Chapter 30
Zhang Xiaotian was caught off guard and suffered from his disabled legs. By the time he reacted, he was already standing at the door of Lu Bai's house.
"Fortunately, my house is on the first floor. If this were your house, I would have to find a way to get you upstairs." Lu Bai fumbled for the key, opened the door in a few strokes, and turned around to help Zhang Xiaotian.
"Mom, look who's here!"
Before Lu Bai even entered the house, he started to greet people and led Zhang Xiaotian into the house without hesitation. Zhang Xiaotian walked into Lu Bai's house in a daze. Lu Bai settled him on the sofa and poured him a glass of water.
"You sit down first." Lu Bai put the water in his hand, turned around and went into the kitchen.
"Hey you..." Zhang Xiaotian didn't have time to call him, so he could only sit on the sofa obediently with the cup of water in his hands.
An unfamiliar voice in the kitchen exchanged a few words with Lu Bai. A moment later, a woman emerged from the kitchen, her hair casually tied back in a long, wavy pattern. She wore an apron with a supermarket advertisement. She wiped her hands on it briefly, and her words were instantly welcoming. "Oh, you're Xiaotian! You're finally here! I've been wanting to meet you for a long time!"
"Sorry to bother you, Auntie!" Zhang Xiaotian was so nervous when he saw someone walking towards him that he forgot about his left foot and subconsciously stood up from the sofa. As soon as his foot touched the ground, he shivered in pain and almost fell on the coffee table. In the end, it was Mother Lu who took two quick steps and pulled him up to prevent him from falling.
"Look at you, kid. If you twisted your ankle, just sit down. Why are you standing up?" Mother Lu's hand was very strong. She held Zhang Xiaotian's elbow steadily, but she didn't help him sit down immediately. Instead, she looked up and shouted towards the kitchen: "Lu Bai, what are you doing? Hurry and take your classmate back to the room to apply medicine and bring him some food! Hurry up, I'm still cooking in the pot!"
Zhang Xiaotian felt uneasy being so close to her. He wanted to stand alone, but he was too embarrassed to say so, and he couldn't pull his arm back. He wondered why the Lu Bai family was so strong, and his face flushed with nervousness.
"I'm coming!" Lu Bai finally came out of the kitchen, carrying a lot of bags. He threw everything on his bed, then came back to take Zhang Xiaotian from his mother. Zhang Xiaotian was so embarrassed that he wanted to disappear on the spot. Now that he was finally saved, he hurriedly thanked Lu Bai's mother and limped after Lu Bai to his room.
"I'll help you to the bed."
Lu Bai helped Zhang Xiaotian sit on his bed while he rummaged under the desk. As soon as the door closed, the chaotic scene outside the room seemed far away. Zhang Xiaotian relaxed a little and looked around Lu Bai's room.
Lu Bai's room felt relaxing. Unlike his own home, where everything seemed to have "Do Not Touch" signs, the bed was soft, with pillows scattered across it, so he could easily reach out and hug one. There were cushions on the floor, magazines spread out on the table, comics and figurines on the bookshelf, and even a quilt on the bay window, suggesting the room's occupant occasionally slept there. The room was warm and soft to the touch, giving it a truly lived-in feel. Compared to this place, Zhang Xiaotian felt his own home seemed a bit cold and lonely.
Lu Bai found the spray he used before, turned around and squatted at Zhang Xiaotian's feet. Seeing that he was still wearing socks, he reached out his hand again. Zhang Xiaotian dodged for a moment and said, "No, I can take them off myself." He bent down and took off his socks himself, then tried to take the spray from Lu Bai's hand.
Lu Bai raised his hand to block it: "It's something that comes easily, I'll do it."
Zhang Xiaotian was about to hold on, but Lu Bai had already grabbed his ankle. The moment he was caught, Zhang Xiaotian couldn't help but flinch. Ankles aren't often seen, and being touched by someone other than himself felt like the sensation instantly spread throughout his body, making him feel itchy all over. The feeling was so strange, and Zhang Xiaotian didn't want Lu Bai to misunderstand him, so he tried hard to suppress it, forcing himself not to dodge. Fortunately, Lu Bai was quick, and Zhang Xiaotian didn't have to endure it for long.
"It's not too serious. I'll check on him after dinner." After Lu Bai finished treating him, he casually placed the medicine on the table and sat down on the cushion closest to the bed to take out his phone. Zhang Xiaotian felt a little uncomfortable sitting on the bed as a guest. Seeing that Lu Bai had no intention of speaking first, he thought about speaking first: "Um, Lu Bai..."
"Wait a minute." Lu Bai was about to turn around when his phone vibrated. He lowered his head again and said, "It's Lu Yibo." He picked up the phone. Lu Yibo's signature rough and loud voice came through the receiver:
"Zhang Xiaotian sprained his ankle! How is he now? Is he still with you?"
"Keep your voice down." Lu Bai rubbed his ears. "Tian'er is at my house now. Tian'er, talk to them."
The phone was handed to his mouth. Zhang Xiaotian cleared his throat and said, "I'm fine. Thank you for your concern."
"I'm glad you're okay. There will be plenty of opportunities to ride a bike in the future!" Lu Yibo said, "We didn't get to ride one anyway."
It can’t be because of me. Zhang Xiaotian felt a little sorry and said quickly: “I’m sorry…”
"What are you embarrassed about?" Lu Yibo paused, then explained, "It's not because of you, brother. It's because I ran into Yin Gou and his gang."
