“Does it hurt?” Xu Xuan looked up at me and said gently, “Hang in there. There’s a bit of dirt in the wound. If I don’t clean it thoroughly, it might get infected.”
His words, oddly soothing, silenced my discomfort, and I sat there quietly as he continued.
After what felt like a long while, Xu Xuan placed a band-aid over the wound and stood, exhaling as though relieved. “All done. You’re good to go now. Head home—it’ll get crowded here soon.”
“Alright.” I stood and gave him a small wave before turning to leave.
I hadn’t taken more than ten steps when his voice called out behind me. “Hey, Zhu Yun Hao, leave me your number. Come by when you’re free.”
After exchanging phone numbers with him, I headed straight home.
By the time I reached the city, the lights had begun to sparkle, illuminating the streets. On the way, my dad called, asking what I wanted for dinner. In that moment, the pain in my knee and the lingering irritations of the day seemed to fade, replaced by a warm glow in my heart.
As soon as I stepped through the door, my dad’s voice rang out. He dashed out of the kitchen, beaming. “My girl! I made your favorite braised pork today. You better finish it all!”
“Got it, Dad,” I replied casually as I changed my shoes.
But before I could say anything else, he exclaimed, “Oh no! What happened to your knee? Why is there a band-aid? Did you hurt yourself?”
His barrage of concern came at me like a machine gun. Rolling my eyes, I replied, “It’s nothing serious. I just tripped today.”
“That won’t do! You’re so delicate. What if you’ve hurt yourself badly? Come on, I’ll take you to the hospital right now.”
Seeing him hurriedly take off his apron, I quickly stopped him. “Really, Dad, it’s fine. I’ve already taken care of it. Don’t overreact.”
“But—”
Before he could continue, I cut him off firmly. “Dad, I’m starving. I barely ate anything at school today.”
“You’re hungry? Wait, I’ll finish cooking right now!”
With that, he dashed back to the kitchen.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I put my bag in my room and changed into comfortable clothes. When I came out, the dining table was already set with delicious dishes.
Dad brought the soup out from the kitchen, sat down, and said, “Come on, sweetheart, eat up. Don’t let yourself go hungry.”
I picked up my chopsticks and began tackling the meal in front of me.
This was my dad, the man in this world who loved and cared for me the most.
It was past nine o’clock when Chen Qiao Luo called. Seeing his name on the screen, I couldn’t help but feel annoyed. After hesitating for a moment, I still picked up the call.
“Chen Qiao Luo, you’ve got some nerve calling me!”
Faced with my sudden outburst, he paused for a moment before asking in confusion, “What did I do to offend Miss Zhu this time? I haven’t even said a word, and you’re already so mad at me.”
“If I don’t take it out on you, then who should I take it out on?” I snapped. “If you hadn’t ditched me today, I wouldn’t have gone skating alone. If I hadn’t gone skating, I wouldn’t have fallen. And if I hadn’t fallen, my knee wouldn’t be scraped. So, tell me—if I can’t blame you, who else can I blame?”
There was a brief silence on the other end before he chuckled. “Alright, alright, you’re always right.”
“Of course I am,” I replied, feeling justified.
“But aren’t you pretty good at skating? How did you end up falling?” he asked curiously.
“Who knows? Bad luck, I guess,” I muttered as I closed the book next to me. “Are you coming to school tomorrow, Chen Qiao Luo?”
He hesitated for a few seconds before saying, “Not sure. I’ll see how it goes.”
“Hmph, that answer is as good as no answer,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes at the ceiling. “You’re really going all out chasing that girl, huh? Skipping school for days on end—you’re not worried about getting disciplined again?”
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