Chapter 16 P - Wounded
In a moment of confusion, Chu Beiling gradually came to his senses, bent down and squeezed into the crowd to find the pen. The crowd around the huge incense burner in front of the main hall was dense, with many worshippers holding incense sticks and muttering incantations, remaining motionless for a long time.
Chu Beiling laboriously weaved through the unmoving pilgrims, bending down to search for a pen.
Suddenly someone patted his shoulder. Chu Beiling immediately pulled away from Li Dong's touch and took two steps back. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was Li Dong: "You didn't say anything, you scared me."
Li Dong was nearly scared sick by his sudden, neurotic reaction, and was even more annoyed than him. "What did you do that makes you so guilty?" Then, seeing his pale face, she immediately became nervous: "What's wrong with you?"
Chu Beiling let out a long sigh: "The pen rolled into the crowd and disappeared."
Li Dong rolled his eyes: "That's it? I thought something serious had happened. It's just a pen that's gone, so what? Why are you acting like you're half dead, ignoring me when I call you?!"
Chu Beiling didn't know why, but she felt she had to find that pen: "You guys go back first, wait for me to find it."
"There are too many people here, I don't know where they've been kicked to." Li Dong pulled him towards the trellis: "Stop looking, hurry up and hang up the prayer strips, Xu Tunan must be getting impatient."
Chu Beiling licked her dry lips. "I still want to get it back."
The pen belonged to Li Dong. She said, "I don't even care, why should you care? I'm not asking you to pay me back."
"..."
Li Dong wanted to see what wish he wrote down, so he reached out to snatch the prayer strip from him, but Chu Beiling pressed his shoulder and pushed him aside: "Don't move."
"Looking at it won't hurt you," Li Dong said, quite dissatisfied.
Chu Beiling refused decisively: "I won't show you."
"Alright, alright." Li Dong ignored him and reached out to hang the prayer strip on the green trellis.
Chu Beiling went around to the other side and hung the prayer ribbon on the trellis. The bright sunlight fell straight down through the gaps in the vines, creating a Tyndall effect, and the red prayer ribbon swayed in the light and shadow.
That splash of red was both striking and blinding.
Chu Beiling stared at it for a long time, torn between whether or not to take it off. Li Dong patted him on the shoulder and said, "What are you looking at? Let's go."
"Hmm." Chu Beiling remained standing in the same spot.
After taking two steps, Li Dong turned around and saw that he was still standing in the same place, so he simply pulled him away.
The three of them strolled around the area for a while until dusk fell, when they finally felt satisfied and prepared to go home.
Back at the entrance of the alley, just as Chu Beiling entered the apartment building, she ran into Xing Yu, who was about to leave.
Their eyes met for a moment, then quickly looked away.
Xing Yu walked past him and headed toward a black sedan parked at the entrance of the building. The driver got out of the front seat, opened the back door for him, and invited him to get in.
The door opened and closed so quickly that, in the afterglow of the setting sun, Chu Beiling could vaguely see a larger version of Xing Yu in a suit and tie.
Is this Xing Yu's father?!
Before I could even take a closer look, the car quickly drove away from the residential area.
Chu Beiling was a little puzzled, but didn't think much of it and turned to walk into the apartment building.
When Chu Beiling was at home over the weekend, he didn't hear Xing Yu playing the cello in the evening. When he returned to school, he went to the rooftop to look for Xing Yu as Ms. Li had asked, but there was no one there.
Young Master Chu assumed that Xing Yu had returned to school early again, so he ignored him and went back to school by himself.
When Chu Beiling arrived at the school, he still didn't see Xing Yu. When he went to the lakeside to sketch, he deliberately passed by the art classroom. The classroom doors and windows were closed, and there was no one there.
When Xing Yu returned to his dormitory after evening self-study ended, there was no one there.
Chu Beiling wondered, could his wish have come true? He said he would disappear on the spot, and Xing Yu really did disappear?!
Young Master Chu tossed and turned in bed for a long time without being able to fall asleep. Ke Jincheng, who lived in the lower bunk, kicked the bed board, causing it to bulge out.
Chu Beiling peeked out from the lower bunk and asked, "What's wrong?"
