Just Wanting to Divorce My Love Rival - Chapter 5

Looking at the cold medicine in her hand, Mu Cheng felt an inexplicable warmth in her heart. Her opinion of Zhong Yingzhi shifted slightly; she thought the woman might not be so bad after all.

The moment that thought surfaced, Mu Cheng immediately shook her head frantically to deny it. She cursed herself internally: She gave me so many “slaps” before that my head is still ringing, and now she gives me one “sweet date” and I forget all her malice? That’s way too unprincipled and pathetic.

Well, Mu Cheng had always been unprincipled and pathetic.

Mu Cheng pushed her chair back, tilted her head toward the back of the room, and raised her voice. “Thanks.”

Zhong Yingzhi stopped typing and looked over.

Mu Cheng shook the medicine. “I’ll take the medicine you sent. Thank you.”

Zhong Yingzhi furrowed her brows but didn’t reply.

Just as she finished speaking, Xiao Xiaoli, who was preparing for a nap, poked her head out from under the covers and gave a series of heavy, meaningful coughs.

Mu Cheng looked at her in confusion. “Do you have a cold too?”

“No, I mean… that…” Xiao Xiaoli hesitated.

“What do you want to say? Don’t be so wishy-washy. Spit it out,” Mu Cheng rolled her eyes.

Xiao Xiaoli pointed to the medicine. “When I went downstairs to get my package, didn’t you ask me to bring a box of cold medicine back? That is the one I bought for you.”

Mu Cheng froze. her face turned shades of red and white. Now that she thought about it, that did happen.

Mu Cheng stole an embarrassed glance at Zhong Yingzhi. The latter had no reaction and had already returned to her work on the computer.

I almost read too much into things again. Zhong Yingzhi is an ungrateful wolf; how could she ever be kind enough to send medicine? I’m definitely overthinking it.

A Penguin (QQ) icon flashed. Zhong Yingzhi clicked the chat box; it was a message from someone noted as Doctor Lin.

Doctor Lin: “I was in a meeting and just got free. Is something wrong?”

Zhong Yingzhi’s slender fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard. “Cold dragging on for a month without healing. Coughing, runny nose, no fever. What’s the situation?”

The inquiry was concise, with no extra words—just like her, cold and hard.

Doctor Lin asked back with concern: “Is your cold still not better?”

Zhong Yingzhi: “No. Asking for someone else.”

Doctor Lin breathed a long sigh of relief. He was originally the Zhong family’s private doctor. The main reason he was working in the school infirmary was because of Zhong Yingzhi.

Chairman Zhong didn’t feel at ease with Zhong Yingzhi living at school alone, so he arranged for the doctor to be on standby on campus just in case.

Doctor Lin had served the family since Zhong Yingzhi was very young and understood her somewhat. She had a detached personality and didn’t care about anyone. Why was she asking this for someone else?

Doctor Lin asked curiously: “Who is it?”

Zhong Yingzhi lost her patience: “Is your brain malfunctioning? Less nonsense, answer the question.”

Doctor Lin looked at the rude message. He was used to it. Shrugging, he typed: “If a cold has lasted a month, just buying over-the-counter medicine isn’t enough. Best to have them come see me. If it’s severe, they need hospital treatment.”

Zhong Yingzhi closed the chat, thinned her lips, and glanced at the person coughing.

Mu Cheng was coughing as if her lungs were collapsing, clutching her chest and retching. She ran to the bathroom but couldn’t throw anything up.

This cold seemed much more severe than usual.

Xiao Xiaoli asked worriedly, “Are you okay?”

Mu Cheng waved her off. “Just coughing a bit hard. I’ll be fine in a couple of days.”

Zhong Yingzhi suddenly chimed in, “If you’re unwell, go to the infirmary.”

Mu Cheng was stunned. She and Xiao Xiaoli exchanged a look of surprise. Zhong Yingzhi—the girl who wouldn’t say half a word a day—was actually initiating a conversation.

