Chapter 155 Apology

Chapter 155 Apology

Ye Xiaoxiao took the specialty and said thanks to Xia Li.

Xia Li: "Don't mention it, these flatbreads are really tasty, try them."

When evening came and it was time to wash up, Li Meiru finally got out of bed.

The marks from the slap were still fresh on her face, and everyone in the dorm could tell she had been slapped.

"Are you okay?"

Xia Li whispered in the dorm.

Tang Xiuxiu shook her head, signaling them to drop it.

Wang Jiao: "Was she hit during her part-time job?"

Tang Xiuxiu: "Just pretend nothing happened."

Wang Jiao shouted, "Xiuxiu, do you know what’s going on?"

Tang Xiuxiu: "This is Li Meiru's own matter, let’s not get too involved."

Ye Xiaoxiao grabbed her basin and headed to the public washroom.

After she finished, she found Li Meiru quietly crying at the corner of the stairs.

Ye Xiaoxiao walked over, "Are you still upset about your parents? They won’t be coming to the school anymore. Someone will make sure they go back home."

Li Meiru looked up, her eyes red, looking utterly heartbroken.

"Thanks to you and Xiuxiu for today."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "You might also want to thank someone—my boyfriend."

Li Meiru's heart trembled, her lips trembling as she spoke, "I'm sorry."

Ye Xiaoxiao's eyes were bright, like a clear spring, unsettling Li Meiru.

"I'm sorry... I..." Li Meiru choked, "I once turned you and your boyfriend in, at that time I thought you were..."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "In some kind of inappropriate relationship?"

Li Meiru lowered her head, then suddenly raised it, "Please forgive me, I’ll do anything, I know I messed up, I want to make it right."

She didn’t mention the time she was threatened by Lu Hanchuan; she didn’t dare.

Ye Xiaoxiao shook her head, "Some mistakes can’t be undone. I hope you won’t be so impulsive in the future. You should know that your thoughtless words could destroy someone’s life."

Li Meiru felt deeply ashamed, "I will always remember this, I will never do it again."

In just half a year, Li Meiru had said goodbye to her naive self. The relentless pressures of life left her gasping for air.

But she was still struggling, hoping to escape the abyss.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Go back to the dorm early after washing up, we have classes tomorrow."

Though there were no comforting words, Li Meiru found a glimmer of strength in them.

She gave a firm nod and stood up.

...

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) class.

In the sparsely populated classroom, everyone was engaged in a heated discussion on a topic.

When Ye Xiaoxiao entered, it felt like she had walked into a marketplace.

"What are they talking about?"

Zhang Kaining: "They're discussing a difficult case. Never mind them. Guess how far my experiment has already progressed."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Has it already entered the first phase of clinical trials?"

Zhang Kaining clapped his hands: "Just wait for my good news."

The class monitor, Chu Yunxiao, noticed them talking.

He suddenly sat down in the front row.

Zhang Kaining: "Class Monitor, have you finished participating in the discussion?"

Chu Yunxiao asked: "Is Zhang's Plaster the same one you showed in the dorm earlier?"

Zhang Kaining finally had a chance to show off, puffing out his chest.

"That's right, I approached you before, but you weren't interested in my business. Thanks to our classmate Ye for helping me."

Chu Yunxiao then looked at Ye Xiaoxiao: "What’s your connection to Rende Pharmacy?"

Ye Xiaoxiao didn't expect the question to be directed at her but still answered: "I worked there part-time."

Chu Yunxiao looked skeptical.

"Are you genuinely interested in my plaster or just in Rende Pharmacy?"

Zhang Kaining bravely asked.

Chu Yunxiao: "I’m not interested in either, but I owe you an apology. I thought you were just fooling around before, but I didn’t expect you to have such a good plaster."

Zhang Kaining, who had been quite smug, saw Chu Yunxiao's sincerity and no longer felt the need to show off.

He just nodded and said, "As long as you understand."

The class bell rang, and everyone who had been eagerly discussing immediately returned to their seats.

The TCM department faculty remained largely unchanged.

It was common to see familiar faces juggling multiple roles.

Some of the lower-priority courses had new teachers, but these were usually easy to pass.

The first class was led by Professor Wei Ying.

The topic was human anatomy.

At first glance, it seemed like a Western medicine course, but it was actually a TCM course.

Professor Wei had taught them physiology last semester.

Human anatomy is a new course this semester, split into theoretical and practical components.

The theory is taught in the classroom, while the practical part happens in the dissection lab.

Even though it’s just the first class, everyone’s really excited about this new course.

Before class ended, Professor Wei warned, "Your anatomy labs will be with upperclassmen, so brace yourselves."

Zhang Kaining said, "Professor Wei’s just trying to freak us out. Besides Qu Miao and Xiao Xiao, no one in our class would be scared."

Qu Miao has a soft-sounding name, but he’s a guy, fair-skinned and neat, almost like a young girl.

This look isn’t exactly trendy these days. While his classmates don’t look down on him, they tease him by calling him the class flower.

Qu Miao doesn’t say much, but when he fixes you with his dark eyes, it’s hard to keep a straight face.

Rumor has it he’s from the Miao ethnic group, and some classmates say he knows how to raise gu.

Ye Xiaoxiao had never seen him raise gu and was pretty skeptical about the whole thing.

Hearing Zhang Kaining’s teasing, she shot back, "Who says we’d be scared? Don’t judge a book by its cover. You might be the one crying."

Zhang Kaining thumped his chest, "I won’t cry, no way."

Qu Miao gave him a look, "So childish."

Zhang Kaining laughed, "Just kidding, don’t get mad."

Qu Miao didn’t respond, already gathering his things to leave.

Ye Xiaoxiao was about to leave too when Zhang Kaining asked her to check out the lab results of the finished medicine.

"You’ve been away for days—you should see how our research turned out."

Zhang Kaining totally trusts her; he’d be more guarded with anyone else.

Ye Xiaoxiao said, "Let’s go in the afternoon when we’re free."

Zhang Kaining nodded, "Sure, let’s grab lunch first, then head over."

That afternoon, Ye Xiaoxiao and Zhang Kaining headed to the lab.

They missed Lu Hanchuan when he came looking for her.

Since they hadn’t made plans to meet today when they parted yesterday.

This was the first time Lu Hanchuan showed up and found her gone.

Lu Hanchuan, eager to show off his accomplishments, had to leave disappointed.

That morning, while Ye Xiaoxiao was in class, Lu Hanchuan had already made arrangements to send Li Dazhuang and his wife back to the village.

It wasn’t a smooth process. Li Dazhuang put up a fight, but after some ‘convincing,’ he finally calmed down and cooperated.

Now the couple is on a train heading back to the village.

Traveling anywhere requires ID, and Lu Hanchuan made sure that once they’re back in the village, they won’t be able to buy tickets to return.