Saving the Pitiful Villain (GL) - Chapter 31

“Ah.”

Jiang Shangxue was startled and immediately recoiled.

In the dim light, her hand weakly supported itself on the pillow.

Forcing herself to calm down, she realized it was Yun Wu. Jiang Shangxue propped herself up and switched on the bedside lamp.

“Wu Wu, why are you here?” Her voice was slightly hoarse, her expression startled.

Yun Wu’s mind was blank, and she was in a panic, unable to utter a single word.

She couldn’t think of any excuse to offer, and her fair, small toes continuously curled backward.

The warm lamp light clearly illuminated Yun Wu’s face. Her cheeks were deeply flushed, her eyes welling up with tears that threatened to fall.

“Wu Wu,” Jiang Shangxue called her again. Yun Wu still only cried and didn’t speak.

Seeing the abnormal redness of Yun Wu’s face, Jiang Shangxue quickly got out of bed. Noticing that Yun Wu wasn’t wearing shoes, she turned on the bedroom light and first found a pair of slippers for her.

She touched her cheek, then her forehead. It was very hot, and she was sweating profusely.

Upon closer inspection, Jiang Shangxue realized that Yun Wu’s entire body was red. Thin sweat gathered on her neck and ran down her skin. Jiang Shangxue held her hand, which was slick with nervous sweat.

“Are you feeling unwell somewhere?” Drawing out tissues to wipe her down, Jiang Shangxue quickly asked.

Yun Wu’s eyelids were also flushed red, and her eyelashes trembled violently. Seeing Jiang Shangxue’s anxious demeanor, she managed to calm down slightly.

Then she nodded.

“Where does it hurt? Where on your body do you feel uncomfortable?” Jiang Shangxue pulled her closer, looking her over from head to toe.

Yun Wu fell silent.

Jiang Shangxue was worried. She let go of her and went straight to the wardrobe, taking out two trench coats. She put one on herself and one on Yun Wu.

“Change your shoes. We’re going to the hospital.”

Jiang Shangxue quickly gathered her things, helped Yun Wu change her shoes, and then drove off, navigating to the nearest private hospital.

Yun Wu sat in the back seat, her head throbbing. She didn’t even realize she was crying.

The car drove out of the underground garage. The roads were empty of pedestrians.

The deeply cool air made Yun Wu shiver.

Suppressing the panic, Yun Wu took a deep breath. When Jiang Shangxue was holding her, Yun Wu’s thoughts had been frozen, and her limbs felt heavy with numbness.

Now, sitting in the back seat, her rationality seemed to return slightly.

Yun Wu hugged herself, curling tightly against the car door, thinking about how to explain to Jiang Shangxue.

The true reason was too mortifying for Yun Wu to say. She had developed such a strong possessiveness toward Jiang Shangxue; she absolutely couldn’t reveal that.

The image of Jiang Shangxue’s worried face flashed in her mind. Yun Wu felt ashamed.

It seemed the only option now was to stick to the lie that she was sick.

Her head was bowed, her lips pouted. Jiang Shangxue watched Yun Wu in the rearview mirror, thinking she was getting more uncomfortable. Her heart tightened, and she accelerated the car.

By the time they reached the hospital, the feverish heat on Yun Wu’s body had mostly subsided. She struggled for a while, then suddenly grabbed Jiang Shangxue.

“Auntie Jiang, the pain seems to have gone away.”

Jiang Shangxue looked back at her. Her face wasn’t as red, and she wasn’t sweating anymore, but her lips were still pale.

Reaching to touch the back of Yun Wu’s neck to check her temperature, Jiang Shangxue let out a slight sigh of relief, then said, “Even if the pain is gone, we still need to get you checked.”

It was five in the morning. There were still many people in the hospital, but fortunately, after registering her information, they didn’t have to queue for long.

When the doctor asked Yun Wu where exactly it hurt, she instinctively glanced toward Jiang Shangxue.

In the cool light, Jiang Shangxue’s eyes looked extremely dark, deep, and steady, as if capable of seeing through her lie.

Yun Wu felt nervous. She pointed to the left side of her chest. “Bone pain.”

