Chapter 3: Xiaoyu
Chapter 3: Xiaoyu
Binhai City People’s Hospital. Chen Mo’s body jolted, and he opened his eyes in bed, his gaze dazed.
Was everything just now a dream?
Chen Mo felt a slight pain in his head. He noticed that it seemed like an extra memory had appeared in his mind—the information about the “Low-Level Human Potential Exploitation Technology.”
Was the Science and Technology Library real? Delighted, Chen Mo closed his eyes again.
That hundred-meter-tall door appeared before his eyes once more, white light engulfing him, and Chen Mo found himself in the familiar library.
Endless bookshelves, mountains and seas of books.
It wasn’t a dream!
After leaving the Science and Technology Library, Chen Mo’s face was full of joy. The smell of disinfectant reached his nose, snapping him back to reality. He turned to look around.
This was a hospital room. His head still ached faintly. He touched it and found a lump there. When he pressed it, the pain made him suck in a sharp breath.
Suddenly, Chen Mo felt a heavy sensation in his right hand. He looked at his arm and saw a girl sleeping with her head resting on it.
The girl from the library?
Chen Mo recognized her at once—she was the girl he had rushed over and hugged in the library.
He didn’t move, afraid of waking her, and let her keep lying there. Listening to her breathing, he felt a flutter in his heart, which had been closed off for so long.
After a while, Chen Mo felt movement on his arm. He looked over and saw the girl lifting her head to look at him.
“You’re awake,” the girl said hurriedly, releasing his arm, a touch of shyness coloring her face.
“Yeah,” Chen Mo replied with a nod and a smile. “How long was I out?”
“Almost three days. The doctor said you have a mild concussion but you’re fine now. Thank you for saving me in the library.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Chen Mo glanced at the girl’s tired face and felt a pang of sympathy. “Have you been taking care of me here all this time?”
“Yeah,” the girl answered shyly. “Your teacher came to see you. The doctor said you were fine and would wake up soon, so we didn’t notify your family to avoid worrying them. They asked me to look after you.”
“Thank you,” Chen Mo said, his gaze softening.
“It’s the least I could do. You saved me once, after all,” the girl said. “My name is He Xiaoyu. It’s the ‘yu’ for ‘fisherman.’ You can call me Xiaoyu.”
“My name is Chen Mo. It’s the ‘mo’ for ‘silence.'”
Their eyes met, and Xiaoyu’s cheeks turned even redder. For a moment, she seemed at a loss.
Gurgle…
The sound of a protesting stomach broke the delicate atmosphere. Xiaoyu giggled, and Chen Mo’s face flushed with embarrassment.
“You’ve been on glucose for the past two days and haven’t eaten. Let me go buy you some food,” Xiaoyu said, getting up to leave.
Chen Mo looked at his uncooperative stomach, feeling exasperated. Couldn’t it have waited a little longer?
Before long, Xiaoyu returned with a bag. “You just woke up, so you shouldn’t eat anything too greasy. I got you a bowl of porridge. If it’s not enough, I can go buy more.”
“Thank you,” Chen Mo said, reaching out to take it but noticing the IV needle still in his left hand.
“Let me feed you,” Xiaoyu offered.
She picked up the spoon, scooped some porridge, and brought it to Chen Mo’s lips. Her gentle movements made it feel like a girlfriend caring for her boyfriend, drawing envious glances.
Chen Mo’s heart swelled with happiness. He never expected such treatment.
As Xiaoyu fed him spoonful by spoonful, Chen Mo noticed the guy in the next bed giving him an envious look, and he secretly reveled in it.
Their eyes met from time to time, and Xiaoyu’s face flushed with shyness.
This was her first time taking care of someone of the opposite sex, and for three days straight at that. She had washed his body and given him massages herself, which was why she was so exhausted.
The nurses all thought they were a couple.
But since Chen Mo had saved her and his family hadn’t come, she had to be the one to care for him. Remembering how she had touched every part of his body over the past three days, Xiaoyu couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze.
