I will protect you.
Wenxi Tea is currently focused on dealing with an "ear piercing crisis".
She carefully cleaned the pus seeping from the girl's ear piercing with a cotton swab, her movements gentle and efficient.
After putting on the new silver earrings, she gently instructed, "Remember to apply the anti-inflammatory ointment on time these next few days, and be careful not to get it wet, or you might get an infection."
The girl's tense shoulders finally relaxed. She looked at herself in the small mirror and sighed in frustration, "It's all my fault for not being able to resist changing to a different earring... Luckily you were here, otherwise I would have been really doomed."
The girl thanked him and left, and the shop had just returned to silence for a moment when the door was pushed open.
Wan Xiaoyi pulled Qi Xu in quickly: "Sister, take a look at Qi Xu's ear piercings."
Wen Xicha leaned closer to take a look, and her brows immediately furrowed: "Didn't I repeatedly emphasize that you should wear it for a full month before changing it? Why are you so disobedient?"
She examined him carefully, her tone becoming more serious, "Your condition is even more serious than that of the girl from before."
The medicine that Hao Nan brought came in handy.
Wenxi Tea carefully moistened the area around the ear piercing with an alcohol swab, gently peeled off the clotted blood, and then carefully squeezed out the pus inside.
The left ear stick was removed relatively easily, but the right one was stuck firmly.
Wen Xicha put on disposable gloves, soaked an alcohol swab in it again, and tried to pull it out forcefully.
"Hiss—it hurts! It hurts!" Qi Xu gasped sharply, his body instinctively trying to dodge.
"Bear with it, this has to be removed." Wen Xicha's tone was firm, but her hands didn't stop. She changed to a new cotton swab and continued the procedure.
Qi Xu was in so much pain that tears welled up in her eyes. Every touch felt like it was pulling at her heart, making her feel suffocated with pain as she breathed. Her fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes tightly.
As soon as Hao Nan stepped into the store, he immediately saw Qi Xu's eyes, which were filled with tears and were filled with pain.
His heart felt like it had been suddenly gripped, and his steps involuntarily slowed down.
Wenxi gritted her teeth and finally pulled out the stubborn earplug along with the earplug.
A noticeable wound was instantly left on her earlobe, with red and swollen edges. She quickly applied ointment.
"Can I still... wear earrings?" Qi Xu asked, her voice trembling.
“It can’t be worn anymore. The wound is too big. I’ll redo it for you once it’s completely healed,” Wenxi Tea replied while tidying up her tools.
Looking at the glaring wound on Qi Xu's earlobe, Wan Xiaoyi couldn't help but complain, "Serves you right for being disobedient! Now you know what's what, don't you?"
His tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and Qi Xu's legs went weak, causing him to squat down on the ground, panting heavily as if he had just experienced torture.
Hao Nan silently reached into his pocket, his fingertips touching the pair of newly bought butterfly earrings that shimmered with tiny silver light. He paused, but ultimately didn't take them out; instead, he gripped them even tighter.
Wan Xiaoyi left with Wen Xicha, saying goodbye to the two of them.
Qi Xu was still immersed in the pain and frustration of her ear piercing and had not fully recovered. The two silently embarked on their journey home.
The streetlights stretched their shadows, making them appear longer and shorter. After a long silence, Hao Nan couldn't help but speak, his voice tinged with barely perceptible unease: "You...do you really hate me?"
Qi Xu was taken aback: "Why do you say that?"
“Because every time we walk together, you seem… to be reluctant to talk.” Hao Nan’s gaze fell on the swaying shadow ahead.
"No," Qi Xu shook his head, his tone flat, "I just don't know what to talk about."
"Hmm...actually, you can say anything, it's better than staying silent like this." He tried to guide the conversation.
"I... have nothing to say."
"So... did anything interesting happen at school today?" Hao Nan tried to find a topic to talk about.
"Something interesting?" Qi Xu thought about it seriously for a moment, then suddenly turned to look at him, a mischievous smile curving his lips. "Yes. There's a classmate of mine whose textbook notes are completely blank, yet he pretends to flip through them. When I kindly offer him some materials, he doesn't appreciate it."
A playful glint flashed in her eyes.
Hao Nan paused, his face instantly burning.
He knew that Qi Xu was referring to him. Thinking of his pitiful score, he subconsciously took a small step back, his voice a little hoarse: "...See, now we have something to talk about?"
"I'm home." Qi Xu stopped and turned to him.
Hao Nan looked up and realized that she had unknowingly arrived at the building where her house was located.
"Mmm," he responded softly, watching her figure disappear behind the building entrance.
Walking home alone, the dim streetlights cast his lonely shadow long and thin.
For the first time, he felt that this road, which he had walked countless times, was so long, as if it would never end.
Back home, Hao Nan slumped down at his desk, staring blankly at his open textbook.
