Chapter 108: Reporting You for Disrupting School Order

Xia Xi saw the evening's event summary and gave a self‑deprecating laugh: "Who wrote this synopsis? Never mind, it has quite a tabloid feel."

She had been back in the dorm for over ten minutes, her body still not warmed up; Zhao Lei snatched her phone from her hand, put it on the desk, and pushed her shoulder toward the bathroom: "Stop thinking about it, stop looking—taking a hot shower is what matters most! You've been out in the cold wind in thin clothes for hours; don't catch a cold."

Zhao Lei's words proved prophetic; as soon as Xia Xi entered the bathroom, she let out a thunderous sneeze.

She blew her nose with a tissue, tilted her head up to look at the ceiling light, and asked: "What do you think Xu Yanfeng is doing right now?"

Hearing the three words "Xu Yanfeng" made Zhao Lei's forehead flare with anger; she smacked Xia Xi on the back of the head, exasperated: "You're still thinking about him? He can do whatever he wants—I've never seen someone so heartless. If he doesn't like you, he should just come over, say what he needs to, instead of hiding and avoiding people."

Some remark hit a sore spot; Xia Xi suddenly clutched her chest and bent over: "Ah, I can't— I can't catch my breath."

Zhao Lei paled, quickly grabbing her with both hands: "Are you okay? Don't scare me!"

Wu Qinglu and Wang Qiuyu rushed in at the sound.

Xia Xi lowered her hand from her chest, gave them a smile, and straightened up as if nothing were wrong: "I'm fine, just a sudden heart pang. I used to think 'heartache' was only an emotion—I didn't realize it could be a real physical reaction."

Seeing Xia Xi's feigned strength made Zhao Lei feel even worse, her eyes tearing up: "Tonight I have to curse Xu Yanfeng a thousand times—no, ten thousand times."

Xia Xi stroked Zhao Lei's face, smiling lightly: "Don't be like that—we can't morally blackmail him. When I asked someone to pass a message, I already said it's up to him whether he comes."

She certainly didn't want to hold a knife to his throat to force him to comply.

So, for this outcome she was mentally prepared; it wasn't especially painful, just a bit hard to accept at first—she needed time to settle, and she'd be fine in a few days.

Xia Xi took a shower, didn't think about anything, and slept with her head covered. When she woke up, the first thought that flooded her mind was, "I've definitely caught a cold."

She pushed herself up with her hands on the bed frame, feeling her head weigh a thousand jin, her neck unable to bear the load.

Xia Xi rubbed her forehead, squinting as she pulled back the bed curtain to see that all three roommates were up, bustling about tidying up.

Wang Qiuyu caught sight of a head poking out from the gap in the upper bunk's curtain and exclaimed, "Xi Xi, you're awake? We were thinking if you didn't get up we'd shake the bed to wake you. We're running late—hurry up!"

Xia Xi dragged her sick body slowly out of bed, mechanically brushing her teeth, washing her face, changing clothes, stuffing her textbooks into her bag, and followed her roommates out. The whole time she had no idea what she was doing, acting purely on bodily instinct.

The weather had changed; the sky was overcast, and those few black clouds roiled as if they wanted to devour someone.

Walking down the road, Xia Xi could feel the gazes of passersby, laden with various emotions, different from how they used to look at her, but she didn't care; she held her head high and strode forward, leaving those people behind.

As long as she didn't see herself as a joke, no one could treat her as one.

On the steps to the cafeteria entrance, Xia Xi hurried too much, her toe hit the edge of a step and she nearly fell, but Wang Qiuyu beside her caught her arm.

"Watch your step."

Wang Qiuyu touched her skin; the contact was brief, but she felt a noticeable temperature difference. She paused, stopped walking, pressed her palm to Xia Xi's forehead, sensed it for a moment, then compared it to her own forehead: "Xi Xi, are you running a fever?"

Xia Xi hadn't had time to put on makeup that morning; her complexion looked poor, making her appear sickly. She herself felt her forehead and couldn't deny: "It's a bit hot."

"Not just a bit hot!" Wang Qiuyu said. "If you don't take a day off to rest in the dorm, I'd say your temperature is about the same as when I used to run a high fever."

The other two also joined in urging her.

"Yeah, health matters; missing a couple of classes is no big deal—we'll take notes for you."

"Hurry to the infirmary—take medicine if needed, get an IV if required; otherwise dragging it on will only get worse."

Xia Xi shook her head; asking for leave over a minor ailment wasn't her style. She patted her cheeks, steeled herself, and said: "Let's wait until after the morning classes. I'm healthy enough—it'll be fine."

