Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Hui Jiang is actually so obedient, he really went out?

He put down his bag and, with a suspicious attitude, walked around the balcony once.

Nobody was there.

Hao Tu curled his lips into a smile, but his expression could not be called pleasant. He had originally thought that as long as Hui Jiang did not appear in front of him, his mood would get better...

Suddenly, something caught his attention.

"Hm?"

............

......

After lunch, Hui Jiang discovered that his phone did not have much battery left. He secretly glanced at Mu Nan Zhi.

He was immediately noticed.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"Uh..." He hesitated for a while before asking, "Are you still going to the library this afternoon?"

Mu Nan Zhi saw right through him at a glance.

"What? You don't want to go anymore?"

He awkwardly scratched his head.

"No, my phone is almost out of battery. I want to go back and charge it."

"I have a portable charger," Mu Nan Zhi reached into his bag. "I'll lend it to you."

"Okay, okay then."

Without an excuse to go back, Hui Jiang could only obediently follow Mu Nan Zhi to the library. The moment his butt touched the chair, he immediately started feeling sleepy.

He shook his head, trying to make himself stay awake.

Still no use. He was too sleepy.

Just how much did he dislike reading? Why did he always get sleepy the moment he entered the library?

Hui Jiang yawned and squinted to look at the contents of the book, but the more he looked, the more dry and uncomfortable his eyes became.

Sitting across from him, Mu Nan Zhi frowned slightly when he saw him like this and lowered his voice.

"How are you even sleepier than me?"

"I don't know." Hui Jiang took off his black-rimmed glasses. "When I was in high school, I didn't like coming to the library either. Every time I came, I would definitely fall asleep. It must be because this place is too quiet."

He started making up excuses.

"Don't mind me. I'm going to lie down for a while."

After saying that, Hui Jiang immediately lowered his head onto the table and did not move.

"That works too."

Mu Nan Zhi sighed, lowered his head, and continued studying.

After an unknown amount of time, "buzz buzz"—

The phone on the table lit up.

Hearing the sound, Mu Nan Zhi raised his head and immediately saw the caller ID on the screen.

—Hao Tu.

"Mm..."

Hui Jiang was woken up by the vibration. He lifted his neck, revealing his face reddened from being pressed against the table, and stared blankly at the phone on the table. It took about two seconds before his pupils finally focused.

Mu Nan Zhi knew that he was only truly awake now.

"Not answering?"

Hui Jiang picked up his phone and cautiously looked around. He whispered, "How can I answer a call in the library?"

"Then why not hang up?"

Mu Nan Zhi raised his eyebrows.

"That would be too impolite."

He shook his head and put the phone down with a look of dislike.

"Wait a while. It will stop eventually."

That person was calling him right now, so it definitely was not going to be anything good.

But suddenly, Hui Jiang remembered the dormitory. He immediately picked up his phone and stood up.

Just as he turned around to leave, the call ended.

Hui Jiang's eyes widened slightly, and he quickly put his glasses back on.

Did Hao Tu run into something?

Hui Jiang was a little worried. At that moment, he heard Mu Nan Zhi's voice.

"You're going back?"

"I'll go outside and make a call first."

However, before he could call back, he received a WeChat message from Hao Tu.

[Hao Tu: I'm in the dorm. Where are you?]

[Hao Tu: Come back quickly.]

Such an urgent tone was very unlike the usual Hao Tu.

"Mu Nan Zhi, I'm leaving first."

He picked up his book and stuffed it into his bag.

"See you next time."

"Hey—"

Mu Nan Zhi stood up, but he found that the person had already run away in the blink of an eye.

What happened that made him leave in such a hurry?

And who exactly was Hao Tu?

His attractive phoenix-shaped eyes narrowed slightly as his fingertips gently smoothed out the crease on the book page.

"Hah, hah..."

Hui Jiang ran very quickly. He was basically running and stopping repeatedly, so his stamina was greatly drained.

Fortunately, the library was not too far from the dormitory, and he could run back in just over ten minutes.

Around two or three in the afternoon was when the sun was at its harshest during the day.

Even though it had just rained last night, the water had already completely evaporated. The ground was dry and scorching hot, and even through the soles of his shoes, he could imagine its temperature.

I'm exhausted.

He looked at his phone. Hao Tu still had not replied.

What exactly happened to that guy...

The moment he thought of the strange sounds that came from the bathroom last night, Hui Jiang's legs became weak again.

That person absolutely could not have gotten into trouble.

Taking the stairs two steps at a time, when he returned to the dormitory, Hui Jiang felt like his throat was about to smoke.

He must have lacked exercise this past year. Now he got tired just from running a little faster.

He took out his key and twisted it open. Pushing the door open, he immediately saw Hao Tu sitting beside the desk.

"Hao Tu?"

Hui Jiang stopped in his tracks.

Hao Tu turned around.

"Where did you go this afternoon?"

Hui Jiang walked toward the balcony.

"The library."

He stuck his head out and looked toward the bathroom. After discovering there was nothing suspicious, he finally relaxed.

"To write homework there?"

"Yeah."

He put down his bag and asked in confusion.

"You called me just to tell me to come back? Didn't you tell me yesterday not to stay in the dorm?"

Hao Tu glared at him.

"You really have a lot of useless..."

"Cough, cough, cough..."

He suddenly started coughing.

Hui Jiang said, "You caught a cold?"

Hao Tu drank some water and calmed his breathing.

"Who knows... Did you finish your homework?"

Hui Jiang glanced out the window, feeling slightly guilty.

"Finished."

"Is that so?"

Hao Tu knocked on the desk.

