Chapter 14: Different Treatment
Yao Shule and Li Yizhou had chosen seats toward the back. When the professor suddenly raised his voice, it startled awake the students who had been nodding off, and everyone turned to look at He Siming.
He Siming hurriedly touched his nose—his hand came away bloody.
Jiang Rong, sitting beside him, was shocked. “W-why are you having a nosebleed?”
He started rummaging through his bag for tissues. A girl in the front row had a cold and had tissues on her desk; she turned around and handed them over.
He Siming’s hands were covered in blood. Jiang Rong immediately took the pack, pulled out a tissue, and pressed it to He Siming’s nose.
Watching the tissue turn red, Jiang Rong said, “It still seems to be bleeding.”
“Yeah, I’ll go to the restroom,” He Siming said. He took two tissues, pressed them to his nose, stood up, and hurried toward the restroom.
Jiang Rong wanted to follow, but after thinking about it, decided against it—no need to draw attention.
Seeing this, the professor dismissed class early. A crowd surged toward the direction He Siming had gone, with the most eager of them being the class belle, Yao Yin.
Li Yizhou said, “I’ll go to the bathroom anyway—might as well check on him. We’re in the same dorm.”
Jiang Rong felt worried. Seeing that he was still holding the bloodied tissues from earlier, he threw them into the trash, then went to the restroom to see how He Siming was doing.
Jiang Rong said, “I’ll go with you. I need to wash my hands.”
Li Yizhou said, “Let’s go.”
The restroom was at the end of the floor.
Most of the guys went inside to use it, but the girls all lingered outside the restroom, waiting for He Siming to come out.
Li Yizhou remarked, “He Siming really is popular.”
Jiang Rong replied, “Yeah.”
They entered the restroom. He Siming had washed his hands and rinsed his nose, stuffing it with tissue, but it quickly turned red again.
Jiang Rong stepped forward. “He Siming, let’s go to the infirmary.”
He Siming didn’t say much. “Mm. Come with me.”
Li Yizhou asked, “Do you still need me?”
He Siming said, “No. It’s not a big deal.”
The weather was dry—just a nosebleed.
Yao Yin stepped forward and handed He Siming some tissues. “He Siming, do you still have enough tissues?”
He Siming’s expression was indifferent. He turned his head and said to Jiang Rong, “Walk faster.”
Yao Yin froze, her hand hanging in midair. He didn’t even look at her. In the blink of an eye, He Siming had already taken Jiang Rong and walked away.
He Siming actually ignored her completely. He used to at least politely say thank you—this made her furious.
The two of them passed Yao Yin and went straight downstairs to the infirmary.
Qin University was one of the top universities in the country. The campus clinic was staffed with both traditional Chinese medicine doctors and Western doctors, and students could choose whichever they liked.
Today, the Western medicine doctor wasn’t at their post.
Jiang Rong said, “There’s another doctor over there.”
He Siming walked over.
The doctor on duty was an old traditional Chinese medicine practitioner in his seventies. He pushed up his reading glasses. “Nosebleed?”
He Siming replied, “Yes. Not sure why.”
The old doctor first took his pulse.
He frowned in disapproval. “You’re as strong as an ox—why are you drinking tonics?”
He Siming said, “I haven’t taken any tonics. I eat pretty healthily.”
Jiang Rong felt quietly guilty.
The old doctor asked, “What did you drink this morning?”
He Siming answered, “I had a cup of coffee after waking up. For breakfast, buns, porridge, and an egg. That’s it.”
Jiang Rong, feeling guilty, said to the doctor, “He also drank a few sips of kidney-tonifying tea just now.”
He Siming’s eyes flew wide open. “I drank… kidney-tonifying tea?”
Jiang Rong paused, his gaze shifting away. “I saw you had dark circles under your eyes these past few days.”
He Siming took a deep breath. What kind of huge misunderstanding did Jiang Rong have about his body?
The old doctor asked, “That tea had ginseng in it, right? Way too nourishing.”
He Siming said, “It did have a bit of a ginseng taste.” No wonder it tasted like herbal medicine.
The old doctor held back a laugh. “You don’t need to drink that stuff. Your pulse is gentle yet strong, steady and smooth—very healthy. Apply an ice pack for a bit and it’ll stop soon. Just don’t drink that kidney-tonifying tea again.”
He Siming was so exasperated by Jiang Rong that he laughed.
The old doctor told He Siming to lie back on the adjacent bed and apply an ice pack. Jiang Rong hadn’t expected that the blame would land on the herbal teas he’d brewed.
After the old doctor returned to his consultation room, Jiang Rong slowly shuffled in front of He Siming. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
Holding the ice pack, He Siming ground his back teeth. “What exactly are you dissatisfied with about me? Duration? Frequency? Or speed?”
Jiang Rong’s face flushed red. “Not that. I just saw you had dark circles.”
He Siming was internally shaken. This wasn’t just about duration or frequency anymore—this was questioning his sexual capability!
“So you think I can’t perform?”
Jiang Rong said, “But after doing that for three days straight, I saw online that men who ‘serve four wives a night’ end up dying of exhaustion. I thought maybe you needed some supplements.”
