Chapter 6 The Bottle of Ice Water in the Bitter Summer
When the bell rang, they were temporarily free and returned to their classrooms, agreeing to go to the playground together to clean during the long break.
After finishing their morning exercises during the long break, the four of them walked against the flow of students returning to their respective classrooms, carrying brooms and dustpans as they headed towards the playground.
Along the way, many people recognized Luo Yiqiu and Zhao Yixiao, and upon seeing their disheveled appearance, they all burst into laughter without any restraint.
Squeezed in the crowd, the two people in front chatted and laughed with their friends who were passing by from time to time, making the two people behind them seem very "strange" in their silence.
They were squeezed in the bustling crowd when a classmate accidentally tripped and bumped into Lin Xiaqing, quickly closing the distance between them—whether intentionally or deliberately—and for a moment, the two were forced close together. Shen Qingli turned her head away and could even clearly see the other's thick eyelashes.
The sudden contact froze both of them for a moment. Lin Xiaqing frowned as he held the tools in his hand, while the boy next to him apologized to him apologetically, but he had no time to pay attention to that at the moment.
He looked down at the girl standing next to him; they were standing a little too close, their bodies practically touching. Shen Qingli also looked up at that moment, and they gazed at each other amidst the noise and commotion.
For a moment, the noisy crowd around them seemed to be blocked out. The two of them were obviously stunned for a moment, looking at their own reflections in each other's eyes. They only looked at each other for a second before quickly looking away.
Shen Qingli suddenly lowered her head, her fingers clenching the tools in her hand, a blush creeping up her ears and down her neck.
Lin Xiaqing awkwardly distanced herself from him, cleared her throat, and explained, "Ahem, just now... someone bumped into me. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
He explained haltingly, his tone much gentler than usual.
"Oh...it's okay." She pursed her lips and shook her head, pretending nothing had happened.
"Well... let's hurry up and leave. There are a lot of people here. Be careful with your things and don't bump into anyone."
"good."
Hearing her answer, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that she really didn't mind, he continued walking forward, letting out a silent sigh of relief.
-
When we arrived at the playground, there were hardly any people left.
They assigned each other their areas of responsibility and quickly got to work cleaning.
After working for a while, the temperature outside started to rise, and Luo Yiqiu squinted uncomfortably, calling the others to come and rest for a while.
During the break, Shen Qingli sat next to her. She was about to say something when she inadvertently noticed a large red patch on her arm. She immediately exclaimed, "Qingli, what happened to your arm?"
Upon hearing her voice, the two boys next to her also looked towards Shen Qingli.
Noticing their gazes, she awkwardly covered her wound with her hand and mumbled, "It's nothing... I just accidentally bumped into something this morning, it's nothing serious."
"Oh my god, you're already like this and you're still okay? Does it hurt?"
Luo Yiqiu's anxious tone warmed her heart, so she smiled at her and reassured her, "I'm fine, don't worry."
"Really..." Looking at the wound on her arm, Luo Yiqiu was clearly a little incredulous.
"Yeah, it's okay. I was cleaning with you guys just now. It doesn't hurt anymore."
Hearing her words, Lin Xiaqing, who was sitting on the far side staring at her, lowered his eyes. He didn't tell anyone else that Shen Qingli had actually been frowning the whole time while she was sweeping with a broom.
After hearing what she had said, Luo Yiqiu didn't say anything more. However, when it came to cleaning, the three of them tacitly assigned the simplest and easiest tasks to Shen Qingli.
Noticing their care, she didn't say anything, but felt very grateful.
-
After they finished cleaning up, the four of them sat on the stands of the playground to rest and avoid the sun. The sun overhead was so scorching that each of them had a layer of sweat on their foreheads.
Luo Yiqiu stood up and volunteered to go to the convenience store to buy them drinks.
Shen Qingli originally wanted to go with them, but Luo Yiqiu said that the brooms and dustpans couldn't be left unattended to prevent them from being taken away, so she and Zhao Yixiao were left behind.
As she watched Lin Xiaqing and her figure gradually disappear into the distance, Shen Qingli finally looked away and noticed that the person next to her also looked a little pale.
"Senior...are you alright?" She was startled by Zhao Yixiao's appearance and quickly asked with concern.
The person being questioned seemed used to it. He shook his head and said softly, "It's nothing, I'm just hot. Don't worry, did I scare you?"
Hearing him say that, Shen Qingli shook her head. She didn't mention that Zhao Yixiao's current appearance was very similar to how Shen Qingyun looked after standing in the sun for a long time.
"By the way, Qingyun didn't come to school today. Did something happen to your sister?" Just as she was thinking, Zhao Yixiao suddenly asked about Shen Qingyun.
Upon hearing about Shen Qingyun, she recalled what had happened that morning, and her expression immediately turned sour.
She curled her fingers and nodded reluctantly, replying, "Yes, my sister has a fever and should be in the hospital now."
"No wonder...you were late this morning because of this, weren't you?"
"Yes," she replied softly, initially worried that he would press her further, as she really didn't want to talk about what happened that morning.
But Zhao Yixiao did not press further, so Shen Qingli said with some surprise, "You don't seem surprised at all about my sister's illness."
"Hmm?" Hearing this, Zhao Yixiao turned his head, smiled at her, and asked, "Why are you suddenly saying that?"
"Because most people would ask if you're okay, or how you got a fever, but you didn't ask."
Judging from Zhao Yixiao's attitude, she vaguely felt that the person in front of her seemed to know something.
