Chapter 218: Returning in Defeat

Chapter 218: Returning in Defeat

Wang Jiao glared at Xia Li. "Who asked you?"

Xia Li wasn’t intimidated. "If you want to pursue someone, you should do it yourself. Why drag Xiao Xiao into it? Grow a spine and ask him yourself."

Wang Jiao: "Guys always chase *me*. I’d never take the initiative to confess to anyone."

Xia Li teased, "Guess you’re not that into him, huh? Or are you just scared?"

Wang Jiao slammed the table. "Says who?!"

Xia Li’s taunt made Wang Jiao shoot to her feet.

Ye Xiaoxiao jumped at the sudden motion.

Wang Jiao marched over to Qiao Yunhu like a stormcloud.

Xia Li was stunned. "Wait, she’s serious?! If she fails later, she won’t blame me, will she? I *meant* it as a joke!"

He Jing, who hadn’t noticed what was happening earlier, chimed in, "It’s not necessarily a failure. Wang Jiao is a beauty, after all."

Wang Jiao stood in front of Qiao Yunhu, who looked up to see an unfamiliar classmate before him.

She looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t be bothered.

"Hello, Qiao Yunhu. Are you free this weekend? I’d like to invite you to watch a movie."

Coming from a girl, this was basically asking him out.

Qiao Yunhu frowned slightly. "Why *would* I?"

Wang Jiao had acted impulsively, and now, faced with his cold response, she floundered.

"I—I—"

Qiao Yunhu averted his gaze. "You’re in the way."

Wang Jiao huffed and stomped off, returning to her seat.

Qiao Yunhu’s roommate nudged him excitedly. "Dude, do you even *know* who that is? She’s one of the most beautiful girls in our major. She just broke up with Fang Kaixuan recently. And you just *blew her off*?"

Qiao Yunhu replied indifferently, "Not my type."

The roommate asked curiously, "Then what type do you like? Someone like Ye Xiaoxiao? Too bad she’s taken—some mystery guy."

Qiao Yunhu’s hand paused while taking notes. He already knew who Ye Xiaoxiao’s boyfriend was—it was the talk of the campus, impossible to ignore.

He couldn’t quite describe the feeling in his heart, but it left a bad taste.

The roommate patted Qiao Yunhu’s shoulder. "I get it. What a shame. She’s *way* out of our league."

No one knew about Qiao Yunhu’s family background, so he paid no mind to his roommate’s lament.

Wang Jiao slunk back, fuming.

"Even if Qiao Yunhu rejected you, there’s no need to be so angry. He’s clearly a grump. If you two really got together, you’d be at each other’s throats," Xia Li offered weak consolation.

Ye Xiaoxiao signaled Xia Li to stop talking—Wang Jiao looked like she was about to lose it.

Wang Jiao took a deep breath and suddenly said, "I'm ditching this class."

With that, she walked out of the classroom.

Xia Li remarked, "She's skipping class."

Ye Xiaoxiao replied, "Let her blow off some steam."

After all, sitting in the classroom wasn’t gonna help her study anyway.

……

Wang Jiao had been going through a rough patch, and just as her roommates were worrying about her mental state, she suddenly announced that she had a new boyfriend.

"How are you and your boyfriends doing? Let’s all go out together tomorrow. I’ll introduce my boyfriend to you."

Ye Xiaoxiao said, "I've got plans tomorrow, so I won’t be going."

She really had prior commitments—a patient who had previously visited Rende Pharmacy for a consultation had scheduled a follow-up. As a doctor, she couldn’t bail on the patient.

Wang Jiao complained, "Can't you reschedule?"

Ye Xiaoxiao replied seriously, "This is important and can’t be delayed."

Tang Xiuxiu also said, "I've got other stuff going on. You told us too late, so I can’t go tomorrow either."

Wang Jiao shot daggers at the others.

If everyone rejected her, she would totally lose it.

Li Meiru was working and clearly had no time, so she shook her head as Wang Jiao stared hopefully.

He Jing, seeing all her roommates refuse, didn’t want to go either. But when she caught Wang Jiao's puppy-dog look, she softened. "I don’t have anything going on."

Wang Jiao perked up right away. "Then you have to come—bring your boyfriend too."

That left Xia Li, who was the one with the most free time in the dorm.

She wasn’t in any clubs, didn’t have a boyfriend, and wasn’t busy with part-time jobs. The places she frequented most were the cafeteria and the library.

Wang Jiao glanced at her and said in a patronizing tone, "You can come too. Even though you don’t have a boyfriend, we won’t discriminate against you."

Xia Li burst out laughing in disbelief. "Hah, as if you could discriminate against me. Is having a boyfriend something to brag about? I couldn’t care less about going."

He Jing tried to soothe Xia Li. "Alright, alright, Wang Jiao didn’t mean it like that. She’s just inviting you to hang out."

Xia Li’s tone softened slightly toward He Jing. "You’re all paired up. I’d just be the odd one out. I’m not going."

Wang Jiao huffed, "Whatever! Your loss."

Xia Li made a big show of rolling her eyes. "Did you find an emperor or something? Do we need to kiss the ring?"

Wang Jiao retorted, "Whatever! All I’ll say is, my boyfriend is hotter than a movie star. If you miss this chance, it’ll be hard to see him next time."

Li Meiru, who rarely spoke, asked, "Is he not from our college?"

Wang Jiao had been dying for someone to ask. She tossed her hair proudly. "He’s from the Music Department in the Arts College. He’s going to be a singer—release albums and hold concerts."

Xia Li could appreciate Wang Jiao's aesthetic taste but had doubts about her intelligence.

"Don’t let yourself get scammed."

"I won’t. You’re just jealous."

Ye Xiaoxiao and Tang Xiuxiu exchanged looks—this dorm was getting unbearable.

"Do they usually argue like this?"

If Ye Xiaoxiao hadn’t come back to the dorm to pick up a book today, she would’ve missed this shouting match.

Tang Xiuxiu nodded. "No wonder you moved out."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "..."

Wondering how the roommates’ meet-up with Wang Jiao’s boyfriend would go, Ye Xiaoxiao arrived at Rende Pharmacy early the next morning.

The patient coming for a follow-up today was Ms. Liu Xuelian, who had vitiligo.

She had been taking medication for several months, with her prescription adjusted along the way.

This time, she visited Dr. Ye because her skin condition had significantly improved.

The patches on her hands had mostly faded, hardly visible.

Only a small area remained on her body—a far cry from when she couldn’t even go out in public. It was nothing short of a medical miracle.

More importantly, her menstrual flow had normalized, and she wasn’t as quick to anger anymore.

"Dr. Ye, I can’t thank you enough. You saved me."

Recalling how her skin condition had crushed her confidence, Liu Xuelian’s gratitude toward Dr. Ye soared.

Dr. Ye: "Don’t mention it. Since you came to me for treatment, this is what I should do."

Liu Xuelian admitted sheepishly, "At first, seeing how young you were, Dr. Ye, I came with a 'nothing to lose' mindset. But you’ve totally proven me wrong."