The speed of his heartbeat was akin to the end of the world, Axing quickly caught up. In fact, Shicha wasn't walking that fast, he just chased a few steps and caught up.
Axing wanted to grab Shicha's arm, but he didn't dare.
"Shicha!"
This voice made Shicha stop in her tracks. She slowly turned around, looking at Axing, waiting for him to catch his breath.
"I'm not actually with her—"
Axing's words were cut off by Shicha's soft and calm voice, carrying a hint of naturalness, "So, you have a girlfriend, no wonder Shenmo mentioned how strange you looked that day."
"You don't have to—" Shicha's voice paused slightly, with a tinge of regret, "It's okay like this." After finishing, she raised the dog cage in her hand.
"I'm here to get Xiaoguang vaccinated, you don't have to accompany me." After speaking, she smiled at Axing, waved her hand, "Goodbye."
Each word pierced deep into Axing's heart like needles, causing his heart to ache and his breath to stop. After a while, he said, "Aren't you curious about what I have to explain, what I have to say?"
"I'm not curious."
Lin Shicha's voice softened, and this was the first time she had spoken in such a tone, seemingly tinged with a hint of indifference.
She didn't even stop her pace as she moved forward and away from Chixing, who was slow to wake up.
"Do you really like me?"
This voice carried a hint of bitterness and a shout, Chixing's eyes were red, biting his teeth as he asked the question he had never dared to ask before.
Do you like me?
Don't like me?
Faintly, Chixing had an answer in his heart.
Without answering any of her questions, in two seconds, his wrist was suddenly grabbed. Lin Shicha was forced to turn around, facing the angry features and the evident signs of injury on his face.
He was silent in anger, but when he touched her calm face, it was as if the flames were extinguished, and all the agitation and excitement dissipated.
His lips moved, Chixing looked despondent and frightened, and finally everything turned into a plea: "Please."
Lin Shicha didn't speak for a long time, just looked at Chixing, for a full five minutes, before she withdrew her wrist and gently said, "Take off your clothes."
"Get rid of everything she has touched on you."
Without a word, Chixing took off his jacket and threw it on the ground. Then he also took off the white short-sleeved shirt inside, revealing his strong physique. He had scars on his body, maybe from being scolded by his father when he was a child, or from fighting with someone.
Lin Shicha inspected him for two seconds, and then said, "You can hug me now."
As if cherishing a treasure, Chixing embraced Lin Shicha, feeling relieved and as if he had gained the whole world.
He held her for a long time, her hand also rested on his waist, and the little dog in the cage sat on the ground, looking up at the two embracing people, occasionally tilting its head in incomprehension.
Fifteen minutes later.
Chixing reappeared at the entrance of the Erzhong School.
At this time, it was the break time between afternoon classes and evening self-study, so many students were going out to buy dinner, and the traffic was at its peak.
Huang Mao saw Chixing coming back, and he was even with his sister-in-law. He couldn't help but admire Chixing, saying he was a guy who could charm any woman.
Just as he finished thinking this, he suddenly spurted out and choked. The people around him laughed quietly.
The reason was that the remarkable, grown-up Chixing was wearing a girl's clothes. The pink and white jacket even had lace on the sleeves, and there was a light yellow bow sewn at the pocket.
This was obviously his sister-in-law's clothes!
Looking again, his original clothes were all gone. Lin Shicha was petite, and Chixing was afraid of stretching her clothes, so he coughed twice, touched his nose, and shrank behind Lin Shicha. Seeing Huang Mao stifling a laugh, he angrily shouted, "Laugh at your mother and get lost."
Everyone laughed, and Huyue didn't say a word after seeing Lin Shicha.
Lin Shicha slowly walked to her side, and no one said anything, making way for her.
Lin Shicha softly asked, "Does it still hurt?"
Huyue shrank her shoulders, looked resentfully at Chixing, who was avoiding her gaze, looking at the sky one moment and the ground the next, clearly trying not to look in her direction.
Seeing Huyue remain silent, Lin Shicha continued, "I apologize for Chixing, he didn't hold back, but it was also because you suddenly hugged him and he didn't react, so you shouldn't mind, right?"
These words, reminiscent of the villainous female characters in TV dramas, even a few dull boys could see that she was showing off.
Huyue held back for a while and then said, "We are not in a relationship, I can pursue him, can't I? Is that against the law?"
"Oh," the girl in front of her, with long black hair and a flawless face, smiled faintly, "I didn't say it's against the law, you can pursue him."
"But," Lin Shicha's tone faltered slightly, then she smiled again, "shouldn't you respect the wishes of the person involved and ask if he wants to be hugged or kissed by you?"
