Chapter 35

Chapter 35

"With that attitude of his, don’t you feel like chewing him out?"

"Then just chew him out a couple of times. Why keep nagging him? Won’t others get annoyed or angry?"

What was he doing? Was he speaking up for Qi Yuanhan? Did he think he was being annoying?

"Why should he even get to be angry?" Qi Yanyu felt both baffled and mildly amused. As he spoke, he noticed his breathing under the mask had gotten a little rough. Earlier, he’d been too focused—rushing through two emergency saves, performing the surgery with extreme caution. Even after wearing the mask for so long, he hadn’t felt short of breath. Maybe his attention had been elsewhere, so he hadn’t noticed.

His eyes still glinted with amusement, though his breathing wasn’t great. "I’ve never seen someone so stupid. And I’ve certainly never seen such a stupid person actually being defended by others."

The heat turned from Qi Yuanhan to Gu Jinglan.

Gu Jinglan, now the new target, remained expressionless. He simply looked at Qi Yanyu, then let his gaze drop, noticing the slightly more pronounced rise and fall of his chest. Gu Jinglan’s expression was blank—perhaps he just didn’t want to argue anymore. "Take off your mask and wash your face."

The blood near his temples and brows stood out sharply against his pale skin, made even more striking by the darkness of his hair.

The other guy wasn’t biting. Qi Yanyu’s eyes flickered slightly, the anger still stuck in his throat, with no outlet. Right now, he just wanted someone to argue with. If that someone was Gu Jinglan, that was fine too.

But what he feared was Gu Jinglan looking at him like this, as if noticing his breathing wasn’t quite right. His words softened slightly.

"Qi Yuanhan has all of you protecting him—that’s why he’s always so useless. The reason shouldn’t just be pinned on him." Since no one was arguing with him, he started provoking instead, his words getting nastier.

If Qi Yuanhan had been there, hearing this, he would’ve lunged at Qi Yanyu and grabbed him by the collar.

"Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘Roommates stick, five years flick’?" Gu Jinglan found it absurd. Did he have zero people skills? They still had four years left together—did he really have to make things so awkward between roommates? "If you don’t know how to interact with people, you could at least shut up and take notes."

To Qi Yanyu, those words sounded like this: Gu Jinglan was close to Qi Yuanhan, so he was taking his side. And he was telling him, who didn’t know how to build relationships, to learn from them.

"I know there’s a mix of good and bad, but I rarely hear of someone choosing to be trash." What he meant was, Gu Jinglan wasn’t that terrible—why was he sticking with trash like Qi Yuanhan?

Gu Jinglan watched his uneven breathing, then let his gaze drop to the red stains on his chest and shoulders, made more vivid by the rise and fall of his breath. He smirked. "No wonder… someone mass-sent those kinds of photos of you." He twisted the knife with that.

Qi Yanyu’s breath caught. He was listening to Gu Jinglan humiliate him.

"How are you any better than Qi Yuanhan?" Gu Jinglan finally couldn’t hold back his mockery. "You’re just the same as him."

How was he any better than Qi Yuanhan? Just more reckless, throwing his weight around because he’s rich?

Watching his breathing, his complexion, Gu Jinglan pulled off his mask, worried the blood near his eyes might cause an infection. He shoved him against the sink, forcing his head under the tap to wash it off.

"Let go!" Qi Yanyu realized Gu Jinglan was acting just like Qi Muyao. He struggled violently, finally breaking free from Gu Jinglan’s grip. Pushing upright, he coughed twice, the water from the faucet still rushing loudly.

His eyes, face, and neck were wet as he glared up at Gu Jinglan, sneering, "Guess even a screw-up like you fits in at 413." As he spoke, he noticed his own breathing was very different from before—tight, panting, his chest tightening. But he was still smiling.

Gu Jinglan glared at him darkly for a moment, the sound of running water still filling the room.

"Suit yourself." With a derisive scoff, he just walked away.

In the changing room, Qi Yanyu stared at the running water, then at the mask lying on the floor—like his perfect mask ripped off. His damp lashes, heavy with water droplets, didn’t move.

Back in the lab, over ten minutes later, Qi Yanyu finally returned. Parts of his clothes were wet, his mask replaced with a fresh one.

The white coat over his chest wasn’t its original color anymore, patches of it darkened and uneven, as if soaked. The strands of hair near his forehead were slightly damp too, making them look even blacker.

