canteen
Junzhou No.1 Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic
"The wound is nothing serious, just a little bruised and swollen. I've already cleaned the wound, and I just need to spray this medicine on it once in the morning and once at night. Be careful not to let the wound get wet for the next few days."
The school doctor briefly described Xu Changjia's injuries, disinfected the cleaning tools with alcohol, put them back at a distance, and then sat down at the table to sign the bill.
The people standing in the infirmary were all relieved to hear this; it was good that everything was alright.
Ou Liyao seemed to remember something and asked another question, "Doctor, does that mean she can't participate in military training?"
The doctor in the white coat nodded, took out a booklet from the drawer, wrote a few large characters in a flamboyant style, stamped it, and handed it to them.
"Yes, it's best to walk as little as possible. Take this and give it to your teacher. During military training, you can just stand in the shade of the trees next to you and observe."
Upon hearing this, Ou Liyao's parents, who had been relieved, were filled with anxiety again. They felt guilty and heartbroken to learn that their daughter could not attend military training. Their good girl had been injured by their good-for-nothing daughter, so they helped her with everything from paying tuition to moving dormitories, acting as if their daughter was their own.
They even generously provided dinner, and only left reluctantly when the school gates were about to close and the loudspeaker announced that parents were not allowed to stay overnight.
With the dormitory quiet, Xu Changjia breathed a sigh of relief. Due to her limited mobility, she casually found a lower bunk to lie down on and took a book from her backpack hanging on the head of the bed to read.
Ou Liyao originally wanted to sleep on the top bunk, but her parents sternly rejected her idea as soon as she mentioned it: "You've already bumped into someone, how dare you sleep on the top bunk? Will you be serving them, or will they be running around handing you things?"
Following the advice of her parents, Uncle Xu, and Aunt Wei, Xu Changjia's new roommate was always the one who prepared her foot bath water, making her feel comfortable. From various signs, she realized that her new roommate was a very quiet girl who was also very slow to warm up. If you didn't take the initiative to talk to her, she wouldn't get close to you.
But she was still grateful that her quiet and gentle friend had taken the initiative to calm her parents down and was happy to take care of her daily needs for the next few days.
The next day at noon, she wanted to take someone out of the dormitory to the cafeteria for lunch, but remembering the school doctor's advice, Ou Liyao reluctantly swallowed her words.
Xu Changjia noticed her hesitation. After all, she was trying to win over and save someone, so she needed to cultivate a relationship with her first. He put down his book and asked, "Ou Liyao, would you like to try the stir-fried beef with yellow peppers at the Hui restaurant in the cafeteria? My mom asked me about it when I registered yesterday. I heard from my senior that it's delicious."
"Okay, okay, it's still early, let's walk slowly."
"Um."
The girls' dormitory wasn't far from the main canteen; it was just a short walk across Mingde Road and around the corner. However, Xu Changjia was still injured, so they walked a little slower.
Despite leaving early, a considerable number of first-year high school students were already enjoying their meal here. The Hui Muslim food stalls were even more crowded, with so many people that it was impossible to see what dishes were available.
Ou Liyao helped her find a seat, noted down the dishes she didn't eat, and rushed to the window. She was carrying a lot of food and couldn't carry it all, but luckily she was good at socializing and sweet-talked the two boys behind her to help her. They even brought over two servings of soup.
Xu Changjia wanted to get up to help, but she put down the plate and quickly pressed him back down, saying, "Don't move, you're still injured. I asked them for help."
Puzzle filled her face, but Xu Changjia was also amazed by her social skills; she had made friends with two decent-looking boys in just the time it took to get a meal.
She watched as Ou Liyao flitted about like a little butterfly, then put down the food and soup and flew away again, leaving her facing the two boys. She didn't know whether to speak or not, but she didn't know what to say to them either. She was also too embarrassed to look up at them, so she just looked down at the food on the table.
"Ding-dong, host, the two boys opposite, Zheng Ruoqian and Zhang Yuning, are two of the five stars you need to conquer." The memory book's voice appeared again, immediately disrupting her random thoughts and turning her attention to them.
The moment she finished speaking, she looked up at them. One of them looked somewhat familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.
After a long pause, Xu Changjia finally spoke, smiling at them, "Thank you for your help. If you don't mind, please sit down and eat with us."
At this moment, Ou Liyao also came over with four cups of milk tea. She waved and placed them in front of everyone, saying, "Why are you all standing here? Let's sit down and eat together. Consider it a chance to make some friends today."
She then pushed the milk tea in her hand in front of them, saying, "My name is Ou Liyao, and this is Xu Changjia. She was slightly injured, and the doctor advised her to walk less, so thank you for getting us food today. This is a token of our appreciation, please don't refuse."
