Chapter 9
After running six laps, Song Qiuxuan, panting heavily, found a shady spot to squat and rest for two minutes. Her stomach churned, and the burning pain in her abdomen became clear again.
"Publicity Committee Member, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Sweat dripped from Song Qiuxuan's forehead onto the scorching ground under the blazing sun. She looked up and saw the face of a pretty girl. Her mind raced for a moment before she remembered that the girl's name was He Zhimian.
Why did Song Qiuxuan remember her name? Because He Zhimian was also sitting at a single table, the one in front of Lu Chengzhou. He Zhimian was extremely introverted. Song Qiuxuan only remembered exchanging two words with her, and those were when she was handing in her homework.
Song Qiuxuan didn't expect that her class committee title would be remembered before her name, but in any case, she felt a little happy and comforted by these caring words.
Even though her stomach hurt so badly she could barely stand, Song Qiuxuan only bit her lip and said nonchalantly, feigning stubbornness, "My stomach is just a little uncomfortable."
He Zhimian frowned as if she were empathizing with Song Qiuxuan, squatted down next to her, and whispered, "Do you need any help?"
Song Qiuxuan waved her hand: "No need, I'll just walk back to the classroom and rest by myself in a bit."
Song Qiuxuan dislikes troubling others, especially He Zhimian, with whom she has a distant relationship. If He Zhimian helps her, she sees it as a burden on He Zhimian, and she feels uneasy about it.
“Okay.” He Zhimian glanced at her again, then stood up and returned to the big tree she had been standing under.
Song Qiuxuan watched He Zhimian's seemingly lonely figure. Under the big tree, the girls from her class were sitting on the stands. He Zhimian sat next to them, not joining in their gossip, but quietly focusing her gaze on the distance.
Song Qiuxuan didn't look for long before she rubbed her stomach to relieve the pain, wiped away her sweat, stood up to get her water bottle, and immediately collapsed onto her desk after returning to the classroom. Not having taken a lunch break had made her a little sleepy, and although her stomach was still hurting, she turned her head to the side and lay down for a while before drifting off to sleep.
*
Class 5 and Class 20 had the same PE class. Liang Shizhe stood outside the playground, watching Cheng Xun, whose short black hair was soaked with sweat after running six laps, with a smug look on his face.
Cheng Xun tossed his hair back, sweat trickling down his sharp jawline. He was slightly out of breath as he turned to look behind him.
Liang Shizhe grabbed Cheng Xun's shoulder and led him to the basketball court, chuckling mischievously, "Was the penalty run enjoyable? It's only six laps, consider it exercise."
Cheng Xun followed Liang Shizhe's lead, glancing at him with his dark eyes and saying indifferently, "This opportunity to exercise is for you."
Liang Shizhe chuckled twice, a smug smile playing on his lips: "Our class's PE teacher doesn't have a rule about having to run as punishment for being late, haha."
Cheng Xun raised his arm and smacked him, but Liang Shizhe dodged it with a grin.
When they arrived at the basketball court, several boys were gathered on one court. Among them were three junior high school students who had a good relationship with Cheng Xun. Cheng Xun went over and greeted them.
They wanted to play basketball together, but Cheng Xun shook his head and refused, looking rather downcast. He turned and gazed towards the playground, and when he saw Song Qiuxuan squatting under a big tree, his expression darkened. Song Qiuxuan looked like she was in a lot of pain.
"What are you looking at?" Liang Shizhe stood behind Cheng Xun with his hands on his hips, trying to follow his gaze. The playground was a mess, and there was nothing interesting to see.
"I didn't see anything, I have to go now." Cheng Xun said this and quickly walked away, the heat wave whipping up the hem of his school uniform.
Liang Shizhe looked puzzled and asked a few times behind him, "Where are you going?", then exaggeratedly said, "I waited specifically for you to finish your run and play basketball, and you just abandon your buddy like this?!"
