☆、18、Then I'll stay with you forever (2392 words)

She hadn't prepared to go into the water, hadn't warmed up, and things had happened so unexpectedly. Although the temperature was hot, the pool water was still quite cold. Li Yaxi had just been exposed to the sun and was feeling extremely hot. This contrast caused her to cramp up.

Li Yaxi sank before she could even struggle. Her classmates were stunned by the sudden turn of events. It wasn't until Feng Zihao jumped into the pool and pulled her out that they reacted and shouted for the teacher.

Although the round trip only took a few seconds, Li Yaxi, who was being carried ashore, choked on several mouthfuls of water. The instinctive fear of drowning, coupled with the fact that she viewed the swimming pool as a breeding ground for bacteria, made her realize she had swallowed several mouthfuls of water—water containing men's sweat, perhaps smelly feet, perhaps even urine—caused her to faint.

Seeing the unconscious Li Yaxi, Feng Zihao pinched his leg hard. He had learned first aid, and now he needed to remain calm. He performed chest compressions and artificial respiration. After a while, Li Yaxi coughed up a few mouthfuls of water and began to breathe, but before he could even see her clearly, she fainted again. Seeing that Li Yaxi had resumed breathing, Feng Zihao pushed the teacher aside, picked her up, and ran to the infirmary. He called a driver to come and pick her up; he wouldn't feel at ease until she was taken to the hospital for a full checkup.

As soon as Li Yaxi woke up, she leaned over the bed and started vomiting. The heart-wrenching sound made Feng Zihao feel like he was dying. In the end, he had to get an anti-vomiting injection to calm her down for a while.

Because she vomited so badly, Li Yaxi was sweating profusely from stomach pain. She curled up on the bed, clutching her stomach. When she saw Feng Zihao come in with the medicine, she clung to him tightly and weakly cried out in pain.

Aside from the car accident, Li Yaxi had never cried out in pain like this before, which terrified Feng Zihao, who immediately called for a doctor. After a thorough examination by the doctor, Li Yaxi wished she could just faint, but she remained perfectly lucid. Forgetting all about maintaining appearances, she grabbed Feng Zihao's hand, almost crying. The final diagnosis was a stomach spasm caused by nervous vomiting, with a minor stomach perforation.

Feng Zihao wasn't familiar with some medical terms, only understanding the words "stomach perforation." "How painful must it be to have a perforation?" he thought. "No wonder Ya Xi was in so much pain." He anxiously asked about precautions and carefully wrote them down. Returning to the ward and seeing Ya Xi asleep after receiving a painkiller injection, that feeling of helplessness enveloped him once again.

This was someone he had been taking care of for a year, practically inseparable except when sleeping. He was amazed that he could take such good care of this person. Gently holding the hand that hadn't received the injection in his own, the icy body temperature almost brought tears to his eyes.

In his past life, Li Yaxi's health was poor due to the abuse he suffered at the hands of that woman and the neglect he endured from that man. He first experienced a stomach hemorrhage in junior high school. It seems like it was within the last two years, but he couldn't remember exactly when. It wasn't that he had a bad memory; it was just that it happened too many times. He was hospitalized three times for stomach hemorrhages during high school alone.

When Li Yaxi opened her eyes, she saw Feng Zihao looking remorseful and regretful. Li Yaxi felt relieved. Whether it was a continuation of her poor health from her previous life or a sacrifice of her health due to rebirth, in this life, she wouldn't be left unattended and to fend for herself like before.

"...Zihao"

Feng Zihao carefully pulled the blanket up for him and leaned closer. "Ya Xi, where do you feel unwell? Is your stomach still hurting badly?"

Li Yaxi shook her head. "It doesn't hurt anymore, Zihao...you'll always be with me...right?"

It's said that sick people feel the most insecure, and Feng Zihao felt even more sorry for her. "Yes, I will always be with you, Ya Xi."

