Chapter 24
night.
After taking a shower, Lin Li dried her hair with a towel while picking up her phone.
His hair grows quite fast; I wonder if this is just an illusion caused by it being too short before.
It has grown to about 3 centimeters. If I leave it for another month, I estimate I can cut off the differential fragments.
You can keep it growing until it's long enough to resemble a wolf's tail.
Spicy Spicy Spicy: Are you going for a run tomorrow morning?
T: Then I'll get off at Century Square, shall we go together?
Spicy spicy spicy: Okay, okay!
It would take about half an hour to get from Tong Yao's home to the school by bus, as it's about 10 kilometers away.
It's not like running a marathon; you can just get off two or three stops early.
"Tong Yao, give me your phone, I'm going to sleep."
Tong's mother's voice came through the door and reached Tong Yao's ears as she sat at her desk.
Before handing over the phone, Tong Yao glanced at the new nickname she had given Lin Li.
Li Bala
_
Lin Li happily replied with an "okay".
Then he put down his phone and went to blow-dry his hair. His hair wasn't long, so it dried in no time.
One minute later.
Lin Li dried her hair, turned on her phone, and started watching fitness videos.
His current physique isn't particularly good; his shoulders are a bit narrow. Fortunately, his head is relatively small, otherwise it would look quite strange.
So I need to work on my shoulders and arms.
The video still teaches Lin Li how to do push-ups, wide-grip push-ups to train the chest, and folding knife push-ups to train the shoulders, doing about 40 to 60 a day.
After practicing for the past two months, he can now do 40 in one go.
But I already took a shower today, so I'll start again in a few days.
Lin Li was lying in bed, preparing to play on her phone for a while before going to sleep, when a message suddenly popped up on her phone—
Shocking! A man has been diagnosed with bowel cancer.
He died less than a year after being diagnosed.
Lin Li's fingers froze in mid-air.
A question he had pondered repeatedly but to no avail resurfaced: How exactly did Tong Yao's father die?
He ruled out natural disasters and man-made calamities, as nothing major had happened locally in recent years. Therefore, the most likely explanation is…
He clicked on the link, his eyes fixed on a few key lines of information: "Colorectal cancer... if detected early, the cure rate is considerable; if it progresses to the late stage, the survival period is often less than a year."
That night, Lin Li consulted a large amount of information and gained a more specific understanding of cancer.
Before falling asleep, the weight on his heart finally eased a little.
He came to a conclusion that could temporarily comfort him: if it were this kind of dangerous cancer, there would definitely be symptoms by now, and Tong Yao would not be in her current state.
Perhaps it was for some other reason, he thought.
_
early morning.
Lin Li swiped open her phone, and the calendar showed...
"December 1, 2022".
"Once the physical education exam is over, this year will be over."
With that thought in mind, he put on the thick windproof school uniform.
The mobile weather app announced in a calm electronic voice: "Today's weather in Yancheng City: cloudy, temperature 5 to 10 degrees Celsius."
It seems that Yancheng has truly entered winter.
He hesitated for a moment, then turned around and took out a red scarf from the closet. He carefully wrapped it around his neck before pushing open the door and going out.
The road that was covered in golden paving two months ago has disappeared.
The trees along the street were bare, with only bare branches remaining.
Lin Li exhaled a puff of white breath and jogged all the way to the bus stop at Century Square.
The electronic bus stop sign reads: Bus No. 42, arriving in 5 minutes.
Five minutes left.
Lin Li subconsciously leaned against the billboard on the platform, her gaze drifting aimlessly toward the end of the road, gradually lost in thought.
They didn't even notice when the bus pulled into the station.
The train door opened, and Tong Yao stepped off wearing a red and white windbreaker school uniform. She immediately spotted the boy with a red scarf standing on the platform.
“Twenty minutes left.” She stopped in front of him.
"Huh?" Lin Li snapped out of her daze. "When did you arrive?"
Before he could finish speaking, a cold hand suddenly touched his forehead, making him gasp.
"Your temperature is normal, you don't have a fever?" Tong Yao frowned slightly.
"Huh?" Lin Li was a little confused.
"I thought you caught a cold because of the changing seasons," Tong Yao withdrew her hand, but a very faint smile seemed to flash across her lips:
"I'm usually pretty dull, but I was even duller today."
The next second, Lin Li grabbed her hand as she was about to pull it back.
Tong Yao instinctively tried to break free, but the warmth from the palm of his hand stopped her in her tracks.
"Why are your hands so cold?" he said, naturally cupping his hands together and rubbing them.
This action made Tong Yao abruptly pull her hand back and quickly stuff it into her pocket.
