In the following days, Wen Yao did not speak to Jiang Shuyi.
Whenever Jiang Shuyi asked her something, unless it was a question that required an answer, Wen Yao would respond with just a single word.
During meals, Wen Yao was also very indifferent.
On her way home, Wen Yao would often leave the classroom without anyone noticing.
She didn't reply to any of Jiang Shuyi's text messages, not even a simple "mm."
On the third day at noon, Jiang Shuyi sat in her chair, staring at the food in front of her, silently putting it into her mouth.
"..."
Jiang Shuyi swallowed her food with some discomfort, feeling a layer of mist rise in her eyes.
But since she was at school, she could only hold back and wipe her eyes with the back of her hand.
Jiang Shuyi glanced at her phone.
The cold, lifeless screen reflected a harsh white light, and her inbox showed no replies from anyone.
Not only were there no replies, but not even a single "mm" was present.
Jiang Shuyi silently rubbed the side of her phone with her fingertip, and after a while, she swallowed her emotions with a mix of feelings.
She knew that, for now, she and Wen Yao were just classmates.
Wen Yao wouldn't respond to her or guide her like she used to.
Wen Yao had no obligation to respond to her, and Jiang Shuyi couldn't demand a response from her either.
With Wen Yao being so indifferent, Jiang Shuyi could only bear it alone.
Indeed, caring for someone doesn't always guarantee a response, which is understandable.
But this time, Jiang Shuyi felt deeply hurt.
Just a few days ago, everything had been so peaceful.
Jiang Shuyi had even sensed a unique warmth in Wen Yao's gaze.
She thought that warmth would continue, so why was Wen Yao treating her like this?
Had she made a mistake by offering her food?
Was the bottle of lemon tea the problem?
Was it because it had been raining and sleeting that day?
"..."
Jiang Shuyi lowered her head, feeling that she would rather be scolded by Wen Yao than to be treated so coldly and ambiguously.
---
A few days after the sleet had fallen, it began to snow.
Jiang Shuyi looked out at the snow and found the taste of her breakfast hard to swallow.
Since she couldn't drink coffee or milk for breakfast, the cafeteria lady poured half a cup of lemon tea that was meant for Tang Wenzhen and placed it in front of her.
"..."
Jiang Shuyi stared at the lemon tea, feeling a wave of unpleasant emotions churning in her stomach.
Her feelings were a mix of confusion and frustration.
After arriving at school, Jiang Shuyi habitually glanced at Wen Yao's seat, only to find that Wen Yao was absent today.
When the first class started, she noticed that Wen Yao still hadn't come.
"..."
She thought Wen Yao might have gone to a meeting or was helping a teacher with something, but to her surprise, Wen Yao didn't come to school at all that morning.
---
"Zhou Jingtang."
Jiang Shuyi walked up to Zhou Jingtang, Wen Yao's deskmate.
"Miss Yi?" Zhou Jingtang looked up at Jiang Shuyi, immediately sensing something was wrong. "What's wrong?"
For some reason, he felt particularly guilty towards Jiang Shuyi.
He had a vague impression that he had done something wrong, but he had no idea what it was.
"...Why didn't Wen Yao come to school today?"
Jiang Shuyi glanced at Wen Yao's empty seat, her tone low.
一 Could it be that she was avoiding me and had finally started hiding at home?
Thinking this made Jiang Shuyi feel a bit wronged.
一 Am I really that annoying?
"Wen Yao?" Zhou Jingtang looked at Jiang Shuyi. "She's sick."
Jiang Shuyi paused for a moment, "What kind of illness?"
"I just heard from Teacher Li that it's a cold."
Zhou Jingtang relayed the information he had heard to Jiang Shuyi.
一 So she's not avoiding me.
Jiang Shuyi felt a moment of relief, but then a wave of worry washed over her.
A cold that could keep Wen Yao from coming to school must be quite serious, Jiang Shuyi thought.
As someone who had crossed over from eighteen years in the future, Jiang Shuyi knew that Wen Yao rarely took sick leave.
At least, she rarely took sick leave for illness. She wasn't the type to use sickness to escape her responsibilities.
In fact, she was the kind of person who would push through and complete her work even when sick.
When she was still a professor, Jiang Shuyi knew that Wen Yao would go to school to teach students even with a high fever.
So, unless she was bedridden, Jiang Shuyi believed Wen Yao would definitely come to school.
That was just the kind of person she was.
Jiang Shuyi glanced at Wen Yao's empty seat and fell into silence.
---
The phone ringing was annoyingly loud.
Wen Yao, exhausted, fumbled for her phone beside her pillow, feeling as if her entire body was drenched in sweat.
She groggily sat up and looked at her phone.
"...Hello?" Wen Yao's voice was weak.
"Are you okay, Wen Yao?"
The voice was Li Roujia, and her tone was filled with concern.
Wen Yao hadn't come to school after the first class today, and Li Roujia was worried something might have happened.
"...Teacher Li?" Wen Yao's voice was hoarse.
Only after sitting up did she realize her head was so foggy that she could hardly finish this phone call.
"Wen Yao, I just wanted to ask why you didn't come to school today. It shouldn't be like last time—"
Hearing Li Roujia mention the last incident, Wen Yao lowered her gaze.
"I'm sorry for worrying you. I think I didn't hear the alarm..."
"Are you sick?" Li Roujia asked.
"..." Wen Yao didn't deny it.
She slowly got up and dragged herself to the drawer in her room where she kept her medicine, pulling out a thermometer to place under her armpit.
She reached up to feel her forehead.
Her temperature was high, indicating a fever.
"I'll take my medicine and come to school, Teacher Li," Wen Yao coughed.
"Being sick means you need to rest, Wen Yao. You don't have to come to school. Just take good care of yourself at home..." Li Roujia said earnestly.
"..." Wen Yao's voice was low, "I—"
"Listen to your teacher." Li Roujia said gently.
"Mm," after speaking, Wen Yao coughed a few more times, "Thank you."
"Wen Yao, can you manage on your own?" Li Roujia asked.
Wen Yao hesitated for a moment, wiping her forehead due to fatigue.
"I'm fine," she replied calmly.
Wen Yao knew that telling Teacher Li about her situation would only add to her troubles.
Li Roujia seemed to understand Wen Yao's thoughts and sighed on the other end of the line, "...I'm sorry."
She certainly wanted to help Wen Yao, but now she was the homeroom teacher for the senior class, and besides Wen Yao, there were other students, making it impossible to attend to everyone.
"Mm."
Wen Yao hung up the phone and took the thermometer from under her arm, which displayed a temperature of 39.5 degrees.
"..." Wen Yao coughed again.
She got up, walked to her desk, took out her medicine, and swallowed it with some water before returning to bed.
She had many dreams, and in her dreams, she seemed to vaguely smell the scent of lemon balm.
Wen Yao opened her eyes again to find the room empty.
---
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