Gu Jinglan glanced once more at his chest, wondering how someone could manage to get their shirt wet just from washing their face.

For someone with a heart condition like his, a cold would wreck him for good.

Huang Shaoze and Qi Yuanhan brought in a new pig weighing just over 70 pounds. Qi Yanyu measured and administered the anesthetic drugs—6mg/kg along with 0.2mg/kg of diazepam via intramuscular injection. He then added 0.3mg of hyoscine intramuscularly, monitored before adding ketamine if necessary.

Several people lifted the anesthetized pig onto the operating table and secured it. Huang Shaoze was responsible for the ear vein puncture and placing the venous cannula. They used a prepared anesthetic solution for intravenous induction, followed by intubation with a specialized long straight laryngoscope. Once the tube was in place, it was connected to the ventilator. Arterial pressure monitoring and CVP measurements were performed, along with fluid supplementation.

Their team worked late until 12:30 a.m. to complete the surgery. As soon as class ended, they rushed back to the dorm.

Qi Yanyu was the slowest, but when he returned, Huang Shaoze had already taken a quick shower in under three minutes. Huang Shaoze, just stepping out of the bathroom, greeted him and urged him to wash up.

Qi Yanyu had the most pig blood on him, so Huang Shaoze naturally hurried to free up the shower for his roommate. Besides, they had another class at 1:30 p.m., and they hadn’t ordered takeout—they had to rush to the cafeteria with slim pickings for a quick meal.

Gu Jinglan noticed Qi Yanyu heading to the shower. He and Qi Yuanhan didn’t have time to bathe, so they just sprayed some disinfectant or 75% alcohol on their skin, wiped it off, changed into clean clothes, and headed to the cafeteria and their afternoon class.

Gu Jinglan didn’t join them at the cafeteria. Qi Yuanhan found it odd: “Why aren’t you eating?”

The other only gave a noncommittal hum and headed toward the 7-Eleven. Qi Yuanhan, who couldn’t stand the premade microwave meals at 7-Eleven, went to the cafeteria with Huang Shaoze instead.

That afternoon, for Pathophys class, the professor arranged seating by dormitory units to simplify roll call.

Since the classroom had fixed seating, Dorm 413 was stuck together again.

Qi Yuanhan sat at the far end, with Huang Shaoze in the middle, making sure he wouldn’t have to look at Qi Yanyu. Gu Jinglan was the last of them to arrive, and Dorm 413 had already "assigned" him a seat.

Qi Yanyu had taken a shower but barely eaten anything. His hair wasn’t fully dried before he rushed to class.

As soon as Gu Jinglan sat down, the Pathophys lecture began.

Qi Yanyu, whether from hunger or exhaustion after performing two surgeries that morning—both of which he and Gu Jinglan had led—was listless. He kept nodding off, perhaps from lack of proper rest during the break. Eventually, he face-planted on the desk.

Gu Jinglan, listening to the lecture, noticed the other had fallen asleep. His gaze drifted downward, observing the steady rise and fall of Qi Yanyu’s breathing for a moment before looking away again.

When the Pathophys professor had the class work on problems, he walked around checking on students and noticed Qi Yanyu asleep. Just as he frowned, Gu Jinglan quietly said he’s not feeling well. Seeing Qi Yanyu’s face—didn’t exactly scream ‘slacker’—the teacher dropped it and walked off.

Qi Yuanhan, seeing him asleep, snorted repeatedly, but not once did it wake the other up.

Call *him* useless? Who’s the real deadweight here?

After class, Qi Yanyu ate a little at the cafeteria and perked up a bit before heading to the evening Neuro class in the designated building.

Neuro ended at 9 p.m. As their class and the neighboring one descended from Building 14, they found a student-run band set up in the courtyard below—no one noticed when they’d set up.

It was a recent trend at their school: student-run bands. A popular activity had emerged where people could request songs, though Qi Yanyu wasn’t sure if it was paid or free. The band would then perform one or two songs at the requester’s chosen time and location.

As they came down the steps, they saw the band already set up with electric guitars, bass, drums, and a keyboard, amplifiers plugged in and ready.

“Tonight, a song requested by *Classmate Gu* for *Classmate Xia*—‘To Be With You’—dedicated to all of you.”

The band began playing—upbeat, breezy, and romantic. The lead singer was average, but the line *“I'm the one who wants to be with you”* sparked cheers and whispers from those lingering or passing by.

