Xu Tingbai felt like he was going crazy.
It was sudden, like the last time he had stood next to a broken cake for a long time, an unexpected issue.
Otherwise, how could he have been so dazed that he just nodded?
The two slowly climbed the stairs. Xu Tingbai listened to the faint sounds of breathing and footsteps beside him, and his movements with the key slowed down a bit.
Meanwhile, Lin Qingle could hardly contain her inner joy throughout the process; she even forgot about the pain in her hand. Xu Tingbai’s agreement made her feel that they could finally be closer.
As they went up the stairs, Lin Qingle looked around. Xu Tingbai’s old building was tucked away in a narrow alley. His home was on the top floor, the eighth floor, and the corridor was very dim. Even on a hot day, she felt a chill in the air.
She still remembered the first time she visited Xu Tingbai’s house when she was little; she stood in awe for a long time. At that time, her small self was completely stunned by his home. It was a very large house, a standalone with a sunny big garden.
Back then, he was like a little prince, polite and gentlemanly, untouched by the world, well protected in his castle.
Reflecting on the past, Lin Qingle’s gaze fell on his back.
Now the little prince had no castle; he had fallen into the mud, looking disheveled.
But she wouldn’t ignore him just because he no longer had a castle. She thought that no matter what, as long as he was Xu Tingbai, she would be as patient and gentle with him as he had been with her when they were children.
“You should still go to the clinic,” Xu Tingbai suddenly said, even though the key was already in the keyhole.
Lin Qingle was taken aback and hurriedly said, “But I don’t have any money…”
Xu Tingbai: “…”
Seeing his hesitation, she whispered, “Let’s not waste money, okay? I can just apply some medicine myself; it’s really not that serious.”
“We? Since when was it ‘we’?”
Xu Tingbai scoffed internally, but instinctively twisted the key.
The door opened, almost reluctantly.
“Where do you keep the antiseptic red medicine?” Lin Qingle’s voice brightened as she entered.
Xu Tingbai walked in silently and placed his cane in its usual spot.
“Sit down, I’ll go get it.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t touch anything.”
“Mm!”
Xu Tingbai was already very familiar with the layout of his home and wandered toward the bedroom.
Lin Qingle didn’t sit down; she just looked around the room.
Xu Tingbai’s place had two small bedrooms, a dining room, and a living room. But calling it a living room was a stretch; it was just a small, worn-out sofa next to the dining table, essentially making the two areas one.
The place was small, but fortunately, there was a balcony. Light streamed in from the balcony, brightening up the entire house.
Surprisingly, it was also quite clean. She had initially thought that with his father not home, it would be hard for him to keep the place tidy.
“Lin Qingle.”
“I’m here!” she replied.
Xu Tingbai came out holding a box. He walked over to the dining table, touched its edge with his hand, and then placed the box down with a hint of impatience, saying, “Take it yourself.”
Lin Qingle glanced at her palms. “Can I use the faucet to wash my hands first? They’re all dirty.”
“Sure.”
“Okay.”
Lin Qingle ran to the kitchen to wash her hands while Xu Tingbai stood there, seemingly waiting to hurry her out once she finished applying the medicine.
She glanced back at him before focusing on washing her hands. The water stung the wound painfully; she took a few deep breaths and spent quite a while cleaning off the dust from her injury.
Returning to the dining table, Lin Qingle sat down and pulled out the red medicine and cotton swabs. “You have a lot of antiseptics and ointments.”
There were various types, filling up the box.
Xu Tingbai said coldly, “Hurry up, finish and get out.”
“…Oh.”
If washing her hands hurt, applying the antiseptic red medicine was excruciating!
As soon as Lin Qingle touched it with the cotton swab, she gasped in pain: “Ah… hiss…”
Xu Tingbai frowned. “What are you shouting for? Be quiet.”
Her eyes turned red. “It hurts too much…”
It really did hurt; he could hear her voice quavering slightly, soft and melodious, with a tug at the end.
Xu Tingbai paused for a moment before stiffly saying, “Who told you to meddle?”
Lin Qingle replied, “How is this meddling…?”
“Hmph.”
Xu Tingbai fell silent.
Lin Qingle continued to apply the medicine with a pained expression. The main injury was on her right hand, just that area, and it didn’t take long for her to finish.
She put down the cotton swab and gently blew on her arm, waiting for the pain to subside a bit before raising her gaze to Xu Tingbai.
He stubbornly stood beside her, waiting, but not sitting down.
The sun was about to set, and the sky outside had darkened somewhat. However, thanks to the bright balcony, Lin Qingle could clearly see his eyes.
His irises were a light color, almost lifeless as if shrouded in mist. But this did not detract from the fact that his eyes were beautiful.
Lin Qingle thought his eyes were even prettier than Jiang Shuyi’s description of the school’s heartthrob, Yu Jiayou, and they had that captivating beauty that made it hard to look away.
“Are you done yet?” Xu Tingbai finally spoke, perhaps feeling that the silence had dragged on for too long.
Lin Qingle didn’t answer but asked, “What are you having for dinner tonight?”
“It’s none of your business.”
Here we go again; Xu Tingbai still didn’t want to chat with her.