The breakfast stall was packed; Xia Xi had no appetite, so she bought an ear of corn and two tea‑leaf eggs from a nearby window and ate them while walking.

Suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder from behind.

Xia Xi startled, turned around, and saw Su Yuanjia on his bicycle, one foot on the ground, the other pedaling, breakfast hanging from the handlebars. He handed her a portion: "I got this for you—soy milk, xiaolongbao, and crystal shrimp dumplings. Tell me what you like."

"I bought breakfast." Xia Xi lifted the corn in her hand.

"Just that? I checked your schedule—you have classes all morning and won't be able to eat lunch until noon. How can you get by on so little?"

Without waiting for a reply, Su Yuanjia flung open her canvas bag, stuffed the breakfast inside, hooked his heel onto the pedal, pushed hard, kicked up a gust, and sped away in the blink of an eye.

"Hey, you…"

Xia Xi wanted to refuse, but there was no time; she looked up and could only see him bent over, frantically pedaling, wearing an oversized dark‑gray hoodie, a sport sling bag slung diagonally, the wind blowing his short hair straight up, a vigorous vitality rushing toward her.

Once seated in the classroom, the gazes directed at Xia Xi felt more palpable. They shot at her from all directions like X‑rays; if those looks could become solid, she'd probably already be turned into a porcupine.

She felt numb, unwilling to figure out what those people meant, and divided the breakfast Su Yuanjia had forced upon her among a few roommates: "Wasting food is shameful—you all finish it."

"Aren't you eating?" Zhao Lei snatched a xiaolongbao, bit into it, and the juicy, fragrant meat filling instantly hit her taste buds; she raised an eyebrow: "It's really good. I don't know where Su Yuanjia got this, but it's definitely not from our school cafeteria."

Xia Xi propped her chin on her hand, shook her heavy head: "My mouth has no taste—I can't eat."

After sitting only a moment, the teacher approached and began the lesson.

The last two morning classes were Professor Li Zongyu's Architectural Design. According to the schedule, they should have been Digital Techniques in Architecture, but that teacher had something come up, so the classes were swapped; both sections had been notified the day before.

Xia Xi felt drowsy, her eyelids drooping, but she dared not actually fall asleep, because Professor Li Zongyu would occasionally glance at her; several times their eyes met, startling her into sitting bolt upright and feigning attentiveness.

A layer after layer of cold sweat broke out on her back.

Xia Xi couldn't figure out what was wrong with Professor Li today; even if she was his class representative, he didn't need to pay her this much attention.

At noon sharp, the bell rang, ending the grueling morning. Xia Xi rose, gathered her textbooks from the desk, and packed them into her bag. At the podium, Professor Li Zongyu shut down the courseware, pointed at her, and said: "Xia Xi, come with me to my office."

Xia Xi's head felt foggy; she didn't hear it until Wang Qiuyu beside her gave her a nudge. She lifted her head blankly and heard Wang Qiuyu whisper: "The professor wants you to come to his office."

Xia Xi didn't think much of it, assuming it was to copy teaching aids or collect homework; she grabbed her canvas bag and fell into step behind Professor Li.

Professor Li Zongyu is nearly sixty, his hair half‑white, his face lined with obvious wrinkles, yet his frame remains straight as a pine. He wears a neat black wool overcoat, pressed trousers, one hand holding a briefcase, the other a dented stainless‑steel thermos wrapped in a dark‑blue fleece cover.

Professor Li has a private office; he led Xia Xi inside, first placed his items on the desk, then went back to pull the door open as wide as possible. A draft in the hallway made the door bang repeatedly, so he wedged a mop against it to keep it from blowing shut.

"Do you know why I asked you to come?" Professor Li brushed dust from his hands, walked back, sat in the chair, and turned sideways to look at Xia Xi.

Xia Xi sensed trouble but couldn't guess why; she honestly clasped her hands behind her back, her face flushed—not from fear, but from fever.

"I don't know." She coughed twice, her voice hoarse, "Professor, please spell it out."

"Are you sick?" Professor Li asked, concerned.

Xia Xi nodded.

"Someone filed an anonymous report saying you disrupted campus order, corrupted the school atmosphere, and demanded disciplinary action." Professor Li opened the side drawer, took out an envelope, and placed it on the desk: "By rights this should be handled by your counselor, but he's away on a trip this morning and asked me to take care of it before he left. Also, since you're my class representative, it's easier for me to talk to you. I'd like to hear what you have to say."