"Tiger dog?" Zhang Xiaotian looked at Lu Bai.
"He's a senior from our No. 4 Middle School," Lu Bai explained. "He has a few younger brothers at school, and he's the one who's often criticized on the radio. I remember his full name is..."
"Wen Zhongyin."
Guan Yue's voice came from the phone again.
Zhang Xiaotian remembered it immediately. Just last week, the radio had reported a group brawl outside the school. Those caught had received serious warnings and suspended from classes for reflection. This person seemed to be among them.
Guan Yue's voice sounded slightly worried. "Old Lu, we ran into them right after we arrived at the park. They insisted on taking Hiroko's new car. Hiroko argued with them and almost got into a fight. I stopped them, but they wouldn't give in."
"I told you that we have to use our fists to do the talking. Whether we fight or not, they have no intention of letting us go..." Lu Yibo muttered a few words into the microphone. Perhaps Guan Yue persuaded him to stop, and soon only Guan Yue's voice was heard.
"Luckily, we were on bikes, so they didn't catch up," Guan Yue asked nervously. "Old Lu, do you think he won't cause us any trouble later?"
"If he wants to cause trouble for our class, it depends on whether he has the guts to do it." Lu Bai said, "Although Lao Zhang doesn't mind his own business, no one really dares to cause trouble for him."
"Then you should be careful lately," Guan Yue said with lingering fear. Lu Yibo beside him added, "I think you should just keep a close eye on your class monitor, Li Ang. He's the one who usually shows off the most."
Lu Yibo's words relaxed the tense atmosphere. Lu Bai smiled and said, "It's okay. Don't overthink it. He's already suspended from school."
"Yeah." Guan Yue agreed and asked Zhang Xiaotian, "Xiaotian, is your foot serious?"
"It's not serious, it's okay." Zhang Xiaotian was called and quickly answered him.
Guan Yue breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. We'll be together again next time!"
Zhang Xiaotian nodded, then remembered that the other party couldn't see him, so he quickly said "hmm".
Lu Bai took the phone back, said a few words casually, and then hung up. He turned to ask Zhang Xiaotian: "What did you want to tell me just now?"
Zhang Xiaotian opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He had actually forgotten what he was going to say. He looked around, and his eyes were suddenly drawn to the photo album on the bookshelf.
"I mean... can I take a look at that photo album?" He pointed to the bookshelf. Lu Bai stood up to get it, then flipped through it himself.
"If you hadn't asked, I would have forgotten when this photo album was taken." He closed the album and handed it to Zhang Xiaotian, then sat down next to him. Zhang Xiaotian took it and opened it. The first page was a group photo. Looking closely, there was a ribbon-made gala in the background, and a group of children standing in the front. They should be photos of Lu Bai when he was in kindergarten.
"Guess which one is me?" Lu Bai lowered his head and looked with Zhang Xiaotian.
Zhang Xiaotian's fingertips slid lightly across the photo. Although the photo had been carefully preserved, due to the low resolution of the camera at the time and the fact that a bunch of children were wearing the same performance costumes, Zhang Xiaotian carefully identified them and finally felt that the little boy standing in the first row on the left looked familiar.
"This?" Zhang Xiaotian pointed at the child and asked Lu Bai.
"Let me see." Lu Bai pulled the album towards him and took a closer look. Zhang Xiaotian's face was rubbed by his hair, so he tilted his head back to avoid it.
"Why don't you just tell me whether it's right or not? Why are you still looking at it?" he asked Lu Bai.
"Then I have to check whether your guess is correct..." Lu Bai looked at it attentively for a while, then looked up and said with a smile, "Actually... I don't remember either..."
Zhang Xiaotian laughed and said, "You can't even recognize which one is your childhood self?"
After saying that, he directly reached out and held Lu Bai's chin, and with a little force, made Lu Bai's face turn along with his hand.
"Hold on, let me see..." Zhang Xiaotian examined Lu Bai's face carefully, then compared it to the child in the photo. The grown-up Lu Bai no longer had the chubby cheeks of his childhood, and his features were more defined. He might have been unrecognizable at first glance, but Zhang Xiaotian remembered Lu Bai's toothy grin; it was an exact replica of the grinning child in the photo.
"This should be it..." Zhang Xiaotian wanted to take another look, but when he looked up, he saw Lu Bai looking at him with his hands curled up. Seeing that he had raised his head, he asked again, "Which one did you just say? Let me take another look."
Zhang Xiaotian then realized what he had done and quickly let go, pushing the album towards Lu Bai again. He felt the heat that had dissipated from his body when he first entered the room return to him, making him feel uncomfortable all over and his face burning.
"Well, that..." He felt that his awkwardness at the moment was unreasonable, "You were quite chubby when you were a kid."
"A little bit." Lu Bai nodded. "It seems that they said I was a bit fat when I was a kid. That should be it."
He then turned to the next page: "Are you still reading?"
"Look..." Zhang Xiaotian didn't want to appear too weird, so he cleared his throat and sat over again.
"Look, this is a photo I took when I was in elementary school and traveling with my family..."
Lu Bai pointed to it again. The two of them had read nearly half of the book when they heard the burglar-proof door outside the house slam shut.
"It must be my dad coming back." Lu Bai looked up at the door. Coincidentally, there was a knock on the door. Lu Bai's mother called them at the door: "Lu Bai, Xiaotian, it's time for dinner!"
"Coming!" Lu Bai agreed and helped Zhang Xiaotian up. "Let's go and eat."
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