It was the weekend, in the Green Forest residential area next to the Shi family's house.
The weather was lovely today. Although it was still hot under the bright sun, there was a gentle breeze, and it was quite comfortable to be in the shade.
At 2 p.m., just as the team organizing the free clinic was making preparations, Shi Jing, as a volunteer, also appeared there.
At the main entrance of the community, there is a very open area with shady trees on both sides. It has to be said that the landscaping of this community is very good.
The free clinic booth was set up under the shade of a tree on one side, with a small tent erected for added shade. Five queues were marked out in front of the tent with barriers to facilitate residents' waiting.
As a volunteer, Shi Jing's workload wasn't too heavy. In the early stages, she helped out by setting up the consultation table. Once the free clinic officially started at 3 PM, she and several other volunteers were responsible for on-site guidance and registration.
A significant portion of those who came for the free medical consultations were elderly people from the surrounding area, and not all of them knew how to use smartphones.
For these elderly people, if they have a smartphone, the staff will help guide them on how to use it; if they don't have a smartphone, they need to register separately.
The free clinic will last for about five hours. Such a long period of standing and constant communication can be tiring for children like Shi Jing and his friends.
After about an hour of guidance, Shi Jing also felt very thirsty.
There was bottled water available, but Shi Jing was hot and thirsty and just wanted something cold. There was a small supermarket next to the residential area, and Shi Jing remembered that there was a convenience store across the street in the Yanbian area. Just as she finished registering an old lady, Shi Jing told Qi Shuang, who was volunteering with her, and quickly ran over.
The air conditioning in the convenience store was at a comfortable temperature, and Shi Jing felt refreshed as soon as she entered.
Without delay, she ran to the refrigerated display case and grabbed several bottles of chilled mineral water. She took a lot, and held them close to her chest, feeling their icy coolness.
Just as I turned around to pay the bill, I took a picture face-to-face with a boy.
She was taken aback. What a coincidence!
The boy was also taken aback when he saw Shi Jing, and a hint of wariness appeared in his eyes.
Shi Jing smiled. Although she didn't know why this person was so wary, she realized the other person's aloofness.
During the days when they met by chance at the library, she would occasionally run into him. She also vaguely sensed that the boy always came alone, with a cold and aloof expression, and didn't seem easy to approach.
Shi Jing had only bumped into the other person by chance and had no intention of getting closer to him, so he had never paid any attention to it. He never expected that they would meet again at the entrance of the residential area today.
She placed the bottled water she was carrying on the checkout counter and smiled generously, saying, "What a coincidence. I just happen to be volunteering nearby."
By saying this, she was subtly explaining why she was there.
The boy's expression relaxed slightly, and he replied, "What a coincidence."
After paying, I quickly left the convenience store.
"What a strange person," Shi Jing couldn't help but mutter to himself.
After paying the bill, she carried the plastic bag full of drinks and jogged back.
"Qi Shuang, have some water." He said, handing a bottle to Qi Shuang and then distributing some to the others.
Qi Shuang took the water bottle, thanked it, and gently touched her burning cheeks with the cool bottle.
"It's still so hot," his companion couldn't help but exclaim.
Even though it's already 5 pm and there's still a breeze, the event is packed with people, and volunteers are constantly moving around maintaining order and providing guidance, barely stopping for a moment.
Shi Jing opened the water bottle, drank a few sips of the cold water, and felt a little better before quickly continuing to help.
The volunteer activity ended at 8 p.m., and there was another small peak after 5:30 p.m. They were so busy that they barely had time to breathe. The number of people gradually decreased until around 7 p.m.
Only then did Shi Jing have time to chat with Qi Shuang.
The two chatted while drinking water, and occasionally helped guide people who came by.
"Didn't you say you practice piano every day? Did your mom finally let you out today?"
Qi Shuang said with a bitter face, "Thank goodness the school arranged for us to do social practice. I heard you were recruiting volunteers today, and I talked to my mom for a long time about it."
Shi Jing patted Qi Shuang's head affectionately: "Poor child."
"Go away, stop acting all old-fashioned." Qi Shuang waved Shi Jing's hand away impatiently. "Qi Yan is so much better. Look at the photos she posts on her WeChat Moments, surfing and diving with her brother. It's so much fun."
Shi Jing couldn't stop laughing. Qi Yan had been vacationing on the island these past few days and was particularly enthusiastic about posting on WeChat Moments, practically flooding Shi Jing's feed. What Shi Jing found even funnier was that almost every post had a crying emoji of Qi Shuang under it.
However, in Shi Jing's view, although Qi Shuang claimed she didn't want to practice the piano, she wasn't actually that resistant. When she reappeared, she was still cheerful and optimistic.
"Oh, by the way, I talked to Qi Yan on the phone this morning. She said she'll be back on Tuesday and asked us to go out on Wednesday. Are you going?"
Shi Jing raised an eyebrow: "Weren't you going to practice the piano? Come out here."
"Hehe." Qi Shuang chuckled, "I'll just sweet-talk my mom and ask her to move my piano lesson up that day."
Shi Jing rolled her eyes at her. Is this the piano lesson she kept saying she was forced to have no freedom?
"Go ahead, I don't have anything else to do anyway."
Hearing this, Qi Shuang asked curiously, "Are you so sure it's okay? Don't your mom and dad arrange extracurricular classes for you?"
"No," Shi Jing answered frankly.
When Ms. Yan was still Mrs. Shi, she would arrange tutoring classes for Shi Jing every summer vacation. This year, she seems to have let her run wild.
"Damn, you're having a blast."
Upon hearing this, Shi Jing said speechlessly, "My parents are divorced and both of them are in other situations. They don't have time to pay attention to me. What are you envious of?"
Qi Shuang chuckled: "Then you just need to do your summer homework."
"Yes. But I've already finished."
"What!" A sudden loud voice drew the attention of those nearby.
As soon as Qi Shuang made a sound, she realized that they were volunteering outside. She blushed with embarrassment and moved closer to Shi Jing.
"You've finished everything? So fast?" Qi Shuang asked incredulously, lowering her voice.
"I don't have much to do, so I just do it every day, and it's not that fast."
She spent almost all of her time at the library doing her summer homework, which is why she finished it so quickly.
"That's awesome!" Qi Shuang said with genuine envy.
Shi Jing heard her sighing in his ear and took another sip of water. Anyone who didn't know better would think she was terrified of doing homework; it was too exaggerated.
By 7:30, almost no one had arrived. Although the free clinic wasn't completely over, they were already packing up. At 8:00, some were dismantling the tables, others were taking down the sunshades. They worked together efficiently.
As volunteers, Shi Jing and the others could leave after eight o'clock.
The two of them had barely eaten anything except for drinking water and having a few snacks, and they were quite hungry. Qi Shuang accompanied her to a nearby restaurant for dinner before getting into the car to go home.
Shi Jing's house is right next door; it's just a short walk away.
The two waved goodbye and went home.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com