Chapter 16

Old Wu arrived at the hospital. His expression was still tinged with urgency when he entered, but seeing Qi Yang and Mu Yicong sitting there, one with a bandaged foot and the other with an IV drip in his hand, both with faces darker than each other, he couldn’t help but laugh.

“What happened?” he bent down to inspect the brace on Qi Yang’s foot. “I sent you to check on a sick classmate, how did you end up injured? Did you two fight?”

Qi Yang’s right foot had a compression fracture.

He sulked and said nothing. Old Wu reached out to touch Mu Yicong’s forehead, but Mu Yicong just turned his neck, avoiding it.

“How did you get to the hospital?” Old Wu asked again.

“Came on a donkey,” Qi Yang said.

Mu Yicong turned his dark eyes to glance at him, his lips pressed together in an exasperated line. “I carried him here.”

“You two are something else.” Old Wu rubbed his own head. “Sit tight. I’ll go ask the doctor.”

No sooner had he stepped out than Zou Meizhu, tottering on high heels, rushed over in a panic, her parasol still open.

“What’s wrong, Yangyang?” She shrieked when she saw his propped-up foot. “How did you break your foot?”

“Didn’t break it, it’s a fracture,” Qi Yang said, a bit embarrassed. “Who told you to come, Mom?”

“Your homeroom teacher called me, so I came.” Zou Meizhu was beside herself with worry. She crouched down and blew on Qi Yang’s foot.

“What about Qi Xing?” Qi Yang frowned.

“She’s at home,” Zou Meizhu said. “It’s fine. I locked her in the bedroom.”

Qi Yang hadn’t really wanted to curse out Mu Yicong for crushing his foot. After all, the guy had told him to get lost several times, and he deserved it for sticking his foot in.

But seeing Zou Meizhu so clueless, he really felt like cursing someone out.

Since he couldn’t curse his own mother, he turned his glare directly to Mu Yicong, who was sizing them both up. “What are you looking at, asshole?”

Zou Meizhu finally noticed the other student.

“Oh, a classmate of Yangyang’s, is it?” She looked at the IV bottle hanging over Mu Yicong. “Got a fever? All by yourself?”

Mu Yicong gave Zou Meizhu a polite nod. “Hello, Auntie.”

“Hello.” Zou Meizhu treated them both like kindergarteners. “You two should take care of each other at school.”

Mu Yicong froze for a second, then gave an awkward nod. Qi Yang rolled his eyes so hard the whites practically showed.

After a cartload of useless chatter, Old Wu came back, and Zou Meizhu shrieked again.

“What’s going on here, Teacher Wu? The kid was fine going to school, how did his foot get fractured?”

“Don’t panic,”

Old Wu felt a bit guilty too, since he was the one who sent Qi Yang to check on Mu Yicong, causing this whole mess.

“I just got here. I checked with the doctor. There’s nothing seriously wrong with Qi Yang. He doesn’t even need a cast. Just wear a brace for two weeks to avoid any pressure, and he should recover.”

“Two weeks?” Zou Meizhu calculated and felt even more distressed. “That’s half a month!”

Old Wu explained the situation to Zou Meizhu with an awkward laugh, then finally had a moment to ask Qi Yang, “What the hell happened?”

“Did you fight with a classmate again?” Zou Meizhu’s eyes widened.

“No.” The pain in his foot was throbbing hotly, and he was getting more annoyed by their noise. “The door pinched it. It’s not a big deal. Can you stop asking?”

Mu Yicong looked a bit surprised, raising his eyes to glance at him.

It wasn’t out of generosity that Qi Yang didn’t tell on Mu Yicong to Old Wu and Zou Meizhu. It was because he was embarrassed.

So while Old Wu and Zou Meizhu were talking, he mouthed four words to Mu Yicong: J-U-S-T- Y-O-U- W-A-I-T.

Qi Yang’s fracture wasn’t too serious. At least he could walk on his heel using the brace.

But Zou Meizhu still asked Old Wu for a week off, wanting Qi Yang to rest his foot at home until it was mostly better before seeing if he could go back to school.

Mu Yicong was dealt with by Old Wu. Qi Yang followed Zou Meizhu straight home. Just as he got into the taxi, his phone rang. It was Liu Dameng.

“Where are you playing, Yangzi?” Liu Dameng bellowed. “Military training is over! Cui’er and I are coming to find you!”

“Playing my ass,” Qi Yang wiggled his toes inside the brace. “Fractured my foot. I’m home for a week.”

“Fractured? Where?” Liu Dameng was stunned. “Did you go out and fight someone?”

“No.” Qi Yang was tired of hearing that question. “Right foot. Got pinched by a door. I can walk, it’s not serious.”

“You’re something else,” Liu Dameng said. “Alright, I’ll come by your place to see you.”

“Get lost. Don’t bother me.” Qi Yang hung up.

He barely got through everyone’s nagging that night. When Qi Dahai came home and saw Qi Yang’s foot, he glared.

“What happened, son? Did someone beat you up?” He rolled up his sleeves as if to make a call. “Who? Tell Dad.”

Qi Yang was sprawled on the sofa watching TV, not wanting to say a word. He just scooped up Qi Xing, who was crawling around his feet.

“Oh, he didn’t fight.” Zou Meizhu came out with a pork rib soup to explain. “Yangyang went to a classmate’s house and got his foot pinched in the door.”

Qi Dahai went “Huh?” and looked grimly at Qi Yang’s foot. “It’s fine, as long as it’s not serious.”

“But that homeroom teacher of theirs… sending Yangyang to see some classmate.”

Zou Meizhu rambled on by herself for a while. When no one answered, she blinked and looked at Qi Dahai’s face.

“Why have you been so irritable lately?” she asked softly. “Is business not going well?”

Qi Yang turned to look.

