Shen An gently cradled her small hand and gazed at her scraped knee, frowning. “It’s scraped.”
Chen Nannan pouted her little mouth. “I know!”
“Where’s the infirmary?”
Shen An asked.
“I… I don’t need to go to the infirmary. It’s just a little scrape. I’m fine.”
Chen Nannan put on an unexpectedly tough front.
Even though her big eyes still shimmered with a resentment and grievance that made Shen An want to look away.
Shen An glanced around and spotted a faucet in the corner.
Hmm~
He pondered for a moment, then decisively grabbed the hem of his shirt and tore it open with force.
Rip! The crisp sound of tearing fabric caught Chen Nannan’s attention.
She covered her mouth with her hand. “Wh-what are you doing?”
“It might not be the best, but it’ll at least handle the wounds for now.”
“Sit still and wait right here.”
Shen An tore the strip of cloth into four pieces, then walked over to the faucet in the corner and soaked two of them in water.
He came back and carefully used the wet cloths to clean the wounds on her palm and knee.
“There’s no iodine here, so we’ll make do with water for now. Wounds shouldn’t get wet ideally, but we need to clean them at least.”
He wiped away the dust and grit from her wounds with the wet cloths, then innocently blew on them as if to speed up the drying by hand.
Phew~ Phew~ Phew~
He blew hard, tickling Chen Nannan a bit.
She couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the clumsy method.
Shen An raised an eyebrow. “Can you cover your mouth first?”
“Nope~”
Chen Nannan hummed defiantly, teasing him on purpose.
“You… Fine, don’t cover it then. Laugh all you want—it’s not me who’s hurting.” Shen An shrugged, looking smug.
“Hmph.”
Chen Nannan gently patted his shoulder with her other hand.
Once the wounds had mostly dried, Shen An pulled out another old-school trick.
He dabbed a few drops of saliva on his finger and gently applied it to the wounds.
Chen Nannan: ?????
“Don’t give me that look. Special circumstances call for special measures. Don’t be grossed out, okay?”
Chen Nannan didn’t have time to be grossed out now—his movements were lightning fast, and both wounds were already coated in his spit.
She sighed. What she really wanted to say was, “You could use mine.”
Ugh, no.
She could have done it herself!
The final step was simple. Shen An wrapped the remaining two dry cloths around each wound, calling it done.
“All set. Senior Sister, when you head back later, just unwrap the cloths and put on some bandages.”
Shen An clapped his hands and said softly.
Chen Nannan looked at his already worn white shirt, now missing a big chunk, and then at the fine sheen of sweat on his forehead from all his bustling around.
Any disgust or resentment she felt vanished without a trace.
These were just minor scrapes. Even without treatment, they’d heal on their own with no issues.
Chen Nannan had plenty of scrapes in her daily life.
But this was the first time… someone had taken such tender care of her wounds.
A gentle smile softened her face as she drew her legs up, patting the empty spot beside her. “Sit down.”
“Mm.”
Shen An could tell she wasn’t mad anymore, so he obediently sat.
Chen Nannan rested her chin in her hands and tilted her head back, gazing at the pure white clouds drifting across the sky.
The sunlight had lost its harsh glare, soft enough now to look at directly.
The clouds swirled around the sun, sometimes drifting past, sometimes veiling it—gathering, scattering, parting like strokes on a pristine canvas, ready to hold the wildest flights of human imagination.
She watched silently, motionless.
Shen An didn’t disturb her. He just sat and watched with her.
Until the evening glow painted the horizon and the sun neared the mountains.
“Bored?”
Chen Nannan suddenly asked.
Shen An blinked, then chuckled softly. “Not at all. I think it’s pretty fun.”
Chen Nannan turned her head. “No lying.”
“No, really, I find it interesting.”
He leaned in a little closer, but she didn’t react at all.
“Actually, thanks for today, Senior Sister. For spending the whole day with me.”
Shen An looked at the clouds and said gently.
“Oh, come on~” Chen Nannan shyly looked away. “I was just showing you around.”
“I know you didn’t actually plan to show me around.”
Shen An said softly. “After handling the paperwork at the Academic Affairs Office, you were going to head back, right?”
Chen Nannan huffed but said nothing.
“You felt a bit guilty, like you’d hurt my feelings, so you wanted to make it up to me by showing me around. Right?”
A faint smile curved Shen An’s lips.
Chen Nannan lowered her head.
He… he knew all along~
“You don’t need to feel guilty, Senior Sister. If anyone’s at fault, it’s me.”
Shen An slowly pulled a pink phone from his pocket and said gently, “I lied to you again. This phone’s mine—I bought it myself. It’s not my mom’s.”
“I just didn’t want to admit it back then. I was embarrassed, so I made up that excuse.”
“So, sorry, Senior Sister.”
Chen Nannan looked at his sincere profile, his handsome features, and the faint traces where sweat had dried on his forehead.
She smiled, shaking her head. “That’s the real lie, isn’t it?”
Shen An blinked.
“If you were too embarrassed to admit it, why would you buy a phone like this in the first place?”
