Take care
A young man stood at the door, looking disheveled. His pants had a large tear at the knee, and blood was seeping through. His hair was messy, and there were abrasions on his left palm.
Wen Sheng turned around when she heard the noise, and when she saw the face of the person at the door, she almost swallowed the brown sugar water she had just drunk.
Xu Jianing's gaze swept quickly through the crowded throng, and when he saw Wen Sheng standing unharmed in front of the counter, his heart finally settled. But then, he noticed her pale face, and his heart pounded again.
Everyone in the supply and marketing cooperative was drawn to the sudden intruder. Several people who were selecting goods stopped what they were doing and looked curiously at the young man at the door.
The kind woman who had just bought brown sugar for Wen Sheng was the first to speak up: "Young man, what happened to you? Your knee is bleeding!"
Xu Jianing's gaze was fixed on Wen Sheng. He walked a few steps to her and, seeing her pale face and slightly pained expression, asked with concern:
"How are you? Is it very painful? Do you need to go to the county hospital?"
Wen Sheng was still stunned by his disheveled appearance: "What happened to you? Why are you like this...?"
“I thought something had happened to you,” Xu Jianing interrupted her. “Li Qingmiao said you hadn’t returned to your dorm all day.”
"I've been reading at the bookstall all day. Just now it was because..." Wen Sheng glanced around furtively and noticed that everyone was watching them.
She gently tugged at Xu Jianing's sleeve, signaling him to bend down. Xu Jianing understood, leaned closer to her, and brought his ear close to her lips.
"I'm on my period and my stomach is hurting a lot, so I came to buy sanitary products."
Upon hearing this, Xu Jianing's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, but seeing her discomfort, he felt very sorry for her: "I'll sit here with you for a while. Once the pain subsides a bit, we'll go back to school together."
"It's alright, I felt much better after drinking the brown sugar water." Wen Sheng lowered her head, looking worriedly at the bloodstains on his knee. "Your wound needs to be treated first."
A kind-hearted bystander, seeing that the two had finished their whispered conversation, immediately stepped forward and urged, "Young man, are you done talking? You need to treat your wound as soon as possible. We have some mercurochrome here."
Sales clerk Xiao Wang had already pulled out a bottle of mercurochrome and some cotton from under the counter: "Come on, let me help you with this simple treatment first."
Several enthusiastic bystanders also gathered around, offering their suggestions:
"We need to rinse it with water first to wash away the mud and sand."
"Yes, yes, then apply the medicine."
"Oh dear, these pants are all torn like this. I'll have to get a tailor to mend them later."
"Young people are so careless, why are they running so fast?"
"What do you know! This young man is just trying to protect the girl."
The crowd chattered amongst themselves, their voices rising and falling with curiosity and enthusiasm.
Xiao Wang brought over a basin of warm water: "Wash the wound first to rinse away the dirt."
The woman who bought brown sugar for Wen Sheng stood by and directed, "Young man, roll up your pants a little higher. Xiao Wang, go get a cloth to wipe him down."
An older man leaned closer, squinted at them for a while, and suddenly spoke up: "You're students from Cangzhong, aren't you? You look familiar."
As soon as he finished speaking, several curious gazes were cast his way.
Upon hearing this question, Wen Sheng, enduring the cramps in her stomach, stood in front of Xu Jianing and forced a smile: "We are students from Cangzhong, and he is my brother."
Xu Jianing paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "Yes, my sister isn't feeling well, so I've come to pick her up and take her home."
"Oh, so they're siblings! No wonder they're so protective of each other." Someone in the crowd suddenly realized.
The woman who bought brown sugar for Wen Sheng waved her hand, trying to smooth things over for them: "Don't ask so many questions. The child is injured, so it's important to treat the wound first. Xiao Wang, hurry up and apply the medicine."
Xiao Wang nodded and began cleaning Xu Jianing's wounds. Wen Sheng felt both heartache and guilt when she saw him frowning slightly in pain.
"Brother, does it hurt a lot?"
"It's nothing." Xu Jianing glanced at her, her eyes gentle. "Does your stomach still hurt?"
Wen Sheng shook her head, but her face was still pale: "Much better, the brown sugar water is very effective."
Xiao Wang squatted on the ground, cleaning the wound as he said, "This wound isn't deep, but it needs to be treated properly to avoid leaving a scar."
He picked up the mercurochrome and said to Xu Jianing, "This might hurt a little, just bear with it."
The moment the medicine touched the wound, Xu Jianing frowned, but didn't utter a sound, only clenching her fist.
"Okay, remember not to get it wet these next few days," said Xiao Wang, the sales clerk.
"Thank you." Xu Jianing stretched her leg to make sure it was alright, then asked, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Okay, you go ahead."
"You've been working here for a long time, haven't you? Are you familiar with the shops in the neighborhood?"
Xiao Wang asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? Are you looking to rent a shop?"
"My mother wants to open a small shop, and I originally came out today to see if there were any suitable shops nearby," Xu Jianing explained.
His question, which was originally meant to be a low-key conversation, immediately piqued the interest of several middle-aged women and men nearby.
"Oh dear, what kind of shop is your mother going to open?"
"It's not decided yet. Maybe we'll open a teahouse, or..." Xu Jianing glanced at Wen Sheng before continuing, "My mother is quite skilled, and she's also been thinking about opening a noodle shop or a pastry shop or something."
