If her mother hadn’t left, she would probably be as worried as Teacher Li, right?
For some reason, this question crossed Gu Chen’s mind.
Vague images of the maternal love she had craved since childhood began to surface in her head.
Although she wasn’t entirely sure of the specific reason why her parents had divorced, her impression was that her mother had been quite good to her.
“What is it? Are you thinking about your mother?”
Li Yanqiu asked, noticing her sudden contemplation.
She was aware of the family situations of every student in her class, so she naturally knew that Gu Chen came from a single-parent household.
Considering the current situation, which child wouldn’t immediately think of their mother as a pillar of support when they were injured?!
“Yeah, I’m feeling a little sentimental!”
Seeing that the teacher had realized what was on her mind, Gu Chen didn’t bother hiding it.
As they spoke, Li Yanqiu slowly walked toward her.
She then reached out both hands, gently took hold of Gu Chen’s head, and…
Pulled her directly into a hug.
“Huh?”
“Teacher Li, what are you doing?”
Gu Chen’s face was instantly surrounded by a familiar softness, and she could even smell a faint, pleasant fragrance.
Though she quite enjoyed it, she found the gesture a bit baffling.
Was the teacher’s capacity for empathy a bit too strong?!
“Gu Chen, I know you’re bothered by it. It’s okay. If you don’t mind, you can just treat me as your mother.”
As she spoke, Li Yanqiu even stroked Gu Chen’s head, truly treating her like a little child.
“Uh…”
Gu Chen felt a bit confused, but a warmth still spread through her heart.
Her eyes involuntarily drifted toward the teacher’s chest.
‘If she really were my mother, I certainly wouldn’t have gone hungry as a child…’
Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, she indulged in the affection for a while.
Perhaps it was because she really did need someone to comfort her while she was injured.
However, Li Yanqiu had many things to attend to and couldn’t stay for long.
Gu Chen could only bid her a reluctant farewell.
After that, she wasn’t in a hurry to leave the hospital.
Not counting anything else, the meals in the special care ward were truly lavish.
Various nutritious ingredients were standard, and the food was delicious.
She really couldn’t bear to leave it behind.
She decided to stay for lunch before checking out, and while she was at it, she planned to ask if the dinner could be packed up for her to take away.
*Knock, knock, knock—*
After finishing a hearty meal, she was just about to pack her things when there was a knock on the ward door.
“Who is it?”
The person on the other side didn’t answer and simply pushed the door open.
“Tang Ziya? You came to see me?”
Gu Chen was somewhat surprised to see her.
After all, according to the usual logic of these situations, Wang Meng should have been the one to come.
Gu Chen had, after all, risked her life to save her.
Could it be that Wang Meng couldn’t accept the fact that Gu Chen was a girl?
That was a possibility.
But since she had a visitor, she couldn’t just kick her out.
So, she said politely, “Oh, you shouldn’t have. Coming here is enough, why bring—”
Before she could finish, she realized the Class Monitor’s hands were completely empty.
The scene instantly became awkward.
“Hey, Class Monitor, don’t you think you’re being a bit much? You really didn’t bring anything!”
Gu Chen said, sounding a bit dissatisfied.
“You’re dreaming. I’m not going to spend money on things that aren’t necessary,” Tang Ziya retorted bluntly.
“It’s fine. Have you eaten yet?”
Gu Chen smiled and asked in a caring tone.
“No. I’ve been busy all morning, and I’m starving.”
“That’s perfect. I just finished eating, so help me wash the dishes.”
Gu Chen nodded and pointed to the bowls and chopsticks on the small table.
“Gu Chen!!”
Tang Ziya was so angry she almost rushed over to punch her.
She had to take several deep breaths to restrain herself.
“You’re injured, and yet you still have that punchable personality. Honestly.”
“It’s not like this is the first day you’ve known me.”
Gu Chen didn’t care at all.
After bickering with her for two years, she probably wouldn’t feel right if they didn’t exchange a few barbs for a day.
“Looking at your state, it seems like you’re not going to die. What a shame. I’m leaving.”
Tang Ziya huffed.
She had only intended to pay a quick visit anyway and had other things to do.
She waved her hand and turned to leave.
“Wait.”
“Where’s Wang Meng? She didn’t come with you?”
Gu Chen called out to her immediately.
The two lived in the same dormitory.
Logically speaking, even if they were coming for a visit, they should have come together.
Seeing Tang Ziya appear alone, Gu Chen felt the need to ask.
“No, she said she’d come by later.”
“Oh, right. She was quite shaken up, so she probably needs some time to calm down. You should keep an eye on her and try to cheer her up, otherwise, she might end up with a psychological shadow.”
Gu Chen didn’t overthink the matter and instead showed concern for Wang Meng’s mood.
Wang Meng had a soft and delicate personality and hadn’t experienced much in life.
Aside from the incident five years ago, her only other major hardship was her family’s bankruptcy.
What had happened last night would take time for any normal person to process.
It would be better if she had someone by her side so she could recover faster.
“Don’t worry, you don’t need to tell me that.”
A trace of barely perceptible jealousy flashed in Tang Ziya’s eyes as she continued, “Also, I feel like something is wrong with Wang Meng. She might be hiding something from us.”
“What do you mean?”
“She was fine last night, but she’s been weighed down by something since she woke up today. She’s been distracted whenever I talk to her. I don’t know what’s going on, so I came to see you before heading back to keep an eye on her.”
Actually, she had been worried about Wang Meng’s mental state all along, but seeing her calmly cooperate with Uncle Hat to give her statement and recount the incident, she had assumed there was no problem.
“Are you serious? Did she say what was wrong?”
Gu Chen frowned, feeling a bad premonition.
“No.”
Tang Ziya shook her head and sighed.
“But I asked the other girls in the dormitory to watch her. They’ll let me know if anything happens.”
As the two were talking, a phone rang.
“Hello, Jiang Lan? What’s wrong?”
“What did you say? Fine, I’ll be right back!”
Tang Ziya had received a call from one of their roommates.
Her expression shifted, and she hung up after a few hurried words.
It was unclear what had been said to make her so alarmed.
“What happened?”
Gu Chen immediately got out of bed and asked anxiously.
“Jiang Lan just called. She said the Dean of Instruction took Wang Meng away.”
“Crap!”
Gu Chen’s face paled with shock.
She had almost forgotten about that!
No wonder she had been feeling uneasy.
Wu Peng was a relative of the Dean of Instruction.
Now that such a major incident had occurred, it would have a massive impact on the school.
Gou Huo, the one who recommended him, would definitely be the first to face the consequences.
Knowing his personality, he certainly wouldn’t just sit around and wait for his downfall.
She hadn’t expected him to target Wang Meng so quickly.
She had truly miscalculated.
“That bald freak definitely has bad intentions. ‘Could Wang Meng be acting like this because of that?'”
Gu Chen immediately made the connection.
“Yeah, most likely.”
Tang Ziya had come to a similar conclusion, her fists clenched tight.
“I’ll go back and check. You stay here and recover. I’ll let you know if there’s any news.”
“Recover from what? I’m already fine! We’re going back together. If that guy dares to do anything to Wang Meng, I’ll rip out every last strand of his remaining hair!”
Gu Chen sprang up from the bed with a kip-up, grabbed her belongings, and began cursing as she hurried toward the door.