Chapter 15
On their first physical education class, the teacher required everyone to wear short-sleeved shirts and shorts. Xu Chen walked into the locker room with a troubled expression, because he didn't want to expose his knees and calves in front of everyone. The skin in that area was covered with patches of scars. These scars were from when he was eleven years old, before Xu Zhenguo received his new house, due to an accident.
"Xu Chen! Go outside and kneel down! You're so clumsy when it comes to doing chores! You've ruined our brand-new, high-end tea set!"
This was Luo Mei's angry rebuke, clearly audible to Li Muxue in the quiet night, despite the dormitory's poor soundproofing. In the dead of winter, January, fine snow drifted down. Xu Chen's small figure knelt silently on the cold, hard concrete floor of the common corridor. Three hours later, his knees began to redden; four hours later, they turned purple… It wasn't until Xu Zhenguo returned from his night shift that he pulled Xu Chen back to his room. In the days that followed, Xu Chen's knees and calves developed chilblains, which began to ulcerate and ooze pus…
That night, several kind neighbors passed by in the corridor and came up to ask him what was wrong, urging him to get up. He just smiled and said, "Auntie, please let me kneel. If you make a mistake, you have to accept the punishment!"
After saying that, he looked up at the ceiling, because Li Muxue's home was now on the fourth floor...
"Mom, did you hear that? Downstairs..."
Li Muxue was interrupted by Qiao Kexin halfway through her sentence: "Alright, I'm not deaf. What can I do if I hear you? Can I go down and stop the stepmother from beating the child? Even his father, Xu Zhenguo, can't control it, so why should I?! Don't bring up Xu family matters with me anymore, I'm annoyed!"
Li Muxue's feelings were complex at this moment, like a jumble of emotions, a mixture of sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and salty flavors churning within her. She remembered when she was in kindergarten, the teacher would give each child a piece of fruit every day—sometimes a banana, sometimes an orange, sometimes a peach… Xu Chen would always hold his own, reluctant to eat it. Then, when no one was looking, he would secretly slip it into her shirt pocket, and whisper mysteriously, "Eat it quickly, don't let anyone see, this is our secret!"
She recalled their trips to Labor Park to swing on the swings, where she was always the one sitting in front, while Xu Chen would gently and slowly push her from behind...
Then she remembered… No, no! A thunderous voice suddenly rang in her mind, commanding her to stop this foolish reverie! She should think about where her father was now? Think about Xu Zhenguo's arrogant attitude, think about who was responsible for her and her mother's current poverty! Because he was Xu Zhenguo's son, there wasn't a single good person in the Xu family! A greedy father, a heartless stepmother, and a hypocritical son! So you absolutely cannot sympathize with him! Absolutely not!
This intense inner conflict gave her a splitting headache, so she covered her ears, closed her eyes, and pretended to be asleep in bed...
Three years have passed in the blink of an eye. Xu Chen's leg injury has healed, but there is a scar that will be difficult to erase for the rest of his life. The scar on his leg is visible, but the scar on his heart is invisible.
"Xu Chen, what are you doing? Why are you taking so long to change your shorts? Do you not want to attend my class?"
The PE teacher, wearing a white hat, holding a grade record sheet, and with a small whistle around his neck, was shouting at him outside the locker room.
Xu Chen's deskmate, Wang Lei, came to his rescue with a grin: "Teacher, Xu Chen has an injury on his leg, and he doesn't want others to see it. So wearing shorts is a bit difficult for him!"
"Is he a young girl? What kind of behavior is this, acting all coy? Make him come out right now! Otherwise, it'll be treated as being late! Five points deducted..."
(To be continued)
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