"You, what are you doing?"
"I'm looking for my bicycle."
"Then... why are you trying to unlock someone else's bike?"
Chen Nuo let out a sigh but spoke earnestly, "If I said I can't remember which one is my bike, would you believe me?"
"Boring!"
The school beauty, Sun Keke, immediately judged his action as another petty attempt by a young boy to put on an act and attract her attention in front of her.
Sun Keke was about to leave.
"Wait a moment." Chen Nuo walked up to the girl, "Can I ask you a question?" "... What is it?" The girl's tone was deliberately cold, keeping people at a distance.
Chen Nuo stared at the school beauty's face for a few seconds and said in a friendly tone, "Actually, you could be a bit more gentle with me."
"What?"
"I understand. You want to maintain your persona and don't like being pestered by boys like me." Chen Nuo waved his hand, "But you don't have to be so cold and hostile towards me."
Sun Keke widened her eyes.
"Look, I just saved your life yesterday."
"... Falling from the second floor doesn't necessarily mean you'll die."
"You could still get injured. Well, fine, maybe it wasn't exactly saving your life, but at least it was something, even if it was just by chance." Although she really wanted to keep arguing, girls are inherently kind at heart, and she couldn't refute this statement. So, she reluctantly nodded.
"I'm just an ordinary guy. You surely don't want to be associated with me and be talked about. But you don't have to act like this. You're being too prickly. You can reject me, but you could do it in a more gentle way. Besides, I did save you. Others might think you're a bit mean if you act like this. You don't want that, do you?"
The girl remained silent.
"Do you know someone named Zhang Xiong?" Seeing the girl's confused expression, Chen Nuo thought for a moment, "His nickname is Xiao Dao, or Brother Dao?"
Sun Keke's eyes showed a hint of disgust, "I know him. He blocked me at the school gate twice. The first time, my dad chased him away, but he came back a few days later."
"He won't be coming around for a long time." The girl stared at Chen Nuo curiously, "What?"
"I said he probably won't bother you for a long time."
"For a long time... How long?"
Chen Nuo thought for a while, "It takes a hundred days to recover from severe injuries... Well, three months."
"What? I don't understand."
Chen Nuo smiled, "It doesn't matter. You don't need to know the details. I'll solve a little problem for you first. Actually, I also need your help with something."
The school beauty immediately became alert, "You need my help?"
"The competition activity organized by the school to go to Yanbian, do you know about it?" Chen Nuo asked in a deliberately casual tone while bending down to try another bike lock with the key.
"Why are you asking about that competition... Stop trying to unlock other people's bikes!" The girl couldn't help but say, "Your bike is over there, the black one. The one with the rusty basket and half of the bell missing."
Chen Nuo raised his eyebrows, "How do you know? You're not in my class."
"I... I just know!" The girl blushed, but fortunately, it wasn't obvious in the dark. She was a bit nervous and quickly changed the subject, "Why are you asking about that competition?"
"I want to sign up for it, but I've read the notice, and I'm not eligible."
"You want to go to Yanbian with the group?" The school beauty, Sun Keke, was quite smart, "Why?"
"To see the snow." Chen Nuo smiled.
"See the snow?"
"Yeah, see the snow."
"Weird!" Sun Keke was about to leave again, but Chen Nuo stepped in front of her to block her way. "Is there any other way to participate in the competition? Your father is the dean, so you must know, right?"
Sun Keke bit her lip.
Chen Nuo really wanted to suggest that she shouldn't do that gesture casually in the future.
Because she had almond - shaped eyes, and her beauty already carried a hint of charm. Making such a gesture of biting her lip in front of a man, even if it's not her intention, could easily make people misunderstand that she's trying to flirt.
But if he really said that, he'd probably be called a pervert.
"The registration for the competition is handled by Teacher Liu from the Academic Affairs Office. He's not a regular teacher in the school. He was sent by the education company. I heard this from my dad." Sun Keke said quickly, "Besides the contestants, there are also a few spots for students to go for exchange and observation. But you need a teacher's recommendation." After saying this, the girl looked at Chen Nuo, "That's all I know."
Chen Nuo pondered for a moment, "Do you think if I give your father two bottles of good wine, he'll pull some strings and put me on the list of students for exchange and observation?"
The girl rolled her eyes.
"Okay, I'm just kidding." Chen Nuo smiled.
"You're really strange." The girl bit her lip again.
Gurgle, gurgle... Chen Nuo's stomach started growling.
Sun Keke frowned and looked at Chen Nuo, "Haven't you eaten yet?"
"No."
"Why? It's so late, and you still haven't eaten." "Because I'm poor."
The girl frowned, "Why are you talking so unseriously?"
Looking at Chen Nuo, the girl hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice, "I know about your family situation. Although, um... um... Although it's a bit difficult, it's not like you don't have money for food. If... If... um... I can actually talk to my dad. Maybe you can apply for financial aid for poor students at school..." At this point, the girl seemed to suddenly think of something and quickly said, "I, I don't mean to look down on you. I..."
Chen Nuo narrowed his eyes and carefully examined the girl's delicate face, looking at her blushing cheeks and her evasive eyes.
"It seems you know quite a lot about me. Have you asked around about me?"
"Nonsense! I... I just heard it from others!" The girl was like a cat that had its tail stepped on. Gurgle, gurgle, his stomach growled twice more.
Chen Nuo suddenly noticed the food container in the girl's hand.
"What's that?"
"Sausage, vegetable, and meat rice, and braised chicken drumsticks..." Sun Keke answered instinctively, then immediately realized what she said and pulled the food container back a bit, "This is my dad's dinner!"
"I saved you. If I hadn't caught you, you might have landed on your face and gotten disfigured."
"... Well then..." The girl was at a loss, "I put two drumsticks... So, I can only give you one."
A few minutes later, Chen Nuo walked away slowly, munching on a chicken drumstick in one hand.
The school beauty, Sun Keke, seemed to finally come to her senses...
What just happened? "Hey!!!" She called out, but then she felt a bit timid and could only ask, "What did you say about that Brother Dao and the hundred days or something?"
"Don't worry about it. Anyway, he won't bother you anymore."
Chen Nuo didn't stop walking. He just waved his left hand behind him, facing away from the school beauty.
Ward 4, Bed 6, Orthopedics Department, District Hospital.
In front of the hospital bed with a sign that read "Zhang Xiong," the on - duty doctor making the rounds was writing records on a clipboard.
"Zhang Xiong, 21 years old, no history of allergies, no history of chronic diseases... Fracture of the left tibia."
Dean Sun was having dinner.
Half of the sausage, vegetable, and meat rice was already gone, and the chicken drumstick had also been eaten.
Dean Sun wiped his mouth with a look of satisfaction, "Keke, bring more chicken drumsticks tomorrow. One isn't enough."
The girl blushed, "... Okay."
The coffee table in the living room had been moved aside. In the small empty space, Chen Nuo was doing one - armed and legs - together push - ups.
Although convict conditioning has its limitations, given his current situation of having no money and no proper facilities, it's the most suitable way to work out.
The body of a seventeen - year - old boy was still a bit weak. Chen Nuo needed to improve his physical strength as soon as possible.
As his body rose and fell, beads of sweat dripped onto the plastic carpet.
And Chen Nuo's eyes were always fixed ahead.
In front of him, in that patterned glass cup, there was still half a cup of cold boiled water.
The water surface was calm, without a ripple...