Chapter 65: Pitiful — Jiang Yan watched helplessly as his Ge was held by another man…
During the two days Jiang Yunian rested at home, Lu Yuanbai visited every single time. He brought light, palatable food in different varieties, fearing that Jiang Yunian’s foot injury would make things inconvenient. His care was so meticulous and thorough that it left Jiang Yunian feeling somewhat at a loss. Feeling guilty, Jiang Yunian insisted on cooking a meal himself once his foot was mostly healed, as a token of gratitude.
At the dinner table, Jiang Yunian mentioned returning to school. Lu Yuanbai put down his chopsticks, his brow furrowing slightly, thinking he was rushing things. Jiang Yunian shook his head, stubborn; he had missed half a month of coursework and couldn’t afford to waste any more time. Looking at his lowered eyelashes, Lu Yuanbai knew he had always valued his studies and cared about his scholarship. He didn’t try to stop him further, only gently instructing him not to tire himself out and to contact him anytime if he needed anything.
He said it was to catch up on schoolwork, but only Jiang Yunian knew the truth: it was mostly because he could no longer face this space filled with memories alone. Every corner of the house bore the traces of another person, often leaving him in a trance. Those images he tried so desperately to suppress would always surge out at untimely moments, churning his mind into unrest. He felt he couldn’t go on like this; he had to find something to distract himself.
On the day he returned to school, he woke up very early. He organized his books carefully, put on a clean shirt, and adjusted his expression in the mirror, trying to make himself look a bit calmer. He declined Lu Yuanbai’s offer to pick him up, saying he could manage.
This day was no different from any other ordinary day. The classroom was filled with familiar faces, the smell of chalk dust mixing with the heater.
During the break.
Hao Meng nudged his arm, reminding him that He Qing had posted photos in the group chat and telling him to take a look. They were photos from the previous Yun Mountain study tour. He had indeed missed a lot during this period and needed to pick things up bit by bit.
Jiang Yunian gave a hum of acknowledgment, took out his phone, and slowly scrolled up through the pile of messages in the group. Vibrant photos jumped out one by one—endless red maple leaves, continuous mountain ranges hidden in clouds and mist, and funny group photos of companions, their faces brimming with youthful smiles. His finger swiped past them one by one, until a group photo abruptly intruded into his vision, and his movement stopped suddenly.
In the photo, he and Jiang Yan stood side by side, the background a mountain covered in maple red. Both were smiling slightly, their eyes sparkling. The happiness visible to the naked eye almost overflowed from the screen. The Jiang Yan of that time was unrealistically wonderful. And the self of that time probably felt he possessed the whole world. Looking at it now, things had changed and people were different; he couldn’t feel much of the past happiness.
His finger hovered over the save button, paused for a few seconds, but ultimately didn’t press it. He silently turned off his phone.
When the noon dismissal bell rang, Hao Meng called out to him while packing her bag: “You’ve been spacing out for half an hour. Lost your soul?”
Jiang Yunian shook his head and didn’t make a sound.
“Alright, stop thinking about it. Heaven is big, earth is big, but eating is the biggest!” Hao Meng pulled him. “Go, go, go, let’s go to the cafeteria.”
Just as Jiang Yunian was about to respond, he glimpsed a tall, slender figure standing silently by the back door of the classroom out of the corner of his eye. The person stood in a clever spot, half-hidden in the shadows, seemingly not wanting to be discovered.
“Jiang Yan?” Hao Meng had sharp eyes and saw him almost instantly. She wasn’t clear on what exactly had happened between the two, only knowing that during Jiang Yunian’s illness, it was Jiang Yan who had been contacting her. She guessed the little couple was having a spat.
Named, Jiang Yan had to step out from behind the door a little, but he stopped not far from the entrance, separated from them by most of the classroom. Jiang Yunian didn’t look back, but his back tensed involuntarily; he could clearly feel that gaze landing on him.
Not seeing him for a few days, Jiang Yan didn’t look much changed, only his face was paler, with faint dark circles under his eyes. He looked at his Ge’s stiff back, then nodded to Hao Meng as a greeting.
Hao Meng sensed the atmosphere was a bit subtle and probed, “Here to find your brother for lunch? You don’t mind adding me as a third wheel, right?”
Jiang Yan didn’t speak, his lips pressed into a straight line.
“No, I’m not hungry. You guys go.” This time, it was Jiang Yunian who spoke.
“Eh? I just heard your stomach growl…”
“I’m not hungry now.” Jiang Yunian interrupted her, lowering his eyes to tidy his desk.
