Incurable Pain

Incurable Pain | Chapter 16

The day of the swearing-in ceremony fell on a weekend. The first and second-year students of Third High School had their day off, but the parents of the third-year students were bustling around both inside and outside the school.

They were doing the same things as the previous years: marching in formation, shouting slogans, passionately reciting the oath…

However, Bai Xunyin didn’t have to do any of this.

She took advantage of a convenient excuse—she couldn’t recite slogans or deliver an oath due to her speech impediment—so she couldn’t join the enthusiastic crowd.

After considering various factors, Yu Shen decided not to make Bai Xunyin march in the formation. Instead, he had her assist in the office.

There wasn’t much for her to help with; there were students designated to move tables and chairs, and others to carry flags at the front of the formation. Bai Xunyin’s task was to help check the speeches and do minor tasks around the podium.

While carrying a bundle of water bottles behind the main stage, she accidentally bumped into someone. It wasn’t a strong collision, but it caused a few bottles of water to roll onto the ground.

In a school with many students, collisions like this were common. Bai Xunyin didn’t pay too much attention, quickly bending down to pick up the water bottles.

However, she suddenly saw a pair of high heels…

High heels?

“Are you okay?”

A competent yet gentle female voice sounded from above, and a pair of delicate hands helped Bai Xunyin pick up the fallen water bottles.

Upon hearing this familiar yet unfamiliar voice, Bai Xunyin was taken aback. She quickly looked up at the woman she had accidentally bumped into. The reserved expression on Bai Xunyin’s face unexpectedly turned somewhat delighted.

The woman before her was dressed in a deep purple suit. She had an alluring figure, an elegant and dignified presence that seemed like that of a mature woman in her forties. Her face was well-maintained, devoid of any wrinkles.

When she lowered her head, her shoulder-length curls partially veiled her profile, revealing fair skin and red lips. Bai Xunyin couldn’t help but stare at her, mesmerized.

The woman, with her bright eyes, was also a bit surprised by Bai Xunyin’s gaze. After helping her pick up the water, she lightly patted the creased hem of her skirt that had wrinkled due to bending over.

She then smiled and kindly asked, “Classmate? Why have you been staring at me? Do you know me?”

Bai Xunyin nodded her head, somewhat flustered. The fingers that held the water bottles unconsciously tightened, and her knuckles turned white with tension.

Indeed, Bai Xunyin knew the woman in front of her. She was Gu Yuan, a physics professor, a scientist well-versed in physics research, and a teacher.

She was also the “idol” that Bai Xunyin greatly admired academically.

Bai Xunyin had always admired Gu Yuan. She not only listened to her lectures online but also bought books, magazines, and interviews related to Gu Yuan’s overseas experiences. It was like idol worship.

Who could have imagined that the “star” she had been pursuing would suddenly appear in front of her one day, catching her off guard.

Gu Yuan’s voice was enough to make Bai Xunyin’s face flush, and she couldn’t find the words to respond. Annoyed with herself, she bit her lip and could only nod in response.

“I never expected to encounter a high school student who knows me here. How rare.”

Gu Yuan said with a bright and airy smile, glancing at her watch. “I’m about to go speak at your swearing-in ceremony. I don’t have time to chat right now. Young lady, perhaps we’ll meet again if fate allows.”

Sure enough, before Gu Yuan had finished speaking, two leaders and school teachers wearing suits came over to greet her—

“Professor Gu, please take a seat up there.”

“Professor Gu, your presence here has brought great honor to Third High School…”

Amidst the familiar official language, Gu Yuan was surrounded and led away. Bai Xunyin stood in place, watching them step by step, ascending the podium. She felt like she was in a daze.

Meeting Gu Yuan was like a dream come true.

Bai Xunyin had always dreamed that in the future, when she attended university and studied engineering, she might have the chance to attend one of Gu Yuan’s lectures. But she never expected her “dream” to come true so soon.

Rarely did such a joyful moment occur. She completely forgot about the water in her hands and stood there, unable to suppress her smile.

“Bai Xunyin.”

It wasn’t until Yu Luoyin came looking for her that a slightly annoyed voice rang in her ear, “What are you hiding here for?”

Bai Xunyin was a little surprised as she turned her head, only to see Yu Luoyin’s unzipped uniform halfway open. His jet-black short hair was slightly damp from the heat, and his sharp eyes stared at her.

What was Yu Luoyin upset about?

But she wasn’t hiding here, wasn’t she?

Bai Xunyin was in a good mood at the moment and didn’t want to argue. She patiently took out her phone to type.

