LABICTTS_ARCHIVE_C7: SO SWEET

 LIKE A BOAT IT CIRCLES TO THE START

Eun: Hi can someone help me change the title on NU?PLEASE!! TT_TT Love Equation is the title for the drama ver so its not really the correct translation for the title of the novel. 

Chapter Seven

So Sweet

“So sweet, so sweet... your smile is so sweet… like flowers blooming in the spring breeze…”

“Oh my God, could you stop being so lovestruck this early in the morning?” Xiaolu groaned. “Just because you’re not sleeping doesn’t mean we don’t want to!”

Every dorm has that one person—generally nice, but completely incapable of being quiet. Always managing to wake people up from the best part of their dreams. And since everyone lives together for so long, most complaints have to be masked with humor. But seriously, if the school could just group all the loud ones into a single dorm and let them disturb each other, that would be ideal.

The singer was Tao Ling. Tao Ling was an only child, and she embodied every stereotype that came with it—spoiled, self-centered, dependent, and a bit selfish. But as long as she didn’t wake Zhou Xiao up, Zhou Xiao actually found her kind of adorable. A typical girl who’d been overprotected all her life—pure and harmless in everything she did. So innocent it was impossible to stay mad at her.

Tao Ling skipped over to Zhou Xiao’s bed.

“Xiao, guess what! I did it with my boyfriend.”

“Did what?”

Ugh, so sleepy. God, please save her.

“No way,” Xiaolu chimed in, sounding half in disbelief.

Zhou Xiao instantly snapped awake. “Wait—you don’t mean that, do you?”

Tao Ling blushed and giggled. “Yes that! You guys are so bad.”

Silence suddenly swept through the room. Everyone was awake now.

“What’s wrong? Why is no one saying anything?”

Sis, what exactly are we supposed to say here?

“So… did you use any protection?” Xiaolu finally asked.

“Protection?” Tao Ling blinked, looking innocently over at Zhou Xiao’s bed.

Zhou Xiao took one look at her face and knew—damn. It’s the 21st century! Hasn’t anyone done proper health education?

“Well… you know, your boyfriend should’ve worn… a condom.” Zhou Xiao said gently.

“I don’t think he did…” Tao Ling still looked clueless.

“Then did you take anything? Like, emergency contraception?” Xiaolu’s voice rose.

Tao Ling looked startled and turned to Zhou Xiao with puppy-dog eyes. Zhou Xiao sighed and sat up in bed, glancing at their dorm leader, Luo Wei, who had also sat up. Yes, the same tone-deaf Luo Wei who had once butchered “Painted Heart” in karaoke.

“When did this happen?” Luo Wei asked calmly.

“Last night.”

“Last night? But didn’t you come back to sleep in the dorm?” Xiaolu asked.

“Well… after you all fell asleep, he texted saying he missed me, and I missed him too, so…” Tao Ling started to explain.

“Stop—skip the love story for now,” Zhou Xiao cut her off. “You need to take emergency contraception. There’s something called the morning-after pill. You might still be in the window.”

“Wow, you know so much!” Tao Ling looked at her with admiration.

Zhou Xiao rolled her eyes. This is just basic common sense.

The four of them marched down to a nearby pharmacy. Once inside, they all froze. Not a single one of them dared approach the counter.

“What do we do now? I’m too scared to ask,” Tao Ling whispered nervously, biting her lower lip.

“If you’re brave enough to do it, you should be brave enough to buy the pill,” Xiaolu snapped.

Tao Ling turned her pleading gaze to Zhou Xiao.

Don’t give me that puppy look. Seriously, what did I do in my past life to deserve this?

“Stop being mean to her,” Zhou Xiao said to Xiaolu, sighing. “I’ll ask.”

Soft-hearted people have it rough.

Zhou Xiao slowly approached the counter, palms sweating. Behind the counter stood a middle-aged woman.

“Auntie… um, do you sell…” she began, but before she could finish—

“What are you doing here? Are you sick?”

A familiar voice startled her. She froze.

God, if you’re real, please make me invisible right now.

She looked back—her roommates had disappeared. Not one of them left. Great. Disaster strikes and everyone flees.

Zhao Fanzhou stood in front of her, waiting for an answer.

“I… my stomach hurts, just getting some meds,” Zhou Xiao laughed nervously.

