Is he sick?

The next day, Chen Shengxu left an hour early to buy roasted sweet potatoes and fruit salad, and then waited at the entrance of No. 3 Middle School.

He hadn't calculated the time correctly and arrived too early; he was the only person at the school gate at that time.

I was bored, so I started chatting with the security guard.

The security guard guessed from the flowers in his hand that he was there to pick up his girlfriend.

"Young man, where do you go to school?"

"No. 10 Middle School, my girlfriend goes to this school."

"I guessed it, when will No. 10 Middle School students return to school?"

"On the afternoon of the 7th," Chen Shengxu showed Gu Yu's photo to the gatekeeper, "Uncle, look, this is my girlfriend named Gu Yu, isn't she beautiful?"

"It looks good, you're lucky, kid."

Chen Shengxu looked proud.

"Young man, why do you like this girl?"

Chen Shengxu suddenly felt a little embarrassed. "Uncle, please don't laugh at me for telling you this."

I won't laugh at you.

“We were in the same class in junior high. When we were in the first year of junior high, during military training, she stood at attention very well and was called up by the instructor to be praised. I watched her from below, her little face tense, trying her best to stand at attention, and I thought she was so cute. That’s when I started to have feelings for her.”

"That's impressive, young man!"

Chen Shengxu scratched his hair to hide his embarrassment.

He chatted with the gatekeeper about all sorts of things, and learned that the gatekeeper had a son in his second year of high school and a daughter in her second year of junior high school. He even knew about some of the notorious troublemakers at No. 3 Middle School. The two of them seemed to have known each other for a long time, and they had a lot in common.

They only stopped chatting when Gu Yu came out.

Chen Shengxu said to the gatekeeper, "Uncle, I'm leaving now, see you next time!"

"good."

Gu Yu, sitting in the back seat, found it strange and asked, "Do you know the security guard?"

"I just met him. He's a really nice guy, and he's funny."

"You are truly a flower."

What flower?

"Social butterfly".

Chen Shengxu chuckled a few times. "That's one of my strengths."

"This advantage is particularly good!"

*

On October 6th, Chen Shengxu went to the mall in the afternoon and bought a princess dress that he had been eyeing for a long time. It was a V-neck long dress, mainly white, with a gradient pink color near the hem. There was a pink rose on the right side of the waist, and long, sheer sleeves with light pink bows at the cuffs.

After returning home, I rewrapped it in a pink gift box and tied a red rose on top of the bow.

He had just put the gift box down when the door opened and Mrs. Chen returned. He was startled, fearing that the gift box had been discovered.

Mrs. Chen: "What time are you going to school tomorrow?"

"Six o'clock in the afternoon."

"Then come with me to meet someone at noon and have lunch together."

"good."

Mrs. Chen went into the room to get her things and prepared to leave. "I'll pick you up at ten o'clock tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll be on time!"

"Um."

When Chen Shengxu picked up Gu Yu that evening, he told her about it and asked her to pick up her birthday present from the gatekeeper the next day at noon.

He woke up at seven o'clock the next day, then took the gift to the cake shop to pick up the cake he had arranged the day before, and then rushed to the Third Middle School to tell the gatekeeper what he had to do before hurrying home.

Since I was accompanying my mother to meet someone, I couldn't be too casual, so I specially washed my hair, changed into a white shirt to look more refined, and styled my hair into neat bangs, making me look well-behaved.

When Mrs. Chen came to pick him up, she was fairly satisfied with his appearance; at least he didn't look like a bad boy.

When school let out at noon, the gatekeeper spotted Gu Yu immediately, called her over, and gave her the things.

"I took good care of it, nothing happened," the uncle said with a smile. "That kid said it's your birthday today, so I wish you a happy birthday and all the best!"

"Thank you, Uncle!"

"Go home quickly."

"Um!"

When Gu Yu returned home and opened the gift, he was so shocked by the dress that he was speechless. Even Madam Gu was startled.

Gu Yu felt like crying; the dress was so beautiful.

"Mom, I..."

"I'll ask you for leave. We're going to take some photos this afternoon. We can't let this dress go to waste."

"ah?!"

"It's settled then!" Mrs. Gu turned to get her phone and asked Gu Yu's homeroom teacher for leave, and then made an appointment with the photo studio.

After dinner, Gu Yu was pulled to change into that dress and then pushed into the car.

I was still in a daze while sitting in the car.

It didn't end until 8 PM.

The photographer sent the original photos to Gu Yu, saying that he could choose five to be retouched. Gu Yu picked the ones he thought were pretty good.

The photographer said he would give it to her the next day.

Gu Yu sent the original film to Chen Shengxu.

At that moment, Chen Shengxu was in evening self-study when he saw the photo and blurted out, "Holy crap!"

The teacher frowned: "Chen Shengxu!"

Chen Shengxu stood up and bowed: "I'm sorry, teacher!"

He secretly admired Gu Yu's beautiful photos below, saving them all—one as wallpaper, one as lock screen, and one as chat background!

So beautiful!!

