New Life
By the time Hinata Aoi woke up again, she had already been successfully admitted to a ward in the hospital.
Bruise, scrape, other bruises of varying sizes, and marks on wrists and ankles.
Hinata Noko couldn't hold back her tears since the doctor examined her, and she couldn't hold back her tears even after the doctor left. It wasn't until Hinata Aoi woke up that she quickly wiped away her tears and went forward to show concern.
The fact that she didn't take good care of her daughter has always been a thorn in her heart.
Until now, she would occasionally think that if she had paid more attention, would Hinata Aoi's voice be in better condition? Even if it was still very hoarse, at least she could utter syllables that could be understood by others.
Hinata Aoi's injuries look serious, but in fact, she can just take care of herself slowly and avoid strenuous exercise.
However, Hinanoko forced her to rest at home for more than a month before allowing her to return to elementary school.
For more than a month, she could only feel the air outside through the window of her room. The moment she stepped out of the house in the morning, she even felt like she was reborn.
At this time, Ms. Hinanoko was still curled up in her bed at home, enjoying the last five minutes of indulgence before going to work.
Hinata Aoi let the cool air circulate through her lungs, admiring the golden edges of the fallen ginkgo leaves on the street.
She walked into school in the early morning sunshine and opened the smooth classroom door.
Unexpectedly, someone arrived earlier than her.
The black-haired boy with spiky hair didn't even put down his schoolbag. He was doing something in front of Nishimiya Shoko's desk.
Changed seats?
Hinata Aoi walked towards her original position while thinking.
There are colorful prayer notes stuck on the side of the desk box, which makes one guess that it is a "prank" led by Naoka Ueno.
Could it be that drawing a ghost face is to help me get rid of the evil spirits?
Hinata Aoi sorted them out one by one, moved the chair off the table, and placed the sticky notes neatly into the desk box.
She looked up at the students on duty on the blackboard - Hirose Shuu and Ishida Masaya.
The duties of the monitors are roughly divided into cleaning the assigned area in the morning, shouting "stand up" at the beginning and end of classes, wiping the blackboard during breaks, and cleaning the classroom after school.
Sure enough, I was not scheduled to attend today.
Well, it is indeed not something a normal person can do to assign students who have just recovered from injuries and returned to school as monitors... But I really need some physical labor now to regain control of my body.
For more than a month, Hinata Noko didn't even let her leave the house, let alone go for parkour training.
Hinata Aoi felt like the joints all over her body were rusted, and every time she moved, there would be a creaking sound as the joints restarted.
Would you like to help with the cleaning?
Isn’t the other boy in this classroom who is busy doing something I don’t know, Shoya Ishida?
Hinata Aoi doesn't spend much time with Ishida, and her impression of him is that he is naughty, has good athletic ability, has average grades, and has a good relationship with Ueno and the others.
Compared to Ishida Shoya, Hinata Aoi has a deeper impression of Ishida's mother.
She is a very gentle lady who raised two children independently and runs a barber shop. She is one of the few barbers who can understand the needs of customers.
Hinanoko often took her to the barber shop, but she had never met Ishida Shoya in the shop.
Isn't this too focused?
Hinata Aoi's series of actions and sounds since entering the classroom did not disturb the boy.
From the angle of her seat, she could see Ishida Shoya scribbling on the table with a half-broken piece of chalk in his hand, leaving no corner untouched.
Aren’t you cleaning yet?
Hinata Aoi looked at Ishida who was still immersed in his passionate creation, wondering whether she should go up and ask him.
"Don't disturb me." Ishida Shoya heard approaching footsteps and thought that some sympathetic classmate was coming to stop him.
What he was scribbling with chalk was exactly Nishimiya Shoko's desk.
He had been expressing his dislike for this girl, who couldn't understand his expression, with the most direct malice, using repeated taunts and insults, and funny and ugly portraits for several days.
What made him feel frustrated was that Nishimiya Naoko didn't cry or jump in anger. She just silently wiped the table with her handkerchief and continued the class as if nothing had happened.
It was clearly her fault that the class choir took second to last place in the competition, and it was her fault that Miyoko had to take a leave of absence from school. How could she have such an easy life?!
