Chapter 51
Lu Bai was sleeping soundly. He wanted to change his position and subconsciously moved his elbow, but forgot that his hand was still supporting his head. His forehead suddenly hit the table, making a loud noise in the classroom. Only then did he remember that he was in the classroom.
"Ouch, are you hurt, Lu Bai?" the chemistry teacher said in a bad tone.
A classmate chuckled softly. Lu Bai rubbed his eyes. He knew he'd made a mistake, so he lowered his head and stood up.
"No." Lu Bai begged, "I was wrong, teacher."
"Other students are learning to smoke, but you are the one who kowtows to me here. The New Year is over!"
The chemistry teacher slammed the exercise paper onto the podium, pointed to the back of the classroom and said, "Go stand in the back and wake up!"
Lu Bai sighed, picked up the test paper, and stood dejectedly at the back of the classroom. After listening to the class for a while, he began to stare blankly at Zhang Xiaotian's empty seat again.
Zhang Xiaotian hasn't come to class for almost a week.
"Hey, hey! Lu Bai!"
Someone called him in a whisper. Lu Bai looked over and saw Li An winking at him. He frowned and took a few steps forward, standing in a position where he could talk to Li An without being noticed.
"say."
"Why are you giving me the cold shoulder? I didn't ask you to stand there as punishment." Li An covered his mouth with the test paper and asked Lu Bai in a low voice, "Has Zhang Xiaotian not been here for a few days? Why not? Did he transfer to another class?"
"How is that possible?!"
When Lu Bai heard this, his voice suddenly became louder. He was about to argue with Li An when he was stopped by the chemistry teacher who threw a piece of chalk in front of him.
"Lu Bai! Just because I don't allow you to sleep, you disrupt the class discipline, right? Wait until I'm done with the get out of class and see if I tell your homeroom teacher!"
Lu Bai curled his lips and fell silent again.
"I called you so loudly." Li An was a little gloating.
"He didn't change classes." Lu Bai continued, "If he did, he would definitely tell me first."
"Hey, who are you? You're the first one to tell you..." Li An laughed at him, "Then let me ask you, did he tell you why he was absent?"
No.
Lu Bai was immediately dejected when he heard this. That afternoon, anyone could sense that Zhang's mother was indeed unhappy that Lu Bai had gone to Zhang Xiaotian's house. Knowing that he had caused trouble for Zhang Xiaotian, Lu Bai had planned to go and ask about the situation the moment Zhang Xiaotian arrived on Monday. But in a blink of an eye, the week had almost passed, and he hadn't even seen Zhang Xiaotian.
Thinking of this, Lu Bai felt even more annoyed. He ignored the chemistry teacher still standing on the podium, casually blocked it with the test paper, took out his phone, and clicked on Zhang Xiaotian's profile picture.
The last message Zhang Xiaotian sent him was on the day he went to accompany Zhang Xiaotian for tutoring.
As soon as he got home that night, he immediately sent a message to Zhang Xiaotian. Later, when Zhang Xiaotian didn't show up for class, Lu Bai sent another message, but none of these messages went unanswered. Worried, Lu Bai went to Zhang Xiaotian's house, but the door was shut. He knocked but received no response. He couldn't even see Zhang Xiaotian, let alone a person.
"Why, did he send you a message?" Li An leaned over to look at Lu Bai's phone, but Lu Bai blocked his view with his arm.
"Mind your own business."
Lu Bai swiped the screen twice and put his phone back in his pocket. He rubbed his hair in frustration and simply stopped listening to the class. He leaned to the side and fanned himself with the test paper.
No, I have to go to his house again after school today.
As soon as school was over, Lu Bai ran to Zhang Xiaotian's house. He took a few shortcuts and saw Zhang Xiaotian's window from a distance. Just like the last time he came, the doors and windows of Zhang Xiaotian's house were closed, even the curtains were drawn, and everything was covered tightly. Lu Bai leaned against the window for a long time, but couldn't see clearly whether there was anyone inside.
"Tian'er! Are you home?" Lu Bai didn't give up and knocked on the window again, "I'm here to give you your homework for the past few days!"
There was no sound in the room.
"Is anyone there?!" Lu Bai took out his cell phone and called Zhang Xiaotian, while knocking on the window. "Is anyone there? Tian'er! Zhang Xiaotian!"
