Li Mo

Although Li Mo doesn't seem aggressive at all, people who know her a little know that she is actually quite aloof to others and has a strong sense of boundaries and autonomy.

No matter how attentive someone is, they won't do something she's unwilling to do.

Liang Xinchong said, "I just wanted to show my concern for you."

Li Mo ignored him.

She knew he liked her and wanted to care about her.

But right now, she seems unable to bear this intense affection.

She has a lot to do now. Liang Xinchong only occupies a small part of her life. She needs to study hard and get into a good school. She helps with housework on weekends and is thinking about earning money as soon as possible to pay off her family's debts.

She probably likes Liang Xinchong too, but that would distract her.

Perhaps she wouldn't be able to respond to or agree to anything from Liang Xinchong in the future, so she simply cut off all communication altogether.

Liang Xinchong stared at Li Mo's silent profile; the two of them hadn't exchanged a single word for the entire afternoon.

Their relationship seemed to have stopped at that moment, and everything changed because of what happened later: Li Mo got into trouble.

As a key secondary school that pursues "all-round development", Yuehai Middle School not only focuses on academics, but also has a set of rules for physical fitness that are famous throughout the school and privately called "devil training" by the students - daily morning runs.

Regardless of the season, as long as it's not raining, all students must be on the playground at 6:30 in the morning to complete a run of at least 1,500 meters.

This is already a difficult test for boarding students, and it is even more difficult for off-campus students like Li Mo.

She has to get up almost an hour earlier than her roommates every day, quickly wash up, and catch the earliest bus so that she can barely step into the school gate before the morning run begins.

As for breakfast, it has become a luxury.

At first, she would buy a steamed bun or mantou from the roadside. Later, in order to save every penny to buy books, her breakfast became a large bag of white bread from the supermarket, which was dry and tasteless and could only fill her stomach.

That morning, as usual, Li Mo ate cold bread as she rushed to the playground.

She had stayed up late the night before helping her mother check the shop's accounts, and since she hadn't eaten much, her stomach was completely empty.

The whistle blew to start the morning run, and she began to walk with the crowd, feeling her steps unsteady. The morning breeze brushed against her face, carrying an unreal coolness.

The team had only run half a lap when a familiar, faint, dragging pain came from my lower abdomen, which quickly turned sharp.

Li Mo knew that this stomach pain was caused by skipping breakfast and engaging in strenuous exercise.

She tried to regulate her breathing and slow her pace, but the pain persisted, fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead, and the track in front of her began to twist and deform slightly.

Finally, as she reached the bend, a sharp, agonizing pain overwhelmed her, and she collapsed to the ground, clutching her abdomen tightly and burying her head in her hands.

What's going on over there?

The homeroom teacher, Yuan Hai, spoke with a stern tone.

He was patrolling the track as usual, urging the students who had fallen behind. He walked over to Li Mo, frowned, and said, "Li Mo? What are you doing squatting here? Get up and finish the race!"

Li Mo wanted to answer, but the pain prevented her from making a complete sound; she could only barely lift her head.

Only then did Yuan Hai see her face clearly—her lips had lost all color, turning an unnatural pale white, and the stray hairs on her forehead were soaked with cold sweat, sticking to her skin. She looked like a shivering leaf in the autumn wind.

Yuan Hai's stern expression was instantly replaced by astonishment. He squatted down and his tone softened considerably: "Li Mo, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Teacher...I..." Li Mo's voice was weak and feeble, and the cramping pain in her stomach almost made her faint.

Just then, a figure suddenly burst out from the running group, creating a gust of wind.

Before Liang Xinchong could even report to Yuan Hai, he knelt down on one knee next to Li Mo, his face overflowing with anxiety and worry.

"Li Mo!" His voice was tense, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.

He looked up at Yuan Hai and spoke quickly but clearly: "Teacher Yuan, she looks unwell. She may have low blood sugar or a stomach ailment. She needs to go to the infirmary immediately."

Yuan Hai looked at Liang Xinchong, who had suddenly appeared, and then at the pained Li Mo. He was shocked at how close the two had become, but he didn't have time to think about it. The next second, he made a decisive decision: "Okay, go quickly!"