As luck would have it, the Neuro class that night was shared by Med 1 and Med 2. Xia Yiyi was from Med 1, and Gu Jinglan from Med 2.

Gu Jinglan came downstairs later and inevitably noticed the small outdoor band.

He glanced at Qi Yuanhan, whose eyebrows waggled in teasing: “Since when are you so romantic?”

Huang Shaoze was also blown away. “Wow, someone’s pulling out all the stops.”

Xia Yiyi, coming down the steps, naturally heard it too. Her classmates crowded around her, freaking out and squealing, “Maybe Gu Jinglan’s about to confess! Let’s stay and listen to the song before leaving.”

The girls prevented her from leaving, so Xia Yiyi stood in front of the band to enjoy the song. She was both shy and composed, and she actually stopped to listen for a while.

The lyrics continued:

"I'm the one who wants to be with you

Deep inside I hope you feel it too

Waited on a line of greens and blues

Just to be the next to be with you" (Lyrics sourced online)

Qi Yanyu had heard it early as he descended the stairs, especially the line, "A song 'To Be With You' requested by Gu for Xia." It stuck out to him.

After listening briefly, Qi Yanyu also noticed the school beauty's white dress fluttering slightly in the evening breeze, surrounded by people seemingly waiting for some confession scene to unfold. He turned and left.

Qi Yuanhan looked around, wondering if Qi Yanyu was present. He must have heard the opening announcement too. His smile deepened. "No wonder he’s the school heartthrob."

Gu Jinglan only glanced briefly without stopping. "Who requested it?" Who used his name?

Qi Yuanhan replied, "Who else would it be? Who’d bother paying for that?"

Since returning to the dorm after class was already 9:30 PM, and curfew was at 10:00 PM, neither Qi Yanyu nor Gu Jinglan had returned yet.

Qi Yuanhan was in an oddly good mood tonight. He didn’t play games but had Westlife songs playing. He felt the money was well spent. Qi Yanyu must be pissed if he heard that.

By 9:55 PM, Huang Shaoze, who was separately washing his white coat and clothes, remarked, "They’re still not back?"

"I know about Gu—probably on a date. As for His Highness, maybe shadowboxing somewhere," Qi Yuanhan said leisurely, barely studying despite upcoming exams, still scrolling through social media posts about the band’s song request and confessions.

The bathroom door was ajar as Huang Shaoze scrubbed clothes inside. "Shadowboxing? What for?"

"You don’t get it—throwing a tantrum, swinging at nothing, punching ghosts," Qi Yuanhan couldn’t help but snicker at his own words.

At 10:00 PM, Gu Jinglan returned, followed by Qi Yanyu a few minutes later. Qi Yanyu staggered in, ignoring everyone, and face-planted onto his bed without showering, though he had washed at noon.

He remained lying face-down, unmoving for a long time.

Gu Jinglan watched him again. The lights were already out, but Qi Yuanhan leisurely got up to grab clothes for a shower, while Huang Shaoze studied diligently under his desk lamp.

Qi Yuanhan hummed in the shower, and Huang Shaoze’s low murmurs of memorization buzzed by his bed.

Gu Jinglan walked over, pulled Qi Yanyu up from his position, and studied his face.

His eyes were closed, with no obvious signs he was sick.

But when moved, he opened his eyes and saw Gu Jinglan.

Gu Jinglan met his gaze with an unreadable look.

"Are you having an asthma attack or heart trouble again? Why are you even in school?" You’re just dead weight for your roommates. The latter half went unsaid. Gu Jinglan had been observing him for a while and finally couldn’t hold back after 10:00 PM.

"What do you want to say...?" Qi Yanyu’s voice was quiet, a little shaky, as if he had just been asleep.

Gu Jinglan recalled giving Qi Yuanhan shit for slowing people down that morning and couldn’t resist adding, "If you’re sick, go to the hospital. Like you said, 'Don’t be a drag on your roommates.'"

Qi Yanyu laughed right at him. "Then get out of my way. Don’t stop me from saving myself."

His fingers curled into fists unconsciously, tightening.

Gu Jinglan stepped away from his bed, and Qi Yanyu turned over, continuing to lie face down. The corners of his eyes were slightly damp.

Around two in the morning, Huang Shaoze finally stopped studying and went to bed early.

The desk lamp on Bed 1 was still on. After finishing all his "today’s tasks today" in his notebook by three, he turned to look at that person again—still lying face down, turned inward away from Bed 1.

