Chapter 28 Part 2

Kong Shadi finally smiled, tapping her little head, "You've finally caught on! I know a place that's really good. We'll go after the exam..."

"Shadi, I think I really like him."

"Yeah, I like that idiot too."

The two girls exchanged a smile, understanding each other's thoughts, their eyes full of sweetness, then looked away.

Joy gives way to sorrow.

"Hey—student over there, watch out."

A basketball suddenly flew straight towards Ding Xian, catching her off guard.

In such an emergency, the more panicked you are, the more likely you are to make mistakes, and she even took a step forward.

"Bang—" With a loud thud, the basketball hit Ding Xian directly in the eye, then bounced off onto Kong Shadi. The two girls were instantly pushed hard to the ground by the ball's force.

"Ah!"

"Ouch!"

Two sounds of falling to the ground almost simultaneously.

The Class Three girls who were gathered nearby, chatting gossip, all rushed over simultaneously, asking with concern, "Are you two okay?"

Ding Xian saw stars, dazedly opening her eyes to see a circle of heads around her, making her even dizzier.

Zhou Siyue dropped the ball in his hand and ran over, pushing through the crowd. Seeing Ding Xian clutching her eye, he grabbed her arm and pulled her up, "Hit your eye? Get up, let me see."

Ding Xian took a breath: "It hurts, don't pull."

A boy from another class ran over from behind, bowing and apologizing to Ding Xian, "I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Are you okay, classmate?"

Another male voice interjected, "Do you want me to take you to the infirmary to get it checked?"

The voice sounded a bit familiar.

Ding Xian peered with her other eye and saw that it was actually Xia Sihan. While wincing in pain, she waved her hand, saying it was fine.

"No need, I'll take her. Class is almost over, you go back to assemble first."

Zhou Siyue refused directly.

Xia Sihan nodded blankly, "Oh, oh, you really don't need me to go?"

Zhou Siyue gave a cool "Mm," and dragged Ding Xian out of the crowd. Ding Xian looked back for Kong Shadi. The girl was lying on the ground, wincing in pain, and waved her hand at her: "I'm fine, you go first. My butt just hurts a bit from sitting down."

Song Ziqi went over and pulled her up, "Get up, I'll go with you too."

Kong Shadi: "My butt hurts, I can't stand up."

Song Ziqi looked at her, disdainfully uttering the words "what a hassle," then scooped her up from the ground horizontally.

Everyone stared in astonishment.

The girls from Class Eight all exclaimed that the boys from Class Three were too manly, casting somewhat disdainful glances at the boys in their own class.

On the way to the infirmary.

Song Ziqi walked ahead, carrying Kong Shadi. Kong Shadi was held in his arms, her face shy, occasionally secretly sending her a triumphant smile.

Ding Xian, meanwhile, was dragged along behind by Zhou Siyue, her face full of resentment.

Winter day.

The air was filled with soft air and light, including the young man in front of her, pulling her arm, who was oblivious to romance. His side profile also became inexplicably gentle.

She suddenly wished time would slow down.

Such a time, longer, much longer, preferably extending to the end of time.

"Are you a pig? Catching the ball with your head?"

The young man's voice was like a bolt of lightning, instantly bringing her back to reality—

'Never mind, let time speed up instead.'

The infirmary doctor gave her a referral. Her eye was bleeding slightly, and she needed to go to the hospital for an X-ray to determine if her retina was damaged.

By the time she came out after her X-ray, it was already dark. Zhou Siyue was sitting on a long bench in the outpatient clinic, probably genuinely tired recently. He was resting with his eyes closed. Their backpacks were placed beside him, stacked together, providing an inexplicable sense of security. One of his legs was stretched out straight, while the other was slightly bent, hooked under the bench.

She knew he had been staying up late recently, preparing for the Beijing Municipal Mathematics League after the midterm exams. Yang Weitao had once said in class that the league was just a test run; it was hard for a first-year high school student to win an award, and they could only go to "test the waters" first. But he was full of confidence in Zhou Siyue, hoping he could win first place in the province, enter the Provincial Team, participate in the International Mathematical Olympiad, and enter the National Team. This was Yang Weitao's goal for Zhou Siyue, and also the expectation of the entire mathematics group for him.

What he bore was far beyond what they saw.

Song Ziqi said he had been going to bed at 3 AM and waking up at 6 AM recently, doing practice papers until he only slept three hours a day. No one had the right to say he wasn't working hard.

Ding Xian walked over, trying not to touch him. As soon as she sat down, he woke up, opening his eyes, his voice hoarse: "Done?"

"You should sleep a bit more. We still have to wait half an hour for the results."

She said softly, afraid of disturbing him.

Zhou Siyue rubbed his neck, then leaned back again, stretching his cervical spine. His hand still rested on his neck as he tilted his head to look at her, smiling: "You got hit in the eye, why are you talking so gently?"

Ding Xian wanted to roll her eyes, but suddenly remembered that rolling her bloodshot eye might look a bit terrifying.

"Zhou Siyue, don't copy notes for me anymore."

Seeing the young man's face turn slightly pale, Ding Xian immediately explained, "I'm afraid of delaying your competition. Really, after the exam, I'll ask my mom to take me to get glasses. Please don't get distracted by my affairs anymore."

The hospital corridor was filled with a strong, pungent smell of antiseptic. The lighting was dim, and the cold, mechanical call numbers occasionally rang out.

In this noisy environment, Zhou Siyue looked at her with a profound gaze for a long time, then faintly withdrew his eyes, lazily uttering one word: "Understood."

Ding Xian hesitated for a while, one hand still covering her bleeding eye, the other clenching into a fist, making a 'jiayou' (cheering) gesture, she said to him: "And, good luck with the competition."

The sight was quite comical.

Zhou Siyue crossed his arms over his chest, amused by her. He chuckled softly, lowering his head, but still responded gently.

"Okay."