Chapter 35

Guan Nan said sullenly, "Don't you hiss?"

Despite the long scratch and the intense pain, he didn't utter a sound.

Since he's so strong, only she can help him.

Understanding her implication, Jiang Li didn't know what to say: "You..."

The consultation desk in the school clinic.

Guan Nan watched as the school doctor simply applied some iodine to his wound and gave him a few instructions on what to avoid.

The school doctor tossed the cotton swab aside and said, "That's enough."

"Shouldn't it be bandaged?" Guan Nan felt it was too hasty. Such a big wound, and they didn't even give him a tetanus shot or mention an IV drip. There wasn't even a simple bandage.

“No need,” the school doctor said, putting away the cotton swabs and iodine on the table. “There’s no bone damage.”

Guan Nan's expression was serious: "What about tetanus? We have exams next month."

"No need, they're just minor wounds," the school doctor said. "Besides, boys this age have thick skin and will recover in a few days. It won't interfere with their exams."

Jiang Li smiled and said, "It's alright, let's go."

Seeing that the girl's expression hadn't improved and her gaze remained fixed on the boy's wound with worry, the school doctor added, "If you're really worried, you can get a tetanus shot."

After thanking the school doctor, the two left the school clinic, but Guan Nan's expression remained unchanged.

Jiang Li glanced at her and couldn't help but smile: "It's really nothing."

As he spoke, he waved his hand to indicate that he was alright.

"Don't move." Guan Nan's eyes were still red as she grabbed his hand, her voice muffled.

“Okay,” Jiang Li agreed with her, “don’t move.”

On the way back to Mingde Building, there were hardly any people around; the noise mostly came from the playground and the gymnasium with its doors open.

Worried that his wound might become infected or develop complications, Guan Nan would occasionally glance at it from the side.

Suddenly, Jiang Li asked, "What should we do?"

What should we do?

Guan Nan looked up at him, puzzled.

Looking at the iodine-stained wound, Jiang Li asked in a low voice, "This week's homework."

"..." His intentions were too obvious, and Guan Nan was speechless.

"I haven't even finished practicing my calligraphy."

"......"

Seeing that Guan Nan didn't respond, Jiang Li raised an eyebrow and said in a pretentious tone, "There's another exam next month."

Guan Nan looked at him suspiciously and gently reminded him, "The wounds will be healed by next month."

"It can't be that fast."

"The epidermal basal regeneration plus the skin's metabolic cycle takes about 41 days, so the wound will enter a new growth cycle in 14 days, which is equivalent to the initial healing."

How did you know?

"You learn it in junior high school biology."

"..." After a two-second silence, Jiang Li said seriously, "That's different."

"How is it different?" Guan Nan frowned, thinking about where she had misremembered.

Jiang Li said matter-of-factly, "I'm being dramatic."

“…” Hearing this answer, Guan Nan was somewhat convinced.

She then glanced at him, somewhat annoyed, and said, "Then go get a tetanus shot after school this afternoon."

"Why?" Jiang Li asked.

Guan Nan remained expressionless and returned the sentence verbatim without any hesitation: "Because you're being pretentious."

"Tsk," Jiang Li said meaningfully, his eyes narrowing, "Guan Guan, you've gone astray."

Upon hearing this, Guan Nan kept a straight face and ignored him.

She clutched the camera in her pocket, the one she wanted to use to capture his spirited, youthful days.

But I was so tense at the time that I completely forgot about taking pictures.

Thinking about this, she felt a little annoyed and angry at the male classmate who had bumped into her and injured her.

As I walked up the stairs into Mingde Building, it was time for class. The classes on the periphery were playing around happily. It wasn't until the second and third classes that the atmosphere became more like studying.

The students who didn't leave the classroom were all engrossed in reading and doing their homework.

The two entered the classroom one after the other.

When Yu Shu saw the two of them, he quickly patted Guan Nan and whispered to comfort her, "Don't be sad. Sports are not about talent but about hard work. You study hard every day, so it's normal that you don't have the energy to put into this."

Just as Guan Nan was about to tell him that his grades shouldn't be too bad.

Then I heard him say, "The girls in our class are all delicate and frail, so it's normal that we can't compare to the girls in other classes."

"......"

Guan Nan suddenly felt a lump in her throat and lost the will to speak.

Just as Yu Shu turned to seek Jiang Li's approval, he saw several long and messy scratches on Jiang Li's right hand, which were particularly noticeable with iodine on them.

"Damn, what happened to your hand?" Yu Shu leaned forward. "Who the hell is causing trouble at the school sports meet?"

Jiang Li glanced at him sideways and said casually, "He ran too fast and got scratched."

Yu Shu glanced at him, clearly disbelieving: "With your skills, who could possibly catch you!"

"Hmm." Jiang Li said calmly, "Just skin him."

"What about your hand? Shouldn't you go to the hospital for an X-ray to see if there's anything wrong? What will you do if something really happens to you, you great artist? Are you trying to scare Sister Wenwen to death?!"

Upon hearing the words "great artist," Guan Nan's pupils constricted, and she abruptly turned her head away.

Suddenly realizing the reason for Yu Shu's excited tone, and even the problem she had overlooked in her anxiety, Jiang Li was still working on his band.

To be in a band and proficient in instruments, the most important things are your voice and hands.

If any aspect of protection is not adequately protected, it could be a fatal blow to one's future artistic career.

Listening to his exaggerated words, Jiang Li glanced at his arm and said casually, "It's not that bad."