It's true she can't read people's expressions! That shrill, whistle-like voice insisted on singing, and Miyoko, the only one willing to be her friend, must have been pissed off by her... It's all her fault!
When will you finally realize and leave?!
Ishida Shouya has been the first one to arrive in the classroom for several days in a row for his "prank".
He tried so hard but didn't get the desired results. He was now angry and persisting, his words becoming more and more extreme.
He often treats life as a game and has completely imagined Nishimiya Glass as a difficult boss. She has low damage but strong defense, like a low-level mud monster with a thick health bar, which is difficult to beat and disgusting.
Hinata Aoi had already walked to the side of the table. Because the boy's handwriting was too distorted and was facing her upside down, she couldn't understand what he was writing.
There are also messy lines arranged and entangled, like the style of expressionist art.
Didn't you always like to draw all kinds of Ultraman on your desk? Am I already out of fashion after not coming here for just over a month?
I never thought that the style of "The Scream" would become popular among elementary school students.
People should not be disturbed when they are concentrating on doing something. Hinata Aoi was not angry because of Ishida Shoya's attitude, but squatted down and waited for him to finish his "creation".
As for why he squatted down... Ishida had already painted on the table legs, and Hinata Aoi squatted down just in time to see his progress.
Bad things can be done secretly, and can be done together, but doing them while being watched by others... Ishida Shoya's passion faded.
"What are you looking at?"
This wasn't the first time he had done this, and the entire class knew about it and tacitly agreed to it, so it was a bit ridiculous to think of stopping it now.
"I told you not to bother me...H-Hinata?!"
Ishida's angry expression froze. He was so frightened that he lost his balance and sat down on the ground. His back hit the desk on the other side with a harsh sound.
He immediately remembered something and quickly stood up and used his hands to smudge the chalk marks on the table, making it a blur.
Hinata Aoi didn't expect Ishida Shoya's reaction to be so big. After some confusion, she still handed over her notebook.
"Want to clean up together?"
"Ah... yes, yes."
Ishida Shoya seemed to have just woken up from a dream, as if he had just remembered that he was a student on duty.
Their class's shared area is the corridor at the door, and they need to clean the floor and windowsills.
The women's restroom was closer, so Hinata Aoi picked up the bucket and gestured to go get some water.
Ishida Shouya was still standing at the desk, nodding in confusion.
The sound of water rushing into the empty bucket sounded the start of work. By the time Hinata Aoi finished drawing the water, Ishida was already waiting for her at the classroom door with a mop in hand.
"I don't need your help with anything else... Um, thank you for fetching me some water~"
Ishida Shoya lost his arrogance, scratched the back of his head, laughed awkwardly, and sent Hinata Aoi into the classroom to rest.
Hinata Aoi felt that she had not moved much, but in order not to hinder Ishida from mopping the floor, she still obediently entered the classroom.
There are currently no other students at school, and the students' chairs are still neatly placed on the tables.
——In addition to Hinata Aoi’s, there is also Ishida’s “creation” position.
Now one more place has a chair lowered and Ishita’s bag is placed on that chair.
Hinata Aoi walked over and found that all the chalk marks on the table had been wiped clean, and the unevaporated water marks were shining in the sunlight.
...It turns out that I didn’t change seats.
*
During the break, Hinata Aoi held her chin with one hand and looked at the back of Nishimiya's head through the gaps between people, hesitating whether to talk to her.
Unexpectedly, Ueno Naoka turned to look at her, caught her gaze first, and happily claimed it.
Ueno tried his best to hide his joy but couldn't. He stood up and walked to Hinata Aoi's desk, his tone playful and teasing:
"Did you miss me? You kept staring at me~"
Without waiting for Hinata Aoi's reply, he opened the floodgates of conversation:
"Let me tell you, a lot of things happened during the time you were away."
It's certainly noticeable, and it's not a good thing.
Miyoko's seat was vacant, Ishida was doodling on Nishimiya's desk early in the morning, and the boys who always played around in the back row during recess were now sitting obediently at their desks...
Hinata Aoi always felt that there was something hidden in the class that they didn't want her to see.
Of course, it may be that I am too self-conscious.
