Chapter 29: Ugh, So Uncomfortable

“Ah…”

It hurts so much!

My abdomen feels like a pile driver pounding the ground, thumping hard enough to make my whole body weak.

Since waking up this morning, my stomach has hurt like it’s about to split open, feeling bloated.

Every time I move, I have to grit my teeth and gasp for breath for a while before I can recover.

I toss and turn in bed, barely managing to sit up by leaning against the bedside table.

So annoying, why did it suddenly hurt like this?

It makes no sense.

It also feels sticky down there.

Did I wet the bed?

Slowly, I shuffled into the bathroom and looked at the cat girl in the mirror.

Her hair was messy, lips pressed tightly together, a bit pale, and her face looked worn out.

No, I can’t go to school like this.

If Gu Fan sees me, he’ll definitely worry.

After carefully washing my face, I tied up my hair.

Just as I was about to go to the toilet, my preset alarm went off.

Ah, everything’s going wrong today.

Since I’m usually quick with washing up and breakfast, almost efficient, I set my wake-up alarm pretty late, only leaving myself fifteen minutes.

But today, because of feeling unwell, I wasted quite a bit of time, and now I don’t have enough.

Should I ask for leave?

Although I rarely take leave, even when I’m sick I usually insist on going to class.

But now, I really feel like I’m about to break.

I’m leaning on the sink edge, but don’t feel cold; maybe my palms are colder than the sink.

After quickly reviewing my thoughts, I grit my teeth and rush out the bathroom door.

No, I have to go to school.

I just promised Gu Fan yesterday to meet tomorrow.

How could I break my promise?

I don’t want him to misunderstand and think I dislike him so much that I deliberately skip school today.

Maybe the pain is stronger than hunger, because when I got on the last bus, I didn’t feel very hungry.

It’s okay, I can handle it.

Probably just a stomach cold from the ice cream yesterday.

I bent over, pressing my stomach tightly against the backpack in my arms, hoping this posture would make me feel better.

If I have time later, I’ll look online to see what’s wrong with me.

It can’t be gastroenteritis, right?

I only ate ice cream once.

Are cat girls prone to catching colds?

There are too many things I don’t understand, but now I can only rely on these thoughts to distract myself, so the pain and bloating don’t defeat me.

I dawdled into the classroom and sat down.

Since I hardly knew anyone, they only glanced at me with some confusion and didn’t try to talk to me.

I don’t like asking for help either; whether before or now, I’ve been used to gritting my teeth and getting through things on my own.

However… when I feel awful all over and there’s no one trustworthy around, I inevitably feel some helplessness.

I kind of miss Gu Fan.

If he were in my class, he would definitely notice that something’s wrong with me.

I crossed my legs, and the sticky discharge seemed to be increasing, like it was covered in a lump of slime—such a strange feeling.

If I slept wearing underwear, I could easily pull it aside to see what was going on.

But unfortunately, I usually sleep in my school uniform to save time changing.

In a public place like school, I can’t just randomly pull open my crotch, so I felt a little curious.

Maybe… I should go to the bathroom?

I lay on the desk, my backpack nestled between my thighs and stomach, providing a slight warmth.

I was already lazy enough, but now feeling uncomfortable, I didn’t want to move at all. It felt like I was running a fever.

Riiing~

The bell for class rang, extinguishing the last bit of hope I had.

I’d have to ask the teacher’s permission to go to the bathroom, which would be even more troublesome.

I closed my eyes and buried my head in my arms.

Sigh…

I had finally started putting in effort these few days, and now I’m back to lying down and sleeping again.

Since I wasn’t in the mood to study, I obeyed my tired body and slowly drifted off to sleep, using it to block out the unbearable pain.

* * * * *

In a dimly lit forest, swamped with marshes, I was already deeply stuck, unable to escape.

I took a step left; the ground was soft, forcing me to retreat.

Naturally, I felt suffocated and frustrated when my movement was blocked.

Driven by restlessness, my body took a big stride to the right but stepped into thin air, as if I were on the edge of a cliff, with one foot already slipping into the abyss below.

The muddy swamp gurgled foul-smelling bubbles, then countless filthy vines sprang out, dragging me into a dark, lightless mud hell.

“No! I don’t want this! Who can save me?!”

Desperately crying for help, I had never screamed so hoarsely, as if I wanted to entrust my soul, my everything, to some unknown hero.

Sadly, even as the mud submerged my chest, the hero I hoped for didn’t appear.

All I could see were the thick blackened branches blocking the sunlight outside, like a sullen tree spirit crushing me to death.

Gradually, the mud crept into my nostrils, strangling my throat.

When my consciousness was hazy, I seemed to see a beam of light shining into this dense forest of branches, and a thrilling warmth burst forth from my outstretched right hand.

“Zhi Nian, wake up, I’ll take you to the school clinic.”

“Mm…”

The gentle voice brushing past my ear was already familiar enough that I didn’t need to think to know who it belonged to.

“Gu Fan…”

When I raised my stiff neck from sleeping and saw Gu Fan’s worried eyes, I almost broke down and cried again.

Having someone take care of you when you’re painfully sick is truly, truly a blessing—something the old me never dared to imagine as a dream.

“Zhi Nian, your hands are so cold. Do you have a fever?”

If Gu Fan hadn’t said it, I wouldn’t have noticed that he was feeling my right hand to test my temperature.

Before I could fully process the shocking scene of Gu Fan touching my hand, he reached out to my forehead and gently covered it with his palm.

“Hm~ Temperature is normal, probably just cold in your body. Zhi Nian, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere else?”

“My stomach… my stomach hurts.”

Also, down there, it felt like an ocean flooding, like I was sitting in a puddle—wet and truly unpleasant.

But this kind of private matter was embarrassing to say, so I kept it to myself.

While Gu Fan was pinching his zipper, thinking of what to do, I glanced around the classroom.

It was empty. Looks like school was already over?

I had actually slept through the entire morning.

It was a bit surprising that Gu Fan came looking for me at noon. After all, when we don’t skip class, we usually eat lunch separately, and only after school do we take the bus home together.

“Tsk, whatever.”

“What?”

“Follow me, we’re going to the clinic. I’ve been there before when I scraped my leg playing basketball. I know the doctor usually orders takeout around noon.”

After deciding, Gu Fan firmly helped me up by my elbow.

But…

I hadn’t moved all morning, plus the heavy, aching pain in my abdomen and the sticky discomfort of my underwear made my legs go weak.

“!! Are you okay? Do you need me to carry you?”

Gu Fan probably didn’t expect me to almost collapse onto the floor, and quickly wrapped his arms around my waist.

“N-no, it’s fine. Let’s just go slowly like this.”

Even though I felt terrible, I stubbornly refused Gu Fan’s offer.

Although it would take more time this way, being carried princess-style by Gu Fan… that would be way too embarrassing!!