Chapter 70 An Unexpected Turn

Chapter 70 An Unexpected Turn

Lin Yao woke up on the hospital bed in the school infirmary.

She opened her eyes and stared at the white ceiling, feeling a bit dazed. The smell of disinfectant filled her nose, and she paused before remembering that she had fainted during military training when she couldn't stand anymore.

Trying to sit up, she let out a soft "uh" and fell back down.

Her head was still dizzy.

"Wake up?"

"Don't move around, lie back down."

A familiar voice came from beside the bed.

Lin Yao turned her head and saw Qi Yanye holding his phone at the foot of the bed, glancing at her when he heard the sound.

They hadn't seen each other since the start of the semester.

Qi Yanye, like her, was wearing camouflage uniform, but as the male lead in the original story, he didn't show any signs of fatigue from the military training. Instead, his sharp features exuded a touch of arrogance and coolness.

She didn't argue and obediently lay back down, noticing the IV needle in her left hand and a medical ice pack next to her neck.

Lin Yao: "..."

What happened to her?

"No need to look. Low blood sugar and mild heatstroke," Qi Yanye said, grinding his teeth with a tone of frustration, "Your Instructor Zhou is notoriously heartless. He didn't let you take leave? Luckily, a senior responsible for safety lectures in your college passed by and brought you here."

Lin Yao knew Qi Yanye had misunderstood.

It wasn't that Instructor Zhou wouldn't grant her leave.

Lin Yao: "I didn't ask for leave because I thought I could handle it..."

Her voice grew softer as she noticed Qi Yanye's displeased expression.

Qi Yanye: "If you could handle it, why did you end up in the infirmary?"

Lin Yao: "..."

Why did Qi Yanye sound like an old nag?

Just then, Qi Yanye's phone rang, and he stepped outside to answer it.

After a while, he returned with a takeaway bag, clearly from a milk tea shop.

Lin Yao's eyes lit up, and she tried to sit up again.

This time, Qi Yanye didn't scold her; instead, he helped her sit up, propping her up with pillows, and handed her the milk tea. "Here, drink it. The doctor said you can have some sugar."

"Thank you." Lin Yao smiled sweetly, her eyes crinkling, and took a careful sip of the milk tea.

It tasted great, with added bubbles.

"Don't thank me," Qi Yanye said with a mischievous smile, "Think about how you're going to explain this to him."

He turned his phone screen towards her.

It showed a chat between him and Shi Yu. Lin Yao quickly glanced at it:

Shi Yu: "Fainting during military training, is this what she meant by taking care of herself?"

Qi Yanye: "You spoiled her. She has low blood sugar, probably hasn't been eating properly. And yet, you want me to buy her milk tea when she wakes up?"

Shi Yu: "..."

Shi Yu: "Tell her I'll be back soon."

Qi Yanye: "So, you'll scold her when you return?"

Shi Yu: "Can't bear to."

Qi Yanye sent a disdainful emoji.

Shi Yu: "But I can teach her in other ways slowly."

Seeing the last message, Lin Yao's face flushed red.

She instinctively thought about what Shi Yu meant by "teach her in other ways" and "slowly."

Some inappropriate, ambiguous, and forbidden scenes flashed through her mind.

The girl clutched the milk tea tightly, took a big sip to calm herself, and whispered, "Why do I need to explain anything to him? And why did you tell Shi Yu about my fainting during military training?"

In fact, Lin Yao had already noticed that Shi Yu wasn't at school these days.

Otherwise, given her lack of response to his messages, he would have come looking for her long ago.

Qi Yanye: "It wasn't me who told him; he asked me to come over."

She wondered how Shi Yu found out so quickly after she fainted.

"Shi Yu and Shi Nian aren't in the capital recently."

Qi Yanye knew that Shi Yu had already talked to Lin Yao, so he didn't hide it.

"It's because of the mess caused by the foster son of the Shi family. Shi Yu has been inspecting branches out of town recently, and even Shi Nian went to the overseas branch."

Shi Yu was still injured, so Shi Nian chose the arrangement to go to the overseas branch.

At the mention of this, Qi Yanye's eyes showed a hint of disgust.

He hadn't seen Shi Nian for a long time either.

Staying at Capital University to look after Lin Yao was also to avoid worrying Shi Nian.

