Chapter 8 Wounds

Ji Tong did not delete that person's WeChat account.

I've blocked you.

Two days.

Monday morning.

"Drink this bowl of red mushroom and conch soup before you go!" The nanny, wearing heat-resistant gloves and carrying a ceramic bowl, chased after him.

Ji Tong's family eventually found out about her fever. Ms. Song Jiahe, the owner of 25 galleries located on prime land around the world, made eight phone calls. As soon as Ji Tong opened her eyes on Saturday, she was picked up by a driver and taken back to Haiyuan.

Ji Tong stayed home for two days, with little appetite and low spirits, which worried her aunt a lot.

Monday is 8 a.m. Ji Tong had insomnia last night and didn't fall asleep until after 4 a.m. When he opened his eyes again, it was already 6:40 a.m. He hurriedly picked out a coral pink short-sleeved shirt, paired it with jeans, and ran downstairs in a few quick steps.

"Aunt Yang, I'm not eating anymore, I'm going to miss it!"

"Just one bite, just one bite, my dear! I added your favorite red mushrooms; Aunt Yang has been stewing it all morning!"

Upon hearing that it had been stewing all morning, Ji Tong abruptly turned around and, while picking up the earthenware pot, said, "Then just one bite."

"Okay, just one bite. The ceramic bowl is hot, Aunt Yang will bring it to you."

Ji Tong drank half a bowl of soup in the manner of "a small animal sipping water by the river," and before leaving, he was stuffed with a large mouthful of red mushrooms and snail meat.

Despite rushing, the school bell still rang when I arrived.

Professor Lin, a professor of linear algebra, rarely saw Ji Tong late, and jokingly waved his hand, saying, "Where's the class representative? Write this down, or you'll lose points for participation."

As Ji Tong walked towards her seat, she raised her hand and said, "The class representative is here, okay, teacher."

A murmured laugh rippled through the crowd.

Just as Ji Tong returned to his seat, a hand was placed on his forehead.

Still a little out of breath from running, Ji Tong instinctively slapped away the hand: "You're not running a fever anymore, Gu—"

The word "Gu" escaped his lips, and Ji Tong paused for two seconds, even his breathing.

Li Yuan, whose hand was slapped away: "Tongtong, what did you say?"

"…nothing."

He must have been running too fast and was short of oxygen, which is why he mistook that hand for Gu Lin's.

Professor Lin, who was accustomed to traditional teaching methods, had already started writing on the blackboard. After Ji Tong finished the problem, his gaze unconsciously drifted to his phone.

I've blocked them for two days now, and I don't know if they've sent me any messages.

Ji Tong absentmindedly tapped the phone screen with his pen, then coughed softly after finishing.

"Hey you... have you contacted us these past couple of days?"

Several people around him turned their heads, making a bit of a commotion. Ji Tong immediately used his book to push Li Yuan's face back: "Why are you looking at me? Look at the blackboard."

Li Yuan was a little confused about Ji Tong's meaning, so he exchanged glances with Zhou Tian.

"What do you mean? Tongtong brought up Brother Lin on her own initiative?"

"You've made up?"

"That's definitely not true. When Tongtong left on Friday night, she didn't even glance at Lin Ge, and she even blocked him on WeChat."

Zhou Tian realized: "That was... a test?"

Li Yuan: "?"

Zhou Tian: "Didn't Tongtong say before that we shouldn't contact Brother Lin in private?"

Zhou Tian felt he had figured it out as he thought about it, so he was the first to speak: "We haven't contacted Brother Lin."

Ji Tong: "?"

Li Yuan was stunned for a moment, then pledged his loyalty: "Right, who is Brother Lin? I don't know him!"

Ji Tong: "..."

What has that person been doing these past two days?

"...Didn't come to school?" Ji Tong couldn't help but ask again.

“He didn’t come, we’re not familiar with him!” Li Yuan said.

Ji Tong: "".

Because I was blacklisted, that person's profile picture and messages are no longer visible on my WeChat message page.

Ji Tong tapped the search bar three times before finally pressing the lock screen button.

They released him after only two days of blocking him; what kind of behavior is that?

After the two long classes ended, Ji Tong took out her student ID card, handed it to Li Yuan, and asked, "What do you want to eat for lunch?"

Li Yuan: "Eating yours again?"

"Of course, I said I'd treat you to a meal, so you'll be eating at my place for the whole week."

