### Chapter 16 An Unremarkable Special Admit

### Chapter 16 An Unremarkable Special Admit

"Breaking news!! Latest scoop on Ning Bean Sprout—anyone listening? Another 360-degree twist!"

"I saw the leak. Someone spotted Pu Daxi carrying him to the infirmary!"

"More than that, the president was there too!"

"Is Shen Lingsi back?"

"He just got back and went straight to see him! He's in the infirmary right now!"

"...Maybe he's just fulfilling his presidential duties? Shen Lingsi has always been good at handling things."

"What about Young Master Pu?"

"This... maybe, he's just checking on his little follower?"

Ning Song immediately recognized Shen Lingsi.

Because Shen Lingsi looked and spoke exactly like what one would expect from a student council president.

He had the kind of handsome senior look that all girls secretly admire—fine round glasses, unlike the typical glasses-wearing scoundrels, making him appear young yet mature.

Compared to Zhou Lü, who had an arrogant face, Shen Lingsi seemed even more composed, with a gentle smile revealing neat white teeth, neither exaggerated nor overbearing.

"This is our student council president," Zhou Lü introduced him.

Ning Song sat up. "Hello, President."

Shen Lingsi smiled. "I just got back and heard you were sick, so I came to check on you. Are you feeling better? The doctor said you have pneumonia."

"Much better." Ning Song glanced at the people behind Shen Lingsi. They were all strangers, wearing gray suits, some with ties, others without.

These people were probably meeting him for the first time, and he was familiar with their scrutinizing looks.

"Just you?" Shen Lingsi looked around. "Where are your...?"

As soon as he finished half of his sentence, someone suddenly shouted from behind: "Pu Yu?"

Ning Song saw Pu Yu enter with a lunch box, showing no particular expression upon seeing Shen Lingsi.

Shen Lingsi spoke first. "Pu Yu? What are you doing here? Where's your class monitor?"

Pu Yu placed the food on the table beside the bed and said, "Didn't let him stay. I took leave."

Then he looked at Shen Lingsi.

Despite his delicate and handsome appearance, when he didn't smile, his gaze felt cold. Shen Lingsi smiled. "I heard the new student was sick, so I came to visit."

"He caught a chill, it's pneumonia," Pu Yu said.

Shen Lingsi and Pu Yu must be quite close, as Ning Song rarely saw Pu Yu talk so much to anyone else.

Perhaps finding the ward too crowded, they went outside to chat. Ning Song noticed the drip was almost done, so he pressed the button himself.

Soon, Pu Yu and the school doctor entered together.

The doctor said, "Rest well this afternoon. Come back after dinner."

Shen Lingsi asked, "Will there be another infusion?"

"The inflammation won't subside quickly due to his weak constitution. He'll likely need to come back tomorrow," the doctor said. "Young man, you're too thin, which is why your immunity is so poor."

During lunchtime, Li You sat on the second floor of the cafeteria, looking at Liu Fang's phone.

"Brother You, do you think the new special admit has any backing?"

He scrolled through the phone, showing Li You pictures from the forum: "This is the first time I've seen Young Master Pu interact so closely with someone."

Li You glanced at the phone, seeing Pu Yu and Ning Song's backs as they walked toward Building 4, Pu Yu carrying a lunch box.

During the break, many people in the campus were secretly watching them.

Ning Song and Pu Yu returned to the dormitory and ate lunch in silence.

He was drinking porridge, possibly seafood, as he tasted shrimp. The packaging suggested it was bought from the food street, very delicately prepared. Pu Yu ate the same thing but had more vegetables.

"Are you full?" he asked Pu Yu.

Rich people really eat so little!

Pu Yu nodded. "Are you not full?"

"I'm full," Ning Song said. "I just noticed you're eating so little."

"I'm not that hungry," Pu Yu said, getting up to cover the lunch box and carefully wiping the desk with a napkin. Ning Song found it increasingly awkward.

When Pu Yu packed everything into a plastic bag and looked at him, Ning Song said, "You can go back. You don't need to stay here; I'm much better. Qiao Qiao will come later."

"Do you want Qiao Qiao to keep you company?" Pu Yu asked.

"Huh?"

"Qiao Qiao is too noisy and might disturb your rest. Go upstairs and sleep; I'll read down here."

"I have classes this afternoon."

"The first class this afternoon is PE. You don’t have to go either. I’ll go with you for the second class." Pu Yu said, then paused for a moment. "If you don’t want me here, you can have Qiao Qiao come over instead."

As he spoke, he picked up his bag and walked out.

Ning Song said, "It’s fine if you stay here. I just worry it might be too much trouble for you."

Pu Yu hummed in acknowledgment and said, "I know. It’s not a problem; Aunt Liu asked me to take care of you anyway."

With that, he opened the door and left.

He was gone for about twenty minutes before returning with a computer and some books.

Ning Song was already lying on the bed. When Pu Yu came in, he glanced down.

Pu Yu didn’t say anything as he sat down below.

He was very quiet.

Ning Song had slept too much in the morning and wasn’t feeling sleepy now. His phone vibrated, and he fished it out from under the pillow, seeing a bunch of messages.

The top one was from Qiao Qiao, asking, "Are you feeling better?"