Just now, Shi Nian made a video call from abroad. He had never been so eager to answer his calls before, but now, to confirm that Lin Yao was fine, he was willing to stay up all night just to see her once.

Lin Yao: "……"

Why does it suddenly feel like Qi Yanye is looking at her with a resentful expression?

"Lin Yao, are you okay...?"

At this moment, a voice came from the infirmary door.

It was Qiao Xin, Jiang Lingling, and Xu Dong'er coming over after their military training ended.

As soon as the three girls entered, they saw Qi Yanye standing beside Lin Yao's bed.

The tall and upright man was talking to the little girl on the bed, his eyes cold and hard, exuding an unruly aura, yet he actually bought Lin Yao milk tea.

"Lin Yao, you... have friends here?"

"Oh no, are you okay? Let me take a look... We were so scared when we heard you were brought to the infirmary."

Among the three girls, Xu Dong'er spoke the least, while the other two chattered non-stop.

All three of them now felt that although Lin Yao had said she and Qi Yanye weren't a couple, the first person to rush over when she fainted was this new financial department heartthrob.

Could it be that the boyfriend she refused to name is actually Qi Yanye?

"Your roommates are here, so I'll leave now. Take care of yourself." Unfortunately, Qi Yanye didn't give anyone a chance to speculate further.

Seeing someone else taking care of Lin Yao, he got up and left.

Jiang Lingling: "Wow, Qi Yanye is really cool."

Qiao Xin also agreed. She had read comments online about how cool and aloof the new financial department heartthrob Qi Yanye was, but she hadn't felt it deeply until now.

But...

"No matter how cool and aloof he is, he still likes our Lin Yao." Qiao Xin smiled at Lin Yao: "How can you hide such a handsome boyfriend? Why didn't you tell us? You said you had nothing to do with him."

Lin Yao felt like crying but had no tears.

How did it turn into Qi Yanye being her boyfriend again?

Unfortunately, this time, no matter how much she explained, her three roommates remained skeptical and no longer believed her as firmly as before.

After all, everyone knew that Lin Yao's boyfriend was in the school.

Such a cool guy, rushing over first and buying her milk tea.

Even a boyfriend wouldn't do that well.

...

What Lin Yao didn't expect was that the next day, she became a minor sensation at school again.

The reason for saying "again" was because on the first day of school, a side profile photo of her and Qi Yanye together had gone viral online.

However, Capital University had many students, and these days, online news quickly grabbed people's attention one after another.

Even if someone stumbled upon the short video of Lin Yao and Qi Yanye entering together, they would quickly forget it after a glance. Most people wouldn't remember specific names or details; at most, they would vaguely remember that there were many good-looking students at their university.

But soon, on the first day of military training, Lin Yao's name spread within the Math Department.

After all, the Math Department had always been male-dominated, and girls were rare talents.

Especially someone like Lin Yao, who was cute, pretty, fair-skinned, and naturally beautiful. Even though she was tormented by the drill instructor every day and exposed to the sun, she still stood out in the crowd, looking fresh and lively.

Biting her lip and standing straight with her slim waist, she managed to make the camouflage uniform look curvy on her.

Everyone said that after so many years, the Math Department was finally going to produce a beauty worthy of being a campus flower.

But when this news spread to other departments, no one believed it.

Some even secretly mocked the Math Department, saying that they were all academics who had never seen real beauties.

After studying math, how could there be any pretty and charming girls?

This was a clear stereotype.

But today, they had a rare day off from military training.

Lin Yao accidentally stumbled upon a short video on the forum.

It was a clip from yesterday when she fainted and was carried to the infirmary by the senior responsible for safety lectures.

A very short video, clearly taken from a hidden angle.

But after posting it on the forum, it quickly exploded within their school.

He Yan had long been a prominent figure at Capital University, garnering countless admirers in just two years. Everyone was eager to discuss his looks, demeanor, background, and even his romantic history.

However, this time, the focus of the discussion was unusually not on He Yan.

1L: Who is the girl He Yan is carrying? Is she wearing camouflage... one of our new freshmen?

2L: Holy crap, Capital University actually has such a beautiful girl this year? I need all her information in three seconds! She can't be from the Chinese Department again, right?!