“Then opening a noodle shop would be perfect!” someone immediately chimed in. “There are a lot of people coming and going here, and teahouses tend to get quiet, but noodle shops have people eating every day.”
“Pastries are fine too. If your mother is really good at it, she’ll definitely have business during holidays,” another uncle chimed in. “It just depends on the location. West Street is lively, but the rent is expensive.”
"The train station is the perfect spot! So many people pass by every day, any noodle shop you open there will have long queues."
Xu Jianing pressed on, "I just went to check them out today, and both shops were closed. There are always people coming and going, so why aren't any shops open? Is the rent too high, or... is there some other reason?"
The middle-aged men and women exchanged glances, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
Finally, the kind-hearted woman lowered her voice and said, "Something happened there before, and several groups of people couldn't make it work, so it's been vacant ever since. The rent isn't cheap either, and over time, no one dares to touch it anymore."
Wen Sheng felt a chill run down her spine and couldn't help but turn her head to look at Xu Jianing. She saw that he looked calm, but his eyes seemed to be deep in thought.
She asked in a low voice, "You...you're not really planning to choose that, are you?"
"There aren't that many strange things in the world. If a place that's usually bustling with people is empty, there must be another reason."
Just then, the door of the supply and marketing cooperative was pushed open forcefully again, and Li Changshui and Li Qingmiao hurriedly walked in, their foreheads covered in fine sweat, clearly having run all the way there.
Li Qingmiao spotted them immediately and breathed a sigh of relief, clutching her chest as she said, "I've finally found you! I was so scared, I thought something terrible had happened."
Li Changshui glared at Xu Jianing and said, "You're really something, kid. You came all this way even though you were hurt so badly. We were so worried."
"Why are you here?" Wen Sheng asked, somewhat surprised.
“It’s all because of this guy,” Li Changshui pointed at Xu Jianing, “He fell down, got up and ran away. Qingmiao said he was seriously injured in the fall.”
Li Qingmiao walked over to Wen Sheng and asked, "Why do you look so pale? Are you feeling unwell?"
"I've started my period," Wen Sheng said softly, her voice so low that only Li Qingmiao could hear her.
Li Qingmiao immediately nodded in understanding and patted her shoulder lightly.
Xu Jianing stretched her legs, stood up, and nodded slightly to the several aunties and uncles in the supply and marketing cooperative who were still helping out: "Thank you all for your help. We're going back to school now."
The group quickly waved their hands, saying, "Let's go, let's go, take your sister home and let her rest."
"Young man, remember what we said: choosing the right location is crucial when opening a noodle shop!"
"Yes, feel free to ask us if you have any questions."
Li Changshui and Li Qingmiao both looked puzzled when they heard the words "brother and sister" and "going home," but they tacitly refrained from exposing the truth on the spot.
The four walked out of the supply and marketing cooperative. Night had fallen, and the streetlights were illuminating the streets with a dim yellow glow.
"Why did they just say you were siblings?" Li Qingmiao asked.
Wen Sheng was a little embarrassed: "I just said it casually because I was afraid people would overthink it."
Xu Jianing slowed his pace, walked to Li Changshui's side, and said seriously, "Xie Liming is back."
Li Changshui's face instantly darkened: "What? Wasn't he expelled from school? Didn't his father take him to the city?"
“I saw him at the station today, and he mentioned Wen Sheng’s name,” Xu Jianing glanced at Wen Sheng, who was walking ahead of Li Qingmiao. “I’m worried he’ll cause trouble for her.”
"This guy is definitely up to no good. He lost face after you beat him up and expelled him from school. He's not going to let this go."
“His family has connections,” Xu Jianing said in a low voice, “but he didn’t dare to fight back when facing me. I guess he’s being controlled by his father.”
Li Changshui frowned: "I'll go back and call my dad. He should know what happened to the Xie family."
“After that incident, I mentioned it to my dad. He said that Xie Liming is the Xie family’s illegitimate son, and his position in the family is very awkward,” Li Changshui analyzed.
“If his father sent him back from the city, it means he caused trouble there as well, and now no one here can protect him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been expelled from school in the first place.”
Wen Sheng, who was walking in front, seemed to sense something and turned around to look at them. "What are you two talking about, so seriously?"
Li Changshui opened his mouth to speak, but Xu Jianing had already casually taken over: "It's nothing, we were just talking about the shop at the station entrance."
Wen Sheng looked at them suspiciously: "What's so important about discussing a shop near the station like this?"
“It’s those two empty storefronts,” Xu Jianing naturally changed the subject. “The uncles and aunties said something happened there, and we’re analyzing what the cause might be.”
Li Qingmiao asked, "What is it? Is it mysterious?"
"It shouldn't be a big deal; it's probably just a few shop owners who haven't managed their businesses well."
Seeing that Wen Sheng's face was still pale, Xu Jianing strode forward, walked to her side, and stood shoulder to shoulder with her.
"You should go back to your dorm and rest for a bit. Li Changshui and I plan to go to the station tonight."
Li Qingmiao also advised from the side, "Yes, Wen Sheng, this is the first time I've seen you like this. You should go back and lie down."
Wen Sheng did feel a bit tired. Although the pain in her abdomen had eased somewhat, she was still very weak. "Then you guys be careful."
Watching Xu Jianing's meticulous care, Li Changshui sighed inwardly. Only after the two girls' figures gradually disappeared at the school gate did he turn his gaze away and whisper, "You really care about her."
"Yes, I like her."
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