Jiang Shangxue hadn’t forgotten to bring the comprehensive physical examination report from Huakang and had already handed it to the doctor.

The doctor read the report, then asked her a few questions, which Yun Wu answered haltingly.

Following this were various tests. Jiang Shangxue accompanied her through each one.

By the time all the tests were completed, it was already daylight. The preliminary report wouldn’t be fully available until closer to noon.

“I’ll have Uncle Li call for your leave later. You can go to school in the afternoon.”

Both of their faces looked tired. Jiang Shangxue led Yun Wu to the waiting area and helped her lie down on the sofa to rest for a while.

Jiang Shangxue stood to one side, her expression composed.

Yun Wu’s eyes met hers. She guiltily looked away, lowering her head and closing her eyes tightly.

The waiting room was very quiet. Outside the window, the green leaves rustled, and the sunlight clearly illuminated the veins of the leaves. The whispering sound seemed to be a soothing lullaby.

Yun Wu hadn’t slept all night. Her taut nerves gradually relaxed, and before she knew it, she fell asleep.

Only after she fell asleep did Jiang Shangxue walk outside and take out her phone to call Uncle Li.

She initially planned to ask Uncle Li to call for her leave, but the words changed when she spoke. “Uncle Li, please send me the contact information for Wu Wu’s homeroom teacher.”

“Certainly, Madam.”

Fang Wenli’s information quickly popped up on her phone: photo, name, age, phone number, years of teaching experience, and honors received—all information that could be found on the school’s official website.

Jiang Shangxue quickly scanned it. The book hadn’t described Yun Wu’s senior year homeroom teacher much, only a few brief sentences.

Vain and snobbish. Never intervened when Yun Wu was bullied. She was inseparable from Yun Wu’s drastic drop in grades in her senior year.

Jiang Shangxue’s initial impression of her was very poor.

But Fang Wenli was still a teacher, and Jiang Shangxue hadn’t found evidence of her doing anything excessive yet. Jiang Shangxue calmed her emotions and dialed the number.

“Hello, is this Teacher Fang from Grade 12, Class Two?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“I am Yun Wu’s mother… a half-day leave…”

“Yun Wu’s mother?”

After a noticeable pause, Fang Wenli continued, her tone cold and irritable. “Oh, so she does have a mother. I thought she was long dead. Then remember to attend the parent-teacher meeting on the 20th of this month. There are some things I must discuss with her parent face-to-face.”

Hearing it was Yun Wu’s mother, Fang Wenli’s tone immediately became contemptuous. She hung up the phone right after speaking.

Fang Wenli disliked Yun Wu the most in the entire class. Yun Wu had no background and was simply an eyesore and a useless student, only serving as a punching bag when Fang Wenli was in a bad mood.

Holding her phone, Jiang Shangxue lowered her eyes. The atmosphere around her instantly became heavy, tinged with coldness.

She hadn’t expected Fang Wenli to completely lack professional ethics. And Yun Wu had never told her anything about school.

Pinching her brow, Jiang Shangxue walked back into the rest area. Yun Wu was sleeping soundly, her hand dangling from the edge of the sofa, her mouth slightly open. She looked adorable.

Jiang Shangxue walked over, took her hand, and sat down next to her.

Around ten o’clock, Yun Wu woke up, discovering that she had somehow fallen asleep on Jiang Shangxue’s lap. Jiang Shangxue’s hand rested on her waist, and her eyes were lightly closed.

She seemed to be sleeping.

Yun Wu swallowed, preparing to quietly move her head.

The moment Yun Wu moved, Jiang Shangxue woke up and even tugged at the hem of her jacket.

“Are you hungry?”

Yun Wu was momentarily speechless, stammering her answer. “Mhm.”

“Let’s go downstairs and have something to eat.”

Yun Wu got up first. Jiang Shangxue followed, but her leg was numb from Yun Wu leaning on it. Her body swayed. Yun Wu quickly reached out to support her.

“Auntie Jiang, be careful.”

The two stood close together. Jiang Shangxue’s hand rested on Yun Wu’s wrist. She looked down at her. “Support me for a moment. I’ll walk once the feeling returns.”

