☆、Twelve、Competition (2672 words)
First, the pain returned, then consciousness was pulled back from the pain. A pale little face pitifully cried out in pain to the terrified person. The idiot almost ripped the roof off the hospital, but it was no use.
Feng Zihao looked at Li Yaxi, whose face had turned pale with pain, with heartache. "Be good, bear with it, okay? Too many painkillers are bad for your health and will affect your recovery."
Li Yaxi lay quietly in bed, enduring the pain. It was truly a bolt from the blue!
Feng Zihao was completely helpless with Li Yaxi's listless expression. He could only sit silently by her side, occasionally tucking her in. Fearing that Li Yaxi wouldn't be used to the hospital food, he even asked the family servants to prepare different delicious meals for her every day. However, after nearly a week and a half of rest, she still lost a lot of weight.
Cai Weisen, holding a bouquet of flowers, pushed open the door and saw the little boy who had been injured a week earlier in a car accident caused by his son's drunk driving. The boy was listlessly stirring the food on his plate. Although his face was pale and he looked sickly, he was still so beautiful that it was hard to look away. There was a frail beauty about him that made you want to cherish him.
"Little Ya Xi, Uncle didn't know what kind of flowers you liked, so I just bought a bunch at random. If you don't like them, Uncle can change them next time, okay?"
Li Yaxi frowned slightly when she saw the man. She didn't like him because she always felt a strange sense of unease whenever she saw him. Feng Zihao, who always had a keen sense of Li Yaxi's emotions, naturally noticed her dislike for him and separated her from Cai Weisen.
"Mr. Cai, you've already paid the medical expenses. Even if we don't sue your son, he can't escape legal responsibility for drunk driving, so please don't bother Ya Xi any further while she's recovering."
Every time Li Yaxi came, she acted as if she wouldn't talk to anyone, and the slightly older boy also adopted a defensive posture, as if he was trying to get his way with her but was met with indifference. However, Cai Weisen felt an inexplicable closeness to this little boy and always wanted to see him, even though the boy hadn't said a single word to him.
Li Yaxi turned her back to Cai Weisen, adopting a posture that said, "I'm tired and need to rest, you can get lost." Cai Weisen was also sensible, saying a few polite words before leaving. Feng Zihao helped Li Yaxi pull the blanket up, afraid that he would catch a cold from the draft.
Li Yaxi, hiding under the covers, mumbled, "I hate him. I don't like seeing him."
Feng Zihao assumed Li Yaxi disliked the man because he was the perpetrator's father, so he didn't ask further. He simply responded with a light "yes" and gently patted Li Yaxi's back, coaxing him to sleep like a child. Li Yaxi obliged and quickly fell asleep.
Zhan Xiaoyu and Zhao Yi would sometimes come to visit Li Yaxi. Luckily, she managed to dodge them, and only suffered a minor ankle fracture. However, because Li Yaxi had no appetite for several days in a row, and her once round face had become thin and oval, Feng Zihao was worried that she wasn't getting enough nutrition, so he insisted on keeping her in the hospital to recover.
Zhou Yang hadn't seen Feng Zihao for several days. During the month-long winter break, Feng Zihao was busy visiting relatives and friends, so they hadn't had a chance to meet. Then, when Li Yaxi was in a car accident at the start of the semester, he took leave to care for her full-time. Although Zhou Yang disliked Li Yaxi, she still bought some gifts and went to the hospital to visit her, hoping to see Feng Zihao.
Seeing Zhou Yang looking around with the gift but not paying attention to her, Li Yaxi understood perfectly well that his behavior was not a visit to someone in the hospital. Li Yaxi chuckled inwardly. Everyone on Earth knew about this guy's feelings for Feng Zihao, except for the clueless Feng Zihao himself. And Feng Zihao's feelings for her, aside from his own belief that he hid them well, were incredibly blatant to outsiders.
He cleared his throat, composed himself, and asked calmly, "What brings you here? Aren't you busy with your studies?"
Not seeing Feng Zihao, Zhou Yang was somewhat disappointed, and his tone was far from friendly: "No matter how busy you are, you have to come and see me, right? If you can walk again after your injury, hurry back to school, or you might lose your first place."