"It gets hot when you run." She turned her head, looking at the road ahead, deliberately avoiding his gaze.
"We'll be late in 20 minutes," she added, her tone returning to its usual calm.
Lin Li checked the time on the platform; it was already 7 a.m.
Last time I was almost late by 20 minutes, if I don't run now I'm afraid I'll miss it.
He hurriedly stood up straight, threw his scarf behind him, and shouted, "It's too late, run!" He then rushed forward.
"Running so fast? Don't get a stitch again," Tong Yao's voice came from beside him. She quickly caught up with him, her steps steady and her breathing even.
"No, I have a mnemonic!"
Lin Li shook her head confidently, then read aloud the words she had been silently reciting.
"Left foot, right foot, inhale, left foot, right foot, inhale."
A cold wind whistled past their ears as two children in identical school uniforms ran along the road.
The girl ran ahead, and the boy followed closely behind.
10 minutes later.
Lin Li looked at the school sign that read "Yancheng Middle School," propped himself up on his knees, and gasped for breath. He hadn't expected to arrive so quickly.
Sweat streamed down his forehead uncontrollably.
Lin Li turned her head to the side and saw that Tong Yao's forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat and she was panting heavily.
As if possessed, he took Tong Yao's hand when she wasn't paying attention.
After feeling it for a moment, he laughed and said, "It's not cold anymore."
"The temperature will be much lower in the morning, so you should wear more clothes when you go out."
“Look at me, I just wore an extra scarf.”
"Your hands were like ice blocks just now, they made me shiver."
"Girls should pay attention to keeping warm, otherwise they are prone to menstrual cramps."
...
The moment Tong Yao was pulled by Lin Li, her body froze instantly. As she listened to Lin Li's increasingly off-topic words, her face flushed red.
She straightened up and glared at him irritably.
"Shut up! Li Bala."
They either can't utter a single word for ages, or they ramble on and on.
After saying that, Tong Yao turned around and followed the crowd into the campus.
Lin Li blinked as she watched Tong Yao's departing figure.
"Why are you yelling at me? Li Bala? Are you talking about me?"
Then, Lin Li loosened her scarf and took long strides to catch up with him.
_
Tong Yao ran very fast, and by the time Lin Li caught up, she had already reached the classroom.
As soon as I stepped into the classroom, I ran into the homeroom teacher, Liu Hongli.
When Tong Yao arrived, Liu Hongli handed her the homework book.
"Tong Yao, could you take this upstairs to Class 7 and also bring back the report cards from this month's exam?"
The monthly exam results for Class 7 are obtained from the class whose head teacher is in charge.
Liu Hongli handed the homework to Tong Yao and then left.
Tong Yao placed the homework book on the teacher's desk in Class 7, then found her own class's workbook from the report cards of other classes next to her and took it back to the classroom.
Upon entering the classroom, I saw Lin Li sitting in her seat drinking water.
Lin Li smiled and waved, then put down his water cup. Perhaps feeling too hot, he took off his scarf, tossed it onto the table, and then zipped up his school uniform with a "whoosh".
He was only wearing a loose-fitting round-neck long-sleeved shirt underneath, and the neckline was slightly crooked due to his movements, revealing his clearly defined collarbone.
The small, striking red mole in the center of her collarbone instantly caught Tong Yao's eye.
Her heart skipped a beat. She silently looked away and then placed the report card on the podium.
When I got back to my seat, I saw Lin Li with her head down, clutching her collar and trying to look inside.
Upon seeing Tong Yao arrive, he seemed to have discovered something new, pointing in surprise to the red mole on his collarbone and saying, "Look, this mole seems to be newly grown; I never noticed it before."
With this movement, his already loose collar was pulled open even wider, and as he turned to the side, the firm, nascent chest muscles were faintly visible, almost breaking through the thin fabric.
Tong Yao's gaze involuntarily fell on that area again, and her eyes narrowed.
She silently looked away, took out her practice questions, and started working on them.
Seeing that Tong Yao ignored him and started doing practice problems, Lin Li pouted in boredom.
It's studying again—
I've had my clothes off for a while now, and the heat has mostly dissipated, so it's a bit chilly with the cold wind blowing.
Lin Li zipped the zipper up again.
His attention quickly returned to the "newly discovered" red mole. He traced its approximate location with his fingers through the fabric of his school uniform, muttering to himself:
"Strange, why didn't I notice it when I took a shower yesterday?"
Tong Yao paused while doing her practice problems: "..."
There was a few minutes of silence.
"Hey, Tong Yao," Lin Li suddenly turned around and asked earnestly, "Do you think moles can grow out overnight?"
Tong Yao tightened her grip on the pen and said:
Do you know why I call you Li Bala?
