Chapter 111 Staff Dormitory

"I'm at the school's staff dormitory building."

On the other end of the phone, Su Qingran's voice carried a clear sob,

along with a trace of subtle embarrassment,

and her speaking pace was half a beat slower than usual.

"Room 302."

After saying those three words, she seemed to have exhausted all her strength.

She sniffled softly, afraid Lin Chen would hear her panic.

Lin Chen hardly paused on his end,

immediately responding with a crisp tone that carried an unquestionable certainty:

"Okay, wait for me there. I'm coming to your dorm to find you right now."

After hanging up, Lin Chen felt a bit uncertain.

This was his first time going to Su Qingran's dormitory building.

To say he wasn't nervous would be a lie,

but at the thought of her aggrieved voice on the phone,

all his restraint was suppressed by urgency.

He hailed a taxi, gave the college's address,

and urged the driver to go faster and faster.

Before long, the taxi drove through the college gates.

The teachers' dormitory building was tucked away in the innermost corner of the campus,

hidden by a dense grove of camphor trees,

far from the hustle and bustle of the teaching buildings,

making it appear exceptionally quiet.

Lin Chen paid and almost jogged into that tree-lined path.

The fallen leaves crunched under his feet.

A breeze blew, carrying the fresh scent of greenery,

but he didn't have the slightest inclination to appreciate it,

his mind was filled with thoughts of how Su Qingran looked right now.

This was a studio apartment,

one per person, exclusively for the school's faculty and staff,

the layout wasn't large, but it had the advantage of being peaceful.

Lin Chen searched for the building from memory,

went up to the third floor, and soon pressed the doorbell for 302,

his fingertips trembling slightly with a trace of nervousness.

"Coming!"

Su Qingran's voice came from inside, raspy from having just cried,

followed immediately by a flurry of hurried footsteps.

As soon as the door opened, Lin Chen's heart clenched.

Su Qingran's eyes were red, and unshed tears still clung to her eyelashes.

Her face was deathly pale, and her brow was tightly furrowed.

Her face was full of sorrow, and even the corners of her mouth were pulled tight.

Her usual gentle vivacity was now completely replaced by anxiety.

"Come in and sit down first."

She forced a faint smile,

stepping aside to let Lin Chen in, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum,

not even having the courage to look up at him.

She truly had no other choice, which was why she'd mustered the courage to call Lin Chen,

afraid he would laugh at her, and even more afraid of causing him trouble.

The interior was very tidy, cleaned until it was spotless,

though the area wasn't large, consisting of one room and a bathroom.

The furniture was also simple: a bed, a desk, and a small sofa,

yet it exuded a gentle atmosphere that belonged to Su Qingran.

Just as Lin Chen sat down, before Su Qingran could speak,

he pulled out his phone and said bluntly:

"Qingran, don't worry anymore. Tell me how much money you need, and I'll transfer it to you."

Su Qingran looked up sharply,

her eyes full of surprise, and they instantly reddened further,

her voice choked with emotion:

"I... I haven't even told you what the situation is yet,"

"and you're already asking how much money?"

A wave of warmth instantly surged through her heart,

as she whispered to herself: "

"He didn't even ask what happened,"

"nor did he ask how much money it would be; he just trusts me like that,"

"and is willing to help me..."

"Lin Chen truly holds me in his heart; he's sincere toward me."

"Thinking this, her existing favorability toward Lin Chen quietly rose by a large margin,"

"and the grievance and anxiety in her heart dissipated a little."

"[System Detection: Su Qingran's favorability toward Host +10, current favorability 80!]

Lin Chen's heart instantly exploded with excitement,

he almost couldn't stop himself from laughing out loud; the ecstasy in his chest was about to overflow.

"Holy crap?"

"For real?"

"With just that one sentence, favorability rose by 10 points, hitting 80?"

"This move is just too top-tier!"

"If I'd known it was this easy, I would've said it long ago!"

