Chapter 23. In a sorry state, I'm actually quite sorry for myself. ...
It was almost ten o'clock when Chen Zhoudu finished listening to the story. He didn't stay at the hospital for long, and his grandmother urged him to go home and rest early.
He hailed a taxi outside the hospital and left as his grandmother waved goodbye.
That night, he returned to "Du" but couldn't sleep a wink.
The next day, the senior year of Qingshui Experimental High School started school, and the campus, with only one grade of students, seemed rather deserted.
Upon arriving at the school, Chen Zhoudu immediately went to Vice Principal Liu's office to explain Xia Chan's situation.
Vice Principal Liu had actually received a call from his grandmother last night asking for leave, and he hadn't slept for half the night. After hearing Chen Zhoudu recount what had happened, he sighed deeply again.
Last night, while listening to her grandmother talk about the past, Chen Zhoudu realized that Vice Principal Liu was actually the principal of the junior high school where Xia Chan had her accident.
When Xia Chan returned to school after being acquitted, she was criticized. It was Vice Principal Liu who suppressed all the rumors and told Xia Chan to study hard and not to listen to others.
Later, Vice Principal Liu was transferred to Qingshui Experimental School as vice principal due to his excellent professional title, and was able to stay by Xia Chan's side to pay attention to and guide her studies, life, and mental well-being. Therefore, Xia Chan was really worried and sighed when she gave up her studies two years ago.
Vice Principal Liu had planned to take some time today to visit her at the county hospital, but Shen Zhoudu thought that she probably didn't want the people who cared about her to see her in her current state, so he politely declined on her behalf.
Vice Principal Liu thought about it and gave up. When he wanted to tell Chen Zhoudu something, he hesitated. "Zhoudu, you..." He was still worried that Xia Chan's family matter would have some impact on him, but he stopped himself after opening his mouth and gave up. He could only pat Chen Zhoudu's shoulder with a deep sigh and leave without saying anything.
Huang Mao didn't come back from the police station again last night. He only returned to "Du" at noon to catch up on a short nap. When Si Yi woke him up for lunch, he still had a gloomy look on his face.
"Damn! He's shameless... He kept saying he was just disciplining the child and it was a family dispute, and then he even spread rumors! He said that Sister Chan hit me because he couldn't stand it! He won't admit to intentional assault!"
"Those policemen in Qixian County are so good at trying to smooth things over, thinking that since they're father and daughter, they should just let it go... I'm so pissed off! What law in our country makes it so that intentional assault doesn't count as assault if there's even a hint of family ties? Damn it!"
Siyi felt incredibly frustrated but didn't know what to do. Chen Zhoudu, on the other hand, remained calm and continued eating his meal, saying indifferently, "We'll sue."
Siyi asked in surprise, "Can it really work?"
"Um."
His calm and resolute words gave Siyi and Huangmao a sense of security.
With Xia Chan absent, he became the main force among the three. Huang Mao and Si Yi were somewhat relieved and were able to eat some food.
After school in the evening, Chen Zhoudu skipped evening self-study and went straight to Qixian Hospital.
As dusk settled, the golden sunset bathed the entire ward in a rich, vibrant gold. When Chen Zhoudu entered the ward carrying food, several patients were chatting and eating with their families. Xia Chan and her grandmother, however, were not in their beds; the other patients had said they had gone for a walk, presumably in the garden.
The county hospital has a small garden, which is perfect for patients to relax and recuperate.
Chen Zhoudu carried the food to the garden and indeed saw his grandmother, who was standing by a cluster of flowers, looking at something in the distance with a worried expression.
Shen Zhoudu walked to her side and followed her gaze, only to find that she was looking at Xia Chan.
Xia Chan sat alone in her wheelchair by the lake, gazing at the sunset reflected in the water, the ripples on the water shimmering like layers of golden scales in the wind.
Her head and face were still wrapped in bandages, and her blue and white striped hospital gown billowed like a sail in the evening breeze. Grandma said she seemed to be in a bad mood and just wanted to sit alone. She was watching her from a distance because she was afraid something might happen to her.
Chen Zhoudu gently squeezed his grandmother's shoulder to comfort her, telling her not to worry and that he would go and check on things first. He then handed her a portion of his meal and told her to go home first.
He quietly walked to the bench next to Xia Chan's wheelchair and sat down without making a sound.
Xia Chan suddenly sensed someone approaching her, and turned her head alertly, only to be slightly taken aback when she saw it was him.