Ke Jincheng's voice, still sleepy from being woken up, said, "Little Prince Fanfan, stop turning over."
Chu Beiling picked up his phone and glanced at the time. It was already 1:30 a.m. He quickly apologized and stopped trying to turn things around and disturb the others' rest.
He was overjoyed that Xing Yu had disappeared on the spot, so why was he so upset?
No need to overthink it, no need to overthink it—
Thinking of this, Young Master Chu quickly fell asleep peacefully and slept soundly until dawn.
The next morning, Chu Beiling was woken up by the reveille. He sat up and saw that the bed opposite him was empty. He was not used to it for a while.
With Xing Yu absent and no one to keep him alert, Chu Beiling spent the morning in a daze, yawning until the end of morning self-study.
As soon as the bell rang, Young Master Chu lay down on the table to catch up on sleep.
"Holy crap, Xing Yu got into a car accident!" Xu Tunan's loud voice echoed in the classroom.
The noisy classroom fell silent instantly, and everyone turned to look at him. Like water droplets falling into a hot oil pan, the classroom erupted in chaos the next second, crackling and popping.
Chu Beiling's drowsiness was suddenly shattered by the news, and he instantly sprang up from the table.
He remembered the prayer note he had written at Lingyin Temple... No way...
Her body reacted faster than her brain; Chu Beiling swiftly appeared in front of Xu Tunan, grabbed his hand, and asked anxiously, "Is he...is he alright?"
Xu Tunan shook his head: "I don't know. I sent him a message asking why he didn't come, and he said he was in a car accident, and then he didn't reply."
After all, Xing Yu's car accident was very likely caused by him, and if something really happened, he would be too guilty.
Young Master Chu planned to ask Xing Yu himself, and also to redeem himself from the guilt in his heart.
Just as he was about to ask, Chu Beiling belatedly realized that he didn't have Xing Yu's contact information, not a single one.
Chu Beiling: "Hu Tutu, give me Xing Yu's contact information."
"QQ or WeChat?" Xu Tunan is a social media whiz; he had already added everyone in his class during military training.
Chu Beiling was a little anxious: "Whatever, as long as we can contact him, that's fine. Hurry up, Wang Caiyan will be here soon."
Li Dong looked up at him and asked with a smile, "Why are you so nervous? I didn't realize you cared about him so much."
He wasn't nervous; he was guilty. Chu Beiling genuinely didn't know that the prayer strip was so effective, disappearing just like that.
He still got into a car accident. Although he didn't like Xing Yu and wanted Xing Yu to disappear from his sight, he didn't want him to disappear like this.
Xu Tunan sent him both. Xing Yu's profiles on both social media platforms were very simple. His nickname was an "X", his profile picture was a cello photo, and he hadn't posted a single status update or Moments post.
The interface was cleaner than a color palette. If Xu Tunan hadn't personally recommended it to him, Young Master Chu would have suspected it was a bot.
Not knowing which one Xing Yu was currently using, Chu Beiling simply sent friend requests to both.
After waiting for a long time without any response, Chu Beiling, being impatient, sent the message again, afraid that she might have made a mistake and missed adding it.
Unsure if Xing Yu was alright, Young Master Chu had no interest in anything and couldn't concentrate on his lessons.
On the contrary, the longer he waited, the more anxious and flustered he became because of his lack of response.
An hour ago, if Xing Yu had ignored him, Chu Beiling would have celebrated with firecrackers, but now he was terrified of missing any news from Xing Yu.
Young Master Chu was anxiously scrolling through his phone's message feed when Wang Caiyan almost caught him bringing his phone to school.
This state of anxiety and panic lasted until the end of evening self-study.
All day long, Chu Beiling was absent-minded. His mind had long since drifted out of the school and back to the entrance of the gate, where he returned to his dormitory listlessly, just like the jade scholar whose yang energy had been drained.
Several roommates were talking around Xing Yu's desk in the dormitory:
"Xing Yu, what did the doctor say? How long will it take to remove the mask?" Xu Tunan asked him, "Do you want to switch beds with me? You can sleep on the lower bunk for now, and we can switch back after you recover. It's quite inconvenient for you to climb up and down like this."
