Just Wanting to Divorce My Love Rival - Chapter 20

On the other side, the sky was a dim grey; it was already early morning.

Regardless of whether she had classes that morning, Zhong Yingzhi always rose early. After getting ready and changing into sportswear, she prepared to head to the track for her morning jog.

Walking to the door, she suddenly remembered a prior agreement she seemingly had with Mu Cheng—an agreement to jog together, though it was one she hadn’t actually consented to.

Zhong Yingzhi’s pace faltered. She looked back at Mu Cheng, only to see her lying in bed, motionless.

Zhong Yingzhi furrowed her brow and muttered under her breath, “Such a troublemaker.”

Despite her words, her hand pushed the door open with deliberate force, letting out a loud thud. After this, she stole a glance at the person on the bed; Mu Cheng still hadn’t woken up.

Zhong Yingzhi then closed the door forcefully, again creating a loud noise, repeating this cycle several times.

Even Xiao Xiaoli, who usually slept like the dead, was woken up by the racket, yet Mu Cheng remained oblivious, sleeping without a single movement.

Xiao Xiaoli rubbed her eyes and asked, “Yingzhi, why do you keep opening and closing the door?”

Zhong Yingzhi huffed and said pointedly, “Some people sleep like a pig.”

With that, her patience exhausted, Zhong Yingzhi left, leaving a dazed Xiao Xiaoli behind.

Xiao Xiaoli scratched her messy mushroom head. “What’s the deal? Why did she call me a pig?”

Meanwhile, the person actually sleeping like a pig smacked her lips, deep in a peaceful slumber.

Zhong Yingzhi arrived at the track alone, but she was distracted during her jog. She kept looking back at the entrance of the field, but even after finishing four laps, Mu Cheng had not appeared.

Zhong Yingzhi frowned with displeasure. “Starting things only to quit halfway. Useless.”

Jiang Zhengzhi had put quite a bit of effort into pursuing Zhong Yingzhi. He came to stake out the track every morning for her jog, and now he took the opportunity to approach her.

“Tired? Have some water.” Jiang Zhengzhi solicitously handed over a pre-prepared bottle of water.

Zhong Yingzhi treated him like he was invisible, not even sparing him a glance as she brushed past him.

Jiang Zhengzhi didn’t give up. With a grin, he blocked her path again. “Yingzhi, my basketball game is tomorrow—Computer Science versus our Finance Department. A lot of upperclassmen and younger students are going to cheer us on. Do you want to come too?”

Zhong Yingzhi was already in a foul mood because Mu Cheng hadn’t shown up. Now, her face turned completely cold. “You’re blocking my path. Get lost.”

Jiang Zhengzhi froze. He knew she would refuse, but he hadn’t expected her to be so direct and utterly merciless.

Students nearby saw the situation and pointed at him mockingly. Their taunts were faintly audible.

“Tsk tsk, talk about thick-skinned. He’s still sticking to her like a plaster even after that.”

“Jiang Zhengzhi really thinks highly of himself. Where does he get the confidence that Zhong Yingzhi would ever like him?”

“Look at that sycophantic look on his face, clearly trying to climb into a wealthy family. I don’t know why so many girls like him.”

“Because he’s handsome. Just a pretty boy looking for a free meal.”

Hearing these whispers, Jiang Zhengzhi’s grip on the water bottle tightened. He glared at the group and roared, “What are you looking at?!”

The students shrugged indifferently and dispersed. Jiang Zhengzhi’s hand made the bottle creak as he stared at the departing Zhong Yingzhi with a venomous gaze.

As soon as she returned to the dorm, Zhong Yingzhi saw Xiao Xiaoli leaning over Mu Cheng’s bed, her expression anxious and panicked.

Zhong Yingzhi looked confused. “What’s wrong?”

Xiao Xiaoli said frantically, “Yingzhi, come look! Something’s wrong with Xiao Cheng!”

Hearing this, Zhong Yingzhi strode forward, brushed Xiao Xiaoli aside, and reached out to pat the face of the person on the bed.

Zhong Yingzhi patted her several times without a response. She turned to Xiao Xiaoli. “What happened?”

Xiao Xiaoli shook her head. “I don’t know! I saw she hadn’t gotten up yet and was worried she’d be late for class, so I tried calling her. But no matter how much I yell, she won’t wake up. She’s sleeping like she’s dead!”

Zhong Yingzhi’s brow furrowed deeply. She increased the force of the slaps to her face. “Wake up! Wake up!”

Mu Cheng’s forehead temperature was normal, and her breathing was steady and unremarkable. The only anomaly was that she couldn’t be woken.

After several minutes of calling her, Zhong Yingzhi’s brow tightened further, her lips thinning into a straight line. Her expression turned grim. Without further hesitation, she reached down to sweep the girl into a princess carry. “Go open the door.”

Xiao Xiaoli nodded repeatedly. “Okay, okay!”

Xiao Xiaoli ran to the door, opened it, and moved aside. Zhong Yingzhi, carrying the girl, sprinted out of the dorm toward the infirmary.

She moved with such speed that the empty-handed Xiao Xiaoli was nearly left behind, barely able to keep up.

While running, Zhong Yingzhi’s foot hit a stone. Her ankle twisted and her body jerked; she nearly dropped the person in her arms, but she managed to stabilize herself just in time.

Xiao Xiaoli trotted up to her. “Yingzhi, are you okay? It looks like you twisted your ankle. Do you want me to carry her on my back?”

“No, I’ve got her.” Sweat broke out on Zhong Yingzhi’s forehead due to the twisted ankle.

Xiao Xiaoli looked at her foot worriedly. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Zhong Yingzhi didn’t reply again. She kept moving forward without slowing down, though she stumbled slightly because of the injury.

