Chapter 38 Confession: I really like her, I like her a lot, I only like her...
The city of Jiangcheng has been shrouded in drizzle for the past few days, with the fine rain seeming endless.
Qiao Bolin's injury did not interfere with his daily life; he just couldn't write with his right hand for the time being. But he always learned things quickly, and after a few days he was able to write fluently with his left hand. Qi Ruiheng even joked that he had learned an extra skill.
Within a week, many parents who knew him from Jianglan Experimental School and Linjiang International School came to the hospital to see him. Ning Jiu brought fruit to the hospital as usual, accompanied by Li Mingyuan.
Wen Xi was chatting happily with a girl wearing Jianglan Experimental School uniform when she saw them arrive. She greeted them with a smile.
“Xiao Jiu, Mingyuan, why did you bring so much stuff again?” She hurriedly took the bag from Ning Jiu’s hand, without any parental airs. “Our little rascal isn’t that precious.”
Ning Jiu sensed the girl next to Wen Xi staring at her curiously and responded softly.
"We just picked up a little something along the way, it's nothing." He was injured, and she couldn't just stand by and do nothing. "I'm leaving now, you two talk—"
With a creak.
The door to the ward opened, and Wen Xi and the girl beside her looked over at the same time. Wen Xi exclaimed in surprise.
"Berlin? Didn't you say you were taking a nap and wouldn't let anyone in?"
Qiao Bolin seemed not to hear, his gaze passing through the crowd and landing directly on Ning Jiu, without saying a word.
The police immediately opened a criminal case regarding the two men who were carrying weapons and injured Qiao Bailin. The detention was approved on the same day, and the sentence will be handed down in court.
Duan Chu's father was also implicated. In addition to encouraging his own daughter to take photos, he also anonymously leaked information about his daughter's school. Although he did not directly participate in the crime, he was an accomplice and is awaiting further processing.
Ning Jiu originally planned to tell them the outcome, but then she thought that Qiao Bolin's father was the director, so they would definitely know before her, and it wouldn't make much difference whether she told them or not.
She whispered a message to take a rest, and didn't linger. Seeing this, Li Mingyuan waved to Qiao Bolin.
"Berlin, remember to take good care of your injury. We're all waiting for you to come back!"
They walked out of the ward. The hospital corridor was not wide to begin with, and it was the peak of afternoon visiting hours, so it was packed with people coming and going.
Several nurses pushed a cart of examination equipment and medicines quickly past from the other side. One of the carts was unstable and suddenly veered towards the two of them. Li Mingyuan subconsciously reached out to block Ning Jiu, and his arm just happened to touch her shoulder.
Just as they touched, a hand with considerable force suddenly pushed him away.
Li Mingyuan glanced in the direction he had been pushed away, and showed a hint of surprise after recognizing the person.
"Berlin?"
Why did he leave the ward?
The boy stood in the backlit corridor, his striking features clearly visible beneath his dark, tousled hair. There were others in hospital gowns among the crowd, but the moment he emerged, almost everyone's eyes were drawn to him.
Although Qiao Bolin remained silent, Ning Jiu keenly sensed his unusual mood and turned to Li Mingyuan.
"Mingyuan, didn't you say you were going to the print shop downstairs from the hospital to print your midterm review materials?"
"Oh, right," Li Mingyuan said as if he had just remembered something, "Then I'll go down and play first, and I'll tell you on WeChat after I'm done."
As Li Mingyuan's hurried footsteps faded into the distance, Ning Jiu turned back to look at Qiao Bolin and noticed that his brows were slightly furrowed.
“'Mingyuan'?”
He's acting very strangely today.
Ning Jiu didn't understand why he was so bothered by a form of address. She wanted to pull him to a less crowded corner, but considering his injuries, she didn't dare to make any rash moves.
Qiao Bolin reached out his hand, wanting to hold her, but missed as soon as he got close.
Ning Jiu's lips froze, seemingly unaware, as she moved her hand up, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him towards the corner.
"How is your injury healing?"
Her voice was gentle, like a simple expression of concern.
"I miss you so much."
He always said things that left her speechless.
Many people came to see him this week, and Ning Jiu couldn't squeeze in during the day. With the midterm exams approaching, she always came after evening self-study. It was almost 10 o'clock, and Qiao Bolin was probably already resting. She breathed a sigh of relief and handed the fruit and food she brought directly to Wen Xi.
She used to be able to laugh off those kinds of remarks, but now she can't handle them like she used to.
She looked at the bandage on his right hand; it wasn't as thick as it had been a few days ago, and his fingers could move slightly. He did look a bit better.