Cheng Xun ran to the basketball court exit, the words "menstrual cramps" flashing through his mind. He turned back and asked Liang Shizhe in a slightly unsteady voice, "Where is the school clinic?"
He just realized that he didn't know how to get to the school clinic.
Liang Shizhe raised his hand and grabbed Cheng Xun's neck, looking at Cheng Xun's somewhat flustered face with some surprise. He looked Cheng Xun up and down and asked curiously, "What are you doing in the infirmary? Where are you injured? Brothers in trouble are in the same boat. Tell me and maybe I can help you."
Cheng Xun had no interest in paying attention to Liang Shizhe's childish remarks. His dark eyebrows furrowed, and he didn't know why he was in such a hurry and panic.
The blazing sun made his whole body feel hot. Cheng Xun took his hand off his neck and glanced at the other boys. One of them told him the direction of the infirmary.
After Cheng Xun found out the location of the infirmary, he was about to go to the playground to find Song Qiuxuan, but he found that she was no longer under the big tree. He guessed that she had gone back to the classroom.
*
Cheng Xun ran back to the classroom, sweating profusely. When he stood at the back door, he saw Song Qiuxuan, who was lying quietly on her desk with her brows slightly furrowed, looking like she wasn't sleeping very soundly.
Cheng Xun slowly approached step by step, his pale hand clutching the medicine for relieving menstrual cramps that he had bought from the school clinic. He still believed that she was experiencing menstrual cramps, a deduction based on her conversation with Lu Chengzhou.
Standing next to Song Qiuxuan's seat in the aisle, Cheng Xun hesitated whether to wake her up and make her take her medicine. He looked down and his gaze fell on her fair, delicate face. Whether she was asleep or not, she always had such a serene and gentle appearance.
None of the fans in the classroom were on. The sound of the teacher from the next class explaining the problem could be heard from time to time. Compared to the usual noisy classroom, it was much quieter now. Cheng Xun's breathing, which was not smooth due to running, gradually returned to normal.
Sunlight streamed in through the open curtains. Cheng Xun looked at Song Qiuxuan's flushed cheeks, unsure if it was from the sun. He glanced out the window, then went over and closed the curtains. He noticed a thin layer of sweat on Song Qiuxuan's forehead. Cheng Xun then went to the fan switch and turned on the one above their seats.
The moment the fan turned on, Cheng Xun saw Song Qiuxuan's eyelashes flutter a few times and her body move slightly, but she still didn't wake up. Cheng Xun sat down in the chair in front of her, his thin lips pursed, seemingly expressionless, yet looking at Song Qiuxuan with a hint of worry and concern.
After about two or three minutes, Cheng Xun turned his face away, leaned back against the wall, and held several boxes of medicine from the school clinic in his hand. He stroked the shape of the medicine boxes with his fingertips, his dark eyelashes drooping as if he was thinking.
Cheng Xun could be said to have never cared about a girl this much before. Although he received many love letters, he didn't know most of the authors. In his view, feelings for someone he didn't know were just a passing fancy. Perhaps once he got to know them and the filter faded, these shallow and vague feelings would disappear without a trace. Because of his family background, it seemed that everyone preferred the outstanding and perfect Cheng Ting. He was the one who wasn't chosen. Cheng Xun would feel insecure because of this in some situations, so he wouldn't choose that kind of relationship. Rather than saying that he was aloof, it would be more accurate to say that he had built a defensive barrier for himself.
When did this barrier loosen in front of Song Qiuxuan? Cheng Xun was no longer distant and cold in front of her, and he spoke casually and easily, occasionally joking and teasing her, showing his most authentic side.
what does that mean?
Cheng Xun looked somewhat confused, then troubled, and frowned slightly.
A gust of sultry wind blew through the corridor, lifting a corner of the curtains, which then billowed out and swept across Song Qiuxuan's face. Cheng Xun saw this and reached out to smooth them down.