Huyue, feeling angry and embarrassed, was thrown to the ground in front of everyone, "He doesn't want me to kiss him, he wants you to kiss him!"
As soon as this was said, Huyue regretted it, and as expected, someone around them chuckled in mockery of her.
Upon hearing this, Chixing's eyes lit up, quietly straightening himself up and waiting.
Sure enough, the next moment, without looking back, Lin Shicha waved at him, "Come over."
Chixing hurriedly went over, wagging his tail.
The whole process was very quick, it seemed to pass in a second. She pinched his clothes, tiptoed, Chixing bent down, and she lightly pecked his lips, then pushed him away.
Chixing seemed unsatisfied and stood there, unwilling to leave, "Did you kiss him? You didn't, did you?"
Feeling humiliated, Huyue left without saying a word.
Lin Shicha turned and looked at the boys behind Chixing, and said seriously, "Don't spread rumors about other girls at school. Girls have thin skin, let's just pretend that nothing happened."
The crowd chattered, all promising that they knew.
This kind of response was much better than Huyue's. They all genuinely recognized Lin Shicha's status, after all, they knew Chixing's thoughts, and Lin Shicha had not been shy to give orders before.
"Chacha..." Chixing brazenly went over.
Lin Shicha naturally asked, "Do you want to go to evening self-study? I'll accompany you home to change clothes."
"Okay!" Chixing didn't say anything else, "Let's go, there's no point in evening self-study, let's go."
For him, evening self-study meant lying there to take a nap, or sitting next to the trash can to play games because his seat was not far from the trash can, a typical bad student's seat.
At that moment, an unexpected person appeared at the school gate. She wasn't wearing a school uniform skirt, but was wearing black pants, she had short hair, and she looked handsome and formidable, and was accompanied by three little girls.
Lin Shicha was stunned and tilted her head, "He'er?"
Chixing: "Who???"
The person who came is Bai Shenghe. When he saw the attire of Chixin, he made a "pu" sound and then immediately turned his head, maintaining his usual indifferent expression.
Chixin: "What are you laughing at? Do you want me to beat you?"
Bai Shenghe, politely and distantly, nodded and said, "Miss Chixin, you look very nice. I'll go first. Goodbye." He then took three girls back to school.
Chixin exploded, shouting, "Who are you calling miss? I..."
A group of people discreetly pushed and shoved Chixin's shoulder, "Brother Chixin, you shouldn't, you shouldn't. Brother Chixin, go home and change your clothes."
Chixin grumbled, looking displeased, and followed Lin Shicha.
On the way, Chixin asked, "Did you call her 'He'er'? That's too intimate." He didn't seem too pleased.
Lin Shicha answered after a pause, "At first, I just jokingly called her 'He'er', but later, when we played games together, I found out that her game ID was 'He'er', so I continued calling her that."
Chixin paused for a moment and then pretended to be nonchalant, "Why didn't you ask me to play games together? I could have helped you rank up."
"No need," Lin Shicha waved her hand, expressing her affection for Bai Shenghe, "He'er is really good, I never lose when she's playing with me."
"Then what rank are you now?" Chixin asked her.
Lin Shicha hesitated for a moment, looking a little silly, "Rank...?"
Chixin: "Don't tell me you've only been playing casual games with that Bai Shenghe the whole time."
They soon arrived at Chixin's house, located in the Shuiyueju in the east of the city. The community was low-key and luxurious, and a house in the community was quite valuable. Though not a second-generation rich person, Chixin had always been financially comfortable due to the professions of her parents as a police officer and a doctor.
This was Lin Shicha's first time visiting Chixin's room. Unlike his wild and uninhibited personality, his living habits seemed meticulous and careful. The room was very clean, and everything was neatly arranged.
Lin Shicha didn't seem to mind him changing clothes in front of her, as they had been playing around for many years, his physique was obviously different from that of his peers- he even had muscles.
Lin Shicha stared at Chixin's upper body for a while before finally looking away.
At that moment, the door suddenly opened, and Lin Shicha curiously leaned out to take a look. Chixin came out, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and pulled a headgear as he said, "Dad, why are you back?"
This appearance... made Chixin feel a little embarrassed. "You...?" Chixin's father asked, holding his keys.
Chixin followed closely, coming out in a short-sleeved shirt, and pulled the headgear over, "Dad, why are you back?"
This made Chixin feel a little embarrassed. "You...?" Chixin's father asked, holding his keys.
Chixin's father looked at him, afraid that he might do something indecent.
Chixin looked red-faced and said, "I wouldn't dare to!!" as he forcefully pushed his father to leave.