Li Yuan didn't mince words, taking the school card with both hands and holding it above his head: "Thank you for your gift, Young Master Ji."

Cui Mingying coughed.

Li Yuan pretended to speak on a whim: "Um, Tongtong."

"Um?"

"Is it just the few of us?"

"Anything is fine, you can even call A-Liang and the others." Ji Tong was tidying up his drafts, his tone nonchalant.

"Then..." Li Yuan tentatively asked, "Who else is acceptable?"

Ji Tong suddenly stopped moving.

Two seconds later.

"Who? I don't know them."

The three of them: "..."

Cui Mingying shook her head, took out her phone, and tattled on someone, saying only one word.

【fierce. 】

The days are ominous.

The person was also fierce.

-

When people are busy, they are less likely to have random thoughts.

Ji Tong spent the entire afternoon in the research institute's lecture hall, and by the time it ended, it was already sunset.

Ji Tong closed his laptop and was about to leave when a figure appeared in front of him. He looked up and saw it was Duan Pei.

"Senior hasn't left yet?" Ji Tong asked.

Duan Pei, Ji Tong's senior, is a senior in the Computer Science Department of Anhui University. Because he had already been recommended for postgraduate studies at the same university and happened to be under the supervision of the project team's mentor, he was drafted into the project from the very beginning.

"Yeah, I still have some things to do, just finished," Duan Pei handed Ji Tong a bottle of water. "Want to go together?"

Ji Tong agreed, took the water, and nodded: "Okay."

Duan Pei: "Give me the computer, I'll get it for you."

“No need, I brought a bag,” Ji Tong turned around in her chair and stuffed her laptop and headphones into her black backpack. “Okay.”

Duan Pei looked at Ji Tong's bag, seemingly wanting to say something, but Ji Tong had already slung the bag over his shoulder, so he withdrew his hand and looked around: "Where are Li Yuan and the others?"

Ji Tong: "I've gone to deliver the documents."

The two walked out of the classroom together.

Duan Pei turned his head and glanced at Ji Tong, the afterglow of the setting sun making his eyes shine brightly.

"Did you have a fever on Friday?"

Ji Tong hummed in agreement, twisted open the lid, and took a sip of water: "It's just a little body temperature, not high at all."

"39 degrees isn't high?" Duan Pei raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you tell me?"

As a proud "strongman" of the project team's mentors, Duan Pei was basically the counselor for the two classes in the first year of high school. She could manage everything, big and small. In addition, she was good-looking and got along well with the younger students. It was not surprising that she asked this question. So Ji Tong said, "Because it doesn't interfere with the classes."

Duan Pei remained silent for a moment, somewhat helpless.

"Ji Tong, I'm your senior, not your teacher. I'm asking this as a friend, concerned about your health, not your studies."

Ji Tong mimicked his tone and replied, "Okay, senior. If I have another chance to get a fever of 39 degrees next time, I will let you know."

Duan Pei smiled and shook his head.

The campus is always most lively in the evening, with a pleasant temperature and time. The two chatted as they walked out of the teaching area and heard the lively sounds of the playground. The sounds of people playing guitar, singing, playing basketball, and walking and talking drifted over on the wind.

Ji Tong answered a phone call.

Duan Pei waited for him to hang up before asking, "Who wants to come over?"

"Oh, A-Yuan and the others, they're on their way after delivering the materials. Let's go have dinner together later," Ji Tong shared a location in the dorm group chat. Suddenly remembering something, she asked, "Senior, do you want to eat together later?"

"Okay, then I won't stand on ceremony."

"It's nothing."

Li Yuan and the others were on their way to the No. 2 court. In case they missed each other again, Ji Tong simply took Duan Pei into the field and waited by leaning against the court's fence.

"By the way, senior, the first algorithm question on the test paper that Professor Lin handed out last week, the one about the typical RISC-V five-stage pipeline, was it really a difficult question in your year's graduate entrance exam...?"

As Duan Pei was listening, the person next to him suddenly stopped talking.

"It's a past exam question... What's wrong?" Duan Pei looked in the direction Ji Tong was looking.

This is the location of basketball court number two.

"Did you see someone you know, or..." Duan Pei stopped abruptly when he turned his head and saw Ji Tong's expression.

Duan Pei still remembers the first time he met Ji Tong. It was in June, when the lotus pond at Anhui University was full of flowers. Ji Tong had a stunningly beautiful face and said to him, "Hello, senior. My name is Ji Tong. Teacher Lin asked me to give you the forms I've collected."