Ning Jiu let out a soft sigh of relief without making a sound.
"You should go back and rest; it's important to conserve your energy," she said, her nerves relaxing. Then another thought popped into her mind: "Oh right, Lao Qin probably told you on WeChat, the admission policy has been finalized—"
Why don't you reply to any of the WeChat messages I send you?
Qiao Bolin's voice was low, and both his dark pupils and tone sounded very sad.
Ning Jiu's heart skipped a beat at his words, and she instinctively denied it.
"No, I had too much homework and didn't have time to check my phone."
She herself wouldn't believe such an excuse.
Qiao Bolin just looked down at her, making her feel a little uncomfortable. Ning Jiu was about to look away when she felt a warmth on her neck. The boy's slightly stiff hair gently brushed against her delicate neck.
He took a deep breath, his suppressed breathing brushing past her neck, and buried his face in the crook of her neck, his hot lips barely touching her skin.
"Please don't move, let me hold you for a while."
His voice was tired, and he hugged himself tighter and tighter.
After the incident, Ning Jiu felt that she had made herself clear enough, but he acted as if nothing had happened and continued to pretend that everything was normal.
He could pretend nothing was wrong, but she couldn't fool herself.
"It was my fault," he pleaded in my ear. "I shouldn't have said you didn't protect yourself properly, Ning Jiu. Please don't ignore me..."
Was he wrong? What did he do wrong?
From beginning to end, the only one who didn't see this relationship clearly was herself.
The more Qiao Bolin acted this way, the stronger Ning Jiu's unease became.
He shouldn't be like this.
Wen Xi, who rushed from the ward, was also taken aback by this scene.
Ning Jiu looked up and met her complicated gaze.
-
"Thank you for taking the time to come out for a cup of tea with me."
When Wen Xi spoke, her voice was soft and gentle, just like her overall demeanor. The pearl earrings on her earlobes gleamed softly under the warm lights of the tea room.
She glanced down at the tea menu: "You probably prefer sweet drinks."
Ning Jiu glanced at her, and the latter simply chuckled softly and whispered a few words to the waiter next to her.
"This is one of the few sweet flavored teas in the shop. It doesn't have any sugar added, so it's not too sweet. You can give it a try."
There was no harsh questioning as she had imagined, not even the most basic probing. Ning Jiu found that being with Wen Xi always made her feel relaxed without realizing it.
The warmth of the cup gradually spread to her fingertips. Ning Jiu took a sip. The tea was warm on her palate, with a hint of sour plum and a delicate fragrance of osmanthus. It was neither bitter nor bland, just what she liked.
“His father and I thought we understood his thoughts and temperament,” Wen Xi’s smile remained calm and gentle, “but after this incident, I realized we were wrong.”
She reached out and tidied Ning Jiu's slightly messy hair at her temples, the faint scent of irises filling Ning Jiu's nostrils.
“Because of work, he was able to take care of himself, but I started traveling back and forth between countries. His father was the same way,” Wen Xi said. “Perhaps that’s why we haven’t been able to pay attention to some of his behavior in time. He may have inherited some of his father’s personality traits. If there was anything that made you uncomfortable just now, I apologize on his behalf.”
Wen Xi's tone was so sincere, completely from Ning Jiu's perspective.
“This isn’t your fault, Xiao Jiu. You two are about to enter the final sprint stage, and I don’t want this to affect you,” she said sincerely. “He might be a little emotional right now, so I’ll handle it for now. After the college entrance exam, you can slowly talk to him and clear things up, okay?”
Qiao Bolin will not give up easily.
Wen Xi understood this principle better than Ning Jiu.
Ning Jiu felt she should thank Wen Xi, who had already said the words that were hardest for her to say.
But when the words reached his lips, they only turned into a question.
"Let's talk about it after the college entrance exam..."
Will Joe Bolin be alright?
Wen Xi quickly understood what she meant and smiled helplessly.
“As time goes by, things will naturally calm down,” she said softly. “When that time comes, his father and I will talk to him again. Given his personality, he won’t get stuck in a dead end.”
-
As senior year enters its final sprint, all students are pushed to their limits. Classroom lights are turned on early in the morning and not turned off until 10 p.m. at night. Mock exams, past exam papers, and correction sheets pile up on the desks.
Qiao Bolin returned to school right after the mock exam. As soon as he stepped into the teaching building, the noisy sounds in the corridor seemed to be quietly paused. Several students who were talking subconsciously stopped talking and all eyes fell on him.
Seeing that he looked normal and greeted them calmly, several of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued their discussion.
"Have you guys seen the forum? Those photos..."
