Chapter 21 "What kind of person do you like?"... The weak exude a sense of vulnerability and vulnerability to being bullied.
Tang Ci felt this way the summer she graduated from elementary school.
There were quite a few children in the inpatient department, some of whom came to accompany their families, and others were accompanied by their families. Tang Ci was the only exception.
Tang Jianwei only appeared when the doctor notified him of important matters, and his mother had already passed away. Therefore, Tang Ci spent most of her time in the hospital alone.
Tang Ci, who had just graduated from elementary school, did not yet understand exactly when her life began to become chaotic.
It could be during the third-grade winter vacation when Tang Jianwei stopped all her extracurricular classes, or it could be during the sixth-grade summer when she was diagnosed with the disease.
By the time she realized it, she had lost her social currency among her peers and become an isolated, invisible person.
Unsurprisingly, she failed to fit into the temporary group of children in the hospital and was even mocked because of the red rash on her cheeks when she was sick.
That day, after her routine check-up, she returned to her ward. Several boys from other wards were standing outside the door, their faces displaying both innocence and cruelty, laughing and joking as they discussed her symptoms without any restraint.
Tang Ci sat on the edge of the bed, looking blankly at the children who were grinning mischievously. Her arm, where blood had been drawn, throbbed with pain along with her temple.
She fought back her tears, grabbed her schoolbag, and left the ward, thinking that this would allow her to avoid them.
However, they had no intention of letting her go. The fat boy in the lead looked smug and, dissatisfied with Tang Ci's evasive attitude, waved to his friends behind him, "Come on—let's see what she's up to."
Tang Ci tried to shake them off by going around two floors, but they still followed her after she exited through the back door of the inpatient department.
"Don't follow me." Tang Ci clenched her fists and mustered her courage to warn him, but one of them shoved her hard.
She stumbled into a thicket of lush grass taller than herself, crushing a thriving bellflower, and her white dress was covered in mud.
Tang Ci was afraid that Tang Jianwei would scold her if he saw that she was covered in dirt, so she bent over and patted the dirt off her body.
The boys laughed at her disheveled state, but before they could finish their laughter, the fat boy in the lead was hit on the forehead by a stone that suddenly flew from the corner of the wall. Startled, he covered his head and yelped a few times before angrily shouting at the corner, "Who's there?!"
A tall, thin boy stood up from the bench in the corner. He had a straight posture and his black shirt was neatly pressed. He was holding his headphone cord in one hand and tossing a small pebble in the other. He said in a low voice, "It's so noisy."
Tang Ci sat in the messy grass, staring blankly at him. She recognized him as the boy she had met last time. She still remembered the feeling of his cool fingertips wiping away her tears.
The boy seemed to notice her gaze, tilted his head slightly towards her, and extended his palm towards her.
Tang Ci's heart pounded. She hadn't been protected in a long time, and her grip on the hand was awkward.
The boy pulled her up and behind him, his tall figure completely obscuring her.
The boys were intimidated by his posture, but their momentum quickly returned when they saw the blindfold on his face.
The boy with glasses stammered, trying to steal the spotlight, "Don't be afraid, everyone, he, he's blind."
The fat man pouted and picked up a handful of pebbles from the ground, yelling, "No one has ever dared to hit me before. Today I'll show this blind man what I'm capable of!"
As he spoke, he vigorously swung his arm and threw a handful of pebbles at the boy.
Pebbles clattered against the boy's trouser legs, and a few rolled to Tang Ci's feet.
Tang Ci gripped the boy's clothes tightly in fear. The boy didn't waste any words with them and accurately threw the pebble in his hand at the fat man's stomach.
With a soft "plop," the pebble struck the fat man's stomach, creating a dent, before bouncing off and hitting the man's leg.
The two squatted on the ground, one in front of the other, yelling and screaming. The remaining boys looked at each other, swallowing hard and stealing glances at the calm blind man.
As if by magic, the boy produced another stone in his hand, but this time he didn't throw it; instead, he held it between his slender fingers.
He said, "I'll count to three. If you want to stay, I'll continue playing with you."
"three."
The fat man, forcing himself to maintain his dignity, panted heavily and remained motionless.
The other boys had no choice but to stand still as well.
"two."
Glasses rubbed his calf and took a step back, only to be glared at by the fat man with a look of exasperation. But the fat man's steps also became unsteady.
"one."
After the boy finished speaking, he casually threw the stone in his hand against the wall.
With a soft snap, a group of boys were startled and scattered in all directions, screaming.
The overgrown back garden returned to tranquility, and Tang Ci peeked out from behind the boy with lingering fear.
The boy turned around, first placing his fingers on her shoulder, then reaching for her cheek.
The boy chuckled as he gently brushed away the cold tears from her cheek with his fingertips. "Little one, why are you crying again?"
Tang Ci then belatedly realized that she had been crying. She took out a tissue and wiped her face haphazardly, feeling ashamed for causing him trouble. She said in a muffled voice, "I'm sorry."
Why are they bullying you?
Tang Ci sniffed. "I don't know either."
The boy bent down, picked up a stone, and placed it in her hand. "Next time they cause trouble, hit them back, understand?"
Tang Ci rubbed the sharp edges of the stone with her palm, and said hesitantly, "...Can I get my shoes repaired?"
"..." The boy's handsome lips curled up slightly, and he said helplessly, "It's better than just standing here."
He put an earphone into his right ear and fumbled for the back of the bench to sit down.
Tang Ci tugged at the button on her skirt and asked in a low but quick voice, "Brother, what's your name?"
The boy raised his arm toward her, a wristband with the name of his department hanging on it.
Tang Ci leaned closer to look, "Sheng, Sheng... Mei?"
