Chapter 17 – A Distracted Heart

Su Qingwan stood there quietly, his exquisitely beautiful face naturally glistening with tears like pear blossoms in the rain, a pitiful sight that captivated the heart and shook the soul.

The love for beauty is inherent in everyone, and Lu Yuner was no exception, but she had to do what needed to be done. She had to take advantage of the fact that no one was around to quickly handle the matter.

She withdrew her gaze and immediately turned her body to the side, no longer looking at him. However, this gesture fell into Su Qingwan’s eyes, as if he had become so vulgar, base, and ugly that he was unbearable to look at. A surge of intangible bitterness kept welling up in his heart.

Indeed!

He had still dirtied Yuner Jiejie’s eyes.

Lu Yuner’s expression was calm, and her tone was stern as she said, “Regarding yesterday’s matter, I do not wish to mention it again. I hope that Su Little Shizi will be more self-disciplined in the future. In the academy, you and I should still address each other as teacher and student. As for anything else, Su Little Shizi, it’s best not to waste your time.”

With that, she left with her food box, not lingering any longer. Such matters could be made clear with a single sentence; there was no need for excessive interaction.

As soon as Lu Yuner’s words were spoken, Su Qingwan fell silent. Those gloomy eyes were immediately shrouded in a layer of mist, and on his fair and tender face, hot tears unknowingly flowed down like pearls with broken strings.

Su Qingwan decided to follow his heart and spoke with unprecedented seriousness, “But I really like Yuner Jiejie.”

As soon as the words stopped, Su Qingwan’s heart pounded so violently that his entire body went numb. The blush that appeared on his pure and flawless face was as gorgeous as a rose, and even more like a luscious, translucent cherry. His affectionate gaze remained fixed on Lu Yuner’s figure.

Obviously, it was unexpected. The blatant confession made Lu Yuner’s body stiffen, and her calm expression instantly cracked. Her brows furrowed slightly, and the hand holding the food box subconsciously tightened. She then continued walking forward, leaving only a cold voice floating in the air, devoid of any emotion.

“Su Little Shizi, it’s better to like someone else!”

Su Qingwan stood there, his heart feeling as if it had been pierced by a knife, bleeding bright red blood. It hurt so much that his entire body went into spasms. His eyes gradually became unfocused, and his expression was dazed, with a hint of fragile bewilderment.

“But such a good lady doesn’t indulge in worldly affairs!”

“…But she is someone who doesn’t care about love.”

“…She keeps her interactions with others to a minimum, as if deliberately maintaining a distance and not forming too many ties with people. …And her eyes are always pure and clean… giving the illusion that she could disappear at any time.”

Su Qingwan’s ears were filled with the conversation he had with Xie Nanxi that day. Xie Nanxi’s words weighed on his heart like a stone, and sadness, like thick ink poured into water, spread faster than anything else with the slightest movement.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuner walked on the road with her food box, her pace somewhat leisurely.

Lu Yuner’s mind kept recalling the words of confession from Su Little Shizi just now. She knew that in this matriarchal world, men had always adhered to male virtues, and a pure body and reputation were particularly important to them.

Su Little Shizi’s behavior and conduct truly surprised her. In the past, dealing with flirting was always easy for her, but today’s situation was a first for her.

The young man’s heartfelt affection, who had just awakened to love, was overflowing in his words, as pure as a mountain spring, like the scorching sun in summer that left no place to hide. It was a lone courage but not impulsive, only to express his feelings of love.

Regardless of anything else, he only cared about what he wanted and liked.

This bold and passionate kind of love, compared to carefully hiding one’s feelings in the heart, seemed too daring and fiery, even burning Lu Yuner a little.

At this moment, the golden sunlight seemed to scatter like ripples, and a gentle breeze came, bringing a hint of morning dew’s coolness, caressing Lu Yuner’s cheeks, allowing the strands of hair that rose with the wind to flutter in front of her.

Lu Yuner walked towards the Doctoral Hall with her thoughts, her steps seeming heavy. Along the way, she didn’t notice Sheng Qingzi and the others at the fork on the left.

Seeing Lu Yuner not far away, Sheng Qingzi’s limpid eyes instantly lit up, and he happily took the lead in greeting, “Lu Doctor!” However, Lu Yuner was immersed in her own thoughts and didn’t notice her surroundings. Sheng Qingzi, unwilling to give up, said again, “Lu Doctor.”

Wen Qing carefully observed and spoke, “Lu Doctor seems to be lost in thought! However, this is the first time seeing Lu Doctor like this.”

Hearing Wen Qing’s words, Sheng Qingzi raised his eyes again and looked carefully at Lu Yuner. Her eyes were distant as if lost in a thick fog, her cheeks wore a faint worry, and her jet-black hair was slightly disheveled.

This is… Sheng Qingzi, who was keenly observant, thought to himself. The smile on his face disappeared without a trace, and his brows furrowed slightly. The surprise and unease in his eyes were evident.

…Her heart was distracted.

“Leave it to me!” Zhu Miaomiao, who was full of energy, saw the situation and ran up to Lu Yuner with one hand on her shoulder, saying in a cheerful mood, “Lu Doctor! Good morning!”

With such words and actions, she dared to guarantee that Lu Doctor would instantly become alert, knowing that Lu Yuner wouldn’t be angry, so she did it.