3L: Not the Chinese Department; she's Lin Yao, the acknowledged beauty of our Math Department. It's been mentioned on the forum before, but no one believed it.

4L: As a proud member of the Math School, I'll confirm. The junior fainted during military training today, and it just so happened that Senior He Yan, who was responsible for the safety briefing, was there and took her to the infirmary.

...

Various self-proclaimed eyewitnesses came forward afterward, some envious, some sarcastic, some jealous, and some protective. Some even started shipping Lin Yao and He Yan, discussing whether anything could happen between them.

Oddly enough, Lin Yao's first reaction upon seeing the video was to worry if Shi Yu had seen it too.

But then she thought about it—Shi Yu was currently at a branch office out of town. According to Qi Yanye, he seemed quite busy and probably didn't have time to check the Capital University forum.

Lin Yao opened the chat window with Shi Yu.

The last message she sent was from yesterday, after she returned from the infirmary.

This was the first time she had replied to him since they last parted.

Since she already knew from Qi Yanye that Shi Yu was out of town, she felt less burdened and wasn't afraid of him suddenly appearing before her.

She briefly explained to Shi Yu via WeChat that she hadn't replied earlier because she was exhausted from military training.

Then she added that her fainting during training was purely accidental.

Lin Yao didn't dare to be too direct, instead trying to appear gentle and obedient, hoping that when Shi Yu returned, he wouldn't take any drastic actions and would find other ways to teach her slowly.

But strangely,

Shi Yu didn't reply immediately as he usually did.

Lin Yao didn't think much of it and put her phone aside.

Just then, Qiao Xin returned.

Qiao Xin must have seen the hot post on the campus forum outside, as she said upon entering, "Lin Yao, it turns out that the person who took you to the infirmary yesterday was Brother Yan."

Lin Yao reacted a bit slowly.

Right, the senior from the Finance Department who gave the safety briefing in front of their formation was named He Yan.

So, he was the same Brother Yan that Qiao Xin had mentioned to her before.

The young girl suddenly remembered the concerned words Qiao Xin had relayed to her a few days ago about Brother Yan's 'reminder.'

Although she knew Qiao Xin meant well and had no ulterior motives,

Lin Yao could clearly hear the condescending and somewhat dismissive tone in the reminder from Brother Yan.

If it were two years ago, Lin Yao might have cared deeply about this kind of biased arrogance and superiority complex.

Just like how she used to feel about Shi Yu's detached and indifferent attitude, which she found particularly annoying.

But later, as her inner strength grew, especially after working hard to get into Capital University and change her tragic fate,

Lin Yao realized that how one walks their path depends on their own choices, not on how others perceive them.

The young girl's heart had unknowingly become strong and steady.

Though in matters of love, perhaps because she cared too much about Shi Yu, thinking about their uncertain future often made her feel troubled and hesitant.

But at least in other areas, she no longer panicked or sought approval merely to gain others' affirmation.

So, when Qiao Xin mentioned He Yan, even knowing he likely didn't like her, she still smiled and said, "Oh, so he's the Brother Yan you always talk about."

"Yes, isn't Brother Yan great!?" Qiao Xin responded with unusual excitement. "He has no airs when interacting with classmates and is very popular at school."

Lin Yao: "..."

No airs?

Very popular?

Lin Yao suddenly felt that Qiao Xin was even more naive and easily fooled. Although she was dizzy from exhaustion during military training yesterday, she still vaguely remembered He Yan's distant and cold glance when he smiled at her in his white clothes.

It didn't seem at all like someone who was popular and had no airs, his eyes clearly showing detachment and indifference.

"Yes," Lin Yao said softly with a smile. "Actually, I haven't thanked him for yesterday yet..."

She was just being polite.

Of course, if she ever met He Yan again, she would definitely thank him politely.

Even though she didn't really like him.

Qiao Xin: "If you want to thank him, it's easy. Come on, let's go see Brother Yan today..."

Lin Yao: "..."

*

Qiao Xin was so enthusiastic that Lin Yao couldn't refuse.

As a result, she ended up being dragged to the dinner party by Qiao Xin.

It was an internal gathering organized by their finance department, a welcoming dinner for the freshmen like Qiao Xin, hosted by the seniors. The venue was just a few hundred meters from the gates of Capital University.