He suppressed the smile at the corners of his mouth, intentionally keeping a straight face,

maintaining a steady and reliable appearance,

while screaming frantically inside:

"It's in the bag, definitely in the bag!"

"At 80 favorability, we can hold hands. With a bit more effort, I could break 90 or even 95 today!"

"Su Qingran is completely falling for me,"

"it seems she fully felt my sincerity!"

Su Qingran sniffled,

looking at Lin Chen with a hint of testing in her eyes,

and also a touch of being moved:

"You... aren't you going to ask me what the specific situation is?"

"What if... what if I'm lying to you?"

Lin Chen put down his phone and leaned forward slightly,

his gaze incredibly serious, yet his tone carried a bit of gentle teasing:

"What do you mean, lying?"

"I'd be willing even if I were being lied to by you!"

"I believe you wouldn't use your grandmother as an excuse,"

"and besides, isn't your grandmother my grandmother too?"

"Between us, is there any need for such formalities?"

As soon as those words were spoken, Su Qingran was stunned,

and her eyes instantly became wet.

She never thought Lin Chen would say something like that.

He didn't press for details, he didn't hesitate;

instead, he directly treated her relative as his own.

This thoughtfulness and sincerity instantly pierced her heart.

[System Detection: Su Qingran's favorability toward Host +10, current favorability 90!]

Lin Chen was overjoyed, unable to contain his excitement.

"It's 90!"

He remembered very clearly the system saying that at 80 favorability they could hold hands,

at 90 they could kiss, and at 95 they could have a deeper interaction!

This progress was practically faster than a rocket!

He could no longer hold back and stood up, taking a few steps toward Su Qingran.

Before she could react, he gently took her hand.

Her hand was warm, soft, and fair, with a slight chill.

Lin Chen instinctively wrapped his own hand around it,

his tone gentle yet firm:

"Qingran,"

"let's not talk about those useless explanations,"

"you don't need to worry about your grandmother's medical expenses at all,"

"with me here, I'll take responsibility and guarantee that Grandmother will be cured."

With her hand held by him, feeling the warmth of his palm,

her heart felt both warm and sour. Her lips moved,

but she couldn't say a word for a long time.

After a long while, she finally spoke with a sob, finding it hard to voice her words:

"But... but the doctor said the treatment costs one million,"

"and my mom and I searched everywhere, but we only managed to scrape together 300,000..."

Her voice grew smaller and smaller, and she buried her head even lower,

her face filled with guilt and helplessness:

"You also know that I've only just started working, so I don't have any savings at all,"

"that 300,000 was my mom's retirement savings..."

"My mom only has me and Grandmother as relatives in this world. If something happens to Grandmother, I really don't know what I'll do..."

As she spoke, tears fell uncontrollably,

splashing onto the back of Lin Chen's hand, scalding hot,

making Lin Chen's heart ache for her.

Lin Chen gently patted the back of her hand, his tone remaining steady:

"It's okay, it's okay. Don't cry. Isn't it just a million?"

"No big deal."

"By the way, your Alipay account is your phone number, right?"

Su Qingran nodded through her sobs, tears still falling continuously,

as she kept wiping them away with a tissue.

Lin Chen said no more and took out his phone.

He opened Alipay, skillfully typed in Su Qingran's phone number,

paused for a moment, then directly entered the amount of one million, confirmed, and transferred,

all in one smooth motion without even blinking.

Su Qingran was still looking down, focused only on wiping her tears,

not noticing Lin Chen's actions,

until her phone suddenly rang out with a clear voice notification:

"One million yuan has been received on Alipay!"

Her hand, which was wiping away tears,

instantly froze in mid-air.

She was completely stunned,

as if she hadn't processed it yet, freezing for several seconds,

before suddenly looking up, her eyes wide and round,

looking at Lin Chen in disbelief, her voice trembling:

"D-did you just transfer this?"