Apply ice to the wound

Song Zhao smiled triumphantly and then peeled away Nan Qi's last line of defense. But when the scars assaulted her vision, her smile vanished, replaced by a sharp pain as if her heart had been ripped apart.

Nanqi noticed that something was wrong with her mood and comforted her, "I have a tendency to form keloids, so they heal slowly. Actually, it hasn't hurt for a long time, really."

Nanqi's explanation did not make Song Zhao feel much better. She carefully applied the red, swollen and hot patches to Nanqi's face. Almost every red mark was accompanied by intermittent bloodstains, and red scabs formed overnight.

"Hey, you know what, this is actually quite refreshing and cool. You're pretty good at cooking." Nanqi turned her head, raised an eyebrow at Song Zhao, and said cheerfully.

Song Zhao felt slightly better after being amused by her.

"Why were you beaten last night?" Song Zhao asked gently.

"kindness…"

Nanqi pondered for a moment, then said seriously, "I went to see Li Xin yesterday."

Upon hearing this name, Song Zhao was stunned.

Nanqi continued, "I didn't talk to her about anything. I just warned her not to bother you anymore. I didn't say anything else, and she didn't tell me anything else either."

"You were following me?" Song Zhao's face darkened, but he still gently continued to apply the ointment to Nan Qi's wounds.

Nanqi felt a little flustered, but she forced herself to remain calm and said, "Yes... but you lied to me too, so we're even."

Did you look at the messages on my phone?

Nanqi broke out in a cold sweat and stammered, "I didn't look at it on purpose. When I went to get my phone from the teacher after class, she was making such a fuss about sending you messages that it caught my attention. I was worried about her always contacting you, afraid you'd get hurt, so I clicked on it. Besides, even if I was in the wrong, I got hit afterward, and it hurt so much. I don't know why, but it's starting to hurt again now. Ouch, ouch~."

"Lie still and don't move," Song Zhao commanded.

Upon hearing this, Nanqi raised her eyebrows and looked at Song Zhao with a wronged expression.

Song Zhao changed from applying the ointment to kneading it, blowing on it as he kneaded.

"I knew you felt sorry for me. You can't be angry with me now that I'm so pitiful."

Song Zhao gave her a disgruntled look.

"You followed me home late. What does this have to do with Yueyue? Why did she say it's all her fault?"

"Oh, don't even mention it. I was afraid you'd recognize me, so I had her borrow some clothes and a hat from her classmate and bring them to me. I never expected she'd skip class to come find me, and the worst part is she didn't even tell me beforehand! My mom caught her out last night, and she finally admitted it. Then my mom got even angrier and gave her a good scolding too."

"You're taking all the blame on yourself again, aren't you?" Song Zhao said helplessly.

"...How did you know...?"

"Sometimes I really don't understand, were you a tortoise reincarnated in this life? You love taking the blame so much."

“Hey, you insulted me, you…” Nanqi turned her head and said.

"Hmm?" Song Zhao looked up at her.

Nanqi immediately backed down and said, "You're right, you're right."

Song Zhao then asked, "Are you curious about my past?"

Nanqi replied, "Yes, but I won't pry into anything just to satisfy my curiosity. If you want to talk about it someday, I'll listen carefully. If you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you."

"Okay, I don't hurt anymore." Nanqi got up and put on her pants.

"I will not know or inquire about your past unless you want me to know it."

Nanqi sat down next to Song Zhao, hooked her arm around her neck, and looked into her eyes. "But your present and future belong to me. The decisions you make are not just about you, but about us. So I have to find out what happened. Even if you don't tell me, I still need to know."

Song Zhao lowered her eyes and pondered for a long time before looking at Nan Qi and saying, "I'm sorry, I promise that from now on, no matter what happens, I will never hide anything from you again."

Nanqi extended her little finger, blinked, and said, "Pinky promise." Song Zhao paused for a moment, then slowly extended his little finger as well, hooking the two fingers together and stamping it with his thumb.

After the two talked things out, they did their homework for a while. Song Zhao would occasionally rub Nan Qi's buttocks. Nan Qi felt that if they weren't dating, Song Zhao's frequent groping would definitely constitute sexual harassment.

At noon, Aunt Fang cooked a table full of dishes: braised pork, hand-shredded cabbage, boiled shrimp, spicy chicken, stir-fried water spinach, and her specialty, chive pancakes.

Nanqi hadn't eaten enough that morning, and seeing a table full of food made her even hungrier.

"Please sit down and eat," Aunt Fang said warmly.

"Wow, it smells so good!" Nanqi's eyes lit up immediately.

"If it smells good, eat more."

Nanqi didn't stand on ceremony, picking up a piece of braised pork and popping it into her mouth, chewing the meat with a blissful expression. "So delicious."

"Take it easy, don't choke," Song Zhao said with a smile.

"It's so delicious, I can't stop eating it."

"Looks like they're really hungry," Aunt Fang said.

Aunt Fang poured a glass of water for each of them and said to Nanqi, "Nanqi, come and visit more often in the future. With you accompanying Zhaozhao during meals, she can eat two more bowls."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely come here to freeload meals more often."

Except in the morning.