“Stomach ache?”

She clearly didn’t know she always gave herself away—whenever she lied, she’d laugh just like this.

“I’ll take you to the doctor. Don’t just buy random meds.” He reached out to take her hand. “Why are your palms sweating?”

“It really hurts,” she said, still laughing like a guilty cat.

“If it hurts that bad, why didn’t you call me?”

Yup, his tone definitely had an edge now. He was about to get mad.

“Wait here a sec.” Zhou Xiao pulled away and ran out to find the others.

They were hiding by the door, peeking inside.

“Can we tell Zhao Fanzhou?” she asked Tao Ling. “And maybe have him buy the pill for you?”

“Would he agree?” Tao Ling hesitated. Her own boyfriend had refused before, saying it was too embarrassing. They’d fought over it.

“I think he will,” Zhou Xiao replied, though honestly, she wasn’t sure how to even bring it up.

“Okay, let’s try,” Tao Ling said with sudden resolve. If you’ve got this kind of spirit, why didn’t you just buy it yourself? Zhou Xiao muttered internally.

Fanzhou caught Zhou Xiao as she ran back in and led her to a quiet corner.

“You know Tao Ling, right?” she began. He nodded.

“She and her boyfriend… slept together,” she said carefully. He remained expressionless, waiting for her to continue.

“We were too embarrassed to ask which pill to buy, so… could you do it?”

She stared awkwardly at her shoes.

“Where’s her boyfriend?” he asked flatly.

“They had a fight.” She tugged at his sleeve. “Please?”

He gave her a sharp look. “Wait outside.”

Relieved, she rushed out to rejoin the others. From a distance, they watched him approach the counter, head slightly bowed, as the pharmacy lady seemed to be giving him a full lecture. Then he paid and collected the medicine.

“Your boyfriend looks so handsome,” Tao Ling said wistfully.

“Handsome? Anyone’s better than your irresponsible one,” Xiaolu snorted.

Zhou Xiao nudged her. “Don’t be so mean.”

“Hmph,” Xiaolu scoffed.

Ten minutes later, Zhao Fanzhou emerged. Without a word, he tossed the box of pills at Zhou Xiao and walked away. So embarrassing. That pharmacy lady had even scolded him—“Just because it’s convenient for you doesn’t mean your girlfriend should take pills. Too many are bad for her body…”

Zhou Xiao handed the pills off and ran to catch up with him. She grabbed his hand. He looked furious… like a walking storm cloud.

“Oh right, what did you go to the pharmacy for just now?” she asked.

“Oh? You actually care about me?” he replied, voice full of sarcasm.

“Of course I do! I care about you the most! So… what’d you buy?” She clung to his arm like a child.

“Band-aids,” he said coolly.

“You’re hurt? Are you bleeding?” Zhou Xiao stopped, suddenly alarmed.

“No. I just ran out in my wallet. Saw the pharmacy and figured I’d grab some.”

Truth was, he only walked in because he saw them sneaking around suspiciously.

“They all say you’re super handsome. I feel so proud.” Zhou Xiao said sweetly.

“Hmph.”

Seriously, this guy needs a good smack.

“Well, I think you’re super handsome too. I love you so much… what do I do with all this love?” she teased.

The corner of his lips twitched. He muttered again, still pretending to be indifferent:

“Hmph.”

Oh please, we all know you're secretly enjoying this.

“Fine, fine. Don’t ‘hmph’ me. Let’s go get breakfast. I’m starving.”

“You didn’t eat? It’s almost noon. You were planning to sleep through the whole morning, weren’t you? I called earlier and your phone was off.”

This guy’s a mind reader. If she hadn’t turned her phone off, he totally would’ve caught her sleeping in.

“Nonsense! Let’s just go eat already. So much nagging.” She laughed it off.

“What do you want?”

She sighed with relief. Phew, passed the test. This guy’s worse than a lie detector. She grinned brightly.

“Let’s get steamed dumplings at the gate. I want the chive ones.”

He frowned. “Don’t get the chive ones.”

“Why not?”

“They make your breath stink.”

“It’s my breath, not yours. Mind your own business.”

“I’m the one kissing you, not you.”

…Okay. Fair enough.

EUN: TSK, TSK! LOOK AT THESE TWO, FEEDING US DOG FOOD!

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