Li Yaxi looked at Zhou Yang with a half-smile, her cold gaze sending a chill down Zhou Yang's spine. "Zhou Yang, I don't think I've offended you. If you're unhappy to see me, you don't have to come."
Zhou Yang's fists clenched unconsciously. "How could that be? Brother Zihao treats you as a friend, so naturally I treat you as a friend too. Since we're friends, there's no question of offending each other."
Li Yaxi snorted coldly, "Really? Then I was overthinking it. I thought you were neglecting me because Zihao and I are getting closer, which made you unhappy."
Zhou Yang chuckled twice as if he'd heard a joke, but his eyes remained cold. "Ya Xi, please don't say that. Zi Hao takes care of you because he's kind-hearted and sees how hard it is for you to live alone. He treats you like a younger brother. If Zi Hao heard what I just said, he'd blame me for being insensible. If you can be discharged now, hurry up. Hospitals aren't good places; staying too long can make you sick even if you're not. Zi Hao has missed several days of classes taking care of you."
Li Yaxi narrowed her eyes slightly. "No wonder you're unhappy. So it's because I've delayed your Zihao's studies. Are you worried that his grades will drop and his family will scold him? You're such a good brother to Zihao, thinking of him so much. Okay, your Zihao will go back to class tomorrow, so you don't need to worry."
Just as Zhou Yang was about to say something, Feng Zihao pushed the door open and came in. He brought the medicine to Li Yaxi's bedside, tested the temperature with the hot water he had poured before leaving—it was just right—and fed it to Li Yaxi along with the medicine. Li Yaxi frowned, but still drank it.
Feng Zihao helped him lie down and folded the blanket, only then noticing there was another person in the room. "Zhou Yang? What brings you here? Is school over yet?"
Zhou Yang felt a bitter taste in his mouth at Feng Zihao's indifference, but he still put on his best smile when he saw him. "Well, I only had one PE class and one art class this afternoon, so I came to see you since school ended early. When are you going to be discharged from the hospital?"
Even while talking to Zhou Yang, Feng Zihao's attention remained fixed on Li Yaxi. He noticed Li Yaxi's obviously odd behavior and became somewhat worried, while also appearing distracted towards Zhou Yang.
"Oh, I have another check-up in a couple of days. We'll see what the doctor says then."
Li Yaxi's yawn interrupted Zhou Yang's words. Feng Zihao, seeing Li Yaxi's lazy cat-like appearance, felt an indescribable tenderness. "What? Tired? Why don't you take a nap?"
Li Yaxi glanced at Zhou Yang and shook her head. "I'm fine. I'll sleep later. I feel a little nauseous after taking the medicine."
Feng Zihao walked to the window, opened it a crack, and pulled down the windowsill. "Zhou Yang, it's getting late, you should go home now."
Ignoring Zhou Yang, Feng Zihao sat down at the head of Li Yaxi's bed, picked her up and placed her against his chest, pulled the blanket up a little, and gently massaged Li Yaxi's stomach through her clothes.
Zhou Yang's eyes darkened, and his voice trembled slightly as if he was trying to control himself. "Okay, I'll be going now. Ya Xi, get some rest. Goodbye, Zi Hao."
Feng Zihao nodded. Li Yaxi leaned against Feng Zihao for a while after Zhou Yang left, feeling more comfortable before slowly speaking, her voice a little tired, "Go back to school tomorrow. You've already missed a few days."
Feng Zihao glanced at Li Yaxi, who had her eyes closed, and said, "It's okay, high school courses won't affect me."
"Then go back to your classes and teach me. It won't affect you, but it will greatly affect me."
"Then I'll bring the book to teach you tomorrow."
Li Yaxi was getting impatient. "I can read books too. Just go back to class when I tell you to."
If Feng Zihao couldn't tell that Li Yaxi was upset, he'd be a fool. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Will sitting up make you feel better?"
Li Yaxi removed Feng Zihao's hand and slowly sat up. "Zihao, even good friends have their limits. Isn't it strange that you skipped class to come and keep me company? People can be very nosy. I don't want to be treated like an alien when I go back to school."
Feng Zihao's fingers, resting on the blanket, turned slightly white. After a moment, he responded, "Okay, I'll come again after class tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Li Yaxi looked up and smiled at Feng Zihao, but the smile seemed somewhat forced.
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