He hadn’t noticed it before Zou Meizhu mentioned it, but Qi Dahai had been different lately. He didn’t say much at home, and whenever he had a spare moment, he was on his phone texting and calling.

Usually, if Qi Yang got into a fight and had a scratch or two, Qi Dahai would brush it off. His reaction today was indeed a bit unusual.

“It’s nothing serious.” Qi Dahai forced a smile, stood up, and put his arm around Zou Meizhu, rubbing her back soothingly. “It’ll be resolved soon.”

Qi Yang lay around at home for a week. By the second week, he couldn’t take it anymore.

When Zou Meizhu heard he wanted to go back to school, she started fussing the night before, insisting that Qi Dahai should drive their son to and from school from now on.

“No need.” Qi Yang spun his phone in his hand. “I’ve got someone to take care of me.”

Mu Yicong was wiping his hair when he came out of the bathroom. His phone rang.

He went over, picked it up, looked at the number on the screen for a moment, then pressed answer. “Mom.”

The questions from the other end were the same as usual. After a bit of perfunctory concern for Mu Yicong, she started her instructions again. “Dad and I are too busy to take care of you in person. You have to keep a low profile at school. Don’t reveal your father’s position. Don’t cause any trouble for the family, you understand? Your father is at a critical stage these next few years…”

Mu Yicong put the phone on speaker and set it down on the table. He continued drying his hair in front of the mirror, answering with a wooden “Mmm.”

The call ended. Mu Yicong stood still in front of the mirror for a moment, looking at his own reflection.

Just as his hair was almost dry, he drooped his eyelids and let out a heavy breath. He was about to throw the towel into the washing machine when another call came in.

Mu Yicong picked up again, but it was Qi Yang’s voice.

“I sent you a message, and you’re pretending not to see it?” Qi Yang’s tone was accusatory.

Mu Yicong lowered the phone to look. Qi Yang had indeed sent him a text message, just when he was on the phone.

The message was as arrogant and self-righteous as ever: Pick me up for school tomorrow.

He stared at the message for a few seconds before putting the receiver back to his ear. “What time?”

Qi Yang hadn’t expected Mu Yicong to agree so readily.

He propped himself up against the headboard, rotated his fractured right foot, resting it on his bent left knee.

“Six o’clock.” He deliberately reported a time half an hour earlier than usual for leaving the house, giving Mu Yicong the name of his own neighborhood and which gate. “Buy me breakfast. I want soy milk.”

Mu Yicong didn’t say a word. The phone went dead with a “beep.”

Qi Yang just wanted to annoy Mu Yicong. If the roles were reversed, and Mu Yicong called him with this kind of request, he definitely wouldn’t bother.

So when he woke up the next morning, he had completely forgotten about it.

After washing up at 6:30, Zou Meizhu called out sleepily from the bedroom, “Yangyang, are you sure you don’t need your dad to drive you?”

“Quit fussing over a boy,” Qi Dahai grumbled sleepily, rolling over. “I went out to fight with a broken leg when I was his age.”

“No need.” Qi Yang slung his backpack over his shoulder, tested his right foot on the ground a few times, then closed the door and went downstairs.

When he reached the gate of the complex, he saw Mu Yicong standing by the roadside holding a bag of soy milk. He remembered the phone call from yesterday.

“You actually came?” Qi Yang walked over, giving Mu Yicong a once-over, and silently cursed him for being brainless.

Mu Yicong looked at Qi Yang, said nothing, and tossed him the breakfast.

Qi Yang caught it. The soy milk was already lukewarm.

“You got here at 6?” He raised an eyebrow at Mu Yicong again.

Mu Yicong looked like he couldn’t be bothered to say a single word to him. He hailed a taxi and got in himself.

“Help me out,” Qi Yang deliberately stood by the door, not moving.

Mu Yicong turned his face to look at him, then raised his arm as if to close the door.

“Still got a temper on you.” Qi Yang felt satisfied seeing Mu Yicong angry. He pushed Mu Yicong’s hand away and slowly climbed into the car.

From leaving the house to entering the school, everything went relatively smoothly, except for the frequent glances from the surrounding students, which made Qi Yang a bit uncomfortable.

It wasn’t until they entered the teaching building.

Class 17 was on the third floor. Qi Yang could walk, but he deliberately stopped in front of the stairs.

“Hey.” He called out to Mu Yicong, who was walking ahead of him. “Carry my backpack for me.”

Mu Yicong turned his head to look at him. “Did you break your arm too?”

“I’m walking on my heel. I can’t use my strength properly.” Qi Yang was bullshitting. “Hurry up.”

Before Mu Yicong could say anything else, Ren Wei’s enthusiastic voice came from behind. “Qi Yang, you’re back for class?”

Then the weight on his shoulder lifted. His backpack had been taken off.

“I’ll carry it for you.” Ren Wei pushed up his glasses and smiled at him amiably. “Is your foot any better? Do you need me to help you walk?”

Why was there someone volunteering for work?

For a moment, Qi Yang didn’t know how to deal with this friendliness. He pushed away Ren Wei’s outstretched arm and took his backpack back. “No need.”

Mu Yicong glanced at them, then directly went upstairs.

“Oh, right, Mu Yicong!” Ren Wei immediately followed.

Mu Yicong stopped and looked at him.

Ren Wei walked alongside Mu Yicong, saying as he went, “About that last math problem from yesterday…”

Qi Yang watched their receding figures walking side by side. A strong, inexplicable feeling of displeasure suddenly surged from the bottom of his heart.

Is this the attitude for taking care of a sick classmate?

“Mu Yicong,” he called out from where he stood.

Mu Yicong loftily turned around. “What else is broken?”

“I can’t walk anymore.” Qi Yang lifted his chin towards him. “Carry me up.”