Chapter 38
Proofreader: Akimi
They were preparing to walk towards the school building when they heard a voice behind them saying, “Brother this, your…”
Before Qiu Jing could finish his words, Shi Bufan suddenly spun around and kicked Qiu Jing. The latter didn’t expect that and stumbled, bawling in pain and running around, saying, “Sorry! I’m sorry!”
Shi Bufan grabbed the backpack and turned around as Ming Mai and Ye Lian both took steps back, saying, “Don’t, don’t scare our sister-in-law.”
Zhen Yuanbai walked over and reached over and Shi Bufan immediately understood. He delivered the backpack to Zhen Yuanbai and the latter carried it off without another word.
They dared to laugh at him. They deserved the beating.
Whenever Shi Bufan said he would beat someone up, he meant it. After Zhen Yuanbai put his backpack away, he walked to the sports field. The young boys’ eyes were red and Shi Bufan who was wearing the red scarf was staring coldly at them as they confessed their mistakes.
Zhen Yuanbai thought: either way, Shi Bufan was a delinquent. Even if he was wearing the red scarf, he was still one. He suddenly couldn’t help but laugh, but Shi Bufan had seen him, saying, “Come over.”
When Zhen Yuanbai walked over, Shi Bufan pointed at Ye Lian and said, “You come here. Apologize first.”
Zhen Yuanbai wanted to say nevermind, but after thinking of how badly ashamed he felt yesterday, he swallowed his words. In the end, he received three people’s bawling apologies, and his heart couldn’t help but soften as he said, “It’s in the past.”
Shi Bufan brought Zhen Yuanbai over and said, “Say: although I forgive you guys, you guys were indeed too excessive.”
“No, I don’t think that’s good.”
“Say it.”
Zhen Yuanbai took his time with the words as he said, “Although… I forgive you guys…you guys were indeed…too excessive.”
Shi Bufan told him, “You need to remember the things people have done to you. No matter how much they try to please or coax you, you need to let them know that it’s their fault because they hurt you first. Don’t mention just accepting their apology, but even if you don’t accept it and beat them up, they deserve it. Ok?”
Ye Lian said, “Hurt and whatnot…you’re being too serious. We…”
Shi Bufan glanced at him and Ye Lian swallowed his words.
Fine. They were a bit excessive yesterday. They even made Zhen Yuanbai cry.
Zhen Yuanbai nodded and Shi Bufan grabbed his fingers, saying, “Let’s go back to class.”
Walking out of the sports field, Zhen Yuanbai withdrew his hand because he was scared that someone else may see. He glanced at Shi Bufan again and the bright red scarf on his neck was like a ball of flame, warm but not scorching.
Zhen Yuanbai originally thought Shi Bufan would seem more “well-behaved” if he wore the red scarf, but that wasn’t the truth. That shade of red made Shi Bufan look more ostentatious and eye-catching….more handsome!
Zhen Yuanbai’s eyes brightened and he silently trained his gaze on Shi Bufan and watched him raise his eyebrows and then look down.
The school uniform was blue and white which made the red scarf around Shi Bufan’s neck very eye-catching. As they walked over, everyone saw. Even the director of the school, Mr. Liang Tu, snuck an extra glance at Shi Bufan as he walked past, murmuring questions.
Song Mo silently asked Zhen Yuanbai, “What is he doing?”
Zhen Yuanbai replied in a proper manner, “He was never a member of the Youth Pioneer Team, so he wanted to experience it.”
As he finished, he flipped through the book and secretly smiled. Then, he suddenly thought of Shi Bufan’s ID and he seemed quite well-behaved in the picture. He had a confident smile as well. Seeing that they weren’t in class yet, he couldn’t help but send Shi Bufan a message, asking, “Do you have a picture of yourself from the past?”
“That greedy?” Shi Bufan answered quickly and said, “You even want to see a picture of me from childhood?”
Who was he?… Zhen Yuanbai placed his phone down and didn’t respond back.
The entire day, he had been hinting at Shi Bufan to go home and celebrate his birthday with his parents. The latter listened, acting well-behaved. However, he requested going to play basketball while they were on break in the afternoon. Zhen Yuanbai had never played basketball before, so he didn’t look confident when the idea of sports was mentioned. However, Shi Bufan dragged him to the sports field while Zhen Yuanbai complained, “If I don’t take an afternoon nap, I will be drowsy and absent-minded.”
“Why are you like a pig?” Shi Bufan cupped Zhen Yuanbai’s face and he knitted his eyebrows, saying, “Were you a pig in your past life? Is that right? Hm?”
As he was saying this, he rubbed Zhen Yuanbai’s face back and forth, shaking his head as well. Zhen Yuanbai’s lips pouted from the squishing of his face. He angrily grabbed onto Shi Bufan’s hand and said, “You’re the pig!”
Shi Bufan burst into laughter and tugged Zhen Yuanbai over, saying, “Come here. I’ll teach you.”