Later, the guy from Bed 1 pushed his chair in, ready to call it a night. But instead, he walked toward Bed 3.

Bed 3 was already asleep, though his face showed traces of tears.

The dim dorm room had only the faint glow from Bed 1’s desk lamp. Only Gu Jinglan was watching him, then pulled out Qi Yanyu’s left hand from under his body to check. His fingers weren’t stiff or clenched. Gu Jinglan checked his pulse—faint, but steady.

Not wanting to wake him, he kept his touch light on his neck.

Huang Shaoze stirred awake, startled, and whispered groggily, "Brother Gu, what are you doing?"

Gu Jinglan lied smoothly, without missing a beat: "His phone kept ringing. I got up to turn it off."

Huang Shaoze rubbed his eyes. "Oh," he mumbled, "I didn’t hear it—been too tired from studying these days," before dozing off again.

Gu Jinglan watched Huang Shaoze settle, then turned back to Qi Yanyu.

Listening to his breathing, watching the rise and fall of his chest. He lost track of how long he’d been watching before finally getting up to wash his face.

When Qi Yanyu woke in the morning, he spotted cold medicine on his desk. He wasn’t sure who’d left it—maybe the counselor.

He considered twisting the cap off and dumping it, but after a moment’s hesitation, he didn’t.

On Thursday night, they had no classes, so Qi Yanyu went to rehearse on the fourth floor of the gym.

Lin Na noticed Qi Yanyu was in a good mood tonight, assuming it was because he’d get to see Senior Xia, the one he’d been pining for.

But Qi Yanyu held to the belief that if nothing bad happened in a day, it was worth celebrating.

Another day alive, after all.

Lin Na watched him, happy and carefree, thinking he truly was a cheerful freshman.

They talked about everything under the sun, from the Premier League to the LPL, sharing common interests.

"Take care of the props for a while. I’m going for a smoke," Qi Yanyu said before slipping away.

Lin Na called after him, "Don’t think I don’t know you’re off to see your crush again!"

But Qi Yanyu wasn’t heading to see Gu Jinglan. He went upstairs—since the fifth and sixth floors were off-limits and usually empty, no one would be lurking in the dark stairwell.

Most people smoked outside on the second-floor open area.

But Qi Yanyu figured he could find a quiet corner, crack a window, and smoke in peace.

It was silent—no one should be here.

His footsteps were light as Qi Yanyu lit a cigarette while climbing to the fifth floor.

The fifth floor was pitch-dark, so he felt around for a window where some outside light might filter in.

But then, faintly, he heard a soft sound from the stairwell between the fifth and sixth floors.

The light came from the high floodlights outside the playground, streaming in through the sixth-floor window.

A pale, squirming blob, like a pair of buttocks, was shifting around.

It looked like someone kneeling for oral.

Qi Yanyu spotted a man’s face—he was standing in the dark corner of the stairwell, turning his head slightly upon noticing Qi Yanyu.

Panicking, Qi Yanyu turned and knocked over an old desk and chair with a loud clatter. At the same time, a girl let out a frightened sound.

Not daring to look back, Qi Yanyu bolted downstairs and returned to the fourth floor.

He crushed out his cigarette and flicked it aside before quickly blending into the crowd in the theater-style fourth floor.

Back with Lin Na, who was huffing and puffing while moving props onto the stage, Qi Yanyu went to help. Lin Na gave him a surprised look. "Not going to see your goddess?"

"As if! How could she compare to you?" Qi Yanyu joked, though truthfully, he barely remembered the girl’s name. Guys love to brag.

From that remark, Lin Na could tell Qi Yanyu was in a much better mood tonight—at least compared to the day before. Now he was even joking around.

They went back to chatting, this time about next year’s Champions League and the World Cup in a couple of years.

"What about that new guy? Why doesn’t he have a role?" The speaker was Ying Shaojie, head of the academic club.

He’d skipped Tuesday’s rehearsal, only arriving tonight.

Deputy head Yi Na chimed in, "He missed several role assignments before, so he got stuck with backstage work."

"Don’t you need a bank manager or lawyer for the banker role? I think he’d fit well," Ying Shaojie remarked, smiling as he watched Qi Yanyu chatting with Lin Na on standby.

Yi Na then called Qi Yanyu and Lin Na over. "You two can fill in as bank guards or managers. Whoever wants it can take the part."