Jiang Yan’s gaze remained glued to Jiang Yunian, seeing his subtle resistance and distance clearly. A trace of gloom flashed across the bottom of his eyes. His Adam’s apple rolled, and he whispered, “Eat a little, I have something to do… I’ll go first.”
After speaking, he took a deep look at Jiang Yunian, turned, and left, his retreating figure appearing somewhat hasty.
“What’s going on with you two?” Hao Meng leaned in, lowering her voice. “Quarreled?”
Jiang Yunian shook his head, stuffed the last book into his bag, and zipped it up. “Nothing, let’s eat.”
“Hey, didn’t you say you weren’t hungry just now?”
“Hungry now.”
“…”
The Cafeteria.
Jiang Yunian held his tray and found a corner to sit down. He pushed the food around with his chopsticks for a long time but didn’t eat more than a few bites.
Seeing him start again, Hao Meng couldn’t help but say, “What exactly is the matter, making you lose your appetite like this? Did someone kill or commit arson?”
Jiang Yunian still shook his head.
Thinking of Jiang Yan just now, Hao Meng leaned in and lowered her voice, “Did he… cheat?”
After a brief silence, Jiang Yunian picked up his chopsticks again and replied casually, “It’s nothing, I can handle it myself.”
Seeing he didn’t want to talk, Hao Meng had to let it drop. Jiang Yunian ate a few mouthfuls, really having no appetite, and put down his chopsticks after barely eating half.
Having just “recovered from a serious illness,” how could he ruin his body like this? Hao Meng persuaded him, “Eat a bit more. There’s no class this afternoon anyway. Didn’t the Senior say he’d come pick you up later? He hasn’t arrived yet.”
Only then did Jiang Yunian vaguely recall that Lu Yuanbai seemed to have mentioned something like that. He took out his phone and indeed saw two missed calls, both from Lu Yuanbai. “How did you know?”
“Because you kept spacing out. The Senior said he couldn’t get through to your phone.”
Alright, his phone was on silent; he hadn’t heard it.
Jiang Yunian sat for a while longer, ate two more bites at most, then got up to return the tray, taking hers along as well.
He carried the two trays, weaving through the crowded aisle. Surrounded by noisy human voices and the crisp clatter of colliding cutlery, his mind was a bit empty. He didn’t pay much attention to the movement around him, nor to the person who suddenly cut in from the side.
The other party seemed not to be watching the road either. The two crashed into each other unexpectedly. The tray in his hand flew out, crashing to the ground with a loud clang, splashing food all over him. Immediately after, a piercing, heart-drilling pain shot up from his left ankle—someone had stomped fiercely on his unhealed injury! In almost an instant, he fell to the ground, his vision going black from the pain, cold sweat popping out immediately.
And the person who bumped into him was none other than Zhang Hao, who harbored resentment against him because of the scholarship fraud incident.
The commotion here was loud, and the surroundings instantly quieted down, eyes gathering in unison. Zhang Hao put on a full show; he also fell to the ground, crying out several times, sounding as if he had been hit hard. Looking at Jiang Yunian, who was clutching his foot on the ground in unbearable pain, instead of apologizing, he launched a preemptive strike. “Jiang Yunian, do you walk without eyes? Did you do that on purpose?”
With gazes of varying intent cast upon them, Zhang Hao seemed to have found an outlet. Pointing at Jiang Yunian, he accused him to the onlookers: “Is it interesting to keep holding onto me for that little bit of broken business? Look at what you’ve done to my family! I gave up the scholarship, I admitted defeat! Suspension wasn’t enough? My aunt lost her job because of you, my family’s shop closed down, we still owe a buttload of debt, and my parents are almost driven to jump off a building. Is that not enough? Just for a few thousand yuan, must you drive me to death?”
As he spoke, he inadvertently revealed his palm, scraped during the fall just now, showing traces of blood, looking every bit the victim: “Yes, I did wrong in the beginning, and I’ve been punished. I just want to go to school quietly now, get a diploma, and go to work early to pay off the family debt. Is that wrong? Why won’t you let me go? Do you have to make me kneel and beg you?”
Whispers began to ripple through the surrounding crowd. Many recognized these two as the protagonists of the previous scholarship scandal. With Zhang Hao speaking through tears and the association that his family had indeed encountered misfortune, some began to look at Jiang Yunian with slightly condemning eyes. Others held skeptical attitudes, but most were bewildered, no one daring to intervene rashly.
Jiang Yunian was sweating cold from the pain, his lips pale. He wanted to defend himself, but between the severe pain and the sudden rush of grievance, his throat felt blocked, unable to utter a single word. He opened his mouth in vain, only able to emit weak gasps.