Is there anything that must be hidden from her?
Ueno Naoka rarely saw confusion on Hinata Aoi's face, and couldn't help teasing her: "You beg me? You beg me..." I'll tell you.
Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by another timid voice.
"Um, Hinata-san, your homeroom teacher wants to see you."
"...Let's talk about it when you come back." Ueno was in a bad mood after being interrupted.
"Oh, right." She became nervous again, "The teacher knows about that incident before."
"You too, how can you be so direct?"
"I don't know if the teacher will mention this matter, so you should be careful."
What's the matter?
Hinata Aoi felt that she didn't feel like she had taken a break for more than a month, but rather that she had taken a year off from school. Even the textbooks had been revised.
Giving up thinking, Hinata Aoi went to the homeroom teacher's office first.
There were no other teachers in the office, only their class teacher was correcting homework.
Seeing her knocking on the door and coming in, the head teacher put down the red pen in his hand.
"Xiao Kui, your mother has already told you about your physical condition. You should still avoid strenuous exercise."
In fact, there was no need for that, but Hinata Aoi would not refute her in front of her mother's colleagues, so she nodded.
"You've fallen behind in classes for over a month, but this shouldn't be a problem for you. Take the quiz in class later and see what you need to catch up on."
Hinata Aoi nodded.
"And..." The head teacher hesitated and lowered his voice, as if he was choosing his words.
"...It's fine to want to bring honor to your class, but you can't deprive other students of the opportunity to enjoy the campus... Do you understand?"
Sunflower: "..."
The head teacher couldn't tell whether she understood it or not. After all, it had been a month since the incident, so it was normal for the child to have forgotten it.
But girls are precocious, and Hinata Aoi is two years older than her classmates. The head teacher would say a few more words intentionally or unintentionally, hoping that Hinata Aoi would help him share some of the burden.
During the choir rehearsal, he accidentally discovered that Nishimiya Shoko was silent. He asked her several times but she didn't write down the reason. It was not until other classmates revealed that Hinata Aoi had talked to her that Nishimiya reconstructed the conversation between the two in his notebook.
If he hadn't found out, Nishimiya's mother would definitely be unhappy when she came to watch the choir competition.
He didn't want to cause dissatisfaction among parents, which might lead to a series of troubles.
"It's about the matter between you and Nishimiya, about the choir competition... This will cause certain harm to Nishimiya and Nishimiya's mother. I didn't expect you to do that." The head teacher's eyes were full of disapproval.
"Luckily, I discovered it early, and the situation didn't become serious... It's all over now. You still have to take good care of Nishimiya. The teacher still trusts you."
Hinata Aoi nodded again.
"I see."
*
The amount of information on the first day of return is indeed a bit too much.
Hinata Aoi stood in front of the classroom door to collect her thoughts.
So the tree she replanted ten years later broke, right?
Nishimiya Shoko still participated in the choir competition normally. It is likely that the class did not get a good ranking, which led to other students further disliking Nishimiya.
Then one after another, the little things that couldn't be reconciled snowballed into something bigger... Is that why Ishida behaved like that this morning?
This result... am I responsible for this?
Hinata Aoi always watches everything happening around her from the perspective of a bystander, and when she is suddenly pulled into the center of a battle, she will still be at a loss as to what to do.
The head teacher told her to take good care of the child, but in fact, she only gave verbal instructions.
Nishimiya's mother wanted Nishimiya to integrate into a normal school, so she had Nishimiya transfer schools in the year before he was about to enter higher education. She didn't seem to care much about Nishimiya's condition in other places.
It is impossible for classmates to always be tolerant and understanding towards Nishimiya. The likes and dislikes between children are always more distinct.
Nishimiya Shoko herself is trying very hard to make friends, but she doesn't know the method and often ends up doing the opposite.
Everyone is holding us back... Do you want me to turn the tide?
Hinata Aoi now somewhat understands what adults mean by "slacking off".
The rights and responsibilities are not clear, and someone will do the work when the time comes. Why should you work so hard when the salary is so low?
The workplace principles are actually applicable everywhere.
The sudden loud laughter and playfulness in the class ended Hinata Aoi's thoughts. She opened the classroom door...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
