Chapter 5
Xi Qin leaned down to take a look. Jiang Zhong’s originally fair and slender right ankle had already swollen, turning an abnormal red, and the knee and outer side of his calf were also slightly scratched.
“Go to the hospital,” Xi Qin said, helping Jiang Zhong up by supporting his elbow.
“Jiang Zhong!” Deng Letian and Xiao Yuan squeezed in, asking anxiously, “How is it? Did you get hurt?”
“I twisted my ankle,” Jiang Zhong lightly tapped his right foot on the ground, his weight shifting entirely to the left side, with Xi Qin still holding his elbow. He forced a smile at Deng Letian and Xiao Yuan, “I’ll go to the school clinic first.”
“We’ll go with you,” Deng Letian and Xiao Yuan said in unison.
“No need, no need,” Jiang Zhong said, “You don’t need to come with so many people.”
Xi Qin kept holding Jiang Zhong’s arm and took over the conversation, “I’ll go with him. You guys stay here and continue the game.”
It’s common to get injured while playing sports, and Deng Letian and Xiao Yuan didn’t insist, letting Xi Qin lead the limping Jiang Zhong toward the school clinic.
Once they were out of the basketball court, where there were fewer people, Xi Qin let go of Jiang Zhong’s arm, stepped forward, and half-squatted in front of him, saying, “Get on my back. I’ll carry you.”
If Jiang Zhong’s foot wasn’t hurting, he would have been surprised, but he waved his hand repeatedly, “No, no, I can walk.”
Xi Qin hesitated for two minutes. Seeing Jiang Zhong’s reluctance, he had no choice but to help him sit down on a nearby step and said, “Wait here for a moment.”
He then took out his phone, called someone, and walked into the convenience store next to the basketball court.
Jiang Zhong watched Xi Qin’s departing figure thoughtfully, and roughly knew what he was going to do, so he wasn’t in a hurry. He carefully lifted his right foot to check the twisted area.
After walking a short distance just now, even though he hadn’t put much pressure on his right foot, it still touched the ground a bit. Now the ankle was red and swollen, looking much worse than before. It wasn’t too painful if he didn’t touch it, but it still feels a burning sensation.
After a while, Xi Qin came out of the convenience store, holding a plastic bag.
He walked straight to Jiang Zhong’s right side, first pulling out a bottle of mineral water from the bag and handing it to Jiang Zhong with the cap unscrewed.
Jiang Zhong, who had been running back and forth on the court for nearly a whole quarter before the fall, was indeed very thirsty. Without being polite, he took the bottle and drank.
Next, Xi Qin pulled out several ice pops from the bag, then placed the plastic bag filled with various snacks on Jiang Zhong’s bent thigh, saying, “Take what you want to eat. It might be a while before we can leave.”
Before Jiang Zhong could respond, Xi Qin slightly turned his body, lifted Jiang Zhong’s right leg, and placed it on his own extended left leg.
He then arranged the ice pops in his hand, cupped them around Jiang Zhong’s swollen ankle.
The plastic bag almost fell off due to Xi Qin’s actions, and Jiang Zhong reflexively held onto it.
As soon as the ice pops touched his ankle, a refreshing coolness spread, but Jiang Zhong’s heart started racing faster.
Jiang Zhong stuttered, “You… you… thank you.”
Xi Qin didn’t speak, his gaze intently fixed on Jiang Zhong’s ankle.
Jiang Zhong awkwardly moved the plastic bag aside, struggled slightly with his right leg, and said, “I’ll do it myself.”
“…Don’t move,” Xi Qin said softly.
An awkward silence followed.
“Ah.” Jiang Zhong’s fingers curled up, clutching the hem of his sports shorts, and he couldn’t help but want to say something.
“Brother Qin—”
A shout from a distance, accompanied by the screech of brakes, made an electric scooter come to a sudden stop in front of them.
Jiang Zhong, already feeling uneasy about his current position, flinched at the sudden appearance and looked up at the person calling “Brother Qin” on the road.
Xi Qin, however, remained calm. After removing the ice pops from Jiang Zhong’s ankle, he took out a tissue and carefully wiped away the remaining water droplets.
He then lowered Jiang Zhong’s leg from his own.
“Brother Qin,” Peng Siyuan had already gotten off the scooter, glancing back and forth between Xi Qin and Jiang Zhong with an ambiguous look in his eyes, “Your classmate is hurt? I thought you were calling me urgently to take you to the hospital.”
Xi Qin lightly said “Hmm,” and introduced, “This is my roommate, Jiang Zhong. This is my friend, Peng Siyuan.”
Jiang Zhong, standing on one foot on the step, politely greeted, “Hello.”
“Hello, hello.” Peng Siyuan looked at Jiang Zhong’s face, “I think I’ve seen you somewhere before.”
Jiang Zhong thought that the first line of a pickup line was always something like this, so replied politely, “Maybe you’ve seen me around school.”
“Not really…” Peng Siyuan was about to say more.
Xi Qin awkwardly interrupted, “Ahem, can I borrow your scooter for a few days?”
Peng Siyuan was indeed diverted, “Sure, sure.”
As usual, Xi Qin helped Jiang Zhong first. Jiang Zhong turned to pick up the snacks he had set aside, handing them to Peng Siyuan, “These are for you. Thank you for… the scooter.”
“Why thank me for the scooter I lent to brother Qin?” Peng Siyuan said this, but honestly accepted the plastic bag, “You’re so polite.”
Jiang Zhong got on the back seat of the electric scooter, smiling, “It’s only right, since it was Xi Qin who bought it.”
“My driving isn’t that great, so hold on tight,” Xi Qin reminded quietly.
