Chapter 24
At two o'clock in the morning, Bai Nan secretly got up and, after receiving no response from the opposite bed, quickly got out of bed.
After wiping her hands dry, she carried the slightly damp blanket back to bed and fell asleep almost immediately.
Early in the morning, a breeze blew by, and Bai Nan subconsciously raised his arm to shield his eyes.
The expected blinding sunlight did not come, and she opened her eyes in a daze.
A cool breeze stirred the white curtains, causing the tassels to sway and dance in the wind. Sunlight playfully peeked through the raised gaps, casting dappled patterns of light.
This image is relaxing, and the mind becomes calm again.
"Buzz buzz buzz—"
Bai Nan's phone suddenly vibrated, and she quickly swiped up to cancel the alarm, but her drowsy state was also dispelled by the brief vibration.
Apart from a sliver of light coming from under the fluttering curtains, it was pitch black. She sat up and looked at the bed opposite her.
There was a noticeable bulge on the bed, but it was impossible to tell whether Xu Xin was facing her or had her back to her.
However, even if she opened her eyes to face her, she would still be unable to see anything clearly, just like her. So her gaze became bolder, and her imagination ran wild.
After she had seen enough, she got out of bed to go to the bathroom to wash up, and also took the underwear and training clothes that she had secretly washed the night before back to the balcony.
When Xu Xin came out of the bathroom after changing into his training uniform, he had just gotten out of bed. He was rubbing his eyes as he walked over.
Seeing him walk straight towards her, Bai Nan assumed he was still asleep and quickly made way for him, clutching her pajamas.
As luck would have it, Xu Xin happened to open his eyes and saw her. Afraid of bumping into her, he quickly stepped aside, and the two of them collided head-on.
Fortunately, Bai Nan's pajamas cushioned the impact, so it didn't hurt too much. She covered her slightly sore nose and took another step to the side, now standing right against the wall.
Seeing her covering her face, Xu Xin instinctively bent down and asked, "What happened? Where did you bump into? Let me see."
He pulled Bai Nan's hand away, leaned close to her face to examine her closely, and found that the tip of her nose was completely red, her eyes were watery, and her eyelashes were wet.
Bai Nan had no time to appreciate the beauty at this moment. Her nose was sore and swollen, reminding her of the last time she went into the tomb. Back then, it was red for a long time before it subsided.
Seeing her frowning and looking sullen, Xu Xin quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I didn't see it clearly."
He took Bai Nan's hand and led her to the sink. "A cold compress will help, just bear with it." He picked up a white towel from the shelf next to him, wet it with water, and wrung it out.
His voice was soft, tinged with a hint of shame: "Nannan, look up."
Bai Nan tilted her head back, and the tears that had been welling up slid down her cheeks and into her collar. She was standing in front of Xu Xin, and from his perspective, he could easily see where the tear had gone.
First, it slowly slid down along the bluish veins on the neck, then landed on the winding collarbone, and finally melted into the delicate skin.
The aloe vera gel he had personally applied last night was now emitting a faint, pleasant fragrance on the back of her neck. A gentle breeze from the balcony carried this scent, causing her Adam's apple to bob slightly...
By the time they were about to leave, the soreness in their nose had completely subsided. Bai Nan followed Xu Xin out the door. The elevator was full of teachers, so they decided to take the stairs.
When they got down to the fourth floor, they ran into the four people from room 401. Huang Wang greeted them first, followed by Li Si, then Wang Zhuo who was in a hurry to eat, and finally Peng Lei who looked listless.
Xu Xin replied with a simple "Good morning," while Bai Nan spoke a few more words to Huang Wang: "Good morning, Huang Wang. Xu, Xin, and I are going to the teachers' cafeteria for breakfast. Do you want to come?"
Surprisingly, Huang Wang refused, but he cheerfully suggested having lunch together.
The group went downstairs together, then parted ways. Wang Zhuo suddenly said he wanted to go to the classroom cafeteria with Bai Nan and Xu Xin.
"Is the teachers' cafeteria not crowded? If it is, I'll join you."
Bai Nan didn't understand why he was in such a hurry, when there was still plenty of time.
"Yeah, there aren't many people."
After Wang Zhuo joined the team, the three of them noticeably quickened their pace.
"Are you in a hurry?" Bai Nan asked as they walked.
Wang Zhuo sighed and said, "Don't even mention it. I embarrassed myself in front of the Moral Education Department yesterday, and our teacher is going to train us this morning! I have to hurry up and get the team in order. You'd better hurry up too."
Now that he understood, Bai Nan quickly followed, leaving Xu Xin, who was walking slowly, to fall behind.
When they arrived at the canteen, Wang Zhuo chose the stall with the fewest people, picked up his tray, found a random spot, and sat down to eat.
Seeing this, Bai Nan also became a little anxious and had to give up her plan to drink tofu pudding.
She bought a few steamed buns and soy milk and sat down next to Wang Zhuo. Xu Xin had just finished getting his food when the two started eating.
"Take your time eating, we need to hurry up and get there."
Bai Nan ate a steamed bun and a sip of soy milk very quickly. When he spoke, there was some red bean paste filling stuck to the corner of his mouth.
Upon seeing this, Xu Xin put down his plate, reached out and wiped her mouth to make sure there was nothing left before picking up the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) from the plate and eating it.
Wang Zhuo, who was opposite him, happened to see this scene. His trembling pupils were filled with shock. Then, as if afraid of being discovered by the two of them, he immediately lowered his head and ate voraciously.
His mind was filled with a barrage of comments:
[No, is he too old-fashioned? Has the outside world really become like this? Or is he overthinking it? Is it normal for a man to do this to another man? But the senior's actions are too natural, aren't they?]
