Chapter 70
Outside the door, Jian Sheng stood for a moment, took a breath, and pressed down the doorknob with trembling hands.
She walked slowly inside, and stopped again as she approached the corner.
The hands, curled up at both sides, were clenched so tightly that the fingertips dug into the flesh.
When He Shang told her, she was walking her dog and happened to walk around to the building where Chen Zhoujing lived.
She sent the location of a hospital, and after sending Maitian there, she rushed over.
She took a step forward, her movements somewhat stiff.
On the bed, Chen Zhoujing was lying on his side, seemingly asleep.
The gauze curtain was half-drawn, allowing sunlight to filter in and fall on half of his face.
It brushed against his quiet, long eyelashes, a stark contrast to his usual lively and cheerful demeanor.
At that moment, she felt that perhaps that was just how he was.
She felt a tightness in her chest. She took a few steps forward, her gaze lingering on his bruised cheekbones for a long time before shifting to his scratched neck.
The scars on her exposed skin were so shocking that they made it hard for her to breathe.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
She gently moved a stool closer to the hospital bed and sat down next to him.
Her vision blurred with tears, she lowered her head and quietly stayed by his side.
Chen Zhoujing, who had been closing his eyes and not hearing any sound for a long time, frowned, his eyelashes fluttering.
After she moved the chair, there was no further sound, and we waited for a while longer.
He quietly lifted his eyelids and glimpsed her head down, her shoulders trembling.
My desire to tease her vanished instantly: "Why are you crying?"
He sat up abruptly, tugged at the newly inserted IV line in his hand, ignored it, and leaned closer to Jian Sheng: "What's wrong with you?"
"Why are you crying? I... I'm fine, I'm perfectly alright, look at me, I can still move around and jump around!"
As he spoke, Chen Zhoujing twisted a few times on the bed, and Jian Sheng's shoulders trembled even more violently, his head resting against the edge of the bed.
Perhaps it was because his tone was too relaxed, but she cried even harder, and her sobs became more pronounced as he moved her.
Chen Zhou panicked.
He gently grasped her arms with both hands, leaned close to her head, and said urgently, "Please don't cry, I beg you."
During the three minutes she cried freely, Chen Zhou's eyes also reddened in shock.
After trying to comfort her for a long time, seeing her sobbing uncontrollably, he pulled out a few tissues and stuffed them into her hand: "I was wrong, I was just pretending, it wasn't a big deal at all..."
"I was wrong, and I will never argue with others again."
"I was wrong. I will never disappear without a word again."
"I was wrong. There's no going back. I'll change now. Don't cry, Jian Sheng." He said softly.
After a long while, as she slowly raised her head, he raised his hand and wiped his eyes, waiting for her tear-reddened eyes to look at him.
My eyes started to sting uncontrollably again.
Chen Zhou turned his head away, blinked a few times, and then turned back: "I'm really fine, why are you crying?"
Jian Sheng didn't speak; her nose was stuffy and her throat was hoarse, making it difficult for her to open her mouth.
She shook her head and poked his arm.
Chen Zhoujing's Adam's apple bobbed, his brow furrowed for a second, then relaxed: "What?"
Why are you poking me...?
"Don't cry, okay?" He turned around and took out a bag of snacks from the side cabinet, all kinds of snacks.
"Here you go." He took a few milk-flavored candies, placed them in his palm, and handed them to her.
Jian hummed in response, his voice thick with nasal consonant, took the candy, unwrapped one, and popped it into his mouth.
The sweet taste filled my mouth, and my tear ducts seemed to reach their peak when they received the signal from my mouth, and tears slid down my cheeks again.
"Why are you crying again?" Chen Zhou was startled and instinctively reached out to wipe her eyes.
Tears flowed like beads from a broken string, never stopping.
He wiped for a long time, from his index finger to the back of his hand, until he held both hands on her cheeks before he realized what was happening.
Chen Zhoujing withdrew his hand, saying, "I'm sorry."
She sobbed softly and took his hand, asking, "Are you in a lot of pain?"
"Did it hurt a lot when you were hit?"
"When they bully you, does it hurt a lot?"