"Yes!" Liang Xinchong replied crisply and decisively.

Without the slightest hesitation, he reached out to support Li Mo's arm. Seeing that she was in so much pain that she couldn't straighten up, he steeled himself, whispered "Excuse me," and then put one hand around her back and the other under her legs. With a little effort, he lifted Li Mo up in his arms!

"Ah..." Li Mo let out a short gasp, a faint blush rising on her pale face from the sudden action and close contact.

She instinctively tried to struggle, "Put me down..."

"Don't move." Liang Xinchong's voice was firm and unwavering. He held her tightly and walked quickly through the crowd of curious and surprised people, heading straight for the exit of the playground.

His chest rose and fell slightly from the running and the tension he was in. Li Mo could clearly feel the strong beating of his heart through the thin fabric of his school uniform, which strangely soothed some of the panic caused by the pain.

Yuan Hai stood there stunned for a moment, watching Liang Xinchong carry Li Mo away into the distance. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he just shook his head and turned to maintain order for the other students, muttering to himself: That kid…

The journey to the infirmary seemed both exceptionally long and exceptionally short.

Liang Xinchong kept his jawline taut the whole way, his eyes fixed straight ahead. Only when he occasionally looked down at the person in his arms would his eyes reveal his deep concern and heartache.

"Didn't you eat breakfast?" he asked in a low voice, his tone carrying a knowing reproach, but even more so, helplessness.

Li Mo closed her eyes and softly hummed in agreement, too exhausted to say anything more.

"I knew it..." Liang Xinchong almost gritted his teeth as he uttered these words, tightening his arms around her and taking even faster steps.

The morning sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves of the camphor trees lining the road, casting dappled and shimmering shadows on them.

The boy carried her through the quiet, tree-lined paths of the campus, like a brave knight.

The air is filled with the scent of grass and earth, and perhaps, mixed with a faint, frantic yet resolute heartbeat unique to this age.

The school clinic was filled with the faint smell of disinfectant. After examining Li Mo, the school nurse, while preparing glucose water, habitually muttered, "See, it's because you didn't eat breakfast again. You girls, all of you want to follow others and lose weight. How can you not eat when you're still growing? If you ruin your stomach, you'll suffer later..."

Li Mo leaned against the hospital bed, holding a warm glass of water, and whispered in her defense, "Auntie, I'm not on a diet..."

"That's because she didn't eat properly." Liang Xinchong leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, interrupting abruptly. His tone was a bit sharp, but his eyes were fixed on her still pale face.

Li Mo was taken aback when he hit the nail on the head. She pursed her lips, lowered her head, and sipped her glucose water without saying a word.

The school nurse looked at this and then at that, smiled knowingly, and placed the medicine on the bedside table: "Alright, drink the sugar water and take this, then rest here for one class period. Young man, please take care of him." After saying that, she turned around and went to attend to other matters.

Only the two of them remained in the small cubicle.

As she calmed down, the image of being carried in front of everyone belatedly flooded back into Li Mo's mind, and her ears began to burn slightly.

Li Mo grew angrier the more she thought about it: "You just went crazy, Liang Xinchong."

"How could I..." Liang Xinchong looked over, his face completely innocent. She suspected he was putting on an act.

"Why did you have to hug me?" Li Mo's face flushed again as she said this: "The homeroom teacher was right there, and so were some classmates..."

"You're in so much pain, you probably can't walk."

“Then you can’t…” Li Mo stopped there. Now that things had already happened, there was no point in saying anything more.

She wasn't an ungrateful person. After all, he had helped her; otherwise, she might have fainted on the playground.

So Li Mo still said "thank you," but her voice was barely audible.

Upon hearing her thank you, Liang Xinchong's little tail wagged, and he dragged over a chair, sitting down casually beside her bed, raising an eyebrow as if to say, "Just thanking me is enough? Li Mo, do you know how heavy you were just now? My arm is still sore."

Knowing he was teasing her on purpose, Li Mo couldn't help but glare at him: "I already said, I didn't ask you to hug me."

