Chapter 31
The next day was a fine day; through the small window above the door, one could see the bright sunlight as soon as they opened their eyes.
Xu Qingzhou had forgotten how she got into bed last night, but since she was sleeping in the same bed as Chi Jun, she subconsciously maintained a cautious and proper posture, which resulted in her back being stiff and sore after a night's sleep, making her feel a little uncomfortable.
Xu Qingzhou couldn't help but gently tap his lower back twice before preparing to get up. However, he instinctively braced himself with his foot, and a sharp pain suddenly shot through his ankle.
She couldn't help but take a breath, relax, and wait for the pain to subside slightly before bending down to look.
A plaster was applied to the side of my left ankle.
A drunk person will forget what happened the night before once they sober up, but a slightly tipsy person is different. At this moment, Xu Qingzhou stared at his injured ankle and quickly remembered clearly the words he had said last night in a state of heightened emotion under the influence of alcohol.
Moreover, she is different from others.
While others might say they've had a few drinks and their memory is clouded, she wrote each character clearly on the paper, stroke by stroke.
Xu Qingzhou quickly glanced at the card and soon revealed an expression as if he had been struck by lightning.
...She actually took the initiative to disclose to Chi Jun that she had been working part-time and then unemployed.
However, that's not the most crucial point. The most crucial point is—
Xu Qingzhou stared at the last line of words on the card.
Please don't leave yet, okay? I'll try my best to figure it out, I'll work hard to earn money. Whatever you need, I'll buy it for you, I'll buy you anything.
What was Chi Jun's reply after I wrote that sentence?
Xu Qingzhou pressed his temples, frowned, and thought for a while before finally recalling that Chi Jun's answer seemed to have been interrupted by a speeding electric scooter.
Then, she twisted her ankle.
"..."
What a coincidence that an electric scooter appeared...
Xu Qingzhou was somewhat annoyed that he hadn't heard Chi Jun's reply.
But then she thought, perhaps it was fortunate that the electric scooter appeared; otherwise, if Chi Jun had actually spoken, she feared she wouldn't have been able to bear the answer.
Thinking of this, Xu Qingzhou turned to look at Chi Jun, his expression blank, lost in thought.
After an unknown amount of time, a mother's angry shout suddenly came from the courtyard. Xu Qingzhou blinked, came back to her senses, and suddenly realized that Chi Jun had woken up at some point.
He was sitting against the wall, arms crossed, his hair disheveled, tilting his head to look at her.
His lips curled up, his expression playful.
I don't know how long I watched it.
Xu Qingzhou: "..."
She quickly lowered her eyes, turned her head, and made a move to get out of bed.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chi Jun casually scratch his hair and chuckle nonchalantly, "Staring at my sleeping face so early in the morning. Xu Qingzhou, this makes me very uneasy."
Xu Qingzhou pretended not to hear, but when she bent down to put on her shoes, she couldn't help but blush slightly.
Chi Jun chuckled.
This is the real Xu Qingzhou.
Xu Qingzhou, who threw himself into my arms last night, felt as if he had been possessed.
Xu Qingzhou limped along, carrying breakfast ingredients, and went to the corridor to prepare breakfast.
Because she had maintained the same sleeping position all night, her back was stiff and sore. While cooking breakfast, she couldn't help but pound it a couple of times, twist her waist, and pinch it.
Chi Jun saw it while brushing his teeth, but didn't say anything.
After breakfast, seeing Xu Qingzhou limping and carrying his schoolbag as he was about to leave, he casually asked, "Are you sure you can manage?"
Xu Qingzhou looked down at his left foot.
[Should be possible]
Chi Jun raised an eyebrow: "Are you sure?"
This follow-up question made Xu Qingzhou a little uncertain.
However, after hesitating for a moment, she replied: "Walking might be a bit troublesome, but I borrowed a bicycle from Aunt Li across the street. Riding it to school should be fine."
Chi Jun imagined Xu Qingzhou pedaling his bicycle to school with a limp, and couldn't help but frown. He stuffed the remaining half of the bun into his mouth and stood up.
"Let's go."
Xu Qingzhou: "?"
Chi Jun gestured with his chin toward the door: "Go and show me your superb one-legged cycling skills."
Xu Qingzhou: "..."
*
Xu Qingzhou hadn't actually intended to pedal with one foot. Although her left foot was injured, she had thought that gently stepping on the pedal to make the wheel roll forward shouldn't be a problem.
But she didn't expect that the foot injury was more serious than she had imagined. With one kick, she was in so much pain that she almost fell off her bicycle.
In the end, all she could do was hold onto her bicycle and gaze longingly at Chi Jun.
Chi Jun smiled.
"Looks like your one-legged pedaling skills aren't very good."
Xu Qingzhou blushed and awkwardly scratched his temples.
Chi Jun stepped forward, took the bicycle, and skillfully mounted it. He turned back to look at her and said, "Get on."
Xu Qingzhou pursed her lips slightly and obediently sat sideways on the back of the bicycle.
Then, Chi Jun skillfully stepped down—
Before the wheel had even rolled half a circle forward, it tipped over to the right.
Xu Qingzhou was startled and hurriedly grabbed Chi Jun's clothes in a panic.
Fortunately, Chi Jun had long legs and reacted quickly, landing on both feet and managing to stabilize the bicycle. He turned to look at Xu Qingzhou, who was also staring at him in fear.
Then, Chi Jun awkwardly pressed his tongue against his cheek, cleared his throat, and said:
"I've never ridden one of these."
Xu Qingzhou: "..."
Finally, Xu Qingzhou sat on the back seat while Chi Jun pushed the bicycle in front, heading towards the school.