Seeing that he didn't take it seriously, Yu Shu muttered under his breath as he withdrew his action, "You're fucking not serious at all!"

Just as Jiang Li looked away, he caught Guan Nan pursing her lips.

He thought she would say something, but she just stared at him without moving.

His expression was a mix of anger and self-reproach.

Jiang Li leaned closer, intending to pull off her ponytail, but then stopped himself: "It's really nothing."

In an instant, Guan Nan turned her head and began flipping through the book aimlessly.

At that moment, something vaguely entered her mind, and she heard some words being spoken.

friend?

We are XXX.

What are we?

They are friends.

Two scenes overlapped in his mind, and his lips moved silently, forming the words he had spoken outside the stadium that day.

Recalling what happened that day, Guan Nan was in a daze before she belatedly understood that sentence.

We are friends.

So, you don't need to be afraid.

I have no friends.

And me too.

Why?

Because we are friends.

He was the only one who treated her as a friend.

A while later.

Guan Nan slapped her hand on his desk, palm outstretched, and said sternly, "Give me your homework."

"I'll give you the homework?" Jiang Li paused with his left hand.

“I’ll help you write until you’re fully recovered,” Guan Nan said. “I’ll also copy your class notes so you won’t fall behind.”

Jiang Li smiled and casually placed the pen and notebook in her hand. "Thank you, my Chinese deskmate."

Ignoring his teasing, Guan Nan bent down and helped him catch up on the homework he had missed.

During the third period, Jiang Li was called away by the English teacher.

For the next few days, Jiang Li took leave and did not come to school.

During Yu Shu's rambling conversation, Guan Nan learned that the reason was that Jiang Li was worried about his wound getting infected. Jiang's mother took him to the hospital to have his wound cleaned again and stayed in a sterile room for two days before he went home to recover.

From the brief explanation, Guan Nan understood how much Jiang's mother valued the great artist.

"Sister Wenwen said that Jiang Li is unlikely to amount to much in the future and will only be able to make a living with his meager knowledge of music theory."

These words are full of humility.

After listening, Guan Nan smiled at him and didn't say anything more.

When Jiang Li returned to school, it was already a week later. The initial scratches had scabbed over, and some had even started to fall off, leaving behind some pinkish, tender new skin marks.

Back in the classroom, the desks, which had been idle for only a few days, were filled up again.

It's like visiting a sick person; the label says "Best wishes."

Just as he bent down to pick up the things that had fallen, Jiang Li spotted something in Guan Nan's desk drawer that wouldn't normally be there. He tilted his head and asked in a low voice, "Is there anything to eat? I'm hungry."

Guan Nan had finished the bread and hadn't had time to buy any more. She searched through the drawer of the table and only found the Snickers bar from that day.

She hesitated for a moment, feeling that it was inappropriate to pass it on, so she forced herself to say, "You don't like sweets—"

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Li said, "Eat."

"..." Guan Nan frowned, remembering that he didn't like spicy or sweet foods.

He added, "I'm not a picky eater."

"......"

Yu Shu, sitting at the table behind him, watched with a strange expression as the troublemaker chewed down the "sweet and tooth-grinding" Snickers bar without batting an eye.

Incidentally, Guan Nan also stuffed a whole series of assignments and notes into his hands.

Before the monthly exam, Jiang Li's injury had fully healed, and his grades were also exceptional.

Time flies by, and before we know it, it's December.

In the dead of winter, the most hard-working students bundled themselves up tightly and thickly, but even with the thickest clothes, they still had to wear a school uniform jacket over them.

This made the already bulky figure even more difficult to maintain under the school uniform.

This has resulted in penguins running all over the Fuzhong campus.

As they waited, Guan Weimin and Zhang Guilian mentioned the scholarship several times, both openly and secretly. After the December monthly exam, the grade informed them that the scholarship would also be postponed this year.

The balcony glass offered no insulation between hot and cold temperatures. Guan Nan curled up in the blankets, covered by a cotton coat, but her feet remained cold. After about half an hour, her feet became unbearably cold, so she decided to go to the bathroom in the dark to wash them with hot water.

She moved very gently and carefully, as if afraid of disturbing anyone.

Unexpectedly, the couple in the bedroom were still awake, with sparse light filtering through the crack in the door.

The sounds coming from inside were faint and dense.

Although I knew I shouldn't eavesdrop, I still stopped in my tracks uncontrollably.

"It's already the 10th, and she still hasn't given us the money."

"Several thousand yuan is not a small amount."

"Let's ask her tomorrow. What's the point of a child carrying so much money? It's not safe. And we shouldn't let her spend it recklessly. Otherwise, she'll make some shady friends and cause us trouble."

"What kind of friends does she have? She's just like her mother, both of them are mentally ill."

Guan Nan opened her mouth and murmured, "Just like her mother."

After years of deep affection between husband and wife, all they got in return was this one sentence.

Mom, look.

Your so-called great love, which led you to leave your hometown and marry far away all these years, seems so ironic, pathetic, and laughable at this moment.

In my memory, those scenes from the DV camera are so sweet and intimate.

Along with this came the disdain that Grandma always had on her lips.

"What's this woman worth?"

"This woman willingly followed me to serve the people, giving me money and gifts, always putting money into our family's service."

"If it weren't for my family taking pity on you, who would want you?"

Guan Nan's head throbbed with pain; she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

Step by step, I retreated back to the balcony.