"Then I'll go with him to have a look."
The one who stood up was Gu Ruoxue, her expression icy and her tone indifferent.
The people in the classroom saw this and thought it was very reasonable. After all, Su Cheng was a member of the Practice Department, so it was only natural for Gu Ruoxue, the head of the department, to accompany him for care.
However, this scene made the boys in the classroom envious and jealous, wishing they could take Su Cheng's place and go to the infirmary.
After all, a boy and a girl going to the infirmary together, no matter how you look at it, has the vibe of a romantic comedy!
But at that moment,
Su Cheng's face turned incredibly pale.
Initially, when Su Cheng was clutching his stomach in discomfort, some people were skeptical.
But now, seeing Su Cheng's pale complexion, especially as his face turned from visibly white to red, and large beads of sweat poured down his forehead, it was clear he had reached his limit!
In the front row, Cornelia, Ailiya, Xuan Ying, and Zhao Yan looked at him with great concern, expressing their worry through their eyes and even wanting to help.
Especially Xuan Ying and Zhao Yan, who had felt something was off with Su Cheng these past few days, were even more worried seeing him like this.
Only Li Guanqi tilted her head with a puzzled expression, looking at the unusual Ji Qingyi and Gu Ruoxue beside Su Cheng, and fell into deep thought.
Ji Qingyi, however, remained elegantly seated, as if nothing had happened. Yet, one hand was pinching someone's thigh, twisting and twisting...
"Well then, Gu, please take Su Cheng to the infirmary, and be careful on the way," the teacher instructed.
Then, under the witness of the entire classroom, Su Cheng and Gu Ruoxue left the classroom one after the other.
After turning a corner, Su Cheng could no longer keep up the act and suddenly stopped, furiously rubbing his thigh.
Ji Qingyi had pinched a big 'miserable' character onto his thigh!
Gu Ruoxue stood with her arms crossed, her face cold as she leaned against the wall, looking down at him with a chilling tone, "You really surprise me, Su Cheng."
Su Cheng looked up at Gu Ruoxue's face, which was filled with undisguised anger, and couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly, explaining in a flattering manner, "Hehe, you misunderstood, I was just possessed by a ghost."
"Don't you think you're quite undisciplined, hmm?"
Gu Ruoxue's tone was very firm, and her words were filled with strong disdain and resentment.
Clearly, she was very angry at Su Cheng for attacking her in front of others.
"President, why are you out here too?"
Suddenly, Su Cheng called out to someone behind Gu Ruoxue.
Gu Ruoxue was taken aback by this, then slowly turned her head, but there was nothing behind her. Immediately, she heard the sound of running ahead.
Su Cheng seemed to have activated nitro underfoot, disappearing at the staircase in the blink of an eye.
"Sigh."
Gu Ruoxue sighed deeply, then rubbed her temples. Given the current situation, she couldn't return to the classroom.
After a long while, she arrived at the Practice Department.
“Knock, knock~”
Barely half an hour had passed since Gu Ruoxue had sat down when the sound of someone knocking on the clubroom door broke the silence. Without looking up, she replied coldly, “Come in.”
The door to the office creaked open.
It was Su Cheng, poking his head in cautiously, looking like a guilty thief. In a small voice, he called out, “Uh… Ruoxue~”
However, Gu Ruoxue didn’t even spare him a glance. She turned her head toward her computer on the other side and ignored him completely.
Su Cheng cleared his throat awkwardly, then stepped inside. After closing the door behind him, he went over to the cabinet, took out some tea leaves, and started brewing tea.
A few minutes later…
He approached Gu Ruoxue with a cup of fragrant red tea in hand and gently placed it on her desk. “You’ve been working hard. Have some tea.”
Still, Gu Ruoxue showed no reaction. She didn’t even bother to look at him, her focus remaining entirely on the emails she was handling on her laptop.
Seeing this, Su Cheng had no choice but to shamelessly lean closer and apologize in a low voice. “I want to apologize for offending you before.”
Hearing his humble apology, Gu Ruoxue finally turned her head to look at him, her gaze lingering for a long moment.