Song Qiuxuan was still awakened by the noise. She scratched her face and opened her eyes halfway. She saw a figure in front of her. She suddenly sat up and looked up at the clock in disbelief after seeing Cheng Xun's face. There were still more than ten minutes before get out of class ended.
Song Qiuxuan looked at Cheng Xun, who had been sitting there for who knows how long, with a somewhat confused gaze. His eyes seemed to have darted away a few times after they met. Song Qiuxuan coughed lightly and said, "Cheng Xun, why did you go back to the classroom early?"
Speaking of this, Cheng Xun seemed to suddenly remember something important. He placed the medicine on Song Qiuxuan's desk, hesitated for two seconds, looked away, and then casually stretched his long legs across the aisle between the desks.
As if to cover something up, he said in a casual tone, "Didn't you have an upset stomach? I stopped by the clinic on my way and bought you some medicine."
Song Qiuxuan did have an upset stomach earlier, but she felt much better now. However, she remembered telling him that she wasn't feeling unwell. Feeling a bit strange, Song Qiuxuan picked up the small bag containing several boxes of medicine. The school clinic was very thoughtful; they had put a sticky note on it to remind her of the symptoms and how many times a day to take the medicine.
Song Qiuxuan realized that the medicine was for relieving menstrual cramps, but when had she ever told him that she had menstrual cramps? And how did he figure that out?
Song Qiuxuan stared blankly at the medicine, and in a flash she remembered her misleading conversation with Lu Chengzhou. At that time, she did not deny that she was menstruating.
Song Qiuxuan slowly raised her eyes to look at Cheng Xun. No matter what, he meant well. If someone really brought her medicine when she had menstrual cramps, she would probably be very grateful. So Song Qiuxuan didn't intend to explain clearly. Even if it was a white lie, she acted as if she really needed the medicine and smiled, saying, "Thank you, Cheng Xun."
As if feeling it wasn't sincere enough, Song Qiuxuan added, "You are such a wonderful person."
Cheng Xun, who had been given the "friend zone" card, subtly curled the corners of her lips, her eyes softening with tenderness as she basked in an indescribable joy. So this is what it feels like to be needed.
*
That evening, after self-study, Song Qiuxuan put the unfinished workbook assigned by the teacher into her schoolbag, intending to finish it before going to bed. She reached into her desk and touched the bag of medicine. She picked it up, stared at it for a few seconds, and then put it into her schoolbag.
As she zipped up her jacket, a figure slowly approached the window and whispered in a terrifying tone, mimicking a horror movie, "Xuanxuan."
Song Qiuxuan turned her head and looked over calmly, saying with a hint of helplessness, "Sun Shan, I knew it was you."
Song Qiuxuan walked out of the classroom with her schoolbag on her back and leaned against the window. Sun Shan was a boarding student and usually wouldn't come to find her at this time. Song Qiuxuan asked curiously, "Why haven't you gone back to the dormitory yet?"
Sun Shan sighed: "I'm on duty today. The people in our class are really good at creating trash. The trash that was just taken out after school this afternoon is full again now. My deskmate and I have to take it out again, otherwise we'll get a serious complaint from the student on duty tomorrow."
"What about your deskmate? Aren't you going back to the dorm with her?"
"My deskmate's best friend stayed in the classroom to wait for her; they've already gone home together."
After the last person left the classroom, the lights were turned off and it was pitch black, with only one light on in the corridor. Song Qiuxuan tugged at Sun Shan's clothes and said, "Let's go too."
As they walked down the stairs, Sun Shan noticed that Song Qiuxuan looked preoccupied, her eyes downcast and her gaze unfocused on the ground. She was much quieter than usual. Sun Shan pinched her cheek and asked, "What's wrong? Is something making you unhappy?"
Song Qiuxuan tugged at her backpack strap: "I'm not unhappy, it's just that there's something I can't figure out, and it's bothering me a bit."
