With both of Kong Xiao’s parents behind bars, Kong Xiao had been absent from school for several days in a row.
Kong Xiao’s academic performance had never been great to begin with, and now, with such a major incident involving his parents just before the college entrance exams, it wasn’t hard to imagine how poorly he would fare.
On top of that, his family was saddled with a massive debt… His future looked bleak.
Well, as long as they knew he was having a tough time, that was enough.
This week, Jing Lan started working the morning shift, returning home at two in the afternoon.
When Gu Chenshi came home from school, he could enjoy a delicious, ready-made meal.
It was worth mentioning that the new neighbor next door remained reclusive, mysterious, and exceptionally low-key.
If it weren’t for the sudden loud thud coming from just beyond the wall, Gu Chenshi might have almost forgotten about this person.
Jing Lan was startled and hurriedly said to Gu Chenshi, “Chenshi, Chenshi, quick, go see what happened!”
To be honest, Gu Chenshi was also startled.
The sound seemed like someone had fallen heavily to the ground… That must have hurt, right?
Wait, no—they might have been knocked unconscious, or maybe even died from the fall.
Although Gu Chenshi wasn’t particularly fond of this strange neighbor, it was still a life. Besides, if the place next door turned into a haunted house, living here would feel unsettling.
Gu Chenshi rushed straight outside.
He first knocked on the door, and after two knocks with no response, he decisively raised his long leg and gave the door a hard kick.
Great, the door flew open, and so did the slipper on his foot.
Gu Chenshi didn’t bother with anything else and charged inside first.
Living room—no one.
Bedroom—no one.
Bathroom—no one either.
Finally, Gu Chenshi found the person lying on the floor in the kitchen.
He immediately rushed over, helping the neurotic sit up: “Hey, are you okay? You—”
He froze as he looked at the long, silky hair cascading over his shoulder.
Wait, this wasn’t the neurotic.
Wasn’t the neurotic a guy? Why did he have such long hair?
The hair smelled nice, the person smelled nice, and their body felt soft…
Jing Lan followed closely behind, rushing in anxiously: “Chenshi, is everything okay—Huh?”
She also froze.
When did a girl move in next door?
She looked somewhat familiar—was she the young man’s sister?
Fortunately, the girl hadn’t died or been knocked unconscious from the fall, though she seemed a bit dazed.
Jing Lan wanted to step forward and help but realized she had been kneading dough earlier and her hands were covered in flour. She urged, “Chenshi, stop dawdling. Hurry and help her up to see if she’s injured. If not, we should take her to the hospital right away.”
Gu Chenshi felt a bit awkward.
If this were a guy, Gu Chenshi would have simply wrapped his arms around their upper body and lifted them up.
But when faced with a girl, Gu Chenshi became hesitant, unsure where to place his hands.
Grab her arm?
But her body felt soft and limp, making it hard to pull her up.
Wrap his arms around her waist?
Hmm, that didn’t seem appropriate either.
Men and women shouldn’t touch each other unnecessarily.
When Jing Lan urged him, Gu Chenshi suddenly snapped out of it.
Saving someone was the priority. Even gynecologists could be male—this wasn’t the time to worry about propriety between men and women.
Gu Chenshi simply picked the girl up in a princess carry, carried her to the bedroom, and gently laid her on the bed.
The girl seemed to finally regain her senses, looking a bit flustered as she awkwardly pushed Gu Chenshi away.
Well, no good deed goes unpunished.
Gu Chenshi tactfully stepped back.
Could she possibly think he was going to take advantage of the situation and do something? Thankfully, his mom had also come in; otherwise, if she had screamed at the top of her lungs again, he wouldn’t be able to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
Jing Lan asked with concern, “Sweetie, are you feeling unwell anywhere? Do you want to go to the hospital?”
The girl’s long black hair was disheveled, covering most of her face.
Perhaps she was in pain from the fall, as tears streamed down her cheeks in large drops. She silently shook her head.
Jing Lan breathed a long sigh of relief after confirming she was fine.
Gu Chenshi said, “Mom, if everything’s fine, I’ll go home and do my homework.”
“Hey, don’t leave yet. Bring me the tissue box on the bedside table.”
Gu Chenshi obediently did as he was told.
“Oh, right, I bought you some bread today. You saw where I put it, right? Go get it.”
Gu Chenshi: “…”
He felt strange.
The air was filled with the smell of instant noodles.
Hmm, spicy flavor, too.
This person… oh, wait, this girl—could she have fainted from hunger?
What a talent.
Lazy to this extent—truly impressive.
Gu Chenshi brought over the bread. Jing Lan took it, pulled out a slice, and handed it to her. “Sweetie, you must have low blood sugar, right? You should eat properly every day. Look at your legs—they’re even thinner than my arms. That’s not good.”
The girl silently took the bread, tore it into small pieces, and slowly chewed on them, her tears falling even more heavily.
This made Jing Lan very anxious.
If she was truly fine, why would she keep crying?
“Sweetie, how about I take you to the hospital for a checkup, okay? If everything’s fine, that’s great. But if there’s something wrong, we can treat it in time, right?”
The girl sobbed and silently shook her head.
Jing Lan thought of something. “Are you worried about the cost of the checkup? Don’t worry about that. Auntie will cover it for you. You just need to come with me to the hospital!”
Gu Chenshi, afraid his mom might ask him to do something else later, didn’t leave immediately. Suddenly, he thought of something and couldn’t help but chuckle.
Jing Lan: “…”
She flared up angrily. “You brat, what are you laughing at?”
The poor girl was crying her heart out, and he was over there laughing… Did this brat have no sympathy at all?
Gu Chenshi immediately stopped laughing and said seriously, “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking that if we go to the hospital later, I suggest you go to the ophthalmology department and get your eyes checked properly.”
The girl paused.
Just as Jing Lan was about to ask what he meant, she suddenly remembered something and looked at the girl in front of her in shock.
What siblings? This girl was actually their new neighbor who had just moved in!
Even if they were twins, they wouldn’t have an identical mole at the corner of their eyes, right?
After confirming the girl was fine, Jing Lan returned and specially made her a nutritious and delicious bowl of tomato and egg noodles. Then, she “forcefully” threw the girl’s already soggy instant noodles into the trash.
By then, Gu Chenshi had already sat down at his desk, fully focused on his work.
After returning, Jing Lan thought about it herself and couldn’t help but laugh.
“Whenever I see cross-dressing scenes in TV shows, I feel like complaining. I mean, that fair and delicate face is clearly a girl’s, but they insist on calling it a boy. Isn’t that insulting people’s intelligence?
But I never thought I’d actually mistake a fair and delicate girl for a boy in real life!”
Gu Chenshi didn’t even look up: “So I told you, old man, to go see an ophthalmologist. No problem with that, right?”
Jing Lan said gloomily, “When I first saw her, she was wearing a black men’s down jacket with a hood, and her hair was all tucked inside.
Then I thought, nowadays young girls all love beauty—who would wander around wearing men’s clothes? So I subconsciously took her for a handsome young man!
But even though I mistook her for a guy, why didn’t she clarify it once?
Chenshi, you’re right, this girl is really strange.”