The three of them walked from the school gate to the first grade school building and headed towards Class Seven.

They were all soaked in rain, especially Lin Shiyu, who looked the most disheveled. He had been holding the umbrella for Gao Jie and his coat was soaked through, short hair sticking to his forehead and neck, his complexion very unpleasant.

On the way, Mao Silu asked Lin Shiyu what had happened, but Lin Shiyu remained silent, walking forward alone with a gloomy expression.

When they were about to reach the door of Class Seven, Ruan Zhikai finally couldn’t bear it and stopped Lin Shiyu.

The three of them stopped and stood facing each other like a standoff in the empty corridor.

“Brother Gao was fine, why did he suddenly fall?” Ruan Zhikai stared at Lin Shiyu. “What did you see?”

Lin Shiyu took a deep breath. His clothes were a bit messy, due to having been pulled out when dealing with that lunatic, and there was a shoe print on his pants from being kicked by that person.

Ruan Zhikai looked at these marks left behind as if from a fight, his face growing colder. “Did you argue with him?”

Lin Shiyu said, “No. I argued with someone else.”

“And then?”

“Gao Jie was nearby.” Lin Shiyu said this with difficulty, admitting with his head down. “I pushed him.”

Mao Silu: “Shiyu…”

“Lin Shiyu, don’t you fucking care who you vent your anger on? Don’t you know Lao Gao has poor eyesight?” Ruan Zhikai finally found an outlet for his pent-up anger and raised his voice. “Others can fall and be fine, but if he falls, he might lose his sight! What the hell is wrong with you? Can’t you control yourself, even with your own people? Do you just love fighting?!”

Mao Silu pulled Ruan Zhikai, anxiously saying, “Kai Kai, don’t shout, Shiyu didn’t mean it!”

“Is it okay if he didn’t mean it? He’s not a child, but he doesn’t even have this bit of sense. What’s the point of him coming to school? Just to cause trouble for people?!”

“Why are you saying this to Shiyu!”

“Did I say something wrong? If Brother Gao really can’t see because of him, do you think he can bear that responsibility? He wouldn’t be able to bear it for the rest of his life!”

Mao Silu couldn’t say anything.

Lin Shiyu never uttered a word of rebuttal from start to finish, nor did he get angry. He just stood there and let Ruan Zhikai vent his rage at him. He felt that Ruan Zhikai was right. If Gao Jie really lost his sight because of him, he would never be able to forgive himself for the rest of his life.

There was the drizzling sound of rain outside the corridor and dark clouds stretching across the sky. The wind blew the rain in diagonal threads, and drops of water fell on Lin Shiyu’s face.

No, there should be a way. Lin Shiyu’s thoughts wandered inappropriately in a strange direction, and he began to think seriously. Can’t corneas be donated? If the worst happens, he can give his corneas to Gao Jie, so that Gao Jie can see again.

Thinking of this, Lin Shiyu inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

Ruan Zhikai’s voice echoed into the Class Seven classroom, and the people in the class looked towards the corridor, watching the three of them.

Shen Ziyi raised her head from her sketchbook, seeing Ruan Zhikai angry to the point of turning red, and Lin Shiyu standing alone in silence, unable to see his expression.

Shen Ziyi’s heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly stood up and walked out of the classroom. She heard Ruan Zhikai talking about Lin Shiyu pushing Gao Jie, and Gao Jie falling to the ground, unable to see? Yes, Gao Jie’s eyesight was indeed not very good. Why did Lin Shiyu push Gao Jie? Was it because he had been in a bad mood these days, so he quarreled with Gao Jie?

Shen Ziyi thought about these questions in confusion, but before she could come up with an answer, she heard Ruan Zhikai shout, “Every day, you are either fighting or getting angry. Are we just here to be your punching bags? What’s the use of being good to you? Have you ever treated anyone as a friend?!”

“Why are you arguing?”

A calm, cold voice came from behind them, abruptly pausing the tense atmosphere. Everyone turned their heads to see Zhong Qi carrying his backpack and holding a dripping umbrella, standing in front of them.

Zhong Qi arrived a bit late today. It wasn’t good weather for biking in the rain, so he had to take the subway and then transfer to a bus. Biking could take shortcuts through alleys, but the bus couldn’t.

Little did he know that when he slowly swayed up the stairs, he would see this group of people standing at the door of his classroom, arguing. Their argument had attracted the attention of the neighboring class.

Zhong Qi’s gaze fell on Lin Shiyu. His shoulders and sleeves were all soaked by the rain, his hair dripping wet and soft, and his back looked lonely and despondent.

Zhong Qi walked up to Lin Shiyu, noticing the traces of rain on his face and the tightly pressed white lips.

Tao Chen had also come out of the classroom at some point, frowning. “Ruan Zhikai, stop scolding Shiyu for now. Shiyu, be more careful in the future. Don’t always lose your temper. it’s okay to do so to others, but for friends, try to–”

Zhong Qi suddenly spoke up. “Ruan Zhikai, why are you scolding him?”