The early morning is the busiest time of day in the small town.
Sunlight streamed down, steam rose from roadside breakfast stalls, horns blared incessantly on the road, and electric bikes and bicycles thronged the non-motorized vehicle lanes, rushing off in all directions.
Among the constant stream of non-motorized vehicles rushing by, Xu Qingzhou and Chi Jun's cart-pushing duo looked strange and out of place.
Xu Qingzhou straddled the back seat, holding onto the seat with both hands. Although he forced himself to keep looking around, he couldn't help but blush when he caught a glimpse of people staring at them.
While waiting for the green light at an intersection, a chubby little boy with a schoolbag sitting on the back of an electric scooter looked up and asked his grandfather:
"Grandpa, why is this older brother pushing the bike instead of riding it?"
Many people waiting for the green light turned to look at the source of the sound.
Caught off guard and becoming the center of attention, Xu Qingzhou gripped the seat with his fingers, wishing he could dig a hole and disappear into it.
Chi Jun, on the contrary, replied frankly and casually, "Because my brother can't ride a bike."
"Oh... Sister, you can't ride either?"
"My sister can ride, but her foot is injured, so she can't ride."
The chubby boy shook his head.
"How pitiful..."
Some people around couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Xu Qingzhou blushed, realizing that her pairing with Chi Jun did indeed look rather pitiful.
It's bad enough that she's the only one who's pitiful.
We can't keep dragging Chi Jun into this.
So after crossing the intersection, Xu Qingzhou said, "We're not far from the school anymore, shall I walk there slowly?"
Chi Jun pushed the cart and walked quite fast with big strides.
When the card was handed to him, he glanced at it but didn't even turn his head.
"Xu Qingzhou, I'm condescending to send you to school, so don't be ungrateful."
"..."
"Others would love this kind of treatment, but they can't get it."
"..."
Xu Qingzhou thought to himself, "This kind of awkward way of getting around in a car, I doubt anyone else would want to..."
However, considering Chi Jun's popularity, Xu Qingzhou pursed her lips:
Well, maybe they really want this treatment.
*
Despite enduring all sorts of strange looks along the way, we finally arrived at the school gate after twenty minutes.
Xu Qingzhou breathed a slight sigh of relief; he only needed to hold on for another five minutes to reach the classroom.
Unexpectedly, a security guard appeared out of nowhere.
Seeing that Chi Jun wasn't wearing a school uniform and had a head full of white hair, making him look like he wasn't a student at the school, the uncle rushed over from afar carrying a stun gun and blocked their way.
Xu Qingzhou quickly explained to the gatekeeper that her foot was injured and that her brother needed to take her to the classroom.
However, the gatekeeper, perhaps seeing Chi Jun's white hair and his arrogant and nonchalant demeanor, assumed he must be a carefree young man from the streets. He refused to let Chi Jun in, saying that if Xu Qingzhou couldn't leave, he could call the homeroom teacher and have the teacher send a classmate to pick him up.
Seeing the gatekeeper's stubbornness, Xu Qingzhou had no choice but to say to Chi Jun:
It's okay, the classroom is very close, I can walk there slowly.
Chi Jun pushed his bicycle, his gaze towards the gatekeeper not pleased.
He turned to Xu Qingzhou and asked, "Are you sure this will work?"
Just as Xu Qingzhou was about to nod, a male voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Xu Qingzhou".
Xu Qingzhou and Chi Jun turned around at the same time and saw a boy with a buzz cut, wearing a school uniform, walking out from the crowd of students. He looked friendly and sunny.
Upon seeing the boy, Xu Qingzhou smiled slightly as a greeting, then turned to Chi Jun to explain:
Our class monitor
Zheng Yangshu walked over in a few steps, his gaze sweeping over the gatekeeper and Xu Qingzhou, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Seeing that they knew each other, the security guard quickly said, "Hey, this is perfect! You're in the same class as this girl, right? She hurt her foot, could you help her to her classroom?"
Zheng Yangshu readily nodded.
"sure."
After he finished speaking, he turned to Chi Jun and said, "Don't worry."
Chi Jun nodded: "Thanks."
"You're welcome, it's my pleasure."
After the two left, Chi Jun didn't linger. Ignoring the security guard's guarding expression, he turned around, lifted the front of the car with one hand, put the other hand in his pocket, and left the school gate.
He brushed past countless students in blue and white school uniforms, their gazes frequently fixed on him, mingling with whispers. But amidst the whispers, Chi Jun heard a familiar voice—
"They're quite a good match."
Chi Jun glanced back.
Under the bright sunlight, the ghostly figure was not very obvious.
"What do you mean by 'match'?"
"The little mute girl and that handsome young man."
The male ghost floated forward, looking at Chi Jun with a gossipy expression, and said, "Don't you think the two of them have a pretty good chemistry?"
Seeing that Chi Jun narrowed his eyes slightly and did not speak.
The male ghost explained: "CP feeling means that there is a spark of love or ambiguity between two people, and they look like a good match."
Chi Jun raised an eyebrow slightly.
He stopped and stood on the uphill path outside the school gate, looking towards the main road of the campus in the direction the male ghost was pointing.
The road was lined with two rows of lush, green camphor trees, filled with students in blue and white school uniforms, some riding bicycles and others walking. Xu Qingzhou and the boys walked on the far right side of the road, their pace slow due to their mobility issues.
Xu Qingzhou's arm was being supported by Zheng Yangshu, and as she limped forward, her ponytail swayed from side to side. The boy was saying something, and the two exchanged a glance, both smiling.
Chi Jun glanced at it once and then turned his head away.
"I didn't notice."
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