While engrossed in eating, he suddenly recalled the scene when he first met Xu Xin. At that time, he seemed to have only shaken hands with Bai Di, and the two seemed to be very familiar with each other. Later, they even moved out to live together.
Could it be... that they were originally a couple?
"Cough cough cough!" Thinking too much, he forgot to chew, and when he inhaled again, the meat bun in his mouth got stuck in his throat, neither going up nor down.
"Cough cough cough!"
He tried to cough forcefully to relieve the pain, but it seemed that the food was being pushed deeper into the food with each cough.
Seeing that his face was flushed and he was bent over coughing, Bai Nan immediately realized that he had choked on his food.
"Wang Zhuo, stand up!" She immediately thought of the Heimlich maneuver and began emergency treatment.
Wang Zhuo was so suffocated that his limbs were weak and he couldn't stand up at all, while Bai Nan was not as tall as him and couldn't hug him at all.
By this time, some teachers around had stopped. After Xu Xin understood what she was going to do, she immediately ran behind Wang Zhuo and pulled him up.
Seeing this, Bai Nan immediately began to teach Xu Xin how to do it: "Make a fist with your left hand, grab your left wrist with your right hand, and bring your thumb horizontally. Yes, just like that, press it against your navel and push hard quickly, once per second."
Some teachers took out their phones and started recording, while others who knew first aid quickly came to the two of them, ready to take over at any moment.
Wang Zhuo was a very cooperative person. Even when he was choked and his face turned red, he still managed to keep himself from falling backward.
Fortunately, Xu Xin is tall and could hold on, otherwise even if Bai Nan knew this method, she wouldn't have been able to save him alone.
"Wang Zhuo lowered his head and opened his mouth wide!" She craned her neck to look at Wang Zhuo's face. He was drooling a lot, but the food just wouldn't come out.
Just then, the teacher next to him suddenly spoke up: "Student, don't be afraid to use your strength, his ribs won't break!"
This was clearly a teacher who knew the Heimlich maneuver. Seeing that Xu Xin was hesitant to use too much force, she quickly stepped forward to persuade him.
Upon hearing this, Xu Xin indeed increased the range of his movements and his strength noticeably increased. In less than five strokes, Wang Zhuo spat out a large chunk of minced meat.
Seeing that Wang Zhuo's complexion was gradually improving and he was able to cough again, Bai Nan told Xu Xin to stop.
A minute later, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The teacher who had spoken earlier praised the two repeatedly, saying, "They truly applied what they learned; they are excellent!"
The teacher who was recording the video stepped forward and asked, "Students, which class are you from? I just recorded the whole thing and would like to post it on the platform as a school promotional video. Is that okay?"
Bai Nan was a little embarrassed and turned her gaze to Xu Xin: "He's the main player, I didn't do anything, I just listened to him."
The teacher quickly shifted her gaze to Xu Xin, unable to bear the expectant look in her eyes, and Xu Xin finally nodded.
After everyone left, Bai Nan took a glass of water and handed it to Wang Zhuo.
"You scared me to death just now. Even if you're in a hurry, don't eat so fast. Luckily, Xu Xin was here, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to handle it."
She clutched her heart, still feeling lingering fear; her heart was still pounding violently, and her temples were throbbing with pain.
Xu Xin acted as if nothing had happened, picking up the unfinished roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) and continuing to eat, but his gaze remained fixed on Bai Nan while he ate.
After taking a big gulp of water, Wang Zhuo calmed his breathing.
He almost met his ancestors; the suffocating feeling in his throat was still vivid, and he felt much better after his brain started receiving blood again.
"Cough cough I, um..." He wanted to explain, but when he thought about the real reason why he choked, he immediately stopped talking.
Wang Zhuo thought to himself, "I'd better not talk nonsense. What if the two of them have nothing to offer? Besides, they just saved me. Even if it's true, I'll accept it."
So he didn't say anything, just waved his hand, and after recovering, he set off with Bai Nan towards the meeting point.
When the two arrived, the instructor and Teacher Zeng had already been waiting at the assembly point for a long time. Today, not only was the instructor's face dark, but the teacher's face was even darker, like that of the King of Hell.
"Wang Zhuo! Bai Di! Come here!"
Despite being a woman, Ms. Zeng has a rather strong demeanor and a loud voice; when she shouts, all the students around her turn to look.
Chen Chen, the class monitor of Class 2, was the most gloating.
Bai Nan had just opened her mouth to explain when Teacher Zeng interrupted her:
"What? Trying to explain or make an excuse? Didn't I repeatedly tell you last night that you all had to be here ten minutes early?! I won't say much about your lazy attitude on the first day of military training, but is this still the attitude on the second day?! Huh? Especially you, Wang Zhuo! Say something!"
Wang Zhuo already had a slight hematoma in his throat, making it difficult for him to even speak softly. Now, provoked by Zeng Li's emotions, he could no longer stammer and was unable to utter a sound.
"Teacher Zeng, Wang Zhuo—"
"Shut up! Want to speak up for him? Fine, come here, you two stand here separately, and stand at attention until you're in perfect military posture before you return to the group!"
Seeing that Teacher Zeng was in a bad mood and obviously wouldn't listen to her explanation, Bai Nan simply stood alone in the designated spot.
But Wang Zhuo felt that they were not wrong. Even if they were wrong, it was only his fault. How could he implicate Bai Di?
So he was about to speak urgently, but what came out was a series of coughs:
"Cough cough cough cough—!"
As the coughing grew louder, his upper body involuntarily bent downwards, as if he were coughing his lungs out.
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