Everyone was stunned, looking at Zhong Qi. Zhong Qi remained indifferent, but his pitch-black eyes were fixed on Ruan Zhikai, with a hint of coldness.

The atmosphere seemed to once again walk on a tightrope. Lin Shiyu finally spoke up. “It’s nothing.”

His voice was very low and sounded somewhat tired. “It’s because I got Gao Jie into the hospital. Ruan Zhikai is right, it’s my fault.”

He wiped away the rainwater trickling down his neck with his hand, saying, “I’ll go ask Old Li to excuse Gao Jie, you guys go in, it’s almost time for class.”

After saying that, he turned around and walked away with his umbrella.

Lin Shiyu went to the office to find Li Zhong and explained the situation. After listening, Li Zhong gestured for him to wait at the side while he made a phone call by the window.

Fifteen minutes later, Li Zhong hung up the phone and walked over, putting on his coat hanging on the back of the chair. “I’m going to the hospital to take a look. You go back to class first.”

Then he glanced at Lin Shiyu and said, “Don’t think too much, just focus on your studies.”

Lin Shiyu nodded, and Li Zhong didn’t say much more to him. He hastily picked up his phone and wallet and left.

Lin Shiyu returned to the classroom. The bell for class had already rung, and there was hardly anyone talking in the classroom. When Lin Shiyu entered, the whole classroom became even quieter. Even so, Lin Shiyu didn’t react at all, just walked to his seat alone. Mao Silu stood up to give him space, and Lin Shiyu sat down, taking out his textbook from his backpack and placing it on the desk.

Mao Silu fidgeted in his seat, unable to resist saying to Lin Shiyu, “Shiyu, when Kaikai gets angry, he just blurts out whatever comes to mind, don’t take it to heart.”

Lin Shiyu looked calm. “It’s nothing.”

“Then, about Gao Jie…” Mao Silu asked very carefully and gently, “Did you really push him?”

Lin Shiyu put his backpack in the drawer, lowered his gaze to his hands on the desk. The rain that had seeped into his back and chest, along his hair and collar made him feel cold all over.

“Yeah.” Lin Shiyu nodded.

A simple word plunged the two into silence.

Lin Shiyu remembered when Li Zhong stood at the entrance of his neighborhood, and the warm evening sun. Li Zhong told him that fighting not only wouldn’t solve any problems but would also leave behind endless troubles.

Lin Shiyu finally understood that these troubles were the delayed retribution of punishing his stupidity and inflexibility. The reactive responses formed in violence ultimately couldn’t protect anyone, but instead became weapons harming the innocent.

‘They’re huddling together for warmth, and you’re the only one sticking out like a sore thumb, making them all scream and shout. If they don’t reject you, who will?’ Lin Shiyu thought to himself.

Biology is rubbish. Lin Shiyu thought.

When Li Zhong arrived at the hospital, Gao Jie’s mother was waiting for him at the staircase. She waved and greeted him. “Teacher Li, hello, hello.”

Li Zhong went upstairs with her and sat down on a bench. “How’s Gao Jie doing?”

“He’s been queuing up all this time, just went in for an eye check.”

“Is his condition serious?”

“Oh, it’s not that serious, just a bit of retinal detachment. He’s preparing for surgery.”

“He needs surgery?”

“Yeah, you see, Gao Jie’s eyesight hasn’t been great since he was born. During his first break in high school, retinal detachment occurred. When he went to the hospital earlier this year, the detachment worsened, so we made an appointment for him to have surgery with a doctor. We originally planned to do it during the winter vacation, but the doctor had something come up at the last minute, so it was postponed for a while. Teacher Li, don’t worry too much, this surgery was supposed to be done a long time ago. If it’s not done today, it’ll be done in a few days.”

Li Zhong breathed a sigh of relief. “Will his vision recover after the surgery?”

“As long as he doesn’t do anything stupid and takes good care of himself, the doctor said there shouldn’t be any problem with normal life and study.”

“I heard he fell because of a stumble.”

“Oh! Speaking of this, I wanted to mention it. Gao Jie just told me about it, saying that this morning on the way to school, he encountered a lunatic who bumped into him and cursed at him, but then a friend of his, who was even more angry than him, bravely stood up for him and scared the person away. Teacher Li, when you go back, you must praise this student, he’s warm-hearted and courageous, a good kid.”

Li Zhong paused for a moment and asked, “Did Gao Jie tell you this?”

“Yes, he laughed when he said it. He was a bit dizzy and lightheaded at first, but then he gestured to me while talking about it, that silly kid.”

Li Zhong remembered that Lin Shiyu hadn’t described it in such detail when he told him about this incident.

“Okay, I got it. Then let Gao Jie rest well after the surgery, and focus on recovering his eyes first. I’ll figure out a way to get other teachers and classmates to help him catch up on his schoolwork.”

“Alright, thank you so much, Teacher Li.”

Li Zhong and Gao Jie’s mother chatted for a few more minutes before they hurried back to school for classes. They left the hospital before Gao Jie finished his eye examination.

 

Edited by: Jaisland

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