Chapter 45 Returning Home He carried her back to the hospital bed. ...
For the first three days after falling ill, Ye Yuying was placed in a hospital ward and received continuous intravenous infusions and treatment to prevent complications from the high fever.
During those days, she was in a daze, constantly falling into dreams and hallucinations due to extreme fatigue and dizziness.
She reminded herself countless times in dreams and in reality not to speak the truth aloud, not even in her sleep.
When she was conscious, she opened her eyes and stared blankly at everything above her. The curtains in the ward were half-drawn, making the room dim and conducive to her rest.
Ye Yuying originally disliked dimly lit rooms because every time she woke up and saw such a scene, she always felt a sense of desolation, like the end of the world.
That feeling of being the only person left in the world is deeply unsettling and disheartening.
But recently, Cheng Mingdu has been keeping her company in the ward. This scene makes the ward seem like a small box with a half-closed lid, and she and Cheng Mingdu are a pair of dolls inside.
Or if you imagine this place as a prison, where they are imprisoned together, she wouldn't mind at all.
Because of this situation, it might be one of the few times in her life that she would be alone with him.
She remained silent, her lips somewhat dry.
A glass of warm water with a straw was placed to her lips.
She could barely move, so she silently drank a few sips with her mouth half open, and only let go of the straw after her throat had eased a little.
She stared at the ceiling for a while, as if trying to distinguish between reality and dreams, before the real feelings in her body surged up.
"I need to use the restroom." Ye Yuying hesitated for a long time before finally speaking up, embarrassed, as her stomach started to hurt a little.
Although this was her current problem, she was also curious about how Cheng Mingdu would solve these real problems.
His eyes showed no hesitation. He calmly got up, bent down slightly, lifted the corner of the blanket for her, and carefully supported her weak arm.
"Can you walk?" His nonchalant manner actually lessened Ye Yuying's sense of taboo.
"...Yes." She hadn't moved for so long that she wasn't entirely sure herself.
As soon as she got out of bed, her mind felt like a pot of soup being stirred up, making her dizzy and disoriented. She stumbled and fell to the ground after only two steps off the bed.
The legs aren't the main problem; the imbalance is.
"I'll carry you over." He said it softly, but naturally, as if deliberately trying to downplay her embarrassment.
Although she was only a teenager, she was still in puberty, but she was sick, and things were different now.
Ye Yuying was stunned for a moment, and before she could react, he had already picked her up horizontally.
Her body was so light it was almost unbelievable, her bones so prominent it was heart-stopping. She instinctively wanted to say, "I can walk by myself," but as soon as she opened her mouth, her throat tightened, and the words were swallowed back down.
The last time I held her, she almost fainted, so she didn't really experience this feeling.
However, even when she was sick, she felt that she was still in a daze, and the more she tried to truly perceive him, the less she could perceive him.
Cheng Mingdu didn't say anything, but walked steadily toward the bathroom. The person in his arms trembled slightly, as if afraid that he would feel her body temperature, and deliberately shrank back. In order to prevent her from falling, he silently tightened his grip on her body.
The light from the corridor seeped in through the crack in the door, casting a halo of light on the shoulder line of his white shirt.
Cheng Mingdu didn't look down at her, but the sharpness in his eyes had softened considerably.
Ye Yuying dared not lean against him. She was tense and taut, her head was throbbing, her nose was sore, and her throat felt like it was stuffed with a fruit, wet and sour.
She wished they were going to the ends of the earth, but it was just a few steps away.
He placed her steadily on the toilet seat, his movements careful and meticulous, yet he showed no impatience whatsoever.
Finally, he closed the bathroom door and whispered, "Ring the bell when you're done. I'll be outside."
She paused for a moment, then responded softly with an "Mm".
After it was over, she moved herself to open the door. She had thought that if she could move, he might help her back, but he still carried her back to the hospital bed.
The moment she landed on the bed, she suddenly gripped his sleeve tightly and whispered, "Thank you."
Cheng Mingdu paused for a moment, then replied softly, "It's nothing."
Ye Yuying was taken aback; she caught a trace of pity in those deep eyes.
In an instant, her eyes trembled, she immediately let go, fell back into the pillow, and felt half of her heart turn cold.
It must be because nobody cares about her, that's all.
He stood up, carefully covered her with the blanket, and gently brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, a movement as light as a feather.
She closed her eyes, her body enveloped in warm bedding, as if she had been pulled back from the edge of a cliff and laid down in a safe and quiet night.
Three days later, Ye Yuying was out of danger and transferred to a regular ward, but she still had many unusual dreams at night.
The school's investigation team acted swiftly. By reviewing surveillance footage, they confirmed that Ye Yuying was indeed at school when the allegations were made, and Zhang's accusations were found to be unfounded.
The principal called her to apologize, cleared her name, and reinstated her right to attend classes.
Although the matter was clarified, Ye Yuying was not happy at all, because it had delayed many important things for her, such as missing the opportunity to be selected by the sports school.
This was just part of Ge Jie's scheme; the real purpose wasn't to smear her, but to make her miss an opportunity through the suspension and investigation...
But the rules could be manipulated so easily that, for the first time in her life, she began to question both the school and the rules.
Ye Yuying was bedridden for a full seven days before she was able to basically return to a normal life.
When she received the "Notice of Resumption of School" from the school, she was filled with extreme regret.
She missed the opportunity to be selected, and this missed opportunity may mean she has to pay a higher price and work harder on the field.
On the tenth day after the suspension of classes, Ye Yuying cheered up, carried her schoolbag and walked into the familiar campus again. She walked step by step through the corridor where she had been bullied, but her heart was like re-reconstructed glass, hard and clear.
