Chapter 108 Stay Away From Me "Why do people suddenly change?"
When the midterm exam results came out, they were posted on the wall like big-character posters. Li Leshan sat listlessly in his seat, his gaze calmly fixed on the test paper on the table.
He could hear the students' discussions all around him, but he couldn't make out a single word. He stared blankly at the clock in front of him; there were only five minutes left before evening self-study ended. Actually, the time for evening self-study had been adjusted to 11:30 PM, and most students went to extended-hour services, with only a few going home right at the end of the session.
The school doesn't mandate it, but the students do it voluntarily, and the study rooms are always packed. Waking up at 5:30 AM and returning home at 11:30 PM—if that were converted to a regular workday, capitalists would weep.
"Leshan," Zhang Fang gently tapped his table, "come out for a moment."
Li Leshan raised his head, stood up, and followed her out of the classroom.
It was already late, and only a dim, old lamp shone in the corridor in front of the classroom, casting a flickering light on Zhang Fang's glasses.
"Have you seen your exam results?" Zhang Fang asked.
Li Leshan raised his eyelids slightly, then shook his head, not looking.
Has it regressed?
"It's normal to regress, right?" Li Leshan thought to himself. "He's not some particularly outstanding person. It's impossible for him to maintain his performance in this state every day. He doesn't have that many things to worry about. There must be something he hasn't taken care of."
He couldn't care less about everything; he was bound to lose something. He couldn't hold onto everything. But he seemed to be constantly losing; what had he actually gained?
"Don't be nervous. It's just that your teacher thinks you still have room for improvement. We can work harder." Seeing that he kept his head down, Zhang Fang noticed the band-aid on his face and the faint bruises. Her voice immediately rose a little, "Leshan, what happened to your face?!"
Li Leshan hesitated for a moment. Communicating with someone who couldn't read sign language was a huge problem. What could he say? Who could help him? Could he say, "My father hit me"? And then what would happen? What would change?
"Thank you, teacher. I will study hard." Li Leshan handed the note to Zhang Fang, ultimately choosing to avoid the question.
The bell rang, and it was time for him to leave class. Without waiting for her to say anything more, Li Leshan went straight back to the classroom, grabbed his bag, and prepared to leave.
"Sigh!" Zhang Fang's voice came from behind. She looked at Li Leshan's thin but straight back and sighed heavily in her heart.
She had been teaching for many years, had taught all kinds of classes and met all kinds of students. She had met quiet and silent students before, but this was the first time she had met someone like Li Leshan. Approaching him felt like there was a thick barrier between them. This barrier, because he could not speak and because of his withdrawn personality, was forever a barrier between him and everyone else.
As Li Leshan walked, he texted Jiang Yueming. He remembered to report back every day to prevent Jiang Yueming from worrying about him.
"Leshan!" Xu Qing spotted him from afar, quickly grabbed Han Jiang and ran a few steps, dragging and pulling him to his side. "Wait for us!"
Li Leshan stopped and watched the two of them running towards him, panting heavily. They had run for a long time but there was still quite a distance to cover. He hesitated for half a second, wondering whether he should take a few steps forward, because he could tell they were indeed having a hard time running.
"There are so many people after school." Xu Qing finally ran up to him and took a breath.
Li Leshan nodded, somewhat puzzled, not understanding what the two of them were up to.
Xu Qing quickly nudged Han Jiang, who exclaimed "Ah!" The two of them pushed and shoved each other for a while, both feeling a little embarrassed to talk.
"Um," Han Jiang scratched his head, "how have you been lately? I mean, in terms of studies, life, relationships, uh, anyway, are you alright?"
Li Leshan felt genuinely strange, and a little uneasy. He didn't understand why everyone thought something was wrong with him, why everyone came to ask, and why everyone looked at him with such eyes. Was it because they didn't think he could handle it, or because in their eyes, he was truly in a terrible situation?
"Jiang Yueming, did he tell you? What did he say to you?" Li Leshan gestured halfway through, seeing the two people's blank expressions. At this moment, the three of them were standing in the middle of Xiangzhang Avenue in a way that was blocking their way. Then, Li Leshan decisively took out his phone from his pocket, typed a line of text, and showed it to them.
"No, no." Han Jiang quickly waved his hand after seeing the words clearly. "He didn't say anything. We just...we were a little worried about you lately."
"Yes!" Xu Qing quickly replied, "I haven't seen you doing any extended services lately, and you always...always have injuries on your face."
Xu Qing's voice trailed off, "We're just worried that someone will bully you."
"That's right!" Han Jiang rolled up his sleeves, revealing non-existent muscles, and said indignantly, "Who bullied you? Tell us, and we'll teach them a lesson for you. If all else fails, call the police!"
Call the police? Li Leshan had considered it, but could the police really handle domestic violence? Could they intervene once and then countless times? To what extent could they intervene? Could they guarantee that this kind of thing would never happen again? Would they... believe the words of a mute person?