After feeding Chen Mo, Xiaoyu took a stack of red bills from her bag and handed them to him.
“About what happened in the library—a girl got scared by the thunder and accidentally knocked over a bookshelf. That girl came to apologize. This is the medical compensation she gave you—ten thousand yuan.”
“Okay, just leave it there. You must be exhausted. You should go back and rest,” Chen Mo said, his heart aching at the sight of her tired eyes.
Xiaoyu looked at Chen Mo, lost in thought for a moment, then finally nodded, picked up her bag, and stood up.
“Will you come back this afternoon?”
“Yeah,” Xiaoyu paused, her ears tinged with red. She gave a soft reply before hurrying away.
Watching Xiaoyu leave, Chen Mo felt dazed, a smile spreading across his lips. He almost wanted to jump out of the hospital bed.
From Xiaoyu’s reaction just now, he knew there was a chance. It had been a long time since he’d felt this way, and Xiaoyu had stirred those emotions in him.
The old cliché of saving the beauty and winning her favor was happening to him.
After his moment of joy, Chen Mo lay back in bed, thinking about human potential exploitation.
That afternoon, Xiaoyu came as promised.
Chen Mo had already recovered. After a check-up confirmed he was fine, he went through the discharge procedures and left the hospital.
“Let’s get something to eat. I haven’t eaten in three days—I deserve a treat,” Chen Mo said, patting his stomach.
“My treat. You saved me—it’s a small way to repay you,” Xiaoyu said, standing beside Chen Mo with a hint of nervousness. Remembering how she had cared for him over the past few days made her feel uneasy.
“No need. My treat, to thank you for taking care of me these three days,” Chen Mo said, taking out the money from earlier. “That girl gave too much. Can you return the rest to her? She’s a student too, relying on her family’s money. Since it was an accident, covering the medical expenses is enough.”
Chen Mo handed the remaining money to Xiaoyu.
Xiaoyu looked up at Chen Mo, took the money from his hand, and her gaze toward him softened slightly.
After a simple meal, Chen Mo took Xiaoyu to see a movie. He could feel the distance between them gradually closing.
After walking Xiaoyu back to her dorm, Chen Mo headed alone to his own dorm.
Today was lucky—he had obtained the Science and Technology Library and met a nice girl. He felt his future was bright.
Back at the dorm, he found his roommates hadn’t returned yet, so he lay down on his bed.
Not long after he lay down, his WeChat chimed. It was a message from Xiaoyu. Chen Mo eagerly opened it, feeling that his life had become exciting starting today.
“I’ve returned the money to that girl. She asked me to tell you she’s sorry.”
“It’s fine. Maybe I should thank her for making my life more interesting,” Chen Mo replied immediately. “Are you free tomorrow?”
“It’s the weekend tomorrow. I’m going to the library. I took three days off and need to catch up on my studies.”
“Perfect, I wanted to go to the library too. Let’s go together.”
Chen Mo smiled. But he really did want to go.
Elder Shu had said that studying science and engineering books and technologies—100 books—could earn him a technology. He had to study and improve to gain higher access.
“Okay, I’ll go at 8 a.m. You just got out of the hospital today, so get some rest early.”
In the girls’ dorm, Xiaoyu put down her phone, her eyes shy and a hint of joy on her lips. Suddenly, her phone was snatched from her hand, and a face with a sly grin appeared in front of her.
“Xiaoyu, your eyes are shining, and your face is glowing. You took three days off to care for your hero. Did something good happen?”
“No, it’s… it’s not,” Xiaoyu said, flustered. “Give me back my phone.”
“Hehe, you’re nervous,” the girl teased. “The hero-saving-the-beauty trope is a classic. Let me see your messages.”
“Li Ruoxi, give me back my phone right now!” Xiaoyu grabbed the girl, trying desperately to get her phone back.
“I should thank her for making my life more interesting. Tomorrow at 8 a.m., the library. You should rest early. The best cabbage in our family is about to be taken.”
“Ah, you crazy Ruoxi, give me back my phone!”
…
In a girls’ dorm at Binhai University, chaos erupted.