Chapter 7: Saving the PUA’d Supporting Female Lead (7)

Lao Liu handed the bag in his hand to Luo Xue. “I bought some snacks and iodine this morning. There’s anti-inflammatory medicine inside too. Thank you for forgiving me.”

His earnestness made Luo Xue chuckle. Tang Qi patted Luo Xue’s head. Lao Liu also turned and bowed to Tang Qi. “For my rude words yesterday, I’m very sorry. Forgive me.”

Lao Liu’s apology kept Luo Xue in a good mood all morning, a mood that lasted right up until Li Chengyu appeared.

Seeing Li Chengyu, the other dorm mates winked at Luo Xue. “The senior is here to check on his darling. We won’t be third wheels.”

The dorm mates left, laughing. Tang Qi hesitated but felt Luo Xue grip her wrist. Luo Xue pleaded, “Tang Qi, stay with me a little while.”

Couples arguing really shouldn’t have a third party present. Tang Qi’s gaze fell on Luo Xue’s imploring face. She paused. “I’ll wait over there.”

The System gnashed its teeth. “We can’t leave Luoluo with this hypocrite. This…” It was directly thrown into the Dark Room by Tang Qi.

Li Chengyu’s expression was extremely ugly. Without any explanation, he roughly pulled Luo Xue, causing her to stumble and nearly fall. Tang Qi quickly reached out and steadied her.

As if he didn’t see the cold sweat caused by her pain, Li Chengyu gripped her wrist hard. “Let’s go talk in the classroom.” He dragged Luo Xue toward the classroom.

They hadn’t gone a few steps before Tang Qi blocked them. “Her leg is injured.”

“Our business doesn’t need your interference.” Seeing Tang Qi reminded Li Chengyu of the words she’d spoken yesterday. What he hated most were these people who looked down on him.

“Her wound will reopen.” Tang Qi remained calm. In truth, she still felt nothing much towards Li Chengyu. Blocking him was just stating the facts. But her calmness was, in Li Chengyu’s eyes, nothing but mockery directed at him.

“Tang Qi, I know you’re Little Xue’s roommate. Little Xue usually takes good care of you, so I’m sure you’ve benefited quite a bit. But now isn’t the time to be showing off your attentiveness.” Li Chengyu sneered falsely. “Don’t worry, even if you aren’t so fawning, Little Xue will still take care of you, considering your family’s circumstances. We all understand!”

He seemed to have found his backbone again, his eyes full of contempt for Tang Qi. His look seemed to say, “See, I know what your game is.” He wore an expression of having seen through everything.

“Li Chengyu!” Luo Xue shook off his hand and yelled, “If you say things like that, there’s nothing for us to discuss. Apologize to Tang Qi.”

What Li Chengyu hadn’t expected was that Tang Qi was completely unmoved, while Luo Xue had exploded. He stared at her in shock. Since they started dating, Luo Xue had never once raised her voice to him, never once resisted him in the slightest. Even when dissatisfied, she’d always swallowed it silently and slowly changed herself.

“What did you say…”

“Are you deaf? I told you to apologize to Tang Qi! I’m telling you, Tang Qi is not that kind of person! Not everyone sees only benefits! Apologize right now, do you hear me?! Tang Qi is my friend, and I won’t allow you to speak about her like that!” Luo Xue practically screamed it. Her mind went blank, leaving only a single voice echoing endlessly: She couldn’t let Tang Qi be wronged.

How could someone as good as Tang Qi be wronged? Ever since they met, it had always been Tang Qi taking care of her. What had she ever given Tang Qi? Besides trouble, was it also insults and mockery from her boyfriend?

Tang Qi looked at the crowd gathering to watch the spectacle, scooped Luo Xue into her arms, and said to Li Chengyu, “Let’s go into the classroom to talk.”

The classroom was empty. Tang Qi removed the gauze and changed the dressing for Luo Xue. Perhaps it was the severity of Luo Xue’s wound, or maybe Luo Xue’s anger, but Li Chengyu didn’t speak for a while.

“What do you want to say?” Luo Xue suppressed her anger, but disappointment shone clearly in her eyes. Li Chengyu was her first love. No matter how things were between them, she had never considered breaking up. But just now, she suddenly didn’t understand what she was holding on for anymore.

“What I want to say is…” Li Chengyu glanced at Tang Qi beside them and forced a dry laugh. “I was wrong yesterday. I didn’t immediately take you back to the dorm to check your wound. But Little Xue, I care about you. I was just too nervous.”

The System struggled free from the Dark Room. “Nonsense! I’d sooner believe there are ghosts in this world than trust a single word from that bastard’s mouth.” It was shut back in again.

Seeing no reaction from Luo Xue, Li Chengyu closed his eyes and sighed before continuing, “And I wasn’t targeting Tang Qi or anything. I just spoke without thinking. You’ve been ignoring me lately, not coming to watch me play ball or eating with me. I got hot-headed and acted that way.”

He spoke as if enduring great humiliation. “Tang Qi, I’m sorry!”

Luo Xue looked at the insincere apology with a chill in her heart. Li Chengyu saw her lack of reaction and suppressed the pent-up frustration and resentment inside him. “I’ve apologized. What more do you want from me?”

Luo Xue looked apologetically at Tang Qi, who shook her head to signal she was fine.

“Little Xue, I’m your boyfriend, the most important person to you. Why do you care so much about others?” Li Chengyu complained.

Luo Xue sidestepped that topic. “Chengyu, do you not know why I haven’t been with you? You always say I’m cold to you. Look at my bank card. I need to survive! I have no money. I have to work, understand?”