Gu Yu is so beautiful!! I knew she would look especially gorgeous in this dress!!

Holding her phone, she mentally praised Gu Yu to the skies.

His deskmate, Yu Cihuan, also saw the photo and was shocked for a long time, not expecting Gu Yu to be so beautiful.

As Chen Shengxu left the school gate after school, he was still looking down at the photos when someone tapped him on the shoulder. It was Gu Yu.

What brings you here?

"I'll pick you up from school today, it's my turn to take you home!"

Chen Shengxu hugged Gu Yu, "Oh, how can you be so good to me!"

"Let's go, let's go."

Gu Yu was still sitting in the back seat of the car, but this time their destination was Chen Shengxu's house.

Chen Shengxu was worried about her safety going home alone, but Gu Yu told him that she could call him and that would be fine.

So, on Gu Yu's way home, they talked on the phone the whole time. Chen Shengxu heard Mrs. Gu say goodbye to Gu Yu before hanging up.

*

The next day, the photographer sent the photos to Gu Yu, who then forwarded them to Chen Shengxu.

Chen Shengxu first admired the photos for a while before choosing the one he thought was the best and posting it on his social media with the caption: "My girlfriend is the most beautiful princess in the world."

Many people commented below, praising how beautiful it was.

Mengmeng: [Why didn't you post it yesterday, but only today?]

Incredibly Handsome: [I was going to post this yesterday, but you said you had a retouched version but hadn't sent it to me yet, so I thought it would be better to post the retouched one, to avoid some people with no taste saying anything that might upset you.]

Mengmeng: [What do you mean by having no aesthetic sense? (laughing and crying emoji)]

Incredibly handsome: [I don't care, anyone who can't understand you has no taste.]

Mengmeng: [You childish brat.]

Chen Shengxu changed his name immediately.

[Childish Ghost: Okay, I am a childish ghost, a childish ghost who belongs only to Gu Yu.]

Gu Yu looked at the message, suddenly thought of a name, and went to change it.

[My image: Happy.jpg]

Chen Shengxu was excited again.

Gu Yu is truly an angel!! She really loves me so much!!!

Looking at the photos strengthened my resolve to take a photography class, and I found one that very night.

The appointment was for half a day off each week, but he wouldn't go on his monthly days off. He needed to see Gu Yu, otherwise he would feel like dying.

*

The sports meet at No. 3 Middle School started a day earlier than that at No. 10 Middle School. Knowing his own physical strength, Gu Yu didn't sign up for any events, but instead cheered on the athletes and wrote their speeches.

Shang Nuochu registered for the 100-meter event, and an announcement was made asking the female 100-meter runners to go to the podium for registration.

"Gu Yu, remember to come see me!"

"good!"

Gu Yu put away his paper and pen and went ahead to find a spot near the inside of the track to wait for the race to start.

A gunshot rang out.

Gu Yu kept his eyes on Shang Nuochu, cheering her on at the top of his lungs. Shang Nuochu also performed admirably, coming in second place.

Gu Yu wanted to go to the finish line to find Shang Nuochu, but there were people ahead of her walking in the opposite direction.

Bumping around, she was pulled backward, then lost her footing and fell to the ground.

Fortunately, a girl nearby quickly pulled her up, otherwise a stampede might have occurred.

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome. You should go to the infirmary; you're bleeding."

Gu Yu looked at his knee; it was quite badly bruised. "I'll go."

The girl nodded and left.

I wasn't paying any attention to my legs just now, and now I'm only realizing how much they hurt.

I slowly walked to a step and sat down. I looked at the wound carefully and saw that it was covered in ash. If I didn't clean it, it would definitely get infected.

Before going to the infirmary, I sent a message to Chen Shengxu: I hurt my leg, it hurts so much.

Image caption: A broken knee.

Chen Shengxu hadn't finished class yet, and when he saw the message, he was extremely anxious and could only type words to comfort him.

"Yu Cihuan, did you see the ointment I put in the table last time?"

Which one?

"It's the one you bought when you fell while playing basketball last time and scraped your knee so badly. I bought two tubes back then, but where is the other one?"

"You put it in the inner pocket of your backpack."

Chen Shengxu rummaged through his schoolbag and found it. "Thanks."

Why are you looking for this?

"Gu Yu is injured. I'll go to the Third Middle School to give her the ointment. She's most afraid of scarring."

"get out of class is over in ten minutes, are you alright?"

"Don't worry, I'll be back."

"If you don't come back, I'll say you had diarrhea, don't get it wrong."

"Um."

As soon as the bell rang, Chen Shengxu ran out, climbing over the back of the school.

Gu Yu received a voice message from Chen Shengxu as soon as he came out of the infirmary.

"I'm at the entrance of No. 3 Middle School."

He was panting as he spoke.

Chen Shengxu's phone alarm went off; it was time for class at No. 10 Middle School.

"Depend on!"

Having no other choice, he gave the ointment to the gatekeeper, then texted Gu Yu and ran back to No. 10 Middle School.

He clung to the doorframe of the classroom's front door, panting, and said, "Report."

"Where did you go?"

