Song Cong finally understood completely. His face slightly flushed, he turned away trying to appear worldly, “Mm, let’s go.”
When the IV bag was half empty, Jing Xichi came running into the infirmary, drenched in sweat. Huan’er was lying comfortably, almost asleep, and was slightly irritated at being disturbed. She sat up and said, “Can’t you take off your rocket boosters and walk normally?”
Unusually, Jing Xichi didn’t retort, instead asking, “How are you?”
“Class Rep, does this count as a work-related injury?” Huan’er saw his decent attitude and felt a bit better.
“Is it serious?”
“Not light.”
“Then let’s just go home. Get whatever treatment you need.”
Huan’er burst out laughing.
Most events were finished, with only the most entertaining teacher relay race remaining. Jing Xichi reached up to adjust the IV flow rate faster, holding the tube with one hand to warm it up. “Does it hurt? If we finish this quickly, we can still catch Teacher Xu running.”
“Teacher Xu is participating?”
“Mm.” Jing Xichi spoke while taking off his school uniform and helping her put her arm through the sleeve. “Teacher Xu’s running first.”
“I’m not cold,” Huan’er pouted.
“Put it on.” The boy adjusted the uniform. “You just finished sweating, you’ll definitely catch a cold if the wind hits you.”
As they spoke, the shopping duo returned. Qi Qi opened a bread package and held it out to Huan’er, looking at the nearly empty IV bag and asking, “Where’s the school nurse?”
Huan’er answered while eating, “Went to patrol the field, said she’d be back soon.”
“Then I should hurry and find her, it’s almost done.” Qi Qi had just lifted her foot when Jing Xichi pulled her back, asking very seriously, “For this IV, which of us three couldn’t remove it?”
The children from the staff housing complex had played doctor-patient games since they were little. Forget removing IVs – in emergencies, they could even insert them.
As for the results, that was hard to say.
Qi Qi looked at him doubtfully. “Can you do it?”
“Well, we probably all can.” Song Cong smiled, taking out the milk and putting it in the straw, which Huan’er took and drank heartily.
He took the opportunity to slip the sanitary pads into her school uniform pocket.
After eating and drinking her fill, Huan’er grew impatient. She held out her hand with the IV to Jing Xichi, who was closest. “Hurry up, we’re going to miss it.”
Young Jing very expertly removed the needle with his right hand while his left pressed on the injection site. Huan’er immediately switched hands to press it herself. “Alright, I’ll hold it.”
Song Cong checked the time. “This bag went pretty fast.”
Qi Qi was stunned by this string of skilled, rapid operations. She gave two thumbs up. “Stars of tomorrow, pillars of the nation.”
The teacher relay race was divided by subject departments. The usually meticulous or calm and gentle teachers all became fiercely competitive on the track, showing no mercy. The contrast was so amusing that it sent the whole school into fits of laughter. The most entertaining were the PE teachers who openly let others catch up, these athletic experts even ran backward for a few steps to deliberately wait for other teachers. This was one of their rare moments to shine in this elite middle school.
As for Teacher Xu, forced to participate, he ran just that short distance and ended up sitting on the ground, unable to get up for quite a while.
When the results were announced, Class 5 had won their first first-place victory through collective effort.
Chen Huan’er had caught fire with the team. Her sudden appearance was more like a signal – there were hidden dragons and crouching tigers here.
She was so happy she could fly.
She watched as Jing Xichi held up the certificate, surrounded by everyone in the center, but in the end, she didn’t step forward to say thank you. This sports meet and the honor it brought would certainly be forgotten, but before that, it was he who had brought back the original Chen Huan’er, along with her long-lost confidence, her carefully controlled drive, and a sense of belonging she hadn’t felt in a long time. Chen Huan’er was everyone’s surprise, but these were surprises that belonged to Chen Huan’er.
She really should have said thank you.
Let’s call it even – after all, he owed her one too.