There was a beeping ringtone in the receiver. Lu Bai held up the phone, waiting for Zhang Xiaotian to answer. Suddenly, he vaguely heard a ringing sound from Zhang Xiaotian's house!
Lu Bai quickly held his breath and desperately moved closer to the window. After confirming again and again that the sound was from inside the house, he continued to knock on the window and shouted inside:
"Tian'er! Zhang Xiaotian! You must be home! Answer the phone! Hurry and answer the phone!"
The call was suddenly hung up.
"Depend on!"
Lu Bai gritted his teeth and called back. The repeated "beep" sound hit Lu Bai's nerves hard. Just when he was waiting impatiently, the other party actually answered the call this time.
Lu Bai thought he had misheard, but when he came to his senses, he quickly spoke into the phone:
"Hello? Is that Tian'er? What's wrong with you? Why haven't you come to school for several days?"
He had so many questions he wanted to ask. He had contacted Zhang Xiaotian out of the blue, and he didn't know what to ask first. "Did you catch a cold from getting caught in the rain that day? Did your aunt say anything to you later? Did you see the message I sent?"
Lu Bai asked a series of questions in rapid succession, but no one spoke on the other end of the phone.
"What's wrong? Are you still not well enough to speak?" Lu Bai pressed the phone tightly to his ear, and finally heard the faint sound of breathing on the other end. In an instant, Lu Bai felt his heart collapse, and a little pain throbbed.
"Are you still feeling uncomfortable?" he asked Zhang Xiaotian softly.
There was still no answer, and soon the call was hung up. Lu Bai held up the phone and called "Hello" for a long time, then circled Zhang Xiaotian's house like a headless fly. Finally, with no other choice, he found a stone to press the paper down, placed it at his doorstep, and took a photo and sent it to him.
I put it here for you. I also took notes for you.
After he sent this sentence, he thought about it and added.
I'm home, please reply to my message.
After doing all this, he left there, looking back every three steps.
After returning home, before changing his clothes, Lu Bai sent a message to the group chat between him, Yin Li, and Han Chengcheng. The two of them seemed to have been waiting for him and quickly replied.
Yin Li: I haven't seen him again? This is so strange. Could he be locked up by his mother?
Han Cheng: No way...why the hell would he lock him up?
Yeah, for no reason, why did his mother lock him up? Lu Bai was also puzzled. He clicked on Zhang Xiaotian's profile picture again, but Zhang Xiaotian still didn't reply. He called again, but this time there was no ringback tone, and the other party's phone was directly turned off.
"Depend on..."
Lu Bai threw his phone onto the bed. It bounced on the bed and landed on the edge, still glowing faintly. New messages from Yin Li and Han Chengcheng kept popping up on the screen.
Yin Li: His parents must know, otherwise they would have called Lao Zhang a long time ago.
Han Cheng: I have indeed never heard Lao Zhang receive a similar call... Does Lao Zhang know the reason?
Yin Li: Yeah, Xiaotian must have had an emergency at home, and his parents asked Lao Zhang for leave. No wonder Lao Zhang didn't react at all.
Yin Li: This must be a serious incident that could cause Xiaotian to miss class for several days.
Han Cheng: Doesn’t Xiaotian’s mother live abroad? Maybe...something happened there, and then his mother took Xiaotian abroad?
Yin Li: Don’t say that, this is also a possibility.
Han Cheng: Anyway, let's stop guessing. Xiaotian will definitely be fine. Lu Bai, why don't you go ask Lao Zhang tomorrow?
Yin Li: Yes, you can ask tomorrow!
Lu Bai stared at the phone screen for a long time, his mind full of thoughts like snow.
Lu Bai was initially fine during the days he lost contact with Zhang Xiaotian, but as time went on and he still couldn't reach him, he gradually lost his composure, became half-hearted in his classes, and couldn't sleep well at night. If he wasn't worried about his family worrying, he would have wanted to just wait outside Zhang Xiaotian's house, or even find a brick and break the glass to get in. Several times, he even suspected Zhang Xiaotian had been abducted and almost called the police. But eventually, his nagging rationality would return, forcing him to calm down.
He looked at the text sent by Han Chengcheng with an expressionless face.
Yes, Lao Zhang, why didn’t he think of this.
Lu Bai picked up the phone again and sent a message: I'll ask now.
Lu Bai made up an excuse and got the phone number of his class teacher, Lao Zhang, from his mother. He didn't care what time it was and called him directly.