“Your parents…”

“I’ve said it a thousand times. I can’t ask them for money anymore. Why don’t you understand? Tang Qi’s family situation is even more complicated than yours. Why can she work but you can’t?”

“How can you compare me to Tang Qi? Who is she, and who am I? How could I go work?” Li Chengyu retorted. “Money, money, money. That’s all you care about. Can’t we live without money? Can’t we be together happily without money?”

“Then answer me, what do we eat? Your sneakers, your keyboard and computer, your parents’ medical bills… pay with love?” At this moment, Luo Xue felt truly, utterly exhausted. “You’re just an ordinary university student. Why can’t you work? How exactly are you and Tang Qi different? Right… you are different. She’s more earnest and more driven.”

Tang Qi hadn’t expected the topic to turn to her. Her gaze fell on Li Chengyu’s face. In his eyes burned suppressed anger mixed with a trace of venomous resentment.

“I didn’t come here to fight with you. Our one-year anniversary is coming up. What gift do you want?” Li Chengyu swallowed his unwillingness, leaving only an air of a martyr.

It was as if all of this was oppression against him, and he was a poor little thing unable to resist his fate.

Luo Xue felt every word she spoke drained all the strength from her body. “Anything is fine.”

“Don’t be mad at me anymore. I’ll change, slowly.” Li Chengyu held Luo Xue’s hand and made a heartfelt promise. “I promise!”

“It’s time for lunch.” Tang Qi stood up. “Lingling messaged saying she already bought food and is waiting in the classroom.” Luo Xue found her escape route. She pulled her hand back. “You should go eat. We have afternoon classes.”

“You’re not eating with me? I have a basketball game this afternoon.” Li Chengyu looked disappointed. Luo Xue smiled bitterly, but she no longer had the energy even for disappointment. “My leg can’t move.”

Seeing Li Chengyu muttering and unwilling to leave, Luo Xue pulled out her meal card. “Go eat by yourself then!”

Li Chengyu took the card. Looking at his still bright and handsome face, Luo Xue suddenly felt he had lost the vibrancy he once had in her eyes. And with it, her faith in this relationship also faded.

If he didn’t need the meal card, would Li Chengyu have come to find her?

Did Li Chengyu really have no money for food, or had he simply gotten used to all this?

Half a month passed. The wound on Luo Xue’s leg slowly scabbed over, eventually leaving a large scar. Winter finally arrived in Yu City, and changing into thick clothes hid the scar away. Like the scar, the rift between them was merely concealed.

Tang Qi tutored students every weekend. The grades of the children she taught had improved to varying degrees, and their parents wished she could live at their homes, even scheduling sessions on Friday evenings. So she stayed at Sister Zhou’s house Fridays and Saturdays without coming back.

Time slowly crept into December. The anniversary of Luo Xue and Li Chengyu’s relationship arrived alongside Christmas. Many students didn’t celebrate Christmas, but that didn’t stop them from using the festive time to enjoy themselves.

Li Chengyu ultimately never found a job, and Luo Xue never brought it up again. They seemed to return to how they were before. Only, Luo Xue cut down the time she spent with Li Chengyu, working more instead. Tang Qi had introduced her to a tutoring job, and Luo Xue now spent most of her time preparing lesson plans.

“Luoluo, what gift did you prepare?” Mai Lingling watched Luo Xue meticulously wrap a present. Luo Xue smiled and handed one to her. “Christmas and New Year’s gifts all in one.”

“You’re gorgeous and kind-hearted. I love you to death.” Mai Lingling threw herself at her and planted a kiss on her cheek. The other dorm mates also had gifts, and Luo Xue placed them individually on their desks. When she got to Tang Qi’s desk, Luo Xue hesitated for a moment before placing an exquisitely wrapped gift on it.

“I prepared gifts and greeting cards for everyone.” Mai Lingling grinned. “Little Xue, guess who received the most gifts this Christmas?”

“Who?” Luo Xue answered absentmindedly.

“You really don’t pay attention. Besides the teachers, I think it’s a few upperclassmen. Your Senior Li also got quite a few little gifts. And our Baby Tang Qi!”

Mai Lingling paused for dramatic effect before continuing, “You have no idea how much those girls like Tang Qi. Just this morning, I saw several girls giving Tang Qi gifts. But Tang Qi didn’t accept a single one.”

“Our Tang Qi is very popular now,” another dorm mate chimed in. Luo Xue looked down at her own gift, suddenly feeling a pang of worry. What if Tang Qi refused it too?

But she also felt that was only normal. Someone as amazing as Tang Qi was bound to be liked by many.

Christmas happened to fall on a weekend. The various shops near the school were packed, crowds bustling noisily. Luo Xue had booked a decent restaurant and sent the address to Li Chengyu.

To her, Li Chengyu was her first love. If possible, she didn’t want to give up on this relationship easily. She would still try to maintain what they had.

Li Chengyu arrived half an hour late. He carried several gift items in his arms and placed them somewhat proudly in front of Luo Xue. “Little Xue, I’m sorry. On the way here, I got stopped by a few junior schoolmates. Because I’d helped them before, they insisted on giving me some gifts.”

Luo Xue no longer had the heart to care about his lateness. She took out the gift she’d prepared. “Happy Holidays.” It was a suit she had bought using a month’s worth of her tutoring pay.

“I thought, whether for future stage performances or work, you’d need a formal suit.” Luo Xue smiled. Li Chengyu happily accepted it. “I knew Little Xue is the best. Now close your eyes. I have a surprise for you.”