Night without dreams. The next day, Mu Qi felt like she had been sleepwalking for the past few days.
“Seventh Brother!” Hu Ying, who woke up ten minutes early that day, happened to bump into her just outside her door.
“Why up so early today?” Mu Qi opened the door and walked downstairs with her.
“I wanted to see if you’re feeling better. If not, you can continue sleeping at home, and I’ll help you apply for leave,” Hu Ying said, lifting the backpack on her shoulder.
Mu Qi, with a smile on her lips, casually draped her arm around Hu Ying’s shoulder and said, “No need. I’m much better now. My head is clear.”
Hu Ying looked at her with concern, noticing that she did seem much better. She sighed in relief and then asked, “Seventh Brother, you said you were in great shape. How did you end up falling ill?”
This question made Mu Qi’s smile freeze for a moment. Quickly recovering, she playfully flicked Hu Ying’s forehead and said, “You always claim to be good at drinking, but every time it’s just one glass and you’re done.”
Hu Ying muttered, “Damn it,” realizing Mu Qi was referring to her lack of alcohol tolerance. They both chuckled, and Mu Qi continued, “Let’s go. We might be late.”
As they approached the entrance of the residential area, Mu Qi instinctively looked around.
“Hey, where’s the cutie?” Hu Ying also stopped, realizing that they didn’t see Su Yanxi this time.
Mu Qi frowned slightly and said, “Maybe she went to school. Let’s go.”
However, when they reached the school, there was no sign of Su Yanxi. Mu Qi sat at her desk, wondering if the girl was running late. But as the early self-study session ended, Su Yanxi still hadn’t shown up.
Worried, Mu Qi tried calling her, but her phone was continuously showing as switched off. This heightened Mu Qi’s anxiety. Finally, she decided to go to the office, and the answer she got was that Su Yanxi was sick with a high fever.
Upon hearing this news, Hu Ying immediately looked at Mu Qi.
Hu Ying said, “Cutie has been taking care of you these past few days and got infected.”
“I…” Mu Qi was about to say she hadn’t, but in reality, the other person had indeed been taking care of her. Thinking about it, she scratched her head in frustration and said, “After school, should we go to her house and check on her?”
“Do you know which building she lives in?” Hu Ying gave her a side-eye.
Mu Qi, feeling a bit proud for some reason, raised an eyebrow and said, “I not only know which building she lives in, but I also know which floor.”
Hu Ying looked at her in surprise and asked, “How did you…” Then she remembered something and realized, “Oh, it was last time.”
Mu Qi smirked.
On the way home after school, Hu Ying couldn’t help but think about Cutie’s strict home tutoring. Would her parents mind if they visited? Thinking of this, she nudged Mu Qi with her elbow and said, “Seventh Brother, how about we call Cutie first? It might not be good to go over without asking.”
Mu Qi thought it was a good idea, so she picked up her phone. She thought Cutie’s phone was still off, but to her surprise, it went through, and she sighed in relief.
The phone rang for a long time, and just as she was about to hang up, Cutie answered. A weak voice came through, “Mu Qi.”
Usually full of spirit, the girl’s voice sounded tired and even a bit pitiful now. Mu Qi asked, “Are you feeling better from the cold?”
Su Yanxi, unexpectedly happy that Mu Qi called to ask about her health, couldn’t contain her joy. However, the illness had drained all her energy, making even her smile sound fragile. Fortunately, the person on the other end couldn’t see it, and she softly replied, “Much better. I should be able to go to school tomorrow.”
“Maybe you should rest at home for another day tomorrow, get some more rest,” Mu Qi, after experiencing an illness, suddenly transformed into a seasoned old doctor.
Su Yanxi couldn’t bear to stay at home, and there were two more days until the next break. If she skipped school tomorrow, she would miss seeing that person for a day. So she gently shook her head and said, “No, I’m much better, and I have classes to attend. We also have exams at the beginning of next month.”
Mu Qi: “…” Clearly talking about being sick, why did the conversation shift to exams?
Exams were truly an ordeal for Mu Qi.
“Okay then, see you tomorrow,” Mu Qi said and hung up the phone.
Su Yanxi pouted, looking at the disconnected phone screen, muttering, “Not even a few more words.”
“Xiaoxi, are you done in the bathroom?” Su’s mother called from outside the door.