She asked three times if it hurt a lot, her voice getting softer and softer until she could no longer speak normally.
Chen Zhou was stunned. He took out a few tissues, folded them, and patiently wiped away her tears again and again, saying gently, "It doesn't hurt anymore, they can't beat me."
"I wasn't hit many times, just some abrasions on my face and arms, otherwise I'm fine..."
Jian Sheng's tears flowed endlessly, his brows furrowing even deeper: "No one dares to bully me..."
As she kept shaking her head, Chen Zhoujing suddenly realized that the two of them were not talking about the same thing.
"you......"
Jian Sheng grabbed his wrist, stopping him from wiping her tears: "You're so young, and so many people bully you, yet they still turn around and talk about you."
He Shang's words had already been embellished; she would feel bad, but she kept it to herself and silently showed concern.
Shen Shuting's other perspective made her feel both upset and angry.
It made her want to go to him immediately, she wanted to see him all the time, and she was afraid that something might happen to him again.
Seeing her unusual emotional fluctuations, Chen Zhou's gaze froze, and he held his breath for a few seconds.
He suddenly understood why Jian Sheng had been subtly paying attention to his emotions ever since his grandmother passed away.
His voice was bitter: "You know?"
Chen Zhou lowered his head in surprise: "Isn't it embarrassing?"
"Do you think I'm pretty useless?"
Anyway, that's what Xu Weining said.
As soon as he finished speaking, Jian Sheng chimed in: "It's not shameful."
"They are the ones who should feel ashamed! The perpetrators!"
Chen Zhou was stunned. Her voice was loud and clear in the small ward.
It was as if it pierced through the floor, pierced through the long-suppressed cage in his heart.
This was the first time Jian Sheng had so angrily denounced the perpetrator. In the past, when she experienced similar things, she would say the most, "A moment of patience brings peace, a step back opens up a vast sky." She always kept it to herself, and eventually became indifferent, even to the point of silently observing.
However, when faced with the things Chen Zhoujing had experienced, she was extremely angry, and she also unleashed the resentment that had been suppressed in her heart for a long time.
She thought she wouldn't make any statement or take any attitude, and that her life would just pass by so casually.
But when someone important to you goes through a terrible ordeal, you feel that you shouldn't be careless and that he shouldn't suffer such pain.
But who could endure such suffering? Clearly, no one should be allowed to!
Not resisting is encouraging others to act recklessly.
Indifference is ignoring the harm you have suffered.
No one should be ignored, and no one should be forgotten!
We are human beings, people with souls and blood, with emotions, and we resist violence. This is never a guaranteed outcome.
The law of the jungle prevails; who says the weak should be violently bullied and swallowed up?
As long as there is a glimmer of hope, the blade in one's hand must not be loosened.
Jian Sheng said sternly, "They're bluffing, they're spreading rumors, they're bullying the weak and fearing the strong. They're the ones who deserve to be shamed!"
As Chen Zhoujing repeatedly realized that it was the perpetrators who should be ashamed, her heart gradually warmed.
"Yes, they are the ones who are shameful, they are the ones who bullied others first." He is not the kind of person who seeks revenge, he will only really fight back when someone has been bullied too much.
But once he gets serious, he can't even control himself.
He didn't want to recall that disgusting experience, that dark and hopeless past.
He remained silent while being forced by several people to drink the sewage from the pool.
He remained silent when several people locked him on the rooftop under the pretext of studying.
He remained silent when rumors about his sexual orientation were spread throughout the school.
He remained silent when ridiculed by the entire school.
He didn't say a word when the teacher took back his competition spot.
But when Yu Wang said that his father was a prostitute and that his mother had slept with someone to become a big shot in Qinjin, he cried and clenched his fists so hard that the people he had gathered couldn't get up.
That day, the sky was overcast and the whole school was shrouded in a depressing and heavy atmosphere.
He stood in the blood-stained corridor, his body, face, and hands covered in blood—his, theirs, whose.
It doesn't matter anymore; he's already done what was important.