Jiang Zhong quickly grabbed the edge of Xi Qin’s waist. His fingers accidentally poked the firm muscles under the thin T-shirt.
Xi Qin’s body subconsciously tensed up, and after a moment, the scooter smoothly started moving.
“…” Peng Siyuan muttered in dissatisfaction, “They didn’t even say thank you or goodbye. Tsk, really familiar. Where have I seen him before?”
Jiang Zhong’s foot injury wasn’t very severe. After a thorough examination, the school clinic doctor told them it was only a minor sprain of the ligaments and soft tissues, causing localized swelling—it looked worse than it actually was.
Xi Qin breathed a sigh of relief, asked in detail about the precautions, and prescribed a bunch of medications for blood circulation, bruising, swelling, and pain relief.
When they returned to the dorm, Xi Qin initially wanted to apply medicine for Jiang Zhong, but Jiang Zhong refused to let him trouble him further. Xi Qin had to give up, settling Jiang Zhong in, and then went back to his rented apartment to get some things.
When he came back, Jiang Zhong was on the phone, with his injured foot propped up on the desk. From the side, his long and straight legs were clearly visible.
“It’s fine, not serious.” Seeing Xi Qin enter, Jiang Zhong turned to smile at him, continuing on the phone, “Just avoid intense exercise for a while. Since it’s still early, find another dance partner.”
Hearing “dance partner,” Xi Qin instantly knew who Jiang Zhong was calling and his expression changed slightly.
Jiang Zhong was unaware of Xi Qin’s reaction and just continued talking with his dance partner.
The dance partner, Xu Shanshan, was someone Jiang Zhong had learned to dance with since childhood in the same dance studio. They had grown up together, went to the same high school, and had performed together at New Year’s parties and art festivals.
In college, Xu Shanshan joined the student union’s arts department and, when preparing for the school’s welcome party, immediately thought of Jiang Zhong as a dance partner.
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Zhong saw Xi Qin silently packing things and introduced, “Xu Shanshan, my friend.”
“…Oh,” Xi Qin replied.
Jiang Zhong asked, “What’s wrong?”
Xi Qin’s voice was cold, “Nothing.”
“Hey!” Jiang Zhong frowned, “You’re at it again!”
Before Xi Qin could speak, Jiang Zhong began to complain, “It was like this a few days ago too. At first, everything was fine, and suddenly you became so distant! Did I offend you? If so, you should tell me what I did wrong. If it’s not because of me, why are you giving me attitude!”
Finally, he concluded, “It’s really inexplicable!”
Xi Qin: “…”
“I’m sorry,” Xi Qin thought for a long time, unable to express his feelings, and finally apologized, “It’s my problem.”
Jiang Zhong sulked and played with his phone in silence.
“Um…” Xi Qin cleared his throat and mustered up, “Are you hungry?”
Jiang Zhong, almost laughing with frustration, said, “So what’s the reason?”
Xi Qin replied, “I’ll go buy some food. What do you want to eat?”
“Forget it,” Jiang Zhong said deflatedly, “I’ll order takeout.”
“I’ll go down and get it for you later,” Xi Qin immediately said.
Jiang Zhong completely lost his temper.
Jiang Zhong’s foot injury improved significantly the next day, but Xi Qin still took a day off for him.
Aside from Xi Qin’s inexplicable attitude towards him on a couple of occasions, Jiang Zhong felt that Xi Qin, as a roommate who he had only become close with this semester, had been very considerate.
He has good temperament, attentiveness, and caring—how come he ever thought Xi Qin was “cold” or “unapproachable” before?
Obviously, he was clearly very gentle and considerate, Jiang Zhong thought.
However, he quickly decided to retract that description, because “cold” seemed more accurate for Xi Qin.
That day, after class, Jiang Zhong and Xi Qin went to eat together. With Jiang Zhong’s foot feeling better, he didn’t want to show that his “leg wasn’t functioning well,” so he walked slowly.
Deng Letian and Xiao Yuan couldn’t wait for him and went to the cafeteria first after Xi Qin volunteered to wait for Jiang Zhong.
On the way, they ran into Xu Shanshan, who had just finished her class in the teaching building next door.
Xu Shanshan had the temperament of someone who danced: sunny and confident.
Very much like Jiang Zhong.
As soon as Xi Qin saw Xu Shanshan’s face, he whispered to Jiang Zhong, “Should I go first?”
Jiang Zhong looked puzzled, “Why?”
Xi Qin didn’t say anything, just gave him a look that seemed to say ‘You know why,’ which made Jiang Zhong even more confused.
While they were hesitating, Xu Shanshan and her roommate walked up to them.
Jiang Zhong made introductions to each other. Xu Shanshan leaned in and whispered to Jiang Zhong, “Why haven’t I seen this roommate of yours before? He’s really handsome.”
Xi Qin: “…”
Can’t you whisper a bit quieter?
Jiang Zhong teasingly looked at Xi Qin and said with a hint of pride he didn’t even realize, “How could my roommate not be handsome?”
“Does he have a girlfriend?” Xu Shanshan asked.
When Jiang Zhong heard this, he felt an unexplainable discomfort and reflexively said, “Does it matter if he has a girlfriend? You’re not single either.”
Xi Qin, listening to their “flirtation” from the side, had a cold expression.
He didn’t look their way along the way.
After Xu Shanshan left, Jiang Zhong teased Xi Qin, “You’re really cold. I saw Shanshan’s roommate wanted to talk to you, but you didn’t even glance at her.”
Xi Qin thought to himself, I don’t want to look at her, I don’t want to look at either of you.
“She praised me for being handsome in front of you. Aren’t you jealous?” Xi Qin said.