He Siming had never been so speechless. This concerned his dignity as a man!
He Siming said, “The doctor said I’m perfectly fine. I could do another three days no problem.”
Jiang Rong replied earnestly, “My heat only lasts three days. I don’t have that many.”
He Siming was nearly incoherent. “I said I can. Next time you go into heat for seven days, we’ll see if I can.”
Jiang Rong was still seriously explaining, “Omega heat cycles rarely last seven days.”
He Siming raised one hand. “Stop. Do not continue this topic.”
The usually calm campus heartthrob was completely disheveled.
He was actually being suspected of being inadequate—and needing kidney tonics!
No, he had to clear this up.
He Siming closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his racing pulse.
Jiang Rong felt at a loss. He roughly understood that He Siming had been angered by him.
He knew his intentions were good. He just hadn’t realized He Siming’s body was fine—then why did he still have dark circles?
After adjusting himself, He Siming opened his eyes. “The reason I have dark circles is because I barely slept those three nights. You have no idea how clingy you are—you’d still drag me into ‘exercise’ when you were half asleep.”
Jiang Rong’s face burned red-hot. He didn’t think he was that clingy… but He Siming had indeed been helping him resolve his pheromone issues. He had no choice—during heat, he naturally wanted to seek things from an Alpha.
“I really didn’t mean it. I just wanted you to nourish your body,” he said. He hadn’t expected that He Siming was fine and just sleep-deprived.
Seeing Jiang Rong look like he was about to be stubborn about it, He Siming realized he might have gone too far. Those days had also been due to the medication.
“I’m not blaming you. Anyway—don’t ever doubt my ability.”
Jiang Rong quickly said, “I wasn’t doubting you. You’re amazing. You have a lot of pheromones—enough for me.”
His bluntness made He Siming embarrassed. “Is that so?” That stuff could be used?
The irritation from being doubted earlier was soothed by Jiang Rong’s straightforward words.
Jiang Rong’s mouth was dangerous—one moment it was like poison, the next like honey. He Siming had never met someone like this before.
After thinking it over, He Siming realized he really had no way to deal with him.
Jiang Rong nodded firmly. “Yes. Really a lot.”
Praised like that, He Siming felt awkwardly warm in the face. “Mm. As long as you know.”
After icing it for a while, He Siming’s nose stopped bleeding, and the two of them returned to the classroom to continue class.
At noon, after class ended, Ding Yan came bounding over to He Siming, laughing. “The forum says your nosebleed means you’ve got a terminal illness—ahahaha! Why did you get a nosebleed anyway?”
He Siming’s expression darkened. Really—bringing up exactly what shouldn’t be mentioned. “Shut up.”
Ding Yan said, “Let’s eat out for lunch.”
He Siming turned back and asked his roommates, “Together? Ding Yan’s treating.”
Yao Shule was the first to respond. “Sure! Our 519 hasn’t had a group meal in ages.”
Ding Yan: “…” Why is it that your dorm gathering means I pay?
Li Yizhou responded quickly. “Thanks, Brother Yan.”
He Siming chose a nearby Sichuan restaurant.
Ding Yan looked at his longtime friend in surprise. “You don’t usually—”
He Siming cut him off. “This Sichuan place is good.”
He remembered how happily Jiang Rong had eaten the spicy grilled chicken rack.
Yao Shule said, “666. As expected of God He—great choice. I love spicy food!”
Li Yizhou said, “I’m okay with it too.”
Ding Yan said, “Really? Then I guess I like spicy food too.” He couldn’t let himself be outdone. He turned to Jiang Rong, who talked little and looked like he didn’t like spicy food. “You definitely can’t handle it, right?”
Jiang Rong replied modestly, “I’m okay.”
Ding Yan automatically interpreted that as can’t eat spicy—at least Jiang Rong wouldn’t embarrass himself later.
Once seated, everyone ordered a dish.
Jiang Rong ordered an extra-spicy mala chicken. When it arrived, it was a blazing red plate. He Siming ordered a very plain stir-fried greens.
Ding Yan was shocked. “You can eat that?”
Jiang Rong nodded seriously. “Not sure. Probably?”
Yao Shule was already drooling. “Let’s eat, let’s eat. Four classes—starving!”
Jiang Rong was hungry too.
He Siming sat next to Jiang Rong. After the nosebleed that morning, he avoided spicy food. Watching Jiang Rong eat happily, his lips were so spicy-red they looked like they’d been painted with rouge—it must be pretty tasty.
Jiang Rong fanned his lips and tongue from the heat. “He Siming—water, water, water.”
He Siming laughed as he poured him water to ease the spice. “You can really eat.”
Jiang Rong said, “It’s good.”
On the other side, Ding Yan was also panting from the spice.
With his lips red and swollen from the heat, he said, “I never thought it tasted this good before. It’s so spicy—so satisfying. Old He, pour me some water too, it’s so hot!”
He Siming picked up a piece of greens for himself and completely ignored Ding Yan’s request.
Ding Yan: “?”