Zhong Yingzhi sensed she had been out of character and quickly added, “You’re coughing all day. It’s affecting me.”

Mu Cheng pouted. She almost thought the woman was caring for her; reading too much into things really was a serious illness.

Mu Cheng deliberately coughed several times in a row, making a huge racket, and grumbled dissatisfiedly, “I wonder who gave me this cold in the first place. The wound on my ear isn’t even fully healed yet. Some people are really good at making sarcastic remarks, showing their ungrateful nature perfectly…”

Facing Mu Cheng’s rambling accusations, Zhong Yingzhi gave only a monotonous, cold sneer.

Doctor Lin sent another message: “When is the person you mentioned coming? I’ll make arrangements.”

Zhong Yingzhi’s face turned grim: “Whether she goes or not is her business.”

Doctor Lin scratched his head in confusion. She just said she’d bring someone over, yet less than a minute later, her attitude had completely flipped.

Mu Cheng’s phone rang—a “ding-ding-dang-dang” ringtone that was incredibly noisy.

She picked it up and saw the caller ID: Grandmother.

Mu Cheng quickly cleared her throat, terrified her grandmother would realize she had a cold. But no matter how she masked it, her voice sounded different.

Grandmother Mu noticed immediately. “You have a cold?”

Mu Cheng realized she couldn’t hide it and admitted it.

“I told you to wear more! It’s cold at night, you have to add layers. Why don’t you listen? You have a weak constitution and catch colds easily, yet you aren’t careful. You’re a grown adult and you still make me worry. Have you taken medicine…” Grandmother Mu started nagging endlessly.

Mu Cheng lowered her head, kicked at the floor, and smiled. She didn’t mind the nagging at all.

Then, a sharp female voice came from the other end of the line—Mu Cheng’s mother was chiming in from the side. “It’s just a minor cold. Mom, why are you so tense? I say a cold doesn’t even need medicine; it usually heals itself. Why waste the money?”

Grandmother Mu glared at Mu Cheng’s mother. “If your precious son had a cold, would you say that? Before, when your precious son just cut his skin, you were so nervous you sent him to the hospital. When it comes to Xiao Cheng, buying medicine is a ‘waste of money.’ They’re both your own flesh and blood—you shouldn’t be this biased.”

Mu Cheng’s mother was displeased. “Xiao Cheng is your granddaughter, but Xiao Xiong is your grandson too. You have ‘Xiao Cheng’ on your lips every day, and I haven’t called you biased.”

These arguments happened often. Mu Cheng let out a soft sigh.

Mu Cheng had a brother three years older than her, Mu Aoxiong. He had grown up “soaked in honey,” receiving all his parents’ love. Mu Cheng felt like a redundant presence. Occasionally she would complain or feel dissatisfied; as a child, she would cry and make a scene, but as she grew older, she had come to terms with it.

Though she lacked her parents’ affection, she was well-fed and clothed. At least she had her grandmother—a grandmother who protected and loved her. She wasn’t greedy; that was enough.

The cold showed no signs of improving, and it was becoming truly unbearable. Out of necessity, Mu Cheng finally decided to go to the infirmary for an IV drip.

Mu Cheng was afraid of needles. Unless absolutely necessary, she would avoid them at all costs, but this time she had no other choice.

After class, Zhong Yingzhi was carrying several heavy books back to the dorm. A male classmate was walking beside her, trying to strike up a conversation.

The male student had a sunny smile and handsome features—it was Jiang Zhengzhi, the boy Mu Cheng had confessed to earlier.

“There were a few points in class I didn’t quite understand. If you have time, could you…” Jiang Zhengzhi stopped mid-sentence. He noticed Zhong Yingzhi wasn’t listening; she was looking toward the infirmary. He asked in confusion, “Yingzhi, what are you looking at?”

Zhong Yingzhi retracted her gaze and said flatly, “Were you talking to me?”