When Nanqi wasn't around, Song Zhao and Aunt Fang were just polite to each other, at best. After all, given their seniority, they didn't have much in common. As for Aunt Fang, Song Zhao was her employer's daughter, and she was worried about saying the wrong thing, so she didn't take the initiative to talk to her. The two could even go without exchanging a word during a meal.

"I really wish you and Zhao Zhao were sisters, so that she would have a family member by her side..." Aunt Fang was joking when Song Zhao interrupted her with displeasure, "I don't need sisters, Nan Qi isn't one."

As soon as she said that, Aunt Fang was a little embarrassed and said, "Yes... I saw Nanqi and said a few words."

Aunt Fang stopped talking and ate her meal in silence as usual.

Nanqi was also curious about their strange way of getting along.

"Just eat your food and stop thinking about other things." Song Zhao placed the peeled shrimp in front of Nan Qi, a whole bowl full of shrimp meat.

"Wow, you peeled them all and didn't eat them, you gave them all to me?!" Nanqi said excitedly.

“Your hands aren’t as nimble as mine, so you definitely won’t peel them as cleanly as I do,” Song Zhao laughed.

Nanqi smiled, picked up a piece of shrimp, dipped it in the sauce, and fed it to Song Zhao. "You eat the first bite."

Song Zhao looked at Nan Qi with a look of enjoyment, readily accepting Nan Qi's feeding. Every time Song Zhao fed Nan Qi, Nan Qi would always feed her first, and after seeing her eat, she would show a childlike, innocent smile.

Seeing how close the two of them were, Aunt Fang looked pleased, and the awkwardness from before disappeared.

"Actually, your walls are a bit too clean. You could hang some paintings or photos to decorate them."

“This isn’t my home,” Song Zhao explained. “It’s a temporary rental, just for school, and it’ll last until next September.”

"I see." Nanqi thought to herself, with Song Zhao's family's financial strength, they would never buy a house in the suburbs, and the decoration was too simple.

Nanqi suggested, "The three of us haven't taken a picture together yet, let's take a group photo."

Aunt Fang also became interested, but she first turned to look at Song Zhao.

Song Zhao smiled slightly and said, "Okay."

Song Zhao sat in the middle, with Nan Qi to her right, their faces close together in a very intimate manner. Aunt Fang sat to her left, her shoulder turned to the side, smiling kindly. Song Zhao held Nan Qi's hand with her right hand and pressed the shutter button on her phone with her left, taking several photos before sending them to Nan Qi and Aunt Fang.

"You took really good photos," Nanqi said.

"You agree with whatever I do."

“You’re good to begin with,” Nanqi nuzzled her cheek. “I just think you’re good at everything and excellent at everything.”

"I also think you are wonderful, wonderful in every way."

Aunt Fang looked at the two of them, with an indescribable feeling. "I'm going to wash the dishes. You two have fun."

The two exchanged glances, sat up straight, and Song Zhao said softly, "Let's go back inside and I'll check your wound to see if it's getting better."

Nanqi pouted, embarrassed, and said, "Okay then..."

Song Zhao's ice pack was somewhat effective; the heat in some areas had subsided by now, and she no longer felt pain when making larger movements. Song Zhao was quite satisfied with the results of her efforts.

Around five o'clock, Nanqi went home. Because she had upset her mother yesterday, she came home a little earlier today and had even bought groceries on the way. She went into the kitchen to put the groceries in first, and then saw Nanyue there, wearing an apron and picking green beans.

"So well-behaved." Nanqi patted Nanyue's head and said with a smile.

“I learned it from you,” Nan Yue said.

Nanqi also put on an apron, rinsed the cutting board, took a piece of pork belly, and started cutting it.

"Did Mom come back for lunch?" Nanqi asked.

"Yeah, I cooked some dumplings, but I didn't eat much."

"Did you apologize to her?"

“I admit it, she’s ignoring me.” Nan Yue turned on the tap and washed the vegetables.

Actually, she had taken the apology letter to Wu Hua to apologize, but seeing her mother's exhausted appearance, Nan Yue gave up. The letter would only make her feel better; for her tired mother, it was merely taking up her rest time. So, Nan Yue whispered at the door, "Mom, I was wrong," then closed the door and went back inside.

Nanqi stir-fried twice-cooked pork and bean sprouts, and together with Nanyue, they made braised noodles with green beans and a pot of winter melon soup, so that Wu Hua could have hot dishes when he came back.

With a beep from the car, Wu Hua returned home exhausted. Except when her child was sick, she worked almost every day. Last night, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep, constantly reflecting on herself. Was it because she was too busy with work and neglected her family that she could teach her students well but not her child?

Seeing a table full of hot food and two little ones washing pots and cleaning in the kitchen, her frustration from last night disappeared.

"Mom's back!" Nanqi called out with a smile.

"Mom," Nan Yue said, somewhat at a loss.

Wu Hua took off his coat, put on slippers, and praised them, "The food is pretty good; you seem to have improved."

"Yueyue spent an hour making the braised noodles with green beans. I tasted it, and the green bean flavor was quite strong," Nanqi said.

Wu Hua rolled her eyes at her: "Stop talking nonsense. I'm hungry, so give me a bigger bowl of noodles."

Nan Yue gave a loud "Mmm!" and picked up a large mouthful of noodles into her bowl.

It seems that for the three of them, there is no conflict that a meal cannot resolve; if one meal is not enough, then they will have another.