Su Cheng, for his part, met her scrutiny head-on with clear, unwavering eyes.
“The issue before wasn’t entirely your fault,” she finally said.
Then, as if the matter was settled, Gu Ruoxue shifted her gaze back to her computer screen. Her tone was as indifferent as ever. “I’m guessing you didn’t just come here to apologize. What do you want?”
Hearing this, Su Cheng let out a small sigh of relief and quickly seized the opportunity. “Well… um… I was hoping to ask for your help with something.”
“Handle it yourself.”
To his surprise, Gu Ruoxue rejected him outright without even hearing what it was about.
Despite her blunt refusal, Su Cheng didn’t give up. He pressed on, “Really, you’re the only one who can help me with this.”
“Speak.”
Her response was curt and to the point.
Scratching his head awkwardly, Su Cheng explained, “It’s just… I was hoping you could teach me how to bake a cake…”
“Figure it out yourself.”
Before he could finish, Gu Ruoxue cut him off with a tone that left no room for negotiation.
Why bake a cake?
She didn’t even need to ask to know what this guy was up to.
To her, this was such a trivial matter that it wasn’t worth mentioning, let alone wasting a single second of her time.
“I mean, I’ve contributed to the club before! I’m an honorary member, after all. You don’t have to be so cold and heartless, do you? It’s not like I’m trying to take over your role as the decision-maker. I just want you to teach me how to bake a cake.”
Unable to hold back, Su Cheng continued to argue, “You will help me, right?!”
“Contributed?”
Gu Ruoxue raised an eyebrow, a faint, mocking smile tugging at her lips. “You really are shameless. Other than bringing the club endless trouble, have you ever done anything remotely helpful?”
“Uh…”
Su Cheng was instantly embarrassed. After thinking about it carefully, he realized she was right. Other than drinking tea and bothering Gu Ruoxue, he really hadn’t done much to benefit the club.
“That’s just unfair…” he muttered weakly.
He muttered, "Even though I'm not much use right now, I'm still the face of the club. If the club ever faces any difficulties, I can definitely step up."
"Oh, like what?"
"For example, if aliens were to invade one day, I would absolutely fight for the world!"
After saying this, he puffed out his chest and declared with a sense of righteous duty, "As they say, with great power comes great responsibility. Restoring the glory of humanity is an obligation we cannot shirk!"
Gu Ruoxue glanced at him sideways and calmly reminded him, "The library has detailed tutorial books on cake-making; you can borrow them."
"Of course, I know the library has those books!"
Su Cheng pointed at himself, gazing deeply into Gu Ruoxue's eyes, and vowed earnestly, "But do you understand why I still came here specifically to ask you? You must know by now."
He believed that this heartfelt confession would surely move Gu Ruoxue, leading her to fall for his passionate approach from now on.
However, Gu Ruoxue merely glanced at him indifferently and replied, "So, you're treating me as a substitute for the library?"
Su Cheng: "Are you crazy?"
He then sat silently on the chair beside him, sipping tea and pondering life.
Gu Ruoxue was utterly impervious, neither soft nor hard approaches worked on her. Anyone else might have agreed already.
Like his friends Guan Qi and the club president.
But given the current situation, he had no choice but to turn to her.
And now, no matter what he said, she treated it as mere noise, not hearing a word, which left him extremely frustrated.
After a long silence, Su Cheng suddenly stood up, ready to leave, planning to try again under the guise of a formal request.
However, just as he took a few steps, Gu Ruoxue's cold voice suddenly rang out from behind him, "Even if you leave and come back under the guise of a formal request, I still won't teach you how to make a cake."
It seemed she had anticipated Su Cheng's tactics and was already prepared for his next move.
Su Cheng stopped in his tracks, slowly turned his head, and looked at her with a complex expression, hesitating, "Is there really no room for negotiation?"
Gu Ruoxue shook her head, "No."
Seeing this, Su Cheng completely lost hope. He sat down in defeat, looking utterly dejected.
Gu Ruoxue then turned back, her eyes focused seriously on the computer screen, reviewing information with a solemn expression.
