Chi Yao gave a cold laugh, reciting the flimsy excuse Lin Zhexia had given him earlier: “Have other good friends.”
“Your good friend is something else, dragging you into danger, knowing the risk. And you’re impressive too, one dares to drag and one dares to go.”
“…”
“If you hadn’t had time to message me, if I hadn’t seen my phone, if I hadn’t happened to be nearby, what were you planning to do?”
“…”
“Last time you could run away, what about this time?”
“……”
Lin Zhexia: “Little brother, I didn’t think that far ahead.”
Although she knew Chi Yao was now angry at Chen Lin because he was worried about her, she still wanted to explain: “She didn’t drag me there. I thought nothing would happen. I didn’t expect an online argument to lead to this.”
In the past, when Chi Yao was angry, she could coax him out of it after a few attempts.
But this time was different. She talked the whole way, but Chi Yao barely responded to her.
“Chi Yao, Chi Yao, look, the reflection of that streetlight looks like a star.”
“That little dog across the street is so cute, kind of like He Yang’s old pet, Little White.”
“I’ve noticed even your hair strands look handsome. Walking behind you, I feel like you’re as handsome as a painting right now.”
As they approached home, Lin Zhexia reached out and tugged at the strap of his backpack: “Chi Yao, talk to me!”
“Don’t be like this, not talking,” Lin Zhexia said. “Even though normally when you talk, I often want to poison you mute.”
Chi Yao couldn’t hold back this time, laughing despite his anger: “So you want to poison me mute.”
Lin Zhexia said softly: “Just occasionally, sometimes.”
Due to taking Chen Lin home, she returned more than an hour later than usual.
Lin He reheated the food: “Why so late today?”
Lin Zhexia put down her backpack, finding an excuse: “Chi Yao and I went to the bookstore for a while, so we came back late.”
Wei Ping: “Next time you’re coming home late, let your mom know. She was very worried about you.”
Lin Zhexia responded softly.
She hurriedly shoveled food into her mouth, then asked Lin He: “Mom, where’s our first aid kit?”
Lin He: “In the cabinet under the coffee table. What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
“No,” Lin Zhexia said. “It’s Chi Yao who has a… a bit of a cold. I’m going to take him some medicine.”
She had just recalled the earlier scene.
Although Chi Yao had beaten those people, had he been injured anywhere?
Fighting often leads to scrapes, and those punches—his hands must hurt, right?
Her thoughts drifted to Chi Yao’s hands, and she had to admit that if those hands were scarred, it would be a shame.
After finishing her meal, she grabbed the first aid kit and ran to the building across from hers.
Before ringing the doorbell, she thought for a moment. Given Chi Yao’s personality, he might not open the door since he was still angry.
So she used her key to open the door, saying before pushing it open: “Ahem, uh, I’m coming in, okay?”
After entering, she found no one in the room and no sound from the bathroom.
She lingered at the entrance for a while before seeing Chi Yao emerge from the bedroom, freshly showered.
Having changed out of his school uniform, he looked closer to the image of “someone who fights after school,” much like those antagonistic characters from movies who don’t study well and act arrogantly in school.
“What do you want?”
“I came to see if you were injured,” Lin Zhexia said, holding the first aid kit. “Show me your hands.”
Chi Yao, his hair half-dry, leaned against the doorframe, asking flatly: “Would I get injured? Even if there were three more of them, I wouldn’t get hurt.”
Lin Zhexia: “I can already see the wound on your hand.”
“…”
“Stop pretending,” she couldn’t help saying. “There’s no one else here.”
Chi Yao had a wound about four to five centimeters long on his hand, along the bone of his finger. After showering, it had turned a purplish-red. He hadn’t noticed when he got it.
Afraid he would continue pretending nothing was wrong, Lin Zhexia forcibly sat him down on the sofa: “I know, it’s just a small injury, beneath your concern, not even worth your attention, but let’s disinfect it anyway.”
As she spoke, one hand gripped his wrist.
Chi Yao lowered his eyes, glancing at their almost overlapping hands, without saying a word.
Lin Zhexia opened the first aid kit, taking out cotton swabs and iodine.
“If you,” Lin Zhexia said slowly, “feel pain.”
Chi Yao: “What, can I beat you up to distract myself?”
Lin Zhexia: “No, then you’ll just have to endure it.”