But Lin Qingle thought that today was a significant improvement, so she couldn’t rush things.
“Alright, I’ll take my leave then. Remember to eat dinner. Um… thanks for letting me use your medicine.”
As Lin Qingle spoke, she got up and walked toward the door.
After taking a few steps, she suddenly remembered something important and turned back—
Xu Tingbai had also been heading to close the door and didn’t see Lin Qingle turn around, so he walked straight toward her.
“Whoa…”
Lin Qingle turned too abruptly and bumped right into his chest.
She lost her balance and stumbled back. Xu Tingbai paused, instinctively reaching out to steady her, but unexpectedly, she let out a loud scream.
“Ah!!”
“…?”
“My hand!”
He fumbled to grab her, and unfortunately, his hand landed right on the arm where she had just applied the medicine! Realizing this, Xu Tingbai immediately let go, annoyed. “What are you doing?”
Lin Qingle looked wronged. “I didn’t know you were so close to me…”
Xu Tingbai took a deep breath. “Can’t you see? Why did you suddenly turn around?”
“I just remembered something I wanted to say.”
Xu Tingbai felt his fingertips were damp from grabbing her arm and wasn’t sure how much medicine she had applied or how serious her injury was.
Frowning, he felt increasingly irritated and instinctively said, “When are you going to fix that clumsiness of yours?”
Lin Qingle was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized what this statement implied. A smile broke out at the corners of her mouth. “A person’s habits aren’t easy to change.”
He was still remembering the days they had studied and played together.
Xu Tingbai huffed. “If you have something to say, just say it.”
Lin Qingle replied, “I wanted to ask if you have a phone. Could you give me your number? It would be more convenient to contact you in the future.”
Xu Tingbai’s expression grew cold again. He reached for the door and quickly opened it. “I don’t have one.”
At that time, smartphones had yet to become widespread, and flip phones were still the trend.
Lin Yufen, working long hours outside, had saved up to buy Lin Qingle a cheap imitation phone for when she was away from home.
Lin Qingle thought that Xu Tingbai’s father was often not home, so he would surely have given Xu Tingbai a phone.
“I won’t call you often, so don’t worry. I’ll only call if something comes up,” Lin Qingle assured him.
Xu Tingbai replied, “I already said no. Get out.”
“…”
Reluctantly, Lin Qingle stepped outside the door.
Xu Tingbai stood behind the door, his gaze vacant.
“Lin Qingle.”
She thought he had changed his mind and was going to give her his number, and her eyes brightened. “Hmm?”
Xu Tingbai said, “Don’t come back. I’m not the person you think I am.”
When Lin Qingle got home, her hand was quickly noticed by Lin Yufen.
“What happened to your hand?”
“I accidentally fell while walking on the road,” Lin Qingle replied.
“How old are you? Can’t you walk without falling?!”
“I just bumped into someone and fell. I already went to the nearby clinic to get it treated.”
“Is it serious? You know this will affect your studies, right? Be more careful next time.”
Lin Qingle countered softly, “Injuring my hand won’t affect my brain; how would it affect my studies…?”
“Can you still write like this?!” Lin Yufen exclaimed.
“I can, don’t worry.” Lin Qingle felt a bit irritated and quickly shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice before retreating to her room.
“Tsk, I’ve only said a few things and you’re already impatient?” Lin Yufen’s voice came from outside. “Whose temper did you inherit?”
…
So noisy.
Lin Qingle lay on her bed, covering her ears.
Who did she inherit it from? Certainly not from you… it must be from that person.
Her arm still throbbed with pain, and after the noise outside subsided, Lin Qingle lowered her hands. She glanced at her injury and remembered applying medicine at Xu Tingbai’s house today.
“Don’t come back. I’m not the person you think I am.”
She knew he was a bit different now compared to before, but no one who experienced a major life change would remain exactly the same. Not to mention that in those three years, he might have faced many difficulties she didn’t know about.
Staring at her wound, Lin Qingle stubbornly said after a long time, “You’re still essentially the same… otherwise, you wouldn’t have let me go to your house today.”
Life at school was peaceful yet busy. Although she was only a first-year student, Lin Qingle didn’t dare to slack off; she wasn’t a genius student and needed to work hard to maintain her grades.
It was a Wednesday, and the second period in the afternoon was physical education.
That day’s PE class involved an 800-meter fitness test. Lin Qingle was in the first group, while Jiang Shuyi was in the second group. After finishing her run, she went to the shop to buy some water and picked up a bottle for Jiang Shuyi as well.
After running the 800 meters, she was parched, and as soon as she walked out of the shop, she couldn’t wait any longer and opened the bottle, gulping down a few mouthfuls of water.
“Phew…” After finishing the water, Lin Qingle felt a wave of comfort wash over her as she happily capped the bottle.
“Damn, I thought that girl had to be from our school, and I was planning to spend some time looking for her. I didn’t expect that before I even started, she’d just show up in front of me!”
At that moment, a male voice suddenly called out from ahead.
Lin Qingle looked up in confusion and saw someone familiar walking toward her.
She immediately tightened her grip on the water bottle.
It was none other than Zhang Yikun, the guy who had blocked Xu Tingbai last time.