It wasn’t worth it.
The tears shed later would all be due to the foolishness now.
With so many people unable to stop Zhou Yi from jumping into the pit, Xia Xiaolan truly felt there was no need to intervene.
Her words in front of Old Master Zhou had made her stance clear, but she still wasn’t married to Zhou Cheng… Even if she became the Zhou family’s daughter-in-law, there was no reason for Zhou Wengang and Jiang Hong to listen to her.
When Zhou Cheng said to let Zhou Yi do as she pleased, Xia Xiaolan stopped dwelling on the matter.
“You have to return to the academy tonight and can only come out again tomorrow, right?”
Without special circumstances, students in advanced training weren’t allowed to stay out overnight. Jiang Yan had no choice – with a fractured foot requiring IV drips, though not needing long-term hospitalization, she had to stay in the hospital tonight.
Zhou Cheng nodded, “The academy will send someone over shortly. Whatever arrangements for Jiang Yan will depend on the academy leadership’s opinion. I need to return to the dormitory tonight.”
“It’s fine, I’ll stay at the hospital to look after her tonight.”
Though Jiang Yan would surely object, Xia Xiaolan felt obligated to show care – otherwise, it wouldn’t be right even from a moral standpoint.
There was no point arguing about this. Having Zhou Cheng stay would be even more awkward. Zhou Cheng had no such intention anyway – knowing Jiang Yan had feelings for him, he especially couldn’t give her unrealistic hopes.
Others might think Zhou Cheng is cold-hearted.
But what was wrong with being cold-hearted?
Being cold-hearted wasn’t the same as being heartless. Showing excessive care to every woman was truly despicable.
If you couldn’t give others what they wanted, why not reject them from the start?
On this point, Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan shared the same view. For Xia Xiaolan, this was a major sign of compatible values… Without a doubt, Zhou Cheng could only be warm-hearted towards her.
As Zhou Cheng had said, the academy leadership came to check on the situation.
Jiang Yan was a female student in advanced training, and also from the Jiang family. They needed to understand how she was injured and how severe it was.
Everyone had already aligned on their story – they were friends who went autumn hiking, and she accidentally fell while climbing.
Whether the leaders believed it didn’t matter – they couldn’t mention the hunting or handling of firearms, as that would violate regulations. The leaders just told Jiang Yan to rest well. Xia Xiaolan smiled and added:
“Jiang Yan was being heroic – I accidentally slipped, and she got hurt trying to save me.”
Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t deny credit for such a brave act – might as well tell it like it happened.
The academy leaders’ concern for Jiang Yan grew even warmer. Finally, after everyone left and only Xia Xiaolan remained in the ward, Jiang Yan didn’t seem disappointed but showed no desire to talk with her either.
Xia Xiaolan pulled up a chair and sat down. “Jiang Yan, I’m truly grateful to you, but I really can’t give up Zhou Cheng. Besides that, I’m open to any other way of repaying you.”
“I don’t need you to give him up, Xia Xiaolan. You underestimate me too much.”
Jiang Yan’s spirit was remarkably good, still having the energy to talk after all this.
Xia Xiaolan couldn’t help but laugh, “I thought you’d deny having feelings for Zhou Cheng to the end. I don’t mind that you like him – if no excellent people liked him, I’d doubt my taste in men. If you’d been this honest from the start, I wouldn’t have disliked you.”
The competition wasn’t scary.
What Xia Xiaolan resented was using friendship as a cover for ulterior motives.
She’d disliked Jiang Yan from their first meeting precisely because Jiang Yan wasn’t straightforward, wanting to test her while being evasive.
It wasn’t clean-cut.
It also didn’t match Jiang Yan’s character, which made it extremely awkward.
After being scolded harshly in Peng City, Jiang Yan had become much more honest.
With only Jiang Yan and Xia Xiaolan in the ward, Jiang Yan stared at her. “Don’t provoke me. Even with my injured foot, if I wanted to deal with you, you wouldn’t have a chance to escape this room.”
