Chapter 7: Humiliation
If there was anything that could compare to life's greatest joys, it would definitely be waking up naturally on a weekend, checking the time, and seeing that it was only seven in the morning.
What could be better than having an entire weekend ahead of you to enjoy?
Maybe that comparison was a little exaggerated, but for Li Nuo today, that was exactly how he felt.
Not only had he woken up early, but because he had slept so well the night before, he felt refreshed and full of energy.
The moment he walked out of his bedroom, a cat came running toward him.
It was Roubao, the kitten he had rescued the previous night.
After letting out a soft meow, Roubao rubbed its head against his leg.
Li Nuo crouched down, patted the cat's head, and said softly,
"Be good. I'll take you to get your injuries treated today."
"Meow."
After washing up, he changed into casual clothes. An oversized orange T-shirt with a pattern on it, white casual pants, orange sneakers, and finally a white baseball cap.
"Heh, pretty handsome."
Looking at his good-looking face in the mirror, Li Nuo shamelessly praised himself.
After preparing the cash he would need, he picked up Roubao and headed for the pet hospital.
The weather was wonderful today.
The sun was shining brightly.
After eating breakfast, Li Nuo followed the directions on his phone's map and spent half an hour finding the nearest pet clinic to his apartment.
Its name was Pet Home.
As soon as he entered, he was greeted by the smell of disinfectant.
After greeting the receptionist, Roubao was taken away for examination.
With nothing else to do, Li Nuo wandered around the clinic.
Just as he was about to take out his phone and watch some videos, a female doctor carrying Roubao walked out.
After asking the receptionist who owned the cat, she walked straight toward him.
Li Nuo looked at the tall doctor standing before him.
She was several centimeters taller than him and wore gold-rimmed glasses.
Before he could say anything, she spoke first.
"Hello. My surname is An. Is this your cat?"
"Uh, yes."
"After examining the little one, we found that besides a mild fungal skin infection, most of its injuries were caused by human abuse. And the injuries are quite serious."
"Will the treatment cost a lot of money?"
"It's hard to say."
Hearing that answer, Li Nuo immediately became nervous.
He had searched online the night before and found information saying that external injuries usually only required medicine and bandaging, perhaps costing a few hundred yuan.
Just as he was about to ask for a more exact price, a clear girl's voice came from behind him.
"Big Sis, are you done yet? Didn't you promise to go shopping and watch a movie with me today?"
"Sorry, sorry, Ran'er. I'll be done soon."
"Hmph. I'm angry now."
"There, there. Be good."
Standing across from Doctor An, Li Nuo felt that the voice sounded familiar.
But the spoiled and cute tone made him uncertain.
When he turned around—
It really was his idol deskmate, An Ran'er.
"Why are you here?"
Both of them spoke at the same time.
"Hm? You two know each other?"
Doctor An looked confused.
"H-He... he's my deskmate at Nanqin High School."
An Ran'er answered awkwardly.
"Huh? Didn't you say your deskmate was a boy?"
"He is a boy!"
Seeing her sister's expression of disbelief, An Ran'er gritted her teeth and spoke angrily.
"Uh... she's right. I'm a boy."
Li Nuo felt completely speechless.
Apparently, Doctor An had mistaken him for a girl too.
Still unconvinced, Doctor An held Roubao in one arm and reached toward Li Nuo's chest with the other.
What her hand found was completely flat.
Nothing at all.
As if she still could not believe it, she squeezed again.
"Ahhh!"
The sudden grab scared Li Nuo so badly that he let out a high-pitched scream.
He immediately jumped backward, covered his chest with both hands, and entered full defensive mode.
"Big Sis! What are you doing?!"
An Ran'er shouted angrily.
Doctor An looked embarrassed.
"Uh... I was just..."
Although she had clearly felt a completely flat chest, the girlish scream she had just heard still lingered in her ears.
At this moment, Li Nuo's face had already turned bright red.
Tears slowly began forming in his eyes.
He had never imagined that after living for more than ten years, he would one day be harassed by a female hooligan.
This dark day would forever become the most humiliating day of his life.
"Um... sorry, sorry! I really didn't mean it."
Seeing the boy's flushed face and tears falling from his eyes, Doctor An finally realized she had gone too far and hurriedly apologized.
"Oh, come on. Do you really need to cry? You're acting just like a girl."
An Ran'er rolled her eyes helplessly.
Hearing that only made Li Nuo feel even worse.
Still, he tried his best to stop himself from crying.
"How about this? To apologize, I'll treat your pet for free."
Doctor An quickly offered.
"Really?!"
"Uh... really."
"Then thank you very much!"
Looking at the boy who had been crying a moment ago and was now smiling brightly, Doctor An could not help thinking, he's really easy to cheer up.
Meanwhile, Li Nuo was overjoyed.
After all, he had just saved a huge amount of money.
Half an hour later,
Doctor An returned Roubao to him after finishing the treatment.
"Remember to make sure it gets enough nutrition. That will help the wounds heal faster."
"I understand. Thank you, Doctor An."
Looking at Roubao, Li Nuo could not help laughing.
Because of the skin infection and injuries, most of the cat's fur had been shaved off.
To prevent it from licking its wounds, it was also wearing a cone collar.
After saying goodbye to Doctor An, Li Nuo walked out of the clinic.
But before he could leave, An Ran'er stopped him.
"Uh... do you need something?"
"N-No. I just need to tell you one thing."
"What is it?"
"What happened today must never be told to anyone."
"Huh?"
"The part where I acted spoiled with my sister. You're not allowed to tell anybody!"
"Why?"
"No reason. Just swear first."
"Fine. I swear I won't tell anyone."
Even after hearing that, An Ran'er still looked worried.
"If you dare tell anyone, I'll upload the video of you crying your eyes out today."
"What?! You actually—"
"Hmph. Didn't expect that, did you?"
"How shameless."
"What did you say?!"
"I said... I'll keep my promise."
"Good."
Watching Li Nuo walk away with his head hanging low, An Ran'er smiled mischievously.
What an easy-to-fool idiot.
The truth was, she did not have any video at all.
But in order to maintain her public image, she felt she had no choice.
After all, everyone knew her as a cold and proud idol.
Even after transferring to Nanqin High School, she had continued acting that way.
If people found out that she was actually a girl who loved acting cute and spoiled around her family, all the effort she had spent building that image would be wasted.
Though honestly, even she did not fully understand why she worked so hard to hide her real self.