After school, I returned to the gymnasium. Although it was the same familiar place, it seemed noticeably quieter.
Looking up, she saw a red banner with white lettering swaying gently in the evening breeze, one wave after another, like some kind of light, ironic gesture, hanging above her familiar training field, spanning the entire stands, particularly conspicuous.
Ye Yuying stood blankly at the entrance of the gymnasium, looking up at those few lines of text.
The banner's red hue resembled a fiery sunset, yet the words were as cold as snow.
"Congratulations to Wu Qian, Du Yiming, and Zhao Xuanyu for being selected for the Municipal Sports Bureau & Provincial Sports Bureau's Youth Track and Field Elite Training Program!"
Her name wasn't on it; she already knew it wouldn't be.
But she still couldn't stop the dull pain in her chest, like being caught in a cold wind while running, making it hard to straighten up.
The familiar training area has been cordoned off, and the coaching staff is conducting intensive training with the three selected players.
Ye Yuying didn't go over. She just stood in the corner at the entrance of the stadium, watched quietly for a while, and then looked away.
Sunlight fell on the training field, and also on her. Her shadow was stretched long, like a dividing line, lying across this place that had once given her hope and setbacks.
She clenched her fingers so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, but she felt nothing.
Teacher Yang walked over, without showing any regret. A timer was hanging on her finger as she approached.
She took the timer off her fingers, hung it back around her neck, stood beside her, glanced at the figures running on the playground, and spoke calmly, with the experience and insight she had accumulated over many years as a coach.
"Missing an opportunity may not be a bad thing. Although you have good talent, you lack competition experience. It's good for you to gain more experience. If you really want to go down this path, there will be countless city competitions, provincial competitions, leagues... Medals and results never lie. Entering the provincial sports team in the end will be the same result..."
"In track and field, no one dares to say when you'll reach your peak. Just train hard."
Ye Yuying bit her lip, lowered her head, stared at the patterns on the ground, and listened very attentively.
She was actually at a loss, but her homeroom teacher and Ms. Yang both said that if she could start from the path of sports, she might achieve unexpected success.
She knew she could never match Cheng Mingdu's academic performance back then, but if she found another way, she could excel in track and field—
Could it... also shorten the gap between them?
Teacher Yang continued:
"I've already registered you for the qualifying rounds of the city's middle school track and field league next week. You've registered for the 200-meter and 400-meter races. It's not an important competition, so don't feel pressured. Just focus on getting back into shape and rebuilding your foundation. Since you're still recovering, just treat it as a fun event."
The sunset glow shone down from behind Teacher Yang's shoulder, casting a slanted light on Ye Yuying's face. She looked up, squinting at the red running track on the playground.
Perhaps it was because she had been sick and had suffered enough injustice, but at that moment a thought suddenly occurred to her.
Perhaps she really can run in order to be seen.
After a long pause, she sincerely said, "Thank you, Teacher Yang."
Teacher Yang didn't say anything more, blew his whistle, and turned to walk into the training area.
Looking at her slightly plump back, Ye Yuying felt as if she saw a force more reassuring than the sunlight.
She tightened her shoelaces, stepped onto the familiar track, took a deep breath, and began to warm up. She knew that everything was starting anew.
As for the accusation of cheating on the midterm exam, the surveillance cameras in the exam room malfunctioned that day, and there was no further strong evidence to prove her innocence.
However, these issues can be easily resolved. Although her math score was canceled, her paper score was very high, close to full marks. The math teaching and research group ultimately decided to arrange a separate exam of similar difficulty for her to retest her objective abilities.
At this point, the matter seemed to have been perfectly resolved.
But in the classroom, the culprit was still calmly admiring his new nail polish, acting as if it were none of his business.
Ge Jie's fingertips swayed in the sunlight, her nails, painted with pale purple glitter, reflecting the light. She sat by the window, lazily turning the pages of her book, chatting quietly with the girl in front of her, her laughter sweet and cloying, the last syllable of her voice trailing off.
The classroom maintained that indescribable atmosphere—quiet, yet unsettling. Everyone's voices seemed to automatically avoid Ye Yuying, and even the air itself seemed to tacitly avoid her presence.
It was as if she was still that girl who "might cheat," "might hit people," and "might collect protection money." Although it wasn't explicitly stated, no one took the initiative to talk to her. In fact, apart from Ji Zi, no one in the class dared to be with her anyway.
Ye Yuying was already used to it.
She sat in her original seat, with Ji Zi's schoolbag on the seat next to her. Ji Zi had left.
Above her head was the perforated glass of the classroom door, through which sunlight streamed down, casting dappled shadows on her textbook.
Her eyes were lowered, and she opened her math workbook, as quiet as a drop of water falling into a deep well.
She wouldn't even glance at Ge Jie; she didn't want to waste her time hating such a person.
So she didn't respond, wasn't angry, and didn't even bother to show disdain.
Because she has something more important to her.
Just then, the classroom door opened, and Ji Zi walked in breathlessly, her bangs, which she usually kept neatly styled, were unusually disheveled.
She was holding newly bought bottled water and potato chips when she saw Ye Yuying and was startled.
This overreaction puzzled Ye Yuying.
Then, she saw Ji Zi respectfully place the snacks in her hand in front of Ge Jie. Ge Jie glanced at Ye Yuying out of the corner of her eye, smiled, and said to Ji Zi, "Good job."
At that moment, Ye Yuying's eyes darkened to the extreme.
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Author's Note: [Three-Cat Head] 50 Red Envelopes
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