Xia Xiaolan moved her chair even closer:
“But you’re not that foolish. If you hurt me now, wouldn’t your broken leg be for nothing? I know you’re not that bad. Given how much you dislike me, if you just wanted Zhou Cheng to feel indebted, you could have let me suffer a bit too… But I came out unscathed while you’re the one who got hurt. So I believe you’re not just a physically qualified female soldier, more importantly, your mindset includes protecting the weak – that’s chivalrous.”
With Xia Xiaolan sitting so close, Jiang Yan felt extremely uncomfortable.
“Xia Xiaolan, have you no shame? This is the first time I’ve met someone who proudly defines themselves as weak!”
She spoke with such conviction – where was her shame?
Did Zhou Cheng know this side of Xia Xiaolan?
Jiang Yan felt Xia Xiaolan hadn’t stayed to care for her but to anger her to death by bursting blood vessels – was this her bloodless way of eliminating competition?
Xia Xiaolan pursed her lips, “There are physical differences between men and women, and between trained and ordinary people – why should I argue about that? The world is changing fast, becoming more about brainpower. Being able to fight and kill isn’t that useful anymore – isn’t that why you and Zhou Cheng need advanced training? So what if I’m weak? You saved me once, and I’ll repay you eventually. If you’re straightforward about liking Zhou Cheng, I won’t interfere, but if you keep nitpicking at me under the pretense of being a friend, I’ll confront you every time I see it.”
It was a matter of principle – repaying Jiang Yan shouldn’t be mixed up with yielding in matters of love.
Jiang Yan was driven mad with anger. Facing Xia Xiaolan, spitting it out would be unwilling, and swallowing it would be painful. She could only turn her back to Xia Xiaolan and sleep, leaving Xia Xiaolan with an aloof back view.
Xia Xiaolan wasn’t angry. After sitting for a while, she quietly went out.
Dan Yujun and Little You were also there, having waited in the hallway for who knows how long. They couldn’t come in earlier when the academy leaders were visiting.
Little You was very uneasy – if she hadn’t screamed, the wild boar wouldn’t have been startled.
She wanted to apologize to both Xia Xiaolan and Jiang Yan.
Seeing her hanging her head nervously, Xia Xiaolan was puzzled, “Your personality isn’t flashy at all, so why dress like this?”
The punk makeup was hard to maintain – with sweat and tears, Little You’s eyeliner had smeared everywhere, leaving two dark circles around her eyes like a panda.
She was quite embarrassed, “I don’t like wearing this kind of makeup either, but they said Young Master Shao likes it this way.”
Little You’s honesty was rather cute. Xia Xiaolan held back her laughter: “I don’t know who told you that, but they were lying. Don’t be nervous – I don’t blame you for today’s events. Go wash your face, then apologize to Jiang Yan. She’s even less likely to blame you.”
In Jiang Yan’s eyes, if someone like Xia Xiaolan was considered weak, Little You needn’t even be mentioned.
Following Xia Xiaolan’s advice, Little You ran to the bathroom and used soap to wash off the ghostly makeup. When she came out, she was revealed to be a young woman with delicate features.
That makeup had made Little You look too mature. Looking at her still-baby-fat cheeks, Xia Xiaolan felt a headache:
“Are you even 18 yet?”
Little You lowered her head and fidgeted with her clothes. “…I’ll be in half a year.”
So Shao Guangrong had chosen an underage girl as his companion?
No, there wasn’t a minor protection law yet, and even the 18-year-old adult boundary wasn’t defined. But Little You was truly young – shouldn’t she be in high school at this age?
Then again, she had started dating Zhou Cheng while repeating her final year. She couldn’t be hypocritical about it. Xia Xiaolan pointed at the ward: “Go in. Jiang Yan probably hasn’t fallen asleep yet.”