Chapter 159: Chapter 159: Miss, Don’t Catch a Cold
Jiang Nanshu methodically turned off the tap, ripped off the band-aid, revealing a wound that was somewhat red. Because it had been wet, the originally dried bloodstain blurred with the water, trickling down from Jiang Nanshu’s hand.
“Did you mock her?”
Her voice was very faint, devoid of any emotion.
Su Ran couldn’t help but turn back to look at her. Jiang Nanshu’s eyes were very dark, like whirlpools, but she always held herself in that disgustingly harmless way that seemed to declare she wouldn’t hurt a fly.
Su Ran smiled, her eyes filled with disdain, “We’re adversaries. Should I comfort her instead of mocking her? Kindness isn’t something for you all to use as moral blackmail.”
Jiang Nanshu sidestepped her and walked out. The weather, clear for so many days, had turned overcast, wind picking up and whisking away the heat, as if rain was imminent.
“What right do you have to mock someone who is working hard? You gain without working and still self-congratulate. Jiang Leyi has a tough and self-reliant character; she’s not so weak as to commit suicide over such a small setback.”
So Su Ran’s words couldn’t get under her skin.
“Why…” Su Ran exhaled softly, her voice barely audible: “Because I’m the female lead, isn’t that enough?”
Su Ran walked away directly, as if she didn’t want to waste her time with Jiang Nanshu.
And Jiang Nanshu still heard her voice.
This book was getting more and more interesting.
She headed towards the classroom, the light red droplets falling on the ground.
Su Ran, your female lead character isn’t tortured enough.
Jiang Nanshu had originally planned not to interfere with the plot, but for such a female lead, who relies on men’s help, she had no right to mock anyone’s hard work.
She really wanted to see just how far the female lead halo could help her.
After afternoon class, Jiang Nanshu asked Xu Xi where the pancake stall was, and Xu Xi offered to buy it for her, but Jiang Nanshu refused, saying she needed to go out to buy a notebook.
So Xu Xi told her the location and busied herself with the student council election.
But luck was not on her side.
Jiang Nanshu had just stepped outside the school when a light rain began to fall.
The rain drenched the earth, and Jiang Nanshu stood under the eaves of a building to take shelter.
After waiting five minutes and the rain showing no sign of letting up, she pondered whether she could dash to the curb and hail a cab without getting soaked.
She had barely taken a step when a deep voice came from behind her: “Miss.”
Jiang Nanshu paused, turned around, and saw Duan Huaiyu.
He wore a black T-shirt, buzz cut, with sharp features that seemed standoffish when he wasn’t smiling. With a guitar on his back and a black umbrella in his hand, Jiang Nanshu glanced up and noticed they were in front of a music club.
He stood before Jiang Nanshu, imposingly tall; even as she craned her neck to look up at him, it grew stiff, and she rubbed it.
“What are you doing here?”
Duan Huaiyu looked at the rain curtains, his voice even: “Working part-time.”
“Oh.”
There was no more conversation between them.
He turned his head towards Jiang Nanshu, whose face was pale with a hint of pink. Her gleaming black eyes were like a clear spring; just standing beside her inexplicably calmed him.
He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and was about to put it to his lips when he vaguely remembered to ask, “Do you mind?”
Jiang Nanshu glanced at him. He was asking if she minded the smell of smoke.
“Stinks,” she said with a single word, her red lips barely moving.
Duan Huaiyu re-stowed the cigarette back in the pack, his voice low, “Fine, I won’t smoke.”
Jiang Nanshu gave him a peculiar look, as Su Ran’s most loyal bodyguard, he hadn’t gone to work for Su Ran yet.
Part-time work wouldn’t bring in much money. He juggled several jobs just to pay for his mother’s medical treatments.
And she wondered if something had happened to his mother.
She reminded him and as for whether Duan Huaiyu went back or not, that was none of her concern.
“Miss.”
“Hmm?” Jiang Nanshu’s voice rose, sounding a bit mushy.
Duan Huaiyu chuckled softly, dissipating his aloofness. His sharp features softened. “I waited for you for many days because I didn’t have your contact information and couldn’t find you.”
“What were you waiting for me for?” Jiang Nanshu looked at him curiously.
“If it weren’t for your reminder… my mother would have fallen down the stairs and died. You saved her,” Duan Huaiyu said slowly.
Jiang Nanshu was stunned for a moment; he had really listened and gone back.
She had indirectly saved a life.
“If I had known, I wouldn’t have said it carelessly, trying to trick you into going back and disturb your work; who let you get close to Su Ran.” After Jiang Nanshu finished speaking, she added, “I detest her.”
“Miss, you can’t take your anger out on me because of her; it’s not fair to me… but never mind.” He chuckled lowly, “Thank you for your careless words, and, by the way, I’m not familiar with Miss Su, I transferred money for the medicine she gave.”
“It turns out that it wasn’t her who borrowed money to save my mother’s life; it was you.”
Jiang Nanshu was full of question marks.
What?
“Have you forgotten? That day you were… throwing money at male models, scattering nearly 30,000 yuan. That night, my mother had a sudden emergency, and my brothers used the money they picked up for the crisis, so, thank you.”
Duan Huaiyu’s face felt hot, but fortunately, his skin wasn’t pale, so his embarrassment wasn’t noticeable.
On that day, he also saw Jiang Nanshu as just another flashy bar patron.
But since meeting her, Duan Huaiyu felt like he had encountered an angel, despite the reputation she had for being wild and cruel-hearted.
He, however, saw her as a shining pearl.
After Duan Huaiyu finished speaking, Jiang Nanshu remembered, “Oh, you’re talking about that? I forgot; I didn’t count the money I threw out. It was for everyone, you don’t need to thank me for this unintentional act.”
“But it was your unintentional act that saved a life.”
Jiang Nanshu looked at his stubborn expression, as if he was convinced she was his savior.
In the end, Jiang Nanshu couldn’t be bothered to argue.
She just said, “It’s good that the person is still alive. Take good care of the mother who loves you.”
Duan Huaiyu came from a single-parent family. His mother fell ill raising him, eventually becoming unable to walk, losing sensation in her lower body, had to rely on a wheelchair, and because of periodic health crises, required a lot of medical expenses.
Maybe that day was not an accident.
Perhaps his mother didn’t want to be a burden to him and was thinking of committing suicide by jumping from the building.
But she didn’t know that because she was alive, she was the very reason Duan Huaiyu was motivated to earn money.
The rain didn’t stop, it got even heavier.
Jiang Nanshu walked out directly, ready to hail a taxi.
The early autumn rain was cool, not cold.
The next second, an umbrella was opened above her head.
The umbrella tilted towards her, soaking Duan Huaiyu’s shoulder, but he sheltered her under the umbrella, not letting a single drop of rain touch her.
As she walked forward, Duan Huaiyu followed, holding the umbrella.
One in front and one behind, Duan Huaiyu acted like her loyal bodyguard, firmly protecting her.
Jiang Nanshu stopped her steps, and he stopped too.
“Why are you following me?”
He was silent for a moment before bending down to hand her the umbrella, his nose catching the light scent of oranges on her.
Himself standing in the rain, he said softly, “Miss, don’t catch a cold.”