Despite having a family background that most people could only dream of, he got along well with everyone, regardless of whether they were men or women.

He never loses his temper with anyone, and no one gets angry with him. Even the fierce professor "Old Lin" always calls him "Tongtong".

Duan Pei had always thought that Ji Tong was like that.

Even today.

The person next to him kept his gaze fixed on the substitutes' seats on the field, his face unusually indifferent, even bordering on cold.

"Tongtong?" Duan Pei called out, and then he heard Ji Tong speak without any warning: "Senior, let's go to the cafeteria first."

Before Duan Pei could react, Ji Tong had already walked outside.

Just as Duan Pei was wondering what was going on, the stadium floodlights automatically sensed the faint light and lit up all at once.

The sudden bright light shone directly into the center of the second court, causing the person holding the ball to wince in shock. The basketball slipped from their grasp and flew rapidly toward the goal.

"Depend on!"

"Tongtong, be careful!"

"戈戈——"

Li Yuan and his two companions, who were running over, shouted. Duan Pei was about to raise his hand to stop them when Ji Tong turned around amidst a scream. He raised his left hand and slapped the basketball that was being thrown at him to the side.

With a "thud," the basketball, having lost most of its force, slammed into the net, landed, rolled twice on the ground, and then landed back at Ji Tong's feet.

The entire room fell silent for a few seconds.

"Beautiful."

"That scared me to death."

"Is Tongtong alright?"

Most of the people present obviously recognized Ji Tong, including the man with the ball. He was about to run over to apologize when he saw Ji Tong slowly bend down and pick up the basketball that had rolled to his feet. He paused for two seconds, dribbled, and then looked up. The moment the basketball returned to his palm, he raised his hand and threw it toward a certain spot on the court.

Everyone realized that something was wrong.

Ji Tong... seems... a little angry?

Everyone: "?"

With another "bang," the ball was caught.

Li Yuan and the other two looked in the direction where Ji Tong threw the ball.

Hold.

What's Lin Ge doing here?

After tossing the ball, Ji Tong didn't look at the person again and strode away.

I haven't seen anyone all day; I'm playing ball with my friend Xiaomai here.

Ji Tong was so angry that she forgot she was the one who blocked the person, and walked forward with her head down.

But just as he walked a dozen meters away, the stadium suddenly became noisy.

"Brother Lin, where are you going? Wait a minute... Damn it, Brother Lin! What happened to the blood on the back of your clothes?!"

"Huh? What? Bleeding? Where?"

"Damn! Gu Lin, are you alright?"

Li Yuan and the others were about to leave with Ji Tong when they heard the voice behind them and suddenly stopped.

"Wait, who's bleeding?" Li Yuan thought he was hallucinating.

The sudden incident caused everyone on the field to quickly gather around Gu Lin.

Just as Xiaomai, also known as Chen Yongjie, was about to reach out to help, a fair and slender hand suddenly appeared in his line of sight.

That hand, without any restraint or method, suddenly grabbed Gu Lin's clothes at the waist and lifted them up.

Everyone: "..."

Chen Yongjie: "...?"

No, classmate, isn't this a bit too intense?

Although I know you mean well, it seems that Brother Lin doesn't like being touched by others.

“Classmate, you…” Chen Yongjie turned around and saw a face so exquisite that there was no flaw in it.

It was the classmate who just threw the ball at Brother Lin.

The others around Ji Tong were also looking at him.

Seeing Ji Tong's extremely unpleasant expression, a senior student thought he was frightened and spoke up at the right time: "Tong Tong, uh... it shouldn't have been your ball that hit him, don't worry too much."

Ji Tong seemed not to hear anything, her eyes only on the crisscrossing, bluish-purple wounds on Gu Lin's back.

There are four courses in total.

Each one is 20 centimeters long.

Every single one of these marks bears the traces of "human intervention".

The bloodstains were coming from a wound under the external oblique muscle.

Ji Tong gripped the hem of Gu Lin's clothes tightly, her hands trembling and her voice shaking.

"Who did this?"

Gu Lin looked at his reddened eyes, his knuckles twitched unconsciously, and finally pressed down, speaking softly in a comforting tone: "It's okay."

“I said,” Ji Tong didn’t let go, and walked closer step by step until she was almost touching Gu Lin, and said one word at a time, “Who did this?”

The entire room was eerily quiet.