Editor and Proofreader: Rinrin

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“Doctor, can I go back to my dorm now?” Jiang Tan, who had been quiet, asked.

His face had little expression, and his voice was very indifferent, sounding neither urgent nor eager.

Since there was no urgency, Doctor Hu took a cautious approach: “No, you must stay for observation until the time is up.”

There had been too many puzzling cases brought to the emergency room today.

This trio was just one group; there were several others in the ward, all cases of accidents that seemed normal at first glance, but upon closer inquiry, revealed strange and unreasonable circumstances.

Jiang Tan didn’t argue any further. After being rejected, he leaned back against the head of the bed and closed his eyes to rest.

But Ren Feiyu still noticed that he furrowed his brow slightly.

So he also had emotions, but his way of expressing them was too suppressed and subtle.

Just as Ren Feiyu was secretly amazed by this new discovery, Doctor Hu suddenly said, “Ren Feiyu, it’s not that I’m telling you…”

If it’s not that she’s telling him, then she is indeed telling him.

Ren Feiyu lowered his head in response, regardless of right or wrong, just trying to maintain a good attitude: “Uh…”

Doctor Hu: “Your spirit of risking yourself to save a classmate is commendable…”

Ren Feiyu nodded vigorously. Here it comes, but.

Doctor Hu: “But you jumped into the water without knowing how to swim. That’s too dangerous!”

“Uh… uh?” Ren Feiyu looked up, instinctively wanting to defend himself, “I can swim…”

“Knowing how to swim doesn’t mean you can save someone” Doctor Hu retorted, “There are scientific methods to rescue drowning people; you can’t just rush in recklessly.”

Ren Feiyu’s voice grew weaker: “I didn’t rush in…”

Doctor Hu’s tone became more forceful: “If you didn’t rush in, how come you’re coughing like this? If you had stayed in the water any longer, you would’ve been in trouble, you know?!”

Ren Feiyu wanted to say that he had followed the proper rescue procedures. Who could have predicted that the other person would suddenly latch onto him like that, aiming for mutual destruction?

But the doctor said the classmate couldn’t recall what had happened in the water, and he specifically asked the doctor to thank the two of them. If he brought this up now, it would seem like he was blaming the other person. That felt wrong, and besides, the classmate surely hadn’t done it on purpose…

He was thinking too much, so Ren Feiyu once again convinced himself: “Uh, got it.”

His voice was barely above a whisper, like a mosquito buzzing, and Doctor Hu felt a bit reluctant to be so harsh, so she sighed and softened her expression.

At that moment, Jiang Tan, on the bed next to him, suddenly interjected, “His method of saving someone was fine. He hugged the drowning person from behind under the armpit and brought them to the surface quickly. The entire process was quite standard.”

Ren Feiyu looked at Jiang Tan in surprise.

Did the other person see him saving the classmate? No wonder he had jumped in to save him first after the accident.

However, it was unexpected that Jiang Tan would speak up for him now.

Doctor Hu was confused: “The method was correct? Then how come…”

“I’m not sure” Jiang Tan said, “From my perspective, that classmate might have briefly regained consciousness in the water or had some sort of reflex, which caused him to latch onto Ren Feiyu without thinking, leading to both of them being endangered.”

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Doctor Hu fell silent, seeming to ponder.

“No, I need to go take a look.” She turned and hurried out, then paused at the door to remind them, “You two stay here and observe. You can’t leave until the time is up!”

As the school doctor left, the observation room returned to an awkward silence.

Ren Feiyu looked at Jiang Tan: “Um…”

Suddenly, Jiang Tan’s phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID, confirmed who it was, and answered, “Wang Ye.”

Ren Feiyu obediently closed his mouth and listened as Jiang Tan spoke: “Yes… but you need to wait… I’m at the school hospital… I…”

Beep beep beep.

Jiang Tan only managed to say three and a half sentences—eleven words—before the other side suddenly ended the call.

Ren Feiyu watched as Jiang Tan put his phone away, his profile showing little displeasure from being hung up on. Cautiously, he opened his mouth, “Um, thank you…”

Jiang Tan turned to him, coldly looking at him, “You’ve said that several times already.”

“I mean just now” Ren Feiyu clarified, “Thank you for explaining to Doctor Hu on my behalf.”

“I wasn’t helping you; I was just stating the objective facts” Jiang Tan replied. “Also, your decision to jump in to save someone was indeed reckless. When you called for help, the two lifeguard teachers were already on their way and could have handled it better than you.”

Ren Feiyu felt his head droop lower, even lower than when Doctor Hu had scolded him. He felt extremely wronged but instinctively apologized, “I’m sorry; I won’t do it again…”

Jiang Tan shook his head rationally: “No need to make promises to me; your life is your own, and you have absolute authority over it.”

Ren Feiyu: “…”

This was too difficult to talk about.

But things have two sides; although Jiang Tan was hard to converse with, he was calm and decisive. His ability to control his emotions made Ren Feiyu, who often exploded in situations, admired him almost to the point of idolization.

Jiang Tan seemed to possess almost everything Ren Feiyu wanted but could never attain.

For this reason, Ren Feiyu decided to take a leap of faith—

“Benefactor, can we add each other on WeChat?”

At the pool incident, Lin Wu had listened to the entire exchange through the voice message that was left on the ground and not hung up. His heart twisted in concern. Even when Ren Feiyu fumbled with his phone and reassured them with a hoarse voice that he was fine, it didn’t matter. Lin Wu hung up and rushed to the school hospital.

When he pushed open the door to the observation room, he saw Ren Feiyu holding his phone, grinning foolishly as he looked toward the male classmate in the next bed: “Benefactor, the request has been sent; please accept it!”