After his father had left, Chixin breathed a sigh of relief, rubbed his hair, and went back to his room. Lin Shicha was sitting at his desk, nibbling on a corner of a milk bun, with her hands holding it, looking very obedient, and then she turned her head to look at him as he entered.
Chixin coughed a couple of times to hide his embarrassment, and then immediately closed the door. Lin Shicha seemed surprised, leaving the milk bun and asking, "?"
Chixin went over and whispered, "Don't drink it for now."
Lin Shicha blinked, her voice soft, "Hmm?" and then put down the milk bun.
Chixin approached her, trying to get closer, and she didn't back away as usual, instead, she looked at him, as if in that moment, her mind had gone through countless thoughts and deliberations before she chose to comply.
He lingered at the corner of her lips for about three seconds and only proceeded to kiss her on the lips when she didn't refuse. He didn't go deep.
Lin Shicha pushed his shoulders, and he then pulled away.
Lin Shicha then drank the milk and looked up, "This is my first kiss, so you should cherish it." Her tone didn't carry any strong emotions, as if it were an insignificant topic.
But there had been progress, and Chixin didn't mind it at all. He held Lin Shicha's hand and said, "Shall we go?"
"Okay," she nodded, letting him lead her up.
Chixin then accompanied her to give Xiaoguang a vaccine. By the time they finished, it was already 6:30 pm. Chixin remembered his father's instructions and took Lin Shicha out to eat something delicious.
Chixin was very particular about food and had bookmarked various eateries in the town on his phone. After discussing with Lin Shicha for a while, they finally went to a private kitchen.
The proprietress was a woman in her forties who looked much younger due to proper upkeep, and she chatted with Chixin for quite some time.
At 8 pm, Chixin took Lin Shicha home. Lin Shicha said it was late, so she encouraged Chixin to head back. Chixin didn't go inside the house to see Lin Chunhua.
As she walked into the alley, Lin Shicha saw a dark figure standing by the railing. She hesitated for a moment, and then Xiaoguang in the cage started barking, breaking the silence.
The visitor was Bian Heng, and the street lamp in this alley was broken, making it look very dark, making it difficult to see his expression. "I woke up late to accompany you back."
"Yeah." Lin Shicha lifted the dog cage. "I went to give Xiaoguang an injection.”
After a while of silence, Lin Shicha didn't speak, and Bian Heng didn't either.
After about three minutes, Bian Heng suddenly smiled and broke the silence, "Have you eaten? I've been waiting for you for a long time."
"I've eaten, have you not?" Bian Heng responded, "I have also eaten. I'll take you inside." He casually took the dog cage and followed, rubbing her hair gently. "Why didn't you go to evening self-study suddenly? I've been wanting to ask you,” but they had been at odds and hadn't spent time alone for a long time.
Bian Heng's sudden seriousness and gentleness made Lin Shicha feel very uncomfortable. She looked at him several times more, “I asked my grandmother to enroll me in a painting class, so I want to go learn how to draw after school every day, so I don't want to go to evening self-study.”
"Oh, would you like to see my paintings?" She suddenly became very excited, her tone rising a bit.
"Sure." Bian Heng readily agreed.
On hearing a sound at the entrance, Lin Chunhua, wearing reading glasses, came out. "Back? Have you eaten?"
"Yes, grandmother," Lin Shicha replied.
Lin Chunhua wanted to say something more, but she suddenly stopped, her gaze fixed on another young boy who came in with Lin Shicha. This was a unfamiliar face, neither Chengxing nor Shenmo.
Lin Chunhua composed herself for a while, then barely spoke, "Is Tea's friend, right? She rarely brings friends home."
Bian Heng was very polite, "Hello, grandmother, I am Bian Heng."
In a short moment, Lin Chunhua quickly ascertained Bian Heng's background, he was a member of the student council at school, a good young man, his parents were professors at a prestigious university, and he had good grades, so getting into a university in the capital was not a problem, and so on and so forth...
Without saying much to Lin Chunhua, Lin Shicha took Bian Heng to her room.
Xiaoguang had been given an injection, and it had been seven or eight hours since he had eaten. Lin Shicha put dog food and canned food for him and replaced the pure water in the bowl.
The two of them squatted down to watch the golden retriever eat.
"Sit here." Lin Shicha pulled over a pink chair.
"Okay." Bian Heng sat down, glanced at Lin Shicha's desk a few times. She had spread a pink and white tablecloth on her desk, with neatly arranged books, as well as pens, textbooks, and the like. There were also girlish hair accessories.
Three or four medicine bottles were placed behind the top left corner of the books, which was not a very conspicuous position, but because of his sitting position, he happened to see it.