This was the second time Zhong Yingzhi had carried her to the infirmary. Lin Zhuo was no longer astonished; he calmly and coolly told her to put the girl down.

After a round of checks, Lin Zhuo took the stethoscope from his ears, hung it around his neck, and said with a complicated expression, “She’s just asleep.”

“What?” Zhong Yingzhi looked suspicious. “She’s like this and she’s just… asleep?”

Lin Zhuo nodded, absolutely certain.

Just then, the eyelashes of the person on the bed flickered. Her body moved slightly, and she slowly, lazily opened her eyes.

Lin Zhuo gestured toward her. “See? She’s awake.”

As her relief washed over her, a surge of anger followed. “Are you a pig?!” Zhong Yingzhi snapped. “You sleep like a dead pig, we couldn’t even wake you up. You can’t even sleep without making people worry! What else do you do besides cause trouble? Can you stop being such a burden to everyone?”

Mu Cheng hadn’t even processed where she was before she was being scolded by Zhong Yingzhi until her head spun.

“Um, stop yelling for a second. Wasn’t I sleeping in the dorm? Why am I in the infirmary?” Mu Cheng scratched her head, bewildered.

Zhong Yingzhi let out a huff, ignored her, and walked over. As she approached, she suddenly leaned her body over. Mu Cheng immediately shrank into the corner of the bed, shielding her chest with her hands like she was facing a great enemy. She stammered, “Wait, wait, wait! What are you doing now? This is the infirmary, there are people watching! Don’t lose your mind in broad daylight!”

Zhong Yingzhi’s hand reached over her head and picked up her phone from the nightstand.

Oh, she just wanted her phone. Scared me to death, I thought she was going to…

Zhong Yingzhi stood straight and looked at Mu Cheng. “You’re sick.”

Traveling back and forth between the reality and the future had made Mu Cheng’s nerves sensitive. The nine-year-later Zhong Yingzhi would do reckless things to her, but the current Zhong Yingzhi wasn’t that “presumptuous” yet.

Zhong Yingzhi didn’t care what kind of fit Mu Cheng was having; she turned and left the infirmary.

Lin Zhuo chased after her, shouting, “Your foot! You injured your foot! Put some medicine on it before you go!”

Zhong Yingzhi didn’t stop, completely ignoring Lin Zhuo’s shouts.

Mu Cheng put on her shoes and got off the bed. She looked at Xiao Xiaoli. “Why was I in the infirmary? And what was up with her? I wake up and she’s just screaming at me, calling me a pig and telling me I’m sick.”

Xiao Xiaoli explained, “We couldn’t wake you up no matter how much we tried. Don’t blame Yingzhi for yelling; I was terrified too. How can you sleep so deeply? I almost thought something had happened to you.”

Mu Cheng felt a bit embarrassed. The reason she couldn’t be woken up was that while she was in the future, her body in the present was in a state where it couldn’t be roused—a deep coma-like sleep.

Mu Cheng touched her cheek and hissed in pain. “Why does my face hurt so much?”

Xiao Xiaoli coughed lightly, avoiding her gaze. “Because you wouldn’t wake up, Yingzhi gave your face a ‘light’ tap or two while calling you.”

Mu Cheng walked to the mirror and looked. There was a red mark on her face, and it was slightly swollen. “A ‘light’ tap? My face is swollen! That girl must have used the chance to slap me!”

Xiao Xiaoli: “Yingzhi isn’t as bad as you say. She was really worried about you. When she couldn’t wake you, she was more frantic than I was. She even twisted her ankle while carrying you all the way here.”

Mu Cheng wasn’t very appreciative. She pouted. “Of course she’s ‘worried’ about me. I’m telling you, she has designs on me. She’s lusting after my beauty.”

Xiao Xiaoli looked at her like she was a lunatic. “You’ve slept yourself stupid. You’re having delusions.”

Mu Cheng waved her off, too lazy to explain. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Below the dormitory, a man and a woman were pacing back and forth anxiously. The man was in his late forties, unshaven and looking haggard, while the woman had a head of green hair.

It was Liu Sihui and her father, Mr. Liu.

When Mr. Liu saw Zhong Yingzhi, his eyes lit up, and he immediately approached her sycophantically. “Miss Zhong! Do you remember me? I’m the owner of Jiangcheng Lumber. I previously had the honor of a small collaboration with a subsidiary of the Zhong Group.”

Zhong Yingzhi swept a glance at him, expressionless.

“Of course, I know you certainly don’t remember me. I specifically brought my disobedient, ignorant daughter here today to apologize to you.” Mr. Liu jerked Liu Sihui forward. “Idiot, apologize now!”

Liu Sihui stepped in front of Zhong Yingzhi and lowered her head, her attitude sincere. “Miss Zhong, I touched your person. It was my fault. I apologize and hope for your forgiveness.”

Mr. Liu smiled at Zhong Yingzhi pleasingly, the dark circles under his eyes extremely heavy. “See? Does this idiot’s apology satisfy you? I hope you can let me off—let my company off.”

Zhong Yingzhi watched their performance with a cold, indifferent expression, offering little reaction. “If you’re done talking, move aside.”

As Zhong Yingzhi moved to leave, Mr. Liu grew frantic. His knees buckled, and he knelt directly on the ground.

Liu Sihui looked at her usually tall and imposing father kneeling at someone’s feet. Her heart was suddenly filled with a mix of emotions. “Dad…”

Mr. Liu glared at her. “Shut up!”

He turned back to Zhong Yingzhi, begging humbly, “I’m begging you. My company cannot fail. Sihui’s mother has a very serious illness and needs a lot of money. Her medical bills have always been supported by the company’s profits. If the company fails, there’s no money for her treatment—she’ll just have to wait for death. I beg you, have mercy. Give me a way to live.”