Shen An coughed lightly. “I really did buy it. I didn’t have money… so this was all I could afford. Even if I don’t like it, no choice.”
Chen Nannan shook her head again, her voice even gentler. “The cheapest phones are just a couple hundred bucks.”
“Even secondhand smartphones—there’s never just one option at that price.”
“Besides, I know you like nice-looking things.”
“So someone who loves pretty things that much would either go without or pick something they wouldn’t be ashamed to pull out.”
Shen An: ……
Uh…
It was rare for him to tell the truth, only for it to be taken as a lie.
Unbelievable.
“You’re just saying that to keep me from feeling guilty, aren’t you?”
Chen Nannan gazed at him earnestly, her dark eyes rippling with tenderness softer than the evening breeze.
Shen An had no choice but to sigh. “It’s really nothing. You’re just too kind, Senior Sister. I… I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“Heh heh~ Then don’t lie to me so much from now on, got it?”
Chen Nannan grinned smugly. “And no being late for tomorrow’s class meeting. No skipping classes either—pay attention in lectures, okay?”
“Uh, I can make the class meeting on time, but no skipping? That’s impossible for me.”
Chen Nannan narrowed her eyes seriously. “No way. I’m not letting you skip!”
Shen An’s mouth twitched. He flopped straight back onto the ground. “Then just kill me already.”
Chen Nannan got inexplicably annoyed at his lazy attitude and smacked his thigh hard. “How can a guy be such a downer?”
“You just started university—can’t you aim higher?”
Shen An smiled. “Does paying attention in class count as aiming higher? A person’s goodness is in their heart, not how much knowledge they cram in.”
Chen Nannan was stumped for a moment, stammering, “But if you don’t go to class, wh-what are you gonna do? Roll around with those girls?”
“Those girls?”
“Playing dumb, huh? That girl who wanted your contact!”
She was a little upset and deliberately nudged Shen An with her calf—not with her canvas shoe, just her ankle.
“Ow, Senior Sister, you haven’t forgotten her?”
Shen An chuckled. “Want me to hook you up with her? You seem pretty interested.”
Chen Nannan shook her head in disgust. “No thanks.”
Her gaze shifted to the gap in his shirt.
Emboldened and curious, her slender fingers slowly traced over the tears.
“Your shirt…”
“Pretty beat-up, right?” Shen An said casually.
“No… I just think it’s unique.”
Chen Nannan said softly.
“It is pretty unique.” Shen An sat up and pointed to the rips in his shirt, explaining their origins to Chen Nannan. “This one got stabbed by a knife. This one’s torn. Oh, and this too—stabbed by a knife.”
“Think it was a fruit knife. Small blade, but sharp. Didn’t hurt much going in, but it went deep.”
“But pulling it out? That hurt like hell. Blood just wouldn’t stop.”
“See these marks? Bloodstains. I washed ’em out.”
Chen Nannan’s fingers trembled unconsciously as she listened to his matter-of-fact recounting. She pulled her hand back, a bit scared.
Shen An looked at her and smiled. “Scared?”
“No…”
Chen Nannan hugged her knees tightly. “Don’t lie to me anymore… You’re such a huge liar.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“Normal people wouldn’t! By your account, getting stabbed that many times—you’d be dead!”
Chen Nannan bared her teeth like an angry little rabbit.
She hated it when Shen An lied to her. She hated it even more when he hid the truth from her.
“Yeah… I probably deserved to die…”
Shen An lay back down and murmured, “Even if they’d rushed me to the hospital, I would’ve bled out long ago.”
“You shut up!”
Chen Nannan angrily clapped her hand over his mouth. “Don’t keep going on about dying, dying, dying. It sounds awful.”
“Actually, Senior Sister, have you ever thought that the one talking to you right now might actually be a ghost?”
Shen An gently pried her small hand away and spoke softly.
Ah!!!!!
Chen Nannan’s heart skipped a beat. Ghosts terrified her more than anything!
Both her small hands shot up, clamping down hard over his mouth to stop his nonsense.
“You shut up!!!”
Shen An burst out laughing but didn’t struggle anymore. He lay there quietly.
Suddenly, Chen Nannan grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight. Her narrowed eyes gleamed with seriousness. “How could a ghost have body heat? Or a shadow?”
“If that counts as a ghost, then I guess I’m one too!”
Shen An smiled but said nothing.
Hmph~
Chen Nannan let go of his hand and spoke softly. “I’m going to ask you something.”
“Mm?”
“You have to answer honestly. No lying, no excuses. Got it?”
“Mm??”
“What’s with the ‘mm’? Will you just tell me straight?”
“Go ahead and ask~”
“You…” Chen Nannan tucked her head against her knees and fell silent for a moment. Then she mumbled, “Do you have a girlfriend?”
The sun dipped slowly toward the horizon, painting the white clouds in vibrant hues of evening crimson.
Bathed in the glow of clouds and light, the vast rooftop gleamed like a mirror, reflecting the shadows of the two figures.
One sitting.
One lying down.