“Who wants you to teach me?” Zhen Yuanbai said rudely, “I know how to play basketball.”
“Oh? Then tell me.”
“Don’t you just throw the ball into the hoop?”
“Then try.”
Zhen Yuanbai looked around and then carried the ball, standing under the hoop. Then, he tried his best to throw it in.
It didn’t go in.
Shi Bufan immediately clapped his hands and said fakely, “Not bad, not bad. The ball hit the basket at least.”
Zhen Yuanbai didn’t bother with Shi Bufan’s sarcasm and he picked up the basketball without another word. He walked back to his original spot and threw the ball in.
Shi Bufan raised his eyebrows in surprise and said, “Pretty good. Try again.”
Zhen Yuanbai was tired and he said, “Pick the ball up for me.”
“You dare to order me?” Although he said this, Shi Bufan still walked over to pick the ball up for him. Then, he tossed it at Zhen Yuanbai and it made a few thumps before the basketball was thrown perfectly into the basket.
Shi Bufan was unable to laugh anymore. Zhen Yuanbai wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, “Isn’t that quite simple?”
Something flickered through Shi Bufan’s head and he suddenly remembered something. His little classmate seems to have pretty good coordination, so he said, “Here, let’s play a round.”
Zhen Yuanbai knew how to aim, but he knew nothing about the rules. Shi Bufan didn’t explain anything either. He directly blocked Zhen Yuanbai’s steps and stopped him from tossing the ball in. How could Zhen Yuanbai be his match? Whenever he saw Shi Bufan in his way, Zhen Yuanbai would carry the ball and run away, not even loosening his grip. Shi Bufan almost choked with laughter. He moved to the side and allowed his little classmate to have his way. Zhen Yuanbai hurriedly tossed the ball into the basket, but as expected, he failed.
He was able to throw the ball in if he was shooting from a fixed location, but it would be different if he changed his spot. This was because he never really had experience.
It seemed like Shi Bufan wanted to confirm something, so he forced Zhen Yuanbai to the spot where he failed to shoot it in again. His little classmate suddenly jumped up and tossed the ball in.
He turned around to glance at the ball tossed into the hoop and he couldn’t help but glance at Zhen Yuanbai.
What Qiu Jing had said was incorrect.
Zhen Yuanbai was clearly a genius. If he gained experience and worked on his strength, it was very possible for him to get a 100% accuracy.
That’s right. As he pondered over this, Shi Bufan went to pick the ball up again. He tossed it towards Zhen Yuanbai from afar and said, “Stand there and then walk over. Right, over there. Try tossing the ball from there.”
Zhen Yuanbai was already panting, so he said, “I don’t want to play.”
“Last time.”
Zhen Yuanbai knitted his eyebrows and dribbled the ball, eyeing the distance between himself and the hoop. He was hesitant, wondering if he would be able to toss the ball in after jumping. After all, he didn’t have that much strength.
He rested for about two minutes before he carried the ball up once Shi Bufan urged him. Zhen Yuanbai suddenly jumped up and his clothes slid up, revealing a bit of his thin waist. Under the sunlight, it was faintly sparkling and Shi Bufan seemed to be attracted. In the short few seconds, a lot of indescribable things flickered in his mind.
“Shi Bufan, be careful!”
Zhen Yuanbai landed on the ground and he suddenly called out.
Shi Bufan was unable to stop the images flickering through his mind and he subconsciously glanced at the basketball hoop.
The basketball in which Zhen Yuanbai exerted his entire strength to toss landed on the hoop and then bounced towards Shi Bufan’s head.
It made a “duang” and knocked on Shi Bufan’s head before bouncing down again.
Shi Bufan subconsciously blinked his eyes and a glaring white light flickered in front of his eyes before he was dizzy and knocked out.
Zhen Yuanbai hurriedly ran over and pushed him firmly, saying, “Shi Bufan, Shi Bufan?”
Oh no. He was about to cry again. What’s the matter? Did he have enmity with Shi Bufan’s head? How come he bumped his head again?
Zhen Yuanbai was quite strong. He bent over and carried Shi Bufan who was bigger than him up, running towards the infirmary with Shi Bufan on his back. Shi Bufan’s feet dragged against the floor, like a corpse. This made the fellow classmates frightened, but quickly, some teachers came over to assist Zhen Yuanbai. His head went blank and whenever he saw someone, he repeated, “I knocked his head. I knocked his head.”
Up until Zhen Yuanbai carried Shi Bufan to the infirmary, Zhen Yuanbai finally calmed down after the teacher in charge comforted him. He reluctantly snapped out of his gaze and the doctor said, “It’s ok. He’s just unconscious. Don’t worry.”
Ji Yanping said, “He injured his head before. Do we need to go to the hospital to check up?”
“If you’re worried, you could bring him to the hospital and get an x-ray.” He asked, “Do you want me to call an ambulance for you? Or wait until he wakes up and then decide?”
Zhen Yuanbai glanced up, his eyelashes still wet. He fiddled with his fingers, feeling ill at ease, saying, “Go, call the ambulance.”