[Teacher asked me to bring water.]

After sending the message, she pointed to a box of water bottles on a nearby table.

“Teacher asked a girl to bring water? Is Teacher Yu out of his mind?”

Yu Luoyin sneered, then flexed his fingers and knocked on the box, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll help you with this. You go back to your seat and be with your parents—did they arrive?”

Bai Xunyin was slightly taken aback, hesitated, and then nodded.

Raising an eyebrow, Yu Luoyin continued, “Then why aren’t you going? Do you want to work as a laborer?”

Bai Xunyin could only continue messaging.

[But aren’t you supposed to give a speech on stage?]

Everyone knew that Yu Luoyin was the student representative chosen by the school.

“Hmm?”

Yu Luoyin’s tone changed from anxious to his usual languid self when he heard Bai Xunyin’s words. He pretended to be indifferent and asked, “Why are you so concerned about me?”

…

Shameless.

Bai Xunyin’s ears turned slightly red. She messaged him with some effort, her words a bit stiff.

[It’s common knowledge among students.]

She wasn’t intentionally concerned about him!

Yu Luoyin looked at the girl with slightly flushed ears and didn’t bother to argue about her clumsy defense.

He simply chuckled lightly and acquiesced, “Fine, I misspoke. But can I help you carry water? So you won’t take too long to get back to your seat and miss my speech segment—whom am I delivering it for?”

….

This guy’s sweet talk seemed to be endless, as if he didn’t need to spare any expense.

However, every time, it managed to send shivers down people’s spines, making them feel like they could curl up inside a “three-bedroom, one-living room” just like that.

In an instant, Bai Xunyin wasn’t sure whether she should be angry or how to react. The joy of encountering Gu Yuan just a moment ago was still resonating in her heart.

She had a half-smile on her face, a mix of emotions that couldn’t quite become anger. At that moment, she stared at Yu Luoyin as if she were playfully protesting.

“Behave,” the young man easily lifted the box and, before leaving, gestured towards the direction of the parents’ seating area, mouthing the words silently.

Wait for me.

Perhaps young and reckless individuals all wanted to play some “romantic” game. They were often arrogant and narcissistic. Regardless, Yu Luoyin didn’t want Bai Xunyin to look away from him.

But the person who could make him think this way must be… someone relatively important, right?

He did not dare to think too far beyond that boundary.

Bai Xunyin unconsciously smiled and gave Yu Luoyin a slight nod.

This was the first time she had shown such a cooperative attitude towards Yu Luoyin. It was also the first time she had smiled, revealing a captivating curve in the corner of her ivory and translucent face.

Seeing this, Yu Luoyin momentarily drifted off.

Suddenly, he had an urge to kiss her.

A young man’s thoughts were often straightforward and fervent, but he had to hold back because he wasn’t entirely aboveboard. Faced with Bai Xunyin’s smiling eyes, Yu Luoyin lowered his gaze slightly and a vague smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

Conflicted, yet, he still restrained.

When he took the stage, Yu Luoyin felt like a blazing fire and an icy glacier were converging in his chest.

In front of countless gazes, he stood before the microphone on the stage. There were countless parents and students below, making it appear like an endless sea of people. Yet, he couldn’t accurately spot Bai Xunyin among them.

Yu Luoyin paused for a moment, and his clear voice slowly echoed from the microphone.

“Respected leaders, teachers, dear fellow students…”

To be honest, the words he was saying were all the classic clichés found in speeches, but hearing them from the lips of the young man on the stage, they felt remarkably extraordinary.

He was just wearing a simple school uniform, standing on the stage with a slender and upright posture, supporting the microphone with one hand. His unhurried and composed manner of speaking seemed like an embodiment of profoundness.

Yu Luoyin seemed to shine brighter than the sun in the sky.

He was just too good-looking, too radiant. All the light seemed to gather around him.

Sitting among the crowd below the stage, Bai Xunyin’s clear eyes gazed through a haze of mist, unwavering as she looked up at the young man on the stage.

Only when Yu Luoyin wasn’t close to her did she dare to unabashedly gaze at him like this.

No wonder Sheng Churan would like him, so many girls would like him…

Yu Luoyin seemed to hold all the world’s radiance in the palm of his hand. Even if just a tiny bit leaked out through his clenched fingers, it was enough to make people flock to it.

This kind of young man, young, handsome, and unstoppable, was the dream of almost every girl.

Including Bai Xunyin.

In a neglected corner of her heart, Bai Xunyin finally surrendered and admitted this to herself.

Perhaps she couldn’t resist Yu Luoyin.