Chen Zhoudu simply smiled calmly at her eyes beneath the gauze. Her eyes were still noticeably red and swollen, but the pupils remained a pure black.
She stared at him indifferently for two seconds, then turned her head away with a self-deprecating laugh.
"I'm actually in a pretty sorry state like this."
Her voice was hoarse and strained, with a muffled quality due to an injured tongue.
Chen Zhoudu stared at her silently without saying a word, but took something out of his large pocket, casually tidied it, and put it on his head.
It was also a wad of gauze, which he had haphazardly wrapped up like a tangled mess. He put it on his head like a hood, and his whole head and face looked like they were wrapped in gauze. Suddenly, he looked like a silkworm cocoon or a mummy, with only his eyes, nose, and mouth left open, staring blankly at her.
Xia Chan was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, almost doubled over with laughter.
Her face was still injured, and when she smiled, the pain was pulled at the wound. She gently pressed her face, crying out in a mix of laughter and tears, "Ouch, ouch!" Finally, she raised her hand and punched his shoulder, laughing and scolding, "Are you crazy?!"
Hearing her laugh, Chen Zhoudu couldn't help but smile as well, even the corners of her lips hidden under the gauze. Not far away, her grandmother, still carrying a lunchbox, secretly watched from this side, and couldn't help but cover her lips as well, before leisurely walking away with a sigh of relief.
Chen Zhoudu said, "Now, you're not the only one who's in a sorry state."
Xia Chan laughed for a while and then stopped. Her dark, calm eyes fell on him with an unreadable expression. Pian Qing reached out to remove the gauze from his head. "Take it off, what kind of look is this..."
Shen Zhoudu raised his hand to stop her, and just happened to lightly grasp her fingertips, preventing her from moving.
Their hands suddenly clasped together. His fingertips were warm, while her hands were cold from being exposed to the wind for so long, and there were faint traces of calluses on them.
Chen Zhoudu's heart seemed to be suddenly jolted by a block of ice, momentarily freezing.
He paused for a moment but didn't release immediately. Instead, he subtly increased the pressure.
The warmth from his palm flowed to her like a continuous stream. Xia Chan felt a sudden burning sensation in her chest, and after a moment of surprise, she shrank back.
Her fingertips touched her lap and clenched silently, while Chen Zhoudu silently withdrew his hand. A gentle breeze blew between them, spreading the autumn chill far and wide.
After a moment, Xia Chan seemed to want to break the awkward silence by saying, "I'm afraid someone will grab us and make us fill out the answer sheets later."
"What?" Chen Zhoudu asked, puzzled.
Xia Chan turned her head and met his eyes with a smile at the two holes peeking through the gauze. "2B."
Chen Zhoudu paused for a moment and couldn't help but laugh, but insisted on not removing the gauze and said calmly, "2B... then 2B it is."
He looked into her eyes with a hint of amusement, saying, "When you've been smart for a long time, it's good to be silly sometimes."
Xia Chan gazed silently into his eyes, speechless for a moment. Chen Zhoudu's pupils were brownish, and when reflected in the setting sun, they resembled a clear amber, pure and bright, as if capable of holding the purest things in the world, like stars, like the moon, like the wind and the sky. She saw her reflection in his pupils and couldn't help but purse her lips and look away.
“You know all about...those things, right?” she asked, mustering a little courage.
Chen Zhoudu gazed at her quietly and replied softly, "Mm."
"Disappointed, aren't you?" She paused for a moment before turning to look at him again, her eyes once more filled with that smile that seemed to indicate she never cared about anything.
"What's disappointing?" Chen Zhoudu asked, puzzled.
"Me?" Xia Chan smiled, "I always thought that in your heart, I should be considered quite capable!"
"You are indeed very capable," Shen Zhoudu sincerely acknowledged.
From the first moment he met her, she gave him a feeling of "power"—a power that was different from the worldly kind, but rather a kind of ethereal, tenacious, self-reliant, fearless, and full-blooded strength.
He had never met a girl like her, and admitted that he was unconsciously drawn to her. After learning about her past, he felt a pang of pity, but his first reaction wasn't to sigh in sympathy, but rather to admire and respect her. She didn't need anyone's pity; she herself was the epitome of strength and capability.
Xia Chan's smile faded slightly as she casually plucked a blade of grass from beside her and toyed with it. "And now I realize that I'm actually all bark and no bite. I can be defeated, and I can end up like this." She pointed self-deprecatingly to her bandaged face. "Aren't you disappointed?"
“You are not,” Chen Zhoudu said.
"What?" Xia Chan asked, puzzled.
