Seeing his stubbornness, I bit my lip and ran to the nurse’s station to get some adhesive bandages and antiseptic. When I returned, he was still in the same spot, unmoving. My chest tightened, and I softly said, “Chen Qiao Luo, let me at least treat your wounds. If they get infected, it’ll only make things worse.”
It was as if he hadn’t heard me. He stood there, unchanged.
Sighing, I stepped closer and stood on tiptoe, using a cotton swab soaked in antiseptic to clean his wounds. The sting of the antiseptic must have snapped him out of his daze because he turned to look at me. My hand froze mid-air.
After a moment, he gently pushed my hand away, walked over to a nearby bench, and sat down. With a sigh, he said, “Come here. Standing on tiptoe like that must be tiring.”
Relieved, I quickly ran over and carefully tended to his injuries. When I placed the final bandage, I couldn’t hold back my guilt any longer and whispered, “Chen Qiao Luo, I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” he replied indifferently.
His words hung in the air, and silence enveloped us.
Since the last incident, I had realized that things between us had changed. We could no longer joke carelessly or laugh at each other’s flaws like we used to.
I stayed with him at the hospital until dawn. When we finally left together, we parted ways at an intersection.
Turning to me, he said, “Zhu Yun Hao, you should head to school.”
“What about you?” I asked, looking straight into his eyes.
“I’m going where I need to be,” he replied before walking away toward the left side of the intersection.
I stood there, watching him disappear from my sight. A hollow feeling spread through my chest, as if something vital had been carved out and the wind blew relentlessly through the empty space, leaving only pain.
After that, I visited Auntie He Pei at the hospital nearly every day after school. But I never saw Chen Qiao Luo again. Occasionally, Auntie He Pei would ask what he was busy with, and I would tell her he had important things to do. I never told her the truth—I, like Chen Qiao Luo, didn’t want to worry her.
We both hid the things we least wanted to face, pretending everything was fine. While comforting Auntie He Pei, I was also comforting myself, convincing myself that the Chen Qiao Luo I knew hadn’t changed.
But deep down, I knew I was only fooling myself.
At the end of June, a torrential downpour swept through A City, threatening to drown the entire city in rainwater. Because of the unexpected storm, the Twelfth Middle School made an exception and canceled classes.
I sat in my dining room, watching the raging storm outside. The wind howled, and rain lashed against the windows. Dad was bustling about in the kitchen, and I rested my chin on my hand, staring out at the sight of the once-proud camphor tree swaying wildly in the wind. The local news was playing on the television, broadcasting updates about the storm.
As I listened absentmindedly, I suddenly thought of the kittens I had seen under the bridge the other day.
A surge of worry flooded my heart, and I jumped to my feet, ready to head out.
Dad, hearing the commotion, peeked out of the kitchen, holding a spatula. “What’s going on, kiddo? Where are you going?”
While slipping on my shoes, I replied, “Dad, I’ve got something to take care of. Go ahead and eat without me.”
At the mention of me going out, his eyes widened in disbelief. “The rain’s coming down so hard! What could possibly be so important? What if something happens to you out there? Do you want to give me a heart attack?”
“It’s fine,” I said, standing up to face him. “Don’t worry, it’s really something I need to do.”
Seeing my determination, he sighed and offered, “How about I drive you there?”
“No need.”
Before he could protest further, I grabbed an umbrella, opened the door, and stepped out.
0 Comments