Even though Li Xiangzhe and Xu Weining both used being busy as an excuse to avoid addressing the problem, even though they shirked responsibility at that time, and even though neither of them wanted him.
After that outburst of anger, he buried all his trust and expectations for the two of them deep in his heart, suppressing them completely.
Hopefully, this will never happen again.
He never allowed himself to show any weakness. When he saw Jian Sheng looking at him with red eyes from crying, his heart fluttered. He inexplicably wanted to admit that he was feeling terrible, but he didn't want to bring his bad mood to her.
Chen Zhou lowered his eyes and looked at the hand she was gently holding: "Jian Sheng."
"Mm," Jian replied.
"Jian Sheng," he called again before looking up at her. "Thank you."
"Thank you for saying that."
Jian Sheng gritted his teeth: "That's the truth."
Her serious face and firm tone made his heart flutter wildly.
He continued in the same firm tone: "Yes, that's the truth!"
"Who told you I was here?" He looked at her quietly for a while, then suddenly asked.
Jian Sheng sniffed and wiped his nose with a tissue: "That's what He Shang said."
Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow in surprise: "I thought Li Jing said that."
“Ah, I don’t have his contact information.” She looked up.
"It's nothing...it's not important. What's important is...thank you for coming to see me." He smiled, his eyebrows curving upwards.
Jian Sheng kept a straight face, pretending to be unhappy: "You've said thank you several times."
"Huh?" Chen Zhou exclaimed in surprise, "Really?"
"Well, that was unavoidable... This is a generous reward, not a stranger's."
“Oh,” Jian Sheng nodded in agreement.
"I'll treat you to sweet soup once I'm better!" Chen Zhou exclaimed in surprise.
Jian shook her head: "No."
"Why wouldn't you want to? This is just a normal treat between friends, not to thank you, really."
"It's my treat," she said, her tone leaving no room for refusal.
Chen Zhou scratched his head, wondering how to answer, when Jian Sheng changed the subject: "Qian Xiao, did you come to see you because of the person Shen Shuting likes?"
“He was the one who followed me last time,” she added.
Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow in surprise: "How do you know everything?"
Seeing that he didn't deny it, Jian Sheng simply hummed in agreement: "I guessed it."
Chen Zhou raised his eyebrows in surprise: "You're really smart, no wonder you're a good friend!"
He continued, "Shen Shuting's situation is a bit complicated, and Qian Xiao wasn't entirely helping her."
“He just doesn’t like me.” His expression turned indifferent. On the snowy night last December, Qian Xiao followed Jian Sheng and was beaten up by him. Then, he openly hit Yu Chao in class, which was taboo. He was suspended from school for a month and has held a grudge ever since.
To be honest, when Qian Xiao used to hang out with Yu Wang, he and Yu Wang had messed with him. Later, they had a falling out and parted ways.
He was a strange person who hated people with good grades, so he never liked him. Later, he thought Yu Chao was his mortal enemy, so he thought about following him. He didn't expect that what he did would be spread by Yu Chao.
Enraged, he grabbed a stool and beat him up in class.
Chen Zhou was shocked, thinking it was an imperial decree from the Yu Dynasty. Only after beating the man did he realize that it was Qian Xiao who had attacked him from both sides.
Finally, it wandered over to Jian Qingyao and then quieted down for a while.
I never expected that Shen Shuting would transfer to this school and get back together with Qian Xiao.
As for why he was following her, Chen Zhoujing couldn't figure it out, and he couldn't get the answer even if he asked.
After that incident, he would ask Shen Xuzheng about Qian Xiao's situation. Seeing that Qian Xiao had been dealt with by Jian Qingyao and hadn't caused any more trouble, he breathed a sigh of relief while keeping a close eye on his movements.
This time, it was probably Yu Wang who gave him the courage.
Fortunately, Yu Chao had told him about his situation beforehand, otherwise he would have died at the hands of those people.
He didn't want Jian Sheng to know these things, but the rumors just wouldn't stop.
No. 7 Middle School wasn't a good school to begin with; it was full of slackers, and word spread quickly.
Even the slightest thing someone does will be publicized and spread everywhere.
One should not listen to the slander of others.
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