The person over there seemed to have fallen asleep. The phone rang for a long time before I picked it up. Lao Zhang's somewhat impatient voice came from the receiver:
"Hello, who are you?"
"Teacher Zhang, I'm Lu Bai."
"Lu Bai?" Old Zhang was unhappy. "What's the matter? You can't tell me tomorrow morning, so you have to call me in the middle of the night?"
"I..." Lu Bai suddenly realized that his voice was shaking frighteningly. He coughed twice, then calmed himself down and said, "I want to ask, does the teacher know why Zhang Xiaotian didn't come to school?"
"Who? Zhang Xiaotian? You called me in the middle of the night just to ask this?"
Lu Bai really wanted to curse at this moment, but when he opened his mouth, his voice began to tremble again. He coughed again:
"Yes. Teacher Zhang, tell me, is there something wrong with Tian'er's family..."
"He's transferring to another school. He should be going through the paperwork in the next couple of days."
What? !
Lu Bai was blank for a moment, and then countless questions filled his mind, followed by a sense of confusion that was almost anxious.
Is Zhang Xiaotian really going to transfer?
And it’s not changing classes, but changing schools?
Why did he move? Was it his own will?
He didn't even tell me?
Old Zhang waited for a long time but didn't hear anything else from Lu Bai, so he said, "Is there anything else? If not, hang up. We can talk tomorrow if you have anything else."
Lu Bai reacted and was about to speak when he heard a busy tone and the phone was hung up.
"I'm getting off."
Han Chengcheng got off the bus unsteadily, carrying his schoolbag. He then took a few quick steps as if he was about to fall, until he bumped into a tree on the side of the road. He then stopped and retched into the tree pit for a while.
"Are you carsick again?" Yin Li's voice came from her headphones. "Why do you sometimes feel carsick and sometimes not? There's no pattern."
"There are too many people on the bus today."
Han Chengcheng took out her thermos and rinsed her mouth. After the nausea had completely subsided, she raised her head and walked forward again. As she walked, she asked Yin Li, "Is this how Lu Bai's family got there? Are you remembering correctly?"
"That's right, if you don't believe me, ask Lu Yibo!"
"I won't ask anymore. Just make sure you're sure." Han Chengcheng tugged at the strap of her schoolbag. "Why is Lao Zhang so anxious to send the things to Lu Bai? It's due next week anyway. Just let Lu Bai come and pick it up next Monday."
"He might be afraid that Lu Bai won't be able to come next Monday." Yin Li was probably eating, and her words were a little unclear.
"Besides, why do you want me, who doesn't even know where his house is, to deliver it? There are so many boys who are close to Lu Bai."
"Old Zhang isn't always like this. He acts on impulse. Maybe you just happened to catch him this time. If Xiaotian were here, this job definitely wouldn't be yours."
When Zhang Xiaotian was mentioned, Yin Li couldn't help but think of the message in their group chat yesterday: "Lu Bai said yesterday that he wanted to ask Lao Zhang about Xiaotian's situation. I don't know if he asked."
"Lu Bai was fine yesterday, but he suddenly didn't come today." Yin Li suddenly said, "Do you think Lu Bai went to look for Zhang Xiaotian?"
Han Chengcheng laughed when she heard it.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Han Chengcheng followed the address Yin Li gave her, searching from house to house until she finally stood at Lu Bai's door. She knocked on the door, and it was Lu Bai's mother who opened it for her.
Lu Bai's mother didn't know Han Chengcheng, so Han Chengcheng introduced herself first: "Hello, Auntie, I'm Lu Bai's classmate."
"Are you here to look for Lu Bai?" Mother Lu looked a little apologetic. "Lu Bai took some medicine and fell asleep. He hasn't woken up yet. I'll go wake him up."
After saying that, she turned around and was about to leave, but was stopped by Han Chengcheng.
"No need, Auntie! I'm just here to give Lu Bai the letter of commitment for the college entrance examination." After Han Chengcheng finished speaking, he took out the letter of commitment from his schoolbag and handed it to Lu's mother.
"Oh, thank you for making you come all the way here!" Mother Lu took the paper with a smile on her face, then patted her head and turned sideways. "Look at my memory. Don't stand at the door, dear child. Come in and sit down. Auntie will bring you some fruit!"
"No need, Auntie. It's just a small matter. I'll be leaving now." Han Chengcheng smiled, turned her gaze, looked into the room, and couldn't help asking again, "Auntie, can I ask why Lu Bai didn't go to school today?"