Ke Jincheng: "Why don't you stay home and rest for a couple more days?"
Ni Wenxuan: "Won't it be inconvenient for you to paint and eat from now on?"
"Xing Yu, your hand is injured, so you'll definitely be a burden to your roommates during your school life. If you need anything, just let me know, and we'll be happy to lend a hand." Xue Ziang said that he could ask his roommates for help if needed, but what he said sounded rather harsh.
Xing Yu glanced at him, patiently answered his roommates' questions one by one, and then started to shoo them away.
Upon hearing Xing Yu's voice, Young Master Chu's anxious heart, which had been restless all day, finally settled down to the ground, feeling a great sense of relief.
Chu Beiling hurriedly went up and squeezed into the circle surrounding Xing Yu, eagerly looking at him.
Xing Yu sat in a chair with a thick cast on his right hand, from his palm to half of his forearm. His hand was also slinged to his neck with a thin gauze. There were some reddish-purple bruises above his eyebrows, but he didn't look disheveled or unwell at all.
Chu Beiling was severely injured. As art students, they valued their hands more than their lives. Even if they lost their legs and were unable to walk properly, they could not afford to hurt their hands.
A broken hand means I won't be able to move it for at least several months.
And it just so happens to be his preferred hand.
What if I can't draw anymore in the future?!
Chu Beiling dared not think about it.
Xing Yu looked up to meet his gaze: "My hand isn't broken, don't look at me with such pitiful eyes."
Feeling guilty, Young Master Chu unusually refrained from arguing with him. Instead, he asked with feigned remorse, "Apart from your hands, are you alright?"
Xing Yu looked at him with a strange expression, and Chu Beiling, feeling even more guilty, lowered his eyes to avoid Xing Yu's penetrating gaze: "Oh, it's good that you're alright."
He chuckled dryly twice: "It's good that you're alright."
Chu Beiling is actually very much like a cat. When she gets angry, her fur stands on end and she likes to hiss at people, but in reality, she is not threatening at all.
At the same time, it is also very deceptive. For example, now she is looking down with her eyes down, as if she has been bullied badly, looking pitiful and helpless, with a miserable expression.
But who knows if they're up to something again.
Xing Yu glanced at him indifferently, "That's strange, you didn't even set off firecrackers to celebrate."
How could he dare? He would be thankful if Xing Yu came back safe and sound.
Chu Beiling changed the subject: "What about painting next?"
"Let's just leave it be." Xing Yu lowered his head and started tidying up his luggage with one hand. Just as he touched the zipper of his backpack and was thinking about how to open it with one hand, Chu Beiling was quick-witted and nimble-fingered, opening it for him. Then she looked up at him and smiled.
The incandescent light from the ceiling was very bright, and Chu Beiling's two small tiger teeth were so white they were almost blinding.
Xing Yu took out the changes of clothes he brought from home one by one, until only his underwear remained in his bag. They were roommates and of the same sex, so there was no need for them to deliberately avoid each other.
However, sixteen or seventeen-year-old boys always like to compare sizes. When they go to the toilet or wash their underwear, they will casually mention it and start comparing, with the one who is bigger being the most arrogant.
Xing Yu doesn't have this hobby, doesn't like being stared at, and dislikes revealing his privacy.
He paused for a long time, seeing that Chu Beiling showed no intention of leaving, and finally couldn't help but say, "Why are you still standing here?"
Before he could say the rest, he hadn't even had a chance to finish.
Chu Beiling's hand had already reached into his schoolbag and quickly took out the few pairs of underwear lying quietly inside, stuffed them into his clean school uniform, and then zipped up the schoolbag for him.
Xing Yu: "..."
Chu Beiling: "You're not comfortable with only one hand, so please don't be polite."
Xing Yu: "No need."
Even after saying he didn't need it, Chu Beiling still followed Xing Yu around like a shadow for the next five minutes, always getting ahead of him and doing everything for him.
He wasn't given a chance to refuse at all.
Even as Xing Yu picked up his clothes to go to the bathroom to wash them, Chu Beiling followed behind him, looking like she wanted to go in and help.
Xing Yu raised his hand to block the bathroom door, preventing him from entering: "What are you doing?"
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