"I..." My mind suddenly went blank. What did Yu Cihuan say back then?

Yu Cihuan watched as he mouthed the words to Chen Shengxu. Chen Shengxu frowned as he looked at the mouth shape, but he couldn't read lips and couldn't make it out even after a long time.

"Chen Shengxu, what are you looking at Yu Cihuan for!"

"I, I, I went..." Chen Shengxu tried his best to decipher Yu Cihuan's lip movements, "I went to break a boulder on my chest?!" He himself looked incredulous.

He glanced at the teacher, whose eyes were practically spitting fire with anger, then looked at Yu Cihuan, who had already turned his gaze to the window.

He thought to himself: I'm doomed!

"Get to the back and stand there!"

Chen Shengxu sheepishly went to his seat to get his book, and then went to the back.

Gu Yu also received the ointment from the gatekeeper, took a picture, and sent it to Chen Shengxu to let him know that he had received it.

After class, Chen Shengxu comforted Gu Yu again before going to find Yu Cihuan.

Before he could even speak, Yu Cihuan exploded.

"What the hell is in your brain?! You can't even remember having diarrhea! And you're talking about breaking rocks on your chest?! Why don't you go to heaven?!"

"Don't get agitated," Chen Shengxu said, pressing down his flailing hands. "I panicked so much that my mind went blank. It's nothing, I just stood for a class period."

"I give up."

The homeroom teacher came in, looked at Chen Shengxu, and said, "Chen Shengxu, I heard from the biology teacher that you went to break a boulder on your chest. Then next time there's a school event, you can represent our class to perform the boulder-breaking act."

"No, teacher, I can't do it, teacher, teacher—"

The homeroom teacher didn't listen to him at all and just left.

"Ugh—this is so annoying!"

The classroom was filled with laughter.

A few people came over and teased him.

Chen Shengxu looked utterly dejected, then turned and told Gu Yu about it.

Gu Yu was amused for a long time, and it was only when Chen Shengxu pitifully begged for comfort that she suppressed her laughter and coaxed him for a while.

*

In the evening, Chen Shengxu went to pick up Gu Yu as usual.

The first thing I did when I saw her was to carefully examine her wounds; they looked painful.

He squatted down and blew on the spot twice, saying, "Blowing on it will make it stop hurting."

"I'm much better now, don't worry."

Chen Shengxu still frowned, "I will protect you well from now on."

"Okay!" Gu Yu pulled him up. "Let's go, let's go home."

On the way, Gu Yu told Chen Shengxu about the fun things that happened at school, just like he always did, and Chen Shengxu responded in kind, also telling him what had happened that day.

But before leaving today, Mr. Chen added a sentence: "Get some rest."

"Okay!"

After returning home, Gu Yu told his wife that he wanted to ask for leave the next day.

After thinking about it, Mrs. Gu agreed since it was the sports meet the next day and she had nothing else to do. She called the homeroom teacher to explain Gu Yu's leg condition, and that was the end of it.

"The leg pain is secondary, isn't it? What's the main reason?" Madam Gu asked Gu Yu with a gossipy look.

"Tomorrow is the Tenth Middle School sports meet. Their school allows family members to go watch. I'd like to go see Chen Shengxu," Gu Yu said a little shyly. "Is it okay if I go?"

“Why can’t you go? You can go if you want,” Mrs. Gu said, pulling her to sit down on the sofa. “I’ll take you tomorrow.”

"Yes! Mom is the best!"

"You're so sweet-talking."

Gu Yu didn't tell Chen Shengxu the news; she wanted to give him a surprise tomorrow.

When I called him that night, Chen Shengxu said he was going to run 200 meters. He also said that their class's opening ceremony was really cool and that he had already found someone to help him film the video and then send it to me.

She agreed to all of them.

Before hanging up the phone, Chen Shengxu asked her again if her leg hurt.

She said with absolute certainty that it didn't hurt, and Chen Shengxu was finally relieved.

Chen Shengxu hugged the blanket and sighed, "Why is Gu Yu so unlucky? She can't believe she has to run into something so stupid, and I'm not even around to help her. It's so annoying!"

“Girls are made of water, with delicate skin and tender flesh. This must hurt terribly. I wonder if she can’t sleep because of the pain!” Chen Shengxu suddenly sat up, then lay back down. “No, no, Gu Yu is very strong.”

"no!"

"No matter how strong she is, she is still just a girl."

She wanted to call Gu Yu, but was afraid she was already asleep. She tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep, so she went to ask the wronged Yu Cihuan.

Yu Cihuan had just fallen asleep when she became furious: "If you really can't handle it, go downstairs to her apartment and see if the lights are still on."

"Go right now! You're so smart!! How come I didn't think of that?"

Yu Cihuan: ? ? ? Is he sick?!

Chen Shengxu immediately hung up the phone and then rode his bicycle to the neighborhood where Gu Yu lived.

I explained the reason to the security guard and he let me in.

Seeing that the light in Gu Yu's room was off, he felt relieved and rode his bicycle home.

I slept without any dreams.