It's not that simple. These kinds of things get far too complicated when family matters are involved. When the police or anyone else questions him, asking for his answer and what happened, with all eyes on him, what will he say? He can't say anything.
"Thank you, I'm fine." Li Leshan handed the phone back to the two of them.
Seeing their troubled expressions, Li Leshan decided not to linger and make things difficult for them any longer. He put away his phone and slowly walked towards the school gate.
Stepping out of the school gate and looking at the surging crowd, he suddenly remembered the photo Li Yong had given him of a person's back; it seemed to be right at the entrance of Shishi High School. He had been staking out this place, observing who was getting close to him, either by himself or through others. He needed more leverage, and even if it wasn't Jiang Yueming, it would be someone else.
Li Leshan took a deep breath, paused for a moment, then turned and walked towards the Zhonghua Market.
Han Jiang's phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. He quickly took it out and saw Li Leshan's name, which instantly excited him.
"It was sent by Li Leshan! It was sent by Li Leshan!" Han Jiang quickly patted Xu Qing on the shoulder.
"Let me see," Xu Qing stood on tiptoe and leaned closer to him, "What did you post?"
Han Jiang smugly hummed twice, "What else could it be? That kid Li Leshan was probably so touched by what we said, but he was too embarrassed to say it. That's why he came to thank us."
"Really?" Xu Qing asked suspiciously, somewhat disbelieving.
“Definitely,” Han Jiang assured him. “Isn’t that just how he is? He doesn’t say anything, but he’s all talk and no action. Others may not know him, but we certainly do. We’re all brothers, all brothers.”
Han Jiang had even already decided what message he would send.
Will he call himself "Brother Han" or "Brother Jiang"? In short, it doesn't matter what he's called, Han Jiang doesn't care.
Han Jiang excitedly pressed the keys on his phone and opened the text message. The line of text sent by Li Leshan immediately caught his eye.
Li Leshan: You guys should stay away from me.
...
? ? ?
"Holy crap! What?!" Han Jiang felt like he'd been doused with a bucket of cold water.
"What did he say?" Xu Qing couldn't see clearly. Seeing Han Jiang's reaction, she felt something was wrong. This didn't seem like a reaction that would be expected to express gratitude to them. So she hurriedly tried to pry Han Jiang's hand away.
Han Jiang looked bewildered and handed the phone to Xu Qing in a daze.
Xu Qing hurriedly checked the message and froze on the spot for a moment.
"He...he really said that?" Xu Qing was a little incredulous, and her voice trembled slightly.
"How could he be like that!" Han Jiang was a little unhappy, and a surge of anger rose up. He felt that he had meant well, and they had even gone to ask Jiang Yueming, but although Jiang Yueming didn't say anything, it was all for nothing! It turned out that the other party didn't appreciate it at all and even told them to stay away.
"Xu Qing," Han Jiang said, feeling a pang of sadness as he looked at the girl's distressed expression. "Don't be sad. Although I'm a little sad too, didn't we know from the beginning that Li Leshan is a straightforward person? He probably didn't mean anything by it; he just finds us annoying?"
The more he tried to comfort her, the less effective his comfort became.
Xu Qing's nose tingled, and tears welled up in her eyes. "I thought our relationship was... was pretty good. Why would he say that? He's never done anything like that before..."
"So he's changed!" Han Jiang hurriedly took out tissues from his pocket, but found nothing there. He then handed over the sleeve of his school uniform, saying, "Use this to wipe your tears."
Xu Qing turned her face away, "No way, your sleeves are covered in ink stains."
“Then use my left sleeve. I don’t write with my left hand, I don’t have ink…” Han Jiang quickly changed direction again. “Oh, don’t cry. I admit he used to be a good guy, but haven’t you noticed that since high school, especially the second year, he’s become more and more like that? He doesn’t even contact Jiang Yueming much anymore, so it’s normal for him to ignore us…”
"Han Jiang," Xu Qing choked up, "I don't understand, why do people suddenly change?"
Han Jiang was stumped by the question and stammered for a while. He didn't know either, but people seem to change suddenly. "Hey, I'll go tell Jiang Yueming, okay? If he doesn't believe me, I'll stick the text message in his face for him to see. Then I'll make Li Leshan apologize to us. I can't forgive him unless he calls me 'Brother Jiang'..."
Li Leshan stared blankly at the message he had sent, a strange emptiness in his heart. If he were to explain, he would have to tell the whole story; if he were to tell the whole story, he would inevitably drag Han Jiang and Xu Qing into it. Therefore, not knowing was, in a way, the safest option. Han Jiang and Xu Qing were his friends, and also Jiang Yueming's most important friends; he had no other choice.
"I'm sorry," Li Leshan put his phone in his pocket. If there was another chance in the future, if Han Jiang and Xu Qing were still willing to listen to his explanation, if in the future... he would agree to apologize however he wanted.
But right now, keeping his distance is the most important thing. He doesn't want to hurt anyone or implicate anyone.
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