Chapter 37

◎A subtle understanding◎

Seeing the resolute look on his face, Zhan Xinyue didn't try to persuade him any further and nodded.

Following her naming conventions, she might call it Little White, Little Yellow, or Little Black, but right now she really couldn't tell if it was white or gray. Zhan Xinyue looked at the stray dog, which had been shaved bald. Without the cover of its fur, the scars on its body were even more conspicuous.

After thinking for a long time, she said, "Why don't we just call it Panpan?"

The name Panpan evokes images of a vibrant spring, and it sounds like a name full of hope and vitality.

Shi Ziqian repeated the two words in a low voice: "It sounds very nice."

Panpan, whose limbs had been restrained, was placed into the CT scanner inside the glass window. Zhan Xinyue watched for a while longer and said, "Since it needs to be hospitalized, let's go first. Did the doctor say when they can come to pick it up?"

"I left my phone number, and I'll call when it's time for it to be discharged."

"That's good." Zhan Xinyue nodded. "Wait for me a moment, I'll go pay the bill."

Shi Ziqian replied, "I have already paid."

Zhan Xinyue was a little surprised. She hadn't been in the restroom for long and didn't know when Shi Ziqian had paid. She asked, "How much? I'll pay you."

Shi Ziqian: "It's not much money, I'll pay."

"That won't do. No matter how much or how little money it is, I should pay for it."

Shi Ziqian said, "Didn't we agree that I would adopt it? I should pay for it."

Zhan Xinyue shook her head: "That's different. I insisted on saving it. If you insist on not telling me, I'll go ask it myself."

Seeing her resolute attitude, Shi Ziqian finally relented: "Alright, a little over three hundred."

Zhan Xinyue clearly didn't believe her: "Don't lie to me. Didn't you say you were going to be hospitalized? How could it only cost a little over three hundred? Don't worry, I've saved up a lot of pocket money. I can afford it."

Shi Ziqian explained, "Veterinary care for animals is not as expensive as it is for humans. I did only prepay a little over 300 yuan. However, when I pick it up from the hospital later, I will have to pay another portion, which may add up to more than 500 yuan."

Zhan Xinyue had never owned a pet and didn't know much about these things. She calculated the prices and thought that prices were much cheaper more than ten years ago, so she nodded with some skepticism. However, she then remembered that she didn't have any cash on her, so she added, "I'll give you the money at school tomorrow morning."

The two left the hospital. The sun was still high in the sky. Shi Ziqian looked at the sky and asked her, "Are we going back to school?"

The majority of students probably haven't returned to school yet, and there are no evening classes scheduled for the autumn outing. Zhan Xinyue thought for a moment and said, "I'm not going back."

“Okay,” Shi Ziqian said. “Where do you live? Let’s share a taxi.”

Seeing that he was about to flag down a car, Zhan Xinyue quickly said, "Wait a moment, I think I forgot something in the restroom, I'll go back and check."

She went into the hospital again. As she entered, she turned around and saw Shi Ziqian standing with his back to her through the glass door. She then turned and walked to the cashier.

It was a weekday, and the pet hospital was nearly empty, with the cashier's area deserted, except for two staff members who were engrossed in their phones.

Zhan Xinyue knocked on the glass and asked them, "Excuse me, how much did the treatment for that dog cost?"

She disliked owing favors, especially when it came to money. Although Shi Ziqian had appeared completely at ease just now, she felt something was off, so she secretly slipped back to check.

Two staff members looked up at the sound, one of them with a warm smile, and said, "Over three hundred, what's wrong?"

...

Having confirmed the price, Zhan Xinyue finally felt relieved and deliberately waited a few more minutes before walking out of the hospital. Through the hospital's square gate, she saw Shi Ziqian still standing at the entrance waiting for her.

He was tilting his head back, seemingly looking at something. His skin was pale beneath his black hair, his features were handsome, and his expression was relaxed. Behind him, the roadside trees were lush, their verdant branches drooping down, reflecting the azure sky, creating a harmonious scene.

Zhan Xinyue paused for a few seconds, then pushed open the door and went out. Perhaps he heard her footsteps, because before she even got close, he had already turned around and looked at her: "Got it?"

The sunlight seemed to favor him particularly today. A beam of sunlight filtered through the trees overhead and fell on his face, turning his pupils a light brown. Zhan Xinyue looked away uncomfortably, and after a long while, she nodded slightly: "Mm."

"Let's go then," Shi Ziqian said.

Zhan Xinyue stood still and said softly, "The People's Hospital is just across the street."

Shi Ziqian gazed at her quietly, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

In the sunlight, her delicate face resembled fine porcelain, her brow slightly furrowed as she looked at him earnestly. She said, "Shi Ziqian, if you don't get your hands checked, they'll really get scars."

When Zhan Xinyue got home, it was already past seven o'clock. She stood at the door, took off her school uniform, and shook it for a long time to make sure there was no dog hair left on it before opening the door and going inside.

Pang Yun was eating alone when he heard the door open. He thought it was Zhan Wei returning, but when he looked up, he saw Zhan Xinyue standing at the door. He quickly put down his chopsticks and asked her, "Why are you back now? Have you had dinner?"

"Not yet. I came straight back today because it was an autumn outing." Zhan Xinyue peeked at the table. "What are you eating? I'm so hungry."

Pang Yun got up and went to the kitchen to serve her noodles. "I made some noodles. Luckily, I made a lot today. I'll get you a bowl. Did you come back alone? Why didn't you ask your dad to pick you up?"

"It's not far, I can just take a taxi back." Zhan Xinyue crumpled her school uniform jacket into a ball and threw it into the washing machine before following her into the kitchen. "You can take a larger portion."