In her haste, Lin Yao had only thrown on a pair of blue jeans and a simple white T-shirt, tying her long hair into a bun at the back.

When Qiao Xin brought her to the dinner party, there weren't many people in the private room yet. She found a seat in the corner and started scrolling through her phone.

Lin Yao figured that since she was already here, if she did run into He Yan later, she might as well thank him properly.

Besides, Qiao Xin only found out upon arrival that He Yan was busy today and might not show up.

"Lin Yao, why are you sitting here alone? Go over there and join them," Qiao Xin said, pulling her after returning from a trip outside.

Although this dinner party was organized internally by the finance department, many people from other departments had also come upon hearing that He Yan would be attending.

Qiao Xin felt that her relationship with He Yan was special and wanted to ensure that Lin Yao got a chance to talk to him first.

She liked Lin Yao very much and thought that Brother Yan had some bias against her. She hoped this event could help clear any misunderstandings between them.

"By the way, if Brother Yan comes later, just thank him and don't say anything else."

Seeing that there were few people around, Qiao Xin leaned over and whispered to Lin Yao.

"I just noticed that the video of you and Brother Yan is no longer on the campus forum. It must have been deleted because he doesn't like it."

"The post is gone?" Lin Yao looked up in surprise.

She logged onto the campus forum and indeed found that the post, which had been hot just a while ago, had vanished completely.

Even the other discussion threads related to her and He Yan were nowhere to be found.

Qiao Xin murmured softly, "Brother Yan is like that; he doesn't like rumors about him... As the president of the student council, he must have ordered the deletion of the posts."

Lin Yao's heart suddenly tightened.

She couldn't help but feel that it wasn't He Yan who had done it, but someone else...

...

Soon, everyone except He Yan had arrived.

Ji Zimo, a senior from the finance department who organized this dinner, raised his glass to welcome everyone.

"Don't be shy, everyone. Relax. Your Senior He has already paid for the meal. He's on his way, so enjoy your food and drinks."

Upon hearing that He Yan would arrive soon, several girls at the table showed signs of excitement.

Even some of the boys seemed eager to get a chance to talk to him.

Lin Yao, however, still had a worried look on her face, pondering the sudden disappearance of all those videos and posts.

Was it really He Yan who had them deleted?

If it was him, then it was fine.

But if it wasn't He Yan...

"Lin Yao, Lin Yao... try this honey-glazed spare rib; it's their specialty." Qiao Xin piled several ribs onto Lin Yao's plate and added more dishes, "And this tomato shrimp."

From the moment they arrived, Lin Yao had been distracted, barely touching her food. Qiao Xin was worried and kept piling food onto her plate.

After a few days of military training, Lin Yao had lost weight. Qiao Xin quickly filled her bowl, fearing she might go hungry.

Lin Yao, who had been preoccupied, brightened up when she saw the ribs and shrimp.

Better eat first.

Since she didn't know anyone else there, and Qiao Xin kept feeding her, she focused on eating the ribs and shrimp.

More dishes arrived shortly, such as abalone chicken and dragon bone soup. Qiao Xin also piled these onto Lin Yao's plate.

She put on gloves and started eating with her hands.

Just then, the door to the private room opened again.

A tall figure in a simple white casual outfit walked in, exuding both ease and dignity.

...

"He Yan is here."

"Senior He."

Seeing He Yan, many people hurriedly stood up to greet him.

"Brother Yan is here." Qiao Xin, always competitive, didn't want anyone to beat her to it and quickly pulled Lin Yao to join her, "Lin Yao, hurry, Brother Yan is here. I'll take you over first."

Qiao Xin stood up, intending to bring Lin Yao to He Yan first.

Lin Yao: "Wait, wait..."

She still had gloves on, covered in oil.

But Qiao Xin couldn't wait and had already pulled her up, pushing her towards He Yan.

Qiao Xin: "Yan Ge, this is my roommate, Lin Yao. You know her; she has something to say to you..."

Before Lin Yao could steady herself, Qiao Xin pushed her forward.

A pair of greasy gloves helplessly pressed against the man's clean and simple white casual wear.

Ugh...

The young girl lifted her innocent, moist eyes, blinked, and blinked again.

She swore that although she disliked He Yan, it was absolutely not intentional.