Li Yaxi smiled and went back to sleep. That night, Li Yaxi insisted that Feng Zihao sleep with her, but Feng Zihao refused. The hospital beds were small, and he was strong, so he would squeeze Li Yaxi into his bed. In the end, he gave in to Li Yaxi's wet, pleading eyes, which seemed to say that if he didn't agree, he would be abandoned. He had no choice but to squeeze into the bed with her and carefully hold her in his arms.

Li Yaxi just felt that it was too hot when the air conditioner was off and too cold when it was on. The temperature was just right when Feng Zihao was holding her. She couldn't let him hold her all night, although Feng Zihao wouldn't refuse. But she didn't want Feng Zihao to be too tired, so she compromised and let Feng Zihao sleep with her. It was indeed very comfortable.

After staying in the hospital for two days, Li Yaxi was discharged. When she returned to the classroom and saw Zhou Yang, she realized that she hadn't settled the score with him yet. Perhaps everyone thought that what happened that day was an accident, but Li Yaxi clearly saw that Zhou Yang had secretly pushed that boy. Zhou Yang had made her suffer twice, and it wouldn't be in her nature not to get revenge.

Looking around the classroom, she couldn't seem to see the boy who had caused her to fall into the water. She looked at Feng Zihao with some confusion, "Where's that guy from that day? I think he's in our class, right?"

Feng Zihao felt a pang of discomfort at the thought of that person, and his tone turned cold as he said, "He dropped out of school."

"Huh?" Li Yaxi was surprised. Could it be that the boy dropped out of school because he was too embarrassed to show his face in front of her after almost killing her? No way... Li Yaxi had a feeling that this matter was related to Feng Zihao. "Zihao, did you do something?"

Feng Zihao looked at Li Yaxi in silence for a long while, then said, "...He hurt you."

Although Li Yaxi felt particularly relieved by these words, she knew that every wrong had its perpetrator and every debt its debtor, and this matter needed to be settled with the right person. "Zihao, that was an accident. You can't just make things up like this without knowing the facts. Besides, getting into No. 4 Middle School isn't easy; you might ruin someone's future by doing this."

Feng Zihao felt wronged, a sense of injustice stemming from Li Yaxi's disapproval: "He hurt you."

Li Yaxi knew she couldn't reason with him, so she could only sigh helplessly and stop arguing. She picked up a book and started reading casually. Feng Zihao looked at Li Yaxi with some unease. "Yaxi... are you... angry?"

Li Yaxi shook her head. "I'm not angry, I just feel sorry for that boy." Li Yaxi put down her book and looked seriously at Feng Zihao. "Zihao, do you know how unfair this world is? Some people work hard their whole lives but end up with nothing, while others are born into a life of ease. Take me and that boy, for example. If I had accidentally pushed him into the water that day, do you think I would have been expelled? No, but that boy was expelled because of me. Because I have you, and he doesn't, he's destined to face this injustice. So I feel a little bad. I've experienced that feeling of unfair fate before."

Feng Zihao didn't want to see the sadness in Li Yaxi's eyes; it pained him deeply. "Then... I'll let him come back to school, but he can't stay in this class. I don't want to see him."

Seeing Feng Zihao's obvious concession, Li Yaxi knew when to stop, smiled and nodded, even hugging Feng Zihao's arm and shaking it playfully, "Zihao, you're so good."

Feng Zihao silently turned his head to read, but his flushed ears betrayed his icy expression. Zhou Yang watched their actions from behind, his notebook ripped with deep scratches, his gaze growing increasingly cold. Li Yaxi, as if sensing something, turned around and gave Zhou Yang a meaningful smile. Zhou Yang instantly felt as if she had seen right through him, a thorn in his side.

For several days in a row, Zhou Yang intentionally or unintentionally avoided Li Yaxi, but Li Yaxi did not cause any trouble for Zhou Yang. Just when Zhou Yang thought the matter was over, he discovered that Li Yaxi's revenge had only just begun.