For several consecutive days, Jiang Yuan had been avoiding Chi Xu. She would leave early for class in the morning and return to the apartment slowly in the evening, waiting until the school was almost under curfew.
Messages from Chi Xu kept popping up in the WeChat chat box.
[forikyy: Yuanyuan, won't you come back for lunch again today?]
[forikyy: I haven't seen you for the past three days.]
[forikyy: Jiaojiao has been protesting. It hasn't seen you for a long time.]
[forikyy: A 10 - second voice message.]
Jiang Yuan clicked on it and heard Jiaojiao's soft meows. Her heart melted like a pool of water.
She really didn't want to see Chi Xu these days. When she got back, she would stay in her own room and even wash up there. No matter how much Chi Xu "coerced and lured" her to come out, she just pretended not to hear and refused.
Chi Xu was at a loss with her. As a result, she even neglected Jiaojiao.
"Yuanyuan, this won't work. You can't avoid Chi Xu for the rest of your life," Lin Suye said. She didn't know that they were roommates; she only knew that Jiang Yuan had been avoiding Chi Xu in class recently.
After finishing their meal, Lin Suye put down her chopsticks, propped her head up, and racked her brains to come up with ideas for her friend.
Jiang Yuan also finished eating. She took off her Bluetooth earphones, put them away, and went to throw out the trash with Lin Suye before preparing to go back to the dormitory for a lunch break.
Most of her daily necessities were in the apartment, so she couldn't make do in the dormitory.
They had lunch on the third floor of the canteen. It had just rained, and the outdoor staircase was wet and slippery. Jiang Yuan and Lin Suye walked downstairs carefully.
"Let me avoid him for now. It's so embarrassing," Jiang Yuan said.
How could a person be so unlucky to make a fool of herself in front of the same person three or five times? It was a doomed bad relationship.
Jiang Yuan was seething with anger in her heart. Yes, it was all Chi Xu's fault that she had been so unlucky.
As if on cue, when she was looking down at the ground, she caught a glimpse of Chi Xu on the first floor out of the corner of her eye.
Chi Xu was standing at the bottom of the stairs on the first floor, holding an umbrella. He was tall and had delicate features. He caught her red - handed across the empty space.
Jiang Yuan's heart tightened. It felt as if someone had grabbed her throat, and she couldn't breathe. She grabbed the handrail and was about to turn around and leave from another exit when the two girls behind her didn't stop in time.
One of them stretched out her leg and kicked Jiang Yuan, who was walking downstairs.
Jiang Yuan let out a muffled groan in pain. She didn't hold the handrail tightly enough, and her body instantly lost balance. She slid all the way down the stairs.
Seeing that she was about to fall hard, Jiang Yuan instinctively reached out to grab something to steady herself, but in her panic, she only grabbed at thin air.
A thought flashed through her mind: Sure enough, every time she met Chi Xu, she would make a fool of herself.
The stairs were wet and slippery. Jiang Yuan slid from the middle of the second - floor stairs directly to the second - floor landing, with her right foot pressed under her buttocks.
Jiang Yuan gasped in pain, and her facial features were all scrunched up. It must be a fracture, she thought painfully.
The whole process happened very quickly, in just a few seconds.
Lin Suye didn't even have time to react. She stood there stupidly, staring at Jiang Yuan who had fallen on the second - floor landing.
"Jiang Yuan!" Chi Xu was the first to react. While everyone else was still in a daze, he threw his umbrella to the side and rushed up to the second floor in one stride. He came to Jiang Yuan's side.
He wanted to help her up, but he didn't know where she was injured. His outstretched hand trembled in the cold wind.
"Yuanyuan, how do you feel now?"
Jiang Yuan's eyes were brimming with tears from the pain, and her lips were bitten white. She pointed to the foot that was being pressed under her and said weakly, "It seems to be a fracture... It hurts so much."
Chi Xu finally reached out and gently stroked Jiang Yuan's head. He didn't dare to move her recklessly. "Yuanyuan, bear with it. I'll call 120 now."
Chi Xu smiled to comfort Jiang Yuan, but when he turned his head to take out his phone, his eyes were obviously red. He lowered his head and rummaged through his pocket in a hurry. He pressed his fingerprint on the phone several times, but it wouldn't unlock.
"Stupid phone, unlock quickly!" Chi Xu said impatiently as he pressed the phone repeatedly. Finally, the phone screen unlocked with a click. He quickly dialed 120 and explained the situation.
Lin Suye, who was standing on the second - floor stairs, finally came to her senses. She rushed over in a hurry and held the umbrella over Jiang Yuan's head.
The girl who had accidentally kicked Jiang Yuan also came to her senses. She was both scared and nervous as she walked up to Jiang Yuan, squatted down, and sobbed softly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
"What good does 'not meaning to' do? She's injured. It looks like a fracture for sure. What are you going to do about it?" Lin Suye said angrily. She felt sorry for her friend's misfortune and couldn't control her emotions for a moment.
"It's okay," Jiang Yuan said. She glanced at Lin Suye and shook her head slightly. Then she comforted the girl in a low voice. Her face was pale.
"I... I..." The girl stammered. No one wanted such an accident to happen. If Jiang Yuan hadn't fallen, it would have been her today.
"Don't worry, classmate. I will definitely compensate you for all the relevant expenses. If you have any requirements, please tell me. I will do my best," the girl said.
Jiang Yuan smiled weakly. She didn't have the strength to speak.
Chi Xu hung up the phone after calling 120. He looked up and saw a crowd of people surrounding Jiang Yuan, whispering to each other.
His eyebrows furrowed, and a surge of anger welled up in his heart. He roared at the onlookers, "Can you guys get out of the way? What are you looking at? Don't you know you're blocking the fresh air? If something else happens, can you take the responsibility?"
The students immediately fell silent. They glanced at Jiang Yuan and Chi Xu and then scattered, finally leaving some space.
The person in charge of the school canteen heard the commotion and rushed over to help.
Chi Xu whispered to comfort her, "Yuanyuan, it's okay. Even if it's a fracture, we'll take good care of it. I'll make you pork rib soup in different ways. You'll recover soon."
"Fortunately, our place has an elevator, so it's convenient to go up and down. From now on, just call me when you go to and from class. I'll help you."
"Look on the bright side. Maybe it's not a fracture. Jiaojiao hasn't played with you for a long time. If you're really hospitalized, it will be lonely."
"Aren't you there?" Jiang Yuan said with a helpless smile.
She saw Lin Suye's sad expression gradually turn into shock. Her eyes widened, and she pointed at Chi Xu and then at herself, silently asking, "You live together?"
Jiang Yuan nodded.
"What? When did you start living together? How come I don't know anything about it, Jiang Yuan!" Lin Suye was extremely shocked and almost jumped up.
Knowing that there were many people around and it was not convenient to shout, she held back and expressed her shock with her expression, silently asking.
"From the beginning," Jiang Yuan replied.