Hearing her words, he inexplicably lowered his head and chuckled softly, "You really are worthy of being Qingyun's sister, very clever."
"However, Qingyun's illness... oh no, to be precise, it should be our illness. It is very easy to have various complications. What is a minor illness or trouble for others may lead to a relapse or other worse things for us."
"Your illness...?"
Hearing him explain in the most ordinary tone, Shen Qingli's brows furrowed even more.
"Oh, Qingyun didn't tell you that your sister and I met in the same hospital ward?"
"What? I've never heard her mention that... I only know you two are friends and classmates." She was surprised, unaware of this connection between Shen Qingyun and Zhao Yixiao.
At the same time, an uncertain thought flashed through her mind, waiting to be confirmed.
"However, Qingyun's health has improved a lot in the past few years. This fever should just be an accident, so you don't need to worry too much."
From the moment the matter was brought up, Zhao Yixiao's expression remained calm. He seemed to be talking about something unrelated to himself, and even gently comforted her at the end.
"But if you're really worried, you can go to the hospital to see her after school. Your aunt and uncle will probably only take her to the nearest First People's Hospital." As if sensing that she was still upset about something else, although he didn't know the reason, as his friend's sister, he still said, "If Qingyun sees you going to see her, she might get better faster."
Having someone familiar with Shen Qingyun tell her these things did indeed put Shen Qingli at ease. It was also from this person that she learned for the first time about Shen Qingyun's illness.
This was the first time her sister had fallen ill in front of her, so she had been anxiously worried since morning. However, she hadn't expected Zhao Yixiao to be so observant and notice her unease.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but admire Zhao Yixiao as a very thoughtful person.
So she nodded, smiled at him, and thanked him softly.
-
At the time, she thought Zhao Yixiao was able to deal with things calmly because he had encountered too many such things before, but later she realized that he was just like Shen Qingyun, simply living well during the time when he could get through things peacefully.
They don't know when death will suddenly come, but having been tormented by illness for many years, they have lost their fear of death and have long lost the ability to fight against fate.
-
As they were talking, Luo Yiqiu and Lin Xiaqing, who had finished shopping, walked towards them.
Seeing the two people in front of her chatting and laughing, Luo Yiqiu's face stiffened for a moment, but then she immediately returned to normal. She then noticed Lin Xiaqing next to her and glanced at him cautiously, afraid that he would discover something. However, she found that he, who was standing next to her, was also looking straight in the same direction as her.
Shen Qingli was the first to notice the two people walking towards her. She hurriedly stood up to get them drinks, but suddenly a bottle of ice water was shoved into her arms. The ice water made her shiver when it touched her skin.
Shen Qingli looked up and found Lin Xiaqing standing in front of her, staring at her intently, which seemed a little strange.
But before she could ask him why he was looking at her, Luo Yiqiu spoke first: "Qingli, your arm is swollen from the bump, so I bought you some ice water. Try applying it to your arm; it might help."
"Oh, okay, thank you." She nodded, understanding her intention, and looked at Luo Yiqiu to express her gratitude.
After she finished speaking, she looked at Lin Xiaqing, and was about to ask her something when the other person went to the side to tidy up the things she was cleaning.
Seeing this, the other three also put down their water and joined in cleaning up.
After tidying up their cleaning tools and taking them back to the classroom, Shen Qingli and Luo Yiqiu returned to their class. She sat in her seat, moved her injured arm with difficulty, and gently pressed the ice water bottle onto her swollen wound.
A sharp pain shot through her arm, and she frowned slightly.
A figure stood out incongruously among the crowd flowing by the classroom door. He lingered outside the window of Class 2, Grade 1 for a while until the bell rang for class to begin. Just as Shen Qingli looked up, the figure had already taken a step and left.
After applying ice for a while, the redness and swelling on her arm seemed to subside a little. Seeing this, she felt even more grateful to Luo Yiqiu, thinking that she was indeed a very thoughtful friend.
So at noon, she bought Luo Yiqiu's favorite ice cream as a thank you gift.
Luo Yiqiu was momentarily stunned when she heard Shen Qingli thanking her. After unwrapping the ice cream, she seemed to remember something and glanced at Shen Qingli.
-
Just a few hours earlier, Lin Xiaqing, who had been called away by Luo Yiqiu, stood at the entrance of the convenience store and took out a bottle of ice water from the freezer.
Seeing his movement, Luo Yiqiu called out to him, "Don't take the iced drink. You've been so tired and sweaty just now, it's not good for your health to drink something cold right away." But soon, she looked at the freezer in front of her and seemed to remember something, and continued, "But ice can reduce swelling. Qingli's arm is swollen, isn't it? Let's take a bottle, maybe we can use it to reduce the swelling."
After she finished speaking, she realized that before she could finish, Lin Xiaqing had already taken out the bottle of ice water. Seeing her stunned expression, he hummed in response and then handed her the bottle of ice water that he had already paid for.
A note from the author:
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Sweet-hearted Lin [doge emoji]
Let's pat our little pear in these chapters [poor thing][poor thing][poor thing]
A side note [fireworks]: Before starting the story, I was really struggling with Xiaoli's personality. Now that I've written this, I feel that Xiaoli is actually a little girl who pretends to be indifferent on the surface, but is actually very awkward and sensitive inside.
To allow any sensitive existence TvT
One more thing: I set the update time wrong, oh my god, I'm so sorry I'm a little late TT
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