Chapter 23 part 1
Although Chen He’an checked and said Chu Xiao was just asleep, Luo Shizhen still carefully carried him to the infirmary.
The teachers naturally accompanied them.
Having just returned not long ago and currently engrossed in a palace drama, the duty doctor was shocked to hear Chu Xiao nearly mutated. He hurriedly paused the show and gave Chu Xiao a thorough check-up.
The school covered a large area, and the infirmary was huge, filled with various high-end, expensive medical instruments Luo Shizhen had never seen.
The check-up finished quickly, and the doctor heaved a huge sigh of relief.
“Strange. Truly strange. Not only is he fine, his body is in great condition.”
Logically, even if the mutation risk was removed by purification during the process, having just endured the pain of mutation, Chu Xiao should have been weak for a while.
The doctor’s attention quickly shifted to Luo Shizhen.
“Student, come here. You purified him, right? Being able to interrupt internal mutation as a rookie must be a burden. Come, let me check you too.”
Luo Shizhen scratched his head. “I’m fine. I feel even better than before.”
The doctor wanted to insist, but Chen He’an mentioned Luo Shizhen had advanced in rank, so he dropped it.
Advancing meant the body was definitely fine.
Luo Shizhen still looked at Chu Xiao with worry.
“But how long will Chu Xiao sleep like this?”
The doctor said, “It depends. Maybe seven or eight hours, maybe over twelve. He’s like someone drunk right now; he might wake up midway, feel nauseous or dizzy, or get a fever.”
Luo Shizhen asked quickly:
“Can you prescribe some medicine for him? To make him feel better.”
The doctor shook his head. “This is his body automatically adapting to the internal Qi. Medicine won’t solve it.”
Seeing Luo Shizhen’s worried face, he added:
“Actually, it’s not a big problem. At most, he’ll be uncomfortable for a few hours. Once he’s fully awake, he’ll be perfectly fine.”
This was the first time the doctor had seen someone like Luo Shizhen, so worried over minor ailments.
The students in this school acted like they didn’t know what pain was. One day this one crippled a hand, the next day that one broke a bone.
Relying on Awakeners’ recovery abilities, they refused to come for treatment even though the infirmary was right there.
Chu Xiao was naturally one of them before.
For an Awakener like him who had been suffering from internal pollution erosion, enduring mental agony almost 24 hours a day…
Now that the severe pain from pollution was drastically reduced to just nausea and dizziness, it was practically child’s play. Chu Xiao himself probably wouldn’t even care.
But Luo Shizhen was genuinely worried.
He decided to stay and take care of Chu Xiao.
Unless they lost all consciousness, Awakeners generally rejected physical contact with others. Thus, the school infirmary had no “nursing” function.
Based on the few interactions the doctors had with Chu Xiao, he was also a very aggressive character.
They were a bit worried that if Luo Shizhen touched Chu Xiao, he might be attacked subconsciously.
After all, Luo Shizhen opened with “Hello” and closed with “Thank you.” Having worked at this school so long, it was the first time the doctors met such a polite student, and their favorability toward him soared.
They were prepared to have other Awakener doctors rush in to rescue him if Chu Xiao attacked.
But nothing happened.
Surprising, but not too surprising, since Chu Xiao had been carried in by him.
Feeling a sense of “didn’t expect a kid like Chu Xiao to have a friend,” the doctors left the ward in twos and threes.
Luo Shizhen didn’t notice them; he was seriously taking care of Chu Xiao.
After nearly mutating, Chu Xiao looked wretched despite recovering.
Luo Shizhen fetched water to wipe his body and changed him into comfortable cotton clothes.
Luo Shizhen was good at taking care of people.
When his grandmother was ill, Luo Shizhen took care of her.
Although he was slow-witted then, he was diligent and honest. He politely asked others about things he didn’t understand. Seeing him taking care of an elder alone at such a young age with such patience, the hospital nurses were willing to teach him nursing tricks.
Plus, he had taken care of Chu Xiao several times when he was sick growing up, so Luo Shizhen had accumulated quite a bit of experience.
After changing Chu Xiao’s clothes, he opened the window for ventilation and fetched hot water.