"Why shouldn't you ask?" Lu Bai's mother said, "It's strange. Lu Bai's body is as strong as an ox and he never gets sick easily. But last night, I don't know what happened. He suddenly started yelling and talking nonsense in the middle of the night! His father and I rushed over when we heard him. We found that he was fine, but he had a fever!"
"Fever?" Han Chengcheng repeated.
Mother Lu nodded.
"Yeah, I was fine during the day, no sneezing or runny nose, just a little lethargic. Maybe this flu is just like this. You classmates should be more careful with each other, as the college entrance exams are coming up soon."
"Okay, thank you, Auntie!"
After leaving Lu Bai's house, Han Chengcheng didn't rush home, but walked towards the nearby community.
When Han Chengcheng went to Zhang's office to look for Lu Bai's letter of commitment, she stumbled upon something on the table, with Zhang Xiaotian's ID photo prominently displayed on it. Even though it wasn't intentional, Han Chengcheng inevitably saw Zhang Xiaotian's address.
Han Chengcheng was surprised to find that the two lived so close to each other. Since the next day was the weekend and she wasn't in a hurry to go home and do homework, she calculated the time and decided to try her luck at Zhang Xiaotian's house.
It was dark now, and those who were at home had turned on the lights. Among the white and yellow glass windows, there was a house with a completely dark first floor. It was Zhang Xiaotian's home.
Han Chengcheng stood a few steps away and walked around his house. The curtains were drawn tightly, and there was no light in the house, as if no one was home.
Han Chengcheng had a vague feeling that Zhang Xiaotian's absence from school this time didn't seem to be due to family matters. Lu Bai had only been there for a day when Old Zhang urgently asked her to bring him his letter of commitment. However, Zhang Xiaotian lived so close to Lu Bai, and Old Zhang hadn't asked her to bring his letter with him.
Where did you go?
Han Chengcheng looked at it for a while, then a cool breeze blew and she sneezed violently.
"Hey!" The passersby were startled by her, "You little girl, what are you doing squatting here? It's dark here, who will step on you again!"
"Sorry." Han Chengcheng was a little embarrassed. She patted her clothes, feeling that it was quite strange for her to squat at someone's door like a bastard. The wind started to blow at night, and she gathered her hair and decided to go home. Just as she turned around, she heard a knock on the window behind her.
She looked back. The window, which had been tightly covered by curtains just a moment ago, was now slightly ajar. Someone was standing there in the darkness, watching her. When she turned around, the person opened the curtains a little further and waved a cell phone with a lit screen.
It was Zhang Xiaotian, whom I hadn’t seen for a few days.
Han Chengcheng was shocked. Just as she was about to go over, she saw Zhang Xiaotian shaking his head at her and pointing at his phone. Then she understood what he meant. She quickly took the phone out of her bag and almost lost it when she held it in her hand. Almost as soon as she held it in her hand, Zhang Xiaotian called.
She answered immediately: "Hello? Xiaotian?"
"It's me."
Han Chengcheng was a little excited.
"Why didn't you come to school? Did something happen at home? No one could contact you these past two days, and everyone was so worried."
"Everything's fine at home." Zhang Xiaotian paused, "I'm sorry to have made everyone worried."
"I'm glad you're okay." Han Chengcheng asked him again, "When will you come back to school?"
"I...Old Zhang should tell you in a couple of days." Zhang Xiaotian's voice was very low. "I won't go to school anymore."
"Huh?" Han Chengcheng was stunned, unable to react. "What do you mean, you don't want to read it anymore?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Xiaotian's low laugh came from the other end of the receiver. It was the first time Han Chengcheng had spoken to Zhang Xiaotian alone like this, and hearing that he could still laugh, she also breathed a sigh of relief.
"It would be great if I could really stop studying," Zhang Xiaotian said. "It's a pity I can't. Studying is still very important."
"So, are you going to take a leave of absence from school?" Han Chengcheng said, "Today we were still wondering if you were going abroad with your mother."
"I'm not taking a leave of absence, I'm just transferring schools." Zhang Xiaotian explained, "I don't plan to go abroad."
Han Chengcheng was a little surprised.
"Why don't you go abroad? You clearly have the conditions."
"...Some reasons."
After hearing what Zhang Xiaotian said, Han Chengcheng was at a loss for words and both of them fell silent.
