Chapter 338 - 146: 160 Years Old (2)

Chapter 338: Chapter 146: 160 Years Old (2)

"Lu Qinglian." Zhang Shutong sat down beside the fairy.

"What is it?"

"Have you noticed that the sofa you’re sitting on is hollowed out?"

"Hm?"

"Some people have a habit of picking out the foam from underneath." Zhang Shutong looked at her hands with a hint of admiration. "I’m surprised you can resist."

The fairy finally opened her eyes, but her clear, cold gaze was filled with resignation. "Did you really just come over to say something so weird?"

Zhang Shutong felt helpless too. ’Do you even know what small talk is?’ he thought. ’It’s just chatting when you have nothing better to do.’

"Oh, right. Try not to walk too much for the next few days." Zhang Shutong knew she could be stubborn in her own way, so he decided to lead by example, so to speak. "Let me tell you a story. There was once a person who got injured and didn’t listen to the doctor’s advice. They ran all over the place, and as a result, they developed long-term health problems at a young age. Things like a cough were minor; they even developed an anxiety disorder. By the way, do you know what an anxiety disorder is..."

Lu Qinglian sighed, unable to take it anymore.

"Don’t tell me you had another one of your ’dreams’ in the short time it took for me to get this ointment applied."

"You... can interpret it that way for now." Zhang Shutong felt utterly content.

"Zhang Shutong, I’ll assume you mean well," she said, feeling a headache coming on. "But could you please stop being so childish and mimicking the way I talk?"

"Uh, is it that childish?"

"More childish than a fox in the mountains."

"Why a fox?"

"The very fact that you’re focusing on such an irrelevant detail is a sign of your immaturity."

’Well, sorry about that.’

Zhang Shutong stopped trying to force conversation. They waited in silence for a while, letting the ointment on her foot dry.

"Let’s go," he said, getting up from the sofa.

Lu Qinglian nodded. She deftly put on her socks and shoes, and as they left the hospital room together, she asked another question.

"Whose number did you give the doctor earlier?"

"My mom’s. She knows you sprained your ankle anyway." Zhang Shutong reminded her. "On Friday, the day you got hurt, she had to leave the island. She didn’t get back until Sunday. When she was tidying up at home that evening, she asked me why there was an extra pair of shoes. My mom’s really gossipy, and it’s a hassle if you don’t explain things clearly, so I just told her the whole story."

Zhang Shutong added, "You have no idea. My mom’s been talking about you nonstop lately."

Lu Qinglian asked, confused, "Why?"

"She wants to thank you, of course. But she was at the hospital with me for the past few days and didn’t get a chance."

His mom had actually told him to invite Lu Qinglian over for dinner, but at the time, Zhang Shutong figured she wouldn’t go, so he just said he’d ask her when he saw her.

Now that a suitable opportunity had presented itself, Zhang Shutong decided to carry out his mission as a matter of course.

"Want to come over for dinner tonight?"

He expected a cold refusal, but to his surprise, Lu Qinglian just shook her head gently.

"I’m afraid I can’t today. It’s going to rain tonight."

’So, does that mean she’ll come when it’s not raining?’

Before he could say anything, Lu Qinglian said calmly:

"What strange ideas are you getting now? I meant that I’ll have to go to your house to get my shoes sooner or later, and I’ll inevitably have to bother your mother then."

They were talking as they walked into the ground-floor lobby. Through the main entrance, they could see the overcast sky and a plastic bag drifting along the sidewalk. Zhang Shutong suddenly remembered something.

"Wait a second."

He turned and ran back.

"You..." Lu Qinglian sighed again. She turned to look, only to see the young man go to the information desk. He smiled at the young female receptionist, said something she couldn’t hear, and then the receptionist pulled an umbrella out from under the counter.

Zhang Shutong walked back quickly with the umbrella, asking in confusion:

"What were you about to say?"

"Nothing."

"Sighing will make you old faster. Even though you’re already one hundred and sixty, you should still be careful."

Lu Qinglian stared at him expressionlessly. Zhang Shutong, secretly amused, started walking away.

Just as they stepped out of the hospital’s main entrance, the lightning that had been brewing in the clouds finally erupted with the first peal of thunder. Then, a downpour began, the sheets of rain soaking the cold stone pavement.

Zhang Shutong held the umbrella over Lu Qinglian as she got on her bike, and then he sat on the back seat.