Sure enough, Chu Xiao woke up a few times midway. Luo Shizhen tested the water temperature, fed him warm water, and wiped the corners of his mouth.
Chu Xiao frowned but relaxed after drinking the water. Luo Shizhen moved a chair to sit by the bed, watching over him intently.
A patrolling doctor suggested, “I’ll bring you a bed. You can sleep next to him.”
Because Awakeners were reluctant to stay in the same space, the infirmary rooms were singles.
Luo Shizhen shook his head. “Thank you, Doctor Teacher. No need. I’m not sleepy. I’ll just sit here and memorize some books. I’ll move it myself tonight.”
Chu Xiao had a habit of waking up startled when ill since childhood. At those times, he was particularly clingy. Luo Shizhen grew up with him and was used to accompanying him when he was sick.
Besides, he really needed to catch up on the school’s culture classes.
Flying first because he was a slow bird—due to his poor memory, Luo Shizhen often had to put in more effort than others for subjects requiring memorization.
He recited Awakener knowledge and various Anomaly names and attributes while watching over Chu Xiao.
Sometimes when he really couldn’t memorize it, Luo Shizhen would touch Chu Xiao.
A female classmate once said this was called “rubbing off the scholar’s luck” to make studying smoother.
Luo Shizhen felt she was teasing him, but when his grades wouldn’t go up, he was willing to try anything.
Fortunately, Chu Xiao was willing to let him rub off the luck. Sometimes when he forgot, Chu Xiao would even remind him to do it.
After silently chanting “Chu Xiao bless me” in his heart, Luo Shizhen withdrew his hand from Chu Xiao’s back and continued his rote memorization.
From time to time, he would reach out to check Chu Xiao’s forehead temperature or wipe him gently with a basin of water upon finding a thin layer of sweat.
The conspicuous camera above the room remained motionless, transmitting scenes to the monitoring room where Sui An watched.
He was mainly monitoring students running on the playground, swimming in the lake, and fighting Anomalies in the jungle.
The infirmary monitor occupied only a small corner of the screen.
But perhaps because the students’ training seemed too simple and ordinary to the older Guardian…
Sui An’s gaze frequently fell on the infirmary monitor.
Lin Qi beside him was the same.
“Wait, isn’t he too patient? No wonder that student Chu Xiao is so devoted to Luo Shizhen. If it were me, I’d fall for him too.”
On the monitor, Chu Xiao seemed to have a fever. Luo Shizhen was constantly cooling him with a towel soaked in cold water.
Sui An leaned back in his chair. “Just taking care of a friend.”
Lin Qi: “Chu Xiao doesn’t think so.”
Sui An smiled.
“What he thinks doesn’t matter. Don’t look at Luo Shizhen as having no temper; as long as he’s unwilling, Chu Xiao can’t do anything to him.”
“This child looks soft, but no one can change what he insists on. He’s a good seed for a Guardian.”
Lin Qi’s eyes lit up.
“Then poach him! Our team has an open slot for a Purifier!”
Sui An narrowed his eyes, glancing at him lazily. “You like him that much?”
He had been at the school for only a short time, yet Lin Qi had urged him to poach Luo Shizhen at least three times.
“Like him,” Lin Qi admitted readily. “Such a sincere kid, obedient and talented—hard not to like him, right?”
Sui An thought for a moment. “True.”
Lin Qi: “So, poaching or not?”
Sui An didn’t answer. He leaned forward, looking at the screen, and turned on the desk microphone.
“Area A4-23. Student at risk of exhaustion. Interrupt training.”
On the monitor, two small Wood Sprites flew down, flapping their wings vigorously to fish a student out of the lake and drop him on the shore.
Sui An tapped the jungle screen. “Risk level increasing next. Aren’t you going to watch?”
Lin Qi responded, “Yes! Going now!”
Then he asked, “Chief, poaching or not? It’s a Purification Awakener!”
“And such a likable kid. I don’t believe you don’t want him!”
Sui An leaned back again. The monitoring room lights were off, his face in shadow, expression unclear.
Only his voice remained lazy.
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