"Did Fang Hao tell you that this assignment is linked to your final grade? It counts for ten points."

"What?!"

Ten points!

Hui Jiang stuttered.

"No, no, he didn't."

"He even specifically told me that he was worried you wouldn't be able to do it... After all, we're all roommates. I don't want to watch you fail to turn in your assignment."

No wonder this assignment was so difficult.

No wonder the teacher gave them so much time.

This was bad.

It was already afternoon, and he only had tomorrow left. If he could not finish it, losing those ten points meant he would very likely fail the final exam.

Hui Jiang's face turned pale.

"And then?"

Hao Tu took out his own assignment.

"So, I can lend it, to, you, cough cough."

He started coughing again, his face turning bright red.

There was no such thing as a free lunch.

Hui Jiang was very cautious.

"What do you want in return?"

"Next month, our department has a design competition. You participate with me."

"What?"

As a college student who was as uselessly lazy as a salted fish could possibly be, Hui Jiang was both shocked and confused.

"You... your brain got water in it?"

Hao Tu glared at him.

"You're the one whose brain got water in it!"

"If your brain wasn't flooded, why would you think of dragging me to a competition? If it was a year ago, I might still have had the ambition to win an award, but now..."

Although he did not want to admit it, he still said it.

"If I go with you, I'll purely just be dragging you down, right?"

"You have quite good self-awareness. I never expected you to make any constructive contributions."

Hao Tu leaned against the back of his chair, looking somewhat exhausted.

"The person who was originally supposed to participate with me..."

"Had a falling out?"

"Yeah."

He nodded.

On the surface, Hui Jiang looked sympathetic, but inside, he was laughing proudly with his hands on his hips.

"Was it Cui Xing Wen from the class next door? He seems pretty capable too."

"I don't think so."

Hao Tu opened his eyes and said coldly.

"We're in the same department. After interacting with him this time, I realized that this guy is just an arrogant idiot. Anyway, our opinions are completely different. Later, I thought it through. A team can only have one direction. If there are too many self-righteous people pointing fingers and giving orders, it's impossible to go far."

"Oh."

After hearing him say that, Hui Jiang immediately understood why Hao Tu invited him.

"So you think that if you participate with me, the group's opinions can be more unified. But we still have Fang Hao and Ling Yu Dong in our dorm. Why didn't you go find them?"

"You are different."

"How are we different?"

Hao Tu rolled his eyes at him.

"You're more trustworthy."

Compared to the other two roommates, Hui Jiang, who secretly liked him, was definitely the most trustworthy. At least he would not suddenly betray him.

Hui Jiang was confused.

"What?"

"One sentence. Are you agreeing or not?"

Hao Tu gave his final ultimatum, his cold gaze as sharp as a small knife.

Seeing this situation, how could he dare to refuse?

"I agree. If you participate in the competition, you'll definitely win an award."

How could he refuse such a good opportunity where he could just slack off the entire time?

However, didn't Hao Tu hate him?

Could it be that he was stimulated by what happened last night?

His attitude changed every moment. He was even more unpredictable than the weather outside.

"Cough cough... My throat feels a little uncomfortable."

Hao Tu started ordering him around.

"Go to the campus clinic and buy me a box of medicine."

"You really caught a cold?"

This guy went out last night. Could he have gotten into an argument with someone?

Seeing him cough so badly, Hui Jiang accepted the task.

"What kind should I buy? Should I bring you some porridge?"

"I'll write it down for you. I don't like eating porridge at night, so don't bring any."

He picked up his fountain pen and quickly wrote a note.

Hui Jiang took it and looked at it.

"Alright then. I'll go buy it now."

Hao Tu nodded while drinking water.

He took his phone and keys and hurriedly left the dormitory again.

The campus clinic was in the dormitory area, so it was not far away.

Since Hui Jiang was not in a hurry, he listened to music while walking there.

The round trip took nearly half an hour.

When he entered the dormitory again, he found that Hao Tu had already climbed onto the bed.

"Click."

He locked the door, walked to Hao Tu's spot, and said,

"Why did you climb up? It's already five o'clock and you're taking an afternoon nap now?"

"I... cough cough..."

Hao Tu's voice had become much quieter.

"You didn't get worse, did you?"

Hui Jiang climbed up the ladder and immediately saw his flushed face.

"Do you need to take medicine now?"

"Yes."

Hao Tu looked somewhat weak and forced himself to sit up.

"Bring my water over."

"You have a fever?"

Hui Jiang handed him the water and medicine.

"I don't know."

Hao Tu narrowed his eyes and swallowed the medicine. After only a short while, his whole body became listless.

"My bones all hurt, and my head hurts too."

"Then you're probably going to develop a fever. I'll get the thermometer."

Hui Jiang took his water cup and climbed down to get the thermometer.

Five minutes later, Hao Tu returned the thermometer.

He looked at it.

38.7.

"Low-grade fever."

Hui Jiang was worried about him.

"Do you want to take fever-reducing medicine?"

"Probably not."

Hao Tu wrapped himself in the blanket like a silkworm.

"It's so uncomfortable. I didn't even do anything last night."

"You've been staying up late all the time recently, so your immunity is low."

He took out a box of fever medicine from the drawer, just in case.

"I told you I could buy you porridge, but you didn't want it. What are you planning to eat tonight?"

Hao Tu did not say anything.

Hui Jiang suddenly felt that after getting sick, Hao Tu seemed easier to talk to than usual.

He was also a little easier to bully.

Speaking of which, they had been roommates for more than a year, but he had never seen Hao Tu get sick before.