“You’re not all bark and no bite.” He stared at her intently, his words always so firm and resolute, giving her the illusion that even someone as gentle as him possessed a strength she had never seen before. “You are Xia Chan.”
Xia Chan was surprised for a moment, then laughed, "What? Is 'Xia Chan' an adjective?"
"Hmm." He nodded firmly, still looking very certain. Xia Chan stared at his increasingly resolute and serene eyes and suddenly lost the courage to ask him what the word was.
She paused for a moment, then looked away. She then gave a half-joking, teasing smile, "Who knows what kind of rubbish you're thinking!"
The wind is gentle, the sunset is serene.
Chen Zhoudu sighed softly and removed the gauze from his head one by one. Xia Chan silently watched him, smiled indifferently, and lowered her head to continue playing with the wild grass.
After removing the gauze, he suddenly stood up and half-squatted in front of her wheelchair. Without saying a word, he tore off a piece of the gauze, picked up one of her hands, and bandaged the wound on the back of her hand.
Xia Chan's fingertips twitched slightly, but she failed to pull them back from his grasp, staring blankly at him.
The scratch was inflicted when she resisted Zhang Guozhong yesterday. Because the wound was so small, the nurse overlooked it when treating her wound yesterday.
But even the smallest wound deserves careful care. He gently wrapped the gauze around the scabbed wound, tied it into a neat bow, and looked up at her.
"Xia Chan".
He still held her fingertips lightly in his hand, and as he looked up at her, his eyes seemed to be filled with a galaxy of stars in the evening light. He said in a low, clear voice, "Let's take the college entrance exam together."
Xia Chan's heart pounded wildly for a moment, her eyes wide with disbelief. She naturally understood the hidden meaning in his words. She stared at him in astonishment for a long time before finally suppressing the roar of surprise in her heart and smiling, "You think I can get into the same university as you?"
“You can do it.” Chen Zhoudu smiled, his gaze and tone still confident. “I’ve seen your previous test papers. You have a very good foundation. You deliberately didn’t answer those questions. Picking them up again won’t be difficult for you.”
"Ha!" She laughed even more, whether in self-mockery or mockery of him, "That was all eight hundred years ago, I really don't know how to do it now."
He smiled even more deeply, his gaze sharp and mischievous as he looked at her, as if subtly hinting at something. Xia Chan met his eyes for a moment, then, as if suddenly understanding something, asked in astonishment, "You don't mean you're going to say you'll make it up for me, do you?!"
Chen Zhoudu's lips curled into a smile for a moment. "I don't charge much for tutoring. It's only 2,500 yuan per lesson. But if a student agrees to what I just said... I can tutor for free forever."
"I'll ferry you across the sunken boat—" Xia Chan immediately raised her hand to hit him, but he easily got up and stepped back to dodge.
"Chen Zhoudu!" Xia Chan, whose legs were still a little weak, desperately turned her wheelchair to chase after him. Chen Zhoudu smiled and easily dodged while protecting her from falling.
The sun had gradually set behind half the mountain, and half the sky was already dyed with an ink-like blue and the stars and moon. After the two chased and played for a while, Chen Zhoudu pushed her to a small stone table in the garden to eat.
The lean meat congee was served in a thermos, which didn't look like takeout. As soon as Chen Zhoudu opened the lid, a wonderful aroma wafted out. Xia Chan sniffed it and asked, "Did you make this yourself?"
"Mm." Chen Zhoudu smiled and served her porridge, a hint of pride on his face. "Try it."
He is indeed a person who is organized and has a strong learning ability. He stumbled a while ago when he was learning to cook from her, but now he can make porridge that is as fragrant as that in a restaurant.
Xia Chan took a couple of sips and nodded secretly, but at this moment she inexplicably didn't want to praise him anymore, and said lightly, "It's alright! The meat is a bit tough, it would be better if it were more tender."
Chenzhoudu: "The meat was bought by you yesterday."
"..."
"It's a little salty; you should add less salt."
"No salt was added at all."
"..." Xia Chan glared at him, "So you just throw rice, meat, and vegetables into the pot and that's it? That's so perfunctory."
"I also pressed 'Start'."
She paused, raised her spoon to hit him, but Chen Zhoudu easily dodged it with a smile.
The night breeze rustled through the flowers behind them. Shen Zhoudu instinctively shielded her bowl of porridge from the dust, then picked out a few pieces of lean meat from his own bowl and gave them to her, saying:
"Xia Chan, think about what I said. Whether you like it or not... it's free for both of us."
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