Chapter Forty-Two: Searching Illnesses Online, A Shortcut to the Grave

Tang Yi had to admit that his recent diligence in his studies had paid off; basic knowledge of elves was a compulsory subject in high school, and over the past two weeks, he had already worked through piles of exercises and test papers. Every elven girl would experience a period of rapid growth, after which she would enter a stable growth phase, during which her development would slow significantly.

The transition from the rapid to the stable phase was marked by a sudden drop and subsequent stabilization of the hormones that had previously surged within the elven girl. This abrupt change could trigger varying degrees of rejection responses, manifesting either physically or psychologically.

After extensive research, biologists had come to refer to this phenomenon as Growth Stagnation Syndrome.

The above section was excerpted from the high school textbook “Fundamentals of Elven Knowledge,” Chapter Two, Section Three.

To put it in plain language: Ralulu was truly growing up, coming of age, and naturally encountering the troubles of adolescence.

Tang Yi tried to recall the questions he’d recently answered on his practice sheets.

When your elven girl exhibits signs of Growth Stagnation Syndrome, as her trainer, which of the following actions are correct?

A: Comfort her with words.
B: Ignore it and let nature take its course.
C: Take her to the hospital for injections or medicine.
D: Punish her physically if she misbehaves.

It was a multiple-choice question. D could be ruled out immediately. When Tang Yi had answered, he’d picked A and C, only to find out those were incorrect; the correct answers were A, B, and C.

Puzzled, Tang Yi had looked up the annotated answers twice.

The reactions to Growth Stagnation Syndrome varied from one elven girl to another, depending largely on their personalities. Some elves experienced only mild rejection symptoms, and too much attention could actually make them anxious; in such cases, letting things run their course was best.

But if the rejection was severe, it was absolutely necessary to seek medical help promptly.

Tang Yi compared the reference book, trying to determine the severity of Ralulu’s reactions.

Only then did he realize why the textbook was called “Fundamentals”—the explanations were far too basic to properly analyze the situation. After all, it was only a high school-level introduction, not particularly professional.

"Let’s go to the hospital tomorrow!" Tang Yi decided.

Ralulu froze, then shook her head rapidly. "No! I don’t want to go!"

Tang Yi steadied her small head and said sternly, "No, this isn’t up to you."

Ralulu was a bit frightened, her wide eyes glistening with tears. "Am… am I going to die?"

"What?" Now it was Tang Yi’s turn to be startled. Growth Stagnation Syndrome was akin to adolescence—a rite of passage, hardly a cause for alarm. He’d only wanted to take her to the hospital out of caution.

He frowned. "Don’t talk nonsense! Who told you that?"

Life and death—such heavy words didn’t sound like something Ralulu would say. Who had put such weighty ideas into this innocent girl’s mind?

Ralulu didn’t hide the truth. "I read it online. I’ve been searching at home these past few days. Some say it’s a terminal illness, others mention hidden dangers and incubation periods."

Tang Yi was speechless.

How could naïve Ralulu possibly understand? Looking up symptoms online always led straight to the grave—even a mild cold could be described as terminal cancer on the internet.

No wonder Ralulu had been acting so odd lately. Her emotions were already unstable due to the syndrome, and with her shy nature, she’d never willingly speak to Tang Yi about it. So she’d searched online in secret, only to be frightened by a slew of unfounded explanations.

For the first time, Tang Yi sincerely regretted teaching Ralulu to use the internet by herself.

He spent a long time patiently comforting her, talking her through her fears, and eventually managed to persuade her—albeit reluctantly—to agree to go to the hospital the next day. As long as she agreed, all would be well.

At the hospital, a professional doctor would naturally explain everything to her.

Though tomorrow wasn’t the weekend, that didn’t matter. Tang Yi left a brief message for his homeroom teacher, explaining that he would need to take a day off for a hospital visit.

His homeroom teacher, ever responsible and wary of students feigning illness to skip class, called his parents that evening to double-check.

Thus, Tang Yi was called into the living room to explain the situation once again.

After listening, his mother’s tone was understanding, though tinged with some hesitation. "So Ralulu’s rapid growth phase is ending? When your teacher called, your father and I were startled. It’s really not a big deal. Can’t it wait until the weekend? This is, after all, the most crucial time for college entrance exam revision."

His father gave his wife a sideways glance and grumbled, "Our son’s grown up; he should start making his own decisions. If he wants to take a day off, let him. With his grades, I doubt he’ll fall behind."

Tang Yi forced a wry smile. Was that a compliment? Was it?

His mother, soft-hearted as always, waved her hand. "I was only making a suggestion. It’s up to him. He can take the day off."

Tang Yi grinned. "Don’t worry, my studies won’t suffer. Besides, Ralulu is part of our family. If a loved one falls ill, how could that possibly be less important than the college entrance exams?"

His parents exchanged an odd look.

Adorable, well-behaved Ralulu was certainly dear to them. His mother often took care to prepare dishes she liked, and would sometimes remind Tang Yi not to bully the elven girl.

But to regard Ralulu as true kin—a daughter, for instance—felt a bit strange, though neither said so aloud.

Tang Yi gave them no chance to respond, using the excuse of an early hospital visit to retreat to his room for the night.

Before opening the door, he paused briefly, as though allowing the girl inside a moment to compose herself.

When he finally entered, he saw Ralulu sitting primly at the desk, pretending to be absorbed in her computer. The corner of his mouth twitched with amusement—he nearly laughed out loud.

How unconvincing! How obvious!

Normally, if Tang Yi suddenly appeared while Ralulu was online, her first reaction would be to close all the windows in a panic. But now, she’d left the page open as if on purpose, as though to say, "See? I wasn’t eavesdropping on your talk with your parents. I was just surfing the web."