He Zhilan questioned herself, how in her past life, she had managed to abandon such a good husband, favoring the deceptively upright Liu Jiang instead?
He Teng may not have been as articulate and socially skilled as Liu Jiang, but he was a man of substance. He never exaggerated or flaunted himself in front of others. He Teng might devote all his energy to his military duties, but at the very least, he was loyal. He was loyal to his country, to his marriage, and to his fellow man!
Liu Jiang dropped He Zhilan off at her dormitory. She had not spoken a single word to him the entire time until right before she got out of the car, when she briefly thanked him and left.
In the dorm, upon seeing He Zhilan return alone, Jiang Biyun and the rest were stunned. "Where’s Gu En? Didn’t you two leave together?"
"I’m feeling a little under the weather, so I came back early," He Zhilan weakly shook her head, changed into her nightclothes, and crawled into bed.
"Well, you should rest well then." Seeing that He Zhilan was really tired and ill, Jiang Biyun didn’t press further, although she was puzzled about how He Zhilan suddenly fell ill when she had seemed perfectly fine when she had left earlier. Nonetheless, since He Zhilan needed rest at the moment, it was not a good time to question her.
He Zhilan slept well into the next day until she was awakened by Jiang Biyun. Before she could even open her eyes, she could hear Jiang Biyun’s exclamation, "Good heavens! Your body is burning up! Zhilan, are you sick?"
"I don’t know..." He Zhilan shook her head, "My head is heavy, my eyelids are heavy, I just want to continue sleeping."
"Sleep again? You must be joking! Chen Xiting, call Tan Heqian, tell him to wait for us downstairs at the dorm. After we help He Zhilan change her clothes, Tan Heqian can carry her to the school doctor!" Jiang Biyun shouted at the still drowsy Chen Xiting. Chen Xiting’s class didn’t start until ten, while Jiang Biyun and He Zhilan’s class began at eight forty-five.
The moment Chen Xiting heard He Zhilan was sick, he immediately woke up and called Tan Heqian, then swiftly got dressed and helped Jiang Biyun and Wang Bingbing move He Zhilan from the top bunk to the bottom bunk and then changed her clothes.
It seems that as a result of shock and catching a chill, He Zhilan developed a high fever overnight. Luckily, Jiang Biyun found out in time and was able to take her to the school doctor. Otherwise, she might have ended up with a brain fever due to the delay.
"Zhilan, should we tell your brother? You’re so fevered up, the school doctor said if this bottle of medicine doesn’t bring your temperature down, they’re going to send you to the hospital," Jiang Biyun said, her eyebrows knitted together in worry, "Where did Gu En take you yesterday? You left just fine, but look at you now."
"Don’t tell my brother, it’s just a fever. He’ll be angry if he finds out I was out with Gu En," He Zhilan shook her head repeatedly, "He disapproves of my close association with Gu En."
Jiang Biyun sighed. The reason He Zhilan went out with Gu En—to have more opportunities to connect with the Lan family or elders of the Gu family—was not lost on her.
"You two go to class, I’ll be fine here at the medical clinic. I might even feel better by noon!" He Zhilan knew Jiang Biyun was worried about her but she didn’t want to interfere with her class, so she insisted they leave the clinic and go attend their classes.
Jiang Biyun, unable to persuade He Zhilan otherwise, had to give in, yet in her heart, she was cursing Gu En. Despite being a classmate who had taken He Zhilan out, he lacked the decency to take good care of her, eventually causing her to fall ill.