“It’s fine.” Ji Yanping patted his shoulders and said, “Isn’t it normal that Shi Bufan gets in fights and injuries frequently? He just got hit by a basketball. Don’t be too worried.”
While nodding, Zhen Yuanbai wiped his ears, choking and feeling helpless.
Last time, Shi Bufan deserved it. Yet, it was different this time. How come he got Shi Bufan hurt again? If something really happens to Shi Bufan, what should he do?…If, if he died…
Zhen Yuanbai suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable and upset. He stood up and tugged the young boy’s hand, saying, “Shi Bufan, Shi Bufan? Shi Bufan?”
“Classmate Zhen.” The doctor coaxed and said, “Don’t cry, he’s fine. He’s really fine. He’s just unconscious. Do you want to rinse your face and calm down?”
Zhen Yuanbai shook his head and held onto Shi Bufan’s hand, silently crying. Besides feeling ashamed and guilty, he also felt scared and other feelings.
The ambulance isn’t here yet when Shi Bufan slowly woke up. His first feeling was that it was raining and it was only on his hands. He moved and then saw the young man whose head was lowered suddenly raise his head. When their gazes met, his eyebrows suddenly twitched.
“He’s awake and the ambulance should be here soon.” The doctor said to Ji Yanping, “Do you want to accompany him?”
Ji Yanping nodded and then reached over to tug Zhen Yuanbai, saying, “You can go back to class first. If something happens, I will notify you in time.”
Shi Bufan subconsciously clenched his hand and then suddenly sat up. There was a vicious gaze in his eyes as he said, “He’s the one who got me injured. How could he not go along with me? Does he not want to be responsible?”
Zhen Yuanbai immediately shook his head and softly said, “I’ll go.”
Zhen Yuanbai held Shi Bufan’s hands instead and said, “I’ll go to the hospital with you as you get a check up.”
Shi Bufan stared silently at him, not saying anything more.
When they were at the hospital, Shi Bufan went to get his check ups done. They just found the ward when Qiu Jing and the others ran over, saying, “Damn. What happened now? Brother Shi, this year seems to bring you trouble.”
“Scram.” Veins popped on Shi Bufan’s forehead and Ji Yanping also knitted her eyebrows, asking, “Why did you guys all come here?”
“Ah, Teacher Ji.” Ming Mai hurriedly said, “We’re too worried about Brother Shi’s injury, so we hurriedly hailed a taxi over.”
Who couldn’t tell that you guys wanted to take this chance to skip class? Whenever Ji Yanping was with them, she always felt a lack of air, saying, “Let me see when the results of the check up will come out.”
Zhen Yuanbai silently sat on a chair, admitting his mistake. Qiu Jing and the others squeezed over to ask about Shi Bufan’s situation and the latter was so annoyed that he was about to explode. He grabbed the pillow and threw it at him, saying, “Scram! You guys, scram!”
“Ok, ok, ok. We know. We won’t disturb you guys.” The three all walked out when Zhen Yuanbai hurriedly stood up from his chair. He bent down and picked up the pillow that Shi Bufan threw, like a little delicate wife silently enduring the husband’s scolding. He patted the pillow and then he glanced over with his beautiful eyes and then slowly walked over. Shi Bufan suddenly scolded him, saying, “You also…go out.”
He swallowed the word “scram.”
“I, I didn’t mean to.” Zhen Yuanbai held onto the pillow, feeling guilty. “I didn’t think I would injure you.”
Shi Bufan looked to the side and Zhen Yuanbai had no choice but to place the pillow on the bed, walking out like a wife who was mistreated. Shi Bufan suddenly called out, “Come back.”
He immediately turned around and sprinted over to Shi Bufan’s bed, carefully looking at him.
Shi Bufan felt his heart tightening as he said hoarsely, “Sit down.”
Zhen Yuanbai looked left and right, unable to find a chair. Shi Bufan moved to the side, feeling impatient before he sat on the side of the bed.
Shi Bufan closed his eyes, but he was unable to conceal the hostile aura. He tried his best to calm down his breathing and tried to suppress something.
Someone softly patted his head and Shi Bufan immediately opened his eyes, looking over with hostility. Yet, he was dazed by the pair of lips inching towards him.
Zhen Yuanbai softly pecked Shi Bufan’s forehead and he mimicked his tone, saying, “…Here, the kiss will blow the pain away.”
Shi Bufan’s adam’s apple bobbed and he suddenly calmed down. A certain feeling seemed to be rapidly taking over his heart in the form of a sprout and it grew into a tall tree.
Conveniently, he pressed Zhen Yuanbai into his arms and then tightened his hold on him, seemingly finding a suitable way of hugging him.
Zhen Yuanbai felt a little uncomfortable by the position and he couldn’t help but say, “Don’t hug me so tight. Even if you loosen your grip, I won’t run away either.”
Silence filled the air and then Shi Bufan threatened, “If you lie to me, you’re doomed.”