“Hey,” Liang Xinchong leaned closer, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her, “Do you want me to describe how pale you looked just now? Did you expect me to watch you crawl on the floor to the infirmary? That would be ridiculous.”

"You're the one who's crawling!" Li Mo was so angry at his words that she almost laughed, and the cramping in her stomach seemed to have lessened considerably.

Seeing that she finally had some energy to banter, a smile flashed in Liang Xinchong's eyes, but he quickly straightened his face and got back to the point: "Seriously, you have to eat breakfast from now on."

Li Mo lowered her eyelashes, staring at the swaying sugar water in her glass: "My affairs are none of your business."

"I'm going to take charge." The boy's stubbornness kicked in. He leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees, and emphasized again in an uncompromising tone, "I'm going to take charge of you."

Li Mo blurted out, "Do we know each other that well? What right do you have to tell me what to do?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Li Mo realized belatedly that their conversation sounded just like elementary school students arguing.

She seems to have been influenced by him, and her whole demeanor has become childish.

Upon hearing what she had just said, a hint of disappointment flashed across Liang Xinchong's eyes for a second, but he still said in a joking tone, "You don't know me? We've been sitting together for so long, aren't we familiar?"

Li Mo corrected her: "It's separated by an aisle."

Seeing her repeatedly use distant words to widen the gap between them, Liang Xinchong couldn't help but feel a little frustrated.

He, Liang Xinchong, had always been the one with girls chasing after him since he was a child. When had he ever whispered so softly to a girl to please her?

But he was quite willing, and became more determined after each setback. After a moment of silence, he came up with an idea: "Let's make a deal."

Li Mo looked up in confusion.

“You,” Liang Xinchong pointed at her, “are responsible for teaching me how to do problems and helping me improve my terrible grades. I,” he pointed to himself, “am responsible for bringing you breakfast, making sure it’s different every day and nutritionally balanced.”

Seeing that Li Mo was about to refuse, he immediately interrupted, his tone laced with a sly, nonchalant air: "Li Mo, I'm not giving you this for free. Look, you tutor me, and I'm paying you for the meal. It's an equal exchange, fair and reasonable. Besides, if my grades improve, Old Yuan will be happy, and the class average will look better. You're contributing to the class! And you'll even get a scholarship. It's a win-win situation, isn't it?"

He launched into a barrage of arguments, transforming a simple act of concern into a logically sound "transaction."

Li Mo looked at him.

The morning light shone through the clean glass window of the infirmary, dancing on his soft hair and earnest eyes.

He tried to appear shrewd and business-savvy, but his eyes betrayed only awkward concern and nervousness at the prospect of rejection.

She suddenly remembered the way he chased after her to give her jasmine flowers, the way he chatted on and on about his daily life on the internet, and the way he stubbornly followed behind her on his bicycle.

A hardened part of my heart seemed to have been softened by the early summer morning sunlight and the cup of sugar water in my hand.

She was silent for a few seconds. Just as Liang Xinchong thought he was about to be rejected again and his eyes began to dim, he heard her speak softly, her voice like a feather brushing past:

"good."

Liang Xinchong was stunned for a moment, almost thinking he had misheard: "...Really?"

“Okay.” Li Mo nodded, then added, “But I have conditions. First, I have to pay half the bill for the meal. Second, I’ll only be responsible for explaining the problems; whether you can learn them or not is up to you. Third, you’re not allowed to buy me any more milk tea, drinks, or other random things.”

"Deal!" Liang Xinchong smiled instantly, a smile so bright it almost dispelled all the smell of medicine in the infirmary.

Like a child who has finally received candy, he couldn't wait to put his plan into action. "So what do you want to eat tomorrow? How about soup dumplings? Or rice noodle rolls? Or..."

Seeing his instantly energetic appearance, Li Mo couldn't help but let a small, sweet smile curve upwards from an angle he couldn't see.

Birds chirped sweetly in the camphor tree outside the window.

This morning, filled with the smell of disinfectant and the sweet aroma of glucose, didn't seem so bad anymore.