CH 73.2

New Year Eve’s Party (2)

Unexpectedly, Fu Songhua did not dodge, but he seemed to stiffen up for a moment and his body suddenly fell in response to the impact.

The tall man fell directly to the ground with a rather loud thud, startling several of his teammates.

Ruan Qingmu hurried to stop and bend down with Qin Yuan to look at Fu Songhua. “What happened?”

Fu Songhua’s elbow was propped up on the ground and he silently looked down to see that a large piece of skin had been broken with crimson blood flowing out.

“It’s nothing. It’ll be fine after bandaging it,” Fu Songhua said softly. A girl at the side hurried to hand him a tissue and he pressed it to his wound. Soon, the tissue paper was soaked red with blood.

Ruan Qingmu felt slightly anxious. “We’ll accompany you to the infirmary.”

He appeared to be tall and strong. How could he be knocked down?

Fu Songhua pursed his lips and stood up alone. “There’s no need. I’ll go by myself. You don’t have to go with me.”

Ruan Qingmu wanted to chase after him, but Qin Yuan lightly pulled him back. “Let him go by himself.”

Seeing as Fu Songhua ran away alone, Huang Ya moved closer from the side, slightly suspicious. “Ruan-ge, I’m not randomly saying this, ah. Why did I feel that… Old Fu seemed like ‘touching a porcelain’*?”

*T/N: Touching a porcelain: to stage a fake accident to claim for compensation, typically of.

Ruan Qingmu glared daggers at him. “What nonsense are you saying?”

Huang Ya gestured. “I’ve seen it clearly from the side and you didn’t bump into him. He fell by his own accord.”

Qin Yuan looked at the distant Fu Songhua’s figure, looking pensive. He turned his head and asked Huang Ya in a soft voice, “Where’s your class’ Fang Li?”

Huang Ya scratched his head. “A girl had a nosebleed just now. He went to the infirmary to help the girl get a cotton ball.”

In the school infirmary, Fang Li held a small box of cotton balls and was about to leave, but Gong Sinian tapped the table. “Hey you, sit down and let’s have a chat.”

Fang Li pursed his small lips and looked at him nervously. He was about to speak when suddenly he saw a figure approaching not far from the window.

He was startled and looked around in a flurry. “Dr. Gong, w-where’s the bathroom?”

Gong Sinian followed his gaze and also saw Fu Songhua outside the window. He raised a brow and looked deeply at Fang Li before stretching a finger and pointing at the curtain drawn behind him. “There’s a place to hide there.”

Occasionally, some students needed a simple physical examination, which was inconvenient to be conducted directly outside and the simple cloth curtain could block the view. Fang Li hastily lifted the curtain and went inside.

Gong Sinian held a psychology book and was about to put on an act of holding it up when someone pushed the door open.

Fu Songhua pursed his lips and silently entered. After looking at the empty room, his expression was slightly disappointed.

“Dr. Gong, just now…” He hesitated for a while. “Did someone just come here for cotton balls?”

Gong Sinian raised his brows. “There was, ah. They left after they got it.”

Fu Songhua released a disappointed “oh” and lifted his bloody elbow. “I fell in PE class.”

Gong Sinian found medical equipment and disinfectant iodine in the equipment cabinet and skillfully cleaned his wound.

The wound was a bit large and the blood clots were mixed with the sand on the ground, so it took some time to clean it. Gong Sinian casually spoke while bandaging him up. “Scream if it hurts. You won’t lose face.”

Fu Songhua didn’t let out any sound and didn’t even frown.

Gong Sinian finished helping him clean and bind the wound. After glancing at him, he indifferently said, “You’re hurt like this from playing ball? How much was the colliding power? Your friend is quite fierce, ah.”

Fu Songhua pursed his lips, not saying a word.

“Enough. It’s not a serious problem.” Gong Sinian looked down and wrote down the medical report. His eyes under the gold-rimmed spectacles were expressionless. “Come here again tomorrow to change the gauze. Don’t let it get wet when taking a shower. You can go now.”

Fu Songhua sat firmly on the examination chair as if he had grown a root there. After a long while, he suddenly asked softly, “Dr. Gong, I-I have something to ask.”

Gong Sinian stopped the movement of his hand and silently looked at him.

“I-Is Student Fang Li suffering from some sort of disease?” He mustered up his courage, his eyes struggling. “Did he come to your place these lat few days? Did you send him back to the dorm because his disease flared up? And did you stroke his head to console him…”

After holding it back for a few days, he felt more afraid the more he thought about it. Except for this explanation, could there be anything else?

Gong Sinian looked at him fixedly and his gaze swiftly swept over the curtain before tapping the his clipboard with a pen. “What’s your relationship with him? I seemed to remember that you guys aren’t from the same class.”

Fu Songhua’s face turned red. “I’m his friend. C-Can’t I care about him?”

Gong Sinian held his pen and indifferently said, “That’s very good, of course. But why do I feel he doesn’t seem very eager to have him nosing around in his business?”

Fu Songhua’s face looked very bad. “I know he hates me. But I want to know what disease he’s suffering from… Dr. Gong, please tell me what actually happened to him?”

Gong Sinian examined him for a long time before nodding. “Yes, ah. He is sick.”

The curtain on the back slightly moved. Fang Li seemed to be sitting on pins and needles.

Fu Songhua suddenly raised his head, surprise filling his eyes. “What?!”

“It’s not a physical one.” Gong Sinian pointed his finger at the psychology book. “A mind one.”

Fu Songhua looked at him in a daze. “A mind disease?”

Gong Sinian nodded his head. “I’m sorry. It’s inconvenient for me to talk about a patient without their consent. Besides, it’s very common for adolescents to have depression and worries. But you –”

He thoughtfully stared at Fu Songhua. “Do you really care about your friend?”

Fu Songhua sat there in a daze before shaking his head after a while. “He doesn’t want me to bother.”