Sun Shan rarely saw Song Qiuxuan looking troubled. The Song Qiuxuan she knew from junior high school had an optimistic attitude that no matter how difficult things were, they would eventually be resolved. So much so that Sun Shan thought something serious had happened. She led Song Qiuxuan to a bench in the garden and pulled her to sit down.
Sun Shan adopted a listening posture and said, "If there's anything wrong, just say it. Don't keep it to yourself. Don't you know that those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly? If you tell me, I can offer you a solution."
Song Qiuxuan looked around. The garden lights seemed to be in disrepair, casting a dim and weak light. Mosquitoes hovered in the shadows, and the night breeze brought a touch of coolness, indicating that autumn had truly arrived.
Song Qiuxuan turned to look at Sun Shan, somewhat amused, and said, "Isn't there a curfew in the dorm? Aren't you in a hurry to go back?"
“A good friend’s matter is of utmost importance. What does a curfew matter? When I got back, I told my aunt that the teacher kept me behind for a talk.” Sun Shan was pleased with herself for finding an impeccable excuse. She added, “What’s important is being able to help you solve your problems.”
When Song Qiuxuan heard Sun Shan say that, she suddenly felt that she had made a mountain out of a molehill and had let Sun Shan down. She said in a low voice with difficulty, "Actually, it's not a big deal."
After hesitating for a moment, Song Qiuxuan pursed her lips, as if she had made up her mind to no longer hide her secret. She took a deep breath and said in a soft but firm voice, "I think I might like Cheng Xun a little."
Sun Shan paused for a moment, then frowned in confusion: That's it? You're troubled by this?
Sun Shan then burst out laughing: "What's wrong with that? It's normal to like Cheng Xun. Several girls in our class even secretly wrote him love letters. Anyway, they know he'll reject them. Sending love letters is easier and more casual than handing in homework."
Sun Shan patted Song Qiuxuan's shoulder and offered a perfunctory consolation: "Isn't it perfectly normal for us to fall in love at this age? It's like you're just starting to experience love. Others have already dated several people. You're a bit special, being troubled by your feelings for Cheng Xun. What's wrong with that?"
Song Qiuxuan couldn't help but explain, "This is the first time I've ever liked someone."
The first crush during adolescence is shy and hesitant to touch, like seeing a pink bubble floating in mid-air. You reach out curiously and cautiously, but then withdraw your hand for fear of it bursting.
Song Qiuxuan was like a secret admirer; every move Cheng Xun made would tug at her heartstrings.
Her heart would race when she talked to him and the distance between them shortened, and she would be stunned when she looked into his beautiful eyes, as if she were falling into a sweet vortex.
While Song Qiuxuan was happy, she also felt flustered. She found herself overthinking more and more often and spending more and more time focusing on him, which made her feel distressed.
She was conflicted. She didn't want to panic, but she couldn't help creating deeper interactions with Cheng Xun, whether it was taking the initiative to greet him when they met in the park or offering to help him with his homework.
In fact, Song Qiuxuan is a very methodical person. She hopes that her life will proceed in an orderly manner without any unexpected events. So when Cheng Xun stirs up waves in her heart, she will first be happy. After being too happy, she will suppress herself and then start to think about many things.
"You should confess when you like someone for the first time." Sun Shan had never been in a relationship before. She simply couldn't bear to see Song Qiuxuan so depressed. Why bother with all this trouble? Wouldn't it be better to just hand her a love letter like her classmate did? If she accepted, it meant they understood each other's feelings. If she rejected him, she wouldn't have any illusions or cling to the past.
Song Qiuxuan seemed to be seriously considering the feasibility of this statement. After pondering for a while, she shook her head: "That won't work. He and I are classmates, and we even sit in front of and behind each other. It would be very awkward to get along after being rejected."
Song Qiuxuan seemed to have figured it out and said, "Forget it, why bother with so much? Let's just continue as we are now."
High school lasts three years, and she doesn't necessarily need to find an answer right now. Song Qiuxuan smiled.
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