Zhilan fell back asleep not long after Jiang Biyun and the others had left, possibly due to the medicine. When she awoke again, it was already noon.
"Awake, are you? How can someone your age be so frail? Your fever has subsided a bit, but looking at you now, I’m worried it might come back," the school doctor commented as he opened the curtain and glanced at Zhilan. He had a keen impression of Zhilan since her brother was a soldier. "If your fever returns this afternoon, we’ll have to send you to the hospital. After all, this is just a school clinic; we don’t have all the medicines here."
"Alright." Zhilan nodded, preparing to speak to the doctor, when two more people walked in.
Gu En was the first to enter, followed by Liu Jiang, who was holding a bouquet of white lilies.
The doctor must have been acquainted with Gu En. He just nodded in acknowledgment and left without saying a word.
"He Zhilan, you really are pathetic!" Gu En sat down next to Zhilan, brushing the curtain aside. "You played a game last night and ended up ? And you call yourself a soldier’s sister. All this delicacy... it’s just like Lin Daiyu."
Zhilan chuckled bitterly, unsure how to respond to Gu En. Liu Jiang stepped forward and handed the white lilies to Zhilan. With a look of concern, he said, "Miss He, I’ve been worried sick about you all morning. I finally found some time to come and see you after handling my business. Where are you feeling unwell? Maybe I should take you to a major hospital? You cannot take a fever lightly."
"Liu Jiang, why are you showing off your diligence here instead of to your woman? Don’t forget, you’re engaged. Trying to win over our He Zhilan with a few lousy flowers? If you’re really into Zhilan, at least bring your status up to her level!"
"My engagement was arranged by my family. I have no feelings for her! Before meeting Miss He, I never thought I’d ever fall for a woman. So I went with the flow. But now that I’ve met Miss He and fallen for her, I won’t settle anymore. Miss Gu, you’re a good friend of Zhilan’s, I know you’re upset on her behalf. Don’t worry, I’ll break off my engagement as you suggested and then pursue Zhilan!"
"Ha! You? I’d be shocked if you dare to call off your engagement!" sneered Gu En scornfully before showing him the door. "Get lost. Go back to the school. Don’t hinder Zhilan’s rest here!"
Liu Jiang hesitated for a long while but finally was driven away by Gu En. Before leaving, he glanced regretfully at the lilies dumped in the garbage bin.
"Annoying idiot!" Gu En stomped on the lilies in the bin out of aggravation. Only then did she feel satisfied when the flowers were crushed. "He Zhilan, if I had known you can’t handle it, I wouldn’t have taken you tonight! Yesterday, I did wrong by you, huh! But really, you embarrassed me last night! Didn’t you see the slut Ding Long brought had more guts than you?"
Although Gu En apologized, she didn’t seem to be seeking Zhilan’s forgiveness. She went on a rant non-stop, and after finishing, she abruptly got up and left, not allowing Zhilan a word in edgeways.