Although they had a good relationship at school, Han Chengcheng had hardly ever spoken to Zhang Xiaotian in private. Now that no one was saying anything, Han Chengcheng felt a little embarrassed. She was racking her brains to think of something to say when she heard Zhang Xiaotian whisper to her:
"Lu Bai...how is he?"
"Him? He's the most anxious one, he almost called the police," Han Chengcheng said. "I just delivered the letter of commitment to him. He has a fever and didn't come to school today."
"Sick? How could that be?" Zhang Xiaotian was a little anxious when he heard it, "But he came here yesterday..."
Having said this, he suddenly stopped and didn't say any more.
Han Chengcheng pondered and asked him, "I heard from Lu Bai that he comes to your house to see you almost every day, and he came yesterday too. You...you actually know, right?"
After a while, Zhang Xiaotian said, "Yeah."
"Then why don't you meet him? Why don't you reply to his messages?"
"I..." Zhang Xiaotian explained with difficulty, "My mother forbad me to contact you, and my phone was taken away. I just stole this, and I have to put it back later."
"Why?!" Han Chengcheng asked.
Zhang Xiaotian didn't answer her.
Han Chengcheng was surprised. She hadn't expected Yin Li's casual guess that Zhang Xiaotian's mother might have locked him up to be true. She couldn't understand why his mother would do that. Suddenly, Han Chengcheng had a bold guess, and all her previous guesses came together at this moment.
Shocked and incredulous, she tentatively asked Zhang Xiaotian, "Let me guess. Don't be angry if I'm wrong... Is it because of you and Lu Bai?"
The receiver was very quiet, so quiet that Han Chengcheng thought Zhang Xiaotian had hung up at some point, when a sigh came from the receiver. Zhang Xiaotian asked her, "Did you notice that too? It seems my acting is a bit poor."
"No! No!" Han Chengcheng quickly explained, "I was just guessing before, I didn't expect you two to really be..."
"Lu Bai didn't." Zhang Xiaotian said, "I'm not sure if he can accept it, so it's just one-sided on my part."
I think Lu Bai is also fast, Han Chengcheng said in his heart.
"So, your aunt found out? How did she find out..." Han Chengcheng wanted to ask more, but suddenly realized that she had asked too many questions, and hurriedly apologized, "Sorry, I won't ask if it's inconvenient to say."
"It's not convenient to say." Zhang Xiaotian comforted her. "It's okay."
Han Chengcheng suppressed the turmoil in her heart, digested it for a while, and then hesitantly asked, "Um...can I ask you a few more questions?"
"you say."
"Is your new school... another high school in this city?"
"No." Zhang Xiaotian said, "It seems to be farther away, but it's not out of the province."
"Does Lu Bai know that you are going to transfer schools?" Han Chengcheng asked again.
"...I haven't told him yet."
Through the receiver, Han Chengcheng seemed to hear a hint of sadness in Zhang Xiaotian's slightly distorted voice.
"He...came here many times and sent me many messages. I know everything, but I... don't know how to explain it to him."
It's not easy to explain. Han Chengcheng sighed after hearing this.
If it was just a simple transfer, then there would be no need for Zhang Xiaotian's mother to lock him up; if she wanted to explain why she locked him up, she would need to confess more things and even risk being cut off from her friends. Not to mention Zhang Xiaotian, if it were her, Han Chengcheng believed that she would not have the courage to take such a risk.
"So you plan to never see or contact Lu Bai again?" Han Chengcheng tried to comfort Zhang Xiaotian. "Actually, you two can wait until you graduate from high school before contacting each other. You're not going abroad anyway."
"Let's talk about it when the time comes." Zhang Xiaotian said with a wry smile.
"Are you afraid that Lu Bai will forget you?"
"I'd rather he forget me," Zhang Xiaotian said. "After all, we've only known each other for less than a year."
The two fell silent again.
There were voices coming from next door; it was the parents urging their children to go to bed. Zhang Xiaotian then remembered that it was already very late.
"You go home, and I should put my phone back." He said to Han Chengcheng.
"Me! I have one more thing to say!" Han Chengcheng said hurriedly, "I think you should say something to Lu Bai, even if it's just to say goodbye."
Zhang Xiaotian remained silent.
"Lu Bai is really worried about you, really."
"...Go back." Zhang Xiaotian smiled and said, "Thank you."
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