

The hem of his shorts had ridden up due to his relaxed, lazy sitting posture, bunching up at his thighs, with the edge of his black underwear faintly visible.

He seemed utterly unaware of the need to be discreet.

He frowned as he looked away, and stopped in front of Lin Hexi. “What’s up?”

Lin Hexi looked up in surprise. “Are you talking to me?”

“Who else is here besides you?” You Chong replied.

“No one,” Lin Hexi shrugged. “I just thought you’d ignore me and walk right past to open the door.”

You Chong gave him a hard-to-read glance, and asked, “How long have you been waiting?”

Lin Hexi’s surprise deepened. If he didn’t clearly remember how their last interaction had ended on a sour note, he might have thought their relationship had suddenly improved.

His dark eyes shifted slightly, and Lin Hexi tested the waters by letting out a soft sigh, “I’ve been waiting for a long time.”

You Chong chuckled instead of getting angry. “Don’t think I don’t know—you haven’t been here that long.”

Lin Hexi’s lips curved into a light smile. “Half an hour is still a long time; my legs have gone numb.”

He tried to move his bent legs and naturally extended his right hand toward You Chong. “Give me a hand.”

After saying that, he noticed You Chong still standing there without moving. He suddenly remembered that he had promised You Chong yesterday not to initiate any physical contact.

Just as Lin Hexi was about to retract his outstretched hand, You Chong unexpectedly grabbed it first. With a slight effort, he pulled Lin Hexi up from the ground.

This time, Lin Hexi looked directly at You Chong, not blinking, and openly showed the surprise on his face.