Chapter 337 - 146: 160 Years Old

Chapter 337: Chapter 146: 160 Years Old

"Who’s this?" the young nurse asked in a low voice.

"My deskmate," Zhang Shutong answered without a second thought.

"Then what about the one from before?"

"Also my deskmate."

"Do you guys have three people sitting together in your class?"

"No."

"Then you’re messing with me!"

Zhang Shutong explained that the other girl was his former deskmate and this one was his current one. It wasn’t a contradiction. ’Why are you so obsessed with my deskmates, anyway?’ he thought.

"You seem to be really popular with the girls, kiddo." The young nurse sized him up like a piece of merchandise. "But compared to those two, I like the other one more."

Zhang Shutong almost thought a paranormal event was occurring. ’Where did another one come from?’

He thought for a moment, then it dawned on him.

"You mean Ruoping? The girl with the short hair? She’s my friend."

"So those other two aren’t your friends?" Who knew the nurse would come at it from such a tricky angle.

Zhang Shutong said the one with the medium-length hair was, of course. But as for the one in the green robe... He glanced at Lu Qinglian. She didn’t seem to have heard their conversation and had simply found a sofa to sit on.

Zhang Shutong couldn’t be bothered to explain further. He waved his hand, ready to get out of there.

"I’ll let you get back to it. I’m going to wait outside."

"Hey, don’t be shy," the young nurse teased.

’That’s not it,’ Zhang Shutong thought. ’This is called keeping a respectable distance.’

Otherwise, a certain someone would soon be saying:

"Classmate Zhang Shutong, would you please avert your gaze..."

Zhang Shutong went out into the hallway.

An ordinary man, sneaking out at a time like this, might have a cigarette. But he was just a teenager.

Teenagers were supposed to do things that wasted their lives. Zhang Shutong propped his arms on the windowsill and stared blankly out the window.

After rushing around for half the day, he could finally breathe. It was the perfect time to just space out.

There was an old house behind the hospital, something he’d known for a while. This was a characteristic of slowly developing places; the rise of new buildings didn’t mean the disappearance of old ones. They often coexisted.

An entire wall was covered in climbing ivy, half of which had already been blown off by the wind. Soon, it would all be gone.

The stuff was strange. If it clung to the wall, it could form a wall of leaves even after withering. But if it fell to the ground, it would turn to mud in just a few days.

Maybe it would climb back up in the spring. He stared at the ivy, thinking he could write a composition on it—something about unyielding strength, an essay on the spirit of the climbing ivy. Zhang Shutong even mentally drafted an opening, just waiting for a suitable prompt to come along.

’The new study group really is effective.’ He had a moment of downtime and immediately started thinking about schoolwork. It had only been one morning. At this rate, in a few days, would he be memorizing vocabulary words while fishing? He propped his chin on his hand, sighing at the thought, until the young nurse tapped him on the shoulder from behind.

The young nurse’s surname was Hao. During his hospital stay, the two of them had chatted quite a bit at night and even exchanged contact information. The nurse said:

"I noticed you were always staring at that old house. You looked at it when you were staying here, and you’re looking at it now."

"Just bored." In truth, it was because he’d been reading the books Qingyi had brought him, which included *Ghost Blows Out the Light*. Every night, he would stare at the old house and let his imagination run wild, wondering if a mummy would suddenly pop out.

—Of course, nothing ever did. The old house was just an old house. A pity, after all the days Zhang Shutong had spent studying it.

"Is the dressing changed?" he asked.

"All done, but it needs to air out a bit before she can go." The young nurse lowered her voice. "Looking at how she’s dressed, is your classmate from the mountain?"

’From the temple, to be precise,’ Zhang Shutong thought. ’Xiaolu isn’t a caveman.’

Zhang Shutong nodded, and the young nurse continued.

"I knew she looked a little familiar! I visited the temple when I first came to the island. Hmm, she seems so cool and distant, the quiet type..."

"Forgive me for asking, but how old are you?"

"Twenty-three. Why?"

Zhang Shutong said it was nothing, he was just testing a theory.

He had discovered long ago that Lu Qinglian had a special power over middle-aged and elderly women. Sure enough, it didn’t work on a twenty-three-year-old nurse.

"Actually, she’s not that quiet." For example, she never pulled any punches with him. ’Doesn’t matter if you’re twenty-three or forty-three,’ Zhang Shutong thought with a sigh, ’you’ve all been fooled.’

"Alright, let’s drop it. Any more of this and it’ll sound like I’m gossiping about her behind her back," the young nurse said. "Oh, right, don’t forget to come back in a couple of days to get your cast off. Director Zhang told me this morning."

"Director Zhang" was Zhang Shutong’s attending physician. Father Gu had specifically arranged for him, and he was the most authoritative doctor on the island.

"When?"

"Whenever you have time. He said you’re recovering really well, faster than he expected. You don’t actually need to keep your arm in a sling all day." The young nurse said she needed to use the restroom. Before she left, she added, "Try to bring another new girl with you next time you come to get the cast off. I’m rooting for you!"

Zhang Shutong’s eyelid twitched. He went back into the room.

Some people stand out because of their surroundings; others have an aura that can’t be hidden, no matter where they are.

Lu Qinglian was undoubtedly the latter.

She had one bare foot, the toes resting lightly on top of her shoe. Her legs were together, her hands placed neatly on her lap. Her posture was perfectly composed, neither awkward nor constrained.

Her eyelashes were lowered, as if she were resting with her eyes closed.

Even sitting in a dingy hospital room, she possessed an otherworldly quality, completely unaffected by her surroundings. That long green robe of hers was spotless.

Zhang Shutong used to think she had a faint presence, but that was the wrong impression. As long as Lu Qinglian was in his line of sight, there was an indescribable something about her. She wasn’t a dazzling presence, but she would always be the first to draw your gaze.

It was no wonder so many boys had a secret crush on her.

So, one of Zhang Shutong’s feelings had been right: she really was like an ethereal fairy who floated above the mortal world.