Chapter 21: Lingjiang No. 1 High School

Chapter 21: Lingjiang No. 1 High School

Not only that.

She also thoughtfully brought him some food.

...

Fang Ye pressed his finger on the screen and replied, “Found it.” Feeling her gaze, he casually turned his head to meet her eyes.

“What are you looking at? Eat properly.”

Bai Li quickly lowered her head.

Her eyes suddenly felt dry and itchy again.

She truly had no intention of crying; it was just that her eyes were unwell, and she couldn’t help but press her eyelids with her hands.

When Fang Ye turned his head again, he noticed Bai Li’s unusual behavior.

He stared for a moment, then suddenly reached out and gently removed her large sunglasses. What met his eyes was a patch of redness in the girl’s eyes, an abnormal sign of illness.

Moreover, her hands, which hadn’t been disinfected, were still rubbing them vigorously.

Seeing this, Fang Ye directly grasped her wrist, moving her hand away from her eyes. “How did this happen? Stop rubbing. Let me take a look.”

Bai Li’s eyes itched terribly, and she wanted to rub them again.

But her hands were completely restrained.

She didn’t have Fang Ye’s strength, so she could only obediently endure the discomfort and explained, “It’s probably inflammation from overusing my eyes. It’s nothing serious; it will get better in a couple of days.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Ye released her hand. “Don’t rub them. Eat first. I’ll take you to the hospital later.”

“No, no need to go to the hospital. I’ll just put in a couple of drops of eye drops later,” Bai Li insisted firmly.

She studied very hard at school, so these symptoms of dry and itchy eyes often occurred. It really wasn’t a big problem and would clear up in a few days.

Besides, since Fang Ye had suddenly come back, he surely had other business waiting for him. Bai Li couldn’t possibly make him drop everything to accompany her to the hospital for such a trivial issue.

Seeing her genuine resistance, Fang Ye didn’t force her.

He leisurely opened a box of carrots, placed it in front of Bai Li, and gently said, “Eat more carrots.”

Bai Li was not picky and ate whatever was offered. After a few bites, she belatedly asked, “Are carrots really good for the eyes?”

Fang Ye leaned back in his chair, his eyes calm, a barely noticeable smile playing on his lips. “Don’t rabbits love carrots?”

Bai Li: “......”

Was he joking about her?

Probably, right?

Bai Li widened her eyes in disbelief. Her usually gentle and considerate brother actually had this side too.

Fang Ye stopped teasing her, took out three hundred yuan from his wallet, handed it to Bai Li, and reminded her, “If it really hurts, don’t hold back. Take a taxi to the hospital.”

This time,

Bai Li refused to accept his money no matter what.

When Fang Ye went to wash his hands, she secretly slipped the three hundred yuan back into his wallet.

She originally wanted to return the one thousand yuan from last time as well.

But it was too thick; it would be noticed. Fang Ye would definitely take it out and give it back to her.

Better not.

During the meal,

Bai Li stared at Fang Ye without blinking. After he left with his phone and wallet without noticing, she finally exhaled in relief.

Good thing he didn’t notice.

At the same time, she found it amusing.

Why did money, something loved by everyone, become like something dirty in their hands, pushed back and forth between each other?

Lingjiang’s rainy season had been silent for half a month. After the blazing sun had its turn, gloomy rain began to drizzle again.

In the following days, Bai Li’s eyes slowly improved. Fang Ye, as always, asked about her meals, occasionally inquiring more about her eyes.

While Bai Li painted at home, she couldn’t help but wonder what Fang Ye was doing outside.

In her memory,

She seemed to have no impression of Fang Ye working anywhere.

One gloomy day in late July,

While watering the roses, she noticed that the buds of both jasmine and roses had bloomed.

A faint fragrance lingered in the air.

She smiled but suddenly felt something was off.

Taking out her phone, she realized Fang Ye hadn’t sent her any messages that day.

Their way of keeping in touch was an unspoken check-in.

Once it stopped, worry began.

This continued until evening, and she still hadn’t received any messages from Fang Ye. Even when she sent several messages to him, there was no reply.

This was very unusual.

Bai Li sat restlessly for a while and thought of the tavern where they often gathered.

She decided to go check.

As his sister, she felt she should see him to make sure he was safe.

With that thought,

She slung on her freshly cleaned white bag and hurried out.

The winding alleys had many wind tunnels, easily creating gusts. Standing in the shade of the trees on either side felt much cooler than indoors without air conditioning.

Arriving at the street where the tavern was located, she noticed another anomaly.

The tavern was closed today.

A small sign reading “Closed for Rest” hung on the wooden door.

Standing there in the gloomy July weather, she was dumbfounded—what a coincidence.

Peering through the glass window, she saw a waiter hadn’t left yet. Since it concerned Fang Ye, she mustered courage and gently tapped on the glass.

The waiter, looking up from his phone, gave her an understanding look before getting up and opening the door.

“Aren’t you Ye Ge’s sister? Here to hang out today?”

Bai Li shook her head politely and inquired, “Hello, I wanted to ask if you know where my brother went?”

The waiter thought for a moment.

“Ye Ge came for a while today. I heard from Chengzi and the others that he might have gone to school.”

School?

Bai Li suddenly remembered that Fang Ye was just a recent high school graduate, but why would he go back to school after graduating?

She didn’t understand.

But she asked for the school’s address. It wasn’t far from the tavern, just a couple of streets away.

Since the waiter was about to finish his shift, he offered to take her there.

Being a girl from another province with gentle features, everyone couldn’t help but want to treat her kindly.

Bai Li wasn’t used to such kindness and hesitated a long while before softly saying thanks.

The signs were truly strange. After moving to a new place, suddenly everyone was showing her goodwill.

Along the way,

She heard the waiter tell many stories about Fang Ye.

This tavern was a place Fang Ye often came to after school. Back then, many girls chased him to the tavern just to spend a little more time with him.

There were even bold events like love letters and confessions happening there.

But as summer vacation began, things gradually quieted down.

Bai Li could easily imagine the scene.

Fang Ye was indeed handsome, even more so than the school heartthrob rated privately at her school. He carried a cold, wild aura that easily captured everyone’s attention.

For innocent students, he was undoubtedly a fatal attraction.

The dark night sky twinkled with dazzling stars.

Bai Li couldn’t help but wonder.

If she went to the same school as Fang Ye and wasn’t his sister... would she have liked him too?

Although she wouldn’t be as bold and passionate as going to the tavern,

she would definitely secretly watch him from a corner at school.

...

A cold breeze awakened Bai Li.

She could hardly believe the silly daydreams she had been indulging in.

Suppressing the pounding of her heart, she quickened her pace to hide her unease.

Finally, she arrived at the gates of Lingjiang No. 1 High School.

The waiter suddenly said, “This is the best school in all of Lingjiang. Fang Ye used to study here.”

(End of chapter)