Well, it seemed like he really was fine.

The male classmate noticed him first and cast a faint glance over.

Ren Feiyu followed his gaze and saw his roommate: “Hey? What are you doing here?”

Lin Wu walked over, slightly annoyed: “I came to see the master who swam his way into the school hospital.”

Ren Feiyu mumbled, “I was saving someone…”

Lin Wu said, “Yeah, and then you put yourself in danger.”

Ren Feiyu pouted, and the joy of wanting Jiang Tan’s WeChat dissipated like smoke.

Seeing Ren Feiyu’s cowardly demeanor, Lin Wu softened. He ruffled Ren Feiyu’s hair affectionately, as if smoothing it down: “Alright, as long as you’re okay, that’s good.”

Ren Feiyu had been holding up fine until just then. Lin Wu’s comfort broke the last of his restraint, and the grievances surged forth uncontrollably: “I didn’t expect him to suddenly grab onto me in the water… really… everything was going smoothly…”

Lin Wu didn’t quite understand but could tell that Ren Feiyu was genuinely upset; his voice was nearly cracking.

He quickly patted Ren Feiyu’s back and whispered, “Hold it together; you can cry in the dorm later. There’s someone else here…”

This reminded Ren Feiyu.

His benefactor was still nearby; he couldn’t embarrass himself like this!

“Lin Wu, this is Jiang Tan from the Mechanical Engineering department, my lifesaver—” Ren Feiyu pushed his roommate away, dramatically gesturing toward the bed next to him like a host welcoming a guest, his energy renewed and voice booming.

Lin Wu: “…”

That was quite a rapid change in attitude.

“Thanks, buddy” Lin Wu turned to Jiang Tan and said, “I’m Lin Wu from the Environmental Engineering department.”

Jiang Tan gave a slight nod, and after Ren Feiyu introduced their names and departments, he didn’t seem inclined to repeat anything.

Jiang Tan’s indifference left Lin Wu feeling a bit annoyed, but one shouldn’t judge solely by words but by actions. Jiang Tan had genuinely saved Ren Feiyu’s life. As for whether his personality was likable, they weren’t friends, so what right did Lin Wu have to care?

However, Ren Feiyu seemed completely unfazed by Jiang Tan’s demeanor, staring at him with admiration like he was a celebrity.

Was there such a gloomy celebrity? He had no expression at all, his skin pale, and even his lip color was very light. Lin Wu looked at him, and somehow, he couldn’t help but think of a dreary winter sunset.

“What’s going on? Why are you in the hospital—” The observation room door was pushed open again, and a person rushed in.

The moment this person entered, the entire observation room felt cramped. Not only was he tall, but he also had a strong presence, giving off the aura of a gang leader with a group of little brothers following behind him.

His hairstyle added to the vibe.

With a stylish buzz cut, he relied on his good looks and confidence… wait a second!

Lin Wu’s eyes widened suddenly.

‘Thick fog swirling.’

‘Under the surrounding walls.’

‘Rejecting the senior sister.’

‘Playing with a cat named Er Mao…’

‘Wasn’t this the guy who didn’t like people?!’

‘What was his name again? Wang Ye?’

The newcomer walked straight to Jiang Tan, not looking around at all, and stood in front of the bed, sizing him up for a long time before frowning: “Isn’t he fine?”

Jiang Tan remained calm and composed: “He’s fine.”

Wang Ye’s expression was as if he had been deceived: “Then why didn’t you say that on the phone?”

Jiang Tan raised his phone, the call log glaringly visible: “Call duration, 9 seconds.”

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Wang Ye: “…”

Lin Wu thought to himself that a phone call was dead, but a person was alive; they could just call back. However, it seemed that both students had no intention of continuing the discussion on that topic, as if they accepted the notion of a “one-time call” as quite reasonable.

The senior who confessed to Wang Ye was from the Mechanical Engineering department, and Jiang Tan, who was visited by Wang Ye, was also from the Mechanical Engineering department. Following this train of thought, Lin Wu guessed that Wang Ye was likely from the Mechanical Engineering department as well; perhaps they even shared a dorm, just like he and Ren Feiyu did.

‘So, weren’t they getting along just fine? As soon as they heard something was wrong, they rushed over without a second thought.’

‘Or was it that… friends didn’t count as people?’

While he was pondering this, Wang Ye’s gaze suddenly swept over, as if he had just noticed there were others present.

Lin Wu gasped, his breath catching.

He didn’t know why he felt guilty. Even if he was recognized, he hadn’t been eavesdropping on purpose; he was definitely a well-meaning third party. Besides, Wang Ye hadn’t lost anyone; it was the senior who had been rejected. Such a situation wouldn’t be a big deal even if it was witnessed.

Yet, no matter how clearly he understood it, his reflexes were hard to control.

Lin Wu could only attribute it to Wang Ye’s aura. It was the kind of intimidating presence that made it seem like he could easily snap at someone over the slightest misunderstanding—“What are you looking at? What’s it to you?”—before coming over to bash your head in with a bottle.

However, Wang Ye’s gaze easily slid past him without any special reaction.

Instead, Ren Feiyu immediately introduced himself enthusiastically: “Hi, I’m Ren Feiyu from the Environmental Engineering department. Thanks to Jiang Tan for jumping in to save me; otherwise, I would have been done for!”

“Oh” Wang Ye replied briefly, “Wang Ye, Mechanical.” Then he turned his attention back and plopped down onto a chair next to Jiang Tan’s bed.

Lin Wu: “…”

No wonder they were buddies; they had that vibe of keeping others at a distance down pat. Still, Wang Ye was a bit friendlier than Jiang Tan; “Wang Ye, Mechanical” at least came to six words with the “oh” included.