Su Yang was not joking. He was telling the truth.
After that incident, his family was a little shaken and it was the first time he felt how vulnerable life was. Ever since that day, his family insisted on having three meals a day, so he developed a habit of having breakfast.
Even when he was having a hard time in Shanghai, he ate breakfast every morning which was considered rare for young people nowadays.
Therefore, Su Yang took the initiative to ask in a slightly serious tone, “Ms. Qu, I’ll take you to the hospital.”
Qu Xiaomeng grasped the left side of her chest and shook her head. “I’m really fine. I still have a lecture to teach.”
Su Yang looked at the time. There was still half an hour before class. “Then, let us take you to the infirmary.”
“Yeah, Ms. Qu, you can’t just stay like this,” said Chu Xia, attempting to persuade her.
Qu Xiaomeng’s round face looked hesitant before she ultimately compromised and accepted the suggestion.
Su Yang saw that she was having a hard time standing up, so he said, “Ms. Qu, I’ll carry you on my back.”
Qu Xiaomeng’s pale face slightly blushed as she said in an awkward tone, “It’s not really appropriate. Just help me up.” She wanted to stand, but before she could get on her feet, her stomach spasmed again. She gasped in pain and her round face crumpled.
Su Yang saw the pain on her face. Without caring whether she agreed or not, he squatted down in front of her and showed her his back. “Get up, Ms. Qu. We will be in the infirmary in a second.”
Blushing, Qu Xiaomeng was at a loss about what to do. She was reluctant to get on, but Chu Xia nudged her onto Su Yang’s back anyway.
Qu Xiaomeng was not as heavy as Su Yang expected since she was only around 45 kgs, so he had no problem carrying her around.
With Qu Xiaomeng on Su Yang’s back and Chu Xia beside them, the lecturer and student trio walked to the infirmary under the other students’ curious gazes.
At first, Qu Xiaomeng used her hands to prevent her chest from touching Su Yang’s back, but as more and more curious gazes looked at her, she simply buried her face into his back like an ostrich. Meanwhile, Su Yang tried his best to not get distracted by focusing on his steps.
They reached the infirmary soon after that, and with Chu Xia’s help, Su Yang lay Qu Xiaomeng on the sickbed before he went out to get the medical officer.
After Su Yang went off, Chu Xia helped Qu Xiaomeng up and said, “I saw his legs shaking just now. He must be tired, but he carried you all the way here and didn’t even sit down to catch his breath.”
“Really?” Surprised, Qu Xiaomeng’s mouth was slightly open.
“Yeah.”
For whatever reason, Qu Xiaomeng felt a warm stream in her heart and it eased her pain for a moment.
Soon enough, the female medical officer came. She did a quick check-up on Qu Xiaomeng and said, “Your stomach is cramping. Have you been having irregular meals lately? Or do you have a condition with your stomach?”
Qu Xiaomeng’s round face looked awkward as she answered, “I’ve been on a diet lately, so I don’t really eat rice.”
The medical officer glared at her. “Girls nowadays...none of you know how to love your body. Do you really think you can do anything while you are young? The illness and pain will catch up with you when you are older.”
She then poured a glass of warm water for Qu Xiaomeng. “Have some warm water and take your breakfast. You will get better if you take your meals.”
As though a lightbulb lit up above the medical officer’s head, she added, “Right, try to consume porridge in the meantime. It’s good for your stomach.”
“Doctor, what about medicine?” Chu Xia asked.
The medical officer glanced at her. “There’s no need for medicine. Take some warm water slowly and fill your stomach, and if your stomach hurts again, you don’t have to come to me either.”
“Why not?” Su Yang asked.
“She should be going to the hospital then,” said the medical officer. She then took her stethoscope off and went out again.
The three of them were left behind in the infirmary, dumbfounded on the spot.
After having the ultimate cure in the form of some warm water, Qu Xiaomeng’s pain eased up and she felt a lot better. She looked at the time and said, “Let’s get back to class now.”
Su Yang nodded and wanted to help her get off the bed, but Chu Xia stopped him. “Su Yang, sit down with Ms. Qu for a while. She’s not good enough to teach. I’ll get some porridge from the mini-mart downstairs and we can leave after she finishes it.”
Qu Xiaomeng hastily said, “No, no, I’ll eat after class.”
Chu Xia shook her head. “I think it’s better for you to have some porridge before class. Today’s class is a combined class with other classes and it’s almost two hours long. You won’t make it until class ends.”
Right after her voice subsided, Chu Xia lifted her slender long legs and ran off.
Qu Xiaomeng tried to reach out to her, but her hand froze in the air when Chu Xia left. She put her hand down and looked defeated. She knew that she should have eaten something earlier.
After Chu Xia left, Qu Xiaomeng was left alone with Su Yang and the atmosphere quietened down all of a sudden.
Maybe because Su Yang met Qu Xiaomeng at her weakest moment, in his eyes, she did not have the image or the dignity of a lecturer. He looked at her pale face and asked, “Why are you on a diet?”
Perhaps because she was alone with Su Yang, Qu Xiaomeng reverted to her cowardly side and said meekly, “Because I’m fat...”
‘Right...What a straightforward answer...’
Su Yang recalled how light she felt when she was on his back and then sized her up. ‘She’s not fat at all...If a girl less than 50 kg is fat, then the whole country severely lacks thin people.’
He looked at Qu Xiaomeng’s pale face and decided to knock the unhealthy thought out of her mind. “Okay then. Let me analyze it for you.”
Qu Xiaomeng looked at Su Yang.
“Do you know why people go on diets?”
She dully shook her head.
“It’s because they are ugly and will look better when they are slim. In order to look better, they must slim down. Here’s the million-dollar question: are you ugly?”
Qu Xiaomeng shook her head without a second thought. “I’m not ugly.”
“Right? You are on the right track! If you aren’t ugly, why are you on a diet? What’s wrong with McDonald’s? Do you know how happy you will be when you chuck down a bottle of Coke? What about braised pork in brown sauce?”
“I...” Qu Xiaomeng failed to come up with a proper sentence.
Su Yang tried to guide her towards the right direction, “Do you know what they represent? They represent happiness! Think about it, are you happy when you eat them?”
She gulped and nodded repeatedly.
He said louder, “Then, should you stop yourself from walking into the arms of happiness?”
Qu Xiaomeng shook her head strongly and her hair swirled along with the motion. “No!”
“We as human beings climbed to the top of the food chain through time and experience, but did we do it just because we want to be vegetarians?” said Su Yang.
“No!” said Qu Xiaomeng.
“Louder!”
“NO! I will never be a vegetarian!” she squealed.
Su Yang clapped and said, “You’re right! To hell with dieting! Eat your meals and embrace happiness!”
While he was admonishing his lecturer, Chu Xia ran back sweating with the porridge. The jaw-dropping scene shocked her and she could not comprehend what just happened.