Summer goes and autumn comes, autumn goes and winter comes; time flies by, and before we know it, winter has arrived.
A cold wave has arrived, and the temperature is getting lower and lower.
All the other students were wearing down jackets and cotton-padded coats over their school uniforms, except for Mo Li, who was still wearing a very thin coat.
His hands were covered in chilblains, both hands were red and swollen, especially the joints, which were cracked open.
Pus would flow from the opening, forming a yellow scab that would then crack open and bleed again, repeating this cycle over and over.
He usually kept his hands tucked inside his sleeves, not wanting anyone to see his hands, which looked like pig's trotters; to be precise, he didn't want Xia Linyin to see them.
Xia Linyin's hands are still very beautiful, with slender fingers. Even in the dry winter, they are well-maintained. She applies hand cream diligently every day, and her skin is soft and smooth, with even her nails having a faint luster.
However, no matter how well Mo Li hid it, Xia Linyin still found it and put a tube of highly-rated frostbite cream and a pair of gloves in his desk.
When Mo Li saw these things, she knew they were a gift from Xia Linyin.
Because apart from Xia Linyin, no one would notice that his hands had frostbite, and no one would put these things in his desk after seeing that he had frostbite.
After Mo Li went to the toilet to wash her hands, she gently touched the gloves, as if she were touching a rare treasure rather than a glove.
The fluffy gloves felt warm and comfortable to the touch, and Mo Li's eyes reddened. He bit his lower lip to stop himself from crying.
he……
I can't bear to put it on.
Mo Li opened the frostbite cream, squeezed out a little bit and applied it to his hands, spreading it very carefully, little by little.
As he wiped away the tears, some fell onto the back of his hand.
He sniffed, wiped his eyes, and leaned on the table to study even more diligently.
His teacher said that only by studying could he change his destiny. He wanted to study hard and get into a good university, a very, very good university.
The frostbite cream that Xia Linyin gave me worked very well; in just a few days, the sores stopped oozing pus.
A blueberry cake had appeared on her table.
Xia Linyin opened the package. The triangular cake was covered with a layer of snow-white, delicate vegetable cream, then a thick layer of blueberry jam, and finally garnished with a few fresh blueberries and green leaves.
It's her favorite blueberry cake.
This small cake costs 28 yuan. Although her parents give her a lot of pocket money, she only eats it occasionally.
I reward myself with a piece of paper when I get good grades on a test or when I'm in a good mood.
"Thank you for the frostbite cream and gloves."
Looking at the neatly written words on the small card, Xia Linyin suddenly felt the blueberry cake in her hands become heavy.
She knew about Mo Li's family's circumstances. She had even seen Mo Li collect plastic bottles on the roadside before. This small cake required Mo Li to collect more than two hundred plastic bottles to sell in order to buy it.
Xia Linyin sighed, picked up a spoon, scooped up a piece of cake and put it in her mouth. The blueberry jam coated the smooth cream. This blueberry cake seemed to have become too sweet, cloyingly sweet, and a little bitter, just like the sweet yet slightly bitter smile on her lips.
Not only was he dressed in thin clothes, but Mo Li was also barefoot, wearing dirty, black mesh sneakers with the soles coming unglued.
Xia Linyin asked Mo Li several questions. Although she knew how to do them, she still asked Mo Li for help.
Mo Li always wrote down very detailed solutions to her problems, showing that he had put a lot of effort into them.
After asking Mo Li a few questions, Xia Linyin gave him several pairs of wool socks and repeatedly emphasized that this was a thank-you gift for solving the problems, and that he didn't need to give her anything in return.
Seeing that Mo Li accepted the socks, Xia Linyin breathed a sigh of relief. She was thinking of finding another reason to give Mo Li a pair of shoes.
Near the end of the semester, the school awarded a scholarship.
When I got home in the evening, I was surprised to see that Mr. Mo had returned early and was sitting in the living room.
With two bottles of beer and a plate of peanuts, Mo's father picked up a peanut and popped it into his mouth. Watching Mo Li shrink his head and walk towards his room, he suddenly asked before Mo Li entered the room, "Did the school give out scholarships today? Where are the scholarships?"
Mo Li paused, turned around, took an envelope out of his bag, and handed it to his father.
"Tsk, you're getting more and more dishonest. You won't give it to me if I don't ask, is that it?" Mo's father snatched the envelope from Mo Li's hand and glared at him fiercely.
“I called and asked, and your teacher said that the scholarship will be given out today, and it will be 3,000 yuan.”
Mr. Mo took the money out of the envelope, spat on his finger, and began to count it one bill at a time. By the end, his eyebrows furrowed deeply.
He glanced at Mo Li and counted again.
Holding the money, he slapped Mo Li across the face and asked, "Two thousand two hundred yuan? Where's the other eight hundred yuan?"
A brand-new stack of banknotes slapped across his cheek with a sharp pain. Mo Li lowered his head, remaining silent, his fingers tightly clenched together.
"I asked you, what about the remaining eight hundred yuan? Are you mute?!"
This time, Mo's father went straight for the kill, slapping Mo Li's face hard with his palm like a fan. After slapping Mo Li several times, Mo's father grabbed Mo Li's hair and made him tilt his head back.
His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Mo Li's face and asked, "Where's the money?!"
The strong smell of alcohol sprayed onto Mo Li's face, and his glasses had already been knocked off, revealing a pair of beautiful eyes.
He pursed his lips and remained silent, his eyes filled with hatred as he stared directly into Mo's father's ferocious, bloodshot eyes.
Father Mo laughed in fury, "You little brat, you've got guts now!"
Normally, when he beats me, I just hide in a corner with my head in my hands. Even if he beats me until I poop, I don't dare to make a sound. I'm like a dead rat. But now, I'm different. I dare to glare at him!
Mr. Mo grabbed Mo Li's hair and slammed Mo Li's head against the table with a loud bang. "You're not even fully grown yet, and you dare to pull this trick on me! If I don't beat you to death today, I'm not your father!"
With a series of clanging sounds, the table overturned, the wine bottle smashed on the ground, peanuts were scattered all over the floor, and two streams of blood flowed from Mo Li's nose.
He picked up a bamboo stick from the side and struck Mo Li repeatedly, making a teeth-grinding sound.
"Tell me! There's still eight hundred yuan left! Where did the money go?!"
Mo Li curled up silently, clutching her head. Occasionally, she would be struck on the back of her hand by a bamboo stick, causing the scabs that had just begun to heal to crack open, with blood and pus flowing down her fingers.
"Will you talk or not! Will you talk or not!"
With each fierce question, Mo's father's eyes blazed with fury. Finally, exhausted from beating him, he threw down the bamboo stick, panting heavily, and said, "You filthy brat! Don't even think about going to school until you tell me where that eight hundred yuan went!"
Picking up the scattered money from the ground and stuffing it into his pocket, Mo's father turned to leave, kicking Mo Li with lingering anger before he did so, yelling, "You little brat!"
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