“I’m done,” Su Yanxi had muted her phone the moment she saw Mu Qi’s call and tucked it into her pocket before entering the bathroom.
It wouldn’t have been a big deal if her mother found out that a classmate called to inquire about her well-being. However, she inexplicably felt that Mu Qi was different.
The next day, Mu Qi and the others saw the girl again in front of the community gate. She was wrapped in a down jacket, half of her face buried in a scarf, and her beanie covered her head. The fuzzy balls on both sides of the hat swayed as she walked.
“Hahaha!” Hu Ying, for some reason, found it amusing and burst into laughter, pointing at Su Yanxi.
Mu Qi raised an eyebrow, unsure why Hu Ying found it so funny.
Su Yanxi was a bit confused, lowering her head to check herself for anything unusual.
Seeing that neither of them was laughing and were even putting on a ‘look at this silly person’ expression, Hu Ying quickly said, “Look at her, doesn’t she resemble a penguin?”
A straight-down padded jacket, reaching down to the calves, coupled with the fact that the other person wasn’t very tall, did indeed look a bit like a penguin.
Mu Qi, unable to resist, also chuckled at Hu Ying’s vivid description.
Su Yanxi shook her lips, her face slightly red. She approached, stepped on each of their feet, and then walked away angrily.
“Ouch~” Hu Ying held her foot and hopped in place.
Mu Qi wiggled her toes, not feeling much pain. She looked at the girl’s retreating figure, patted Hu Ying’s head, and said, “Alright, stop pretending. She’s walking away; let’s go.”
Hu Ying, with a mournful face, said, “It really hurts!”
Mu Qi watched the girl’s figure walking away, her mood lifting.
Seeing her smile, Hu Ying said, “You’ve been stepped on, and you’re still laughing!”
Mu Qi restrained her smile and said, “Not laughing, let’s go.”
This somehow made Hu Ying even more annoyed than if Mu Qi had laughed. She rolled her eyes, moved her slightly painful toes, and thought that Cutie’s strength was quite formidable.
After catching up with Su Yanxi, the latter was no longer angry. She even slowed down to wait for the two of them. Then, standing in front of the door of a breakfast shop, she turned around to look at them.
“Buy some buns, I’m starving,” Hu Ying immediately went over to order a variety of buns. Just as she was about to order a meat bun for Su Yanxi, she remembered the cold and changed it to a vegetable bun.
As the weather got colder, everyone preferred staying in the classroom and even held back on going to the restroom unless it was urgent.
“Do you want me to get you some hot water?” Mu Qi couldn’t help but ask when she saw Su Yanxi had finished the water in her thermos.
Su Yanxi shook her head and said, “I’ll go myself.” Then she looked at Mu Qi’s desk and asked, “Don’t you have a cup?”
“Nope,” Mu Qi lazily leaned against the wall and said, “Too much trouble.”
Su Yanxi stared, finding it hard to believe that someone could be so lazy as to not even drink water.
In the afternoon, as Mu Qi sat at her desk, she noticed a pink thermos on her table. There was even a drawing on the cup, featuring Peppa Pig.
Peppa Pig’s tattoo, applause for the people of society!
For some reason, Mu Qi couldn’t resist laughing at this phrase. Then she saw Cutie coming in with a stack of math books to distribute to the group leaders.
The teacher had been wanting to rearrange the seating, moving Su Yanxi to the front. However, no one knew what she had told the teacher after class, and since then, the seating arrangement had remained unchanged for a month.
“Is this yours?” Cutie came over, and Mu Qi pointed to the pink cup.
Su Yanxi nodded and said, “Tomorrow is Christmas, it’s a gift for you.”
“A Christmas gift?” Mu Qi, having grown up receiving nothing but apples as Christmas gifts, found this to be a novel experience.
However, looking at the pink thermos, she was afraid she might burst into laughter just from taking a sip of water.
Seeing her slightly disgusted expression, Su Yanxi pouted, her eyes turning red as she looked at Mu Qi, saying, “Don’t you like it?”
“I…” Mu Qi lifted her head and saw her about to cry again. With a black line on her face, Mu Qi waved her hand and said, “I don’t dislike it, just not used to it.”
This statement successfully stopped Cutie’s tears, and she flashed a smile, saying, “As long as you like it.”
Mu Qi sighed, looking at the pink cup with a bit of helplessness.
