Chapter 48: Little Angel

The only one who can help you infinitely is yourself.

He Rou hugged her body tightly, her fingernails digging into her skin.

Does it hurt?

Maybe.

But more than pain, she was afraid of the cold.

The clothes she wore were all soaked with dirty water—her hair, her shoes, not a single dry spot.

She just wanted to live her own life well.

She didn’t care how others saw her.

But she didn’t understand why, even when she tried to erase her own presence, strangers still came to cause trouble for her.

He Rou didn’t cry.

She just didn’t understand.

She kept thinking about other things and comforting herself so she wouldn’t feel so wronged.

She didn’t even notice a warm current sweeping over her body.

As the temperature around her rose steadily, the shivering from the cold gradually stopped, and she didn’t notice that either.

“Hum—”

A sound rang out, forcing He Rou’s attention back to reality.

She realized the temperature around her seemed to have risen a bit.

And… why did it sound like the central air conditioner was running?

The originally cold air in the restroom was stirred by this sudden rush of warm air.

Warmth spread throughout her body.

He Rou lifted her head again.

Her body wasn’t as cold anymore, but the restroom stall, contaminated by the dirty water, now released a foul odor into the air as the cold’s suppression faded.

“Drip, drip, drip—”

Light footsteps came from the corridor, very noticeable in the quiet space.

But He Rou didn’t care.

If it were possible, she wanted to stay in this restroom stall for the entire day.

If she went out, she’d definitely suffer the same violence again.

…

Silence…

There was nothing but silence here.

The footsteps stopped for some reason.

From the sounds, He Rou realized that the person was now right behind her door.

She didn’t know whether to call for help.

She was so dirty and smelly right now.

“Hello, do you need help!”

The voice was loud, especially for He Rou in her current state.

But before she could figure out how to answer, the mop holding the restroom door shut was removed.

The door opened.

The person who had suddenly appeared looked at He Rou, who was hugging herself tightly, but showed no particular expression on their face.

But He Rou was different.

She recognized this person—it was Cheng Ruo.

However, Cheng Ruo’s next words filled her with great unease.

“Student, do you need me to report this to a teacher? You’re already the sixth case this week. The school takes this quite seriously.”

“Stu… student…”

He Rou felt no excitement at being rescued.

If there was someone in the world who was kind to her, besides Nainai, Cheng Ruo counted as one.

She was always so gentle, never bullied her, treated her as a friend, helped her when needed, and it was all because of what Cheng Ruo said to her in the cafeteria that day: “Gaokao, change yourself.”

But now… she didn’t mention her name.

Was it because she didn’t recognize her?

Or in He Rou’s eyes, this only friend had forgotten her.

He Rou didn’t speak.

She only complained silently to herself.

She didn’t even know how pathetic she looked right now, how hard it was to tell if she was even human anymore.

…

In Cheng Ruo’s eyes, this person was drenched in restroom dirty water from head to toe.

Wet hair dripped continuously, strands stuck together, clinging to her cheeks and neck.

Most of her face was covered by this messy hair.

“Cheng Ruo…”

“Huh? You know me?”

“Did you forget me…”

Hearing this, Cheng Ruo didn’t care how dirty He Rou was anymore.

She stepped forward, reached out her hands, and carefully brushed all the hair away from this poor person’s face, revealing her entire face.

“Xiao Rou?”

Cheng Ruo looked at her, a bit at a loss.

After all, she had only known her for a few days.

If not for how cute she was, she wouldn’t have greeted her every time they met.

But the tone of this person’s voice just now seemed strange.

“Wuuu…”

He Rou didn’t cry from the beating or bullying.

Instead, she cried because someone still remembered her.

But mixed in with the tears were shame and self-condemnation.

Because of someone else, she had given up on a person who knew her and was the second nicest person in the world to her.

And when she was bullied again, it was this very person she had abandoned who came to save her.

He Rou’s tears, mixed with dirty water, slid down her cheeks.

“W-why are you crying? Come out, let me take you to the infirmary.”

Cheng Ruo said as she immediately lifted He Rou out.

“Good thing the winter restroom heater turns on at the same time, or I can’t imagine how cold you’d be.”

“Th-thank you.”

He Rou’s body was very small.

Cheng Ruo, with her standard teenage girl figure, could easily carry her.

But…

Cheng Ruo weighed her slightly—she felt that this person had lost weight since the last time she was bullied on the rooftop.

That wasn’t good.

She was already so short.

If she became malnourished, that would be bad.

Carrying He Rou, Cheng Ruo walked very fast.

“Dr. Ke, are you here?”

Cheng Ruo opened the infirmary door and called inside.

“I’m the school doctor. If I’m not here, am I performing surgery?”

An extremely gentle and alluring voice came from deeper inside the infirmary.

The infirmary was very warm.

As soon as the two entered, they felt a long-lost warmth.

“Oh my, you’ve brought back another student. You really are a regular customer here.”

A woman in a white coat walked out.

She held a clipboard in her arms and wore a mask, but her eyes showed she was smiling.

Her appearance matched her voice perfectly—a gentle big-sister type.

But He Rou didn’t care about that. She just wanted to stay here quietly.

“Wow! This… these incidents are really getting worse.”

Dr. Ke smelled the odor from He Rou even before she got close.

“Wait a moment. Let me wipe her down first. You go spread a disposable sheet on the bed.”

Hearing this, Cheng Ruo set He Rou down on the ground.

He Rou’s legs were fine except for some pain, but being held gave her a sense of security and warmth.

“Okay, don’t move. Let me change your clothes.”

Dr. Ke carefully removed the dirty clothes soaked in restroom water from He Rou.

After wiping some areas, she put a dry hospital gown on her.

He Rou’s tense limbs and skin relaxed considerably.

“Thank you…”

“Don’t thank me. I’m the school doctor, after all. If you want to thank someone, thank Xiao Rou. She’s the one who brought you here, isn’t she?”