Suddenly, the greeting sound beside her ear and the heavy feeling on her shoulder finally brought Lu Yuner back to her senses. Although a little stunned, upon hearing the familiar voice, she immediately restored her usual expression, turned her gaze to Zhu Miaomiao, and gently said, “Good morning! Zhu Doctor.”

Then, seeing the others behind Zhu Miaomiao, she maintained her smile and continued, “Good morning! Sheng Doctor, Wen Doctor.”

Sheng Qingzi and Wen Qing smiled and returned the greeting in unison, “Good morning! Lu Doctor.”

Zhu Miaomiao said with a grin, “Lu Doctor, you were so distracted early in the morning, what were you thinking about? So engrossed in your thoughts! Would you mind sharing with us? Who knows, we might be able to help you come up with a solution!”

Lu Yuner’s thoughts shifted, and she said, “It’s just a small matter, nothing important.”

This matter really couldn’t be mentioned.

Although Lu Yuner appeared no different from usual, ever since noticing her unusual state, Sheng Qingzi’s attention had been on her. His curious gaze inadvertently fell on her lips, but his curiosity outweighed his manners, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Lu Doctor, what happened to your lips?”

Zhu Miaomiao immediately sensed the gossip and quickly asked, “How did your lips get injured?”

Lu Yuner paused for a second and subconsciously touched her lips. Her eyes flashed imperceptibly, and her expression remained normal as she explained, “This happened last night when I was eating. I was too hasty and accidentally bit myself.”

Hearing these words, Sheng Qingzi’s concerns dissipated.

Wen Qing smiled, her tone carrying a hint of concern, “There’s a saying: haste makes waste. Lu Doctor, in the future, when eating, you should chew slowly and not be in a hurry.”

Lu Yuner: “Mm.”

Zhu Miaomiao looked up at the bright weather and nodded with satisfaction. She said to Lu Yuner, “Aren’t we going to have a polo match? The weather is so good today. After the lessons, I’ll take you to familiarize yourself with the field!”

“Okay.” Lu Yuner raised her eyebrows, her smile like a crescent moon.

She hadn’t been to the polo field at the Imperial College yet, and she really wanted to see it. It had been almost half a year since she last played polo.

When she first arrived here, far from this information and technology era, playing polo had become her main hobby for entertainment. Later, as political affairs became increasingly busy, she never played a match again.

As the class bell rang, in the Lexin Hall.

Although the incident with Su Little Shizi had happened, on this day, Lu Yuner still taught as usual. Because in the academy, putting aside other matters, they still had a teacher-student relationship and treated each other with normal teacher-student etiquette.

Before Lu Yuner even entered the Lexin Hall, she heard the concerned voices of the students.

“Su Little Shizi, what’s wrong with you today? Why are your eyes so red and swollen?”

“Su Little Shizi, you don’t look well. Why don’t you return to your residence and rest? Later, I will ask Lu Doctor for leave on your behalf.” An Caihe looked at Su Little Shizi with worry. When he came in just now, he looked extremely haggard, as if he had lost his soul.

“Yes, Lu Doctor is so kind. She will definitely grant you leave.” Someone echoed in agreement.

…

The conversations inside the hall entered Lu Yuner’s ears. The next second, suddenly, a shocking exclamation came from the Lexin Hall, “Su Little Shizi has fainted! Someone, come quickly!”

Lu Yuner’s pupils constricted, and she immediately entered the Lexin Hall, putting down her textbook. She hastily said, “Let me take a look.”

The students saw Lu Doctor enter and made way for her. What entered Lu Yuner’s eyes was Su Qingwan, his eyes weakly closed, being supported by other students and leaning on a chair. His face looked very pale, as if a gentle breeze could blow him away.

Lu Yuner’s brows involuntarily twitched, and her eyes darkened. “Quickly send Su Little Shizi to the infirmary!”

As soon as these words were spoken, Lu Yuner remembered that this was a matriarchal world, where men’s strength was inferior to women’s, let alone they were all teenage boys.

At the moment, there was no time to care about other matters. Saving people was the priority. She walked up and scooped up Su Qingwan in her arms, only to find that he was extremely light, so light that she could lift him with one hand. Lu Yuner then left a message, “I will take Su Little Shizi to the infirmary first. An Prefect, you will temporarily take over the class.”

She then hurriedly headed towards the infirmary.

At this moment, Su Qingwan regained consciousness in Lu Yuner’s arms. That familiar, pleasant, cold fragrance came over him. He subconsciously leaned into her embrace, his slender figure appearing even more delicate. He raised his eyes and gazed at Lu Yuner with fervor, enunciating each word, “Yuner Jiejie, I’m sorry.”

Upon hearing this “I’m sorry,” Lu Yuner’s eyes went blank for a moment. She also felt that scorching gaze in her arms, but her eyes remained forward, not taking his words to heart. As she ran, she comforted, “Bear with it for a little longer. We’ll reach the infirmary soon.”

Su Qingwan’s voice was soft and weak, yet still carried a sense of determination. His hand, hanging by his side, clenched into a fist as he continued, “Yuner Jiejie, I’m sorry.”

This “I’m sorry” once again fell upon Lu Yuner’s heart. From morning until now, he had already said it four times. Even in this state, he didn’t forget to apologize to her. If she didn’t respond to him, given his temperament, it seemed he intended to keep saying it.

However, he always seemed to be so persistent, including the last time when he held her fan and kept searching for her in the vast sea of people.

What kind of person was this Su Little Shizi?

This question began to take root in Lu Yuner’s heart.