"You mean that photo of them when they were little, with their arms around each other's shoulders and laughing so familiarly?"
Dong Yi covered her mouth, trying to hide the gloating in her voice.
"No way? They've known each other since they were kids? What about Ke Shini? Could they be in a love triangle?"
"I heard it was found while organizing materials during the junior high school anniversary celebration, and now it's all over the place," Cai Liming said with a contemptuous smile. "I told you long ago, Ning Jiu is just pretending to be well-behaved; she's actually a complete mess behind the scenes—"
Before the words were finished, the sound of clothes being tugged suddenly rang out.
Qiao Bolin stopped walking at some point, grabbed Cai Liming by the collar, and slammed him against the wall behind him.
His strength wasn't great, but the folds at the collar were taut, and Cai Liming couldn't even utter a cry for help. His face turned red from being strangled, and his legs thrashed about.
"Qiao...cough..." Cai Liming gasped for breath, his eyes filled with terror as he looked at the still-calm boy. "You...dare..."
Qiao Bolin didn't even bother to change his expression; he simply tightened his grip, causing the veins on the back of his fair hand to bulge. Cai Liming's words were abruptly interrupted.
No one present expected him to do this. After an eerie silence, Dong Yi was the first to react, screaming and running away.
Someone tried to tug at Qiao Bailin's sleeve: "Bailin, don't do this, calm down."
Qiao Bolin ignored him, his gaze fixed on Cai Liming. His voice and expression remained gentle, but the pressure on his hands was gradually tightening.
"Why did you stop talking?" he asked, his tone puzzled, and he tightened his grip a little more. "You haven't finished yet, have you?"
Cai Liming's eyes rolled back as he was choked, and he could only manage a barely audible cough.
When Lao Qin arrived, Cai Liming had already been helped to his seat in the classroom. He was pale, breathing heavily, his collar was wrinkled, two buttons were undone, but there wasn't even a clear ligature mark on his neck.
Old Qin frowned as he glanced at it, even wondering for a moment if Dong Yi had exaggerated what had just happened.
Even Dong Yi herself was puzzled. Cai Liming's face had turned pale just now, but in the end, not a trace was left. How was that possible?
Although he seemed to be alright, Cai Liming was still taken to the infirmary. Old Qin didn't say much in front of everyone, but just glanced at Qiao Bolin with a stern face and told him to go to his office.
This was the first time Lao Qin had shown such a serious expression to Qiao Bolin since he met this model student who was impeccable in every aspect.
He sat upright at his desk, sipping water from his old-fashioned teacup one sip after another, and only asked a question after all the other teachers had gone out to eat.
"Give me an explanation for this!"
The boy sitting in front of him still had his back straight, his thick and well-defined eyebrows and eyes were calm, and when he looked at people with those glass-like eyes, he always gave people the illusion that he could see through everything.
“As you can see,” he said, his attitude of admitting his mistake was as impeccable as ever. “I started it, so the responsibility is mine, and I have no objection to any punishment.”
Upon hearing this, Lao Qin felt an even greater headache.
With the guaranteed admission quota about to be released, Qiao Bolin talking to him about disciplinary action at this time is like putting him, as the homeroom teacher, on the hot seat.
"Let's talk about this after the school doctor's examination results come out." He rubbed his temples, his tone weary. "Let's talk about your recent condition."
"Your teacher knows that you are always careful in your actions. You were injured while saving someone, but you have already missed the most crucial mock exam. You must get back into shape as soon as possible, otherwise it will have a huge impact."
Recalling what Dong Yi had said to him earlier, Lao Qin's expression became even more solemn than ever before.
"Dong Yi has already told me why you took action."
He subconsciously tried to find excuses for Qiao Bolin, viewing it as a case of an adolescent boy mistaking pity for love out of protectiveness.
"If you've developed feelings for Ning Jiu because of your desire to help others, I advise you to focus on your studies during this final period and not let—"
"It's not because of a desire to help others."
This was the first time Qiao Bolin had interrupted Lao Qin.
A look of surprise flashed across Lao Qin's face. Before he could recover, he heard Qiao Bolin continue.
"I like Ningjiu."
His tone was straightforward and assertive, as if he weren't speaking to his teacher, as if it were a matter of course.
"I like her very much, I like her a lot, I only like her."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Based on real-life experiences, having a crush on someone doesn't necessarily affect a student's grades, provided the student has good mental fortitude and a clear goal.
Fortunately, both Sweet Wine and Berlin are in that category, so neither of them will be affected in terms of performance.
-
Before a real breakup, there's often a brief period of lucidity before the end; people will kiss and do what they're supposed to do.
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