Qi Yanyu wasn’t interested, but Lin Na hesitated, glancing at him awkwardly before joking to mask his insecurity. "Didn’t you brag about acing the Beijing Film and Central Drama auditions but turning them down? You take it."

Knowing Lin Na didn’t want the role, Qi Yanyu reluctantly agreed.

Maybe Gu Jinglan would catch his performance. Still, minor roles like this often got cut anyway.

"Wait, you were an acting student?" Yi Na laughed, assigning Qi Yanyu the role of a flunky next to the villain, Krogstad.

Krogstad was played by Gao Lu, a tall and handsome freshman, who practiced yelling at Qi Yanyu for letting the protagonist into the bank without permission.

After a few tries, Ying Shaojie still wasn’t happy. "Let me demonstrate."

Yi Na agreed. "Sure, Minister Ying even starred in ads before."

The scene involved Krogstad storming in, glaring at the groveling bank manager, Qi Yanyu. Qi Yanyu only had a couple of lines in response.

Qi Yanyu found it hard to meet Ying Shaojie’s gaze.

The face in the dim stairwell between the fifth and sixth floors had looked hauntingly similar—just darker and more menacing.

Qi Yanyu wondered if he’d imagined it. The girl was just a blur—one less thing to worry about.

Now, Ying Shaojie was all smiles, saying gently, "Let’s begin."

As Krogstad, Ying Shaojie stormed in, glaring at the groveling bank manager, Qi Yanyu.

At this moment, Ying Shaojie delivered his furious lines, originally portraying the villainous capitalist Krogstad, his forced smile now dropped.

His delivery had perfect cadence and intensity—no surprise—he’d done commercials before.

Qi Yanyu observed Ying Shaojie, who seemed naturally charismatic. Later, his expendable role got axed, though Ying Shaojie had fought for him.

After returning to handling props, Lin Na, eagle-eyed as ever, spotted the secretarial department rehearsing nearby and eagerly nudged Qi Yanyu, "Your goddess is right there."

Qi Yanyu didn’t look, instead focusing intently on re-covering the damaged prop with paper. Lin Na eyed him, "Hey, you giving up?"

Qi Yanyu shrugged, saying, "Guess Gu Jinglan wins this round."

"How’d you get over it so quick?"

Spreading glue methodically, Qi Yanyu replied, "Need to ace my exams first, then decide whether to keep trying."

"Trying what?"

"Chasing her."

Oho, Lin Na knew this guy hadn’t truly given up. But seeing how indifferent he acted today, no spark for Senior Xia, it was clear he’d been wrecked that Tuesday night.

"What’s your major?"

"Clinical medicine."

"I’m in pharmacy," Lin Na said. "Pharmacy’s full of hotties. Want me to introduce you to a couple?"

"You first, buddy," Qi Yanyu retorted, carefully pasting the prop paper.

"...Burned."

Seeing them elbow-deep in props, Ying Shaojie approached and asked, "Need any help?"

Lin Na, noticing it was the minister, said, "You free, Minister? How about helping us glue this?"

Qi Yanyu stayed quiet as Ying Shaojie took a prop and asked, "You two are freshmen, right?"

Assuming Qi Yanyu was too, Lin Na said, "Yeah," and shared their majors.

Ying Shaojie then ran them through freshman-year competitions, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and whether professional or academic master’s programs—or even straight-to-Ph.D. routes—suited them better.

Lin Na asked, "Senior, can I transfer from pharmacy to clinical medicine in freshman year? What grades or rankings are needed? Do competition awards count as bonus points?"

"Why didn’t you apply for clinical medicine initially?"

"My score wasn’t high enough, so I got shuffled," Lin Na admitted. "But I really want to be a doctor."

Ying Shaojie glanced at Qi Yanyu, who remained silent, coming off quiet while gluing paper.

"He’s in clinical medicine—you can ask him about their courses. If you transfer freshman year, you’ll need to catch up on their first-year classes, which might set you back for residency."

Worried about this, Lin Na chatted further with Ying Shaojie, who then asked Qi Yanyu which class he was in.

Qi Yanyu tossed out, "Class 3." Ying Shaojie replied, "I have a junior in Class 3."

Qi Yanyu wondered if the person he’d seen on the stairs was Ying Shaojie. Was Ying Shaojie chatting with them to feel him out about spilling their stairway encounter?

Ying Shaojie kept zeroing in on Qi Yanyu.