While training at the Taekwondo gym, I twisted my ankle. Well, at least I had a good excuse to skip piano class in the afternoon.
Looking at my ankle, which had swollen into a tiny hill, my mom fussed and insisted my dad take me to the hospital. My dad rummaged through the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of medicinal wine, saying, “It’s nothing, boys can handle a little injury.”
He placed the bottle on the coffee table, rolled up his sleeves, and squatted on the sofa to examine my ankle.
My mom, standing beside him, pounded his arm, “Are you even human? Our son is hurt, and you don’t care at all. I’ll beat you up!”
“Alright, alright,” my dad said, pinching my ankle, “I’ll rub some medicinal wine on it. Stop interfering.”
I sat on the sofa, feeling listless, watching them bicker.
In the end, my mom couldn’t out-argue my dad, so she could only watch as he poured a little of the medicinal wine into his palm and pressed it against my ankle.
The wine felt warm on my skin. I looked down at my dad’s hand, and he suddenly glanced at me, “Son, bear with it.”
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly rubbed my ankle hard. It hurt so much that I nearly jumped off the sofa.
“Dad, it hurts!”
I tried to pull my foot back, but my dad held onto my leg, instructing my mom to pour more wine into his other hand, and then he rubbed my ankle again.
He claimed it was a massage, saying it was effective for sprains, and told me to endure it, adding that a real man shouldn’t fear pain.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch…”
I covered my eyes with my arm, feeling that my ankle was both hot and painful, seemingly worse than before the wine was applied.
After finishing, my dad went to wash his hands, while my mom continued to study my foot.
“Honey,” she called out to my dad, raising her voice, “I think his foot looks even more swollen.”
“That’s normal,” my dad said, drying his hands as he came out of the bathroom. He bent down to take a look, “It’s not a big deal. Just don’t run around. I’ll rub it again tonight, and it should be fine by tomorrow.”
What? Rub it again tonight?
What a joke. I angrily pulled my foot back, curling up on the sofa, refusing to let him see it.
My dad chuckled, flicking my forehead, “My dear son, throwing a tantrum.”
I mumbled, feeling on the verge of tears, “It really hurts.”
After lunch, my parents had to return to work. I clung to my dad’s shirt, not wanting him to leave.
He ruffled my hair, “Why don’t you ever grow up? Be good, don’t wander around the house. I’ll bring you something tasty tonight.”
He picked up a candy from the table and unwrapped it for me. My mom had already put on her shoes and was calling him from the door.
I had no choice but to let go of his shirt, reminding him to come home early.
“Alright,” my dad said, standing up from the sofa and patting my head, “I’ll try to come back early.”
Being home alone was really boring, and Tang Shi didn’t come over to play.
I lay on the sofa watching TV for a while, feeling uncomfortable, and changed to a lying position.
The aquarium’s oxygen pump made a hissing sound, and the fish swam back and forth inside.
Feeling utterly bored, I took out my phone to play a game.
Tang Shi was online too, so I sent him a team request, hoping he’d play with me.
He agreed, and I was pulled into their team, which had three other people. They were probably Tang Shi’s friends, chatting away on voice chat while I quietly listened.
“Cheng Yueguang,” Tang Shi suddenly called my name, “Didn’t you go to class this afternoon?”
As soon as Tang Shi spoke, the others fell silent, leaving only my voice on the mic. Feeling a bit wronged, I said, “I got hurt, twisted my ankle.”
“Pfft,” someone laughed, mimicking my tone, “I got hurt~ I twisted my ankle~ Hahaha, are you a girl? Why are you whining? Do you need your brother Tang Shi to blow on it for you?”
“Hahahahaha—”
The other two guys laughed along, and the one mimicking me added, “Tang Shi, go comfort your little sister. Poor Cheng is so upset.”
I recognized the voice as the guy who had been targeting me during basketball last time. I pursed my lips and decided to ignore him.
People can say whatever they want; I can’t control that. But I can choose not to listen.
I muted those guys and was about to ask Tang Shi if we were still playing when he suddenly kicked me out of the team.
He kicked me out of the team!!!
He didn’t want to play with me anymore!!!
I was stunned, a wave of desolation washing over me.
Was he annoyed with me? Unwilling to give up, I tried to send him another team request, only to find he had gone offline.
Is everything okay? I stared worriedly at my phone screen, wondering if Tang Shi had gone off to fight them again.
But I wasn’t by his side, so worrying was pointless. I could only start a game by myself.
Because my gaming skills were too good, after finishing the match, I received a system warning. All four of my teammates had reported me.
Report me if you want, it’s not like I’ll lose a piece of myself. It’s no big deal…
It made me so mad! I tossed my phone aside and sulked on the sofa. What’s wrong with people these days? Can’t we just play games happily? Why do they have to report others for no reason? Can’t I have a little gaming experience?
If Tang Shi were playing with me, no one would have reported me.
Thinking about it, I felt a bit resentful towards Tang Shi. Wouldn’t it be better if he played with me? Why bring others along and make everyone unhappy?
I tossed and turned on the sofa, cursing Tang Shi from head to toe, when suddenly the doorbell rang.
Hopping on one leg to the door, I saw Tang Shi standing outside with another guy, holding a large bag.
I unlocked the door and watched as Tang Shi and the guy came in.
The guy greeted me, “Yueguang, I’m Qi Le. We met at Tang Shi’s house. Do you remember me?”