Zheng Ruoqian and Zhang Yuning exchanged a smile, took the milk tea from her hand, and sat down opposite the two girls.
The former thought it was just a small favor, and since they were classmates, he could treat them to something else next time they met. The latter accepted it generously, not caring about the small favor.
Xu Changjia ate slowly, picking at the plate in Ou Liyao's hand, while marveling at Ou Liyao's social skills, his eyes darting back and forth between the three of them.
She truly lives up to her reputation as a social butterfly. Yesterday, she turned her parents' anger into gentle admonitions, and they even had to thank her for taking care of their daughter at school. Today, in the short time it took to cook a simple stir-fried beef dish, she managed to get Zheng Ruoqian and Zhang Yuning across the table completely under her thumb.
Not only did they learn that they were all students in Class 365 of the first year of high school in 2021, but they also found out that Zhang Yuning's parents were university teachers and that Zheng Ruoqian could play the piano and guitar.
piano?
These two words pulled Xu Changjia back to the Children's Palace three months ago. It was the first day she had just returned from her rebirth. She just wanted to wander around and get familiar with the world she was in at 15. Unexpectedly, she heard the feeling of "a boat on the vast sky" in a little boy's piano playing and couldn't help but take a second look at the person opposite her.
The moment their eyes met, she saw a sense of déjà vu in his eyes, and the smile in his eyes seemed to be a gesture of goodwill towards her.
So, was he the one she saw from behind? Did he also know about her who listened to his piano playing under the tree that day?
However, the quick glances from the other person clearly indicated that they did not want to say more. Xu Changjia suppressed his doubts and did not ask any questions in front of everyone.
Zhang Yuning, who was sitting next to me, was also talking about art. According to the senior he mentioned, Junzhou No. 1 High School has a wealth of extracurricular activities, with no fewer than fifty or sixty clubs of all sizes. Once classes officially begin, freshmen are allowed to choose a few to join, ostensibly to cultivate their artistic talents. The annual artist anniversary celebration and senior cheering party are a dazzling display of talent, with hundreds or even thousands of students having the opportunity to perform on stage. Some even have television crews filming and broadcasting live.
After so long, Xu Changjia couldn't even remember that she hadn't participated in any of the colorful activities in her previous life, just as she couldn't get a word in edgewise now, and could only keep her head down and eat.
Suddenly, Ou Liyao nudged her with her elbow, "Jiajia, Zhang Yuning said there's a street dance club performance at the small square at 9:30 tonight, do you want to go see it?"
Her words, "I want to lie in my dorm and read," stuck in her throat; she couldn't utter a sound.
The next second, a gentle voice came from the other side, like waves slowly rolling up: "Let's go join in the fun, Zhang Yuning and I will go too."
"good."
Her mouth moved faster than her brain; her gaze was still fixed on Ou Liyao, but a voice that seemed to float out from somewhere had already agreed on her behalf.
After a satisfying meal, Ou Liyao received a fruit slice from Zheng Ruoqian. They agreed to meet at 9:30 p.m. at the small square in front of the south gate of the school, and then parted ways to their respective dormitories.
Ou Liyao chattered on and on, her voice filled with longing for her three years of high school life. It seemed that having friends around her was indeed a wonderful feeling.
Xu Changjia didn't interrupt her, but smiled and nodded in agreement. For no reason, he suddenly remembered her rescue mission and asked, "Have you ever thought about what kind of person you want to become?"
Ou Liyao walked up to her and looked at her face to face. She leaned closer to look, as if trying to see something on her face. She seemed puzzled as to why she would ask such a question, but she thought about it seriously for a moment, then walked backwards with her arms crossed, saying as she walked, "I have never thought about what kind of person I want to become. I just feel that being happy and carefree is enough."
"Since you asked so sincerely, I'll think about it carefully over these three years and tell you when I graduate."
Halfway through her sentence, she walked back and hugged Xu Changjia's arm. "By the way, Jiajia, since we've already met each other's parents, let's not be so formal. I'll call you 'Jiajia,' and you can call me 'Yaoyao,' we're going to be best friends for life."
Best friends for life?
Xu Changjia felt a warmth in her heart. This word was too heavy for her. No one had ever said such a thing to her in her past or present life. She was inexplicably attracted to it. Looking at the person in front of her, she silently drew out her features in her mind. Is this what a best friend for life looks like?
She nodded emphatically and softly called out, "Yaoyao, my good friend."
"Yes, Jiajia is Yaoyao's best friend for life."
The two smiled at each other, and Xu Changjia took the initiative to interlock their fingers, holding hands as they walked along Mingde Road in the autumn.
The sunlight stretched their shadows long, highlighting the bright future of the 15-year-old girls, like a star-studded path ahead, or like withered flowers breaking through the soil, radiating new life and flourishing.
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