"Yu, the 'Yu' in 'Zhong Ling Yu Xiu' (meaning 'beautiful and talented')." The boy frowned slightly and gestured above her head. "Little one, how old are you? Are you in elementary school?"
"I've already graduated from elementary school." Tang Ci felt ashamed of her limited knowledge for the first time, and unconsciously began to explain, "I was always absent because of illness, and I missed a lot of classes, which is why I'm like this..."
Sheng Yu was unusually silent for a moment before asking her, "Did you bring your books?"
"I brought them." To prove she wasn't lying, Tang Ci handed all the books from her bag to Sheng Yu.
“Tell me what you don’t know,” Sheng Yu said casually, taking off his headphones and sitting on the bench.
Tang Ci hesitated and sat down at the other end of the bench, opened her math textbook, and asked the question that she had never understood.
Sheng Yu verbally described the steps and had Tang Ci write them down. Elementary school math is easy, so Tang Ci followed along and wrote it down once, and the problem was easily solved.
Tang Ci found enjoyment in it and, with Sheng Yu's guidance, quickly finished a test paper.
Time slipped by unnoticed, and before I knew it, the golden sun had already slowly sunk behind the western mountains.
Sheng Yu stood up amidst the rosy glow of the sunset. His jet-black hair was tinged golden by the setting sun. A gentle breeze blew through, causing stray hairs to flutter between his straight brows before he smoothed them back up on his head.
"Did you understand what I explained today?" he asked.
"I understand." Tang Ci looked up at him blankly, twisting her fingers and asking in a low, cautious voice, "Brother, will you come again tomorrow?"
Sheng Yu lowered her head slightly, deftly twirling the headphone cord around her fingertips. "I've been here all summer."
He stuffed the wrapped earphones into his pants pocket, raised his hand and ruffled her hair: "Come find me here whenever you want to study."
That was the first time young Tang Ci had made friends on her own initiative, and her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest.
She clutched her heaving chest and nodded forcefully, etching the boy's image into her mind again and again.
/
Back in the library's private room, Sheng Yu didn't sit down; instead, she picked up her backpack and slung it over her shoulder.
Tang Ci asked, "Aren't we studying today?"
Sheng Yu casually put the chair back in its place, saying, "Why are you showing off when you have an upset stomach?"
Tang Ci glanced at the sanitary napkin in the side pocket of her backpack and her ears suddenly burned. "Actually... it's not that uncomfortable."
Sheng Yu's attitude left no room for negotiation. He strode to the elevator and pressed the down button.
The two entered the elevator car one after the other. As the elevator slowly moved, Tang Ci secretly peeked at Sheng Yu through the elevator mirror and noticed that he looked very unhappy.
After pondering for a while, Tang Ci felt guilty, not only for wasting his time but also for dragging the innocent man into the dispute.
Sheng Yu helped her out of politeness towards her classmate, but she might actually believe Ding He's words and think of her as a scheming person who only cares about profit, just like everyone else.
After all, she and Sheng Yu were just ordinary classmates.
Complex emotions swirled in Tang Ci's mind. She felt like a piece of driftwood floating on the sea, her joys and sorrows entirely dependent on the weather in Sheng Yu's sea area.
As Tang Ci left the library, she was trying to sort out the tangled mess in her mind when Sheng Yu suddenly said, "Want to chat?"
She looked up and saw Sheng Yu pointing to a beverage shop by the roadside, nodding and saying okay.
Thinking that Sheng Yu was going to judge her, Tang Ci's mood had already plummeted when she entered the store. Like a puppet on a string, she was told by Sheng Yu to sit in a booth and wait, so she obediently sat down.
Sheng Yu stood outside the counter, pointing to the picture on the drink menu and said to the owner, "Give me one of these, hot."
There were only their table of customers in the store. After Sheng Yu placed his order, the only sound coming from the water bar was the clanging and banging.
Tang Ci clutched her aching lower abdomen, mentally rehearsing how she would defend her character when Sheng Yu questioned her.
Thinking back to how their tutoring sessions started with her breaking the rules and causing a traffic jam, Sheng Yu couldn't possibly believe her, given her criminal record.
Tang Ci rubbed her fingertips against the lace tablecloth, trying to relieve her anxiety through friction.
A short while later, the owner placed a steaming white porcelain teacup on the bar and gently reminded the customer, "Your drink is ready, please drink it as soon as possible."
Sheng Yu responded with an "Mm," and walked towards the booth with her teacup. Hearing the approaching footsteps, Tang Ci felt inexplicably nervous.
Sheng Yu placed a steaming teacup in front of her and sat down on the sofa opposite her.
Before he could speak, Tang Cixin lowered her eyes in a panic, took a small sip of tea, and then paused for a moment.
Brown sugar water?
Sheng Yu raised an eyebrow. "This is what we should drink during special times, right?"
Tang Ci scooped up the white, moist pear in the cup with a spoon. Actually, she didn't know, but that's what everyone online seemed to say. She rubbed the tip of her nose and said, "It should be."
She took another sip, and Sheng Yucai slowly tapped the table. "Tell me about your ex-boyfriend first."
Tang Ci was completely stunned, utterly bewildered as to why Sheng Yu would ask such a question.
She first said "Huh?" before asking, "Ding He?"
Sheng Yu twitched the corner of his mouth.
Tang Ci frowned and shook her head in confusion, "He's not my ex-boyfriend, I was never with him."
Sheng Yu gave an "oh" sound, her fingertips twirling the handle of her teacup. The porcelain rubbed together, making a soft sound, like the strings of a musical instrument being plucked, stirring her nerves.
"You don't like him like that?"
Tang Ci shook her head, bobbing it like a rattle-drum, her lips curving downwards in a hint of annoyance.
Sheng Yu smiled, resting his chin on the back of his hand as he looked at her, his soft voice trailing off, "So what kind do you like?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