He watched the streetscape recede rapidly. There were occasional pedestrians, all hurrying along. The signs of the shops lining the street were lit with colorful lights, their multi-colored glow blurred into a hazy mist by the damp air.

For some reason, this kind of weather made one want to chew a piece of gum. Zhang Shutong didn’t have any gum to chew. All he knew was that they were inevitably closer this time. Lu Qinglian’s high ponytail kept brushing against his nose, tickling him and making him want to sneeze.

"Stop fidgeting." At times like this, Lu Qinglian would offer a cold warning.

Soon, the school gate came into view, and Lu Qinglian squeezed the brakes.

Zhang Shutong understood what she meant. He took the bicycle’s handlebars but didn’t hurry to follow, instead watching as the girl ventured out into the rain alone. The dust between heaven and earth seemed to freeze, then fall to the ground with the rain. The gray threads of the downpour soaked her green robe.

He slowly pushed the bike back to the shed. The pathetic tail box was still lying where it had fallen, untouched. He picked it up and reattached it. ’Just wait until I get this cast off,’ he thought. ’We’ll have a rematch by the lake.’

The next time he saw Lu Qinglian was in the ninth-grade office.

The new head teacher’s desk was where Song’s used to be. Zhang Shutong glanced at the desk drawer; getting those lollipops back was going to be difficult now.

Teacher Xu glanced at the light rain outside the window, took a shallow sip of her tea, and closed the lid of her cup.

Zhang Shutong handed over the registration form and the payment receipt. She adjusted her glasses and looked them over.

"Is this all ointment for burns?"

’I doubt she can understand that string of bizarre Western medicine names,’ Zhang Shutong thought. ’Of course, if she actually does, there’s nothing I can do. It would just mean Xu Zhiruo’s aunt is really something else.’

"Have you contacted your mother?"

"Not yet."

"Is it serious?"

"It’s fine."

"Zhang Shutong, you seem to be a kid of few words," the head teacher said meaningfully.

’I really am a man of few words,’ Zhang Shutong thought.

"Alright, go back to class for now. Save my number in your phone. Let’s see what excuses you all can come up with in the future." The head teacher paid him no more mind. "Xiaolu, you stay. I need to have a word with you alone."

Zhang Shutong walked out of the office. ’As expected of a veteran teacher,’ he thought. ’She never said whether she believed me or not. Any other student would be anxiously mulling it over for half the day, but unfortunately for her, it doesn’t scare me.’

During the second period in the afternoon, he announced his return and calmly walked back to his seat. Zhang Shutong was already used to the surprised looks from everyone. After all, the top two students in the grade had been absent all afternoon. He just wasn’t sure how the head teacher had explained it to the class.

Given the head teacher’s personality, she would have kept it under wraps even if they had genuinely skipped class to get into some mischief.

Class ended soon after. He had been expecting his three best friends to run over and give him the third degree, but they never came. Just then, Wei Chenchen, who sat in front of him, turned around.

"Hey, Xu said she called you two in for a meeting. What was it about?"

"Class grades, probably." Zhang Shutong was amused; ’this teacher is pretty good at making up excuses,’ he thought. His expression didn’t change as he said, "She’s still trying to get a feel for the students in our class, right? I was just there to fill a seat. She was the main event."

Zhang Shutong gestured toward Lu Qinglian’s empty seat.

"Oh, good." Wei Chenchen patted her chest. "Just don’t go bad-mouthing me."

"I won’t."

She turned back around. Zhang Shutong suddenly felt a little grateful to the head teacher for saving him a lot of trouble; he had been about to show Wei Chenchen the payment receipt.

During the long break after the second period, it was time for the milk to be handed out.

The class’s milk monitor had changed, too. Today’s milk was strawberry-flavored.

Zhang Shutong inserted the straw into his carton, and just then, Lu Qinglian returned.

Her face was as expressionless as ever. No one knew what the head teacher had said to her—whether she had given her a heartfelt lecture or tried to find holes in her story. Zhang Shutong was a little curious. Just then, his phone rang. It was the young nurse. Not knowing what she wanted, Zhang Shutong answered the call. The person on the other end said:

"Did you forget your keys here? I just found them while I was tidying up the bed."

Zhang Shutong felt his pants pocket and realized his dorm key had slipped out.