His phone screen lit up with an invitation from the girl he'd played games with before: "Want to play games?" He glanced at it, swiped it away, and irritably rubbed his forehead.
After a long while, as if he had made up his mind, he suddenly opened the book.
The brand-new pages were dazzlingly white, and the densely packed words seemed like a hypnotic spell. In less than a minute, drowsiness surged over me.
He struggled for a moment, then glanced at the earring on the table, remembered Qi Xu, and pinched himself hard to stay awake.
His attention returned to the book, and he picked up his pen, focusing all his energy on rewriting the exam paper.
After an unknown amount of time, he solved a problem, but unable to resist the drowsiness, he finally gave up and collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
The next day, in the senior high school teaching building.
The entrance to Class 9 of Grade 11 was crowded with people, and the atmosphere was tense. Li Mengyao stood at the front surrounded by several girls, like a proud peacock with a hint of anger.
Qi Xu curiously leaned closer to see what was going on. A girl next to her glanced at her sideways and deliberately bumped her hard with her elbow! Caught off guard, Qi Xu stumbled and was about to fall.
An arm reached out just in time and steadied her. It was Hao Nan.
Not far away, Xia Zhou took in the whole scene, a playful smile playing on his lips.
Qi Xu steadied herself, immediately turned around, and precisely grabbed the arm of the girl who had bumped into her, her gaze sharp: "Why did you push me?"
The girl shook off her hand, looking disdainful: "I can do whatever I want, so what if I push you?" As she spoke, she raised her hand again as if to push her.
Hao Nan was about to pull Qi Xu over when he saw Qi Xu step forward instead of back.
Their fingertips brushed lightly against each other in the air. Qi Xu raised his hand and slapped away the other's hand that was pointing at him, glaring back sharply with his eyes, while simultaneously shoving the other's shoulder forcefully.
"I can do whatever I want, and push you if I want." Qi Xu's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable coldness, returning the girl's words to her, with an even stronger sense of provocation.
The girl staggered from the impact, but the anger in her eyes only intensified.
"Pfft." Hao Nan couldn't help but laugh out loud, adding fuel to the fire by saying to the girl, "If you can't handle it, then don't play."
Just as the girl was about to lash out, she caught sight of Xia Zhou behind Hao Nan, who was watching them with a half-smile. He shook his head to convey his message, and she immediately swallowed her words, only giving Qi Xu a fierce glare: "You just wait!" After saying that, she sullenly squeezed out of the crowd.
Hao Nan turned to Qi Xu, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration, and gave him a thumbs up: "Well done!"
Qi Xu looked completely bewildered: "What's so pretty about it?"
Looking at her bewildered expression, he shook his head with a helpless wry smile, his eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and inquiry.
Do you really not understand, or do you know it but pretend to be confused? He watched her intently tiptoeing towards the entrance of Class 9, seemingly completely unaware of his complex emotions.
In the center of the crowd, Li Mengyao's gaze was fixed on the classroom door.
Xu Sheng and Wan Xiaoyi had just returned when they stumbled upon this scene. Xu Sheng's gaze met Li Mengyao's across the room, while Wan Xiaoyi tactfully took a step back.
Wan Xiaoyi didn't even have time to say goodbye to him, and went straight through the crowd to Li Mengyao.
A wall of people around Li Mengyao made way for him. She raised her chin, her tone commanding: "Make up?"
Xu Sheng scoffed, his eyes icy: "Are you still daydreaming?"
"Xu Sheng!" Li Mengyao's voice rose, laced with threat, "If you don't make up, don't blame me for being impolite!"
"Whatever." Xu Sheng said expressionlessly, then walked straight past her and into the classroom.
Li Mengyao clenched her fists, turned around abruptly, and shouted at the onlookers, "What are you looking at!" The crowd immediately dispersed.
Qi Xu also turned around and went back to his classroom.
As soon as she sat down, Wan Xiaoyi leaned over and whispered, "What's going on outside?"
"It seems that Li Mengyao and Xu Sheng broke up, and she wants to get back together," Qi Xu said truthfully.
"Then...did he agree?" Wan Xiaoyi's voice was even softer, with a hint of barely perceptible tension.
"I don't know," Qi Xu shook his head.
Wan Xiaoyi lowered her eyes, softly said "Oh," and unconsciously picked at the edge of the book with her fingertips.
Art club activity class.
There was a shortage of seats in the classroom, and Hao Nan finally managed to move a stool for Qi Xu and place it next to his easel.
The dry theoretical explanations made Qi Xu drowsy.
A boy sitting to the side and behind Hao Nan deliberately slipped his hand while Hao Nan was busy mixing paint, and a small can of thick blue paint splashed onto the back of Qi Xu's school uniform!
A cool, sticky sensation instantly followed.
Qi Xu suddenly woke up and looked down to see that the back of his school uniform was a mess of blue stains.
She quickly took off her school uniform, secretly relieved that only a few small splatters had gotten on her white T-shirt underneath.