After seeing it, Bian Heng was startled. He saw that it was written Herzmorein capsules, the bottle was pale pink, and at that moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind. Then, he saw a cute notebook on the table. Bian Heng was thinking about what Herzmorein capsules were used for, they couldn't possibly be ordinary vitamins, right?
His hand unconsciously opened the notebook, and after just one look, he closed it.
"What are you zoning out for?"
Lin Shicha appeared at the door with an apple, "Just washed."
"Oh." Bian Heng came back to his senses and took the apple.
Lin Shicha's appearance was too normal, which made Bian Heng feel strange. The notebook he had opened was full of drawings.
Lin Shicha was actually a very good painter, but the color matching was too strange.
Black and white were reversed, and red and green were reversed.
The sky was black, the soil was waxen white, the grass on the ground was red, and the flowers on it were green. The beautiful girl's hair was white, but her skin was black.
It looked so strange.
"By the way, I'll show you my drawings. I drew my grandmother and myself." Lin Shicha said and took two rolled-up pieces of drawing paper from the bookshelf. The drawings immediately covered the notebooks on the table. She laid them out.
The exquisite scrolls immediately attracted Bian Heng's attention.
The first drawing was of herself, she was holding a large orange-yellow chrysanthemum in her left eye, with her right eye closed, and a warm smile on her lips, and her long hair was adorned with a floral wreath. Even the lighting was realistically portrayed, a scene of tenderness and beauty.
"Beautiful, why haven't I seen you wear such clothes?" Bian Heng muttered, giving her a few more glances.
"I imagined it myself, I don't have clothes like that." Lin Shicha shook her head and complained coquettishly, "You don't care about me at all."
The two chatted and laughed, and before they knew it, it was almost ten o'clock. Bian Heng said goodbye to Lin Shicha and Lin Chunhua.
As he walked on the street, he took out his phone and quickly searched for Herzmorein capsules. When he saw the search results, he paused.
"Goodnight, Grandma."
Lin Chunhua heard her voice and turned back, Lin Shicha, wearing a pink nightgown, leaned her head and smiled playfully.
Lin Chunhua laughed, "Goodnight, go to sleep quickly."
At midnight, immersed in the darkness of the room, Lin Shicha lay on the bed, opened her eyes, slowly turned over, and gazed emptily at the pure white wall. After closing her eyes for a while, she opened them again.
The light of the phone suddenly lit up, overwhelmingly bright.
She opened the calendar and counted the days, muttering the numbers one by one, and then fell silent for a moment before turning off the phone.
Not sure what she was thinking, she suddenly fixed her gaze on the three medicine bottles on the desk for a long time. Then, she decisively grabbed the bottles and threw them into the trash can.
She hadn't taken the medicine for a week, so she forgot that there were still medicine bottles on the desk.
She pulled out a chair and tried to sit on it, to see if she could see the medicine bottles in that position when looking back.
Summer quietly arrived.
During physical education classes, the sunlight was scorching hot, and quite coincidentally, the 11th grade, the 12th grade, and half of the 13th grade were all in physical education class together.
It seems that most of the school's physical education teachers are out teaching, leaving only one teacher to handle three classes, which is a bit overwhelming. However, it's fortunate that the third-year students are very quiet and calm, after finishing their three laps around the field, they each went back to their classrooms to work on their problems.
"Biān Héng, aren't you going back to your class?" asked a bespectacled boy as he pushed his glasses and inquired of Biān Héng, who shook his head in response, "No, I'm going to the restroom. You guys can go back first; the class monitor is there, I'm not needed."
"Alright then."
After the others left, Biān Héng looked towards the other side of the playground, where Lín Shí Chá was wearing a vermilion-colored sports short-sleeved shirt and shorts. Her class had also dispersed, and she was talking happily with a freshman, Chén Méi.
Chén Méi said something that made Lín Shí Chá burst into laughter, her eyes curving like a crescent moon.
As the two approached, leaning on the swing pole, Biān Héng could finally hear what they were discussing.
"…yeah, it's a minor rumor, but there's hope for Shěn Mò to debut. Aren't there a lot of young idols in the entertainment industry?"
"His mother must be remarkable, but I've never heard of his father's name. I guess he's from a single-parent household. There's so much drama in the entertainment industry."
"Shěn Mò sings so beautifully!! I'll definitely go to his concert in the future! I even have the audio of the song he sang at last year's literary and artistic evening downloaded on my phone."
"Hey, Shí Chá, since you're close to Shěn Mò, ask him about it."
"Um, sure."
These two actually started messaging Shěn Mò on their phones.
Biān Héng sighed with speechlessness.
The author has something to say: The name of the medicine is fabricated by me, and so is the illness this time. "Multiple Myeloma" was used before, which was a bit of a stretch and there were some facts to back it up, so I simply made it up.