Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Having a fever was serious. Li Fang did not dare to be careless and immediately stood up to reach out and touch Wen Nian’s forehead. She furrowed her brows and asked, “Why is it so hot? Have you taken your temperature?”
Wen Nian coughed lightly once again and spoke softly, “No, I’ve been feeling a little dizzy since noon today. It was only after I started coughing and my nose started running that I realized I might have a fever.”
Li Fang estimated Wen Nian’s temperature to be around 39 degrees Celsius based on the temperature of her hand. Without any doubt, she said, “You probably have a high fever. I’ll call your parents to come and pick you up.”
Wen Nian weakly interjected, “Teacher, it might not be convenient for my parents to answer the phone at work. Can I please go to the clinic beside the school for an injection? My fever will subside soon.”
It must be acknowledged that Wen Nian’s acting skills, honed in her previous life, had improved greatly since she first entered the industry. Coupled with the temperature of her forehead, Wen Nian successfully deceived Li Fang.
Wen Nian had given Li Fang the impression that she didn’t like to study and was easily distracted by the world outside. However, since Wen Nian had no history of skipping classes, Li Fang became even more worried. “Nevermind, I’ll accompany you since your fever is so bad. I’ll drop you off at home on my way.”
Wen Nian’s heart skipped a beat when she heard Li Fang’s offer. By the time they reached the clinic, her fever had already subsided. She quickly declined, saying, “No need, Teacher. The clinic is near the school. It’s just a few steps away. My fever isn’t that bad.”
Li Fang thought that Wen Nian was feeling embarrassed to trouble her and spoke straightforwardly, “It’s not a problem. Besides, I don’t have any classes next week.”
Wen Nian was feeling anxious as if she were an ant on a hot pan, but she still had to keep up the act of being sick. In a moment of quick thinking, she came up with an idea and said, “Teacher, actually, could you arrange for a classmate to accompany me and send me home? I’m feeling a bit dizzy and don’t dare to ride my bicycle. Also, since we’re preparing for a competition now, if someone comes to ask you questions after class, it wouldn’t be good for me to hold things up.”
Although Li Fang’s voice was loud, she was only 158cm. Wen Nian, on the other hand, was 168cm.
Riding bicycles was mostly for students during their school days. Li Fang had graduated for many years and had long since switched to driving a car to work. She didn’t have the confidence to ride a bicycle with someone on the back, and when Wen Nian mentioned the competition, she thought her words made sense. After some thought, she said, “I’ll arrange for your desk mate to accompany you. Since he’s a boy, he should be able to carry you easily. Once you get home, ask your parents to give me a call.”
Wen Nian breathed a sigh of relief and realized that she only had 20 yuan on her, just in case she asked Li Fang to borrow 100 yuan. As for her desk mate who would be accompanying her, she could only explain the situation to him after they had left the school gate.
The leave application was quickly approved with two copies printed out. One copy was handed to the class monitor to present to the subject teacher, to avoid being marked absent. The other copy was given to the security guard, as students were not allowed to leave the campus during class time without a signature from their homeroom teacher.
Shen Jun helped Wen Nian retrieve her bicycle, and with his long legs, he sat on the seat. His tone was still calm and emotionless, making it hard to discern his mood as he said, “Get on.”
Wen Nian continued to pretend to be sick in school. She sat in the backseat and held the seat cushion tightly.
Shen Jun rode very steadily. After getting out of the school gate, he asked, “Should I turn left or right?”
Wen Nian wanted to go back home so she answered, “Right.”
After they had traveled for several tens of meters and could no longer see the school gate, Wen Nian called out, “Can you please stop the bike?”
After Shen Jun stopped, he turned around and looked behind in confusion.
Wen Nian gave a embarrassed smile to Shen Jun and said, “Shen classmate, I have some urgent matters to attend to, so I had to lie about being sick and take the leave of absence.”
Wen Nian then puts her hands together and looks apologetic, “I’m sorry for dragging you into this. I’ll treat you to a meal another day. Can you help me keep this a secret and just say that I’ve already gone home after seeing a doctor? Is that okay?”
Shen Jun frowned slightly. He was a person who was afraid of trouble. Who knew what would happen next when he was involved in this kind of thing? He said in a flat voice, “If anything happens to you in the future, I won’t be able to escape this blame.”
If there is room for discussion, there is a chance to negotiate. With a slightly ingratiating smile, Wen Nian said, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything bad. I’m going back to my hometown to see my parents. After I get home, I’ll ask them to call the homeroom teacher to explain everything. You can rest assured that I won’t implicate you. Please, please!”
Shen Jun stared at Wen Nian for a few seconds. While that happened, Wen Nian’s heart was pounding.
Shen Jun’s gaze flickered to the side. It just so happened that they stopped at Xifeng Court. He got off from the bike and said, “Just make sure you handle the situation properly.”