However, when her gaze fell on the inconspicuous little blue dot on the lower left corner of the white T-shirt, which was stained with paint, her pupils suddenly contracted!
That was the only matching white T-shirt she and her father, Qi Yansheng, owned! It was the most cherished and inviolable memory in her heart!
A wave of panic gripped her. She jumped to her feet and rushed out of the studio without a second thought!
Hao Nan was startled by her actions and immediately dropped his paintbrush to chase after her.
At the sink, Qi Xu frantically scrubbed the tiny blue dot with water.
The cold water stung my skin, but the paint seemed to take root, stubbornly spreading and turning that pure white into a hopeless filth. All my efforts were in vain.
Despair overwhelmed her like an icy tide. She slid helplessly to the ground, clutching her school uniform and stained hem tightly in her hands, her shoulders trembling silently.
When Hao Nan caught up, this was the scene he saw.
His heart tightened, and he immediately took off his school uniform and gently draped it over her trembling shoulders. He knelt down, his voice softer than ever before: "Don't be sad... there will be a way."
Qi Xu raised her face, her eyes red-rimmed, tears stubbornly welling up inside, yet she held them back from falling.
"Cry it out," Hao Nan pleaded. "It'll make you feel better."
Qi Xu bit her lip and shook her head vigorously, her voice hoarse: "Crying... won't solve anything."
“No,” Hao Nan said urgently, “crying out will at least make you feel less suffocated inside, and you won’t have to force yourself to hold it in.”
Qi Xu did not respond. She took a deep breath, pushed herself up from the ground, her eyes filled with only cold determination, and turned to stride back to her studio.
In the art studio, the art teacher was yelling: "Class time! Is this a time for you to fool around?!"
No one paid any attention. Qi Xu's gaze swept across the room like a radar. Soon, she locked onto a boy.
The overly saturated blue on his palette, so out of place with its surroundings, was the very same blue that had been splashed on her! She walked straight over, and before anyone could react, grabbed the palette and poured it over the boy's head!
"Ah—!" The boy jumped up in surprise, paint running down his hair, looking utterly disheveled. He angrily reached out to shove Qi Xu.
"Bang!" Hao Nan arrived just in time and kicked him in the back of the knee, causing the boy to choke and fall to the ground.
Hao Nan stood in front of Qi Xu, his voice not loud but exceptionally clear: "Do what you want. I'm here."
Without even glancing at the boy on the ground, Qi Xu grabbed the paint tubes from his easel and squeezed them one after another onto his body, the canvas, and the ground... Vibrant blocks of color exploded wildly, like a torrential downpour.
Only when the agonizing tightness in her chest eased slightly did she stop, throw down the last empty tube, turn and leave, her back view resolute.
"You two!" The art teacher trembled with rage. "You're lawless! Don't bother coming to class again!"
Xu Sheng sat down, stopped painting, looked back, and smiled faintly.
Hao Nan quickly grabbed his art supplies and chased after Qi Xu without hesitation, closely following behind him.
As they walked out of the teaching building, Qi Xu suddenly stopped, turned around, and frowned: "Aren't you going to class?" His tone was filled with confusion and a hint of barely perceptible anxiety.
"Okay, I won't go." Hao Nan looked at her, even with a relaxed smile on his face.
"I asked you why you don't go to your art class? You gave an irrelevant answer and even laughed!" Qi Xu thought he was simply unreasonable.
In her mind, academic prospects were paramount, and any sacrifice would be absurd.
"I told you, I'm not going," Hao Nan repeated, looking at her intently.
"Why?" Qi Xu simply couldn't understand this "self-destructive" behavior.
"You..." Hao Nan took a step forward, his voice lowering, tinged with inquiry, "Do you really not understand, or... are you pretending to be confused?"
Qi Xu was even more confused: "What are you talking about? Your words don't make sense."
Hao Nan looked into her clear yet bewildered eyes, and finally just smiled gently, with a hint of helplessness and doting: "Never mind."
"It's okay, there'll be plenty of time later to teach you slowly," he added in his mind.
What a strange person. Qi Xu's opinion of Hao Nan grew even more convinced of his foolishness. The two walked back to the classroom in silence.
Just stepped into the classroom
"Splash—!"
A bucket of icy, dirty water fell from the sky, drenching her thoroughly! Water droplets rolled down her hair, cheeks, and clothes, instantly turning her into a disheveled, drowned rat.
Hao Nan immediately threw what he was holding on the ground, grabbed the school uniform that was soaked and stained with paint from Qi Xu's hand, and hurriedly wiped the water droplets off her face and hair, his movements showing obvious panic and heartache.
Qi Xu was both cold and angry from the repeated acts of malice, and his body trembled slightly.
A clear thought exploded in her mind: all these unexpected events must be deliberately targeted by someone!
With one thing after another happening to Qi Xu, Hao Nan clearly knew who was behind it all.
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