Qi Le was the guy who lent me his phone to play games during the barbecue at Tang Shi’s house. Of course, I remembered him.
I let them in and asked Qi Le if he wanted a drink.
“No, thanks.” Qi Le shook his head with a smile. He seemed to love smiling, a stark contrast to the grumpy Tang Shi beside him.
Tang Shi entered, tossed the bag aside, and helped me over to the sofa. “Forget about drinks. With a twisted ankle, just sit still.”
He placed me on the sofa and told Qi Le to help himself to drinks from the fridge.
I obediently sat on the sofa, eyeing the bag Tang Shi had dropped on the floor, and asked him what he had bought. I said, “I smell roasted sweet potatoes.”
Tang Shi sat down next to me, pulling my injured foot onto his lap to check it, scolding me, “All you think about is food. How did you twist your ankle? Can’t you walk properly?”
I shrank back a little, quietly defending myself, “It wasn’t while walking. I slipped during class while kicking the board.”
I rolled up my sleeve to show him. My elbow had scraped against the mat and was still red. I said, “Look, I hit it here too.”
Tang Shi didn’t say anything, just squeezed my ankle a bit.
I gasped, enduring the pain, and asked if I could have a roasted sweet potato.
I hadn’t eaten much at lunch, and to be honest, I was a bit hungry now.
Tang Shi ignored me, so I looked hopefully at Qi Le.
Qi Le chuckled, walked over to the bag, pulled out a paper bag, and handed me a cup of milk tea, “Go ahead and eat.”
He sat down on my other side, watching me poke a straw into the milk tea. He said, “Yan He was just joking earlier. Don’t take it to heart.”
“Oh…”
I wanted to say I didn’t take it to heart. I’m not Tang Shi; I have a really good temper. But Tang Shi suddenly got angry. He told Qi Le, “Didn’t I say not to call me when he’s around? We haven’t settled last time’s score.”
He was referring to Yan He, I guessed. I glanced cautiously at Qi Le, lowered my head, and drank my milk tea, not daring to speak.
Qi Le seemed a bit helpless, “Tang Shi, we’re all classmates. We see each other all the time. Didn’t you already fight him last time? You’ve vented your anger, so let it go.”
“Exactly,” I mumbled quietly, biting the straw, “You’re just petty.”
Tang Shi heard me and gave my leg a light slap, threatening, “Say that again, and see if I care about you anymore.”
“No, no, no,” I was just venting. I wouldn’t dare make him angry. I quickly offered him the first bite of my sweet potato, “The first bite is for you.”
Tang Shi’s expression softened slightly, and he took a big bite, eating half of my sweet potato.
I wanted to pry open his mouth and ask if he had a bottomless pit for a stomach. Was he a crocodile? Didn’t he fear burning his mouth?
Qi Le not only loved to smile but also talked a lot. He mentioned that the class beauty seemed to like me, and Yan He liked her, which was why he always targeted me.
I looked puzzled and asked, “How do you know that girl likes me?”
Qi Le laughed, reaching out to pinch my cheek, “Cheng Yueguang, you’re really adorable.”
He said, “We just know.”
“But she never gave me a love letter,” I pushed his hand away, leaning back against the sofa, hugging a pillow, and said seriously, “She never even talked to me. I don’t know her at all.”
Qi Le was about to say something, but Tang Shi interrupted him, “Alright, stop talking about it. His mom is very strict.”
“Okay,” Qi Le shrugged, telling me, “Anyway, if Yan He bothers you again, just ignore him.”
But I was still curious, so I kept pestering Qi Le to tell me who the class beauty was.
Qi Le said her name was Chen Guoguo.
I was genuinely surprised, “I know her. She learns dance next door to us, but we’ve never spoken.”
Being liked by a girl was a curious and proud thing. I clung to Qi Le’s sleeve, wanting to know more, but Tang Shi wouldn’t let me.
He said, “Enough. Why are you talking so much today? Is your foot not hurting anymore?”
“It hurts,” I immediately abandoned Qi Le, turning to Tang Shi with a pitiful look, “My dad is going to rub medicinal wine on it again tonight.”
Tang Shi smirked, looking pleased, but what he said wasn’t so nice. He said, “That’s what you deserve. Just bear with it.”
???
I glared at him, thinking, does my suffering make you this happy? Can you smile now?
Although my dad said he’d try to come home early, he had to work overtime.
He called Aunt Tang to ask her to look after me, but instead of her, Tang Shi came over with a thermal container.
“My mom has a headache, so I told her to rest.”
He placed the thermal container on the table and asked where the medicinal wine was.
I hugged the thermal container, unscrewing the lid as I said, “My dad’s not home. Can’t we skip the medicinal wine?”
“Of course not.” Tang Shi found the medicinal wine near the TV and picked it up.
Despite my reluctance, I couldn’t resist him, so I let him warm the wine in his palms and apply it to my ankle.
I scooped a spoonful of rice into my mouth, watching him work.
Compared to my dad, Tang Shi’s technique was much gentler, at least not making me feel like I was going to fly off in pain.
The air was filled with the scent of medicinal wine as my ankle gradually warmed up. I wiggled my foot and asked Tang Shi, “What about school tomorrow?”
Tang Shi focused on massaging my ankle, “How should I know.”
“You have to take me to class,” I looked at him, “Don’t walk by yourself tomorrow morning. I’ll ask my dad to drive us to school, and then you can take me to the classroom, okay?”