"I’ve broken the fever," Ning Song replied.

"That’s good. Has Pu Daxi left yet?"

"No."

Qiao Qiao sent an ellipsis, then asked, "What does he want?"

"I wonder the same thing," Ning Song replied, sneaking a glance downward but only seeing the top of Pu Yu’s head.

It was rare to see the top of his head, oh giant Pu.

He lay back down, suddenly remembering what Pu Yu had said about the messages, and switched to the text message page. Sure enough, there were several unread messages.

Two of them were texts Qiao Qiao had sent when he couldn’t reach him by phone.

He opened the conversation with Pu Yu.

A question mark, which he had sent right after going to bed.

A few minutes later, another question mark.

Around eleven, Pu Yu had sent, "Asleep?"

It seemed Pu Yu had been startled by his affectionate nickname!

The character "Yu" in Pu Yu’s name sounds like "fish," so Pu Yu must have thought "Little Fish" was a playful tease!

Oh, the embarrassment.

Feeling awkward and unable to share it with anyone, he turned to "Mackerel."

So he opened the gaming forum and saw there were unread messages there too.

[Mackerel] had sent him a "?"

??

Ning Song, full of gossip and unable to think clearly, coughed and started typing: "Help! Help! Little Fish, I embarrassed myself yesterday because of you!"

He typed a long message, venting about sending the wrong message to [Mackerel], and continued, "His reaction today was weird. Did he misunderstand something? I don’t know what he means! He’s sitting right next to me now, and I feel like I’m sitting on pins and needles. This colleague usually keeps to himself, so why is he acting like this today? Ahhh, when will he leave?"

Usually, he wasn’t this emotional, but talking to [Mackerel] always made him more expressive, partly because he found [Mackerel] to be quite straightforward and enjoyed teasing him.

But today, he really felt like screaming like a groundhog.

[Mackerel] finally replied, "Do you not like him?"

Ning Song typed, "It’s not that I don’t like him; he’s a good person. But we’re just not the same type. I never know what to say around him, and it’s suffocating. Because of some complicated reasons, I sometimes try to please him, which adds pressure... Anyway, I prefer how he used to be, indifferent and distant."

[Mackerel] didn’t respond for a while.

"Where are you?"

[Mackerel]: "Yeah, I’m here."

"Anyway, why did you send a question mark at midnight? My colleague also sent a question mark at midnight."

[Mackerel] replied, "Nothing, I finished organizing our company’s evaluation report and planned to send it to you."

Pu Yu sat below, pursing his lips.

He had been thinking about how to confess to Ning Song.

Not everyone could handle finding out their online friend, whom they often teased, was someone they kept at arm's length in real life.

He was afraid he would lose the lively cat.

He didn’t want to.

But at this moment, he felt he had already lost his "cat brother" to some extent. To hear that being with him was suffocating, even before any feelings had formed, was a huge blow to him.

He looked up at Ning Song lying on the upper bunk.

He could see a bit of his slightly curly hair.

Ning Song started coughing again, his breathing sounding alarming, and the protruding vertebrae at the back of his neck were frightening.

"Ning Song," he called.

Ning Song poked his head out to look at him, his face still flushed. He might have been a bit too excited from the gossip, on top of being sick.

This was how "No-Taste-for-Fish Cat" should look, this virtual online persona suddenly becoming tangible.

His eyes were large, darting around as he looked at him: "What's up, Brother Yu?"

As soon as he spoke, Ning Song felt a sudden flutter in his heart.

Pu Yu tilted his head upward to look at him. From this angle, his face seemed even smaller, very fair and clean, with expressive yet silent features.

He really thought Pu Yu's features were quite distinctive.

Pu Yu said, "I have something that came up. Shall I get Qiao Qiao to come keep you company?"

Ning Song was taken aback.

Pu Yu had already started packing his things, putting his laptop into his backpack.

"Oh, okay." Ning Song sat up: "Thank you."

"No problem," Pu Yu said, "get some rest."

Pu Yu closed the door and left, and outside, the rain began to fall again.

He went down the stairs, walking out under the drizzle.

He felt Ning Song hadn't been wrong.

Even his parents always said he was quiet, so it made sense that Ning Song wouldn't want to be around him.

Shen Lingsi approached, asking, "Coming down from Building 4? How is Ning Song?"

"Much better."

"I was just going to check on him. Why don't you have an umbrella? Need me to give you a ride?"

Pu Yu said, "No need."

Pu Yu naturally looked somewhat gloomy, but Shen Lingsi, who considered him a childhood friend, knew he was just quiet. However, today Pu Yu did seem particularly foggy, so he didn't say anything more and walked past him.

In the drizzle, Pu Yu looked like he was accompanied by a thin mist.

Shen Lingsi stood in the rain for a moment, then stepped into Building 4. At that moment, Pu Yu turned back to look, seeing Shen Lingsi go up to Ning Song's dormitory, elegantly closing his umbrella at the door, tall and graceful.

A strange and unfamiliar feeling welled up inside him, a sour taste, thinking that Shen Lingsi, friendly and smiling, articulate and charming, would definitely make Ning Song feel comfortable.

**Author's Note**

Jealousy and insecurity are the first steps to becoming a little puppy!!