Seeing him like this, Zhang Hao felt even more triumphant internally, though his mouth remained relentless. “How much can a bump hurt? What are you pretending to be pitiful for? will you only be satisfied if I get on the hot search again? Fine, I’m scared of you. I bumped into you, okay? You be the bigger person and let me go, alright?”
Just as the situation was becoming almost one-sided and Jiang Yunian was unable to defend himself, two figures pushed through the crowd and rushed in almost simultaneously.
The first to notice was Jiang Yan. He walked straight through the narrow aisle without any nonsense, blatantly slamming into the still-chattering Zhang Hao. Zhang Hao was caught off guard and staggered, falling to the ground again, landing solidly on his butt this time.
Zhang Hao yelped, baring his teeth. Just as he was about to explode, he met a pair of sinister eyes. The ruthlessness surging in those eyes was undisguised, like looking at something dead, instantly forcing all his words back into his stomach, leaving only instinctive fear.
Jiang Yan didn’t disdain to stop for even a second more, quickly squatting down beside Jiang Yunian. “Where were you hit?”
“Since you hit someone, apologize.”
Lu Yuanbai’s voice followed closely. Seeing Jiang Yunian sitting on the ground with a pale face, his clothes stained with grease, his brows knitted immediately, losing his usual calm demeanor.
Seeing it was Lu Yuanbai, Zhang Hao’s sharp tongue instantly seized up. The instinctive fear of a superior dampened his arrogance by half. Lu Yuanbai turned his gaze to the surrounding crowd, his voice not loud but clearly reaching everyone’s ears: “The cafeteria has surveillance. Whether it’s true or false, we’ll know once we pull the footage.”
Zhang Hao’s face turned green then white. Under the gaze of more and more people, especially the double pressure from Lu Yuanbai and Jiang Yan, his last bit of bluster completely collapsed.
He glared resentfully at Jiang Yunian, the hatred in his eyes almost spurting out. Stiffening his neck, he threw down a hard sentence: “Fine, you’re all in a gang. I have nothing to say. Count me unlucky! I deserved it! I’m sorry, happy now?!”
He squeezed through the crowd, practically fleeing in defeat.
Once the crowd dispersed, Hao Meng, who realized something was wrong, arrived late. Seeing the person sitting on the ground with a pained look, she was startled: “Yunian! Why are you… what happened?”
She hurriedly stepped forward to check for injuries, but Lu Yuanbai and Jiang Yan were squatting on either side of Jiang Yunian; she couldn’t even fit a needle in.
This scene… why is it so weird?
Jiang Yan wanted to reach out and pick him up but was afraid of touching the injury. His hand hovered in mid-air, finally only daring to loosely support his Ge’s shoulder, the other hand holding his calf, suppressing the anxiety in his throat. “Ge, where does it hurt? Tell me.”
Lu Yuanbai said, “It should be a recurrence of the old injury. How does it feel? Can you move?”
Jiang Yunian’s thin body was surrounded by two tall men. Leaning one shoulder against Jiang Yan, one hand unconsciously propping on Lu Yuanbai’s arm, trembling all over. Waiting for a wave of intense pain to pass, he difficultly lifted his wet eyes, biting his lip and letting out an extremely light gasp.
“Hurts…”
His gaze bypassed Jiang Yan beside him and looked straight at Lu Yuanbai. The word he spat out fell clearly into Jiang Yan’s ears.
Watching his Ge look up and reveal that pitiful appearance to another man, Jiang Yan felt a sourness in his heart. But now was not the time to fuss about this. He said hoarsely, “I’ll take you to the hospital.”
Lu Yuanbai pressed down his hand, saying calmly, “The campus hospital is a bit far. Let’s send him to the infirmary for emergency treatment first, then see if a transfer is needed.”
He lowered his head and asked Jiang Yunian gently, “Can you stand up? Shall I carry you over?”
Jiang Yunian was dizzy from the pain. He hesitated, then nodded lightly.
Lu Yuanbai hesitated no longer. Carefully avoiding his injury, one arm went under his knees, the other around his back, and he steadily picked the person up horizontally. Jiang Yunian subconsciously reached out and grabbed the lapel of Lu Yuanbai’s chest, burying his face lower. From start to finish, he didn’t glance at the person beside him.
Holding Jiang Yunian, Lu Yuanbai nodded to Hao Meng and walked quickly outside. Jiang Yan watched helplessly as his Ge was held in the man’s arms, getting further and further away from him. His hands hanging by his sides clenched into fists, bit by bit.
Author’s Note: Someone’s heart is sour. [Pitiful]
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