Sugar coating
The Cold War lasted for three days.
For the past three days, Li Zichen would stand at the door of our classroom during recess every day, holding different things in his hands—the first day it was my favorite strawberry candied hawthorn, the second day it was a sports trading card he had been saving for a long time (he knew my brother liked this and wanted me to give it to him to ease the tension), and the third day it was a brand new notebook with a crooked rabbit drawn on the cover and the words "I'm sorry" written next to it.
I ignored him completely. The injury on my back was still throbbing, and every time I raised my hand to write, it pulled at my nerves. My father's roar that night echoed in my ears like a curse, leaving me with no strength to respond to any attempts at goodwill.
On the morning of the fourth day, as soon as I entered the classroom, I saw a thermos tucked into my desk. Opening it, I found warm brown sugar ginger tea with a few red dates floating on top. Next to it was a note in Li Zichen's handwriting: "Your deskmate said you haven't looked well these past few days, so I asked the auntie to make this. Drink it while it's hot."
Your deskmate leaned over and whispered, "Li Zichen just came and put this down. He stood in front of your desk for ages, staring at it like an idiot."
I gripped the thermos tighter; the warmth of the brown sugar ginger tea seeped through the metal, making my fingertips tingle.
I went to the cafeteria at noon, and had just gotten my food when he cornered me in the hallway. He was wearing a clean white shirt, his hair was neatly combed, and he looked a little nervous, unsure of what to do with his hands.
“Zhi Xia,” his voice was a little hoarse, “I know I said something harsh that day. I shouldn’t have brought up your junior high school days. I’m sorry.”
I kept my head down and didn't say anything.
“I’ve already made things clear with Lin Wei,” he added. “I told her I have a girlfriend and asked her to keep her distance. When I returned the hair clip to her, I specifically mentioned that it was my girlfriend who minded, and that she wouldn’t do it again.”
"It's not that I mind her..." I finally raised my head, my voice hoarse, "It's that..."
“I know.” He interrupted me, his eyes serious. “You’re insecure, and it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have let you suffer.”
Those words were like a needle, gently piercing the hard shell in my heart. Yes, all I wanted was a little security, so why was it so hard to say it?
“My dad hit me that day,” I suddenly said, my voice so soft it sounded like a sigh. “Because I did poorly on the monthly exam, he whipped my back with a belt, and it still hurts.”
He froze, the sudden surge of heartache and anger in his eyes making me more flustered than any sweet words. "How could he..." He reached out to touch my back, then abruptly pulled back, his fist clenched white. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"What's the point of telling you?" I laughed self-deprecatingly. "Can you take the beating for me?"
"I..." He was speechless for a long time before he said, "I can't take the pain for you, but I can stay with you. If he dares to touch you again, I'll go find him."
That was a silly thing to say, like something a child would say in anger, but when I looked at his flushed face and the anxiety in his eyes, I suddenly wasn't so angry anymore.
"The ginger tea is quite delicious." I changed the subject and picked up the thermos and shook it.
His eyes lit up, like a puppy that had been granted a pardon: "Then I'll have Auntie cook for you again tomorrow?"
"No need." I pursed my lips. "Don't get so close to Lin Wei anymore."
"I promise I won't!" He immediately raised his hand, grinning like a child who had stolen candy. "I'll only come to you during breaks from now on, and I'll only walk with you after school, okay?"
Seeing him like this, the wrinkles in my heart seemed to be gently smoothed out. The injury on my back still hurt, and the oppressive atmosphere at home hadn't disappeared, but it seemed... not so unbearable anymore.
That afternoon, he called Lin Wei into the corridor and said in front of me, "This is my girlfriend, Shen Zhixia. Don't touch me like that again." Lin Wei's face turned pale and then red. She glared at me fiercely, then turned and ran away.
Li Zichen raised an eyebrow at me smugly, as if showing off. I couldn't help but laugh.
After school, he carried my schoolbag and walked beside me, chattering on and on: "I'll bring you some safflower oil tomorrow, it's better than your iodine." "I'll take you to that new mala tang place this weekend, with double the sesame sauce." "Next time your dad dares to scold you, just text me, and I'll rush over right away..."
The setting sun cast long shadows of us, and his shadow would occasionally brush against mine, as if we were secretly holding hands.
Looking at the overlapping shadows on the ground, clutching the brown sugar ginger tea thermos he had given me, I suddenly felt that perhaps I could trust him one more time.
After all, even the thinnest sugar coating is still sweet.
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