Jiang Zhengzhi gave a bright, friendly smile. “Yeah, I was.”

Zhong Yingzhi glanced at him. “Do I know you?”

Jiang Zhengzhi was embarrassed and gave a dry laugh. “We’re in the same class. I sat next to you in class just now. I’ve sat next to you several times, actually. We’re practically lab partners. Did you not notice?”

“Is that so?” Zhong Yingzhi’s eyes were indifferent. “I don’t remember. I didn’t notice.”

Without waiting for Jiang Zhengzhi to react, she started walking toward the dorm, but after a few steps, she stopped.

After thinking for a few seconds, she turned and headed toward the infirmary.

Watching Zhong Yingzhi walk away, Jiang Zhengzhi wore a playful smile. The harder someone was to chase, the more interesting they became.

Jiang Zhengzhi’s friend ran over and put a hand on his shoulder. “Forget it, don’t bother. You can’t get her.”

Jiang Zhengzhi was undeterred. “Not necessarily.”

“What ‘not necessarily’? It’s a certainty. Chase her? Don’t even think about it. She doesn’t have a single friend in school, not even an acquaintance. Is it because she can’t make friends? No, it’s because she looks down on us from the bottom of her heart. She disdains having any interaction with us.”

The friend continued bluntly, “Who is she? The only daughter of the Zhong family. You and she aren’t even on the same level. Her starting point is the finish line you couldn’t reach in a lifetime of struggling.”

Jiang Zhengzhi wasn’t annoyed. He smiled and touched his lip, his competitive spirit burning even brighter.

Outside the infirmary, Zhong Yingzhi lingered without going in.

Doctor Lin saw her and walked out. “Here to see Mu Cheng?”

“Passing by,” Zhong Yingzhi denied.

Doctor Lin smiled and didn’t expose her. “It’s good for a kid your age to make a few friends. It’s not healthy to be alone all the time.”

“Friends?” Zhong Yingzhi sneered. “I just don’t want to owe her a favor. That’s all.”

“Not going in to see her?” Doctor Lin asked with a smile.

Zhong Yingzhi frowned and restated, “I am passing by.”

Doctor Lin nodded repeatedly. “Right, right. You’re passing by. So, as someone ‘passing by,’ do you want to go in and see her?”

Zhong Yingzhi looked at him coldly; the temperature around them seemed to drop.

Doctor Lin wasn’t afraid. Having known her for a long time, he understood her temperament.

Doctor Lin: “She’s fine. Just has a weak constitution. She can go back after the drip is done.”

“I didn’t ask.” With that, Zhong Yingzhi turned and left.

Doctor Lin watched her go, shook his head with a smile, and then his eyes twinkled as a fun idea occurred to him.

Mu Cheng stared at the steaming bowl of lean meat congee in front of her. “Are you saying… Zhong Yingzhi bought this for me?”

Doctor Lin nodded. “She just came to see you.”

Mu Cheng peeked outside. “Then why didn’t she come in?”

“She was too embarrassed to come in,” Doctor Lin lied without blinking. “I’m an old acquaintance of hers; I’ve watched her grow up. She has a cold personality and her words aren’t very pleasant, but she’s not a bad person at heart. She’s had no friends since she was small and doesn’t know how to interact with people. Since you’re roommates, I hope you can look after her more.”

Mu Cheng picked up the spoon, took a sip of congee, and hummed thoughtfully. “She really isn’t good at talking. That mouth of hers can shut me down at any moment.”

Doctor Lin leaned in closer and whispered, “Actually, she wants to be friends with you, but she can’t bring herself to say it. She’s too shy to be direct.”

Mu Cheng was so shocked her spoon dropped into the bowl. “Doctor Lin, are you kidding me?”

Doctor Lin looked sincere. “I’m telling the truth. She even texted me earlier to ask why a cold wouldn’t heal after a month. She’s very concerned about you.”

Mu Cheng, half-believing and half-doubting, fell into deep thought.