After a while, she closed her laptop and looked at Su Cheng, who was slumped in his seat, staring at the ceiling lost in thought, and said, "Today's club activities are over."
"I wanted everyone to have fun at this amusement park outing. So, I hoped to make a cake for everyone to enjoy."
Su Cheng raised his head, looking at her with hope.
But Gu Ruoxue picked up her student bag and stood up. Her long, straight, beautiful legs wrapped in knee-high socks didn't pause as she headed straight for the door.
Seeing that she didn't even stop for a moment, Su Cheng instantly gave up hope and sighed in defeat.
Su Cheng was already prepared to stay up all night learning how to make cakes. It wasn’t that making cakes was particularly difficult, but without sufficient experience, even following the recipe to the letter wouldn’t necessarily achieve the desired taste.
So, tonight he needed to conduct experiments all night.
But unexpectedly, Gu Ruoxue stopped at the door, suddenly turned around, and looked at him. “Let’s go.”
Upon hearing this, Su Cheng was momentarily stunned, but then he immediately jumped up in excitement and exclaimed joyfully, “I knew Xiao Xue was the best! I’ll always love Xiao Xue!”
However, Gu Ruoxue, having just spoken the previous sentence, didn’t even glance back as she strode forward with long steps, leading the way out.
Su Cheng hurriedly locked the door and followed her. Soon, the two arrived at the activity room for the life skills class at school.
The room was filled with various fresh ingredients and materials, with students divided into groups to cook inside.
Since it was between classes, every classroom was practically packed.
Most of the students were from lower grades.
To cultivate students’ independent living skills, this family life class was a required course.
Not only did it help children master many essential skills, but it also encouraged them to participate more actively in family life and establish their own sense of life values.
This was an important course in the elementary and middle school curriculum.
As the two walked past the classrooms along the corridor, the students inside couldn’t help but glance at them. Some even paused their tasks, staring at them in surprise.
“Hey, should we wait until their class is over before going in?”
Su Cheng, feeling the gazes from all directions, discreetly tugged on Gu Ruoxue’s sleeve and whispered.
After all, if they walked in to borrow the classroom, it would likely cause an uproar among the students and disrupt their class.
“Hmm, there are five minutes left until the end of class.”
Gu Ruoxue nodded, agreeing with his suggestion.
The two then sat quietly at the end of the corridor, waiting.
About five or six minutes later, a group of students emerged from the nearby classroom, chatting in small groups about their class experience.
“Su Cheng-senpai?!”
At that moment, one of the girls noticed Su Cheng’s presence and couldn’t help but exclaim.
Hearing her voice, the other students, who had been whispering among themselves, turned to look. Upon seeing him, they showed expressions of surprise.
“It’s Su Cheng-senpai!”
Someone let out a scream.
Immediately, the boys also noticed Gu Ruoxue sitting beside Su Cheng, and they became visibly excited. However, unlike the girls, they refrained from screaming.
“Teacher Chen, I need to borrow the life skills classroom.”
Just as Su Cheng was watching Gu Ruoxue interact with the teacher, a girl stepped out from the student group, frowning as she stared at Su Cheng.
The lower-grade students, seeing this girl approach and speak to Su Cheng, quickly withdrew their gazes and stopped discussing. They hurriedly moved outside, fearing they might upset her.
Su Cheng turned his head and was surprised to see that the person was none other than Aino Marui. He hadn't expected the little princess of a financial conglomerate to attend such a practical class.
Did this mean that Ji Qingyi could also cook?
"What a coincidence. We're planning to use the classroom for something."
Su Cheng nodded and explained the reason.
Hearing this, Marui turned to glance at Gu Ruoxue standing beside him, then shifted her gaze back to Su Cheng with a curious squint.
Seeing Marui's strange gaze, Su Cheng couldn't help but frown and wonder if she was planning something.
So he decided to use his trump card and emphasized again, "Since you're here, why not join us? Ji Qingyi will be coming over later."
As expected, upon hearing this, Marui froze, her whole demeanor becoming awkward.
It was clear she was keen to avoid Ji Qingyi.
