Chapter 48: Does This Count as Throwing Yourself at Me?
“I didn’t use that paper,” Jiang Qiao said.
Xu Si smiled: “I know.” Then with a roguish grin added, “Even if you had, so what?”
Jiang Qiao knew he was teasing her again and chose not to respond.
If Yang Shikun were here, his jaw would drop. Brother Si, who usually wiped his cup several times before drinking from it, was now saying ‘so what?’ Was he treating people differently?
Xu Si wiped his sweat and opened the water bottle, taking several gulps. The water trickled down his neck, running over his prominent Adam’s apple with an inexplicable sensuality.
Shen Mo stood behind them, watching the two and feeling they somehow had chemistry. It confirmed that she only liked Xu Si’s face, nothing more.
After drinking some water, Xu Si asked her: “Why’d you buy water for them but not yourself?”
“I have water in class, I don’t need to buy any.”
Worried he might misunderstand, Jiang Qiao explained quietly: “I bought your water with your card, I paid for the others myself.”
“Using my card is fine too.” Xu Si looked at her docile appearance and her thin wrists. “I’m going to check on Yang Shikun at the infirmary. See you.”
“Wait, your meal card.”
Xu Si glanced at the card in her hand: “Hold onto it for me.”
Jiang Qiao responded with an “Oh” and watched him leave.
In the infirmary, Yang Shikun was chatting with Dou Sen.
“Hey, classmate, that fierce-looking guy who came a few days ago, you’re in the same class?”
“You mean Brother Si? Ahhh!” Yang Shikun screamed as his arm suddenly moved.
After the pain subsided, he realized his arm could move and only the scrapes hurt.
Dou Sen raised an eyebrow: “How is it? Can you move normally now?”
Yang Shikun moved his arm a few times, surprised: “It really doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Dou Sen smiled and took out disinfectant supplies.
“So you were chatting with me to distract me?”
“Yes, I reset your dislocated bone while you weren’t paying attention. Not bad, right?”
Yang Shikun gave him a thumbs up.
“But we still need to disinfect your arm, the scrapes are quite large. Bear with it.”
Yang Shikun looked at Hao Ming beside him: “If you don’t mind, could I bite your arm?”
Hao Ming didn’t even look at him: “Get lost.”
Xu Si walked in, and Dou Sen greeted him teasingly: “Well, look who’s here?”
Xu Si responded with a “Mm” and asked about Yang Shikun: “How’s his arm? Any other injuries?”
“It’s okay, just a dislocated arm that I’ve reset. Need to disinfect the other areas.”
Xu Si asked Dou Sen: “Okay, how much?”
Dou Sen named a price, and Xu Si scanned the QR code on the table.
“Money’s sent.” Xu Si looked at Yang Shikun and Hao Ming behind him: “I’m leaving.”
Yang Shikun: “Okay, bye Brother Si.”
He winced through the disinfection, then took a bottle of iodine and cotton swabs back with him.
On the way back, he complained constantly.
“All because of that worthless guy from Class 20, otherwise I wouldn’t be in so much pain.” “Hao Ming, don’t walk so fast, your father’s about to limp.” “Damn, it hurts like hell.”
Yang Shikun complained the whole way back. When he learned that Xu Si had beaten up the person who bumped into him, his smile nearly reached his ears.
Hao Ming: “What are you grinning about? Not hurting anymore?”
Yang Shikun glared at him: “Get lost, Hao Ming.”
During the fourth afternoon class:
“Everyone, it’s time for cleaning. The school might inspect later, so please clean under your desks thoroughly, and those by windows, please clean the windows.”
“Okay!”
Jiang Qiao took a broom and said to Xu Si: “Could you move? I need to sweep under the seats.”
Xu Si stood up, watching her sweep, then went to get a mop from the back.
Just as Jiang Qiao finished sweeping under their desks and was about to get a mop, she saw Xu Si returning with one.
“You sit down, I’ll mop.”
Jiang Qiao didn’t argue, obediently sitting aside while watching him put their stools on the desk and mop under their seats.
After mopping, it was time to clean the windows. Xu Si took two cloths from the podium: “I’ll wash these, wait a moment.”
Jiang Qiao reached for the other cloth: “I’ll wash one too.”
“Okay, one each.”
Coming out of the bathroom, Jiang Qiao saw Xu Si waiting at the door.
Xu Si teased: “It’s not a face towel, why wash it so carefully?”
Jiang Qiao replied seriously: “Worried the windows won’t be clean enough.”
“Such a perfectionist, little traditionalist.”
Jiang Qiao glanced at him without responding.
While cleaning the windows, Jiang Qiao cleaned the outside while Xu Si cleaned the inside. As she focused on cleaning, she looked up and met Xu Si’s gaze.
One outside, one inside, she couldn’t hear what Xu Si said, but from his lips, it looked like “little traditionalist.” Jiang Qiao glanced at him and continued cleaning.
The windows needed to be cleaned with wet cloths first, then dried with dry ones.
Given her limited height, Jiang Qiao couldn’t reach the top of the windows, so she went to get a stool.
Standing on the stool, she suddenly felt someone behind her. Turning around, she saw Xu Si and asked puzzled: “Why did you come out?”
Xu Si raised his cloth: “Couldn’t you not reach?”
Jiang Qiao pointed beside her: “I have a stool.”
“Well, having someone hold the stool steady helps, doesn’t it?”
Jiang Qiao didn’t respond, watching him hold the stool. She did feel more stable with him holding it.
After cleaning one spot, Jiang Qiao needed to get down to move the stool. As she was getting down, she almost slipped.
Xu Si caught her from behind, and Jiang Qiao bumped into his firm chest, practically being held in his arms. She could smell his presence all around her, the faint scent of laundry detergent. Just as she was about to thank him, she heard his teasing voice:
“Does this count as throwing yourself at me, little classmate?”
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