It was clearly because Yun Wu had leaned on her for too long. Yun Wu hummed awkwardly, her slender, pale wrist slightly tense, restraining a subtle emotion.

On the way, Jiang Shangxue kept her gaze on Yun Wu, asking casually.

“How are things with your studies at school?”

“How is your homeroom teacher?”

“Are your grades improving?”

Yun Wu thought for a moment, vaguely answering that things were good, attempting to brush off the questions.

Knowing she was lying, Jiang Shangxue didn’t expose her. She nonchalantly put her arm around Yun Wu’s shoulder.

“I’d only feel relieved if things were truly good. If anything is wrong, you can tell me.”

Yun Wu nodded, unaware of the deep meaning implied in Jiang Shangxue’s words and gaze.

Turning right from the main entrance of the hospital was the restaurant. The two shared a plate of soup dumplings.

After resting for about half an hour, the preliminary report came out.

Because Yun Wu already had various minor health issues, many of her body data points were abnormal, but no single ailment stood out particularly.

The doctor’s conclusion was bone pain caused by a lack of a certain trace element.

Yun Wu listened from the side, silently sighing in relief. The anxiety she had felt was finally completely settled.

The lie had been successfully covered up.

Taking the prescription to get the medicine, Jiang Shangxue originally planned to have Yun Wu go home to eat lunch before returning to school, but Yun Wu volunteered to return to school, so Jiang Shangxue dropped her off at East Villa High School first.

Standing at the school gate, Yun Wu only started walking toward the classroom after the car’s taillights completely disappeared.

The bell for the end of the break just rang.

Yun Wu walked through the hallway, entering the classroom through the back door and heading to her seat. Her mind was still dwelling on the strange feeling that had arisen last night.

She didn’t notice that many people in the hallway were giving her malicious, scornful smiles, including students from Grades 10 and 11 who had never even heard of her before.

Ye Mei saw her arrive. For the first time, she didn’t tease her playfully but seriously scrutinized Yun Wu’s face.

“Where were you this morning?”

“At the hospital.”

“Oh.”

Yun Wu’s expression was flat, the same as usual, showing no change.

It seems she doesn’t know about this morning yet.

Ye Mei secretly sighed in relief. With only a few days left until the Nanda independent admissions exam, it was better to keep things hidden for now. They could deal with it after the exam.

When Ye Mei arrived at school today, she found that the school bulletin board and the 12th-grade hallway were plastered with photos of Yun Wu and an old man.

The angles of the photos were deliberately chosen, concealing the man’s face, but every picture clearly showed Yun Wu’s face.

Words were printed on every photo.

【Grade 12 Girl Confirmed to be a Mistress, Sneaked into East Villa by Sleeping Around】

【Fake Phoenix Girl, Fake Virtue, True Slut】

【…】

Every word was shocking and offensive.

Ye Mei, along with her followers, skipped class, searched the entire school, and tore down all the photos.

Unused to Ye Mei’s quiet, serious demeanor, Yun Wu glanced at her, then continued practicing questions.

Ye Mei was startled by her look. She immediately straightened up, her gaze darting around nervously.

With Ye Mei guarding her, the vicious rumors hadn’t reached Yun Wu.

Before the last class in the afternoon, the scores for the 20th joint mock exam were released.

The identity of the first-place winner stunned everyone.

It was Yun Wu.

Zhao Changming’s face turned ashen when he saw the ranking. East Villa High School had a tradition of calling anyone who took first place in all six major mock exams the “Six-Time Consecutive Champion.” They would be personally introduced to the school board members.

Zhao Changming had been working hard to secure resources from the school board. He had finally managed to persuade Xu Chacha not to compete with him.

Now, Yun Wu, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, had ruined everything.

Zhao Changming couldn’t control his anger. He took Yun Wu’s answer sheet and threw it onto her desk.

Thinking of the photos he saw this morning, Zhao Changming felt a wave of disgust. How could he have ever thought Yun Wu was tempting?

She was clearly low-class trash.

“Yun Wu, do you have any shame? Do you think scores you cheated on can get my attention?”