As seasons changed, the period for college entrance exams had also begun. In the past few days, Li Caiyi rarely saw Li Junjie's nose around the house. He only turned up occasionally when it was time to eat.
After giving a birthday gift to Li Chunhua, although she still couldn't talk to her without bickering, at least her sister had stopped ignoring her. A small step but an improvement regardless.
And it was thanks to Li Junjie's advice. Li Caiyi wanted to thank him, but it was hard when he was so busy with his studies.
Contrary to him, another third-year was very laid back and had a lot of time on his hand.
"Xiaoyi, how is your preparation for the final exam? If you are stuck, do you want me to teach you again?" Meng Renshu smiled widely as he pointed at himself.
"Brother Renshu…." Li Caiyi uttered in exasperation. "I'm fine by myself. Even though I look like this, I have graduated once from high school before."
"Really? Your words aren't convincing when you are struggling to solve a simple problem like this," Meng Renshu teasingly responded. He looked down at her notebook with an amused smile on his face.
Li Caiyi frowned in displeasure while trying to cover her book. "Stop looking at it!"
"It's pretty obvious you are expecting Dai Zhiqiang to help you. But unfortunately, he had to leave early today, so he couldn't come to the library."
"How did you know that?" Li Caiyi's eyes narrowed down in suspicion.
"It would be weird if I didn't know that. Xiaoyi, you aren't a good liar." He smirked before sitting beside her. "Rather than racking your brain unnecessarily, isn't it faster if I help you with it? We are partners, so you don't need to be so reserved."
"No, I'm not reserved or anything. And you are too close. Back off a bit."
"If I don't get this close, then I won't be able to see the question."
Meng Renshu would sometimes appear beside her, despite being a third-year who was supposed to be very busy with various exams in preparation for college.
Even after studying alone, Li Caiyi was still slow in math and science subjects. Having someone to help her would be a big help. It was a shame that only Meng Renshu was available to help her around this time.
"Are you sure you can be here helping me? Don't you have your own studying to do?"
"Even though I look like this, I have graduated once from high school before. With the second-best grade in our year at that. Teaching you about one or two problems won't make me fail."
She couldn't rebuke that. Meng Renshu was originally brilliant. Added with his past life experience, he should be able to top Li Junjie in the exam if he wanted to.
Both had memories of their past, but what's with this discrepancy? Li Caiyi still had to struggle while Meng Renshu breezed his way through.
The world was unfair. They had the same amount of experience, yet their brains weren't at the same level. It was vexing when she thought about it that way.
"Ugh, if you don't mind, please teach me."
Meng Renshu chuckled. "Of course. By the way, have you opened my present for you?"
"Ah? Oh yes, I have. I didn't expect you to give me that, though."
"Did you always bring it with you? It wouldn't be much use if you didn't."
"Well, I did keep it with me all the time. It makes me a little nervous, yet assured at the same time. Thank you for your thoughtful gift.."
"You should get used to it. We will never know when it'll come in handy, after all. And no need to thank me because we are on the same boat now." Meng Renshu smiled before shifting his attention back to the textbook in front of them. "Now, where are you stuck?"
Li Caiyi listened to his explanation; as usual, it was very easy to understand. She made a lot of progress in half an hour studying with him rather than hours by herself. The study session went smoother than she thought, and it motivated her.
"I did it! Will you check it for me?"
"Let's see…." Meng Renshu hummed. His eyes traveled down her handwriting before he smiled in approval. "En, it's correct. It seems you finally grasp the trick behind it."
Li Caiyi was exhilarated. They had been studying for two hours, and her brain was short-circuited from all that studying.
"Phew. Let's call it a day. Brother Renshu, thank you for helping me."
"You are welcome. But you sure are pretty calm. I thought you'd ask me about Xiaohua's medicine for sure. Aren't you curious about it?"
"Even if I do, getting agitated about it won't help. Besides, I believe you will inform me as soon as you hear any news."
Meng Renshu tilted his head to have a better look at her face. "What if I really have new news about it?"
It successfully stopped her hand from gathering up her things. Li Caiyi turned to him in disbelief. "What? Is that true?"
"I was waiting for you to bring it up first, but I didn't expect you to have so much faith in me," Meng Renshu shrugged helplessly.
Li Caiyi's eyes burned with excitement. If the medicine was really safe, just like Chu Kong said, she would be able to give it to Li Chunhua. "Then what are you waiting for? Just out with it already!"
"Now, who was it that said getting agitated won't help at all? Calm yourself. I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
"Ugh, I should have known it won't be that easy," Li Caiyi grumbled before weakly continuing, "Let me hear the good news first."
"The medicine that Chu Kong developed is not dangerous. And from the lab result, the analysis for its effect is more or less the same as what he told us the other day."
Li Caiyi heaved a sigh of relief. Although she believed that Chu Kong and Detective Tang wouldn't trick them, it sure felt reassuring to hear Meng Renshu confirming it. He would never mess around when Li Chunhua's life was at stake.
"That's good news indeed. If it's like that, then it shouldn't be a problem if Xiaohua consumes it."
The news exhilarated Li Caiyi, but Meng Renshu wasn't laughing. His face was as serious as before. He gazed at her so intensely that it made her nervous.
"Alright, tell me the bad news next. I'm ready to hear it."
"According to the analysis, it will take some time for Xiaohua's body to adapt and react to the new medicine. That means until her body gets used to it, you must keep supplying your blood so we can produce the medicine."
Meng Renshu's tone was grim as he frowned in disapproval. "To save Xiaohua, we have no choice but to use you as a 'resource', and there's no telling when it will stop. It can take months or even years to finally complete the cure."
Li Caiyi wasn't surprised when she heard that. She prepared herself the second she heard Chu Kong mention how crucial her blood was to develop a cure.
No one knew what happened to Li Chunhua in her previous life, whether she survived. If Li Caiyi's blood was all it took to ensure her sister lived longer, they could take as much as they liked.
"This isn't bad news at all. On the contrary, I'm grateful that my blood is all she needs. Imagine if she needs someone else's blood or other hard-to-obtain ingredients; then we will truly be in a bind. Compared to other worst-case scenarios, this is a small price."
Li Caiyi grinned confidently. "No problem at all. Use my blood as you deem fit!"
"Xiaoyi, it will only be a temporary solution. After we figure out the ingredients that could work as a substitute for your blood, there's no longer a need for you to become Xiaohua's 'blood supply." Meng Renshu said with a troubled expression.
"If we can find alternative ingredients, that will be the best. However, let's focus on things we can do for now. What should I do next, Brother Renshu?"
Meng Renshu bit his lips before reluctantly answering, "I have contacted Mr. Chu before this. He will tell you if he needs more blood from you."
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