Gu Yue (Crispy Shark)

"Alright, alright."

"Don't move around too much."

"I'll take you to the infirmary."

Lin Yu couldn't withstand Gu Yue's barrage and quickly gave in.

Gu Yue obediently nodded and released her arms, which had been tightly wrapped around Lin Yu's neck.

She wasn't in great shape, either.

Though her lightly made-up face showed no signs of trouble,

her fair neck had honestly begun to blush faintly,

and the ears hidden in her hair were completely red.

But Lin Yu didn't notice any of this.

He was carrying Gu Yue in a princess hold, staring straight ahead as he walked toward the infirmary.

His mind was in a jumble.

For a moment, he even felt a sense of confusion about how things had ended up this way.

Half a year ago,

if Gu Yue had dared to act this pushy, Lin Yu would have just dropped her like a cigarette butt he'd finished smoking.

If he'd been in a bad mood, he might have even stomped on her rear a couple of times.

How had he become the weaker party now?

Was this the kind of behavior a "dyed-hair punk" should show?

What a disgrace to the Lin family name!

Lin Yu kept grumbling to himself,

but his hands honestly held Gu Yue tight,

afraid that if he slipped, he might actually drop her.

Lin Yu hustled Gu Yue to the infirmary without pause.

After a simple checkup and wound treatment by the school nurse,

Lin Yu got one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.

Gu Yue's leg injury might not just be a simple scrape.

Given the pain she was showing,

it was highly necessary for her to go to a proper hospital for a thorough examination.

The good news was that the infirmary had a wheelchair.

Lin Yu wouldn't have to carry Gu Yue around anymore;

he could just push her.

Seeing that things seemed to be heading in a more serious direction,

Lin Yu had to take precautions in advance. He requested a day off from both his and Gu Yue's academic advisors.

After submitting the leave requests on his phone,

Lin Yu installed Gu Yue into the wheelchair and pushed her toward the hospital off campus...

...

After spending most of the day at the hospital—

registering for appointments, getting X-rays, waiting for results—

just as expected,

Gu Yue had a fracture in her lower leg.

But within the misfortune, there was a silver lining: the fracture wasn't severe.

It was the mildest type of fracture—a hairline crack.

No surgery or operations were needed.

All that was required was to put a cast on her leg and let her rest at home.

Carrying a bag of medicine as they left the hospital,

Lin Yu looked up at the sunset that had already kissed the horizon.

Somewhat tiredly, he lowered his gaze,

stared at the bear hairpin clipped in Gu Yue's dark hair, and teased:

"So fragile."

"From now on, I'll call you 'Crispy Yue' instead."

Lin Yu was genuinely speechless.

Just a light fall, and she ended up with a fracture.

Was it really true that once you gained the title of "college student," your body automatically headed toward being fragile?

How bizarre!

"Can you call me 'Crunchy Shark' instead?"

In the orange glow of the sunset, Gu Yue tilted her face up earnestly and bargained with Lin Yu,

"That sounds tastier."

"You're pretty demanding, huh?"

Lin Yu rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Did you hear what the doctor said earlier?"

"Stop focusing so much on sunscreen and get some more sun."

"You're calcium deficient!"

Hearing this, Gu Yue shook her head like a rattle.

"No way, no way."

"If I get too much sun, I'll darken."

"I'll just take some calcium supplements from now on."

Lin Yu suddenly felt a bit irritated at her response.

It was like seeing your own kid at the dinner table, wolfing down meat and shrimp while ignoring all the vegetables and fruit.

You advise them for their health's sake, telling them to eat some veggies and fruit for balanced nutrition.

But then the little rascal pulls out a huge handful of vitamin pills—A, B, C, D, E, F, G—

gulps them all down, and mumbles, "Now I don't have to eat veggies and still get balanced nutrition!"

What the heck.

That was pure nonsense!

It made you want to pinch her ear, and while she opened her mouth from the pain, shovel all the veggies from the table into her mouth!

"Sun or no sun, it's your problem."

"Nobody's gonna bother with you!"

Lin Yu said sulkily.

But the moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them a little.

Deep down, Lin Yu was afraid Gu Yue might take him seriously.

He actually kind of wanted to keep looking out for her...

Gu Yue, for her part, didn't take Lin Yu's angry words to heart.

After all this time, if she took every single thing he said seriously,

she'd have been driven mad by him long ago.

So she just pouted her lips coquettishly.

The lip gloss she'd applied that morning had lasted till now because she hadn't eaten much,

shimmering pink and glossy in the twilight,

like a strawberry jelly that seemed to flow with light.

It actually looked pretty appetizing...

Speaking of eating, Lin Yu was feeling hungry.

The two of them had spent almost the whole day running around the hospital.

For lunch, they'd only grabbed some bread to fill their stomachs.

Now, their bellies were completely empty.

"Hungry?"

Lin Yu pushed Gu Yue toward the hospital exit, asking,

"What do you feel like eating later?"

"Hmm..."

"I want hotpot!"

Gu Yue's voice was crisp.

"Tsk."

"Not that."

"Too greasy."

Lin Yu rejected the suggestion with disgust.

"How about barbecue, then?"

"No, too greasy."

"Rice noodles?"

"No, too much artificial junk."

"That last time I ate that rice noodle place, even going to the bathroom tasted like rice noodles."

"Then Western food?"

"No, too much hassle. Let's just keep it simple."

"Then how about finding a noodle place for some noodles?"

"No, no."

"Too plain. I want something good."

"..."

At that point, Gu Yue finally caught on.

Lin Yu wasn't actually discussing what to eat; he was just picking a fight!

Lifting her face,

Gu Yue glared at Lin Yu puffingly and asked,

"Then you tell me—what are we eating?"

"Hmm..."

Lin Yu pretended to think for a moment, then said,

"How about hotpot?"

"I feel like hotpot's a good choice."

In the evening glow, Gu Yue's pretty eyes went wide and round, like a cat's.

And indeed, she was heading in the direction of a cat—

angry enough to start hissing.