"Huh? Why?"
Tong Yao looked at the exercises in front of her, turned a page, and said in a cold tone, "Because you keep babbling on and on."
"oh……"
Lin Li blinked.
"So please be quiet from now on."
Tong Yao added a warning.
Upon hearing this, Lin Li muttered under her breath, "What a hypocrite."
The sound was very soft, so soft that only the speaker could hear it.
He had already realized that he had pulled his collar down too far.
While taking a shower yesterday, Lin Li noticed that her figure had been getting better and better recently, with her abs and pectoral muscles showing a general outline.
It would be even better if the shoulders were a little wider.
So Tong Yao must have felt embarrassed when she saw it, Lin Li boldly guessed.
_
Tong Yao ignored Lin Li until the third period.
During break time.
On the playground, Lin Li stood at the very back of the line.
The broadcast announced, "The third set of national primary and secondary school broadcast gymnastics is now beginning."
Stretching exercises
They started doing morning exercises this month; before, they only ran, probably because the weather got colder.
Lin Li moved her hands and feet methodically.
In their class, boys and girls stood separately.
Lin Li stood at the very back of the line, while Tong Yao was in the middle.
Looking at Tong Yao's serious figure doing exercises.
Lin Li was lost in memories again.
In junior high school, Lin Li often skipped morning exercises. Not only did he skip them himself, but he would also drag Tong Yao along.
The two of them hid in the cafeteria. If they went back to the classroom, they would easily get caught. Lin Li would take the opportunity to eat breakfast, while Tong Yao would sit opposite him and watch him eat.
As she thought about it, Lin Li smiled.
"Tsk tsk tsk."
Tang Yue looked at Lin Li's expression and said sarcastically:
"Lin Li, why are you staring at Tong Yao?"
Upon hearing Tang Yue's words, Lin Li immediately began doing radio calisthenics seriously, her gaze shifting: "I was just spacing out."
Tang Yue and Chen Yan stood at the end of the girls' line. Since the number of boys and girls in their class was about the same, Lin Li stood next to Tang Yue.
Chen Yan turned around and exchanged a glance with Tang Yue, then made a "Huh?" sound, clearly neither of them believed it.
How was your movie this weekend?
Tang Yue asked.
"It's fine as it is."
"What else? Didn't you pretend to stretch, then put your arm around her shoulder and hug her like that?"
As Tang Yue spoke, she picked up Chen Yan and began to demonstrate.
"No."
Lin Li shook his head mechanically.
"So what else did you do besides watching movies?"
Tang Yue pressed on with a look of disdain.
"I was originally going to ask her to go play the game with me—"
Lin Li's words were immediately interrupted by Tang Yue.
"Are you out of your mind? Going out with girls to play games."
"Shouldn't we go try our luck at the claw machine?"
Tang Yue, enraged, took advantage of the chest expansion exercise to give Lin Li an elbow strike.
Lin Li stumbled from the elbow and quickly added, "We didn't play any games. Tong Yao dragged me around the riverbank a few times. She said it was to prepare for the physical exam..."
Besides, what's so fun about claw machines? You can't even grab one... It's a waste of time.
Of course, Lin Li didn't say it out loud; she just complained to herself.
"It's a waste that people spoke well of you."
Tang Yue sighed regretfully when she heard that the two of them hadn't done anything.
?
For some reason, Lin Li felt there was something fishy about these kind words.
"What did you say?" he pressed.
"Just... tell Tong Yao about your strengths and talents."
"Oh, okay, thank you then."
Perhaps it was just his imagination.
_
After school.
Lin Li held onto Tong Yao, preventing her from leaving.
"let go."
Tong Yao said coldly.
Lin Li smiled and asked, "Is your mom picking you up again today?"
"Um."
Upon hearing this, Lin Li began counting on one hand.
He had figured out the pattern; it seemed that whenever Tong Yao was unwell, her mother would come to pick her up.
Last Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
It's been five days already.
He suddenly remembered something.
"You're on your period, is it okay for you to still go running with me?"
Actually, it doesn't necessarily have to start from Thursday.
It might arrive on Wednesday.
Lin Li felt that she had asked a meaningless question.
The next second, I saw Tong Yao's face growing colder and colder.
His shoulders twitched as he looked at it, and he let go of her hand, regretting it.
It was clearly a question that shouldn't have been asked.
Watching Tong Yao's departing figure, Lin Li touched his nose.
"Is there really no need for such a big reaction?" he thought.
_
Tong Yao sat on the electric scooter, recalling Lin Li's expression just now.
He tightened his grip on the electric scooter's guardrail.
She thought to herself, "My skin is getting thicker and thicker."
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