"Didn't I bring you some snacks today? Why are you so hungry? Didn't the school provide lunch for you?"

Speaking of this, Zhan Xinyue suddenly remembered that she hadn't had a chance to share many of the cookies that Pang Yun had carefully prepared in her bag. Only Shi Ziqian had taken two. So she guiltily changed the subject: "Mom, I did a good deed today. My classmate and I rescued a stray dog."

"Really? That's amazing." Pang Yun smiled.

Zhan Xinyue explained, "The doctor was really good. We just took it to the hospital. It looked like it was about to die, and I didn't have high hopes. But the doctor said it could be saved."

“It’s really lucky today,” Pang Yun said. “Not only did it meet you, but it also met such a great doctor.”

Zhan Xinyue smiled for a while, remembering what Shi Ziqian had said earlier that day about adopting it.

It was indeed very lucky, not only to meet her and the doctor, but also to meet Shi Ziqian.

Before going to bed that night, Zhan Xinyue opened her desk drawer and found her wallet. Pang Yun had kept her New Year's money and most of her saved pocket money in a separate card, and a small amount of cash was kept in her wallet for emergencies. She opened her wallet, counted out six hundred yuan and put it in the outside of her schoolbag before climbing into bed.

After turning off the lights and lying in bed, Zhan Xinyue wasn't sleepy at all, her eyes wide open in the darkness.

What was supposed to be an ordinary autumn outing turned into something different due to a series of unexpected events.

From the awkward little incident in the car, to sharing rice balls with Shi Ziqian, and then by chance, the two of them rescued a dying puppy together...

Because of these things, the long-standing cold relationship between her and Shi Ziqian unexpectedly thawed, and the little strange atmosphere between them that she had always cared about seemed to have been turned over without her noticing.

Moreover, she suddenly realized today that Shi Ziqian seemed to be a little different from what she had imagined.

The next morning, while Shi Ziqian was out, Zhan Xinyue folded the cash she had brought and put it in his desk drawer. Afraid he wouldn't accept it, she decided to simply slip it to him secretly without telling him.

Having just finished doing all that, she looked up and suddenly saw Xie Wanzhi, who hadn't been to school for many days, standing at the door. Xin Wenhua, who was in front, also saw her, looking like she'd seen a ghost: "Why are you back?"

Xie Wanzhi, dragging her schoolbag, said irritably, "What do you mean? Can't I come back?"

"No, welcome back," Xin Wenhua said. "But why didn't you come back yesterday? We went on an autumn outing yesterday, didn't we? Or you could have just come back in a few more days. It's almost Friday, and you rushed back because you're afraid you won't be able to finish assigning weekend homework, right?"

Xie Wanzhi froze: "What! You guys went on a field trip! Why didn't anyone tell me?!"

Her gaze shifted to Zhan Xinyue, and she let out a wail: "Xinyue! Why didn't you call me beforehand to tell me!"

When Zhan Xinyue was called out by name, she gave a perfunctory reply: "I'm afraid you're not fully recovered yet, so you should rest at home more."

"I was all better a long time ago, I just didn't want to come to school, but my dad dragged me here today. I should have come back yesterday, I'm so angry!"

Zhan Xinyue lowered her head and pretended to be dead, acting as if she hadn't heard anything.

Xie Wanzhi moved to her desk and asked, "Where did you go on your spring outing? Was it fun?"

"The botanical garden is alright, I guess."

"The one in the western suburbs?" Xie Wanzhi said, sour grapes. "What's so fun about the botanical garden? It's boring."

“How could it be boring? It was so much fun!” Xin Wenhua said. “The first half was a bit dull, but Lao Fang dragged us into a cultural performance. However, the second half gave us free time. There’s an amusement park in the park, and the all-inclusive ticket is only 50 yuan. We were having so much fun. Lu Meng and I went on the bumper cars four times. I almost fell to my knees from being bumped so hard.”

"Is this really fun? How old are you to still be playing bumper cars? Your taste is just... typical of a primary school student."

Xin Wenhua, used to her teasing, said nonchalantly, "What do you girls know? What guy can resist bumper cars? Xinyue, did you have fun yesterday? Hey, speaking of which, Xinyue, where did you go yesterday? I didn't see you all afternoon. When we got on the bus, Lao Zhou said you left first, and Shi Ziqian..." He suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "You two left together?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Xie Wanzhi's eyes clearly showed suspicion. "Huh, what's going on?"

Zhan Xinyue didn't say anything, but just glanced at Xin Wenhua indifferently.

When Xin Wenhua was looked at like that, she realized that what she had said was too absurd, and quickly said, "Don't look at me like that, I was just joking."

"You've taken this joke a bit too far," Xie Wanzhi said, rolling her eyes at him speechlessly.

Zhan Xinyue said, "I didn't find it interesting, so I left first."

"See, I told you! Of course you'd be bored all by yourself when I wasn't around." Xie Wanzhi gave a matter-of-fact look, then asked curiously, "Why did Ziqian leave first? What did he do?"

"Him?" Zhan Xinyue said calmly, "Can he tell me where he's going?"

“That’s true.” Xie Wanzhi didn’t think much of it. “He probably isn’t interested in these group activities.”

When Shi Ziqian arrived at the classroom and returned to his seat to sit down, Zhan Xinyue and his eyes met for a moment in the air.

This time, Zhan Xinyue nodded to him and said, "Good morning."

"Good morning," Shi Ziqian replied, and sat down.

Zhan Xinyue didn't say anything more, and looked away to begin her morning reading.

Although they only exchanged greetings, Zhan Xinyue felt that because of their shared memory of rescuing that little stray dog ​​together, there seemed to be a subtle, unspoken understanding between them.