Chapter 223 - 131: Here It Comes... No Asura Field?

"I'm on my period. I was asking if you have... you know, that thing girls use."

"A pad?"

"Mhm."

"Sigh..."

"Hm? Class Monitor, what are you sighing about?"

"I wasn't sighing. I don't have any here. Wait a minute, I'll go buy a box for you."

"They come in packs, not a box. A box is for... you know."

"Ahem, sorry. Wrong word."

He bought a box of super-absorbent pads from the supermarket at the entrance of the complex. When he got back, he knocked on the bathroom door. It opened, and Shen Qingning reached out her hand to take them. She said, "Thank you," and shut the door again.

When she came out, she had changed back into her earlier clothes and saw Su Ran sitting at the dining table, reading a novel.

"Class Monitor."

"All done? Let's eat."

"Mhm."

It was just a few home-cooked dishes, but they were delicious. Whenever Su Ran cooked, he insisted on using only the best ingredients and seasonings, absolutely refusing to cut corners.

After spending the whole day together, Shen Qingning had become much more cheerful and talkative around Su Ran. She seemed to have mostly recovered. Su Ran, for his part, naturally wished all his classmates could be this happy. However, he didn't ask Shen Qingning why she needed money so badly. 'It's best to respect people's privacy. No need to reopen old wounds just to satisfy my own curiosity.'

It was still early after dinner, so Shen Qingning went to the study to review schoolwork with Su Ran for an hour. She quickly got into the zone and didn't glance around at how luxurious his study was—the Chinese Rosewood chair, the antique calligraphy and paintings on the walls, and so on. For someone like her, living at the very bottom rung of society, such things were the stuff of fantasy. She was a pragmatist; she didn't dare to dream. 'Because if I start dreaming, I'll only have to wake up again to my wretched reality, where I'm still just trying to survive.'

An hour later, she closed her books, put on her backpack, and got into another one of Su Ran's cars—a Mercedes G-Wagen—which he drove to the school parking lot.

"Class Monitor, thank you for the wonderful meal. Let me treat you to dinner tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's no good. How about next week? I'm heading back to my dorm. Bye."

??? Shen Qingning turned to leave. 'Tomorrow's no good... so why next week?' she wondered. She thought about it all the way back to her dorm. It wasn't until she was there, and saw the pads in her bag, that she instantly blushed.

Her roommates could all see that Shen Qingning was in a good mood. They asked a slew of curious, envious questions. "The Class Monitor is so nice to you!" "He took you to the hospital when you were sick!" "What were you two doing all day?"

"We didn't do much... I was just at the hospital on an IV drip..." A bashfulness she had never shown before appeared on her face. She looked exactly like someone in love.

Shen Qingning was in a great mood all evening and went to bed early with a smile on her face. Because when she woke up, she would be able to see her light again.

...

「Early morning, in the cafeteria.」

Shen Qingning woke up early, in a fantastic mood. She grabbed her meal box and headed to the cafeteria. After getting her food, she sat down in the most conspicuous spot, eating slowly as she waited. Before long, she heard Cao Wo's laughter, and then she saw her Class Monitor walk in with him and the others.

"Yo, look who it is! Hahaha..." Cao Wo shot Shen Qingning a flirty wink. Beaming, Shen Qingning waved back at the group. Her demeanor was completely different from usual. After all, she believed the Class Monitor was right: you have to be happy. And because she believed in him, she was healed.

A moment later, Su Ran and his friends got their food and sat down across from Shen Qingning.

Cao Wo: "Qingning, are you all better?"

Shen Qingning: "Mhm, it's all thanks to the Class Monitor."

Su Ran: "Don't mention it. Just remember to take your medicine on time."

Shen Qingning nodded.

Cao Wo glanced at Shen Qingning's bashful expression, then clapped Su Ran on the shoulder. He grinned and said, "Class Monitor, you sure are attentive to Qingning. You like her, don't you?"

Su Ran: "What are you talking about? We're all classmates; isn't it normal to care for each other? It wouldn't matter if it was Shen Qingning or any other classmate who was sick. As the class monitor, I'd be concerned either way."

When Shen Qingning heard his words, a trace of disappointment clouded her smile. She wasn't normally so sensitive, and she knew the Class Monitor was considerate to all their classmates. But hearing him say he would 'show the same concern for any other sick classmate' filled her with an inexplicable disappointment. 'I guess I misunderstood him. I was so conceited, thinking I was special to him, but he treats everyone the same. He doesn't feel anything extra for me at all. I was just a sick classmate he took care of. That's it.'

"Cao Wo, don't joke around like that," Shen Qingning said, forcing a smile. "I'm finished eating. You guys take your time. Bye."

She stood and left. As she walked out of the cafeteria, she shook her head with a bitter smile. 'I'm overthinking things,' she told herself. 'The Class Monitor just took care of me because I was sick, and my imagination ran wild. I'm getting way ahead of myself.' Taking a deep breath, she looked toward the rising sun. She didn't have time for such trivial matters. She had to go work and earn money.

Still, a girl's heart takes notice of these things. For the next two days, she didn't seek out Su Ran. Whenever they happened to meet, she would offer a very 'classmate-like' greeting and then hurry off to her own business. 'After all,' she thought, 'the light was only temporary, and he treats 'everyone the same.' I didn't get any special treatment. I should just go back to my own world, back to my busy life of working and studying.'

Su Ran also spent those two days studying hard. He was genuinely concerned for Shen Qingning, but he wasn't the type to fall for every girl he helped. He simply felt that she reminded him of his former self, so he had shown her a little extra concern. He never imagined that by caring for a girl in need, he would become her 'white moonlight' and cause her to develop feelings for him. In any case, it was a good thing that Shen Qingning was smiling more and starting to fit in with the class.