"No, I have something else to do. I'll be leaving now."
With that, she hurriedly made her escape, not daring to linger for even a second longer.
Just then, Gu Ruoxue received the key from the teacher and entered the classroom. Seeing this, Su Cheng quickly followed.
Upon entering, the classroom was filled with a strong aroma, a mix of fragrances and various food ingredients.
Having entered high school without ever attending such a class, Su Cheng was curious about the high-end equipment inside, especially some of the professional tools that even he, a decent cook, found baffling.
"What kind of cake do you want to make?"
Gu Ruoxue tied her apron, glanced at him, and asked indifferently.
Su Cheng thought for a moment and then said, "Hmm... Su Cheng's Black Forest Cake."
"Huh?"
Gu Ruoxue's mouth twitched slightly at this. "There's no such cake."
"Then just a Black Forest Cake."
"First of all, there's not enough time, and we don't have brandy here."
"Ah, can we substitute brandy with something else?"
"There's not enough time!"
Gu Ruoxue frowned and glared at him unhappily, "Didn't you hear what I just said? Or are you deliberately causing trouble?"
"No, no, no, I believe someone as exceptional as you can surely find a way."
"So, are you complimenting me or mocking me?"
"It's definitely a compliment!"
Su Cheng raised his hands in a gesture of sincerity.
But Gu Ruoxue remained unmoved.
"Fine, how about a chocolate mille crepe cake?"
He sighed in compromise, shrugging helplessly.
Gu Ruoxue nodded, then turned to the large fridge, skillfully taking out cream, cocoa powder, chocolate sauce, and other ingredients, placing them on the table.
Su Cheng also put on an apron and walked over to her side, earnestly asking, "Is there anything I can help with?"
"Go to that cabinet and bring over the mixing bowl and mixer."
Gu Ruoxue pointed to a cabinet not far away and instructed.
Su Cheng obediently fetched the mixing bowl and placed it in front of her.
"Three eggs, 40 grams of granulated sugar, and 250 milliliters of milk. Mix them well."
Gu Ruoxue glanced at the mixer nearby and gave instructions.
Following her lead, Su Cheng began mixing.
Meanwhile, Gu Ruoxue wasn’t idle either. She was busy preparing the necessary tools, such as the pot, the steamer, and the cooling rack.
…
At the same time,
While the two of them were bustling about in the home economics classroom, the dismissal bell rang in the public lecture hall. Immediately, the Xuan Ying Five eagerly walked out of the classroom, heading straight toward the infirmary.
They were going to check on Su Cheng!
Whether it was Cornelia and her companion or the Xuan Ying trio, they all cared deeply about Su Cheng. They were so concerned that they even put aside their original plan to visit Sister Qin!
Meanwhile, Ji Qingyi, who was sitting alone in the back row, pulled out her phone. She spent a few minutes scrolling through messages before standing up and leaving the classroom.
However, instead of returning to her club during club hours, she took a ride and left the school.
After some time,
The luxury car she was in came to a stop in front of a clothing store.
Ji Qingyi pulled out her phone to check her messages. Upon seeing the latest message, her expression shifted, and her eyes flickered with hesitation.
The message was from Liu Qingyue.
Its contents were as follows:
"You need to prepare toiletries and a change of clothes for him."
"Oh, and let him sleep in my room."
"Also, if you want to make him feel truly at home, I suggest you personally pick out a comfortable bathrobe or sleepwear set for him."
"Miss Ji, you can tailor your preparations based on your understanding of his preferences and the nature of your relationship. Most importantly, convey your care and feelings for him, so he senses the special significance of this overnight stay."
Ji Qingyi lowered her gaze to the words on her phone screen. After much deliberation and a long silence,
Finally,
She opened the search engine on her phone—
And began typing: "What to prepare and consider when a male friend stays overnight at your house?"
Soon after,
A highly upvoted post popped up—
"Essential Items for a Male Friend Staying Overnight!"
**[DUREX]**
(P.S.: Writer’s block again. We’re at a critical moment, and it’s really hard to write right now. I need some time to organize my thoughts.)