I rushed over and helped Linda up. I had no idea what had happened—she was fine just a moment ago, and suddenly she looked ill.
"Help me get to the school nurse, will you?" she said.
Linda usually never allowed me to touch her, but she didn't resist this time—she must have been feeling truly unwell.
"Okay," I replied.
I carefully supported her by the arm and helped her out of the office. When we got to the school infirmary, we found that the nurse was out. Linda's condition worsened—she couldn't even stand on her own anymore. She leaned softly against me, her face pale as paper, cold sweat rolling down her forehead. She looked utterly pitiful.
Gritting my teeth, I said, "Ms. Zhang, it's dinnertime now, and the nurse is nowhere to be found. Let me take you to the hospital right away."
Linda weakly murmured, "Alright."
We took a few slow steps, but seeing her getting paler by the second, I became anxious and said, "At this rate we'll never make it in time. Let me carry you."
Without waiting for her response, I lifted her onto my back.
Luckily, I'm in decent shape. I jogged with her on my back all the way to the school gate. The gatekeeper, old Xu, quickly came out when he saw us and asked what was going on.
I told him that Ms. Zhang was sick and needed to go to the hospital. He immediately opened the gate and even hailed a cab for us. I helped Linda into the car and told the driver to take us straight to the People's Hospital.
When we arrived at the hospital, I carried Linda again and rushed toward the main hall. In my haste, I tripped on the steps and fell hard, my right knee slamming into the concrete. The pain brought tears to my eyes. Linda was startled and asked if I was okay.
I shook my head and, despite the pain, limped into the hospital with her still on my back. A nurse on duty saw us and rushed over to help.
Two nurses supported Linda into the emergency room while I went to register her. After everything was sorted, I returned to check on her. The doctor diagnosed her with acute gastritis and prescribed some painkillers and stomach medication. I went to the pharmacy, picked up the medicine, and brought her some hot water to take it.
Linda sat on a bench in the corridor after taking her meds. Her color gradually returned. She gave me a complex look and said softly, "Thank you."
I scratched my head and replied, "No need to thank me."
After that, neither of us spoke. A slightly awkward silence fell between us.
After a while, Linda seemed to remember something. She glanced at my leg and pointed at my knee. "Is your knee alright?"
Her words reminded me of the injury—I had actually forgotten all about it.
I sat down on the bench and gently rolled up my pants. The moment I touched the wound, pain shot through me, making me grimace. The area around my knee was badly bruised and swollen, tinged with dark purple and streaked with scratches.
Seeing it, Linda exclaimed, "Oh no, it's so swollen! You have to get a doctor to look at it!"
I hobbled over to the orthopedic clinic. It was quite busy. Several tattooed men were sitting on the benches—obviously gangsters. Judging from the blood on them, they had just been in a fight and had come for treatment.
I had a later number, so I had to wait until the doctor saw them all first.
As I waited, I overheard one of the gang leaders lecturing his crew. A cigarette dangled from his mouth as he said loudly, "Listen up. In our world, it's all about being ruthless. If someone's hard to deal with, you go all in. If they're fierce, you be fiercer. If you show weakness, they'll ride you for the rest of your life—literally."
Listening to this street wisdom, I couldn't help but think of John. He was exactly that kind of tough, difficult guy. Tomorrow was Thursday—the deadline he gave me to pay up. I didn't have the money. Maybe I really did need to toughen up, just like that gangster said, or I'd be bullied forever.
Eventually, the gangsters left. The doctor examined my knee, had a nurse clean and disinfect it, and gave me anti-inflammatory meds along with some instructions. By the time it was done, it was already past 7 p.m.
When I limped back, Linda's usually cold and distant face actually showed concern for the first time. She stood up and asked, "Is your leg okay?"
Surprised by her sudden kindness, I quickly said, "I'm fine, really."
Linda gave me a glance and said, "Let's head back to school, then."
We took the bus back. As we approached the school gate, Linda stopped by a pastry shop and bought a box of egg tarts. "You've got an injury," she said. "You don't need to attend evening study tonight. Go rest in your dorm. Take these egg tarts."
I carried the tarts back to my dorm like a treasure. Since Mia and the Luo brothers were off in the classroom for night study, the dorm was empty.
I took a shower and sat on my metal-frame bed, holding the beautifully packaged egg tarts, feeling a warm joy I couldn't quite describe. It was the first time in my life a girl had given me something like this. I knew Linda had only done it because I hadn't eaten, but I was happy all the same.
I was hungry from skipping dinner but couldn't bear to eat the tarts, so I went downstairs and bought a pack of instant noodles. Back in the dorm, I ate my noodles while staring at the elegant box of egg tarts, grinning like a fool.
Soon, the others returned from night study.
"Andrew, why didn't you go to class... hey, is that a pastry box? I'm starving—let me try one."
Toothy spotted the egg tarts the moment he walked in. He and I were already quite familiar, so he reached out to grab one.
I quickly blocked his hand and guarded the box. "No way. You can't eat these."
He paused, surprised, then muttered, "Seriously? So stingy over a tart?"
I shook my head as I carefully put the box away. "It's not that. Someone I really care about gave them to me. I can't even bring myself to eat them, so I definitely can't let you guys have them."
Toothy rolled his eyes. "So what if someone gave them to you? Still food, isn't it? Wait... it was a girl, wasn't it?"
I didn't answer, but a soft ripple stirred in my heart. Yeah, I was a bit of a loser. Even though Linda had no special intention, I couldn't help but treasure this little gesture.
The guys started guessing which girl had given me the egg tarts. They'd never guess it was our homeroom teacher, Linda.
After a bit of teasing, Toothy suddenly turned serious. He looked at me solemnly and whispered, "Andrew, I overheard John and his crew talking about you in the classroom."
My heart skipped a beat. Trying to stay calm, I asked, "What did they say?"
"John said that if you don't pay up tomorrow, they're going to beat you up. And on Friday, after school, they'll be waiting for you at the gate."
I sucked in a sharp breath. It was happening—there was no more dodging.
Toothy noticed the look on my face and asked, "Andrew, have you got the 1,000 yuan ready?"
I shook my head. "No. My family's poor. I can't come up with that kind of money."
Toothy, being a loyal friend, immediately offered, "I've got a couple hundred on me. Maybe we can all chip in. If we put our money together, we can scrape up 1,000 and just pay John off. Otherwise, that guy will make your life hell."
I was tempted. I had a couple hundred myself. If each roommate gave two or three hundred, we might just make it. But when I glanced at the Luo brothers' faces and saw their guarded expressions, I knew they weren't on board.
They were from the countryside too, dressed even more frugally than I was. We barely knew each other—they definitely didn't want to give up their living expenses for me.
So I refused. I shook my head and said, "No need to trouble you guys. I'll figure this out on my own."
Toothy got anxious. "But John's coming for you tomorrow. What are you going to do?"